Friday, July 28, 2023

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Generations), Our Lopstock III Concert Preview, And More!!

As promised, let's round out this weekend's concert previews (barring anything on really late notice) with two events taking place tomorrow only, one a multi-band affair with lots of advance notice, and the other a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover band Generations will make their Water Tower Pub debut with a one-night-only gig TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, drummer Tony Santoro only announced this show via their Facebook group on Tuesday, and the venue's Facebook page has not confirmed this weekend's musical entertainment at press time. With a permanent replacement for Brandon Ruch not yet obtained, Generations will welcome Flat Stanley/ex-Peace Vibe guitarist Tony Kajnar as a guest TOMORROW, and he's definitely a talented hand who should fit in fine for this one! Notably, this will be Generations' first concert since Rotaryfest, as their announced Reggie's Place show last Friday was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict, with that gig & the planned karaoke night on Saturday replaced by shows from online page-less classic rock band Wheelhouse (featuring Michael Davies & Jon Ferguson from Stiffler's Mom).

Apologies for missing that last week (Wheelhouse were confirmed instead on Thursday after that day's concert preview post went up), but hopefully they had a good weekend! You can enjoy Valerie, Pierre, Tony, and... Tony's classic/hard rock cover selections TOMORROW NIGHT at 8:00 PM, this is a 19+ event, and there is no announced cover chage. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

Next up, let's preview this weekend's final currently known hard rock/punk show of this weekend, and it's a big one, as Lopstock returns TOMORROW NIGHT to LopLops Lounge! Eight years after the second and final Lopstock took place, this "bohemian conclave" of original musicians will resume operations, with ex-Gnaeus/These Magnificent Tentacles drummer Brendan Garlick returning as promoter, this time under the banner of Sault Noir, his debuting concert promotional company. Click here for Chris Belsito's SooToday article on Lopstock's rebirth, featuring interview remarks from Brendan. This year's bill features ten local bands (no out of town groups for the return year), and while none are returnees from 2014 & 2015, there are returning musicians in new projects. Your advertised headliners are Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle's online page-less indie rock trio Pointless, and it's good to see them back on stage!

The latest blocked hard rock act tomorrow is alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich in their post-relaunch debut at LopLops (look for our review of "Deconstructed" this weekend!) Rising young indie rock quartet The Hollow Heads (who joined the Sandwich at Rotaryfest Stage 2 earlier this month) will also perform tomorrow, preceded by two hip-hop acts, including Stoneburgh & Sawbé in a joint set, preceded by Christian rapper Bold Noize. Hard rock fans will get their other block before the rappers take the stage, including metal trio The BAG and punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine, both in their LopLops debuts. It's worth noting that Far From Fine actually parted ways with drummer Austin "Mickey" McCrae before their Rotaryfest Stage 2 set, and he was replaced by Id Iota alum Blair St. John for that set, and who will reportedly also fill in at Lopstock tomorrow.

The band explained in a comment reply on their Facebook page on the 16th that "we're going in a different direction for drums". If I'm being honest, I don't like when "a new/different direction" is given as a reason for any sort of change (not just for local bands), as it's basically a vague non-answer, but Blair was apparently secured on short notice for Rotaryfest. Hopefully things were amicable with Austin, as he is a talented multi-instrumentalist, and hopefully Blair fits in well again tomorrow night! Pop rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous & solo folk/pop rock artists Hannah Lindsay and Juliana Regan (the latter of which often plays live with Blair St. John) will round out the Lopstock III roster. Tomorrow's festivities are 19+ with a 5:00 PM start time, and tickets run for $25 plus processing fees at this link, or presumably at the door. Brendan will MC the show, and Crank Sound Distribution will be on hand to keep everything sounding great as usual!

Note that, on July 7th, Brendan teased "one more Lopstock announcement... and it's a pretty exciting one", but has not publically elaborated (I believe he noted what it was in a post on his personal Facebook page if you're his friend and want to dig there). This should be a great time for local music fans, especially to get so many musicians packed at LopLops as it continues its post-pandemic resurgence, and hopefully this is the perfect launching pad for Sault Noir! Definitely visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more on tomorrow's stacked concert, and here's Handsome Sandwich live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site this weekend, including our review of Handsome Sandwich's debut CD! Thanks everyone!

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