Thursday, July 14, 2011

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Changing Waves) Plus Weekend Concert Previews, Including Rotaryfest!!

Alright guys, we have a packed post today for weekend previews, as we have Rotaryfest to discuss, where a few hard rock bands will be on one of the stages! We'll give that an extended look today, along with the rest of the concerts through Saturday, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

So, have you been wondering if there would be a Roosevelt Hotel metal night tonight? Well, yes there will, and there's a bit extra going on too! A Facebook event page popped up last night for the first ever "Troubled Thursday", which has connected deals on drinks and food, and some prize draws, but as for the bands, local cello punk trio RedD Monkey (in their metal night debut) and local hardcore quartet Changing Waves are scheduled for what should be an entertaining show tonight! So we have classical punk from the band that does it best, RedD Monkey, who are "some metalhead" approved! Even if they're not "metal", they are known to cover Motorhead and Limp Bizkit live sometimes, for what that's worth! And of course, it's great to see Changing Waves back at The Rosie, as their promising hardcore sounds are always welcome on the local stage! A 9:00 PM start time is listed, you must be 19 to attend, and there shouldn't be a cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Sounds like fun, and I wonder if "Troubled Thursdays" will continue in some form in future weeks? Time will tell, but hey, there's some solid rocking to be done tonight, including Changing Waves for you metalheads! For a preview, here's Changing Waves playing their song "Bingo" at The Rosie in May!



And now, we'll begin our Rotaryfest previews, with extra weekend shows sprinkled between to maintain a rough chronological order. Yes, Sault Ontario's annual summer festival is back this weekend, and get all event details on this year's family friendly event at this location, but on the SMS, we focus on the music, especially of the heavy variety! Before we get to the Friday main stage action, let's go over what to see before then on the other stages before that, which don't have metal, but there's plenty of talent!

Today on The Stage in Clergue Park, it's jazz/blues in the park, as the featured band is Matt Storch & The Usual Suspects from Cambridge, Ontario, with local openers Enviro Gyro, The Bob Jenkins Band, and The Sault Swing Band (the latter two are returning from last year's main stage.) The action opened at 6:00 PM, so if you like jazz and blues, head down to Clergue Park now! Then on the Tenaris Second Stage tomorrow outside of The Grand Theater on Queen Street East, the lineup includes headliners My Son, The Hurricane, an ensemble funk rap outfit from Toronto featuring Saultite Danno O'Shea on drums. The openers include local blues trio Big Wheel & The Spokes (returning from last year's Second Stage), Halifax bluegrass band The Moonshine Ramblers, local indie rock trio Cowboys & Indians (featuring ex-Soldiers of Misfortune bassist Alex White), and local rock quartet Wishbone (featuring veteran local hard rock musicians Chris Smith & Glen Thomas) opening tomorrow's Second Stage schedule at 5:00 PM! Check the above links for all details on the opening nights of those stages! Solid lineups with lots of talented bands, so if you're into some lighter sounds, you know where to be tonight & tomorrow!

Now to the main stage action tomorrow night, as there is one hard rock band scheduled among the lineup for the stage in Clergue Park, as That's Chester will return to Rotaryfest once again! The local classic hard rock quintet will be back with a set of hard rock hits from the classic era to today, as they take the stage at 8:00 PM tomorrow night! It's great to see them back on the main stage, they'll tear it up, even if they're not the headliners this year! Instead, local country rockers Thin Ice will headline at Clergue Park tomorrow at 10:00 PM, with the rest of the lineup shaping up in descending order with local country veterans Mustang Heart, local classic rockers Fusion, all-female blues band Lady Sings The Blues, and local bluegrass quintet Tyler Marshall, Brandon Ladd, and Tradition Continued opening at 4:15 PM. Check all of the above Rotaryfest links for more lineup details, along with the Rotaryfest programs included in this week's newspapers! So if you want to enjoy some FREE and ALL AGES rock music tomorrow, head to Clergue Park! Nice to see That's Chester back (same for Mustang Heart & Thin Ice), and look for them to rock the stage with their hard rocking covers all set long! For a preview, here's That's Chester covering Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" in 2009!



Before we get back to the Rotaryfest concert schedule, there are a few non-Rotaryfest shows to get to this weekend, and first, local classic hard rockers Full Circle are back at The Roosevelt Hotel tomorrow night for one night only! This weekend's show was originally a full weekend set with a Saturday booking as well, but the Saturday concert appears to be off now, likely because of their new booking on Saturday (more on that shortly.) So if you wanna see the former Turner Up in a usual bar setting, you will have to be at The Rosie tomorrow for their familiar and entertaining brand of classic hard rock covers! This show will have a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 10:30 PM start time. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Should be a good time, and a nice prelude to their big stage experience the following night, so stay tuned for updates on that later in the post! For now though, head to The Rosie tomorrow, and hopefully we'll get videos of them in action soon as well!

Also on the local concert schedule, there is some hard rocking music to be had across the river, so here's what you should know! Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle are back at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino for shows tomorrow night & Saturday night! The hard working quartet will have loads of hard rocking covers and maybe originals for their fans at the casino this weekend, so definitely make note of these two shows! Details are scant (as usual), but I imagine it will be a 9:00 PM-ish show with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit. Check the above links for more details! I wish band members updated their pages more so we could hear more on their shows, especially concerning their current lineup, but their talent speaks for itself, so make sure to head down to Kewadin this weekend! For a preview, here's Monkey's Uncle covering Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" in 2008!



Now back to the Rotaryfest previews, and before we close out with Saturday's main stage lineup, here's who to look out for at the other stages on Saturday! The Second Stage on Queen Street East is once again an all day affair, and in descending order, we have headliners Sweet Thing, a pop rock band from Toronto, who will be preceded by local folk rock quartet Kalle Mattson (returning from last year's 2nd stage), blues/roots trio Al Wood & The Woodsmen, folk/country band Porter (also back from last year), veteran local rockers Huckster (they were on the main stage last year), roots rockers Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect, solo folk artist Shannon Moan, Toronto solo country singer Romney Getty, new local indie band Emma & Robot, and local rock trio Mora Lee Sound (featuring Driver/Floyd Lee Band guitarist Joel Poluck) opening at 12:00 noon. The Second Stage runs until around 11:00 PM Saturday, so there's plenty of FREE entertaining indie and roots music for ALL AGES to enjoy, even if there's no metal! Also, the third annual "Secret Stage" returns to The Bottoms Up Lounge on Saturday night as well, featuring six local acoustic acts and drink specials all night long! Though not metal, get full details on the Secret Stage at this location, where you can see metal alums like Gates of Winter keyboardist Brian Holmes (as part of Machines Dream) and original Stillbroke keyboardist Joseph Kargianakkis!

And now, we finally come to the main stage action at Clergue Park for Rotaryfest on Saturday, and just like tomorrow's lineup, there is one hard rock band, the adorementioned Full Circle! It looks like their Saturday show at The Rosie was called off so they could rock the Rotaryfest stage. Not only are they the highest slotted local band at 9:00 PM, but frontwoman K.T. Antler is also the co-master of ceremonies on Saturday as well, which is awesome to hear! They'll be sure to tear it up on Saturday where they'll share the stage with a day's worth of talented bands, so here's who else to look out for! Prominent Canadian tribute band Hotel California will pay tribute to Eagles classics on Saturday at 10:15 PM with Full Circle co-headlining, and in descending order from there, the lineup includes local dance rockers Boogie Fever, country rockers Bone Yard, veteran folk rock cover band Spyder's Web, local cover duo Moneypenny, veteran classic band Hat Trik, local cover party band Obsession, and ten-piece local band The Reptiles opening the concert at 2:00 PM. Of the local bands, only Full Circle, Moneypenny, Hat Trik, and The Reptiles were not on the main stage last year, so if you liked last year's stage, you'll enjoy the classic sounds from the main stage on Saturday!

As always, it's FREE and ALL AGES on Saturday, so head down to Clergue Park to rock out with the Rotaryfest main stage! Should be fun, hopefully it's a huge success, and hopefully Full Circle do awesome in their Rotaryfest debut! No videos yet to preview their set with, but my word, they'll impress! So now you know who all's playing at Rotaryfest this year, and check all of the above links for much more on this year's events and stages! But is there more music to enjoy on Saturday night?

...yes, there is! Two hard rocking concerts, to be exact, and we'll start at Foggy Notions, literally less than a block from the Tenaris Second Stage, where Frightlight will return for a second straight Rotaryfest weekend at Foggy's! Yes, the local horror punk/metal quintet will rock the Foggy's stage on Saturday night one year after playing a special benefit show concurrently with Rotaryfest, only this time, it's a standard nighttime show (9:00 PM start time) with a 19+ age limit, and with guitarist/awesome poster designer St. Mayhem now in the fold, so things will be different! Should be a great show though, Frightlight's horror punk always impresses! Opening the show will be local solo artist Greg Callaghan, best known as the bassist for the defunct indie band Terminal, who'll deliver a proficient set of solo acoustic material for the Foggy's faithful on Saturday! This show will also have a $3 cover, and get more details at the official Facebook event page! So if you wanna hit some doom, destruction, and unspeakable horror on the sinister stage, stop in it Foggy's after Al Wood or Kalle Mattson wrap up at the Second Stage, you can easily hit both without issue! I mean really, Foggy's is just down the road, you can walk there in seconds! For a preview of the horrorific metal to be had, here's Frightlight covering two Misfits classics at The Rosie last month!



Finally for this preview post, local hard rock quartet Sneaky Pete will return to The Rockstar Bar on Saturday night for a solo concert full of their trademark takes on hard rock classics! Of course, the show is advertised as taking place on "Community Night", an allusion to Saturday's Community Day Parade, but aside from the date and The Rockstar Bar's relative closeness to The Second Stage (it's not a far trip either, hint hint), the show seems to be relatively standard compared to their last few concerts. So look for the Sneaky Pete guys to deliver lots of hard rocking covers to have a drink to on Saturday night for your post-Rotaryfest entertainment! There will likely be a $5 or less cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and it all starts at 10:30 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like fun, I may swing by depending if I'm free or not that night! Make note of this show too, cause Rotaryfest stages should be done or close to done when Sneaky Pete's set begins! Check the above links for video footage too, cause they do rock!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for some more news likely tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

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