Can you believe it? It is trick-or-treat time already (our year has been mostly a trick – and not a good one either, but that is another story). We continue to keep ourselves busy and we are here again to tell you how this last month we attended two concerts and two other shows. This time we will begin with those two other shows.

One of these two shows, "Fant-A-Shes," was at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, CA. Female impersonator shows have been around for many years and draw respectable crowds of people who want to see if a man can pull off impersonating a female performer. There is Kenny Kerr, now in Palm Springs, and "La Cage" in Las Vegas. In Riverside, at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium, there was "Fant-A-Shes" starring Phillip Bailey.

Bailey came out behind a desk and announced "My name is Phillip Bailey and I am a drag queen." Bailey explained that the show had been retired three years ago, but that the performers he had worked with and fans had continued to try to get him to resurrect the show. He finally capitulated and then went into Lisa Lambert’s "Show Off."

Bailey acted as master of ceremonies and performed occasionally. During a recreation of a scene from "Dream Girls" he actually performed the Jamie Foxx role. He introduced the scene by saying that the audience would have to dispel disbelief by imagining that he was "a man." By the way, this bit received a standing ovation.

Bailey told jokes between acts, but he is no Frank Marino or Kenny Kerr and his attempts at humor often fell flat.

There were classic impersonations such as Reba, Dolly Parton, Bette Midler and Gladys Knight. There were also some surprises such as Missing Person’s Dale Bozzio, Boy George (wow, a drag queen impersonating a drag queen), En Vogue, Cyndi Lauper, Rihanna, Kate Perry and Mary J. Blige.

They also did not always perform the expected hits. For example, Reba was represented by "Respect" and Celine Dion was represented by Ike and Tina Turner’s "River Deep, Mountain High."

The Bozzio interpreter wore a mirrored skirt that had the effect of a disco ball, as the spotlight was reflected off of it.

Performances were usually solo, but there were exceptions. During "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" there were three extra performers on stage to represent Midler’s back up singers, the Harlettes. The whole cast performed to a ribald song and had to call someone up from the audience to fill in because someone had supposedly not shown up.

The Riverside Municipal Auditorium was set up to resemble a cabaret, as the main floor was filled with round tables and the bar from the basement was brought upstairs. The main floor was pretty full and the way members of the audience dressed was sometimes more interesting than the performers on stage.

Upcoming shows at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium include Branford Marsalis October 8th, Comedian Brian Regan the 11th and Fiddler Natalie McMaster on the 22nd. Go to www.riversidemunicipalauditorium.com or call (951) 788-3944 for more information.

Dinner Theater in Claremont where we saw "All Shook Up." Musical productions based on the songs of various artists are nothing new. "Ain’t Misbehavin’" for Fats Waller, "Five Guys Named Moe" for Louis Jordan and "Dancing Queen" for Abba come to mind. Joe Dipietro, who is responsible for "I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change," has created a piece dedicated to songs recorded by Elvis Presley titled "All Shook Up."

Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night," "All Shook Up" tells the story of a little town that has outlawed music and good times until a "roustabout" comes along to shatter the status quo. It is based in 1955 and deals with many of the prejudices of that era, such as interraccial and homosexual relationships, that are fairly well accepted now.

The cast worked very hard, but they did not have the best material to work with. Many of the scenes really had the observer stretching disbelief to accept the concept. However, there were some spots that did work. For example, there are a number of scenes where a cast member falls in love at first sight. During these scenes the stage goes dark, everyone except the person falling in love freezes, a red light is shone on the stage with images of many colored hearts and the principle starts to sing "One Night With You."

There is a museum in the town and when the curator, the object of the roustabout’s affection is giving a tour, the statues in the museum come to life to sing "Let Yourself Go." The roustabout and Miss Sandra the curator have a cute scene where he is singing "Teddy Bear" and she is singing "Hound Dog."

Vonetta Mixson is one of the musical directors for this show and also stars as Sylvia, who runs a diner in the town. As usual, her performance is excellent and her singing phenomenal. Making her Candlelight debut as Sylvia’s daughter is Jo-D Dalcour. She has a very nice voice and is a convincing actor.

Performing as Natalie, the town’s mechanic is Cassandra Murphy. She is a veteran of the Pavilion stage and with her voice it is no wonder. She also had to pretend to be a man in this production which she handled surprisingly well.

Robert Ramirez plays a shy nerdy character and almost steals the show. He is a good actor, good dancer and a decent singer. He is probably the most believable character in the cast.

The ensemble’s dancing was a bit rough but the harmonies were excellent as is a Candlelight staple.

The audience gave the show a warm reception the night we saw it with strong applause and many whistles and cat calls, though there was no standing ovation.

Next up at Candlelight is "Guys and Dolls" beginning October 3rd. The price of admission ($46-$73 with discounts available) includes salad, warm rolls, entrée, the show and sales tax. Appetizers, beverages, desserts and gratuities are extra. Candlelight Pavilion has teamed with the Inland Valley Repertory Theatre Company to bring dramatic productions to the Pavilion stage on Wednesdays. The next production is "Broadway! A Musical Celebration" which will run from October 22ndh through November 5th. Call (909) 626-1254 for ticket information or go to their Web site at www.candlelightpavillion.com.

The two concerts we attended were pretty much polar opposites of one another. The first was Metal Masters featuring Judas Priest, Heaven and Hell (for those not in the know, this group is the original Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio fronting the band), Motörhead, and Testament at the San Manuel Amphitheatre in Devore.

We made it to the show, but for a number of reasons were not able to stay for Heaven and Hell or Judas Priest. All of these bands have been around for a number of years, but to paraphrase the late great Bo Diddley: They ain’t taking no nap.

First up was Testament. The current line up for Testament contains four of the original five members of the band. They came out hard and heavy and pulled out all the stops. Vocalist Chuck Billy kept encouraging the early arrivals at the show to get into their set and at one point said (growled?) to the audience "Come on, Southern California, don’t let us down."

Alex Skolnick performed some searing leads that were often matched by Eric Peterson. Speaking of Skolnick, we also had the opportunity to talk with him before the show. He explained that the title of their latest album, "The Formation of Damnation" (Nuclear Blast Records), refers to the current state of the world as the band sees it. He said that "world events were never the priority of the band as youths, but that now one cannot help but be more aware of what is going on." He cited items such as the price of gas, the economy and Iraq. The band felt that by writing songs about what they see going on around them it will make more people aware: "Hopefully, with awareness will come more mature decisions about voting, etc."

We asked if he had a favorite cut on the album and he said he had lots of favorites. He feels you need to listen to the whole album to truly understand it. However, he did name cuts "Dangers Of The Faithless," "The Persecuted Won’t Forget," "Afterlife" and "More Than Meets The Eye."

When asked what music he is listening to when he is not performing he said jazz, because he is hearing heavy metal at every show they perform. He is listening to the likes of Pat Matheny and pianist Brad Meldahl. Skolnick has his own jazz band, the Alex Skolnick Trio, that has put out some albums totally opposite of the music he creates with Testament. He also is a member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, making him truly a musical renaissance man.

We asked Skolnick what he would like us to pass on to his fans. He told us that he would like fans to check out his blog at http://skolnotes.blogspot.com, if they have not already done so.

The band was tight and supported each other as they tore through a 30-minute set that included many of their classics as well as songs from their "The Formation of Damnation."

The crowd was cheering long after Testament left the stage.

Next up was Motörhead. Currently performing as a trio, they also came on hard and heavy. This was our first time getting to see this band and it was very obvious to us that Harry Shearer based his character in Spinal Tap on Lemmy Kilmaster, the bass player and primary vocalist for Motörhead—right down to the handlebar mustache and long black hair.

Motörhead also displayed a lot of energy on stage and the audience was right there with them, as they appeared to know all the lyrics to their songs.

Motörhead had the crowd doing a lot of head banging as they roared through their repertoire.

The Art Laboe Show with Jerry Butler, Zapp, Con Funk Shun, Harvey Fuqua, Barbara Lynn, MC Magic, Sly Slick and Wicked, Temprees, Aalon and LaLa was the next show in Devore. We missed this show which brought the season to an end for the year. We will let you know as soon as we hear anything about their next season.

We went to San Manuel’s other venue, San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino, to see the other musical show. This time it was the Temptations and the Four Tops, two of the acts that formed the backbone of the Motown sound in the ‘60s and early ‘70s.

Currently, each act has only one original member, but they continue to play in front of receptive audiences hungry to hear their old favorites performed again. San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino brought the current lineups to the Inland Empire.

The stage was set up for easy transition from one act to the next. Two drum sets were set up and there were two sets of risers for the horn section. It turned out that both groups shared the horn section, while carrying there own rhythm section of drums, guitar, bass guitar and keyboards.

Up first were the Temptations. Taking the stage in black tuxedos and tails they started into a set that included well known hits such as "Ain’t Too Proud To Beg," "My Girl," "Papa Was A Rolling Stone," and "Just My Imagination." They also dug deep into their catalogue for some lesser known songs such as "You Are So Necessary (The Wedding Song)" and "Treat Her Like A Lady."

They still use the time honored choreography that they were famous for, though, they do not get down quite as low as in the old days. Bruce Williamson, who performs most of the vocals that the late David Ruffin was known for, was pretty light on his feet as he not only went with the choreography, but did some solo dancing that impressed the audience and even had the other members of the group looking on in mock awe.

The Temptations were not above poking fun at themselves and how long they have been performing. Otis Williams, the only surviving original member, at one point came to the front of the stage panting and asking for a "recess." To get back up to the microphone he went hand over hand to help him stand up. He then told the crowd that he had a right to be tired because he had been doing this for 47 years. This comment brought many cheers and a standing ovation.

Closing the show was the Four Tops. They took the stage in gold suits and immediately launched into "I Can’t Help Myself," "Bernadette," "Same Old Song" and their cover of "Walk Away Renee."

Even though Abdul "Duke" Fakir is the only original member Rokie Payton, son of original member Lawrence Payton, keeps the family tradition going.

The Tops did a satisfying set that was a definite crowd pleaser.

October shows at San Manuel include Don Rickles on the 2nd, Pepe Aguilar the 9th, King of the Cage the 16th and Chicago returns on the 23rd. Call the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino box office at (888) 777-7401 extension 2832 or go to their Web site at www.sanmanuel.com for more information.

Now, here is the part of the column where we give you some ideas on how to spend your time this month. When all is said and done, if you do not find something which piques your interest, you are just not trying.

For no particular reason we will start with the Hollywood Bowl. The 2nd is Neil Diamond and he is followed by Saloven conducts Falla and Ravel the 3rd – 5th, Anthony and the Johnsons the 14th, on the 15 and the 22nd Andres Schiff plays Beethoven, Vince Gill the 25th and the Dave Brubeck Quartet the 26th. For more information about these shows, to find out about more concerts this month or Halloween at the Bowl go to www.hollywoodbowl.com, call the H.B. at 323-850-2000 or go to their box office at 2301 N. Highland (guess the city).

Disneyland is starting something new in 2009. You will now be able to enter the park free on your birthday. Go to www.disneyparks.com for details and for other information such as hours, policies, and how "the friendliest place on earth" turns into "the scariest place on earth" as it celebrates Halloween at the Haunted Mansion with Jack Skellington.

We are happy to say that the California Theatre of the Performing Arts in San Bernardino will have two shows this month. They are the Mambo Kings on the 16th through the 19th and Stomp on the 27th and 28th. Get tickets at www.TicketMaster.com or call the box office at (909) 885-5152.

The NOKIA theatre is in Los Angeles at 777 Chick Hearn Court and the phone number there is (213) 763-6020. Shows there this month are Santana on the 2nd and 3rd, Julieta Venegas the 10th, Kings of Leon the 15th, America’s Best Dance Crew the next night, Marco Antonio Solis the 17th and 18th and El Tri the 25th. Tickets available at TicketMaster.

CalTech in Pasadena is located at 1200 East California Blvd. The Beckman Auditorium on this campus is having a busy month. Their shows include ScrapArtsMusic the 3rd, Joshua Kane the 10th, Sara Grey and Kieron Means the 11th, and the double bill of Rani Arbo and Pine Leaf Boys on the 18th. Other shows are The Guarneri String Quartet the 19th, Natalie MacMaster the 25th, and talks or lectures on the 9th and the 15th. For tickets go to their box office at 332 S. Michigan in Pasadena, email them at www.events@caltech.edu or call them at 626-395-4652.

Catalina Island, as we have mentioned before, is one of our favorite places. If you have never been there, go. If you have, go again. This month the Jazz Trax Festival is the 2nd, the Festival of World Music is the 25th and on the 31st is the Annual Halloween Parade. www.catalina.com is where to go for tickets or more information.

The Lewis Family Playhouse is in Rancho Cucamonga. They can be reached at their box office (909) 477-2752 or at their web site www.lewisfamilyplayhouse.com. This month Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is performing on the 4th, Capitol Steps the 5th and James and the Giant Peach take the stage on the 18th, 25th and 26th.

The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, continues to help take the sting out of soaring temperatures and gas prices by offering their special "Stay Cool & Save Fuel" summer package. For a stay of one or two nights, guests will receive a $25 gas rebate card and for stays of three nights or more guests will receive a $50 gas rebate card. This package also includes your choice of an inside or deluxe ocean-view room and a self guided tour of the ship. While there you may want to treat yourself to some fine dining, a wonderful Sunday brunch, an evening of entertainment at Tibbies Cabaret, a submarine tour or hear about the ship’s legendary past. For Halloween Shipwreck: 14th Annual Halloween Terrorfest will be on the weekends from now through the end of the month. To find out more go to www.queenmary.com or call (562) 435-3511.

The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts begins the month with Simply Ballroom featuring Debbie Reynolds the 3rd through the 5th. The Osmond Brothers will perform there on th10th followed by Boz Scaggs the 11th, Rita Rudner the 12th, Gordon Lightfoot the 17th, the Artie Shaw Orchestra on the 19th and winds the month up with Kris Kristofferson the 24th and Helios Dance Troup on the 25th. Tickets for these Cerritos shows are available at the box office, 12700 Center Court Drive, by calling (800) 300-4345 or at www.cerritoscenter.com.

In addition to all of their usual activities, specials and experiences SeaWorld is also ready for Halloween. The Halloween Spooktacular runs weekends all month. This is where Halloween meets the sea with special shows, character greetings and trick-or-treating all included with tour ticket. For more information visit www.seaworld.com or call (800) 25-SHAMU.

The following venues are all part of the Live Nation family. There are eight of them and tickets for any and all can be purchased at TicketMaster or at www.livenation.com.

Again, with no particular reason we will start with the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk. This month they have only two shows. These are El Reencuentro on the 5th and Mary J. Blige on the 19th. This venue is located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City and the phone number is (818) 622-4440.

Many of the House of Blues clubs rotate entertainers among them. A few instances where this is happening this month are The Academy Is… on the Sunset Strip club on the 15th and in Anaheim the 18th. Street Dogs and guest perform in Anaheim on the 17th and the strip on the 18th. This will happen again near the end of the month when Foreigner puts in an appearance on the strip the 24th and in Anaheim the 26th and when The Damned and guests play Anaheim the 30th and on the Sunset Strip the next night. The House of Blues in West Hollywood is at 8430 Sunset Blvd. and their phone number is (323) 848-5100.

Other shows here this month include Gram Rabbit the 2nd, Great Big Sea the 3rd, the 4th Dr John, the 5th Enanitos Verdes, Helloween the 6th, Cubensis the next night and Gavin DeGraw the night after that. Killing Joke is the 9th while on the 10th is White Lion, the 11th Super Diamond, Amorphis the 13th, and Unearth and Acacia Strain perform on the 14th. The Return of Tony Clifton and his Katrina Kiss-My-Ass Orchestra benefiting Gulf Coast Musicians takes place on the 19th. Taj Mahal performs on Sunset Strip on the 23rd and is followed by Stan Ridgway on the 26th, Umphrey’s McGee the 28th, Matt Nathanson the 29th and Cobra Starship and their guests perform on the 30th.

The Anaheim H.O.B., located at 1530 S. Disneyland Drive (at Downtown Disney) is also, as usual, having a busy month. Their phone number is (714) 778-BLUE and here is a list of who they have coming. Stars the 2nd, Lagwagon the 3rd, Kingdom and guests the 4th, James the 5th, Fist Full of Steel the 7th, Club Lucky the 8th, Yngwie Malmsteen the 9th, Meiko and guests the 11th, Goldrush and guests the 13th, Pretty Ricky the 14th and Chris Cagle on the 15th. The 2nd half of the month starts on the 16th with a performance by The Head Cats. Following them are Jorge Celedon the 19th, Wayne Brady the 22nd, STS9 the 23rd, Blind Melon the 24th, The Kooks the 27th, Apocalyptica the 29th with the month ending on the 31st with a performance by Horrorpops, Beat Union and more.

Some other Live Nation venues in Southern California are the Wiltern, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Staples Center, and the Honda Center. All of these have shows this month.

The Wiltern has the Dandy Warhols on the 3rd, Opeth on the 7th, Sara Bareilles on the 11th, Goldrush the 14th, Jorge Celedon the 18th and Chiodos and guests the 23rd. Other shows are Iced Earth the 24th, Against Me! and guests the 28th, Ray Lamontagne the 30th and Cypress Hill the 31st. The Wiltern is located at 3790 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and the phone number is (213) 388-1400.

Katt Williams is in Irvine at Verizon on the 4th, New Kids on the Block are at the Staples Center on the 8th. They are preceded by Neil Diamond on the 4th and followed by Rock Band Live on the 10th.

Tina Turner entertains at the Honda Center in Anaheim on the 13th and again on the 16th.

The El Rey, at 5515 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles has several shows this month. They are Nikka Costa the 2nd, Tarfest Music Program the 3rd, Joan Osbourne the 10th, Gaelic Storm the 19th, VNV-Nation the 22nd, and Dar Williams on the 23rd. Michael Relm will be there on the 24th as will Alison Moyet on the 25th and Roky Erickson on Halloween. Go to TicketMaster to buy tickets for any of these shows.

Nederlander is another company with many venues. Some of them in Southern California are The Greek Theatre, Great Western Forum, the Wilshire Theater, the Grove of Anaheim, Ford Theatre, Broadway/LA, The Avalon Theater and the Music Box at the Fonda. Before we tell you what is happening there let us tell you that for tickets you can contact www.TicketMaster.com or www.Nederlander.com for more information.

The Greek is presenting Sigur Ros on the 2nd, David Byrne on the 3rd, The Swell Season on the 4th and Jason Mraz on the 11th. The Great Western Forum and the Wilshire are both having two shows this month. The GWF has Weezer on the 14th and Neil Young on the 30th. The two shows at the Wilshire are Divas Simply Singing on the 11th and Fame on the 25th.

Broadway/LA will continue to present Wicked at the Pantages Theatre through the rest of the year. It is located at 6233 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood and tickets begin at less than $100.

6126 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles is where you will find the Fonda and subsequently the Music Box at Fonda. It is also where the following shows will be presented; Rancid the first through the 5th, The Sword on the 11th, Tegan and Sara from the 16th through the 19th, Conor Oberst the 21s and 22nd, Gil Talk on the 24th and 25th and Star Music Awards on the 26th. Get tickets at the box office or TicketMaster. For more information call (323) 464-0808.

Another Nederlander venue where TicketMaster will have tickets for you is the Grove of Anaheim. You can also get them at the box office at 2200 East Katella Ave. in Anaheim. The phone number there is (714) 712-2700 and the website is www.thegroveofanaheim.com. Concerts at the Grove this month include Gogol Bordello the 2nd, NBC’s Last Comic Standing Live Tour on the 5th, Tower of Power the 9th, Music of ABBA on the 12th, Craig Chaquico the 15th and Gym Class Heroes on the 16th. Shows the second half of the month are Joe Jackson the 17th, Fear the 19th, Alison Moyet the 21st and Tiger Army from the 23rd through the 31st.

The Ford Amphitheater, an intimate outdoor theater in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles (2580 Cahunenga Blvd. East), is owned and operated by the County of Los Angeles. This is one place where TicketMaster will not be able to help you. You can get tickets at the venue box office or on line. For on line tickets go to www.fordamphitheater.org. Only two shows will be there this month. They are Hip Hop Dance Festival on the 4th and, on the 16th and 17th, Disillusioned – Confessions of a Serial Magician.

What do Amon Amarth, Deerhoof, Adele, Yngwie Malmsteen, Amberlin and Apocalyptica have in common? Give up? They will all be at the Avalon this month. The dates, respectively, are the 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 15th and 28th. Again, tickets are available on line at www.avalonhollywood.com, or at the box office, 1735 Vine Street. For more information call (323) 462-8900.

The Improv is a chain of comedy clubs across the country. Our local one is in Ontario, Ca. Here is what their October looks like. Performing from the 2nd through the 5th is Paul Mooney. He is followed by Steve Trevino from the 9th through the 12th, Mike Epps the 17th through the19th, Jay Mohr from the 23rd through the 26th and Earthquake from the 30th through November 2nd. The Kenny Kane show is the 7th, the Vagina Dialogues the 8th and Non-Toxic Comedy on the 14th. Filling out the month are The Dirty Show on the 21st, Spicy Latino Night the 22nd, Geoff Keith the 28th and Championship Comedy on the 29th. Their web site is www.improv.com, the phone number is (909) 484-5411 and the address is 4555 Mills Circle. It is located in Ontario Mills.

Well, it has now all been said and done. Were we right? Until next time have a great month and we will be back when the turkeys are parading.