Last year, The Militant, dressed in full camo garb, went out in public for what may or may not be the first time during the Halloween festivities on Hollywood Blvd. But for several years, THE party has been a couple miles west, along Santa Monica Blvd for West Hollywood's annual Halloween Parade, where hundreds of thousands of folks turn the street from Doheny to La Cienega into a huge public space for the costumed.
This was the Militant's first time, mainly kept away by the traffic snarls. He was considering riding his bike there, but the cold weather was sort of a deterrent as well. But this time he rode an unspecified Metro Local bus west and walked a few blocks to the festivities. Easy as pie, and no need for parking hassles!
There were concerts on a few stages, oodles of food trucks, and restaurants and bars along the street that bled into the mayhem. This year there were suprisingly lots of Pokemon-related costumes, a good number of Dedmau5es (or is that Dedmic3?), astronauts (must be Endeavour-mania), the usual ghouls and superheroes, Star Wars, Gangnam Style and sexy maids (in both hot chick and drag varieties).
The Militant had a fun time, though someone asked him, "Are you the Taliban?" The Militant didn't know how to answer that question. Perhaps it was a golden opportunity to educate someone about his blog. The Militant just let is pass, though it kinda bothered him a bit.
Go Go Power Ranger!
What did the Tardis say to the Robot? Oh never mind.
Omit Romney, heh heh.
Wonder if Omit Romney tried to convince this guy.
This guy may or may not be dressed as a Metro bus driver.
Dedmic3!
Dunno what tis is supposed to be, but it's kinda cool.
The Militant doesn't show himself in public very much, but he did take the (M) Red Line to Hollywood on Halloween Night to join the thousands who walk the boulevard annually (sans silly-string). Although the LAPD's foot traffic management is kinda wonky, it's a place for costume-wearing pedestrians to see and be seen. Enjoy another Militant Angeleno Vlogstyle video!
Transplants, the Los Angeles experts that they are, love saying that this City has no traditions. Wrongo. Los Angeles does have them, you just don't know what they are. But some traditions, long enjoyed by the locals, are no longer around. perhaps the most well-known tradition was the annual Oingo Boingo Halloween concert. Now if you're really new to Los Angeles, or are under 25 years old, or both, you might be saying, "Oingo What?"
The Militant will explain.
Years before Danny Elfman became exclusively known as a film score composer, he was the lead singer of a rock band called Oingo Boingo. Started in the early '70s with his brother Richard and some UCLA friends, they were originally called The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, an eclectic theatrical-music act spanning various genres and eras. In the late '70s, the band gravitated towards a more modern rock, ska and new wave sound and shortened the name to its now-well-known suffix.
The band was signed to A&M records and were local staples on the new wave-formatted KROQ 106.7 FM, and got national exposure via MTV. Songs like "Only A Lad," "Who Do You Want To Be" and "Little Girls" were some of their biggest hits. But they hit the big time through their theme song from the 1985 movie Weird Science and had other hits like "Just Another Day" and "Dead Man's Party."
Even in the midst of their mainstream success and world tours, they would always find the time to come back home to Los Angeles come late October and play their annual Halloween concert, which took place at various venues such as The Palace (now The Avalon Hollywood), Irvine Meadows (now Verizon) Ampitheatre and the Universal (now Gibson) Ampitheatre (See, our venues are still around, they just change their names...), where they played their final Halloween concert - and final concert ever - in 1995.
The heir apparent to Oingo Boingo is the performance art-rock band The Mutaytor, which includes former Oingo Boingo bass player John Avila, who does annual Halloween concerts with a "Danny Elfman-approved" tribute band and sometimes other Oingo Boingo alums such as drummer Johnny Vatos Hernandez and guitarist Steve Bartek. Elfman unfortunately does not participate due to suffering from irreversible hearing loss and avoids loud amplified concert settings.
