If I Look Strong, You Look Strong Concert Preview, Plus New Treble Charger & Din Videos!!

As promised, today's post is being led off by a preview of a rare Tuesday night punk/metal concert, but to round things out, we have some new videos, one of a local band shooting for a new milestone, and two from a recently reunited band's most recent concert! Here's what you should know!

A special Tuesday night concert goes down TONIGHT at The New American Pub, where three different touring bands will take the stage for a night of punk and metal intensity! The lineup will include headlining Calgary noise/experimental trio If I Look Strong, You Look Strong, a curiously named though very talented twosome who have some aggressive elements in their progressive sound, so don't bypass I.I.L.S.Y.L.S. tonight! Also playing at The New A are Zaum, the Moncton, New Brunswick "Middle Eastern mantra doom" outfit best known locally from headlining Haggith's final concert at The Rednecks Saloon back in May 2015. Good to see Zaum back in our area after over 2 years, so prepare for some dark chanting-laden originals from them also! The other touring duo tonight are Ottawa/Pembroke hardcore punk rockers Flying Fortress, who'll bring aggressive but also somewhat more accessible originals to the stage, so don't be late for their set either! Apologies for earlier promotion hyping the three above bands as being duos, the headliners have since confirmed that they're currently touring as a three-piece.

Tonight's local openers are new local indie/hard rock trio Vol. (featuring 2/3rds of The Pixo Control's mid-2015 lineup), who will get a very intriguing show to make their public concert debut with, so come early to hear how they sound! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., tonight's "Saul St Marie" stop has a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and $7 cover charge. This is shaping up to be a nicely varied but constantly aggressive night of music, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details on tonight's concert, and here's If I Look Strong, You Look Strong live!



Next up, we have some new videos of local/Toronto indie/punk veterans Treble Charger to share on here, but not from last month's return show at LopLops! Though not visibly advertised on the band's few active online pages, they continued their teased tour run with a set at the third annual WTFest in Brantford on Saturday, July 29th, where they were among the openers for Our Lady Peace and Collective Soul at Lions Park. Looks like a solid event with a great turnout from what I've seen of WTFest, and hopefully their whole set was a hit! As best as I can tell, two YouTube users posted videos of Treble Charger's set, including wisptubeify, who filmed their rendition of "American Psycho" and posted it to his channel later that same day. The guys sound good on this punk-era classic of theirs, but they seem to be a bit restricted in movement given the stage setup, and the camera can have some blurry moments. Check it out below!



The other known YouTube video of Treble Charger's Brantford set last month comes via user Dure Yeah, who posted this video of their early hit song "Red" to his channel that same day as well. This softer Bill Priddle-sung original is very well done here, which will please fans of Treble Charger's first albums, and though the camera angle isn't as centered or close, it's actually clearer overall! Give it a look below as well, and see more from this year's WTFest at the above links, on YouTube, or via Brantford-area news media!



Finally for today, here's the latest from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, so what have they been up to lately? Alongside continued studio demo recordings, a new photo shoot with Josh Pace, and a "HUGE surprise" relating to the impending one year anniversary of their debut studio album "Give In To The Din", the band has also been actively trying to reach 700 fans on their Facebook page. As part of that goal, this comedic new Facebook video was posted online on July 30th, and while I do apologize for the delay, at least it's still relevant to share, as they sit at 697 fans as of this writing. The nearly 6 minute-long video is a "field record", where drummer Brandan Glew proposes that, if the band launches rockets into space, that might be enough to push them over 700 fans. I won't spoil the details on the rockets, launches, or aftermath, but there is humour to be had throughout, plus a surprise ending! Give it a look below, and like The Din if you haven't already so you can help them shoot for 700!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week, plus this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (If I Look Strong, You Look Strong), A New Local Band, And More!!

Here's another new news post for your Sunday afternoon, as we continue to get caught up following one extremely busy weekend of concerts! Today's post features some assorted recent updates, a new solo cover video, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, but leading off, here's initial details on a debuting local band playing that very concert!

We have a new local band to add to our active band links, and they are Vol. (pronounced "volume"), so what should you know on them? Self-describing themseles as an "indie rock" band, they cite Alexisonfire, Queens of the Stone Age, City & Colour, and Dinosaur Jr. as influences, so I would assume that a high volume noise/hard-alt sound would not come amiss when media turns up. Specifically, Vol. indicated on their Facebook page that their sound has "high energy, crispy tones, (and) crunchy distortion", so read into that however you will. Their lineup features original Pixo Control bassist Steve Edwards on vocals & guitar alongside their mid-2015 drummer Matthew Thibert, with their ranks filled out by former Aldous guitarist Shane Storozuk. Solid lineup, and it's great to see that Steve and Matt stuck together following their abrupt Pixo departure! Vol. quietly launched last year, but when can you see them live and on stage for the first time?

On Tuesday, August 8th, for a newly announced New American Pub concert from Six, Two, Oh., that's where! Vol. will debut as local openers for a trifecta of out of town metal duos, including headliners If I Look Strong, You Look Strong (yes, that's their name), an experimental noise rock duo from Calgary. Very creative and progressive sound with punk and hardcore tinges, so definitely give them a listen in advance of this show! Moncton, New Brunswick "Middle Eastern mantra doom" duo Zaum will play the Soo for the first time since their Rednecks headliner in May 2015 as this show's co-headliners, and their blend of dark metal and chanting vocals should appeal to genre fans once again, so don't bypass Zaum next month either! The other touring two man band is Ottawa/Pembroke hardcore punk outfit Flying Fortress, whose sound is arguably the most accessible of the the three groups, but still heavy and relentless, so don't be late for their fast-paced originals either!

A 19+ concert, this show has a $7 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. While one would assume that Rotopsy, Them, or Twistory as openers would have fit the two-man-band lineup better, Vol. have a solid showcase ahead for their debut, surprisingly as the night's largest band, so definitely keep this rare Tuesday nighter in mind for August 8th, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's a new solo cover video from ex-Elipzis bassist Ryan Harrison's YouTube channel on Wednesday, surprisingly his first upload there this year! A cover of "Drown" by the Texas-based modern rock band Fighting Gemini, the well-bearded Ryan sticks to vocals in this cover, and he showcases a solid voice (as old Riot! By Night fans can attest), and it's nice to see him tackle a song that uses more vocal range with such ease! That said, the black and white colouring and the raindrop filter effect can be distracting. Give Ryan's newest solo cover a look below, and hopefully more comes soon!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, company, or event name:

• Following a positive reception for their YouTube video for their song "Straus", local progressive metal project Kraken Mara have announced that all of the songs on their upcoming self-titled debut EP will have a music video made for them, and are fielding fan suggestions for locations to shoot them at. Sounds like a good plan to me, so message Brendan and/or Jacob at the band's Facebook page to suggest filming spots!
• Just as a house-cleaning note, I've replaced the link for local subscription crate company Ma Lady Menace from their website (which is currently blank) to their Facebook page. This company was supposed to promote the ambitious CureCon concert/convention next month, but haven't issued any updates on venue, lineup, or specific details since May when indicating website maintenance, and it's not clear if the company are still actively operating. Ma Lady Menace had promising ideas, and hopefully more comes out!
• If you're wondering why we didn't cover this year's Ride For Sight motorcycle rally and attached concerts on the site, it's because the musical lineup didn't feature a hard rock band for the first time since the local arm of the rally began in 2012. This year's musical entertainment featured country quartet Bone Yard and their acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge, alongside 1960s-themed classic rock band The Peace Vibe playing out at Stokely Creek Lodge over the July 7th weekend. Hopefully everything went well, it's a great event for a great cause!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates this week on the site! Thanks everyone!