THE HOLD STEADY knocked 'em dead for Halloween at the Metro.  I had not seen the Hold Steady on this tour, so it was my first time seeing newer songs like set opener "Stuck Between Stations," "Chips Ahoy" and  "You Can Make Him Like You" or Tad Kubler unleashing the double-necked guitar  as he does here on "Party Pit."  Sadly, none of these videos captures the band in the spaghetti Western garb they donned for the occasion... but you may see it some day as the gig was being recorded fo a live album and was shot by a video crew also.  I have to think it will be tough to get a good live album because -- like the Who -- the band is so energetic that the visual may come at the expense of a technically perfect take.  But they had an almost equally energetic audience who seized their chances to sing and clap along (there was a group near me that could have stood a little less energy).  My nitpick would be that Craig Finn referred to "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night," but they didn't play it.  Finn used the encore of "Killer Parties" to tell the crowd -- as always -- how much joy there is in what they do (as he does on this clip of "Most People Are DJs").  

ART BRUT made for a dynamite opener, packing as much energy as their full show into the opening slot.  The band was in full Halloween regalia, with frontman Eddie Argos dressed as Jumpsuit Elvis, while his guitarists came as a Roman centurion and a skeleton.  They launched per usual with "Formed A Band," this time assisted by a karaoke screen behind them.  Ken King and I actually heard newer material like "Direct Hit" at Pitchfork 2006, but it was fully developed now.  Given the opportunity to broaden their audience, Art Brut larded the setlist with show-stoppers like "My Little Brother," "Good Weekend," and the fab "Emily Kane," complete with dialog from Eddie Argos.  BONUS:  Hold Steady axeman Tad Kubler talked to the Northwest Herald in advance of the gig about the benefit of playing with Springsteen and the Stones.  DOUBLE BONUS UPDATE:  Pitchfork has photos of both bands in costume.

THE PIPETTES:  Gwenno talks to Washington's Herald, noting the group is less manufactured than their 60s girl-group sound might suggest.  The band also has a behind-the-scenes video of a photoshoot posted at MySpaceTV.  (Thanks, Chromewaves.)

RIOT GRRRLS:  Mark Hooper argues that the indie feminist icons of today are a bit of a mess.  I would argue that The Pipettes (unmentioned in the post) are feminist in their own unique way, more subtle and satirical than bands like Bikini Kill.

THE SPICE GIRLS:  As we've got a "girl power" theme going, I note that London's Guardian both loves and hates their reunion single.

DEBBIE HARRY talks about hitting the road, closing CBGBs and more with Ireland's Independent.

SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO is normally not my bag, but the debate over whether second video for "Hustler" is  a "send up (of) glamour girl culture," exploitation or simply nauseating makes it a nice fit with other blurbs today.

QUEENS of the STONE AGE:  Now that Halloween is past, we can look forward to the band's cameo on the Travel Channel's Chef Anthony Bourdain's Holiday Special, which they discuss in a video at the 'Gum.  Frontman Josh Homme also lists a few of his favorite things for Pitchfork's Guest List feature.

VETIVER:  I just noticed that you can stream the current album from this "freak folk" combo from their blog.  It's at the bottom of the left column.

BON IVER has signed to Jagjaguwar for the official release of his sweet-spot-hitting debut For Emma, Forever Ago early next year.  Reveille interviews Justin Vernon about all the blog buzz surrounding the LP and streams some highlights, though you can stream the whole unreleased album now via Virb.

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS:  John Flansburg reflects on the band's silver anniversary with North Carolina's News & Observer.  The band's classic "Birdhouse In Your Soul" turned up on ABC's fantasy drama Pushing Daisies.

BRITNEY SPEARS is actually getting good reviews for her new album from the AP, BBC and Chicago Tribune, even from Entertainment Weekly and the Guardian.  Not everyone likes it, natch.  At the NYDN, Jim Farber wrote: "If a blowup sex doll could sing, this is what she'd sound like."  However, her label has officially given up on getting the troubled pop tart more involved in marketing the album.  She even stopped in mid-interview with Ryan Seacrest to take a shower.  Meanwhile, Spears' personal assistant, Kalie Machado, is dishing details of Brit's breakup with Fed-Ex and declaring, "She needs mental help."  And Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo is laughing off rumors that he and Spears are an item.

LINDSAY LOHAN has wised up and has bailed on hosting a New Year's Eve party for Vegas nightclub LAX.

ASHLEY OLSEN & LANCE ARMSTRONG were... wait for it... caught canoodling at NYC's Gramercy Park Hotel on Monday night.  She is as skinny as a bicycle.

THE McCARTNEYS:  A 'suicidal' Heather Mills broke down during a television interview, claiming that the media has been smearing her name and treating her in the same way as Princess Diana and Kate McCann.  She also accused a "certain party" of spreading smears against her to prevent the truth coming out.   Video at the link.  Also, Mills' recent firework display scared her neighbor's dog to death, the pooch's owner has claimed.

BRADGELINA:  Jolie pulled out of a talk in Italy about global topics and the future of humankind due to "personal reasons."  Italian papers claimed it was because she is expecting her second child with Pitt.  Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama's campaign has turned town an offer from Pitt to make appearances on the presidential candidate's behalf.

OWEN WILSON... and JESSICA SIMPSON?  They raced lawnmowers with Willie Nelson, and reportedly spent Sunday evening together at the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica.  Better get Vader warming up in the bullpen.  There are also equally dubious reports that Wilson is exchanging phone calls and e-mails with ex-gf Kate Hudson.  BONUS:  At Slate, Troy Patterson defends the much-criticized interview, posted to MySpaceTV last weekend, between Wilson and director Wes Anderson.

JENNIFER LOPEZ:  Weeks after her new album tanked and her movie El Cantante fell flat, her next film is going straight to video.

TOM-KAT UPDATE:  David Beckham insists that while he and wife Posh Spice have become friends with Tom-Kat, 'Cruise doesn't shove Scientology down our throats.'  Oh, there's a punchline in there somewhere, but I would have to put on the lawyer's hat to word it properly.

GYLLENSPOON WITHERHAAL were caught getting cozy on the beach.  Video at the link.

WALK THE LINE was named best music biopic in a poll taken by the British Internet DVD site Lovefilm.com.  The Top Ten are at the link.

THE WORST CELEBRITY PLASTIC SURGERY, according to Maxim magazine.  I should have posted this yesterday, as it's plenty scary.

ISLAMISM in the UK:  A primary school was accused of forcing teachers dress up as Muslims for a day, to celebrate the end of Ramadan: "Staff have got to go along with it - or let's face it, they would be branded racist."  OTOH, books calling for the beheading of lapsed Muslims, ordering women to remain indoors and forbidding interfaith marriage are being sold inside some of Britain's leading mosques, according to research by a conservative think-tank.  The Times of London reports that five of the books were also found in searches during Scotland Yard antiterrorist investigations since 2001.

MALAYSIA:  Muslim men are suffering sleepless nights and cannot pray properly because their thoughts are distracted by a growing number of women who wear sexy clothes in public,  a prominent cleric said.

AFGHANISTAN has been the subject of grim news as of late, but Bill Roggio reports that the Taliban is surrounded in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.  Even so, NATO and Afghan forces will continue to fight a holding action in Afghanistan until the Taliban and al Qaeda are uprooted from their bases along the borders in Pakistan.

IRAQ:  US combat deaths are headed for the lowest level in more than a year and a half and the fifth consecutive monthly decline.  In Taji, terrorists are now "on the run" because of sectarian reconciliation.  As a result, the overall quality of life in rural North Baghdad Province has improved.  The tribal sheikhs rescued from an AQ kidnapping vowed to move forward: "We are an integrated Sunni-Shiite group that has pledged itself to reconciliation and which had come to Baghdad to agree on its mechanisms."  British forces are to transfer responsibility for security in Basra province to Iraq's government in December.  Iraqi police killed an al Qaeda commander in western Iraq.  Iraqi soldiers east of Baghdad gave the US military a thousand-dollar check last week to aid victims of California's wildfires.  An Iraqi fisherman caught a six-foot shark in a river more than 160 miles from the sea.  Of course, this means we must go to the video. (NSFW)

IRAQ and the MEDIA:  Time magazine's piece "Has the Surge Reached Its Limits?" leads with a "horrible discovery" -- "Iraqi police said they found 20 decapitated bodies dumped near a police station west of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province."  In fact, Iraqi police denied earlier reports that 20 headless bodies had been found dumped near Baquba.  The story's point about the national gov't still needing to get its act together is valid, though reconciliation and progress may eventually be driven by the provinces.   The Time story also notes Iraqi data showing that sectarian violence has dropped about 85 percent from its peak. 

PET FIT CLUB:  A group of podgy pets with a combined weight of more than a sixth of a ton were unveiled today as contestants in the Pet Fit Club competition organised by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals.  Doesn't this kind of press violate the first rule of Pet Fit Club?

THE ASHERA is billed as the world's "largest, rarest and most exotic" domestic cat.  One can be yours for the low, low price of about 24 grand.

A PIG MONUMENT has been unveiled in a Russian region famous for its sausages.  I imagine the pigs have mixed feelings about it.

WOOF WATER:  Dogs ask for it by name!

WILE E. FOXES embrace the easy city life in Germany.  Mu-NICH is where they'd rather stay.