Monday, July 21, 2014

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Late & Loud), Frightlight's Future, And More Recent Updates!!

Covering some big recent news today (and yes, I know I'm behind on some other stories), we're touching on some new recent video uploads, big album updates, and a prominent local band's planned farewell, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next week that has it's own attached finality!

Inactive local classic metal quartet Late & Loud will headline a second (and perhaps final?) reunion concert on Friday, August 1st at The Rockstar Bar! Last seen at this venue in February, this is being hyped as both their "last gig for a year" and "your last chance" to see them live, as per the Facebook event page, so Loudmouths out there should take notice, regardless of which statement you believe! From what I understand, the extra finality is at least partly due to guitarist/singer Brendan Christie's impending move overseas next month, so whether this is goodbye for a year or for good, give Brendan (and the band?) a solid sendoff one week from Friday! Local openers will include recently reunited local grunge quartet Haggith in just their second show of the year (more on them in a bit) and all-female hard rockers The Danger Cats, who also opened for L&L in February, and both should fit in nicely at this show! Admission will be $5 at the door, you must be 19 to attend, and a 9:00 PM start time is in effect. For more details, see above!

While most of their shows in the past year have had a bittersweet air about them due to breakup teases and relocation hints, Brendan's move is much bigger than Jon's was, and this definitely could be their last show for at least a year or beyond. Fans of Late & Loud's energetic metal sound shouldn't miss this event, so keep it in mind for next weekend, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up (and also in the realm of bands whose days may be numbered), local horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight are apparently breaking up this fall, but not before a farewell concert of their own! According to a post on their Facebook page last night, the band will be hosting both a reunion and "a frightening farewell" on Halloween, as members are "real busy with life & other projects", so they wanted to play one last full Frightlight concert as a proper sendoff. This year's Halloween falls on a Saturday, and chances are that alludes to frontman Johnny Pints' annual Halloween party concert, which has been optimistically teased over the past few months, but further details won't be released until closer to the event. While Frightlight were last seen at The Marquee at Bon Soo in February, their last set to an actual paid audience was last August at the former Roosevelt Hotel, so regardless of any finality, fans have been waiting a while for their return.

Members have been busy with bands like Jack Spades, Redundant, and Chronic Demonic lately, so we won't be starved for new music from the guys, but this is still disappointing for fans who've loved their horrifically entertaining sets over the past 5 years! Exactly 5 years, in fact, as their debut set in 2009 was also at Johnny's annual Halloween show, which fell on the 31st that year too, so they're coming full circle! Stay tuned for more from both Frightlight and the Halloween event as we hear it!

Moving to some more positive news to close today, the aforementioned Haggith have began revealing some of the plans and content for their announced new album, so what should you know? Well, for one, they're working on two albums now, one being a normal studio CD named "XIV" (no word what they're counting 14 of), and the other being "Apocalypse II", the sequel to their second studio release that they had originally tried to put out prior to December's "farewell" show. As per their Facebook page, this teaser image was released that lists 10 songs for "XIV", including memorable live originals like "Public Enemy", "Anthem", and "Metal Cage", plus some newer tracks, but possibly most interesting is that "XIV" will also include originals that had originally debuted in members Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton's recent hard rock band Punch, such as "Road Rash", "By The Hand", and the eponymous "Punch". Interesting to see Haggith take these tracks on as their own, I wonder if Steven or Ben had any hand in the songwriting?

While "XIV" is teased for an October release, no studio samples are out yet for it, but on the flipside, a song from their other upcoming disc "Apocalypse II" is now up on the band's YouTube channel! Their first posting there in 9 months, the song (titled "Apocalypse") features just Curtis & Daniel on all instruments, including the keyboard, and it has a softer and plainer ambiance, presumably to fit in with the conceptual nature it and it's predecessor had. I'll hold on thoughts until it's review time, but check out the new song below, and catch up on Haggith's ambitious studio plans above!



Finally for today, here's the latest from local grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back, starting with the news that they finally have their own Facebook page! Odd that it took over a year to launch a page there, but things will get up to speed there in time, so become a fan above! Also, drummer Nathan Sauve uploaded five new concert videos from their set opening for The Archaics last week at The New American Pub onto his new YouTube channel over the last few days, all uniquely filmed from overhead, which gives an interesting angle, but doesn't tell fans much about the stage setup if they've never been to The New A. The filmed songs include "Shirt Tucker", "Two Tongues", covers of NOFX's "Linoleum" and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "American Girl", and as embedded below, their original "Drum My Way Home", so check each link to see each video! Well shot with a great camera, angle aside, you get a great sense of Bad Back's live presence, but the vocals are far too muffled on average. Fans will be right at home though, so check out these new concert clips above and below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile tomorrow, plus more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

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