LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Caveman Morrison & Lucky 13) & St. Patrick's Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

Our 18th straight day of SMS updates takes place today, as we'll mostly touch on the St. Patrick's Day concert previews for metal/hard rock bands in the area! Remember, The Suicide Kings' planned shows at Docks this weekend are off, possibly due to bassist Mitch Sirie's show in Sudbury with The Bear Hunters tomorrow, which also has affected a concert addressed below. Today, we have previews of two Sault Michigan shows and four Sault Ontario dates, two of which have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS attached, so read on below for what you need to know! (Updated at 3:44 PM)

Sault Ontario alternative hard rock quartet Lucky 13 will make their first ever Nicolet Tavern appearance TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, but this show was only just announced on Wednesday, and I accidentally missed it when writing up this post last night. A one-night-only gig for unclear reasons, this is still just one of two concerts that the band featuring Route 69, Turner Up, and Gully Yodelers alumni will be playing this weekend, joining a special Sunday night event that we'll touch on at the end of this post. As usual, this newer band should have a packed night of alternative 1990s-leaning hard rock covers in store for their fans, so make sure to head down to Albert Street to partake in Lucky 13 at The Nic TONIGHT! Admission should be free, you must be at least 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. Check this link for more details, don't miss Lucky 13's Nicolet debut tonight, and stay tuned at the end of this post for our preview of their major Sunday night show with a clear holiday flair!

Also in new shows, local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison have announced a short notice concert at The Roosevelt Hotel for TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, but the news was only broken on The Rosie's Facebook page yesterday, with the band confirming it (and the one night only status) a few hours later. There will be no Friday show this weekend due to frontman Tym Morrison's solo show tonight (more on that in a bit), and in another change, Caveman Morrison will not feature drummer Johnny Belanger in their lineup tomorrow due to his out of town gig in Sudbury with his other band The Bear Hunters (click here for more info.) Filling in behind the drumkit tomorrow is Asylum Country drummer T.J. Case, who does have chops in rock drumming from stints with Wishbone, Batteries Not Included, and Busted, so he should do a solid job at this weekend's show (being from the Case family, I'm not surprised!) My source for this info is a Facebook conversation with Tym yesterday. Of course, Caveman Morrison will have a quality set of metal and hard rock covers in store, as is usual, so don't miss their first show in a month tomorrow night!

Admission should be free for this 19+ concert, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Short notice or not, a Caveman Morrison show always delivers some fun metal & hard rock classics for the fans and revelers in attendance, so don't miss out on Saturday if you're in Sault Ontario, and for a preview, here's the guys covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" in 2011!



Leading from the above, while Caveman Morrison don't have a Friday concert this weekend, frontman Tym Morrison will be live TONIGHT at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road once again for another solo acoustic concert! Previously announced last month via it's own Facebook event page, tonight's gig continues Tym's successful run of shows at the East End venue since his relationship with them began last year, and if you're up for a more intimate set of metal & hard rock hits (unplugged, as usual), take a trip out to The Roadhouse tonight! Like Caveman Morrison's shows tomorrow, Tym will be on tonight at 10:00 PM, with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge likely in place. Check the above links for more details, and hopefully Tym's latest solo show is a huge hit! For a preview, here's Tym's newest solo original song, a heavier original named "We Will Decide"! Uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday, it's plugged in with full instruments (unlike his solo shows), but fans of Tym's solo album and straight-on metal work should like this track!

Very heavy with a solid guitar solo, the vocals do seem more reserved compared to the "take-action" message of the lyrics, but it still shows Tym's multi-instrument talents nicely, and it's nice to hear a new metal original from him! No word yet on if this will be a part of Tym's in-limbo second CD, but check out "We Will Decide" below, and go see him break out the acoustic guitar at The Roadhouse TONIGHT!



Also in new concerts, we have one verifiable hard rock band playing in the Sault Michigan area this weekend, as Kinross quintet Banned will continue their packed month of March with their return to Dondee Lanes TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Their second live concert weekend at the South Mackinaw Trail bowling alley/concert venue, it should be fun to see Banned's new lineup in action over the St. Patrick's Day weekend, so don't miss their ever-evolving covers this weekend when they rock the Dondee! As is sometimes common for their live shows, Banned will be on at the early start time of 8:00 PM tonight & tomorrow, while a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge are still in effect. Check the above links for more details! Banned have a lot of talent and live history to serve them well this weekend, and hopefully their new lineup continues their rise this weekend in the Soo! For a preview, here's the only video (so far) of their current incarnation, a Carrie Underwood cover in Moran last month!



Finally for the proven hard rock-leaning shows on the weekend schedule, the aforementioned Lucky 13 will be among the performers at The Rockstar Bar's St. Patrick's Day Weekend Party on Sunday! The post-Saturday placement is of course due to St. Patrick's Day, and both The Rockstar Bar & Alexander Keith's will be presenting entertainment all weekend long, including local metal guitarist Jonathan Tiberi's folk band The Daybreak Johnnies tonight & tomorrow night. The holiday itself will see Lucky 13 play a set of dependably heavy covers, and they'll be joined on the bill by ex-Terminal bassist Greg Callaghan in a solo set, likely with him on vocals & guitar like his past acoustic gigs (though I can't confirm if he'll be "evil" again on Sunday.) Along with the music, expect lots of green beer and good drinking times to go around, and where better is there to spend St. Patty's Day? Admission is FREE for the holiday weekend, but 19+ age limits and 10:00 PM start times remain in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This sounds like a great weekend of music, and things only get heavier on the holiday itself, so don't miss out on Lucky 13's gritty hard/alt-rock covers on Sunday (or TONIGHT at The Nic), or any of the other bands and fun to be had! For a preview, here's Lucky 13 at Toystock last year!



That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for more news over the weekend, and of course, this month's poll results & our newest poll on Monday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Lucky 13), Haggith & Rockstar Bar Battle Of The Bands Updates, And More!!

In our 11th straight day of new posts at the SMS (which is very good for the spring months), we have a bunch of news to get to on this Friday morning, including the latest on the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands next month, when you can see Haggith live next, and more recent shorter news stories, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next weekend that should go very well clad in green!

Sault Ontario hard/alternative rock quartet Lucky 13 will be among the acts playing at The Rockstar Bar on Sunday, March 17th for St. Patrick's Day! The Rockstar Bar & Alexander Keith's are hosting a St. Patrick's Weekend Party from the 15th through the 17th for the occasion, and Lucky 13 will be among the performers on the holiday itself, joining former Terminal bassist Greg Callaghan in a solo set (no word on if it will be "evil" like some of his recent live appearances, but I figure it will be an acoustic set with him on vocals & guitar.) For the record, the Friday & Saturday slots over next weekend will go to The Daybreak Johnnies, a local folk trio who are one of the many projects featuring prolific local metal musician Jonathan Tiberi. Admission all weekend will be FREE (it's St. Patty's Day, so why not?), but 10:00 PM start times and 19+ age limits remain in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a fun time, and you know how St. Patrick's Day goes for a fun drinking time, so take advantage of the live entertainment & holiday next weekend! Plus, you'll get Lucky 13's 1990s-influenced and often gritty hard rock covers, which are always welcome, so don't miss out, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's the latest news from local grunge quartet Haggith, who have a busy spring ahead themselves! First to note, they'll be playing a live set or two at the gymnasium at Sault College on March 23rd (two weeks from Saturday) as part of the entertainment for this year's Relay For Life cancer fundraising event that's being held at Sault College that day. I won't officially call it as a "concert" on here, as I believe you have to be a signed-up participant to fully attend the day's events & entertainment, but it's a great event that's raised tons of money over the years for cancer research, so click here for full details on how you can sign up and join the relay! It's great to see Haggith playing live after a two month break from the stage for what I think is their Sault College debut, and though it is odd thinking about bands playing in the gym, they've gotta play somewhere with The Outback gone. As well, organizers are looking for a second band to join Haggith at this year's Relay For Life festivities, so if you or your band are interested, message organizer Adriana Roque at this location for more details!

Aside from the Relay for Life, Haggith will also hit the stage at least once in April, as they're the newest confirmed band for the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands that's going down each Wednesday next month! Though they had previously hinted at signing up, the guys finally confirmed their involvement last night via their Facebook page, making them the third band (that I know of) to publically confirm that they'll be competing, joining The Suicide Kings & Giwakwa. As far as I know, this will be the first local battle for all of Haggith's members (though Mike Haggith may have played in some in Windsor), and I believe this will mark their debut at The Rockstar Bar as well. Members are selling 10 ticket packages for the month's festivities (there'll be battling on all 4 Wednesdays of April), so if you don't have yours or want to stock up, contact the band at this location for details! Will Haggith make the most of their local battle debut come next month, and continue to spread their name locally?

Also in battle news, registration closes for new bands on March 20th, so if you're stalling or haven't made up your mind yet, sign up A.S.A.P.! The deadline falls two weeks before the battle kicks off, and hopefully soon, we'll have a more complete list of signed up bands! I only know of the 3 bands mentioned above that have officially registered, but I'll note that local drummer Johnny Belanger (The Bear Hunters, Caveman Morrison) mentioned on the battle's Facebook event page last week that he had tickets for the battle to sell, and to message him on Facebook if you'd like him to deliver them to you. There has been no public confirmation from either of Johnny's current bands on if they've registered for the battle (that I know of, at least), but the fact that he's selling tickets does hint towards a band he's in competing next month. Of course, stay tuned for confirmation on any added bands, and check the above links for all current details! Remember, the top bands from the first 3 weeks will play in the finals on April 24th, with $1,000, studio time, and opening slots at one of promoter J.D. Pearce's upcoming shows going to the winners, so get your tickets and registrations A.S.A.P.! This will be an awesome month!

Finally for today, here's three more assorted shorter news stories from the last little while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• According to their Facebook page on Valentine's Day, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E will apparently be recording their debut CD over the next months in advance of their return to the stage in May! Does this mean the old Hubbard-Menard Band demos are being re-recorded with the full band? They also hyped t-shirts to be sold by then as well, and included a photo that may be the new album cover. Sounds interesting, but stay tuned for updates!
• Brimley, Michigan recording studio Lake Street Studio isn't overly known for working with heavier bands, but owner Taylor Brugman recently posted a song recorded there named "Nuthouse Sucks" by an act named Deadlight 3 onto his/the studio's SoundCloud page. A punk tinged aggressive rocker with solid bass, I like where the band's going, but I haven't found any other information on Deadlight 3 beyond this song. If you know anything, let me know, and if I hear anything, I'll share it here!
• Local deathcore quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre will play their first concert of 2013 on March 19th... just not in Sault Ontario. It will instead take place in the band's recent homebase of London at The APK as part of a cancer fundraiser, and The V.D.M. are among at least 8 acts on the bill, including frontman Steve Rhodes' new London-based band D3athcharg3r. It's great to see the guys finally playing out of town gigs, and hopefully this is just the first of many, so click here for more details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for hopefully some more news this weekend, including this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on Sunday! Thanks everyone!