With Halloween falling on a Friday this year, pretty much any bar you pick this weekend will have some sort of scary happening going on. But if you’re a local music fan looking for more than “Monster Mash” karaoke and costume contests, here are my picks for Friday’s fiercest, most fearsome shows.   

The past few months have been a season of change for The Strongest Proof, culminating in the release of the band's brief but potent second Post Punk album, "Robot Eats a Steak." Guitarist Tony Roth sheared his mop of curls to a boot camp cut, frontman Matt Tomlinson moved from guitar to bass and bassist Rob Stanley moved to Oklahoma. "I'm the same," quips drummer Tony Bryant over breakfast at Newport's Pepper Pod.  

  

Blackout On this eerie night, the Clifton shops and streets are dark. Think oil slicks. Tar. "I've had more vivid dreams in the past few days," Chris Haubner says as we cross the street. No "W-A-L-K" letters. Just a black box perched there. Uncle Smokin' Joe (Jim Pross) nods quietly.  

My first open mic: The Full Moon Cafe; a sketchy Virginia club where shots came by the glassful. My hands shook. The redhead host, Jane (Radar Rose), cheered me on. That night, I met my future bandmates. Two of us fell in love. Others fought, sure. Like a band would.  

The Seedy Seeds have set some astonishing benchmarks for themselves in just three years. Arising from a chance meeting between Mike Ingram and Margaret Weiner at a friend's birthday party, the Seeds have quickly become a scene favorite.  

A trip to the mall usually results in a new pair of shoes or maybe an Orange Julius and a pretzel. For singer/songwriter Maurice Mattei, a stroll through the Kenwood Towne Centre resulted in his new album, appropriately titled "Kenwood Towne Center."  

Now, at long last, my two great loves (local music and trivia) come together in CityBeat's first "Great Cincinnati Music Trivia Challenge." The goal is to have some fun and hopefully point out interesting facets of our city's rich musical history -- because CityBeat is cheerleader No. 1 for Cincinnati's music community.   

You took the quiz, now check your answers.  

The Heartless Bastards return to the Southgate House Thursday with new songs and a new lineup. In fact, it might not be appropriate to call the Bastards a “Cincinnati” band anymore, given that singer/songwriter/guitarist Erika Wennerstrom has relocated to Austin, Tex.