Naughty Nurses unite; Halloween needs you!

A call to arms, I suppose, courtesy of Riot In the City:

It's very simple to make this a great event, and I believe an annual Halloween bash is worth pursuing for a variety of reasons. But it can't continue with the limited amount of constructive input it's been receiving this year and in years' past, and I speak from frustrated first hand experience. This event needs you... To whatever ends, this event happens because of you. You should be the ones taking interest, taking charge of what goes on at the event, and my arguement [sic] is your number one concern should be the entertainment (nevermind the gating, never mind the tickets... you let the SoCo people scan your ID to put you on a mailing list for Christ's sake...) the end (a fucking awesome concert) will overshadow the means (a wristband or ticket for $5-7)

At any rate, here is your notice: you have 35 days until Saturday, October 27th. Make the most of it. Make this your party. Your Event. Your City's gleaming pride. While you should fight not to lose the debaucherous nature (who wants a halloween with no naughty nurses? no rhinestone encrusted push-ups?.. no track team in thongs?) , this is a most serious call to fight for your right to party. Because believe me, it will be a fight to make this a real party, the market economics are working against it.

OK then. I'll be snotty and mention that I didn't go to the SoCo Music Experience (as much of a draw as the bands were) and if I did, I certainly would have turned around the minute someone asked to scan my ID. Secondly, I apologize, but I can't get past the use of Ticketmaster for the Halloween event. Seriously, it's just a ridiculous call. And I don't remember anyone being solicited for input about that before the decision was made.

Now we're being urged to speak up for the type of entertainment we'd like to have at Freak Fest. Makes sense to me. It's hard for one production company to figure out what "the kids" are listening to these days, so making suggestions makes sense. Still, I see very little excuse for the booking of predominantly Christian rock bands at an event that celebrates a holiday with extremely non-Christian roots and, specifically to the State Street tradition, wildly non-Christian antics. Hey, at least it'll be funny.

Ultimately, however, it's true that an event like this needs a group of dedicated and knowledgeable organizers who can put together a fun, safe and still crazy night of shenanigans--people who know Madison, know music and know that Ticketmaster pretty much sucks big ones.

Since I'm not willing to be one of those people for this specific thing, I'll stop my criticisms here and content myself with thoughts of jack-o-lanterns, hot apple cider and, God willing, a Halloween entirely free of naughty nurses.