Thursday, August 5, 2010

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Clownsack) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Hey guys, it's time to preview this weekend's local metal and hard rock concerts, as we make a late push to get you guys out to some concerts this weekend! We have no less than ELEVEN concerts to preview this weekend (if I'm missing any, let me know), and before anyone asks, previews of Tuesday's Kiss concert and Wednesday's Skull Fist concert will likely come on Monday, closer to both dates. Let's begin with a recently announced show yet to be covered on the SMS, so conversely, it's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

Two weeks after making their long awaited return to the local stage, Sault Michigan funk rockers Clownsack will hit The Corner Pub Bar & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT for their second show of 2010, and first headlining set (I think) since last year's King of the Cage show at Kewadin Casino! In their second live performance as a quintet (with new second guitarist Sparxx), Clownsack will rock The Corner Pub once again with their unique brand of music! The show starts at 10:00 PM, there is a 21+ age limit, and there is no announced cover charge. I apologize for the short notice announcement, this slipped me by until yesterday during my research crawls about their Sugar Island Festival performance. This should be an awesome show, and if you're a fan of Clownsack, missed them at the Kewadin Festival, or just wanna get your clown sauce, baby, then head to The Corner Pub tomorrow night! For a video preview, check out this live video of Clownsack from 2006 playing their song "Social Homicide"!



Now to previously announced concerts, and we start with a Sault Michigan battle of the bands TONIGHT! The Strahl Theater at Sault Area High School will play host to a special battle of the bands being held by The United Way of the Eastern U.P., with all proceeds going to the charity Kids Against Hunger! Now I don't know a whole lot about this battle, but I'm fairly certain the lineup is completely young local bands, and I know at least two! One is Free Refill, who I heard about this battle through originally. The other is Nixxon Dixxon, who'll hit the stage for this battle before they head to The Bird for two weekend dates, and we'll get to those later. Both bands confirm the battle on their respective MySpace pages (links above), though I find it odd that Nixxon Dixxon list this performance as "Strahl Theater Thing". That seems uncharacteristic of how a band would typically want to describe a show, but they're on for tonight! It all starts at 7:00 PM TONIGHT, I'm positive it's all ages, and it costs $5 to enter. Should be a fun show, especially with it being for a good cause! I have no videos to share of Free Refill, but they'll do a good job tonight, and we'll focus more on Nixxon Dixxon in a bit, but make it out to Sault Area High School tonight for a night full of great young bands, and help out a great cause!

Quick detour to Sault Ontario for one show, as noted local metal singer/guitarist Tym Morrison brings his solo show back to The Roosevelt Hotel on Korah Road for another night full of acoustic metal and rock covers! This is Tym's first non-jam night performance since his set at The Bottoms Up Lounge two weeks ago, and promises to be another fun day of great tunes! And yes, I said "day", because this show takes place from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM tomorrow. It sounds like this show coincides with a special occasion of some sort (the mention of a "free dinner and meat draw" implies it) , so make note of that in case something seems different from Tym's typical shows. The time of the show might make it all ages, but play it safe and abide by 19+ age limits just in case, and there's no cover charge either. Sounds like another fun night of music from Tym Morrison, if a bit different from what we typically see from him. Confirm your attendance at this location, and check out more from Tym's solo project and his band Caveman Morrison at his official website!

Now to the two bands with Friday and Saturday shows at local bars in Sault Michigan, and first, let's focus on Monkey's Uncle! The local hard rock trio formerly known as Jager return to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino for their last shows there of the summer tomorrow night and Saturday night! There's a start time of around 9:00 PM for both shows with no cover charge, and you must be 21 to enter. Because the band doesn't update new shows on MySpace anymore, I've probably missed a couple Monkey's Uncle dates between their last Rapids Lounge shows in June and now, but these are the first new ones that I can completely confirm since then. My source for these shows, as has usually been the case lately, is Kewadin Casino's entertainment page. Still, these should be some good concerts! Monkey's Uncle have a solid hard rock sound and have impressed me before with the songs and videos I've checked out! You can do the same at their official MySpace page! Go check them out this weekend, and for a preview, here's a video of Monkey's Uncle from the Jager days playing Jet's "Cold Hard Bitch" at a 2008 show!



The final Sault Michigan metal shows this weekend that I know of come courtesy of Nixxon Dixxon, who will be back at The Bird tomorrow night and Saturday night, fresh off of TONIGHT'S battle of the bands at The Strahl Theater! Standard weekend set for Nixxon Dixxon, both shows have 10:00 PM start times, with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Make sure to see them while you can, cause if drummer Jake LaLonde does go to The Musicians Institute this fall (looks like he's going regardless of if he wins the Full Ride Scholarship Contest or not), then who knows what will happen to the band past this month. So head on out to The Bird this weekend to rock out with Nixxon Dixxon, as they bust out originals and some heavy covers! Should be a fun time, they always impress at every show! For more information, visit Nixxon Dixxon's MySpace page, and for a preview, here's a video of Nixxon Dixxon playing their song "One Shot Woman" from their supporting set at February's Pop Evil concert at The Dreammaker's Theater!



Back to Sault Ontario for our final four concerts of the weekend, and we'll first discuss Turner Up! The classic hard rock cover band will heat up The Nicolet Tavern once again for two nights full of music! They'll be there tomorrow and Saturday night at 9:30 PM (not AM, the Facebook event page just has a typo) for two shows with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Unless a short notice show is announced in between (knowing the band, it's likely), this could be your only chance to see them until the August 27th weekend, so make it on out if you wanna "turner up" to 11 and rock the night away! Confirm your attendance at the Facebook event page, more from the band at the above links, and for a preview, here's a video of the old Todd Killam-fronted lineup covering Def Leppard's "Hysteria"! Hopefully we'll get a video of the new lineup soon, cause it feels off using the old lineup videos to preview shows with Brent Royer on vocals.



And finally for this weekend, Phatstick are coming back to Sault Ontario for two shows of their own this weekend! Like at their return shows last month, they'll be back at Foggy Notions again for concerts on Friday and Saturday! The St. Catharines hard rockers, featuring Saultites Jason Taillefer and Joe LaVergne, will bring all kinds of covers from all walks of metal and rock music to fans, friends, and family this weekend, but sadly, don't expect originals. They have great songs on their albums, I wish we could hear them more! Still, they are great musicians and will deliver a fun night of music no matter whether it's tomorrow or Saturday! There's a likely $3 cover charge, you must be 19, and both shows will start at 10:30 PM. Confirm your attendance at the Facebook event pages, this one for tomorrow's show and this one for Saturday's! Despite the lack of originals and the widely varying styles they'll bring to the table, you won't wanna miss them this weekend! Check the above links for more on Phatstick, and for a preview, here's a video of Phatstick from their last weekend shows here covering AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more local metal news and updates in the next while! I guarantee a new post tomorrow or Saturday, and of course, stay tuned on Monday for previews of the Kiss and Skull Fist shows! That and more to come, keep an eye out!

No comments: