The top dance parties in Toronto this October have a lot of competition - next to New Year's Eve, Halloween is probably the second biggest party night of the year. And like NYE, October 31 also has a tendency to turn into amateur night at the club, due to the influx of large numbers of occasional partiers trying to cram a few months worth of steam-release into one night.

Better to blow your dancing budget on some of the more music-focussed events happening over the rest of the month. Having said that, since Halloween falls on a Friday this year, there will be no shortage of costume ragers getting announced in the coming weeks.

Hercules and Love Affair / October 4 / Wrongbar / 8pm / $24
The NYC deep house project returns to Toronto, this time bringing a live lineup that includes ex-vocalist Nomi Ruiz, who is returning to the stage with the group for a small run of shows. See them in a small intimate club like Wrongbar should be an intense experience. Dynamo Azari (of now-defunct house group Azari & III) opens up the night, alongside Phil V.

Green Velvet vs Cajmere / October 11 / Coda / 10pm / $30
It seems like Curtis Jones almost lives here, given how often the Chicago house icon plays in town as either his industrial funk alter ego Green Velvet, or as his more traditionalist house persona Cajmere. This time around he's combining the two tendencies for a night exploring the full range of what he's capable of.

Mark Farina and DJ Diz / October 12 / Ryze / 10pm / $25
Before Mark Farina moved to San Francisco and made a name for himself with his Mushroom Jazz series of downtempo jazzy breakbeat mixes in the early 90s, he'd already cut his teeth playing house at Red Nail warehouse parties in Chicago where he grew up. The veteran DJ will be focussing on that latter side of his personality for this night, reuniting him with fellow Red Nail resident DJ Diz

Junior Boys / October 17 / Club 120 / 10pm / $20
Hamilton electronic pop duo Junior Boys are more known for their moody introspective synth pop than for destroying dance floors, but when the pair do DJ, it's a lot more of a party than their studio recordings might suggest. They're playing a special three-hour set, alongside Breakandenter's Martin Fazekas.

SBTRKT / October 31 (and November 1) / Danforth Music Hall / 7pm / $26
Technically this two night stand by SBTRKT is more concert than dance party, but if people aren't moving to his futuristic bass pop at these shows something has gone wrong. Maybe for Halloween he'll play without his trademark mask for a change? Bonus: this should be done early enough that you can still hit a costume party. Watch out for our Halloween guide.

Photo by Christian Bobak