This Weekend's Local Concert Previews!!

Hello everyone! We have seven hard rock/metal concerts to my knowledge this weekend, so today's post is dedicated solely to them, so if you need help picking a concert to attend this weekend, I have you covered! So here's what you need to know for this weekend's concerts!

We'll quickly start in Sault Ontario tomorrow night, as Turner Up return to the live stage for the first time since Todd Killam's departure for a show at The Nicolet Tavern! This show was originally part of two scheduled for next weekend, but was pushed back and cut in half in favour of a singular show tomorrow night. Despite the recent confirmation of Brent Royer at their new frontman, Turner Up will play tomorrow's show as a four-piece while they "prepare" Brent. So for tomorrow, drummer Scott McClurg will handle lead vocals, which should be interesting! The show starts at 10:30 PM, there's no announced cover, and I imagine you myst be 19 to get in. If nothing else, you should go for the unique nature of this show, and for the classic hard rock covers they'll bring to the table! Check out more from Turner Up at their official Facebook page, confirm your attendance by clicking here, and for a preview, here's an old Todd Killam-era video of the band covering Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music"!



Now we'll head to Sault Michigan for the next four shows, before returning to Sault Ontario for the final two. We'll start just outside of town in Kinross, where locals Nixxon Dixxon take the stage for a unique show of their own! As part of the entertainment at a National Guard golf scramble event at The Oaks at Kincheloe Golf Course, Nixxon Dixxon will play a concert set at the course's on-site bar, The Bunker Bar & Grill! I never pictured Nixxon Dixxon and golf together at all, but hey, they're one of the area's best young bands, they'll do fine! They're just playing tomorrow at 9:00 PM, there's no listed cover charge (keep in mind that there may be members restrictions though, this is a golf course), and I believe there's a 21+ age limit. Great to see Nixxon Dixxon live, hopefully they knock it out of the park as they lead up to their Kewadin festival appearance! Get more info on this concert and the band at this location, and for a preview, here's the band covering Metallica's "Master of Puppets" from last December!



Meanwhile, back in Sault Michigan, an out-of-town band will make their long awaited return here tomorrow night! Cheboygan hard rockers The Darwin Project are making their way back to town for a concert tomorrow night at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill! There's no announced cover charge, and there's definitely a 21+ age limit. It's been a while since we last saw The Darwin Project live locally, but if you've followed the Sault Michigan scene for a while now, these guys should be quite familiar! They've played here numerous times, notably at the July 2008 "Rock Starz" show at The Soo Theater, and they should be set to deliver another fun night of radio-friendly hard rock to the partons at The Corner Pub! I like what I hear, heavy yet accessible! Click here for more from The Darwin Project, and for a preview, here's the band playing their song "Back To Dust" in Traverse City in January!



Finally for the Sault Michigan previews, local hard rock band Blind Baby will return to The Bird for a pair of shows this weekend! According to their Reverbnation page, the band will take the stage tomorrow night and Saturday night for two likely 21+ shows, with start times of around 10:00 PM. If you wanna hear some solid progressive hard rock this weekend, you've got a great example of it at The Bird! Melodic and well played hard rock with gritty vocals and a hard edge, it's good stuff! Check out more from Blind Baby at their official Reverbnation page! No videos are online of them yet, but rest assured, they'll put on good performances this weekend! There's more from Blind Baby coming soon!

Now we're back in Sault Ontario for the last two metal concerts of the weekend, but one I'm actually starting to second guess. It was confirmed last week that local hard rock quartet Silver Dream would be making their live concert debut on Saturday with local indie band Broken House at a concert at Foggy Notions. The event pages for it (frontman Matthew Silver's and Broken House's Jason McBride's) are still online, with listed start times of 10:00 PM, and the show would likely have a $3-$5 cover and a 19+ age limit. That we know or can guess. But I'm second-guessing this show because Matthew Silver, the founder and mainman of Silver Dream, has both shut down his Facebook account AND his YouTube channel. Those were the only internet pages that had anything to do with Silver Dream, who had no music page. So you can understand why I might have thoughts that this show was cancelled, or possibly worse. I hope nothing bad or drastic happened with Silver Dream, I know how much Matthew's been putting into this band and how much he wants to make it big! Good stuff that I heard too!

I'm just not comfortable calling this show right now, so I'm removing it from the concert listings, but if I hear different, I'll be sure to let you guys know! Last I heard, Broken House might still be playing, if that counts for anything, though I can't verify that. Fingers crossed that Silver Dream are still alive in some fashion! I'll keep you guys posted!

That leads us to the last concert this weekend to preview, and this I can 100% verify is on! Local punk/metal quartet Frightlight will bring their horror-influenced concert set to Coch's Corner on Saturday night, in their first publicly advertised concert since Halloween 2009 (not counting the "secret show", of course!) Featuring Fitswitch mainstays J.D. Pearce & Rick White, bassist Mike Gingras, and Caveman Morrison drummer Jeff Richards, they'll bring their Misfits-influenced sound to Coch's on Saturday for a very unique concert! It's unique in that, they'll be recording their first album LIVE at the concert, to be produced and mixed by iT's Nick Jackson! Is that more incentive to go? Really, how often can you be present for a recording session, this'll be a special moment! Also to be featured is local rock trio Marshmellow Gun in their live debut! They have sort of a Tom Waits/punk style which is very unique locally, so don't expect the typical stuff with them! Click here and the above links to check out the bands! There's no cover charge, you must be 19, and the show starts at 10:00 PM! Get more information at the Facebook event page too!

I guarantee I'll be at Coch's Corner on Saturday for this, I can't pass up a show of this type, especially after missing Frightlight so much since their inception! I'll have a review, video, and photo album on Sunday, so stay tuned for that! I'll be tweeting live from Coch's too during the concert, so FOLLOW US ON TWITTER for live updates! For a video preview, here's a live video of Frightlight playing their song "Dead Town"!



So there are your concert previews for this weekend! It just gets bigger from here though, with two weekends of major music festivals on the horizon, starting with Rotaryfest next weekend! I'll be there for Garden of Bedlam, hopefully you guys are too! Stay tuned to The Sault Metal Scene around midnight for the fourth installment of our GarageBand Profile Mini-Series, on local solo artist Mike Cliffe! Expect a new news post on Saturday, and my Frightlight review on Sunday! Lots of excitements here over the next few days, stay tuned for it all!