During Halloween, Jackie O's and Casa Nueva both have music acts performing.
During the Athens Halloween Block Party, commotion and music will continue beyond Court Street.
Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery and Casa Nueva will both have shows while more than a dozen musicians will play on Court Street. Uptowne Buddha, a hip-hop fusion band from Cleveland, has played at Jackie O’s and on Court Street and will be playing at Casa Nueva on Saturday.
Sam Terkel, a guitarist in Uptowne Buddha, said playing in the bars creates a more intimate setting. Although there are people who go to the block party to hear the music, Terkel said the crowd wasn’t always engaged. Terkel said he thinks the band has played in Athens during Halloween weekend at least four times.
“It happens a lot of the time where some band is playing on stage at the block party, and all the people are just walking around barely paying any attention to the music,” he said.
It’s an interesting dynamic to be playing in front of so many people, Terkel said but knowing not everyone is engrossed in the music.
Josh Brown, the booking agent at Casa, said the bar tries to provide “cheap entertainment” during the block party. When first beginning his job, Brown said he realized having a higher cover charge made it difficult to garner an audience, but added that a cover is necessary to keep the crowd controlled.
“It probably won’t be at any one time completely packed, but we’ll have a good crowd throughout the night,” he said.
The artists still dress up and put on a good show, and it provides people a place to go to take a break from the block party, he added. He said every year they try to put on a different style of show.
“We’ve had everything from dance parties to heavy metal shows to what we have this year with a jam rock sort of thing,” he said.
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Starting at 10 p.m., Uptowne Buddha and Alex Hall's Figurehead will play at Casa.
During the block party, Jackie O’s is having a show featuring Elephant Wrecking Ball, a band that formed in Boston, Massachusetts and the local RockTronica band Manitoa.
Dan Africano, the bassist in Elephant Wrecking Ball, said the band has played in Athens before but never on Halloween.
“I think I’ve been hearing a little bit about what’s going on for the block party,” he said. “I don’t think we know exactly what we’re in for. I think we’re excited for what sounds like a great opportunity and a really good time.”
Africano said he usually describes the sound as “weird” because the sound is difficult to pinpoint. He added the show will include costumes and original music.
“I would encourage an open mind to what it might sound like,” he said. “It’s very unique, and I think a lot of people who have no expectation as to what the band is going to bring, and that’s a good way to enjoy it. There’s no typical genre we fall into. It’s really music lovers’ music.”
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