Most people know Danny Elfman as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after film composers, with a resume of major movies to his name going back to Tim Burton’s debut film Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. That movie started an artistic collaboration between Burton and Elfman that still lasts to this day. However, what many younger audiences might not know is that Elfman had a very prolific career before that as the frontman of the cult rock band Oingo Boingo.

Oingo Boingo was only mildly known to music fans around the country at their peak, due to songs like their theme to the John Hughes movie Weird Science. However, in the Southern California area, it was a completely different story. Thanks to alternative radio station KROQ, Oingo Boingo was one of the most popular bands around, with many of their songs in constant rotation on the radio. Their KROQ-sponsored annual Halloween concert was an event that drew thousands.

Oingo Boingo officially broke up in 1995, and their Halloween show that year was their swan song. But this past weekend, Elfman, along with many of the other original cast voices, performed his music from The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Hollywood Bowl. And on Halloween night, he ended with a surprise rendition of the Oingo Boingo classic “Dead Man’s Party.” This was exactly twenty years to the day since he performed the song for the last time.

The Elfman Nightmare Before Christmas concerts have become something of an annual tradition during Halloween season, much in the way the Boingo concerts used to be, so it’s possible that Elfman will break out a Boingo classic again next year. Or who knows… maybe this was the last time ever. In any event, it was a reminder of how badly Oingo Boingo has been missed.

You can check out Danny Elfman performing “Dead Man’s Party” at the Hollywood Bowl on Halloween night in the video above.

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HT: A SG

Image: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times