Friday, July 8, 2016

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Big Brother & Gnaeus), Highway 63 Concert Previews, And More!!

On this Friday morning, we have some teaser information on an upcoming album release, previews of this weekend's remaining hard rock shows (that are previously announced!), and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this summer, so read on below for what you should know!

Local post-punk quartet Gnaeus and hard rock quartet Long Shot will join forces for a concert at LopLops Lounge on Friday, July 22nd! Fresh off of their Rotaryfest Stage 2 set next weekend, Gnaeus should be in good form as they draw ever closer to the release of their debut CD "Meditations" (more on that at post's end), so look for the guys to deliver a fun set at LopLops in two weeks' time! Similarly, Long Shot have been busy in the studio towards their own debut EP, so much so that this will actually be their first public concert of the year, and if I'm not mistaken, their LopLops debut. The Dawes, Nathan, and Jeremy are a very promising unit, and should leave a good impression on the 22nd! No finite word though on if one band, both, or neither will have their CDs out by then, though as of this writing, neither are publically tying the show to an official release. Admission will be $5 for this 19+ concert, which has an advertised 9:00 PM start time.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Long Shot back on stage again, let alone with their friends and former battle of the bands rivals in Gnaeus (you may recall that ex-drummer Brendan Garlick filled in for Jeremy at a Long Shot show last year too.) Keep this show in mind for later this month, and stay tuned for more on Gnaeus' debut CD!

Next up, Toronto "ska-core" trio Big Brother will make their local concert debut for what's being called "Ska Saturdae" at The New American Pub on Saturday, August 20th! This fun yet hard hitting outfit have been making waves with their fusion of hardcore punk and ska, and should appeal to multiple fans at The New A next month, so don't bypass Big Brother's energetic attack! At least one local opener is to be announced, and while personal Facebook postings by promoters have hinted at a specific band with one more to be locked down, nothing has been publically stated yet. We'll keep you posted! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. (in a rare Saturday nighter for their New A bookings), there will be a $7 cover in effect, as well as a 19+ age limit and a 9:00 PM start time. This should be a solid time for ska and hardcore fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for full current details!

Also, here's our last of this weekend's concert previews (at least, for shows that have been announced as of this writing), as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Notably the first concerts plugged by the Monkey's Uncle successors on their Facebook page since February (though they have played steadily in the area in the interim), this weekend's shows should be full of hard and classic rock favourites, so be sure not to miss Highway 63 at the Soo Kewadin tonight and/or tomorrow! And remember, we'll see them back at St. Ignace's Kewadin in month's end. As usual, there's a 9:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit for each night. Check the above links for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!



Finally, let's close with a new preview video from the aforementioned Gnaeus, who posted this on their Facebook page on Wednesday to tease fans as to the cover and booklet of their debut CD "Meditations"! Featuring a rotating version from a computer program of the apparently 4 page booklet (the inside has band pictures), the big reveal here is that the album cover is not the image used in the Rotaryfest program, despite that being square and featuring the album's title. No word on if that was ever seriously intended to be the cover art, but the video confirms that the original front cover (unveiled when the CD was still called "Loomings") has survived despite the name change, though with two changes: the name, obviously, and rendering Gnaeus' name in all lowercase rather than all capitals. I did a mock-up of what the cover will look like, as you can see here, and while it's not exact, it's nice to get some more finite word about it!

The back of the booklet appears to show that "Meditations" has nine songs, though the angle and size of the album preview on their computer doesn't allow me to 100% verify the track listing. I believe I can make out "The Edge" and "An Exercise In Self Awareness", but they're the only ones I can name with relative certainty. With that said, it's a nice teaser, and proof that the album is indeed coming, so give it a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes shortly! Thanks everyone!

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