LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (A Dire Setback & Telephone And Address), Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to note that local classic rock quartet RPM are playing at this year's Passport To Unity multicultural festival tomorrow at The Machine Shop! Though not a full hard/metal band, drummer Ben Pascuzzi asked if I could mention it here, especially as they don't have any online pages, so if you're at this year's Passport To Unity, look for RPM's fan favourite covers tomorrow afternoon! Unfortunately, a full performer lineup hasn't been announced publically. Now, today's post features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), plus a unique concert preview and a new live video, so here's what you should know!

Local acoustic post-punk solo project Telephone & Address will return to The Gore Street Cafe TONIGHT to open for Mayhemingways frontman Benj Rowland! Apologies for the extremely short notice, the show was only just announced via it's Facebook event page on Friday, with the venue confirming that this was a last-minute booking. Taking place just one day prior to the official kick-off of this year's Fishbowl Festival (click here for full details on that event), this will mark Telephone & Address' first local concert appearance of the year, last seen launching their new CD at the laundromat when the Chris Shoust-led solo project opened for Iansucks in October. It's great to see Chris back out there with a new unplugged night of punk originals, so don't miss him TONIGHT! As for Benj Rowland, folk and indie music fans will remember him from playing with the Peterborough-based Mayhemingways four times locally since 2014, most recently at the Gore Street Cafe's Fortnight Festival last summer.

Benj should be a nice fit at the laundromat once again, so if you're a folk fan, don't miss him TONIGHT either! This all ages concert takes place TONIGHT at 7:00 PM, and while a $7 admission fee is suggested, this is technically a "pay what you can" event, and is not visibly included with any ticket package deals for official Fishbowl Festival events. This should be a quality night of reserved folk and punk solo music, so check the above links for full details, and here's Telephone & Address live!



Next up, here's a newly announced concert with advance notice, as newer local promoters Live705 are hosting their third concert on Saturday, March 11th at The Canadian Nightclub! Entitled "March Mash-Up" presumably to reference the genre disparity of the night's lineup, promoters have enlisted six acts, so who all is scheduled to play in three weeks? In listed order, the lineup includes Live705's flagship alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, alternative hard rock trio The Din, and the 2017 debut of young online page-less classic rock trio Electric Church, while three newcomers to Live705 shows will round things out, including death metal trio Pillory in their first show of the year, newer alt-hard rock quartet Bizotic (more on them in a bit), and DJ Seith spinning some vinyl mixes, though it's not yet clear if he'll get his own set block, or if he'll play a bit between the other bands. Solid lineup with a little something for everyone, including some extreme metal, which I think is a first for Live705!

This is a 19+ concert with doors opening at 8:00 PM and a $10 door charge, but rather than selling advance tickets, Live705 are experimenting with vouchers for $2 off admission, which you can obtain from band members upon request. I don't know if that idea will take hold, as it sort of introduces an extra step when you could just buy an $8 advance ticket and leave it at that, but we'll see how it goes! This is shaping up to be a fun concert with a nice and diverse but largely heavier/punk base, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details, and stay tuned for updates!

Also today, here's a special concert preview for a show THIS TUESDAY NIGHT, as promoters Six, Two, Oh. are merging the worlds of punk and rap at The New American Pub! The rap half of the show will sandwich the punk half, with the latter bands including the local debut of Toronto punk trio Pseudo, whose energetic hybrid sound should prove to be a well received attraction at The New A on Tuesday! The aforementioned A Dire Setback will play beforehand, and should continue to be riding high following their January Jam set last month, so if you want a preview of next month's March Mash-Up, you know where to be this week! The rappers on Tuesday will include headlining Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface, whose industrial and dark material should appeal to many fans, while local rap standout Mikey Thomas will open the show with his own skilled rhymes. An intriguing blend of styles to be sure, so keep this in mind for Tuesday!

This concert has a $5 cover charge, 9:00 PM start time, and 19+ age limit, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details on everything on Tuesday night, and here's A Dire Setback live last fall!

Finally for today, here's the first public video of the aforementioned Bizotic live in concert, as posted to their Facebook page on Thursday! This comes from their debut set on December 30th at Six, Two, Oh.'s holiday funk show at The New A, and it's of an original song named "Subway Delay". Filmed on multiple cameras, the song itself reminds me of a 1990s alternative song, which is certainly not a bad thing, and it has a bit of an edge to it, especially from Brad Griffith's hard-worn lead vocals, and he has some solid guitar solos too! I will say that Louise Lamothe's trumpet playing is really buried on this video, but I'd need a better look at Bizotic to know if it's the song's fault or if she needs to be louder in the mix. Musically, Bizotic aren't as aggressive as Brad's other band Infinity Grinder are (were?), but they have a fuller alternative sound that definitely fits our coverage, and that plasma circle item is a nice addition to their stage setup! Give "Subway Delay" a look below, and don't miss Bizotic in their Canadian Nightclub debut on March 11th!



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