More so than any other major holiday—Christmas, Easter, National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day—Halloween is all about being prepared. Remember that year you were going to totally kill it as a move-over-Greg-Nicotero zombie? And then how, after six hopeless hours of fucking around with Knox gelatin, Club House food colour, Continental coffee grounds, and Mehron Premium makeup, you gave up, cut two eyeholes in a bed sheet, and went out as a ghost?

Chalk that up to not doing a trial run. The key to overcoming costume problems on October 31 is to iron them out ahead of time. If you have a good reason for dressing up ahead of the big day (a wedding, funeral, or Catholic christening) all the better.

With the importance of a trial run in mind, might we suggest setting your iPhone alarm for 5 p.m. tonight?

To celebrate her stellar debut Below the Salt, Vancouver indie enchantress Haley Blais is throwing a live-stream Halloween Spooktacular show which you can purchase tickets for here. Expect whip-smart dream-pop, which is to say considerably more uplifting than today’s competing virtual concerts by Goatlord, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, and Church of Misery.

Riding shotgun this afternoon will be Vancouverites Sam Lynch and Buzzy Lee, and Ontario import Leith Ross. (Lynch’s “Not My Body” is mandatory listening for anyone who needs assurance that, no matter how dark the day, the clouds will eventually part. Lee’s “What Has a Man Done” plants a melancholy flag in the world of bedroom-brand sad-pop. And Ross's lo-fi marvel “Everyone I’ve Never Met” couldn’t be more perfect for the year 2020, especially when she sings “But I don’t talk to people anymore”).

There are those among us who, in non-pandemic years, are afraid to dress up for work on Halloween. And that’s perfectly understandable—no one likes showing up at the office as a half-naked tribute to Bloated Well Walker from The Walking Dead, only to discover everyone else has gone business casual.

For tonight’s show, Blais, Lee, Lynch, and Ross will not only be performing a Halloween classic or two (please, god, let it be Colourbox’s “Hot Doggie” or the Misfit's "Hate Breeders"), they’ll also be in costume.

Celebrate at home by doing the same. The last thing you want to do is blow it this Halloween, yet again, with a poorly executed costume. Because, seriously, you’re running out of bedsheets to ruin.