Halloween Weekend Metal/Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

It's time to preview this weekend's concert previews, and given that it is Halloween weekend, there's a special air to the proceedings! Before we get to the metal concerts going down, here's a couple of related notes. We won't preview the Garden of Bedlam show on Devil's Night until next week because it's too early, but it is coming! The majority of bars and concert venues in the Twin Saults have bands or Halloween parties either this weekend or next week, so check venue & band pages, SooToday, and Sault This Week to hear about all of the ones that wouldn't fit well on the SMS! And for the record, I don't believe there's any metal/hard rock bands playing live in Sault Michigan this weekend (Powerslug are at Manistique's Kewadin Casino on Saturday though, if you're up for a road trip), but Sault Michigan are having their own Zombie Walk tomorrow night for the first time (but with no visible concert attachments.) Of course, if I hear of any heavier Halloween season concerts across the river, I will have them here, so keep an eye out! For now though, let's get to the Sault Ontario metal shows over this spooky weekend schedule!

First up for the Halloween metal concert schedule is the return of Caveman Morrison to The Nicolet Tavern this weekend! Last seen at the Albert Street venue last month, this hard working trio will bring their entertaining metal and hard rock covers back to the stage tomorrow and Saturday night, and yes, Halloween costumes are encouraged! I'd assume moreso on Saturday just for proximity to the 31st, but nothing says you can't get in the spirit tomorrow either! Admission should be free for these 19+ concerts, and a 9:30 PM start time for both nights is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a fun weekend of Halloween mayhem from Tym and company, and hopefully a big crowd turns out tomorrow and Saturday to drink in the Halloween themes and great covers! For a preview, here's Caveman Morrison covering Judas Priest's "The Ripper" at The Rosie last year!



And finally for the heavier Halloween weekend concerts is The Halloween Party! More specifically, this is the seventh annual Halloween party/concert held by local promoter/singer J.D. Pearce, and after 6 years at the former Coch's Corner on Bay Street, the event did not move along with the (now acoustically based) venue to the old Foggy Notions location. Instead, the party will be held at The Algonquin Pub & Sports Bar (downstairs from The Rockstar Bar) on Saturday night, and though I don't think The Algonquin Pub has hosted a heavier band since Algoma Hope4Haiti in 2010, there are hopes that it could become a more active concert venue, so hopefully this Saturday's event is a huge hit! With that said, this year's Halloween Party will be bigger than ever, with a fitting Halloween ambiance, the return of the costume contest (which I don't remember happening last year), and the biggest band lineup yet, including headliners Frightlight in their fourth straight appearance at this event! Fresh off of their set opening for The Misfits TONIGHT in Toronto, this popular punk/metal quintet will be sure to deliver a fun set of originals and Misfits covers, and you know that with their lyrics and stage personas, they'll fit perfectly for a Halloween event! Note that I think their full lineup will be present this weekend, following Redundant frontman Justin Langlois' fill in stint on rhythm guitar for tonight's Toronto gig.

Joining them on Saturday will be Toronto pop punk quartet The Fairmounts, who are fronted by former Lion Ride frontman and veteran local musician Mikey Hawdon! Though briefly advertised as the headlining band at one point, this rising pop punk band should deliver a fun set of originals in their Sault Ste. Marie debut on Saturday, and it'll be awesome to see Mikey singing original material in town again! The other bands on Saturday include The Brews (a.k.a. local punk trio Redundant covering NOFX material) and "the original crash band" Sykotyk Rampage, who'll both add some interesting sounds as the opening bands! Redundant can pull off NOFX songs well, so this turn as The Brews should be fun, while Sykotyk Rampage (who will be joined by fill-in bassist Tony Briglio again) should deliver an entertaining set of improvised drinking songs and recent originals, as they did at the Zombie Walk afterparty this past weekend! Note as well that this will be the first Halloween Party in this series since the mid-2000s (if not ever) to not feature the yearly cover band that played under different genres and personas (most recently as The 151s), but hopefully we see them in the future in some form or another!

Admission will be $5 for this 19+ event, and everything starts at or around 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see J.D. keeping this yearly Halloween tradition going, even if at a new location, and hopefully there's a great response and participation to ensure more shows at The Algonquin in the future! Barring any illness complications, I hope to be there for a review and more, so I should see you guys there on Saturday night! For a preview, here's Frightlight playing one of my favourite songs of theirs at last year's Halloween Party at the old Coch's Corner!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes shortly, including our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Genocya tomorrow! Thanks everyone!