LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & The Lust Boys) And New Videos!!

Let's keep the news rolling on this snowy Tuesday, as we've got a lot to get to today, including this week's classic video, a new solo cover from a local guitarist, and kicking things off, two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including one show THIS WEEKEND, so here's what you need to know! (Edited at 4:50 PM)

Kinross hard rock quartet Banned are hitting the stage THIS SATURDAY at Golanka's Bar, a.k.a. The Bird! This will be their first Sault Michigan concert in about three weeks, though I'll note that Banned took part in a minimally-advertised talent show of some type named "Yooper's Got Talent" last weekend in Rudyard. For the life of me, I couldn't find anything on this event, save for older videos featuring mostly comedians, so I couldn't reliably cover it on here. Hopefully Banned did well, and I apologize for missing this event! This weekend though, Banned should deliver a great set of hard rocking covers for their fans at The Bird, so consider checking them out on Saturday night! My source for this show is a posting on Banned's Facebook page. I'd assume that this concert is a 21+ event, there's no announced cover charge, and everything starts at 10:00 PM. Check the above links for more details! Banned are definitely a talented rising local band, so don't miss their exciting sound on Saturday at The Bird! Stay tuned for more on this show later in the week when we preview this weekend's local metal/hard rock concerts!

Also for new concerts is a big metal show on March 30th, and it features the local debut of The Lust Boys! As you may know, this is the Victoria, British Columbia sleaze/glam rock quintet featuring Sault Ontario native Ben "Benny Blitz" Kemp-Reynolds on guitar, and it looks like their quest for a local booking here on March 30th paid off, as they're listed for a headlining gig at The Canadian Nightclub that night during their "Tour Before Dishonour" this spring! My source is the tour poster on your left, and the gig (with venue) is also listed on their Reverbnation page, but this is subject to change. Opening for them at this show will be local classic metal quartet Late & Loud, featuring Ben's old Glass Statues bandmates Benn Garside and Josh Hatherly, which makes them an especially fitting opening band for this show! I'd assume this concert would have a 19+ age limit, and Reverbnation lists a likely incorrect start time of 8:00 PM, but other details like admission prices, possible extra bands, and other ground rules are not out yet. Until we hear more, check the above links for more details! It's great to see The Lust Boys bring their sleaze onslaught to the Soo finally, and it'll be good to see Ben back on a local stage after three years away! There'll be lots of great classic metal sounds at this show, so keep it in mind for this spring, and stay tuned for updates and possible changes as they roll in!

We'll close today's post with some new videos, and first, here's the latest solo cover from local guitarist Neno Jovanovic! This time, he covered the guitar track from Rob Zombie's "Sick Bubblegum" and posted the results (as synced with the original song) onto his YouTube channel yesterday! It's a good cover, and he knows the guitar track well, but it sounds a bit reserved compared to the original song. Very good though, Neno's got real talent, so check out more of his solo covers at the above links, and here's his take on "Sick Bubblegum"!



And finally, here's this week's classic video! With the big metal show at The Roosevelt Hotel on Thursday (possibly the 41st metal night?), I wanted to tie in our latest classic video with a band playing that concert, and I've chosen The Bear Hunters! We're slowly gonna include 2011 videos more regularly in this series as the year progresses, and in that spirit, this week's video comes from the Rosie metal night on February 3rd. In this video, The Bear Hunters (including then-guitarist Mike Vincent) covered "Squirrel Buddy" by guitarist Mitch Sirie's April Eyes solo project, which became a fan favourite during it's brief time in their setlists early last year! I actually filmed this performance too on an earlier upload on our YouTube channel, but this particular video was filmed at a different angle by attendee Tiia Opala-Ollinaho. Good audio quality, though the original video was largely focused on Mitch and singer Nik Deubel, and it was very dark on her camera too. It's a good video though, and it's always nice to see extra perspectives! Tiia posted this on Facebook the day after the concert, and you can view the original video at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150127795912527, but note that I fixed and brightened the lighting on the video after posting it on YouTube.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to The Bear Hunters and Tiia for all of their hard work, I'm just trying to spread this video out to a wider audience! It's a solid video, and kudos to Tiia for uploading it, so check out The Bear Hunters covering "Squirrel Buddy" last February below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our next "Favourite ____ of 2011" poll tomorrow, and the final results of this month's poll, so if you haven't voted yet, VOTE A.S.A.P. at the form on the top left! Thanks everyone!