Off With Their Heads Halloween Misfits Set, Norcos Y Horchata, Middle-Out.
Off With Their Heads as The Minfits, getting ready for a Halloween Misfits set at Smalls Bar in Hamtramck, MI - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
It was a Wednesday night, the week before Halloween. Smalls Bar in Hamtramck, MI, was having a Halloween costume contest with Pippsy Pinwheel Sideshow hosting. Two local bands, Middle-Out and Norcos Y Horchata, were playing (I’d never seen Middle-Out), and of course Minneapolis legends Off With Their Heads. This was also a record release part for OWTH’s “Inhale, Exhale, Smile” LP, which is a compilation of all of the songs that they released on Bandcamp throughout 2024. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was hoping for at least some classic OWTH songs being in their set. I had no idea what I was in for.
Middle-Out
My buddy Johnny Bourbon (from Plan III) and I were in full costume; I was the Grim Reaper, and he was the Unknown Jock. We paid the $20 entrance, and then I headed to the bar to grab a Pabst tall boy for Johnny. First up was Middle-Out, and they were taking the stage, so we went right over to check them out.
Middle-Out is from Detroit and has been around for about 3 years now. I was expecting ska, but this was more on the pop-punk side. They had a fuller sound than I expected for a 3-piece due to the dual vocals, and I’m definitely going to track down their songs. It looks like they have signed to Punkerton Records, released a full length CD/LP (in 2024), and already have multiple professionally recorded videos up on YouTube.
Between sets, Pippsy Pinwheel rolled out her treasure chest of props and gave us some sideshow action. For her first act, she opened up a package of Oreo cookies and placed them on a tray. She then proceeded to open up a bottle of milk, snort it up her nose, and then dribble it back onto the cookies via her eyes! She even passed the cookies out to the audience afterwards, maybe to be eaten?
Amado from Norcos Y Horchata
Next up was Norcos Y Horchata. They were also in costume, with a shark theme that included some background props and one of the guitar players in a full shark costume. They played a set that sped up some of their best songs, and inspired a mosh pit. Highlights were “I Gave Up Drinking For Good (Now I’m Drinking For Evil)” and “Live, Laugh, Toaster Bath.”
After Norcos Y Horchata, Pipsy Pinwheel was at it again. This time we were treated to sword swallowing, and she confirmed that it was NOT a collapsible sword. It looked real to me; she got it completely down her throat, and then Ryan Young from Off With Their Heads came out and removed it. It did not look safe. That was followed by the results of the costume contest, where they brought up the three potential winners to be judged by the audience with applause. Oscar Mayer Weiner won it!
Off With Their Heads, costumed as The Minfits for a Misfits Set
Finally, Off With Their Heads took the stage. It was getting close to Halloween, and they were dressed up as The Minfits and surprised the audience with a set of classic songs by The Misfits. I could not have asked for anything better on a Wednesday night, this was legendary. They ripped though 10 expertly played Misfits songs including “Where Eagles Dare”, “Astro Zombies”, “We Are 138”, “Hybrid Moments”, American Nightmare”, “Some Kinda Hate”, “Angelfuck”, “Attitude”, “Horror Business”, and “Last Caress”. Pippsy Pinwheel took the stage to sing “Horror Business” with them, and did a decent job.
But the show wasn’t over yet; they continued with a dozen or so Off With Their Heads classics that kicked off with “Start Walking” (which included a break where the drummer led the audience through the chorus to The Misfit’s “Skulls”). The set included “Trying to Breathe," "Disappear,” and "Janie,” and then finished up with “Clear the Air.”. I wore my Grim Reaper costume the entire night, so afterward I was glad to get out into the crisp, cool air and take the mask off!
