Monday, November 23, 2009

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Kiss Battle & Half Past), Plus More Assorted Updates!

Well guys, December's shaping up to be one of the most action packed months in recent memory for us local metalheads! We have Caveman Morrison, Detroit, a Battle of the Bands, Three Days Grace, and Kiss already confirmed for shows next month! Well, let's add a couple more to the pile! Two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to share, so here's what you all need to know!

Now as I'm sure you're all aware, Rock 101 and The Canadian Nightclub will be hosting a Battle of the Bands from November 30th-December 2nd, where the winner will open for Kiss at The Essar Center on December 15th! Thanks to word from local bands and band members, I can now confirm a total of four bands that will be taking part in the battle, and can officially confirm this as a local metal concert too! Local metal bands Garden of Bedlam, Lion Ride, and Caveman Morrison, and local progressive rock band Flat Stanley, have all announced their participation in the battle! My sources are mostly from Facebook statuses (thanks to Buzz, Tym Morrison, and Glen Thomas for mentioning their involvement!)

Lion Ride actually started a Facebook event page to drum up support for their performance in the battle! They've been trying to get on the show as openers since the concert was announced, so I wasn't totally surprised they'd enter the battle myself! Guitarist Mark "Marky Lion" Rand even said on The705Scene that, even though he's against battles of the bands, this is really important to them! If you wanna support Lion Ride's quest to open for Kiss, click here! It's great to see word from bands trickle in, hopefully we'll get a full band list soon! Last I heard, there were still openings for bands to enter, so send your entries in to The Canadian Nightclub today! Full details are available at Rock 101's official website! Remember, if you're going as a fan, 10 bands apiece will play on November 30th and December 1st, with the top 5 from each night playing in the finals on December 2nd! I'll see you guys next week at The Canadian for what could be the biggest Battle of the Bands in Sault-area history!

You know what'd be awesome? If a Sault Michigan band or two tried out! I know it's a longshot, but to open for Kiss, I think a couple would be up for hopping the border. Who knows, I'd love to see it at least!

In other concert news, local hard rockers Half Past will return to the stage on Boxing Day, December 26th! They will be at The Rockstar Bar (upstairs at The Algonquin Hotel on Queen Street East) at 10:00 that night to bust out some rocking tunes! I had previously mentioned this show a tiny bit, but refrained from official word until the band confirmed it, and now they have! This will be the band's first show since their big return gig at Coch's Corner with Frightlight on Halloween! No word on cover charges yet, but seeing as it is a bar, don't expect it to be all ages. You can damn well guarantee I'll be at this concert, it's been too long since I saw Half Past live, and this time, I won't have a conflicting trip! I recommend you guys go too, what better way to unwind after the Christmas holiday than with some great music?

While we're on the topic of upcoming concerts, I have some more updates on the Battle of the Bands at The Speakeasy on December 1st (Notice it conflicts with day 2 of the Kiss Battle?) First off, I can now confirm that the band known as "Creedon and the Animal Detectives" are actually the newly renamed Good Morning Gorillas! Not metal, but solid ska punk, and now featuring new singer Shawn Creedon, hence the name change! No word on additional bands yet though, so Bring The Fallen remain the only metal band on the lineup....so far. As well, this battle is definitely ALL AGES! Crank Sound Distribution will also be handling the sound, which is a great sign, everything will sound real nice! And finally, Bring The Fallen have launched their very own event page on Facebook for the battle, presumably to drum up band support. If I make it out, I'll definitely be among their many fans! Get full details on this battle as they come in at this location! I'll keep you all posted!

Drifting away from concert updates, it's time to talk Woods of Ypres! This won't affect most of us, but I found this interesting! The band are sending out deluxe promo packs of "Woods IV: The Green Album" to a select few metal journalists that have some extra goodies! Not only will they get the 2 CD limited edition copy of Woods IV with the Necramyth CD, but they'll recieve Woods IV patches and buttons, and some extra South Korean inspired goodies too (Remember, David lived in South Korea for a while and Necramyth are from there!) This includes a can of South Korean beer, a bottle of a local alcoholic drink called Soju (The art on the bottle sure looks familiar), a pack of ramen noodles, and a South Korean flag patch! David Gold even included instructions for how to best enjoy the promo pack, and lots of photos, which you can check out at this location! Too bad I don't count as a "journalist", I'd have loved to get a pack like that! Great stuff! Remember, my review of "The Green Album" comes ONE WEEK FROM TOMORROW!

And finally for tonight, I have made some new uploads onto The Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel! I uploaded Stillbroke's 2008 studio recording, "Sick and Tired", which is a good song that I miss hearing live! And, I uploaded the full "Innocent As Hell" album from broken-up local glam metal band Amethyst! After 15 years, this album deserves to hit the masses once again, so I'm doing my part! All 11 songs are there, give them all a listen! I really want to review this album down the road, though I don't know when I'll get a chance to, my review schedule is pretty packed through the new year. Thanks to Arthur Lacasse again for hooking me up with the Amethyst CD! I'll show you guys the opening track, "You've Been Caught", but please head to our YouTube channel to hear the rest of the album! It's worth checking out, trust me!



Hopefully we're more caught up on news now! More to come tomorrow and beyond, including more updates on both of the upcoming Battles of the Bands, my "Woods IV" review, and much much more! Thanks everyone for your continued readership and support!

No comments: