Beware: The Hive is Under Attack!!!

In delightfully cheesy fashion, the folks at Jive Hive have put together yet another holiday special – this one, a Halloween Spectacular! – featuring an array of local talent in TV Doctors, Adequate Phil, Hold on Honeys, The Sugar Hold, Rhoseway and Haunted Cat. But, naturally, that’s not all… There’s also a bass-playing banana! Theremin lessons! A monster in sandals! And even a cameo by Bong Hit Santa!

After an incredibly nonviolent werewolf attack, two of the Hive’s house engineers are left to try and track down their fearless(?) leader, Tom O’Connor, who one can only presume was taken into the woods near the property and eaten for sport. Thankfully, with the help of a carefully curated cast of characters performing festively musical numbers, they embark on a journey to conjure up their missing friend and defy the dark spirits that befell on the Hive. Of course, things take a turn for the worse when the werewolf starts targeting members of each band. What are our heroes to do?!

I can’t spoil it for you – that would be irresponsible. But thankfully, you can find answers to all your questions in mere hours. At 8:00 PM tonight, the film will be premiering exclusively at The Whiskey Pickle in Troy, ahead of the wide release tomorrow on YouTube. Written and shot by Kelly Winchester on location at Jive Hive, the short film does a wonderful job at highlighting just a smattering of the eclectic, musical talent that exists here in the Capital Region, interspersed amongst a storyline best described as ‘Scooby Doo after a few bong rips.’

“I like having creative things to do, and the guys don’t seem to mind having me around too much, so here we are,” Kelly tells me. “I’ve always loved music and imagining music videos in my head, so this was a silly way to explore that and have some fun.”

Musically speaking, a perfect mood-setting, instrumental performance from TV Doctors (“Creepin’ Out the Casket”) kicks off the slate of musical numbers. Other highlights include a slow-burning, grungy jam from Rhoseway called “Prey on the Rest of Us”, an incredibly alluring acapella performance from Hold on Honeys (who act as this film’s ‘sirens’) and a gigantic – literally, just look at the drum sticks – surf-rock tune from The Sugar Hold, aptly titled “Werewolf, Baby!”

Simply put, the first ever Halloween Spectacular from Jive Hive is as much fun as TPing your boss’ house on Cabbage Night. Full of treats – and a few tricks, of course – the film is 45 minutes well spent to kick off the spooky weekend ahead. Grab a spooky mask and a bag of candy corn (yeah, I’m pro-candy corn, let’s fight about it) and head down to The Whiskey Pickle in Troy tonight for the 8:00 PM screening. Or… else…?