LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood), More Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Barring even later notice concert previews, let's round things out today with the long awaited split CD release show and SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from a prolific cover quartet! We're rounding things out with lineup updates for an upcoming Halloween concert and a new live video, so read on below for what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about the shows via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page this morning, and as has often been the case, the band hasn't plugged the shows publically on Facebook themselves. Making their first stops at the former Nicolet Tavern in over a month, this weekend's shows will likely see the return of bassist Paul Belair, so if you missed the full quartet lineup at Reggie's last weekend, be at Rednecks TONIGHT and/or TOMORROW! You can take in their varied but often heavy covers there at 10:00 PM both nights, there's no announced cover charges, and you must be 19 or older to attend. For more details, visit the above links! While I wish Mourning Wood would plug their shows more often and with more notice, their talent speaks for itself, so don't miss them, and here they are live!

Next up, here's our preview of the long awaited CD release concert for the "Fed Up" split album, which goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub! Fittingly, all three bands on the 18 song split (5 originals + 1 cover for each band) will take the stage, with Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz returning to the Soo for the first time since last year's Rad Zone anniversary party upstairs, so if you've missed Paul and company in the past year, be there tomorrow night! Of course, they'll be joined by the same local openers from last fall's show, they being local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades & hardcore punk veterans Destroilet, who will bring their own intense attacks back to the stage tomorrow, including Destroilet's first concert set in about 3 months! However, it should be noted that Destroilet co-lead singer Brent Ellis appears to have parted ways with the band, as per his quiet recent removal from their lineup on Bandcamp and his absence from their cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" on the split (he's also not listed in the album's liner notes, as per personal Facebook posts.)

Nothing public has been said about Brent's status with the band, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and best of luck to Brent in the future if he is indeed gone! Also, note that a brief move upstairs to The Rockstar Bar due to a water leak in the pub has been called off, as the problems were fixed downstairs. Admission is $10 at the door (down from $15), while copies of the "Fed Up" split CD also cost $10 separately. The show itself is 19+, and has a listed start time of 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a great concert (and CD) for hardcore punk fans, so don't miss out, and here's The Ripcordz live at The Algonquin in 2013!

Also, here's some late lineup changes for J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub next Saturday, so what should you know now? The planned Misfits tribute band (essentially a one-off T-Rex Manning reunion) has quietly dropped out of the party, as per recent updates to the Facebook event page. A reason for their exit hasn't been announced, but given that J.D. is the promoter and will be in attendance, a scheduling conflict for another member may be to blame (also, note that a drummer was never publically confirmed.) After briefly being replaced by a one-off Korn tribute featuring The Bear Hunters' Mitch Sirie & friends (which would have been interesting), that slot is now being filled by local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who also feature Jesse Cook from that night's existing local punk tribute band, and will play a set of Sublime (formerly assorted 1990s rock) covers in their Halloween Party debut. Solid addition on late notice, and regulars of this event will recognize bassist James White from the 2011 & 2012 parties with Redundant!

Of note, this will be the first Halloween Party in memory that doesn't feature a band (one-off or permanent) that J.D. sings lead for, but it's extremely likely that he'll do a guest spot with at least one band, so never fear! Also, the one-off punk tribute supergroup (previously indicated as covering Rancid, NOFX, and Operation Ivy songs) are now listed as simply playing "mixed punk", though time will tell if that is just a simplification, or if their cover range has been expanded further. Sounds like a solid lineup even with the changes, and with the return of Toronto's Caym with a Metallica tribute set, how can you go wrong? Get more details above!

We'll close today with a new video of the aforementioned Elements, courtesy of their set at the Soup Kitchen benefit concert at The Algonquin Pub three weeks ago! This cover of Primus' "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" was uploaded to the band's new YouTube channel this morning, but despite frontman Rob Speers' Local2 connections, this is not from the same filmer who shot this song for the Tuned episode on the benefit. It sounds good, and has suitable energy, but the blur filter put on the video is very distracting, even if it was an intentional artistic choice. Give it a look below, and don't miss The Elements next weekend!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!