Drive-Thru Metal, Transformers, Mini KISS, and Killer Costumes at Mad Monster Halloween Party

AvidXchange Music Factory Hosts a Night of Music and Mayhem in Charlotte

Review: Kris Engelhart

Photos: Dianna Augustine and Kris Engelhart

‘Twas the weekend before Halloween and throughout the city, all the creatures were stirring and out and about. Many chose to spend this pre-Halloween Saturday night at the Avid Xchange Music Factory for the Mad Monster Halloween Party where music, mayhem, and costumes ruled the night.

So what exactly is the Mad Monster Halloween Party anyway? Well, it’s a gathering of horror enthusiasts and music lovers making this a concert and mini-horror convention all wrapped into one. Here’s a rundown of what went down this year.

ATTENDEES

Costumes, costumes, and more costumes were the theme of the evening at this year’s event. People packed into the outdoor area surrounding the Fountain Stage at the Avid Xchange Music Factory in costumes of literally all shapes and sizes. From simple masks to costume shop and makeup artistry extraordinaire, Mad Monster Party guests were definitely dressed for the occasion. Attire ran the gamut from scary to sexy and funny to clever. Of course, we saw a fair share of horror movie-based outfits with more than a few Michael Myers characters lurking about and a few Freddy Krueger’s as well.

Wednesday Adams seemed to be a popular outfit this year and clowns of all kinds from sexy Day of the Dead clowns to Killer Clowns from Outer Space and let’s not forget plenty of Pennywise from Stephen King’s It franchise. Now if scary or clowns didn’t do it for you, how about a Superman or Batman?

My favorite costumes of the night were those that tended to the clever side of things with a couple going as “Dill-Doe.” Get your mind out of the gutter folks, this was nothing more than a dill pickle accompanied by a female deer. There were even a few group costumes with the entire Scooby gang making their appearance. The costume festivities would continue later in the evening with the costume contest. More on that in a bit.

SPECIAL APPEARANCES/EVENTS

Guests could partake in their favorite liquid refreshments both outside in the plaza area as well as inside the Mad Monster Bar. And it wouldn’t be a Mad Monster Event without at least one celebrity appearance and this time we had none other than James Jude Courtney, aka Michael Myers, doing a meet and greet with the R.I.P. guests as well as general photo ops later in the evening. Courtney also was the guest judge for the costume contest, although Michael Myers didn’t make the cut.

MUSIC

The main entertainment for the evening, aside from people-watching, was three terrific rock bands performing outside in the Fountain Plaza area. Now, being that it was a Halloween party, the event hosts went all out to bring three totally appropriate and very different bands for our enjoyment with Mini Kiss, Cybertronic Spree, and the mighty Mac Sabbath slated to perform.

MINI KISS

Now, I’m fairly certain that everybody is familiar with the iconic rock band KISS, but have you ever heard of Mini Kiss? Mini Kiss is a KISS tribute band whose claim to fame is that the band members are all little people, hence Mini Kiss. The band is a Guinness World Record Holder and has appeared in commercials, television shows, and even movies.

But, Mini Kiss is not just about a gimmick. These guys can play! They all are talented musicians and their covers of iconic KISS tunes were on point. Dressed in of course classic KISS costumes and makeup, Mini Gene, Mini Paul, Mini Ace, and Mini Peter got this party started right. We may have been in the heart of Charlotte, but it was “Detroit Rock City” baby. We had a guitar and drum solo and Mini Gene even did the iconic move of spitting blood. These guys were the real deal if given the chance, you should definitely go check them out.

CYBERTRONIC SPREE

Up until this evening, I had never heard of the band Cybertronic Spree and after seeing their performance I can’t help but wonder why. This band of crazy Transformers took us back in time to the 80s as they rocked us into the next galaxy with songs from The Transformers: The Movie as well as the Pokemon theme and “Ghostbusters.” The band is made up of top-notch musicians with their female vocalist being a standout, knocking us with her version of Led Zeppelin’s “The Immigrant Song,” as well as AC/DC’s “Thunder Struck.”

Of course, with robot costumes and their very own hype man, they put on a great show, jumping, dancing, and getting the crowd excited. In fact, there was a younger boy with his parents right in front of me at the rail, who did not stop jumping, screaming, and moving the entire set. What a fun show! I had no idea what to expect but Cybertronic Spree certainly delivered.

COSTUME CONTEST

With celebrity judge James Jude Courtney, guests with great costumes were given passes for the top ten to make it onto the stage for the contest. Judged also by crowd applause and reaction, there were some really great entries and the prizes included a first-place prize of $1,000 cash, Tito’s fire pit for second place, and an ENO hammock from Wicked Weed for the third-place winner.

All of the finalists were well deserving of a prize, but the decision came down to the final three, Jason from Friday the 13th Part VI, who took his mask off to reveal an amazing makeup job of the scarred and burnt face, a couple of Uncle Fester and Wednesday Adams complete with Thing on her shoulder, and a not so Disney version of Beast. After gauging the audience’s reaction, it was clear that the magnificent Beast was the definite winner with an elaborate face, hair, costume, and the addition of a light-up skeleton carried on his back. Congratulations to the winners and kudos to all the contestants and everyone who took the time to dress up for the event.

MAC SABBATH

The night was not over yet as the final performance of the evening was about to take place. The mighty Mac Sabbath took the stage in full costume to give the audience a real taste of what “drive-thru” metal is all about. Mac Sabbath is probably the ultimate parody band with a mission to save the masses from mutated fast food and poor musical choices.

The cast of characters includes lead vocalist Ronald Osborne, guitarist Slayer MacCheeze, bass player Grmalice, and drummer the Cat Burglar. With a set of unique cover songs from classic rock and metal, with a twist of course, Mac Sabbath performs songs like “Sweet Meat” to an audience of frenzied horror fans and metal heads.

The stage show is something else. It’s part concert, part comedy with Osborne taking plenty of time in between songs to crack corny jokes and make crazy commentaries. His microphone stand is a giant milkshake cup and a grill complete with sizzle and smoke effects is front and center throughout the show. Mac Sabbath is truly one of a kind and always puts on a hell of a show. We have Ronald squirting the audience with water from ketchup and mustard bottles and pretending to vomit in a bucket which he then throws at the audience with a bevy of confetti. From giant inflatable hamburgers to what is probably the world’s largest beer bong straw, a Mac Sabbath show is a riot. There’s nothing quite like the music and mayhem of their self-proclaimed “drive-thru” metal and it’s something you should experience at least once, if not often. It’s a wild, action-packed ride through the eyes of fast food metal icons, the mighty Mac Sabbath.

Mad Monster Halloween Party was the penultimate Halloween experience and a great time was had by all. With proceeds benefitting the SBT Foundation and Scares That Care, it was all for a good cause as well. Mad Monster Party will be returning with its annual party in Concord, NC next February so stay tuned!

See the Full Gallery of the Evening Here!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.