Halloween, with its costumes and supernatural element, is about exploring alternate realities—or ”other planes of there,” in the words of Sun Ra, who also trafficked in costumes and the supernatural. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Ra’s “arrival:” The jazz composer, pianist, and big-band maestro insisted that he was born on Saturn and arrived on Earth in 1914. He built a complex mythology around ancient Egypt and Ethiopia, religion, numerology, and the cosmos that he liberally infused into his experimental music and his band, the Arkestra. Appropriately, their D.C. appearance on Halloween night features a costume contest for the kids so the whole family can enjoy the far-out musical celebration. Read more >>> The Sun Ra Arkestra performs at 8 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW. $20. (202) 888-0050. thelincolndc.com. (Michael J. West)
EAT THIS
Trick or treat on H Street NE tonight. Stop by Boundary Road from 4 to 7 p.m. and kids in costume get candy while adults get $1 off “spooky” spirits. The Big Board, Micho’s Lebanese Grill, Driftwood Kitchen, Cirque Du Rouge Tattoo, Le Grenier, Metro Mutts, and DC Harvest are also handing out goodies. (Jessica Sidman)
OH AND ALSO
Friday: Local boy made good and current Chanel commercial serenader Lo-Fang performs a homecoming show at U Street Music Hall. 7 p.m. at 1115 U St. NW. $15.
Friday: Metal act Samhain celebrates 30 years of spooking audiences with a show at the Howard Theatre featuring Goatwhore and Midnight. 7:30 p.m.at 620 T St. NW. $37.50.
Friday: Head to Petworth’s Paperhaus for a Halloween concert featuring Young Rapids, Native America, the Anthony Pirog Trio, and Philadelphia’s Split/Red. Find more details on Facebook. 8 p.m. at 4912 3rd St. NW. Free.
Saturday: Dum Dum Girls frontwoman Dee Dee Penny has some seriously seductive music chops. Her voice’s deep range and velvety tone add just the right amount of depth to her New York–based band’s straightforward take on shimmering synth-pop. While Dum Dum Girls have cleared away some of the haze over the years, Penny’s sultry live delivery will still leave you in a trance. Read more >>> Dum Dum Girls perform with Cherry Glazerr, Pangea, Ex Cops, Mozes & the Firstborn, and AJ Davila at 7:30 p.m. at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $20. (202) 667-4490. blackcatdc.com. (Carey Hodges)
Saturday: Comet Ping Pong hosts a noisy show featuring psychedelic punk act Purling Hiss, groove act Meatbodies, and local garage-rock favorites Foul Swoops. 10 p.m. at 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW. $12.
Saturday: The University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center presents BASETRACK Live, a multimedia presentation drawn from photographs and videos taken by Marines in Afghanistan. 8 p.m. at the University of Maryland’s campus in College Park. $10–$25.
Sunday: Nearly a decade and a half after his songs landed on the soundtrack to Me, Myself, and Irene, Pete Yorn’s indie folk-pop remains the same. His are songs that exist for an audience, with the cheers and handclaps of fans filling out each track. This fall, Yorn’s embarking on a six-city acoustic tour he’s titled “You & Me.” On his previous “You & Me” tour in 2006, Yorn serenaded locals at Alexandria’s dearly departed Olsson’s. Expect a heartfelt nostalgia trip when he shows up at Sixth & I. Read more >>> Pete Yorn performs at 7 p.m. at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St. NW. $30–$35. (202) 408-3100. sixthandi.org. (Caroline Jones)
Sunday: Folk songwriter Cass McCombs plays the Black Cat’s mainstage with lo-fi duo Meat Puppets. 8 p.m. at 1811 14th St. NW. $15–$18.
Sunday: Close out the weekend with a screening of SlingShot, a documentary about the inventor Dean Kamen and his revolutionary water filtration device, presented at the National Museum of Natural History by the Environmental Film Festival. Read our review from our AFI DOCS coverage. 3 p.m. at 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Free.
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