Halloween is revived on the Strip

Although the Strip is shut down on Halloween, Booby’s will be alive and full of music.

The venue will host a Halloween concert Saturday comprised of popular local bands, including The Black Fortys, Himalayas and Nighty Night.  Bat Rider, a band from the United Kingdom, will also perform.

Josh Doyle of Himalayas said the Halloween show at Booby’s last year was such a success that they had to do it again.

“It’s a special show,” he said.  “Booby’s is probably going to be the place to be on Halloween.”

Lacy Morris, Booby’s manager, said the venue is not shut down on Halloween because it is both a restaurant and a bar.

Doyle said Nighty Night is joining last year’s acts –– The Black Fortys and Himalayas ––because of their recent splash onto the Carbondale music scene.  

David Allen of Nighty Night said the band’s first show was around Thanksgiving in 2008.

Bat Rider presents a unique addition to the concert because it is a foreign band.  Allen said Bat Rider was booked for The Swamp, a local basement venue, but decided to join the Halloween show at Booby’s.

“Somebody talked to Josh (of The Black Fortys) about maybe getting them in on this show because they’re from, you know, a ways away,” Allen said.

David Brown of The Black Fortys said the band should be received well because Carbondale is open to new music.

“People are way less pretentious here than in other places.  I think that in a lot of places people … pretend to not be interested,” he said.  “They hide their emotions a lot, and that doesn’t happen at all in Carbondale.  It’s very down to Earth, and people are excited to see music and excited to see bands from out of town that they’ve never seen before.”

Doyle said members of the three local bands are friends with each other and find common ground through playing music.

“Everybody’s friendly in this area, and we hang out a lot. Most of it revolves around music,” he said.  “We all love music, talk about music all the time and write our own music, and I think that’s really important.”

Brown said the three bands are also made up of people who grew up in southern Illinois, which is why they are such a tight-knit group.

“It doesn’t seem like we’re transient people.  You know, when we say, ‘Oh I’m going home this weekend,’ it means, ‘I’m going over to that street,’” he said.  “There’s no danger in any of these bands being in town for four years and then taking off.”

Travis Bean can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275