LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Pixo Control), And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

The next few days will be devoted to concert previews around here, as one of the busiest concert weekends of the year is upon us, largely thanks to Rotaryfest, but we'll start today with previews of shows largely taking place tonight or tomorrow, with Rotaryfest, Saturday nighters, and possible late notice shows to follow, so don't worry! Let's kick off our previews (including new videos from one of the featured bands), starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local alternative hard rock trio The Pixo Control will play a pre-Rotaryfest warm up concert TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops Lounge! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced on the official Facebook event page on Sunday, but we held it for our previews to avoid a redundant post too soon.  A day out from their Second Stage debut on Saturday, this rising young band should have another solid evening of grungy originals in store for fans at LopLops TOMORROW, so don't miss them this weekend before their mini-tour of Southern Ontario! Note that Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick hints that the post-punk quartet (and Second Stage headliners) are also playing at LopLops tomorrow on the event page, which the venue liked, but this hasn't been officially confirmed elsewhere. If it is, we'll let you know, but they'd be a natural fit! A 9:00 PM door opening time is announced for this 19+ concert, which doesn't have a listed cover charge, but bring cash just in case. For more details, check the above links, and here's The Pixo Control live at LopLops!



Moving to previously announced concerts, local acoustic hard rock musician Tym Morrison will continue his current weekly concert arrangements with matinees at Gliss Steak & Seafood TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY NIGHT, and shows at The Harp Bar & Grill TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though Tym isn't a Rotaryfest regular, you can get your cover hard rock action at multiple venues this weekend like usual, with his Gliss matinees back for all three days following an abbreviated double header last week, but if you want regular nighttime shows, the former Madison's Pub is where you'll want to be for the longtime Caveman Morrison frontman's entertaining rock classics! Note that, as of this writing, Tym hasn't posted Facebook event pages for his shows this weekend, but all 5 shows are confirmed via SooToday's entertainment page, so Facebook confirmation is likely coming.

As usual, the Gliss shows start at 6:00 PM with the Harp shows at 10:00 PM, the former have no announce age limits and the latter are 19+, and none of them have an announced cover charge, but remember that Gliss is a restaurant. Hopefully Tym has a great weekend of shows, and keep them in mind if you want more music after Rotaryfest! For a preview, here's Tym a few years back!



Also this weekend, local metal promoters Heavy North Entertainment are back for their first public concert in a few months, as Saskatchewan "gutter thrash" quartet The Man & His Machine will headline a public house party concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Harbouring an aggressive, gritty, and brutal sound, T.M.H.M.'s originals should help fans get some solid pits going tomorrow, so don't miss them if you plan on going! They're on at 10:00 PM, while an band to be announced will apparently close the show at 11:00 PM, though we have no confirmation yet (for reference, Crucify The Whore "and more" are listed on the poster, but not the Facebook event page's schedule.) The Blood Shed Productions-heavy roster of local opening acts will include goregrind duo Rotopsy at 9:00 PM, thrash/grind trio Them at 8:00 PM, death metal duo Brutally Fatal at 7:30 PM, and rappers Phat Boii, Miracle Man, and the newer Killah Kai (who has played at least one prior Blood Shed event) splitting the opening set at 6:50 PM.

Located at 124 Anna Street (the site of the Shit Liver house show earlier this year), admission will be via a $2 minimum donation, and yes, it is ALL AGES! This should be a fun show if you love Heavy North Entertainment, Blood Shed Productions, and this younger crop of goregrind and death metal bands, so don't miss out TOMORROW if this is your thing, and for a preview, here's The Man & His Machine live!

Lastly for this first preview post, two more Rotaryfest performers will join forces TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, when local hard rock quartet Long Shot and local punk quartet Stereo North take the stage once again! The second half of The Rockstar Bar's split sequels to last month's Summer Bash event, this will be both band's last shows before making their Rotaryfest debuts on Saturday afternoon, with Long Shot playing on the main stage and Stereo North hitting the returning Second Stage (and yes, previews of both are forthcoming!) Also of note, this will be Long Shot's first show following drummer Jeremy Ganeulas' presumed return from his overseas trip, so welcome him back in style tomorrow as well! For reference, there's no official confirmation or event page from The Rockstar Bar to confirm this show, but both bands have acknowledged it on their own Facebook pages, albeit with the consequence that I don't know who's headlining.

There's no announced cover charge tomorrow night (but bring cash just in case), you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. For a preview, we have some newer videos of Stereo North that we've never shared here, and apologies for the delay since March for us to acknowledge them! One comes from their debut set at The Bon Soo Marquee at Mill Square in February, of the end of their set-closing cover of A Flock Of Seagulls' "I Ran", which gives more of an angle of the stage and setup at the new location, and again, the turnout was 100% improved from last year! The vertical cell phone camera angle is what it is, but the audio's solid! The other videos are from their semifinal set at the VM Radio Battle of the Bands in March, including the end of their cover of The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" (mainly to showcase drummer Brett Norton's song & set-ending intensity) and, as embedded below, Blur's "Song 2".

These short videos were shot from the stage's corner (so supports and speakers do get in the way), but the audio's nice, and the guys are on form for their punked up covers, so check everything out above and below, and don't miss Long Shot & Stereo North TOMORROW at The Rockstar Bar or SATURDAY at Rotaryfest!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our extended preview of Rotaryfest's First Stage later today! Thanks everyone!