Weekend Concert Previews & Lion Ride's Openers In May!

First of all, before we get to anything local, I have to mention this, seeing how it's shaken up the metal community. The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences out to the family, friends, and bandmates of Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele, who died yesterday of heart failure at the age of 48. Type O Negative were one of my all-time favourite goth/doom metal bands, and I always loved Peter's unique deep baritone voice. Often depressing, but always engaging and quite metal, they're the reason I'm into doom metal at all! Never got to see them live, I wish I could have. R.I.P. Peter!

Now, I wanna apologize for the lack of posts since Monday, homework and studying is a pain in the ass, I haven't had a whole lot of time for general SMS housekeeping. Now that I have a bit of free time, I will preview this weekend's stacked lineup of concerts! I don't really like piling too much news in a post, so I'll just have one extra story: The openers for Lion Ride's show here in May, though plenty of other news is forthcoming! So let's get started with a trio of shows this weekend in Sault Michigan!

Marquette hard rockers Nudge will be back at The Satisfied Frog this weekend for a trio of concerts! TONIGHT, they'll be playing a solo set of your favourite metal and hard rock covers, before breaking out their full electric sets tomorrow and Saturday! Each show starts at 10:00 PM, there is no announced cover, but bring your cash, cause they'll have band t-shirts for sale for $10! Expect more great sounding renditions of your favourite songs, so get some type of alcoholic beverage and head on down to The Frog! I recommend going this weekend if you're on the fence, because they won't be back up here until August, so seize the moment! Confirm your attendance at the official Facebook event page, check out more from Nudge at this location, and for a video preview, here's a clip of Nudge covering the Ozzy Osbourne classic "Mama I'm Coming Home" from a 2008 concert in Skandia, Michigan!



Quick detour back to Sault Ontario for a second, as another rock act goes unplugged for a set! Only this time, it's Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison, who'll take the stage at The Bottoms Up Lounge for a set tomorrow night! Unusually, there's no solo show anywhere in the area for Saturday, usually Tym plays two shows at two venues on a given weekend. So if you want some solo Tym Morrison goodness, you'll wanna be above Vincenzo's tomorrow night! There's no cover charge, everything starts at 10:00 PM, so head on out if you wanna enjoy come cold beer and hot music! For more information on this concert, click here! Get more info on Tym's solo act by visiting his official website, which has audio and video clips from Tym and Caveman Morrison alike! No video of his solo stuff online yet though.

Back in the States for the other concert across the river this weekend, as local hard rockers Riot! By Night hit the road for a show in Rudyard, which is just outside of Sault Michigan! They'll be at Dan's Place on Saturday night, the same venue that Absolute (who shared members with R!BN) frequented during their heyday! That was when I didn't know that it was actually a concert venue and not some guy named Dan's place. Stupid me! I don't know a ton about this show, just that it starts at 9:00 PM and there is no announced cover charge. Hell, I still don't know how Riot! By Night definitively sound! But from all accounts, they're an impressive band with a good grasp of their sound, they should deliver a great set on Saturday! Click here for more info on the band.

Back to Canada for the last two shows, and we'll leave the earlier show for last this time, because of it's size and importance. Sault Ontario hard rock cover band Turner Up WILL BE PLAYING on Saturday night at The Canadian Nightclub! Now the extra emphasis is not because of it's short notice announcement, we've been through that already. I'm reinforcing it's status because of the fire that took place Wednesday at The Upper Deck Lounge. That's the upstairs bar/restaurant/lounge that's directly above The Canadian at The Knights Inn. In case you didn't hear, a fire of "suspicious origin" ignited on Wednesday on the patio, causing thousands of dollars in damages. SooToday reports had said that The Canadian itself may have suffered smoke damage, but if anything did happen, it wasn't enough to close it or The Upper Deck Lounge! Both are open, just obviously stay away from the patio or anywhere with police tape, as there's an investigation going on. So, let me reiterate: TURNER UP ARE STILL ON FOR SATURDAY NIGHT!

Back to concert info, Turner Up are playing in honour of the birthday of a person named Jenny, according to a Facebook event page created by guitarist Len Ward! They'll take the stage after 10:30 PM, merchandise will be available (likely t-shirts), and I'd expect a cover charge of around $3. Should be a fun show, nice to see that no fire can stop the rock! Remember, the heaviest songs will be in their last set, so don't be discouraged early! Click here to confirm your attendance, and for a preview, here's a live video of Turner Up's version of the Def Leppard classic "Hysteria"!



And finally for the previews, the biggest show of the weekend! On Saturday, Garden of Bedlam finally host their fundraiser concert/pub! Designed to raise funds towards the recording of their first full-length album, it will take place in Garden River this Saturday at the Garden River Community Center! And yes, Garden River is relatively close to Sault Ontario, only a few minutes outside of town! While Garden of Bedlam will take the stage for a concert set, there's much more in store! At 5:00 PM, there will be a pasta dinner, followed by the performance itself! There will be raffle prizes available to draw on (they're not announced, but the original fundraiser date's page said The Rad Zone, Forsaken Tattoo Studio, and Wal-Mart would be donating prizes.) After the performance, the night turns 19+ (sorry kids) with a dance! If you need a designated driver, or a ride back to town in general, a chartered bus will be available from the Community Center to get you home.

Admission is a flat $10 at the door or in advance, contact the band on Facebook if you want to make an advance payment. If not, bring cash with you on Saturday! This WILL be your last chance to see Garden of Bedlam live prior to their studio sessions, so if you wanna see them before the summer, Saturday's your last opportunity! Click the above link to confirm your attendance and get more information, and of course, check out their new website! So if you wanna support one of the most prominent local metal bands, and get some supper and draw entries out of it, be there! I hope to be, I just need to secure a ride and what have you. If I'm there, and I hope to be, I'll have a review and photo album posted on Sunday! For a preview of this special fundraiser concert, here's a video clip of Garden of Bedlam performing their original song "New Rain"!



Finally for this post, I have to mention this today for the magnitude of it: Lion Ride have announced the openers for their concert here on May 22nd at The Canadian Nightclub, and it's none other than Sense of Truth! This will be Sense of Truth's first local concert since February (coincidentally, also at The Canadian), and will mark the first time the two bands have shared the stage since December, when both bands made the finals of the Kiss Battle of the Bands! Excellent news, maybe we'll get some more glimpses of their upcoming EP with their set! If I hear any more news concerning this show, I'll have it right here! For now though, confirm your attendance at the official Facebook event page!

OK, so here's my planned SMS schedule for the coming days: Tomorrow, I'm planning a post outlining news I've bypassed or missed in the last week (Rotaryfest info will be one of the bigger stories.) Saturday will be my profiles of Levitate and Necramyth, two more out of town bands with local representation, and Sunday will 100% have the results of our current poll on FM radio! If I'm at the Garden of Bedlam fundraiser (I really hope to be), the review of that will be Sunday too! So even though posting was slow this week, this weekend is chock full of new stuff, so don't let time pass you by, check out The Sault Metal Scene instead!