YOU COULDN’T ASK for a better way to kick off “Halloween Season” than a concert by the guy who created the haunting scores for some of the best Italian horror films of the ’70s – 90s. When I heard that keyboardist Claudio Simonetti was coming to Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 13 with his touring version of the classic Goblin, I bought tickets instantly. And he and the band did not disappoint. For the first half of the show, they played the soundtrack to Dario Argento’s Deep Red as the film played behind them.
Once the film was finished, they played another full set featuring some of their most well-known themes to other Argento classics like Phenomena, Tenebrae, Suspiria, Mother of Tears, Demons and more. It was truly an amazing night in an intimate setting (I had one of about 40 chairs in the front of the small venue, with standing room behind for another 60 or so true horror fans.)
After the show, I had the opportunity to meet Claudio as he walked through the club. I don’t go “fanboy” very often, having met hundreds of artists over the years while I was a music critic, but shaking Simonetti’s hand and being able to thank him for the music was definitely a special moment for me.
Here’s the full playlist of the Goblin tracks that I recorded:
Warming it up: Doskalle and District 97
In addition to the nearly 3-hour Goblin set, there were also two opening acts… so it was a very long night at Reggie’s Rock Club! Swedish act Doskalle took the stage first with a very theatrical instrumental set. Here’s a snippet of their sound:
Chicago jazz-hard-rock-fusion band District 97 kept things alive for the middle third before Goblin took the stage for the showing of Deep Red. Here’s “Trigger,” probably my favorite of the tracks they played from their new album:
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