The First Of This Weekend's Metal, Hard Rock, And Punk Concert Previews!!

A busier than usual concert weekend is upon us, so we're breaking up the weekend's metal, hard rock, and punk concert previews into two posts. Today, we'll look at shows taking place tonight or Friday only, with the exception of a Sault Michigan concert weekend to cap things off, and we'll look at double-nighters and Saturday-only gigs in a post on the site tomorrow, so look for them then! And yes, our recap of last night's VM Radio Battle of the Bands semifinal is coming up next, don't worry! Now, here's what you need to know firstly for this weekend, in rough chronological order!

We'll start at The Rednecks Saloon TONIGHT, where local classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood will host their second weekly jam night! Like at last week's debut, fans will get a chance to see Terry Eaton, Steven Flint, and T.J. Case rock out once again with the intended goal of having local musicians join in to jam with them, similarly to Steven's old Urawk live karaoke series, albeit if any instrument was welcome to join in. This intended weekly series is still quite new, so be sure to keep it in mind if you want to check out Mourning Wood and/or jam with them TONIGHT! Also, note that the guys will not be playing regular shows this weekend in all likelihood, due to Steven's upcoming shows with Beaumont Avenue at Rednecks, which we're previewing on the site tomorrow. Tonight's Mourning Wood jam night has no announced cover, a 9:00 PM start time, and a 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and here's Mourning Wood last year!



Next up, we'll head to LopLops Lounge, where two local punk/alternative bands are among the openers TOMORROW NIGHT when local roots band The Boot Hill Crooners launch their self-titled full length album! Great to see them finally get their CD out there, and just for punk reference, Inner City Surfers guitarist Dave Bahun plays on the record, so there's a little bonus! Of course, you'll also recognize Crooners mainstays Sheldon & Marshall Jaaskelainen from their Celtic/punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide, who are co-headlining this show fresh off of their short but successful Ontario tour run, and if you're wondering who drummed for them on their recent tour run, personal Facebook posts are crediting My Son The Hurricane drummer Cooper Hannahson as their recent skinsman. I can't confirm if he's playing this weekend, but for what it's worth, Mikey Hawdon is still listed as the band's drummer on Facebook. Cooper's talented though, and he should have added nicely to The Tide!

The rest of the openers on this all-Tidal Records concert include folk/roots collective Frank Deresti & The Lake Effect, folk solo artist Shannon Moan, and in a special acoustic opening set, local alternative/hard rock trio The Pixo Control, so fans of Tidal Records will surely not want to miss this show! FYI, we'll preview The Rising Tide's Searchmont show on Saturday in tomorrow's post. Promoted by the label and J.D. Pearce, this show has a $10 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and a likely 9:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the above links! It's great to finally see The Boot Hill Crooners CD come out, and there's a nice diverse slate of openers too, so don't bypass this one, and here's Dustin and The Tide live in 2010!

Also this weekend in Sault Ontario, Metallica fans should listen up, as Toronto-based tribute band Sandman will make their long awaited return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Sandman holds some sentimental attachment to myself, as their last show here (in June 2008 at The Canadian) was the first 19+ concert that I ever attended, and while it's anyone's guess why it took them almost seven years to play Sault Ontario again, I welcome that they're back to unleash Metallica classics on Saultites one more time! For reference sake, you may recognize members Rick Van Dyk and Paul Fonseca as being ex-members of Helix, and they played with them locally in 2008 as well, so if they look extra familiar, that's why! Admission is $12 with advance tickets available at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, while this show is a 19+ event with an oddly early listed start time of 8:30 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend, but if their show in 2008 was any indication, Sandman should have a firm grasp on classic Metallica hits, and hopefully lots of metalheads turn up at The Rockstar Bar to take in their tribute action! For a preview, here's Sandman live in Tillsonburg!



Finally for this preview post, we'll head to Sault Michigan for the only hard rock shows with advance notice that we know of this weekend in the E.U.P., as local classic/hard rock quartet Highway 63 are scheduled to return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last see at this venue (or anywhere) late last month, this talented veteran band featuring Monkey's Uncle, Power Slug, Sir Charge, and Ram Wagon alumni have been making fans fast since their debut last year, and they should be up to their usual tricks at The Rapids Lounge this weekend! However, I will note that the band hasn't recently plugged these shows on their Facebook page, but unless they say anything to the contrary, we'll treat them as on. This show has a 9:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Highway 63 live last year!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our recap of last night's VM Radio Battle of the Bands semifinal on the site next, and then the rest of the weekend's concert previews! Thanks everyone!