Halloween Town took the stage at Casbah in somber trance, lethargically setting up around 9:30. Once on stage, I realized these were the same guys I was unknowingly mingling with before the show. The had absolutely no theme – with one wearing all leather, one donning a prep look, and the others looked as if they threw on some jeans and an old tee. To say the least – the band was humble and pure of heart. No mind games, no pretentiousness, they just wanted to play some music.

And that they did. Low notes from the guitars and piano started their first ballad. With a bluesy rock feel lined by indie uncertainty, the band wandered in and out of hard rock, punk and alternative. All of the music hovered around a sad C minor, and although some of the songs were pretty up-tempo, the aftertaste was cheerless gloom.

The lead singer, a rather manly, gruff dude, chimed in with the mix, sounding like the punk version of Billy Joel. His low, deep voice wove all the different sounds together by threading the intros into the bridges, the bridges into the choruses – all with a lonesome, eerie style. He was full of passion, but it was a passion that must have been the product of a hard life. His facial features, while belching the amazingly poetic lyrics, moved me – as if I was in the middle of play. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t melodramatic, he was serious – seriously full of anguish and pain. One song, “Lousy Motherfucker” described someone’s opinion of his protagonist that he obviously disagreed with. And boy was he angry about it. Soft, sweet melodies would flow from his lips and then build up, with help from the band, roaring into angry, irate, gnashing of teeth reverberations.

The lyrics were the best part for me. Livid and crazed emotions were juxtaposed with masculine desperation. “Divorce” began with angry clashing disharmony then ascended into an emotional peak when the lead singer broke off chanting “I guess I just miss my wife.” Phrases like “Blood turns into honey” and “Love, lust, the feeling I had to trust” kept my mind racing – were these guys bitter, or just wildly reminiscent?

Either way, the show was great. The band played superbly and I was fascinated by the prosaic misfits. Their emo vibe and soft metal/punk harmonies has the potential to be a genre all its own. Their sound and concept may just be the first of its kind.