And the Academy Award Goes to ...

D-Days stopped trying on costumes long enough to play Simon and Paula and judge the Hamlin Pub Karaoke Academy Awards hosted by Zodiac Entertainment. Congratulations to Christopher Dybash who won our hearts and the competition. After belting out "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," Chris took home $500 and a trip to Orlando, Fla.! Well, Mr. Dybash, looks like you are going-going far with talent like that (or at least to the Magic Kingdom). Check out the finalists at realdetroitweekly.com.

Midnight Bleus

On Friday night, D-Days popped into Bleu Night Club in Detroit for the Midnight Masquerade. There were lions and tigers and bears ... oh my! Batman and Robin were in the house and Superman even flew in to say what's up. DJ Anthony Attalla had the house partying to his awesome sounds, while Mike the bartender hooked us up with a round of apple martinis. A huge "Happy Birthday!" goes out to club owner Mitch Jaworski — you don't look a day over 30.

Well I'll be Damned

Elegance and entertainment of the highest aesthetic order were on display at the Tangent Gallery/Hastings St. Ballroom during the three-night run of DAMNED III. After being greeted with exquisite charm by the lovely Meghann, DVS and Joseph Ferraro guided D-Days to the main floor where Satori Circus, Amber King, Dixon, Detroit Flyhouse and others captivated an ever-growing audience filing in every hour to see some of the most intriguing artwork to ever hit this town. Kristine Diven and Ana L. Bar held court at the bar, which was staffed expertly by the likes of Chris Rose and Andria Fuller. We spotted photographers VATO and A. Owen Layne arguing about shutter speed ... or something; Devil Dolls Alison Haling and Lushes LaMoan prompted more than one Faustian fantasy among an appreciative motley of admirers; Eve Noir explained the visual nuances of a Leonard Nimoy piece to us; the absinthe was just great on Thursday; we finally met Gabrielle and Javier Pescador, who gave us some great info about Day of the Dead exhibits in Lansing and Ann Arbor; Petra Dunn and Bree Hildner Ball simply charmed us to death. And folks, you haven't lived until you've seen Jesse Cory dressed up as Andy Warhol!

Cheap is Always Good

The name certainly hinted at economizing or downsizing, but the Crofoot's Creepy Cheapy Halloween Treat proved to be the richest piece of candy in our bag Friday night with a host of local combos assuming the personae of other rock legends. And for the record, we thought Prussia out-pixied The Pixies quite nicely and Fawn smashed pumpkins better than those pachyderms at the zoo.

Detroit Techno — It's Alive! It's Alive!

Sunday night, D-Days strolled over to TV's Lounge for Dfest, a Halloween extravaganza devoted to our still-bustling electronic music scene. And with the likes of E. Spleece, DJ Bunny, DJ Cent, Soren, Zoologic, Hugh C. and Joe Vargas spinning, how could it be anything but a good time? Music paired with a haunted house upstairs rattled us a little, until we got a happy ending! Once the scaring was over, we crawled through a tunnel to see a beautiful gal dressed as a unicorn. When our happy high died down, we danced the rest of the night away among zombie prom queens, Lady Gaga and pirates.

In the Cut

RDW would like to give a special shout-out to everyone who helped with our Hairy Halloween piece. The students at David Pressley School of Cosmetology Taylor — Colleen Malnak and Brittany Mellon — did an amazing job creating their various colorful coifs. Freelance special effects makeup artist Triston Ison gave us a gruesome gash tutorial. Black the Salon's Jeph Wight supplied the most elegant yet radical 'dos. Not to mention Bleach Salon's awesome portrayal of a Marie Antoinette-esque lady delivered by model Lianna Trimble, makeup artist Merideth Buyers, costuming by Robin Richardson of Ivy's Custom Corsetry and hair and photography by Nicole Bommarito. You made our Halloween scary and sassy! | RDW