Southern California fans longing for that old Oingo Boingo Halloween experience can still get a taste of those epic late-’80s, early-’90s shows this fall when drummer John “Vatos” Hernandez rounds up some former bandmates for his annual “Dead Man’s Party” bash.
Set for Oct. 23 at 4th and B in San Diego, the Johnny Vatos Dead Man’s Party show will feature Vatos and a yet-to-be announced lineup, although ex-Boingo members John Avila (bass), Sam “Sluggo” Phipps (sax) and Steve Bartek (guitar) all have participated in past years.
Vatos originated his Oingo Boingo tribute show in 2005 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the band’s final concert — with a singer named Bt4 filling in for frontman Danny Elfman, who reportedly has ruled out reuniting with Boingo because of irreversible hearing loss.
The tribute band’s Halloween sets traditionally have featured Boingo favorites such as “Not My Slave,” “Little Girls,” “We Close Our Eyes” and, of course, “Dead Man’s Party.” Vatos usually throws in some material from Elfman’s “Nightmare Before Christmas” score as well.
Check out video from past Dead Man’s Party concerts below, and, to see the real thing, check out the full Oingo Boingo 1990 Halloween concert we posted last year.
See video of Johnny Vatos Dead Man’s Party after the jump…
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Wait… that’s not Dead Man’s Party… they’re the tribute band. They’re awesome! Anyhow, I went to the 4th & B show thinking it was the tribute. It DEFINITELY wasn’t and only the drummer was from Oingo Boingo. Why would they do that?