COMING SOON: HALLOWMASS 2023

Denver’s Itchy-O is many things: a musical collective, a theatrical spectacle, a chaotic, mystic celebration of sound and rhythm. They are also consistent: having taken their unique style of musical performance around since 2009 and always coming back home to Denver.

Their annual Hallowmass, which has taken on many forms over the last near decade, returns this season in new form. Instead of one or two big shows this year finds itchy-O making a multi-night stand at the famed, and fairly intimate, Mercury Ballroom. But just because the venue is smaller, don’t expect the sound to be anything but big.

HALLOWMAS 2023; ECHOES FROM THE ĀOTH takes over the Mercury Cafe’s Ballroom October 27, 28, and 31 and November 3 & 4 for ten sets in Denver. Tickets are $37.

The following interview is divined from the collective wisdom of itchy-O as channeled by their Resident Bard Benjamin Beardsley.

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This is No Proscenium’s COMING SOON, a look at ongoing immersive experiences & events. To learn more about how your event could be considered for the feature check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.

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No Proscenium Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?

itchy-O: All itchy-O events transcend the traditional concert experience, immersing audiences in a multisensory, all-enveloping ceremony. With over 50 performers, our ensemble breaks boundaries by merging with the crowd. Typically, only five players perform on stage, and the way we seize venues from several entry points has been likened to an organized heist. Soon after we’re all inside and the 14 drummers kick in, the show lights up, and the rest is pure immersive primal-futurism. It’s an opportunity to experience the raw power of a music-driven ritual without any of the trappings of earthly religion. Itchy-O does have its own story, though, and according to legend, its Lore has been transmitted across the branes from a dimension beyond the constraints of time-space. It bears the hallmarks of many traditional mythologies from global traditions, amalgamated for a primal-futurist world.

As a tradition now in its ninth year, itchy-O’s annual flagship experience, Hallowmass, is a celebration of impermanence. Its centerpiece, a communal altar upon which celebrants leave symbolic offerings of things that have passed through their lives, combined with otherworldly and interactive elements, contribute to a dream-like and cathartic atmosphere.

NP: What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience?

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itchy-O: In 2015, the DCPA’s Off-Center program approached us and asked if we would be interested in collaborating on an immersive event. We had just returned from playing Tucson’s All Souls Procession where we witnessed tens of thousands in the streets celebrating life and loss through art. We were so inspired by how the community came together to process the past, as well as release hopes and offerings for the future. We wanted to offer an inclusive rite for our own community in Denver that was universal, one that not only honors passed souls but also embraces all aspects of impermanence through release and, ultimately, celebration. That first Hallowmass included a series of interactive stations of reflection on life, absurdities, and passing for participants, a large procession with shrouded celebrants, and our first altar. Many of those elements remain core to our event nine years later, with the altar at the center. The altar, today, is a large-scale art installation developed by a team of creators, including immersive audio engineers, with the intent of inviting and honoring community engagement. The installation is the foundation built upon with the offerings of our participants and altar attendants. Over the run, the altar becomes a communal space filled with mementos, reflections, and offerings. Aspects of altar offerings fall into three general categories: one that honors souls who have influenced our lives in their journey and passing, another given to honor inanimate entities such as places, institutions, and ideas that have influenced our lives in their passing, and one dedicated to anything the celebrant is bringing to closure and/or letting go of, including behaviors, habits, relationships, outmoded patterns of thought, etc. Following the run, we host a community burn. The tradition has become an essential annual ritual for us as a crew, as we process life and loss within our ensemble, including beloved members. Ultimately, that is our inspiration today. We need this space to process, release, and celebrate life through art, as much as our community does.

NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?

itchy-O: Every year we strive to make the experience even more powerful than the last. This year we will be rocking the walls of the intimate Mercury Ballroom, a much smaller venue than we usually play, in a multi-night run. This venue provides the unique opportunity to bring the audience fully into the performance and to experience the group’s lore up close. Typically, at a larger show, you may witness 30% of the performance elements from any one vantage point, given how much of the show takes place in pockets of the audience. It will be a concentrated immersion to an unprecedented degree as we steep the audience in sonorous catharsis with strong mythic elements. We also have several fresh and surprising features that we’ll be rolling out.

NP: Once you started designing and testing, what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?

itchy-O: We have never conducted Hallowmass in a space as cozy as the Mercury. The very first one took place in a large rodeo arena at the National Western Stock Show, setting a precedent for mid-sized venues. But after years of touring this show around the States and beyond, we’ve become accustomed to adapting this massive production to all kinds of spaces. This will hardly be the first time we have played the Mercury, but the production has grown exponentially since then. Hallowmass itself is also, in many ways, even bigger than itchy-O. We are excited to trade some of the big effects, like pyrotechnics and high-voltage, for the kind of raw, up-close, powerful, and personal experience we delivered in the early days. Intimate shows that elevate audience engagement are definitely our favorite kind of creative challenges.

NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?

itchy-O: Like we mentioned, Hallowmass is a celebration of impermanence. All who arrive are encouraged to reflect on people, institutions, or situations that have passed from their lives. At the venue, there will be an altar where attendees are encouraged to leave a token of what has passed, be it photos, documents, handwritten memos, or any sort of meaningful artifact. Those who consider how they will meaningfully contribute to the altar in advance definitely get the most benefit out of the experience. In the past, audience members have offered up letters, full journals, art pieces, albums, and poetry created just for the altar.

We provide all of our Patreons with some we call a Resonant Primer — a workbook with activities, lore, and background that deepens their experience. They tend to disperse that arcane knowledge throughout the community and during the shows, thus becoming an integral part of the immersive experience for the general public.

This year we are also providing all willing participants with a Mandorlah, an impermanent ritual headcovering symbolizing the transitory nature of time and the ritual space between the past and the future. Guests may write what they are releasing on their Mandorlah and leave them at the shrine at the end of the rite, to be burned on November 5th.

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