LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Exit 808 & Tarnished) And The Hearts & Horsepower Preview!!

One more post to knock out this weekend's hard rock concert previews, as I mistakenly forgot a special matinee charity gig today in our prior posts, while there's also LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on, one on SHORT NOTICE. Here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Sault Michigan classic metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished will rock The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in nearby Brimley TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on the band's Facebook page yesterday, but Bay Mills' Facebook page had been advertising the show since May 6th. Why Tarnished themselves didn't plug this show until the day prior, I don't know, but as far as I can tell, this will be their first ever concert at Bay Mills' on-site nightclub & restaurant. Always good to see this talented foursome spreading their wings in the E.U.P,, and hopefully things go well at "your perfect up north retreat" TONIGHT! Last seen in St. Ignace over a month ago, TONIGHT'S concert has a 21+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's Back Bay debut TONIGHT, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live last year!  

Next up, fellow local hard rock band Exit 808 have announced their summer concert calendar via this photo from their Facebook page on Tuesday, so when will you be able to see them next? We already knew about their St. Ignace Kewadin gigs over the June 6th weekend, while their remaining June shows are all on the road. They'll head downstate for the 2 hour drive to Walloon Lake (outside of Charlevoix) for a June 14th gig at the Walloon Junction Bar & Grill, with returns there planned for July 26th & August 16th. Their other dates next month are returns to Western U.P. festivals that they played at last year. One is the third annual Drewpalooza mental health fundraiser/birthday event in Republic (3½ hours west) over the June 20th weekend, while they'll return to the outdoor festival Rally For The Valley in Ewen (4½ hours west) over the June 27th weekend, specific days not cited.

On July 3rd, Exit 808 will play in Munising (co-vocalist Dillion Semasky's old stomping grounds) for a gig at The Barge Inn, so if you're in the Central U.P. or are up for a 2 hour drive from the Soo, keep this Thursday nighter (on the eve of the Independence Day long weekend) in mind! Their first honest-and-truly local date in over a month will see the guys return to The Merchant's Bar in the Soo on Saturday, July 12th in their first gig there since the I-500 weekend, so if you want to enjoy this skilled group's blend of diverse rocking covers in Chippewa County, that's your next chance! Bookending the last Walloon Lake show and a bike rally at Chandler Hill Campground in Boyne Falls (another 2 hour drive near Charlevoix) on August 8th, Exit 808 will also return to both local Kewadin Casino lounges in August, including at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace from August 1st-2nd.

They'll end the summer slate at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on August 22nd-23rd, in their first stops at that Kewadin branch since January. Note that the calendar description confirms that Exit 808 are continuing as a five piece band with frequent guest musicians, rather than get a new permanent guitarist/bassist. While the names are mostly familiar from recent gigs, one is About:Blank/ex-Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber, who was a founding member of Exit 808 in the first place, so it'll be neat to see him guesting with them again! All five new E.U.P. dates have 9:00 PM-ish start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more on Exit 808's summer schedule across Northern Michigan!

We'll close today in Sault Ontario for a preview of a show TODAY that I completely blanked on including in our last two preview posts, and given its charitable aims, I profusely apologize for that. That previously announced event takes place at the Downtown Plaza today from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM (yes, it's that early), and is the first annual Hearts & Horsepower, a promotional event for the Dragonfly Run motorcycle rally in August, which of course benefits the Algoma Regional Community Hospice. Local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 are heavily involved in the Dragonfly Run every year, and will be rocking out at the Plaza this morning/afternoon, while a motorcycle show will also take place, and there will also be on-sire donations for ARCH and information on the rally. Sounds like a good time for a great cause, and a fine appetizer for the full slate of events in three months, so consider checking everything out today!

Hearts & Horsepower is FREE to attend (donations are welcomed though) and it is absolutely an all ages event. While the stage is covered, we have escaped the rain in the forecast, and 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather with 9° temperatures. As local outdoor concerts go, that's fairly cool, so dress accordingly. Hopefully Bone Yard and the Dragonfly Run representatives have a great event to get the word out for the rally, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's "The Dirty 3" live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From & Prior To Recent Concerts, Plus Upcoming Event Details!!

I hope everyone had a good Easter long weekend! We're back with a full news post on this Easter Monday, including pre-concert teaser videos from a recent extreme metal show, new live footage, and leading off, new details on an upcoming charity event, so here's what you should know!

When we first covered local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225's spring concert calendar on the site last month, I noted that one announced date was a "promo party" for this year's Dragonfly Run motorcycle rally for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, to take place at the Downtown Plaza on Saturday, May 24th. I listed it in our calendar despite the lack of information, but we can rectify that now, as a Facebook event page has been launched for the event, entitled "Hearts & Horsepower"! This pre-party will see Bone Yard take the stage at the plaza at 12:00 PM, along with a motorcycle show and on-site donations for ARCH, helping set the stage for and promote the Dragonfly Run proper in August, as it enters its tenth year, third as the Dragonfly Run, and second at The Grand Gardens. Weather permitting (covered stage for bands acknowledged), hopefully this is a great time to help get the word out for the rally!

Hearts & Horsepower has a 10:00 AM-2:00 PM timeframe, no age limit, and no cover charge, though if you want information as to how to display/enter your bike into the event, contact Bone Yard 225 and/or frontman Greg Simpson on Facebook for details. This should be a fun event for motorcycle and/or rock fans alike, and hopefully ARCH gets some much needed donations before the big event takes place later this summer, so visit the above links for more details on this Dragonfly Run pre-party!

Next up, here's some videos of two bands from Friday night's The Pit metal concert at Soo Blaster, albeit not of the actual show itself (yet). We'll start with headlining death/thrash metal trio Pillory, who posted one more rehearsal/jam session video to their Facebook page on Saturday as "a nugget for everyone until we get some edits of the show up". The video sees Robert, Blair, and Bret playing an instrumental take of their newer original song "A Drop Of Shame In An Ocean of Guilt". While filmed in the same place as their "Specimen Of Egotism" video from the 14th, this was clearly shot at night, but this new video is both better and worse visually. The lighting is cooler for a metal performance, and nicely accentuates Bret's kit, and we're not staring at Blair's back for the duration here, albeit because he's sitting for the duration. Still not ideal placement, especially as Robert doesn't step into frame of the camera at all. He's definitely there, so why not move the camera?

This song is suitably brutal and heavy for fans of Pillory's, and it does have a fittingly dark quality to it to go along with the lighting, but will we see it in their teased official video content from Soo Blaster on Friday? We should find out soon, but check out this new rehearsal clip below!

Also, here's the rest of the pre-debut hype "Reels" from local progressive/djent metal quartet Convergence's Facebook page in the lead-up to The Pit on Friday! In their pre-concert "Reel" from April 12th, things start with the guys having fun during rehearsals (including new singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio standing "like Elliot", a reference lost on me), before we see screenshots of band members' conversations, leading into guitarist Jake Valois acknowledging curveballs on their road to their debut gig. While they were able to run through the whole set together with vocals, band members were also falling ill so it was tough to get everyone in the same room. Jake felt good about everything by the end, though! The last two "Reels" were posted after The Pit came and went, starting with this one featuring the guys (minus Jake) rehearsing for the show on Wednesday, which is a light watch without major scoops.

The last "Reel" (which I'd embed here if I was able to embed "Reels" externally) features Convergence  hanging out at Soo Blaster in preparation for their set. Mostly very light for content but there are some brief glimpses of familiar faces not in Convergence, including a couple of split second views of Pillory's headlining set, strongly hinting that someone in or affiliated with Convergence filmed the bands proper on Friday. Drummer David Peredun did acknowledge how well ticket sales went, which is good to see! We'll have more from The Pit and/or Convergence's debut set on the SMS soon, but give these "Reels" a watch for yourselves above!

We'll close today with a brand new video from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's Facebook page... well, publically shared from drummer Ric Datson's personal Facebook page! This 16 minutes-long video heavily edits together bits of songs played at Jay's Piston Broke Pub over the April 4th-5th weekend (the specific day was not given), but over two dozen songs are excerpted in this montage captured at three camera angles. One is in front of the band, one is an overhead angle like previously seen in their A Flock Of Seagulls cover, and one is a drumcam video of Ric performing. He implied that filming may have been curtailed due to leaving extra camera batteries at home, so keep that in mind. Of course, I'd prefer to see full songs, but at least these are professionally edited (and horizontal) videos, and if you're curious to sample Double Down's current sets with Dan on bass, this is a good way to do it in a relatively short time!

Double Down are currently next slated to rock The Water Tower Pub on Friday, May 2nd (if they have a short notice gig or two this weekend, we'll let you know), so this video will give a taste of the diverse covers and surprise picks to hear from the Syrettes, Dan, and Ric in concert, so give it a watch for yourselves below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!

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