Before we review last night's Garden of Bedlam show (videos should be posted on Facebook in the next couple of hours), we have a new news post covering many recent stories, so what's on tap? Mostly news concerning local concert promoter (and prolific metal/punk singer) J.D. Pearce, who has even more big news coming for 2013 concerts, so that will lead off, but also watch for news on lineup additions for a previously announced gig, another one being moved, and a recent EP re-release. Without any further adieu, here's what you need to know!
The aforementioned J.D. Pearce (a.k.a.
Johnny Pints) is going to try promoting a metal/punk festival this fall that he's calling
Heavy North! Planned to be held at
The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center at 50 Pim Street, the aim appears for this to be a multi-day event starting on September 27th, and it will likely feature out of town headliners and local acts, though full details have yet to be announced (i.e. bands, ticket availability, age restrictions, other ground rules.) Most local music festivals that we have in town are either geared towards more mainstream genres (i.e. Rotaryfest) or one-off (like many charitable events), so if this is a success, it could be huge and encourage this to become an annual event! Of course, that was the aim of last year's Ypres Metal Fest. I think J.D. has the drive and resources to pull this off and see if it will be successful, but given the Heavy North branding, I'd like to see an emphasis on local/Northern Ontario bands and non-regional acts with former Saultites in their lineup. I'm sure things will fall into place as we get into the summer, so stay tuned for updates, and message the above links if you want in on Heavy North!
In a possibly related note,
the July 8th SNFU/Death By Stereo concert originally planned for the Bushplane Museum was moved to
The Canadian Nightclub (who hosted Death By Stereo's last show here in 2009) on Wednesday, as per
the Facebook event page. A reason wasn't announced, but could it have been to save the museum for Heavy North? Either way, the SNFU show will be huge, and it still has a huge venue, so click the above links for more details!
Also in new event announcements is
The Crusade, a multi-band cancer fundraising concert to be held at The Canadian Nightclub on Monday, May 20th. This is a cause close to J.D., as his mother has survived cancer battles multiple times, so you know this event will be done right! Cancer sucks, I lost my grandmother & step-grandfather to it, so I know full well the importance of an event like this! This ALL AGES event will take place from 12:00 PM to midnight on May 20th, and admission is by donation (or, pay what you can), with a suggested amount of $5. All proceeds will go to The Canadian Cancer Society & The Relay For Life, and while no bands have been announced yet, J.D. emphasized on
the Facebook event page that unlike his usual punk/metal/hardcore shows, this is open to everyone! I'd assume some harsher bands will be a part, but expect a wider variance of acts for The Crusade.
If you're interested in playing (all genres are welcome), or would like to donate prizes for likely draws, message J.D. at
this location, and get more details above! This sounds like a great event for an awesome cause, so contact the above links to get involved, ad keep an eye out for any SMS-leaning band announcements!
Lastly for updates on J.D.'s upcoming concerts, the local support for
the Skeletonwitch-headlined metal show at The Canadian Nightclub on June 3rd is now official, and rather than just one band, we have two, including local melodic death metal quintet
The Bear Hunters! Fresh off of their best ever local Battle of the Bands finish from Wednesday night, their concert pace continues to slowly pick up, and this major show will be their first at The Canadian since (I think) opening for Fuck The Facts last May! The other newly confirmed opening band is local death metal quartet
Crimson Crusade (featuring Pillory & Inhuman Methods alumni) in their first concert since The Locals Attack at The Canadian in November! Though only sporadically seen with recent lineups, their Death-influenced sound attracted a lot of positive notices last fall, and they've been busy working on a yet-released EP so far this year, so we'll have to see how they sound and perform in their long awaited return! Check the above links for more on this huge concert in June, and I know I'll see you guys there!
Finally, here's what you should know on local classic metal quartet
Late & Loud's CD release from their finals appearance at The Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands Finals! As in the Saigon Hookers' show in November, Late & Loud sold $5 copies of "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal" on Wednesday night for fans & attendees, though this was an expanded version subtitled "Still Hard", featuring 4 new songs! The cover art is on your left, and the disc features the 5 songs from the initial EP release (as recorded at The Smoke & Oak Room with Dave Pihlaja), albeit newly ordered. The other 4 songs include re-recordings of "Never Again" & "Love Letter Lockdown" (last year's bonus tracks), plus two brand new recordings ("Trouble" & "Live For Excess".) The 4 new tracks were produced by singer/guitarist Jonathan Tiberi's
Daybreak Johnnies bandmate Steve Hopkin, and without reviewing them yet, the quality is better than on last year's bonus songs! The re-release also includes an expanded booklet (including more band photos), a psychedelic custom design on each disc, and a slimmer jewel case.
I fully plan on reviewing the "HRHM" re-release next month on the site (hopefully sooner rather than later), so there's our May CD review at the SMS! I just hope Wednesday wasn't their last show, and I hope Late & Loud stay alive, even if just for sporadic reunion gigs when Jon comes back north. The off-podium finish for the guys is bound to be disappointing, but to their fans (myself included), it was fun and business as usual, and if it was their last, they went out with a bang! Stay tuned for updates as they come in, and keep an eye out for our review of the EP next month!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for my review of last night's Garden of Bedlam/Skeyes of Seven concert later tonight! Thanks everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment