LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Broke & Hungry, Oktoberfest, And Curtis McKenzie) And More!!

Before we begin this post, I have two apologies to note regarding this past weekend's concert previews. First, it turns out that classic/hard rock trio Dodge This did not play at The Water Tower Pub on Friday night for unannounced reasons, and were replaced on the bill by Elly McWatters & The Drifters, who moved up from the Saturday to Friday in response. Thanks to Drifters drummer Brandan Glew for confirming this (even if I didn't see it until too late), and hopefully all is well with Dodge This, who haven't issued a public update of consequence since July! Meanwhile, in St. Ignace, Michigan, we did cover Sault Ste. Marie hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished's two gigs at bar/restaurants to coincide with the Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show weekend, but there was another one. According to their Facebook page, they also played a matinee concert on Saturday at 2:00 PM, meaning they played three shows in two days!

This particular matinee was an outdoor gig outside of the Little Bear East Community Center & Arena at 275 Marquette Street, before Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron set up shop at Kingston Kitchen that night. Alas, Tarnished only announced the Saturday matinee via their Facebook page that morning, a cherry on top of their other short notice confirmations for the truck show, but hopefully all three shows got a great reception on a busy weekend for big rig and transport fans in Mackinac County!

Now let's dive into some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year, and we'll start with a busy day on Saturday, October 18th, as Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 and alternative/punk cover supergroup BookcluB will join forces at The Machine Shop for their Oktoberfest celebrations that night! This is one of at least three different Oktoberfest concerts being held in Sault Ste. Marie this fall, joining the Outspoken Brewing-hosted block party on Queen Street on September 27th and Beck's Bar's own Oktoberfest party on October 5th, but the Machine Shop one is the only one with SMS-leaning bands. This one is sponsored by the revived Soo Falls Brewing Company, which is based at the Canal District site on Huron Street near the Machine Shop, and you can expect to contests, food, and (of course) beer for the occasion. The third band on the 18th will be local polka band & Oktoberfest staples Nein German Guys.

No word yet on who BookcluB's new second guitarist will be, but kudos to them and Silent 9 for jumping on board what should be a fun night of music, drinks, and German culture! This 19+ event takes place at 5:00 PM on October 18th, and tickets run for $30.18 at this link, which do include one complimentary beer ticket. Visit the above links for more on Soo Falls & The Machine Shop's Oktoberfest celebrations next month!

Also taking place on Saturday, October 18th is former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie's next stop at the aforementioned Beck's Bar, as he will rock the Goulais Avenue nightclub that day! Announced with an unusually bountiful amount of advance notice on his Facebook page yesterday, this will be Curt's first gig at Beck's since the end of last month, and though it is possible that he could confirm an interim booking there next weekend, keep next month's show in mind for his next announced round of hard and alternative rock covers at the former Vibe Lounge! This will be a 3:00 PM matinee gig with a 19+ age limit as usual, and no cover charge. It is way too soon for Beck's to confirm who is playing that night in the 9:00 PM timeslot, but just a reminder that Curt isn't "opening" for who's playing the nightcap, both acts will have full four hour timeslots two hours apart. Visit the above links for more details!

Finally for today, an eclectic lineup of bands will join forces for a Christmas season concert on Friday, December 19th at Beck's Bar! This special concert is entitled "Broke & Hungry", and will be a FREE event benefiting the Soup Kitchen Community Center on James Street, with non-perishable goods being the entry fee. Wonderful cause just before the holidays! This concert will unite three distinct genres under one roof, and SMS readers will be placated by the presence of crossover thrash quartet Hails and online page-less metal supergroup The Sault Side Squad in what I believe will be both bands' Beck's debuts, but your headliners are actually touring rappers, namely Juno-nominated Toronto MC Unknown Mizery and Hamilton rapper Twitchy T. Tantrum. Local bluegrass/folk quartet The Golden Scoundrels will also join this stacked & diverse bill, in guitarist Brandon Ruch's first hometown show after moving to Barrie.

Local rapper Mike "Mic Swiff" Sylvester will round out the bill in three months' time, and note that the official promotional image for the event credits Twitchy T. Tantrum as the host rather than a performer. This 19+ concert has an 8:00 PM start time, and there should be a lot to take in for multiple tastes as we near Christmas, especially given the charitable nature of the show! The Soup Kitchen can never get too many donations for those in need, so hopefully there's a fantastic turnout for the music and the cause on December 19th! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and we'll have more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!