LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Free Refill), Woods of Ypres Updates, And More!!

Hey gang, this is a surprise auto-post while my computer's being fixed up at Staples. I had too much news to let sit, so I had to get a post in, even if it's while I'm without my computer! This is a packed one, including many updates from Woods of Ypres, a band continuing their search to play here, and to begin, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!! So here's what you need to know!

Free Refill are back! The young local hard rock band from Sault Michigan will make their long awaited return to the local concert scene for three shows in the next couple of months, which I'm pretty sure are their first since a December talent show performance at Sault Area High School! Not counting talent shows, I think these are their first live concert appearances since last year's departure of guitarist Tyler Wall. It's great to see them back, I wonder where they've been for the first half of the year? The band returns to the stage on August 7th at 4:00 PM as one of the live entertainers at this year's Sidewalk Sales on Ashmun Street! So while you get some great deals from local merchants, you can enjoy some live free music from Free Refill, who are no strangers to playing at Sidewalk Sales! The band will also be among the live entertainers at this year's Sugar Island Music Festival from August 13th-15th! Note that their MySpace page incorrectly says they're playing on the 12th, which is before the festival starts, so they're likely on the 13th. This is an all ages festival on Sugar Island with loads of family activities and many different bands, click here for details! No word on if any other local hard rock/metal bands will be a part, but for what it's worth, Nixxon Dixxon have played this festival in the past.

Their other new concert will be on September 25th on Portage Avenue on the outdoor stage that will be setup for this year's Oktoberfest! Still don't get why Oktoberfest is held in September, but hey, can't argue with beer and bratwurst no matter the month! Again, this is a free all ages event, like the rest of their scheduled shows. This one and the Sugar Island Festival performance are at 9:00 PM. Odd to see just outdoor festival gigs, but it's better than nothing! It's great to finally see Free Refill back on the scene, check out the above links for more concert details and stuff from the band!

Next up, we have loads of updates from Woods of Ypres as they near the end of their North American tour, so here's what you should know! Firstly, the third entry in bassist Shane Madden's tour diary is now up at this location, and it's another good read, as he chronicles the band's tour dates from San Diego, California to San Marcos, Texas! He details the summer heat of the American Southwest, the band's experiences in their shows down there, the mistaken belief that they covered Sentenced, the varying levels of competent promotion, and the various partying and fun goings on as the tour continues! Another good read with new concert photos and mid-tour sights, check it out here! Also, before we get to new videos, I have good news and bad news on the Woods of Ypres front. The bad news is that their tour van's windows were smashed last night during a stop in Brooklyn following their New York City concert last night. Their GPS and other items were stolen, but thankfully none of their gear, so the tour continues! Shades of the Adversarium incident from last August in Vancouver, or their windshield demolition from their drive to Thunder Bay on this tour? Well, nice to see them trucking along! The good news comes from a tweet from London, Ontario music video company Handshake Inc., who posted the following on Twitter on Wednesday:

we will be shaving @DavidYpres and make him jump off a cliff for the Woods of Ypres video shoot this weekend.

Catch that? A Woods of Ypres video shoot! Awesome to see, I've been hoping for a new Woods of Ypres music video since they released their video for "The Northern Cold"! Man, that was back when David Gold has long hair and the band used keyboards! Too bad that David's shaving for the video, he has a Varg Vikernes-vibe that's very metal right now! Still, seeing a new Woods of Ypres music video will be awesome, I wonder which song they'll choose?

Speaking of videos, there's plenty of new videos online from recent Woods of Ypres concerts! Two are from drummer Evan Madden's YouTube channel, again both from the "drum cam" angle! Both are of the same songs "The Shams of Optimism" and "Crossing The 45th Parallel", the first of which went up 6 days ago! It was from their San Marcos show, and though the video quality is excellent, it cuts off after 7:23 due to a full camera card, so I'll upload the other one, but view it here! The other is from their Houston show. It's darker, but no worse musically, they're great songs, and you get a better view of the rest of the band! I've embedded it below, along with one more Woods of Ypres video! The other one I'm embedding comes from the band's Philadelphia concert, and is one of EIGHT concert videos uploaded by YouTube user impaledonafence1! The videos are VERY dark, but they're widescreen and have very clear audio of what is most of the band's set that night, if not all of it! For the sake of variety, and for it's obvious local connection, I've uploaded the video of the band playing "Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground" below as well, so check out the new Woods videos!





Finally for today, a metal band still wants to play a show in Sault Ontario! Vancouver drone metal duo Ahna are still hoping for a local booking, and they need YOUR HELP! Singer/bassist Graham contacted me on MySpace to look for some help getting a show here for either September 28th or October 27th. He told me that they didn't have any luck directly contacting venues for help to get a show here, so the call is out again! If you work at a venue, book shows, are interested in booking shows, or just like Ahna's music and would like to help, contact the band on MySpace TODAY! Ahna have a very unique sound that I detailed back in March when I first told you about them, they have no guitarist, they play very slow and heavy metal that I really can't effectively describe without doing them an injustice. Check them out on MySpace and see what you think, cause we definitely don't get this kind of stuff very often! Let's help Ahna out, I'd love to see them here, I can't be alone!

That's definitely all for today, but saying that my computer's back, I WILL have a new post on Saturday before I head downtown! I hope to see you guys at Foggy Notions and/or at The Rotaryfest Second Stage outside of The Grand Theater! Frightlight and other acts are rocking out for an awesome cause, and Garden of Bedlam are ending Rotaryfest with a bang, and I'll be at both tomorrow! See you guys there tomorrow night, I should have reviews and other goodies on Sunday!