The Rest Of The Halloween Weekend Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews, And More!!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Our busy Halloween weekend continues today with our last previews of the weekend's concerts, including the known heavier Sault Michigan shows and a special Sunday nighter to cap the season with, but we also have some assorted recent notes at post's end. Now, here's what you need to know!

Newer Rudyard, Michigan hard rock quintet Exiled will provide their own Halloween entertainment TONIGHT when they headline a "Monster Bash" at the Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan, marking their debut at this venue! Announced earlier this month on their Facebook page, this will be Exiled's first concert appearance since sharing the stage with Ricochet at the Savoy on the 10th, and though public information on the Halloween events to be had tonight are minimal, I would expect costumes being encouraged, at the very least, and who knows what other seasonal perks will be in store! Of course, Exiled's own blend of covers (and experienced lineup featuring Monkey's Uncle, NoXcape, and Division of Sanity alumni) should entertain fans at the Dondee, so don't miss out if you're across the river! Like at other recent Dondee events, there will be an earlier start time of 8:00 PM, no announced cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. Click here for more details on the Monster Bash, and hopefully some live video footage of Exiled turns up!

Also this weekend on the American side of the border, Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of a road trip to Engadine this past weekend, these will surprisingly be Banned's first stops at St. Ignace's Kewadin branch of the year, and as you'd expect, there will be some type of Halloween theme going down tonight, so bring your costumes! Even without the seasonal setting, Alex, Wayne, and Don should have an entertaining variety of originals & covers to take in this weekend to help end one month and bring in another, so keep their shows in mind as well if you're in the E.U.P.! Both tonight & tomorrow's shows have no announced cover charge, 21+ age limits, and 9:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Banned covering C.C.R. earlier this year!



Finally for this weekend's hard rock and punk concert previews, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's final show in his "Punkrocktober" run of seasonal shows goes down THIS SUNDAY at The Rockstar Bar, which may be after Halloween, but better late than never! Headlining on Sunday are Montreal psychobilly favourites The Brains, who return to our area almost a year after their well received 2013 show here, and if you like your rockabilly with a large infusion of punk and attitude, you should take to The Brains' return again! Opening for them on Sunday are Montreal punk quartet Boids, whose own more traditional blend of punk rock should serve them and fans well, so don't miss their set either, as they have good energy and talent to go around! Though a local opening band is still "to be announced" as per the Facebook event page, a personal Facebook post by frontman Rob Speers says that local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will be opening, and they'd be a good fit here, so keep an eye out for them!

This 19+ concert goes down Sunday night at around 9:00 PM, and there is a $10 cover charge. For more details, check the above links! After seeing three shows in three days, I can't guarantee if I'll be at this one, but fans of psychobilly and good old fashioned punk rock should not miss out on The Brains & Boids THIS SUNDAY, so check above for more info, and here's The Brains live in 2012!



We'll close today with some assorted recent updates from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Veteran Sault Ontario drummer Mike Severin is looking for local musicians who'd be interested in joining an old school punk band that he intends to launch, who would cover bands like The Clash, The New York Dolls, and Social Distortion. He's looking specifically for a singer and/or guitarist (no word on if he has a bassist already), and interested parties must be able to jam one night a week. If you're interested, message Mike at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on Tuesday!
• I've deleted the defunct Sault Michigan/Japan metal project Mugwort from our inactive band links, as their MySpace (and only online) page's link now redirects to an unrelated person's personal account, so it looks like it was taken down. Mugwort weren't around long and didn't post much, but follow singer Bob Helsten's similar local bands like I.S.O.M. and End of Existence for more material!
• I've replaced defunct Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Nixxon Dixxon's link on the site from their now-deleted Facebook page to their still active MySpace page, which still has substantial concert photos to warrant the link's inclusion on our listings, despite it's older studio cover songs having been pulled a few years back. It'd be cool to see Nixxon Dixxon reunite at some point, but follow 415E and The London Gentlemen for members' current work!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of last night's Devil's Night show at The Oddfellows Hall in our next post (if all goes well), and we'll see you guys at The Algonquin Pub TONIGHT for The Halloween Party with Frightlight! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Brains), New SweetKenny Songs, And Much More!!

With weekend concert previews now taken care of, we can touch on some recent news and notes today, including a pile of shorter items, new media from a regional guitarist, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

Montreal psychobilly quartet The Brains will return to the Soo for a belated Halloween weekend concert on Sunday, November 2nd at The Rockstar Bar! Coming almost a year after their most recent local stop at the same venue, The Brains are fairly frequent sights as out of town bands go, and their unique blend of horror punk and rockabilly should go over well once again in November, so keep this show in mind to end the Halloween season with! Besides, how often will you see a punk band this year with a stand-up bass? Joining them at this show will be fellow Montreal punk rockers Boids, who have more of a traditional punk sound, but will impress with their varied influences and catchy melodies, so don't miss them on November 2nd either! A local opening band is to be announced, and it should be noted that promoter J.D. Pearce was looking for bands different from ones playing the Gob and Halloween Party shows a few days prior that he's also promoting, so we'll have to see who gets added! This will be a 19+ concert, a $10 admission fee is in place (no word on advance tickets yet), and everything is slated to begin at 9:00 PM.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! With Gob, The Brains, and Frightlight's farewell now confirmed for J.D.'s Halloween concert slate at The Algonquin Hotel's bars, he's definitely stacking the deck for the season, so be sure not to miss out on this late October spree of great concerts! Stay tuned for updates on all 3 as we hear them!

Next up, we have some new original songs from Dafter, Michigan solo rocker Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton, courtesy of his YouTube channel and a new online page of his! In recent days, Ken has been posting songs on Spreaker, a music networking site that specializes in podcasts and radio shows, but can also host individual music too. New tracks named "Mustang", "Crud", and (as embedded below) "Can It Be (Guitar Confusion)" can now be streamed there or on linked YouTube video uploads, and while it is presumed that they'll be on SweetKenny's upcoming album "Amazonian", this isn't explictly stated. As we hope to review a new SweetKenny album early next year, we'll hold on comments on these songs for the time being, but long time fans should check these songs out for more classic-tinged hard rock! Check out "Can It Be" below, and hear more at the above links!



Finally for today, here's six shorter recent news items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or event name:

• Habitat Shuffle/ex-Free Beer guitarist Dustin Goodall is looking to join or form a band that would play old hardcore and indie music inspired by the likes of Fugazi, Refused, and Brand New. As he described it, such a band would have "eclectic taste that, despite being badass, is completely unmarketable." Interesting plans, but if you're up to jam with Dustin, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
• Local pop punk/screamo project For July have posted a new song named "The Truth" onto their Soundcloud page! Self-described as a "work in progress", it has the upbeat energy of many of their older songs, and some catchier hooks, so give it a look above, and stay tuned for more updates on For July!
• Local punk (but don't call them that) trio The Fury are officially defunct again, as confirmed in a recent personal conversation with frontman Paul Stanghetta. He commented on musical differences with new members as part of the reason, but you could consider The Apocalypse Afterparty as successors, given that they cover Fury songs live, and that Steve Mozarowski was briefly The Fury's drummer this year. Fans will best remember their high octane bass & drum sets from 2009-2011 compared to their barely launched 2014 reunion, but give them a listen all the same, and best of luck to all former members!
• A drummer named Phil Grecks (possibly a nickname for former Role Models drummer Phil Greco) is looking to form a new original local band that would play heavy, melodic, and sometimes fast songs, citing Nonpoint, Starset, and Nothing More as possible influences. Sounds intriguing, but if you're interested in trying out or getting more info, message Phil at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
• Local crust/death metal trio Shit Liver are staying busy in their new home of St. Catharines, having played a gig there on Tuesday opening for Killitorous, and being scheduled for another show there on October 3rd where they'll open for Life Problems in a fundraiser for a beloved dog's surgery. Good to see the guys playing often, and hopefully we'll see them back north in short order too!
• This year's sixth annual Soo Zombie Walk will return to being scheduled the week before Halloween on Saturday, October 25th, though it will still be based at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for a second straight year, as per this year's Facebook event page. What we don't know is whether the expanded afternoon band lineup at the museum will return, or if the afterparty will regain it's prior non-acoustic format in it's place, but when we hear more regarding the band situation this year, we will let you guys know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, if all goes according to plan! Thanks everyone!