The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Apparently, this has been a very big year for haunted houses. Seems like many of them have been sold out every night. Monday night, the Soap Factory's Haunted Basement was sold out within the first 20 minutes. I suppose tonight will be even worse. But if you're looking for great Halloween entertainment, here are some options:

A Thrill a Minute -- with leg-warmers and all

Tonight, First Avenue gives you two time periods to choose from for your Halloween festivities. In the Main Room, the Thriller 1980s party will feature a costume contest (judged by Ian of Drinking with Ian), cash prizes, a group of "Zombified Thriller Dancers," and DJing by SovietPanda. If that's too much big hair and leg-warmers for you, the 7th Street Entry will be hosting a Monster Mash oldies dance party -- none of the costume contest or cash prize craziness; just a night of grooving to Motown, British Invasion, and girl groups. --Danielle Kurtzleben

8 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-332-1775; Thriller is $6 w/costume ($10 without); Monster Mash is $5 ($1 crossover from Main Room).

Two Heavy Metal Ghouls

Celebrate Halloween with the king of gore. I don't think he'll be biting the heads off of any doves tonight (although you never know with this guy), but Ozzy Osbourne is certainly prime ghoul material. This will be the heavy metal (and reality TV) legend's first solo concert in Minneapolis in over four years, and the show features special guest Rob Zombie. How appropriate! If you can't make the show, you might want to consider staying in and watching a few Rob Zombie flicks tonight. Blast the surround-sound, so you can scare all those trick-or-treaters away.

7:30 p.m., Target Center, 600 1st Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-673-0900; $23-$87.75.

All Hallow's Hell

While Samhain actually represents the end of harvest season in Gaelic culture, we have conveniently ascribed the ancient holiday to the broader realm of the dead, in particular All Souls' Day, better known as Halloween. The end of harvest is a gruesome thing indeed. Deck yourself out in the goriest of costumes and head over to the Varsity Theater for Samhain: All Hallows' Eve "A Match Made in Hell". Apologies to death rock fans, but the precursor band to Danzig is not the headliner for this show. Decoding the actual musical lineup: E.L.nO. stands for Electric Light (no) Orchestra -- a band that occasionally forms in order to cover the sublime pop purveyed by Jeff Lynne's '70s-era E.L.O.; and MC/VL is the MC duo Mighty Clyde and Vicious Lee, who deliver rap in the vein of vintage Beastie Boys, with a clownishness fronting their book smarts. Headliners Dance Band, however, are as straight-up as their name indicates. Counting James Brown and Queen among their influences, and widely acknowledged as one of the Cities' best live acts, how likely is it that this show really ends at 11? --Julie Caniglia

8 p.m., Varsity Theater, 1308 4th St. S.E., Minneapolis; $8.

Creature Feature

If you're like me and want nothing more than to avoid the Halloween bar crowds, without missing out on all the fun, some monster improvisation might be just what you need. Head over to the Brave New Workshop for tonight's Creature Feature -- a fully improvised, live-on-stage, comedic monster movie. Shout out your clever suggestions (only when you're asked for them), and watch a monster movie unfold right before your eyes, "chock full of colorful characters, high drama, monster movie atmosphere, and hilarity." Now that's more like it!

8 p.m., Brave New Workshop, 2605 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-332-6620; $10

Holy Haunted House

Of course, you could always opt for something completely non-Halloween-related. The only thing spooky about the Gov't Mule show this evening is the poster, and perhaps a heavy riff or two. Founded in 1994 as a power trio offshoot of the Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule draws from blues, folk, reggae, soul, and jazz. The band, originally consisting of guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes, drummer Matt Abts, and bassist Allen Woody, has since added keyboard player Danny Louis, and bassist Andy Hess (following Woody's death in 2000). The result is a band with fervent energy, keen chemistry, and masterful playing. In 2005, Haynes was ranked No. 23 in Rolling Stone's list of all-time top guitarists. That's got to tell you something, no?