Thursday, November 21, 2024

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Silent 9) And Some Of This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Another busy concert weekend is upon us, and with two big annual charity events happening within, let's get this weekend's hard rock previews off on the right foot! Due to the amount of shows this weekend, I'm holding Soundcheck and Dodge This' concerts for our next post, possibly including Toystock on Sunday pending the post's length, but that could easily get a separate post given the size and scheduling. Here's what you should know to start, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

We'll lead off TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will take the stage for one night only! This will be Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve's first public concert since their post-Halloween party at The Esquire Club three weeks ago, and their first stop at the Great Northern Road nightclub in almost two months. This should be another solid chance to check out this talented foursome's varied and crowd friendly slate of covers, so don't miss out tomorrow! While we're on the subject, their website's concert calendar currently has Silent 9 only playing private events through the end of the year after tomorrow, but that's not entirely accurate. One of those events was publically shared by the band on their Facebook page on November 2nd, and it will see them play at the fundraising pub for Soo City United's 2010-2011 birth year girls soccer teams for a second consecutive year!

This takes place at The Rockstar Bar (which has only hosted bands on a per-event basis for the past couple of years) on Saturday, November 30th, and will feature a cash bar along with Silent 9's rocking tunes to help support the teams. This is a publically advertised event, and admission is $30 through team members with an 8:30 PM start time and 19+ age limit. Hopefully things go well as Silent 9 helps Soo City United for a second straight year, and click here for more details! As for tomorrow's Water Tower Pub show, it's standard fare with an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover (Westridge are playing there on Saturday, FYI). Visit the above links for more on both shows, and here's Silent 9 live!


Next up, the finals of the fifth annual The Soo's Got Talent go down TOMORROW NIGHT at Soo Blaster, as seven finalists take the stage for the $1,000 top prize! Similarly to last year, finalists will perform two songs, including one with this year's returning house band (Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band), who will also perform an intermission set in between each finalists' competition numbers. This year, all finalists are singers, including Celeste Burton, 2023 third place finisher Demoy MacSamuels, former Re:Born singer Robert Nevitt, Nicolette Rebello, 2023 semifinalist Kristina Sagrak, Lime frontwoman/2018 finalist Madii Schomogyi, and Chloe Tessier (this year's only "golden buzzer" recipient at the auditions). Note that Celeste, Nicolette, and Madii have played guitar in some prior rounds, with Celeste doing so in all of her public videos from this year's competition, and judges will notice that given that this is a talent competition.

Robert and Nicolette did cover hard rock songs in prior rounds, and Madii definitely has with Lime, but will that bode well tomorrow, especially for their song with Mike's band?  Aside from the finalists and The Big Finish Band, 2023 champion Storm Dowding (née Rausch) was likely extended an invite to perform a guest song tomorrow, as has been the case for the prior year's winner since 2019, but T.S.G.T. organizers have not publically confirmed if Storm will be on hand tomorrow or not. Also, judge/Generations frontwoman Valerie Powley has done a guest song to kick off the finals in the past, but I also don't know if she will do so again this year. In any event, Valerie, Darren Robertson, Mario Naccarato, and guest judge Matthew James will have their hands full! Admission tomorrow is $15 at the door for adults ($10 for kids) with door prizes also being offered, and everything starts at 6:30 PM.

And don't forget that that this year's The Soo's Got Talent proceeds will go to the Second Chances Animal Rescue, which is a wonderful cause and organization! It'll be interesting to see who joins Danielle, Adrian, Amanda, and Storm as winners of this annual competition, so visit the above links for more on what to expect from T.S.G.T. V, and for a preview, here's Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band live last year!

Finally for this preview post, we'll stay downtown, as local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will return to the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they rock Reggie's Place! While not returning to Toystock on Sunday, this fast rising young group will be in action this weekend in their first shows since opening for Blood Opera last month. The guys have been songwriting in recent months, helping explain their slowdown in live gigs this fall, but will that portend any new content in their sets this weekend, or is that all still in the pipeline for 2025? Find out at Reggie's tomorrow and/or Saturday! If you can't make it, their next show is at Shooters on Friday, December 7th, and they'll end the year at Reggie's on December 27th & 28th. Both of HeadFirst's concerts this weekend have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadFirst live!


That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

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