Local indie/hard rock quartet Bizotic will return to LopLops Lounge TONIGHT when they open for London pop rock quartet Texas King! Apologies for the short notice, this show had been announced since at least last month by the headliners on social media, but Bizotic's involvement was only confirmed yesterday on their Facebook page. Just under a week removed from opening for The Din in their final concert, this talented trumpet & keytar-infused group will bring their entertaining original jams back to LopLops, and they should deliver another fun set, so don't miss out TONIGHT! As for Texas King, you may recognize them from performing at Sault College back in 2014, and with their alternative-tinged brand of positive and upbeat rock, they should find a fine audience at LopLops as they continue their tour in support of their new album "Circles"! And yes, Bizotic have stated that costumes are encouraged if you've got them!As well, local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. will reportedly be on TONIGHT's bill as well, as per a personal Facebook posting by guitarist Tyson Letang, but the band themselves has not confirmed this publically. If true, they're a solid fit! For reference, LopLops' entertainment on Saturday is the return of My Son The Hurricane, and you know how big their shows here can get, so keep that one in mind too for the Halloween weekend! This 19+ show has a likely $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Bizotic live!
Next up, here's the latest from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night, so what's new as they prepare for their long-teased Christmas tour? For one, it appears that they've had a change to one of their singers joining them on tour, as Rachel Mender (rather than Jordan Flesch) is tagged or featured in the most recent shared & posted material on Theatre of Night's Facebook page. A reason for Jordan's apparent exit wasn't announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened with her! If Rachel sounds familiar, it's because she was a former backing vocalist for the local epic metal band Integrated System of Machines, which also featured keyboardist Craig Harrison & guitarist Steve Giles in varying lineups, so it's great to see her back with them in this project! In fact, Rachel is the focus of the two newest videos on their Facebook page courtesy of their rehearsals in Holland, so what should you know on those?The first one was directly posted to the page last week, featuring Rachel singing "What Child Is This" in suitably operatic fashion, while embedded below is the one shared via Craig's personal Facebook page on Sunday, and it features her singing "Away In A Manger". She's a great fit for the classical side of the tour (including a Soo stop on December 16th), and while we're not hearing anything new in terms of song selection here, these are nice previews, so give them a look above & below! Despite what the below still may suggest, fellow vocalist Stacie McCarthy doesn't sing on either clip.
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:
- As per a recent Facebook event page edit, Sault Ontario death metal quartet The Bear Hunters have quietly been named as openers for the Special Ops concert at The Rockstar Bar next week, replacing A Dire Setback. A reason for their withdrawal wasn't publically announced, and while I believe I know why A.D.S. are out, I'd rather not go into details here without a band statement. Hopefully all is well, but The Bear Hunters are an interesting replacement act, so look for some death metal brutality next week!
- In their first substantial Facebook page postings on new activity this year, local goregrind solo project Crucify the Whore revealed on Tuesday that they are "cooking up fresh meals", including a new complete drum track and guitar compositions, while an original song of theirs will reportedly be featured on an upcoming compilation release by Illinois' See Thru Teeth Recordings. Great to see that Tyler's back in action with C.T.W., so stay tuned for more from his camp! He also confirmed there that he does have a new Malignant Neoplasm album in the works, which is good to hear, and that cybergrind project is back in our active band links!
- As previously teased, now-defunct alternative/hard rock trio The Din released their second and final studio album "Suburban Dream" on Bandcamp for digital sale on Saturday! It's available for $5 there (half off the CD price if you can still find one), and while there's no digital bonuses, it's great to see that their last full album is now available for people who missed the release concert, so stream or buy it above, and look for our review in early December!
- Local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church are looking to expand to a quartet by adding a second guitarist, as per a post on their Facebook page two weeks ago. They're hoping to find someone around their age who likes to play rock music, so if you might be interested, message the band above or their members on Facebook for details!
- Local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary posted four new songs onto his Soundcloud page two weeks ago, entitled "Rain", "Disease", "Date Night With Darkness", and "The Best Part" (his Facebook page notes that he recorded one more that weekend, but it either wasn't posted or was later deleted.) No word on if these will make his debut album, but they have a good 1990s-esque sound, especially "Date Night With Darkness", so hear them above!
- The Soo Theater in Sault Michigan was the site of a fire on Tuesday, but a quick response from local firefighters ensured that it remained contained in a back room, with "little visible damage" at the Ashmun Street venue as a result. This is great news, and kudos to firefighters for ensuring that the fire didn't spread, so check out this Sault Evening News article and other pertinent news sources for further details! Remember that the Soo Theater will host the aforementioned Theatre of Night live on December 16th.
That's all for now, but absolutely look for this month's YouTube Channel Profile later today, I promise! Thanks everyone!
