Sunday, August 18, 2024

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Devil's Sons, The Space Wizards, And Double Down), Plus More Recent Notes!!

Let's address some more LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in this Sunday afternoon post, along with some shorter recent updates, so here's what you should know in chronological order!

Montreal psychedelic hard rock trio The Space Wizards will make their local debut on Wednesday, September 4th when they headline at Soo Blaster! Described as "another short notice show" by promoter Mikhal Muto when plugging it on the Sault Live Music Gig Announcements Facebook group yesterday (even though I only term "short/late notice" here as within the week prior), The Space Wizards are a relatively newer band who have been making increasing waves on tour with their fittingly spacey brand of classic-inspired hard rock, and hopefully they draw a solid crowd in two+ weeks despite the work/school night scheduling! Two local bands will open here, including hard rock quintet HeadFirst (fresh off of their Hilton Beach gig last night) and a mystery group named The Spaceship Opening. I have absolutely no information on them, but if we hear anything tangible in advance of the 4th, we will let you know!

Online ticket sales have not yet begun for this show (when they do, you'll find them here), but advance tickets will run for $15, and you may be able to get them at the venue or perhaps through Mikhal/the local openers. The door charge will jump to $20 for this 19+ concert, which begins at 9:00 PM. Add another intriguing concert with a touring headliner onto the increasingly busy slate for Mikhal's burgeoning slate of promoted concerts, so visit the above links for more details on this event!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartets Double Down and Generations will be among the performers at The Tarentorus Sports Club at 56 Avery Road on Friday, September 20th for a special benefit concert! Entitled "Band Together To Rock Cancer", this event is in support of Mustang Heart guitarist Lorenzo Fabbri, who has been battling cancer throughout this year. I believe this is partially why the classic rock veterans haven't played live in 2024, even missing Rotaryfest, On this night, four bands familiar to the weekend nightclub cover circuit will join forces for the cause, with Double Down and Generations being joined by classic rock veterans RPM, while Mustang Heart will play their first show of the year as headliners, with Lorenzo's Stages bandmate Sam Spadafora and former Double Down guitarist Adam King joining them as special guests for the night

Taking place deep in the west end at the curling rink/multi-purpose hall off of Allens Side Road, tickets are $20 to attend and $15 if you can't come in person but want to support Lorenzo and family in his fight (either way, there will be a door prize). A cash bar and refreshments will also be on hand. Having lost my mother to cancer, I absolutely sympathize with what Lorenzo is going through right now, and hopefully there's a great turnout for this stacked lineup of talented veteran cover rock bands next month in his honour! Visit Mustang Heart's Facebook page for more details, and apologies again to Marci for how things were initially worded.

Also newly announced is another Mikhal Muto-promoted joint, as on Monday, September 30th, Edmonton punk/hard rock quintet The Devil's Sons will make their local debut when they headline at... The Whisky Barrel? Yes, the 113 Gore Street nightclub is going to try hosting a non-acoustic touring band next month, and Mikhal did acknowledge the venue's generosity in having this show there when plugging it on his personal Facebook page, so we'll have to see how things go! It's been too long since there was a venue on Gore that hosted bands this heavy, though in The Devil's Sons' case, they have an interesting hybrid sound that calls to mind a heavier Dropkick Murphys, so if you're up for some rollicking punk n' roll, don't bypass this show next month! While the show is not publically advertised on social media yet that I've seen, The Devil's Sons did confirm it in this poster on their Facebook page for their upcoming tour.

Local metal trio The BAG (don't miss them at Soo Blaster tonight!) will open in their Whisky Barrel debut, and hopefully their hard hitting originals and covers get things off on the right foot! This 19+ show will reportedly have FREE admission and an 8:00 PM start time, though we do await full public advertising for this show locally beyond personal Facebook accounts. It'll be interesting to see how this concert goes, so visit the above links for more on what to expect at The Whisky Barrel next month!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

  • Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 did indeed welcome back guest hand drummer Brian Duford for their three most recent gigs in Pickford, Cedarville, and Hessel, as per photos shared on their Facebook page after each concert. As best as I can tell, Brian has not quietly joined 906 full time, as he's not in this band photo promoting their Islander Bar show from August 10th, but the band's "#summerof906" is now over unless they have new bookings that weren't in the batch of concerts announced back in May. We'll let you know when we hear more!
  • In their newest Facebook post ("Stories" aside), Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 posted a "Reel" last week of them covering Kenny Loggins' "Footloose" at a private Bass Lake event. As a "Reel", I can't embed it here, but it looks like there was a strong turnout under the tent to dance the night away! The band just played at Winnie's Hometown Festival in White River last night (you may have seen a Facebook "Story" or two from there), and they'll make their public return to the local nightclub circuit in three weeks, so look for more from them in the fall!
  • I have moved local acoustic hard rock band Tattoos & Scars back to our inactive band links. Featuring Fort Creek bandmates Justin Grayson, Shane Biron, and Bill Brouillard, they had announced their return from a 4+ year hiatus on their Facebook page on August 8th of last year, but nothing has publically followed since. Fort Creek have been busy behind the scenes since they lost their rhythm section last fall, so it's entirely possible that Tattoos & Scars are just on the shelf until they get their sister band back up and running at early 2020s levels, but follow them on social media to see what Fort Creek are currently up to!
     

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

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