Wednesday, February 1, 2012

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sneaky Pete & The Valentine's Day Massacre) And Lots Of Battle Of The Bands Updates!!

A new month is upon us, but the news sure hasn't slowed up, so here's what's on tap for this stacked news post! Today, we've got all the latest updates on the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands (including ticket details, who exactly "Inhumane Method" are, and much more), and kicking off this post, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this month, so here's what you need to know! (EDITED, 10:52 AM)

Local hard rock quartet Sneaky Pete will return to The Rockstar Bar next weekend! Three weeks after they last rocked the upstairs bar at The Algonquin Hotel, this talented group of local music mainstays will return to rock your winter blahs one week from Saturday with a wide array of hard rock and metal covers! They will be on at 10:30 PM on the 11th, you must be 19 to attend, and I'd expect a cover charge of around $4. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see Sneaky Pete book a new concert closer to their last one, as they've had a few lengthier breaks between shows in the past year, so if you missed them at The Rockstar Bar last month, seize the opportunity and go see them next Saturday for some great rocking covers! They were great when I saw them last month, just for reference! Stay tuned for any possible updates to this concert as they come in!

Also for new shows, the 42nd Roosevelt Hotel metal night is now official, but not for tomorrow night, instead taking place in two weeks on February 16th. This goes against the recent bi-weekly schedule for the metal nights, but whether they're now every four weeks or monthly now isn't known at present. That said, three bands are lined up for the second Thursday metal night at The Rosie of 2012, so here's who's lined up! Local deathcore quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre (formerly View To A Kill) will play their first concert of 2012 and first since changing their name last month, and they'll have new original songs to go along with it on the 16th, so make sure not to miss their return! Desbarats death metallers For All That Is Lost will also join them in their first local show of the new year, so be sure to welcome them with open arms and get ready to mosh during their hard hitting set of originals! Also lined up for this show are local extreme metal quintet Winkstinger in their first local concert since parting ways with singer Alan Wells in December, though the band has yet to reveal if he's been replaced yet. If I hear anything on their new singer, I'll be sure to let you guys know! Admission is free for this latest metal night, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Rosie metal nights are always packed with quality music, and though the more sporadic recent bookings are a bit concerning, hopefully a great turnout is there on the 16th, hopefully including myself! I'm curious to hear Winkstinger's new frontman and the new VDM originals, for example. Stay tuned for updates on this and all other upcoming concerts as we hear news on them!

Third today, here's the latest updates on the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands on April 20th at The Grand Theater, as it looks like the lineup is now complete! From what I can gather, the full lineup is capped at 12 bands, and three new bands have been officially named among them, including Frightlight frontman J.D. Pearce's punk band T. Rex Manning and local classic hard rock quintet Turner Up! Barring a future concert announcement, this will be just T. Rex Manning's second show, following their debut at The Rosie in November, and I can actually tell you guys a bit more about their sound now too! Videos from their debut were posted onto Facebook by Brandon St. Jules, who filmed two punk songs that T. Rex Manning played at that show, which you can watch at this location. More of a traditional punk sound than Frightlight's horror-influenced material, and the dress clothes that they wore onstage is a unique touch (reminds me of Faith No More.) Not metal from my first glance, but I'm eager to hear them live in April at the battle! As for Turner Up, their inclusion is a bit surprising given their lack of originals (that I know of), but they're sure to deliver some hard rocking awesomeness at this battle of the bands, and it'll be interesting seeing them at The Grand Theater for a change too!

The 12th band is indeed classic metal quartet Late & Loud, who were finally confirmed this morning as competitors. Awesome to finally see them official for this show, so don't miss them in April! Note that the battle's website still lists "(To Be Announced)", despite a finalized lineup, so if that means anything, I'll keep you posted. Also of note, local blue Chinese metal crash punk quartet Sykotyk Rampage are on the battle lineup, but not as competitors. Though listed among the featured bands, Sykotyk Rampage confirmed on their own event page for this show that they are the warm-up & closing band bookending the battle itself, and will not be competing against the other performers. This is surprising given their success in local battles, including a 3rd place finish at the Sault College/Scotties Tournament Battle in 2010, but they should leave a good impression on the fans regardless of their involvement on April 20th! My other lineup note today concerns the band named "Inhumane Method" that are listed among the performers. As it turns out, the name was spelled wrong there, as they're actually called Inhuman Methods, and they're a newer metal quartet from Desbarats, meaning that two Desbarats acts will throw their hat into the ring for this battle! I don't know what they play or how they sound, but check their Facebook group out at the link above and keep an eye out for them & possible media of theirs over the next few months! Thanks to F.A.T.I.L. singer Tyler Sperry for the info on Inhuman Methods!

With the newest battle additions, the lineup now includes As It Stands, The Bear Hunters, F.A.T.I.L., Inhuman Methods, Late & Loud, The Moves, T. Rex Manning, Tea With Lincoln, Turner Up, The Valentine's Day Massacre, The Vertically Impaired, and Wishbone, with Sykotyk Rampage playing out-of-competition before and after the battle. This is the final lineup outside of any potential band dropouts, and if this holds up, we're in for a treat on April 20th! The other big news in terms of this battle is that tickets are NOW ON SALE! The tickets, which are $20, can be purchased at either the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society on 962 Second Line East or at The Grand Theater on Queen Street East, though it's requested you call ahead at (705) 575-5687 if you plan to buy your tickets at The Grand, to make sure someone's there. Other details, like possible age limits, band order & performance times, and prizes are currently unknown, but stay tuned to the official Facebook event page for complete details as they come in! This is shaping up to be a huge event for a great cause, and hopefully the word picks up greatly as we get closer to the battle! Stay tuned for more on this event as it comes in!

That's all for now, but stay tuned to the SMS for new Woods of Ypres updates and more in our next news post, along with our latest "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

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