Halloween Party at The Old Crown
If there’s one spot in the city likely to have Halloween ghosts lurking about then surely it’s Birmingham’s oldest boozer The Old Crown. Apparently Brummie cavemen used to park their dinosaurs outside before popping in for a neolithic pint or two. The stops are always well and truly pulled out for party nights at The Crown, so expect DJs, fancy dress and plenty of surprises.
Fri 27 Oct 5pm at The Old Crown, 188 High Street, Deritend, Birmingham B12 0LD www.facebook.com

Halloween Stranger Raves Party at Lab 11
Celebrate Halloween and the new series of Stranger Things at Lab 11’s Stranger Raves Party. Five rooms of pumping tunes with surprise DJs, a spooky warehouse transformation and frightening special effects. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance and entry is before 10pm.
Fri 27 Oct 8pm at Lab 11, Trent St, Birmingham B5 5NL www.skiddle.com

Halloween with Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam & Table Scraps at The Dark Horse
Two of Birmingham’s finest guitar thrashing noise merchants face off at The Dark Horse’s hi-octane Halloween party. Expect nuclear level energy and a full on sweat overload as SFL and Table Scraps power through riotous sets, both bands are incredible live. Astonishing that this is free, maybe the Dark Horse bods have been eating too much pumpkin? Whatever the reason we’ll see you there.
Fri 27 Oct 9pm at The Dark Horse, 145 Alcester Rd, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8JP www.facebook.com

Scream (dir: Wes Craven, 1996, cert 18) at The Mockingbird
It takes a special kind of genius to invent a genre and then reinvent it in spectacular fashion decades later. That’s what the sadly departed Wes Craven did with Scream. The director of the vicious revenge thriller Last house on the Left (1972), a film that came with the now legendary tag line ‘just keep repeating it’s only a movie’, turned the whole genre upside down with the existential and rampantly self-referential Scream.
Sat 28 Oct 1pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA Free veezi.com

Tropical Soundclash at The Hare and Hounds
Well Summer may have sloped off over the horizon for another year but luckily for all the shade weary punters out there The Hare and Hounds are filling their Saturday night with glorious musical sunshine. Tropical vibes and broken calypso beats will be served up by local favourites Sam Redmore and Spinx, with live percussion from Mighty Magoo.
Sat 28 Oct 9pm (free before 10pm) at The Hare and Hounds, 106 High St, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7JZ www.facebook.com

Heducation Presents DJ Jam Fu at The Dark Horse
Feel the B-Boy vibes at The Dark Horse tonight as the party pioneers Heducation host the renown local lad made good DJ Jam Fu for a night of intense Hip Hop, breaks and killer beats. If you feel like bustin’ some breakdance moves be advised Jam Fu is a master of this as well as spinning the mightiest mixes. Heducation resident DJ Mylz will be ensuring the beats don’t stop.
Sat 28 Oct 10pm at The Dark Horse, 145 Alcester Rd, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8JP www.darkhorsemoseley.co.uk

Ottone Pesante at The Sunflower Lounge
The Italian heavy brass trio (yes you heard right) Ottone Pesante bring their Europe Invaders tour to The Sunflower Lounge for a night of brutal metal symphonies. A trumpet, trombone and drums triumvirate of beautiful noise that will make your heads bang like they’ve never banged before. The ‘Trombstone’ boys certainly know how to rock in a whole new way, check them out here. Unique; intense and completely crazy, imagine a Balkan Extreme Noise Terror and get those devil horns ready.
Sun 29 Oct 7.30pm at The Sunflower Lounge, 76 Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham B5 4EG www.facebook.com