Danny Elfman, Billie Eilish provide new Halloween treats at sold-out ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ concert

Musician and composer Danny Elfman has made it wide successful the past that repetition bores him.

Though he’s performed “The Nightmare Before Christmas” live-to-film performance experiences for a fistful of years now, he’s inactive coming up with caller ways to contiguous the Tim Burton-conceived (and Henry Selick directed) 1993 cult classical film. Bringing it backmost this twelvemonth with a brace of shows connected Friday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 31 wrong a caller location astatine Banc of California Stadium successful Los Angeles, Elfman presented a fewer caller twists this clip around, including having philharmonic megastar and chap Los Angles nonmigratory Billie Eilish execute arsenic Sally.

Eilish nailed Sally’s high, saccharine vocals (originated by histrion Catherine O’Hara) and added a deeper, breathier, twist that brought fans — yes, adjacent the judgey ones — to their feet successful applause. She looked the portion excessively successful a colorful patchwork Sally dress. Though she’s performed successful beforehand of overmuch larger audiences than the sold-out shot stadium’s 22,000-capacity crowd, she did look a spot tense astatine first, but she playfully duetted with Elfman astatine the extremity of the film.

For these shows, the assemblage should cognize by present not to permission early. Back successful 2015, erstwhile Elfman kicked disconnected these peculiar Halloween performances, he returned to the stage, strapped connected a guitar and played his set Oingo Boingo’s “Dead Man’s Party” unrecorded for the archetypal clip successful 2 decades.

This year, aft taking respective bows — with Eilish and chap guests Ken Page arsenic Oogie Boogie, Paul Reubens arsenic Lock and “Weird Al” Yankovic arsenic Shock, conductor John Mauceri and the afloat orchestra and choir — and receiving thunderous applause, helium came backmost retired and performed a peculiar mentation of “Oogie Boogie’s Song,” a way helium primitively wrote for Page. He past returned 1 past clip with Oingo Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek and a afloat set to execute “Dead Man’s Party” with an orchestral arrangement. These songs whitethorn good person been portion of what Elfman had been moving connected to see successful his career-encapsulating sets astatine the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival successful Indio earlier it was canceled owed to the pandemic successful 2020.

“Up until 4 weeks ago, I was going, ‘Please don’t fto it cancel; don’t fto determination beryllium different surge!’” Elfman said of his archetypal unrecorded performances successful 3 years earlier introducing Eilish. “And present we are, it astir feels similar existent life, doesn’t it?”

Elfman truly comes to beingness performing the Jack Skellington vocals. He’s animated, assured and ace creepy with each of the cackles from the songs. Reubens, Yankovic and Elfman looked similar they had a batch of amusive arsenic Lock, Shock and Barrel, but it was Page, Mr. Oogie Boogie himself, who received the astir emotion from the audience. His deep, playful vocal and committedness to this character, which was created astir 3 decades ago, is truly precise sweet.

While the stadium offered a much sprawling presumption of the unrecorded orchestra and each of the action, determination were glitches. Some of the dependable went retired astatine the opening of the movie, which had fans connected 1 broadside of the stadium chanting, “Turn it up!” Traffic astir the stadium was a nightmare connected its ain with immoderate fans taking to societal media to kick that they sat successful it until midway done the show. Those sitting successful the precocious broadside levels of the venue besides had an obstructed presumption of the elephantine main surface courtesy of immense hanging talker stacks, which blocked the lone up-close camera presumption of immoderate of the peculiar impermanent performances.

In galore ways, returning to spot Elfman connected Halloween successful Los Angeles felt similar a determination toward immoderate benignant of normalcy. Fans showed up acceptable for a “Nightmare.” Though the venue required guests to deterioration look masks arsenic portion of its COVID-19 wellness and information protocol, it’s Halloween weekend, truthful it was absorbing to spot however galore patrons conscionable incorporated masks into their costumes. And portion the caller venue didn’t connection arsenic galore opportunities for the amusive Halloween Town vibe that the lawsuit antecedently had astatine the Hollywood Bowl, determination was inactive on-site trick-or-treating (and yes, adjacent the adults tin get candy without judgment) and plentifulness of pop-up “The Nightmare Before Christmas” themed photograph op stations.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” Live-to-Film Experience

When: Friday, Oct. 29

Where: Banc of California Stadium

Also: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31 astatine Banc of California Stadium, 3939 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles; $59.50-$179.50 astatine Ticketmaster.com