Halloween 1982

Dr. Zibbs' choice of 2 Blotto songs brings me back to 1982. Blotto was a band that toured college towns in the Northeast. Their heyday coincided with the early success of Weird Al, and as their name suggests, when they came to town, it was time to party. Their claim to fame was "Blottoween" which was basically an excuse to drink to excess, watch Blotto, and participate in the costume contest.

In '82, I went to Blottoween with 2 of my friends at the Chance in Poughkeepsie, a venue that was bigger than a bar, but smaller than an arena. For my costume, I decided to go as Alice Cooper. I had the hair already; I put on the creepy black stuff around the eyes and at the corner of my mouth, and I, um... hmm, how can I put this? Alright, I stole one of my sister's dolls, tied a rope around its neck, attached the other end to my waist, and let it drag along the ground. Relax, it was just a doll. After we parked our car and were walking to the Chance (which was not exactly in the best part of town), this black girl across the street yells out,"Why's that white boy got a baby doll tied to him draggin' on the ground?"

We got to Blottoween, suffered through the warm-up band, and drank a few brewskis. I had to stop after a few, because I was the DD, but my friend Honneker got, well, blotto. Before Blotto came on, they had the costume contest. I got onstage, and when my number was called, I stepped forward and made like Pete Townsend with the doll. I swung it to the floor and smashed it to pieces. Shockingly, I didn't win the costume contest.


I retrieved the head and returned to my seat in the balcony area. Honneker insisted that I give him the head so that he could throw it at Blotto, you know, in that way that drunks can get focused on one stupid thing and won't shut the hell up about it. Finally, I gave it to him to shut him up. From the balcony I had a perfect view to watch him get to the floor level and, with surprising accuracy and zing, hit one of the guys in Blotto with the doll head. I also saw him get picked up .3 seconds later by 2 mack truck-sized bouncers and thrown out the door. After the show, we met up with Honneker outside. He was still surprisingly drunk (New York in late October isn't exactly warm) was walking up to people and telling them,"Hey, man, the Chance really sucks! They won't even let you throw doll heads at the band!"

Since then, the Chance has burned to the ground and was rebuilt, but I hear they still won't let you throw doll heads at the bands there. Assholes!