Friday, August 2, 2024

The Rest Of This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews, Plus Tarnished Updates!!

As promised, here is the second half of this weekend's hard rock concert previews! For our previews of this weekend's shows from Project 906 & Tym Morrison, visit yesterday's post for details therein. We'll lead off today in Sault Michigan, along with other recent updates from the band in question, before wrapping things up in Sault Ontario with a pair of Saturday nighters, so here's what you should know!

Local classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Coming just two weeks after the guys rocked The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin, these will be Tarnished's first Rapids Lounge dates of 2024, but they have played multiple dates with multiple lineup configurations elsewhere in the Soo this year. No word on how the band will look tonight & tomorrow re: band members and roles, but in their road trip to Saginaw this past weekend, they played as a trio with Alex on vocals & drums, Josh on guitar, and Parker on bass. However, in St. Ignace two weeks ago, they again welcomed Rhythm & Brews bassist & drummer Chris Leask and Ron Suchey to round out their live lineup (with Alex & Parker joining Josh on guitar), so keep the local factor in mind re: possible guests.

While we're on the subject, let's cover some other recent Tarnished news that hasn't made the site yet! In a "Reel" on their Facebook page on June 29th, Alex & Josh tested out a waffle iron for National Waffle Iron Day, but didn't quite get the point about what you should be putting in a waffle iron. Amusing little video that calls back to some of their earlier social media content! The following day, Alex starred in another "Reel" where he thanked fans for helping get their newest single "Lightswitch" past 2,000 streams on Spotify, and also plugged their upcoming concerts. On July 5th, Tarnished actually took a late notice road trip to Lake City (3 hours south of here) to perform in the "Greatest 4th In The North Battle of the Bands" during the town's Fourth of July weekend celebration. Unfortunately, I can't find much in the way of fallout or results for the battle (which paid $350 for the winners).

Given Tarnished's lack of plugs for the battle on social media after the fact, I take it they didn't place in the top three, but hopefully they made some new fans downstate! Plugs for their Ishpeming return last month and recent concert photos aside, the other new Tarnished content is another "Reel" where the guys were waiting on the side of the I-75 near West Branch after their tour van overheated while en route back home from the Saginaw gig. Hopefully things were repaired without too much expense, and that Alex got new sunglasses! Tonight & tomorrow's 21+ shows at the Soo Kewadin have 9:00 PM start times and no announced cover charges.Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for two Saturday-only concerts tomorrow night, starting with former Eclipse/Project 421 singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie's return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another acoustic headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Like usual for Saturday gigs at the former Low & Slow, this is a "Patio Play" gig taking place at The Dive's outdoor patio, so if you're up for unplugged alternative and hard rock covers from this familiar local musician, don't look for them indoors tomorrow! If you'd rather see Curt's covers without having to deal with summer humidity, he returns to The Dive for next week's "Think It Over Thursday", as the Thursday musicians there play inside. Tomorrow's "Patio Play" action is at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge,  and the weather forecast is currently calling for sunny-clear skies with weather in the low 20s. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Curtis live!


Finally for today's previews, local hard rock quartet Half Past will play their second show of the year and since their reunion when they rock Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! After a twelve year hiatus, Half Past returned to the stage at the Dennis Street nightclub in February, but aside from a guest turn as Talent Quest karaoke judges in the interim, we haven't seen Jordan, Alain, Arthur, and Johnny on stage since (remember, their planned Reggie's debuts last month were quietly cancelled). Hopefully tomorrow's concert proves to be a huge hit for Half Past, especially having a few more months' prep to dial everything in for their live show! A one-nighter due to the Friday DJ nights at Shooters this year, this show has a 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge, as usual for live bands at this venue. Visit the above links for more on Half Past's concert tomorrow, and for a preview, here they are live at Shooters in February!


That's all for now, but look for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

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