Encore Legends Turn Halloween Into A Rock-Movie Night
Down Under Bar & Grill, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Down Under Bar & Grill isn’t just a room with a PA. It’s the neighborhood hang where the bartender remembers your order and the stage belongs to whoever can keep the floor moving. On Halloween, that was Encore Legends, and the night played like a rock-movie double feature — setup, twist, and a finale that shook the glasses behind the bar.
Acoustic misdirection that worked
The cold open was a clever fake-out. Igor walked out as Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas and slid into five songs on acoustic, starting with Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth and closing that mini-set with a seasonal wink: Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare. It reset the room — quieter, tighter, a little spooky — and then left the fuse lit.
Full-band ignition
Costumed up as a pitch-perfect Jack Skellington, Fletch took the front line while the band rolled out an instrumental of John Carpenter’s “Halloween” theme. The last note hit like a trapdoor: lights up, amps wide, and into Neil Young’s Rockin in the Free World. The crowd went from phones-out to hands-up in a bar’s-worth of heartbeat.
Between sets, no velvet rope
No disappearing backstage. The band leaned into the party — photos, quick hugs, those syringe jell-O shots that taste like good decisions until they don’t — and even signed setlists for new fans. It kept the night personal, the way a neighborhood show should feel.
Costumes, character, and one clear winner
The floor was a parade of DIY wonders, but the standout was the Dark Fairy with the handmade wings and the towering hat — impossible to miss even in a room this loud. The crowd-decided trophy moment went nuclear when Heather Dawn Grandee strode up as “Alyce of Beyond Media Entertainment,” nailing the black-and-red rockstar look beat for beat. Everyone knew it. The cheer said the rest.
Sing-along anchors that slammed
Jelly Roll’s Need a Favor has become a reliable barnburner in this band’s set, and it landed like always — big chorus, bigger voices. The newer add, Black Sabbath’s Sweet Leaf, was the surprise that turned the floor into tightly packed chaos. By the time the Mash-Up Medley arrived, filming was a lost cause; the room moved like one body, and any steady shot was a myth.
Verdict
Encore Legends delivered another high-octane, successful show. Down Under Bar & Grill proved they are stellar party hosts, and the night was epic. As for our guitarist, Igor? He had an evening he’ll never remember (IYKYK).
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