Night Stories bring their horror-synth Halloween party home to xBk Live

The Des Moines duo of Greg Wheeler and Phil Young headline xBk's Halloween Party on Saturday with Traffic Death and Bat Problem.

Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, and for one Des Moines band that is less a holiday than a home game. Night Stories, the horror-obsessed synth duo of Greg Wheeler and Phil Young, headline the Halloween Party at xBk Live on Saturday, Oct. 31, with Traffic Death and Bat Problem filling out the bill. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the music starts at 8.

It is the right room for it. xBk calls itself a 250-capacity small performing arts venue and listening room, so the crowd sits close to the stage, and for a band whose whole sound is mood that matters. At that size you can see the synths, hear every sample and catch the band's small theatrical touches.

Night Stories are a local partnership with a long paper trail in this scene. Wheeler is billed as an unconventional musician and songwriter from Poly Mall Cops and the Wheelers. Young is a multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer and self-described studio wizard who has played in Tires and Zap Tura. Together they mix synths and beats with horror imagery, and they treat the scary-movie aesthetic as the point, not a costume they put on in October.

The project started as a film score. Their live show began as a live soundtrack to *Nosferatu*, F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent vampire film, and that cinematic instinct runs through everything they have released since. Their 2018 LP carries the gleefully pulpy title *Spooky Party Sounds from the Crypt*, which tells you most of what you need to know about the tone: menacing in texture, with a party on the other side of the creepiness.

There is also something new to watch for. Venue materials this season say a second Night Stories album is coming in 2026. That would be the first full-length follow-up to the 2018 record. No title or release date has been confirmed in anything we've seen, but a Halloween headlining set three weeks after their Oct. 7 date at The Haunt is a natural place to hear new material, so listen for songs you don't recognize.

A horror-synth band headlining a Halloween party in a 250-cap listening room is about as on-brand as Des Moines booking gets.

The openers fit the night's spirit. Traffic Death and Bat Problem round out a three-band bill built for costumes, and the 8 p.m. start leaves room for an after-party or for getting home before the babysitter charges overtime. Tickets are on sale through xBk's ticketing link, and the full schedule is on the xBk Live calendar.

Night Stories have played Des Moines more than anywhere else in our records, which is unusual for a band this specific. Most horror-themed acts are either a once-a-year novelty or a touring curiosity. These two have built a hometown following by committing to the bit, from scoring a century-old vampire film to naming a record after the crypt.

If your idea of Halloween is a dark room, a loud low end and a band that has been rehearsing for this night all year, Saturday at xBk is the show. Wear the costume.

Sources: xBk Live calendar (xbklive.com); xBk Live (xbklive.com); Night Stories at The Haunt (Haunt ticketing page) (app2.hauntpay.com); xBk Live tickets: Night Stories (See Tickets) (prod-nts-api.seeticketsusa.us); The music of Night Stories (City View) (dmcityview.com)