LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dour & Project 906), The Wolves Of The North, And More!!

After a much needed weekend off from the site, I am back in full force with a stacked news post today, featuring two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and a new video from one band in question, and some assorted updates from a local promoter, so here's what you should know!

Saskatoon grindcore band Dour will make their local concert debut on August 23rd (one week from Wednesday!) when they headline at The New American Pub! Another talented extreme metal attraction to help end the summer season with, Dour's sludgy and crusty originals provide a solid punk-tinged attack with lots of brutality to go around, and they should rock The New A sufficiently next week! Local openers will include death metal favourites The Bear Hunters (in their first New A set of the year) and the long awaited return to the stage of extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, ending their year+ long hiatus with their first show since May 2016. It's great to have Winkstinger back in action in advance of their Oh!NO Festival set next month, but are there any changes or new additions? Be at The New A next week to find out! Notably, this show is being co-promoted by Slumshine's Brenton Ellis and Gore Street Cafe owner Nicole Dyble, despite not being held at the laundromat, which is interesting to see!

This late stop on Dour's No Sign of Grief Canadian tour has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 10:00 PM start time. This should be another brutal concert to help send August out with, especially with Winkstinger's return and The Bear Hunters continuing to re-assert their place in the scene, so stay tuned for potential updates, and look for our preview next week!

Next up, we'll head across to the Eastern Upper Peninsula, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906 have one more new show to announce, as they'll return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman for one night only on Saturday, September 23rd! Announced last week in a schedule posting on their Facebook page (though this was the only show there not previously acknowledged publically by the band), this will mark Project 906's first trip to this venue in over five months, and it should provide another solid opportunity for fans in this area to hear their entertaining cover selection! A 9:00 PM start time is announced for this 21+ show, which has no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and before we forget, here's a new Facebook video of Project 906 from their outdoor Moloney's Alley set this past weekend during Moloney's Michigan Beerfest, and it's an amusing cover of The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?"!

Project 906 will look different here, both via guest bassist Barney Gravelle for a mini-Ten Kings reunion, and by featuring drummer Will Storey on vocals (I assume Billy moved to drums here.) Despite the vertical camera angle and distant filming location from the stage, the rendition is funny, and should bring to mind Shit Liver's own humorous take on this song from shows on the Canadian side of the border! Give it a look below, and don't miss them at the Rudyard Musicians Festival THIS SATURDAY!



Finally for today, here's the latest from Jack Spades frontman and local concert promoter J.D. Pearce, who's been busy over the past week! His promotion agency's Facebook group has been renamed "Northern Superior Brewing Co. Presents", reflecting his recent working relationship with the local brewery. This also returning his agency to a sponsored name after previously aligning with Tidal Records, hence their recent "wolves of the north" teasers. Hopefully this is a fruitful partnership on both sides, and it's great to see two different local entrepreneurs joining forces! To that end, J.D. has announced a few new events, including a mini-tour of Northern Ontario in early November entitled "Wolves on Parade", where Jack Spades and bassist Rob Speers' other band The Elements will open for Sudbury death metal band Archelon, who have played in the Soo before, most recently in October 2014. A local date hasn't been confirmed publically for before or after the tour, but of course, we'll let you know if one is set up!

In any event, this should be a fun tour, also giving fans a rare chance to see The Elements on the road, so see above for details on the Sudbury, North Bay, and Timmins gigs! The other new show from J.D. will be the return of his X-Mess acoustic punk concert event after a two year hiatus, with local punk mainstays Lucas Schmiedendorf and Greg Callaghan scheduled to perform alongside other acts on Saturday December 23rd at 9;00 PM. The cover will be $10, but a venue has not been publically confirmed as of this writing. Stay tuned for updates on that front, but it's great to have X-Mess back for the holidays, and click here & above for current details on J.D.'s late-2017 plans!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and features as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!