Soundlab puts an aural spin on the traditional costume party this Saturday with its “Pop-Art Halloween Bash” featuring Petra Haden and the Sell Outs, performing a note-for-note a cappella rendition of the entire The Who Sell Out album—and not just the vocals, the instrumentation too! Released in 1967, Sell Out represents the Who’s first stab at composing a unified concept record and evidences Pete Townshend’s ambition to see rock “progress as art.” Conceived to mimic and celebrate the off-shore pirate radio stations that played the radical pop music banned by the BBC at the time, Sell Out is remembered fondly for the faux radio jingles, commercial ditties and bizarre rock narratives about pop products (like deodorant and acne cream) that preoccupied Britain’s angst-ridden 1960s “mods.” In 2005, the album’s unfolding history took a surprising turn when legendary bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE) made an intriguing proposition to his friend Petra Haden, a member of alt-rock faves the Rentals, the Decemberists, and that.dog and contributor to records by Beck, the Foo Fighters, Green Day and Weezer. Presenting her with an eight-track recorder and a copy of Sell Out, Watt suggested that she recreate the record’s boundless sonic landscapes using only her voice. The resulting document became a critical hit and a postmodern delicacy that reveals the true melodic range hidden inside the Who’s rough exterior. It also charmingly re-cast the songs of an avowed “guy’s band” in a different context. Haden subsequently formed The Sell Outs, a nine-woman a cappella choir, to realize her vocal experiments live. How wonderful and strange to hear so many female voices extolling the virtues of “Mary Anne with the Shaky Hands.” The bill also includes performances by The Old Sweethearts with DJs, theme giveaways, pop-art Halloween projections and more.

Halloween isn’t the most highbrow of holidays. Youngsters dress up in outfits they could wear on no other day and gorge themselves on candy. And unless the kids are pagans, they won’t be making a special trip to church. In short, Halloween is about fun and games and a temporary suspension of social (and parental) constraints—not circumstances normally associated with going to the ballet. In this light, Neglia Ballet Artists offers a rare event for Halloween in its production of Baba Yaga, which is based on a Russian folk tale. The title character is a trollish witch who entices a young girl, Misha, to her cottage with the intention of devouring her. Veteran local production talent has been tapped for this presentation, with set design by David Butler and Mark DiVincenzo, lighting by Brian Cavanaugh and costumes by Donna Massimo. Principal dancers are the splendidly costumed Sergio Neglia (as Baba Yaga), Sherri Campagni and Rachel Zimmer. Thirteen-year old Rachel has been a promising student at Neglia School since age four, and she stars as Misha in her first major role. Rest assured, she escapes the witch’s evil clutches in the end.

Milton Rogovin, now 96 years old, has dedicated his life to speaking out for those who are often ignored by lawmakers, politicians and society at large. Born to Russian Jewish immigrants in New York City in 1909, Rogovin witnessed the Great Depression and served in the Army during World War II. These experiences influenced his worldview as well as the activism he committed himself to after moving to Buffalo in 1938, where he engaged in union organizing and voter registration in Buffalo’s African-American community. Despite being called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952 and being named “Buffalo’s Top Red” by the Buffalo News, Rogovin continued his quest when he picked up a camera in 1958 and began to visually capture the social issues facing the working class. Melanie Anne Herzog, a professor of art history and director of Women’s and Gender Studies at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconson, chronicles Rogovin’s life, struggles and dedication in her new book Milton Rongovin: The Making of a Social Documentary Photographer. To celebrate this richly illustrated perspective, the author and subject are holding two afternoon “autographing parties.” The opening party on Saturday at El Buen Amigo will give people the opportunity to receive an autographed copy of the book as well as interact with Herzog and Rogovin. There will be another chance to meet-and-greet Rogovin and Herzog at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society on Sunday.

Research shows we make an initial subconscious judgment about a person, environment, or product visually, within 90 seconds, and that between 62 and 90 percent of that assessment is based simply on color. Marketers know this phenomenon. (What can Brown do for you?). How ingenious then for the Green Party to run Irishman Malachy McCourt as their candidate for governor of New York State. Malachy, brother of Frank (Angela’s Ashes) McCourt, is also a New York Times best selling author with his memoir A Monk Swimming, among other works. An accomplished Broadway, TV and film actor, his appearance in Buffalo is billed as an hour and a half of “rambunctious prose, songs without singing but sung, and obiter dictums on everything and guaranteed to offend politicians and blowhards alike.” According to a recent Zogby Poll, 14 percent of independent voters currently support McCourt—and among single voters, McCourt and Republican John Faso are in a dead-heat at 11 percent. Far from a stodgy debate, McCourt’s one-man show You Don’t Have to Be Irish to Vote for Me promises to be an entertaining and enlightening affair. Joining him will be Alison Duncan, Green Party candidate for lieutenant governor of New York. And just think of the victory party should these two stage an upset on November 7!