John Carpenter is the Master of Horror, but he is also a jack of all trades. Director of almost 30 films, including of course Halloween and The Thing, Carpenter has composed the scores for many and may be as famous for his music as he is for his films. Carpenter is known for his synthesized beats and pulsing riffs. He famously created the legendary Halloween theme as a variation of a 5/4 time on an octave on the piano. The simple yet horrifyingly effective theme ranks up there as one of the best and most recognizable scores in film history. Perhaps appropriately on October 20th, just eleven days before the holiday he is synonymous with, he released John Carpenter: Anthology (Movie Themes 1974-1998), an album featuring 13 of his original recordings from his films, on CD, Digital, and Vinyl. He began a month-long international concert tour on October 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will be hitting the East Coast next week.

All great genre films share a unique trait: “killer” music. Think of Tubular Bells in The Exorcist (1973), Bernard Herrmann’s epic shower score in Psycho (1960), and just try watching JAWS (1975) without John Williams’ epic shark-attack music. Carpenter’s Halloween soundtrack as well as his amazing catalogue of themes ranks right near the top. He will be playing two dates in Canada, Sunday, November 12th and Monday, November 13th before returning to the States for a double shot in Boston and New York City next Wednesday and Thursday.

I will be in attendance Thursday, November 16th when Carpenter plays Terminal 5 in Manhattan. The general admission concert begins at 8PM, with doors opening an hour before. Tickets are only $39.50 each, which is well worth it considering you get to witness one of the masters of movie music perform his craft. The final date listed is Sunday, November 19th in Syracuse, NY.

Tour Dates

Nov. 10, 2017: Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
Nov. 12, 2017: Danforth Music Hall – Toronto, Ontario
Nov. 13, 2017: Metropolis – Montreal, Quebec
Nov. 15, 2017: Royale – Boston, MA
Nov. 16, 2017: Terminal 5 – New York, NY
Nov. 18, 2017: Trocadero Theatre – Philadelphia, PA
Nov. 19, 2017: The Palace Theater – Syracuse, NY

You can buy tickets for any of the upcoming dates right from Carpenter’s official website. The site also features his new Christine music video, which he both stars in and directed. Terminal 5 is located at 610 West 56th Street, New York, NY.

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