Dead Man's Bones Bring Halloween to Chicago

It wasn't surprising that 90 percent of the audience at Dead Man's Bones' late Wednesday show at Schuba's Tavern in Chicago was comprised of the female contingent. Girls came out in droves to catch a glimpse of Academy Award-nominated actor Ryan Gosling performing songs from his spook-rock band's self-titled debut. Despite the groupies on hand, Gosling and his partner in crime, Zach Shields, put a spell on their audience with songs about zombies, werewolves, dead bodies and all things macabre. At one point Gosling asked the crowd, "Ready to get spooky?" With heart-thumping kick drums and creaking sound effects, that's exactly what happened.

Eschewing an opening band, the guys opted for a talent show instead. There were singers, a scantily-clad dancer and a magician to help get the audience into the spirit of the season. With a full band in tow, the guys opened with 'Flowers Grow Out of My Grave.' Gosling alternated between playing the keys and guitar as a skeleton-clad conductor administered a kids choir dressed as ghouls. A Halloween-themed backdrop illuminated the tiny stage with silhouettes of a haunted house, a leafless tree and white lights.

Throughout the hour set, the band burned through ghastly renditions of 'In the Room Where You Sleep,' 'Werewolf Heart' and 'Pa Pa Power.' For an interlude, a screen came down and showed a minute-long black and white film entitled 'Life After Death.' Kids wearing outlaw costumes stared earnestly into the camera while a voice over ('Intro' from the album) spoke about cryptic things.Gosling and band seemed at home onstage and didn't take themselves too seriously, especially when Gosling had a false start on doo-wop song 'My Body's a Zombie for You.' "That was good, right?" he asked the crowd.

After playing the non-album song 'Name in Stone,' Dead Man's Bones announced the next song would be their last because they had no more songs to play. A groupie screeched in protest which caused Shields to compare her tone to a cat in heat. "Let's turn on the lights so we can see this girl and everyone else," Shields joked. The lights came on and the band coerced the kids to take center stage and sing 'Paper Ships' along with the rest of the audience. When the song ended, the kids went around and stated their names before Gosling and crew made their exodus from the stage. But that didn't stop a horde of girls from swarming the actor. Gosling paused to take a group photo and then disappeared into the night.