LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Die Mannequin), Dank Fest Lineup Updates, And More!!

Happy April Fools Day, everyone! I have no secret plans or gags up my sleeve (I don't want to decieve readers in case it backfires), so everything below is 100% factual, including a new recent concert video, major lineup changes for an upcoming concert, and a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the early summer, so here's what you need to know! (Updated at 12:12 PM)

Just days after announcing the long awaited return of Random Killing to Sault Ontario in September, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has done it again for another big Rockstar Bar show this year, as Toronto punk/hard rock standouts Die Mannequin will return to the Soo for the first time in over two years on Saturday, June 14th! Last seen at J.D.'s first Thursday show at the former Roosevelt Hotel in May 2012, this popular and fast rising quartet (featuring Hard Core Logo 2 star Care Failure on vocals) are hard at work on a new album, but they're sure to bring another high energy set of originals back to the Soo on in June, so if you loved Die Mannequin's 2012 local date, don't miss the next one! Two local bands are signed on to open, and both also feature female members, including the Rockstar Bar debut (barring interim announcements) of J.D.'s punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, as well all-female hard rock notables The Danger Cats, and both will be right at home at this show, while also be on the lookout for Jack Spades' EP in case it's out by then!

This 19+ show has a 9:00 PM start time and tickets going for $15 in advance or $20 at the door, and while local advance ticket availability has not been announced yet, tickets are available online at this link, so pick them up there if you want yours before the local on-sale date! (For reference, Random Killing tickets are also available in advance online at this link through the same company, so don't wait until the last minute just in case!) Die Mannequin's 2012 show was a huge success, and hopefully their return in two months is just as big, so stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

Next up, the lineup for the massive Dank Fest all ages festival at The Oddfellows Hall on April 19th has seen it's second major overhaul, as per promoter Tyler St. Amour on the Facebook event page on Friday, so what should you know now? Two bands have dropped out of the event, including local goregrind solo act Crucify The Whore & Borderline Divine successor trio Viva Emptiness, as per their removal from the event page's lineup. Reasons for their withdrawals weren't announced, but Viva Emptiness still have not seen a public acknowledgement outside of event advertising (hopefully we see them live soon though!), and C.T.W.'s Ringsnaps Gibson is still playing Dank Fest with Rotopsy, so nothing bad happened in their camp. Though Viva Emptiness were replaced on the lineup, C.T.W. were not, leaving Dank Fest with 13 bands, so to accomodate the shorter (though still huge) lineup, no bands will have to start playing at 1:00 AM anymore. However, there have been a ton of timeslot switches for reasons yet announced, so who's playing where now?

In a complete reversal of placement, local goregrind duo Rotopsy have jumped from the opening slot at 2:30 PM to the closing slot at 12:30 AM, while classic metal quintet Project 421 are now a timeslot earlier at 11:45 PM. North Bay headliners Thekillingfield & Buried Out Back are each 45 minutes later at 10:30 & 9:30 PM respectively, while local thrashers Pillory have dropped from the 1:00 AM spot to 8:45 PM, and sludge/doom trio AlgomA are the only band remaining in their old timeslot (8:00 PM.) Resurgent death metal trio Brutaly Fatal have jumped five slots into the 7:15 PM timeslot, while hardcore/grunge duo Bad Back fell five slots themselves and are now scheduled at 6:30 PM. Orillia metal band Like Animals and new local alt-rockers The Pixo Control are each an hour earlier at 5:30 & 4:45 PM, while local funk/metal band The Strange Coyotes fell 4 slots to a 4:00 PM start time, and the aforementioned Danger Cats will play an hour earlier as well at 3:15 PM. Viva Emptiness' replacements will indeed be local/Ottawa indie trio Like Father Like Son (who opened for Commencing Human Desperation from the same promoters last month) in the 2:30 PM opening slot, after being confirmed by promoters this morning.

Big changes (again), but hopefully everything works out this time and there aren't any more massive adjustments in time for Easter weekend! If it's added incentive (especially given the length of this show), Tyler did announce that they'll be making sausages and selling drinks behind The Oddfellows Hall concurrently with Dank Fest, though this is pending the weather conditions. Great idea, especially for fans who stay through supper, so stay tuned for more updates on this massive show as they come in!

Finally for today, here's a new video from last Saturday's Who Made Who show at The Rockstar Bar! Filmed by staff member Hayley Warnock and shared on the venue's Facebook group on Sunday, this is of the popular AC/DC tribute band playing the classic "Highway To Hell", and the floor was definitely hopping at this point in the night! The audio's a bit scratchy, and the angle could be better (especially due to fan heads), but it's great to see video of Who Made Who's long awaited local return, so check it out below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon, plus this month's "Where Are The New Albums?' post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Dank Fest 2014) & More Assorted Updates!!

For today's post, we have a MASSIVE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (quality and quantity-wise) for in a couple of months, and that forms the bulk of this post, but we also have some extra notes at the end to touch on! Now, here's what you need to know!

In terms of the amount of bands, the biggest primarily-metal concert of recent memory is going down on the Easter weekend, as Heavy North Entertainment & Blood Shed Productions are hosting "Dank Fest 2014" on Saturday, April 19th at The Oddfellows Hall, with no less than 14 bands currently slated for this show! Sounds ambitious right off the bat, but let's run through the bands in reverse chronological order (though keep in mind that the performance order is expected to change shortly.) North Bay metal bands Thekillingfield & Buried Out Back, who are slated to headline at 1:00 AM & midnight respectively, in what appears to be their previously hinted makeup date following their weather-related dropout from January's Oddfellows Hall show from the same promoters. Nice to see these brutal Northern Ontario bands back just three months after the fact, and hopefully there's nothing to throw a wrench into their extreme sounds in April! Four local bands are currently slotted before them that night, including local thrash quartet Pillory at 11:00 PM, and they are alive & well despite dropping out of this past Thursday's Rosie show!

Also playing on the night of Dank Fest are local solo goregrind project Crucify the Whore at 10:15 PM, grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back (in their first Oddfellows appearance since last summer) at 9:30 PM, and funk metal trio The Strange Coyotes at 8:45 PM, and all should deliver brutal sets in their own style! The 8:00 PM slot actually belongs to an out of town band at present, Orillia progressive metal trio Like Animals, who you may remember from once being scheduled to open for Thekillingfield at The Rosie three years ago. It's a make up date for them in a sense too, and their unique technical sound should fit in that evening, so don't bypass them! Newer local classic metal quintet Project 421 currently hold the 7:15 PM timeslot, while the 6:30 PM slot is currently filled by a debuting band temporarily known as Viva Emptiness, but you'll know them better as 3/4ths of the former Borderline Divine, better known as Stillbroke! Almost two years after their last show, the band's last members (minus their relocated frontman Jesse Frigault) are picking up where they left off with this new band, but as of yet, fuller details are not public. Click here for what we do know though!

Local sludge/doom trio AlgomA will make their Oddfellows Hall debut that day, and currently hold the 5:45 PM slot, while local rock duo Re-Born (formerly Brutaly Fatal) will make their first live appearance since their name change that day at 5:00 PM, and we'll have to see how their sound has developed! Another debuting band is slated for 4:15 PM right now, that being a new local alternative/punk band named The Pixo Control, whose lineup currently features ex-Fever Tops frontman Michael Mikus and ex-Social Suicide drummer Keeghan Rosso, though a bassist addition has been teased. Their demos show promise for the included genres, so check their early demos out at this link! The lineup is rounded out by the Oddfellows Hall debut of local all-female hard rockers The Danger Cats at 3:30 PM, with local goregrind duo Rotopsy currently slated to open at 2:30 PM, but remember, the lineup order is subject to impending changes.

This ALL AGES concert will have $13 admission at the door, but advance tickets will go on sale through members of Pillory & Rotopsy on March 1st. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! For just the second show for Heavy North Entertainment since their launch, I greatly admire Tyler's ambition putting together a 14 band marathon of a show like this, and I sincerely hope there's no hiccups along the way to this being a success! The Easter weekend is great timing too given that many people won't be at work/school, and we'll be sure to follow any changes and announcements towards Dank Fest as they roll in! Definitely stay tuned for updates, this will be a massive show if everything holds together!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last while (including lineup adjustments for another upcoming H.N.E. show), and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by concert or artist name:

• There's been lineup adjustments for the Fuck The Facts-headlined all ages show at The Oddfellows Hall on May 4th, as local funk metal trio The Strange Coyotes have been added as an additional opening band at 5:00 PM (I guess the fan campaign worked out well!), while North Bay's Empyrean Plague have moved up to the 10:00 PM co-headlining slot for unannounced reasons, bumping Shit Liver to the 9:00 PM slot, though this switch does make sense given that Empyrean Plague are from out of town. Click above for more info!
• Just to clarify something we mentioned above, local thrashers Pillory were replaced on late notice for the most recent Heavy Thursday at The Rosie the other day by local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings, reportedly due to personal reasons in the Pillory camp. There had been a related announcement concerning the lineup at next month's Anvil show too, but until something 100% public is stated, I won't get into more detail here yet. Hopefully Thursday's show went well!
• Dafter, Michigan solo hard rocker Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton has uploaded three new original songs ("Bridge To No-Where", "It's All Up To You", and "Up & Down") to his Reverbnation page, and all will be included on his forthcoming new album "Ink!" I won't get into too much detail (as I hope to review the album upon release), but only "It's All Up To You" features vocals. Check out his new (and old) songs at the above links, and keep an eye out for updates on his next CD!

That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at Bon Soo around supper time for The Marquee at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, with a bunch of local hard rock & punk bands on the bill! Thanks everyone!