LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Griphook) And The First Of The Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

For today's post, we're focusing on previews of the Halloween weekend hard rock/metal concerts in the area! None are known in Sault Michigan of the heavier persuasion for this weekend (at least, within our coverage range), but as Sault Ontario is pretty stacked, I'll save our previews of J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party & the Soo Zombie Walk afterparty (both on Saturday) for TOMORROW'S post. I don't want them to get lost in the shuffle, so look out for them then! Today's previews include the expanded Zombie Walk lineup and another Roosevelt Hotel show, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic hard rock quartet Griphook will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Nicolet Tavern! Apologies for the short notice, the band only launched the Facebook event page for it this morning. Their first show since the Ray Brown benefit, tomorrow's one-night-only gig follows their classic rock sister band The Seven Year Itch's Roosevelt Hotel gigs last weekend, and it's nice to see everyone back together to rock The Nic tomorrow night! No word on why they're not playing Saturday, but I'll note that Griphook's advertising for tomorrow's concert does NOT imply a direct Halloween connection, so keep that in mind before you bring a costume. There's no announced cover charge for this 10:00 PM concert, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the above links! It's always good to see Griphook on the local stage, and hopefully this veteran quartet (featuring Flat Stanley, Bigsuit, Hollow, and Fusion alumni) have a great night tomorrow with their diverse and often heavy mix of covers! Check above for more details, and for a preview, here's Griphook covering Finger Eleven's "One Thing" at The Nic earlier this year!

Now to previously announced dates, starting with another cover hard rock band, as Turner Up successors The Thrill Junkies will return to The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT themselves! Also fresh off of the Ray Brown benefit, this is a one night only gig due to the aforementioned Halloween Party on Saturday, though like with Griphook's show, there's no announced Halloween theme for tomorrow's Thrill Junkies' gig. This will also be the first hard rock concert at The Rosie following the shooting incident there on Sunday morning (our best wishes go out to the victim), and I sincerely hope no nonsense like this happens here this weekend! What should be going down tomorrow is a fun night of hard and classic rock covers from The Thrill Junkies, who have a lot of talent and chemistry from their past band work, so don't miss their Rosie return! There is no announced cover charge for this 19+_ concert, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and when video footage of The Thrill Junkies turns up, we'll have it here!

We'll close today with all the details for the musical entertainment around this year's fifth annual Soo Zombie Walk THIS SATURDAY! Moving from The Grand Theater to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre this year for unannounced reasons (and moving up a week later to coincide with the Halloween weekend), the location & date aren't all that's different for this year's event. Before you guys rampage downtown for brains in your best zombie costume, there's a far-expanded slate of pre-walk activities, including the shift of the majority of live bands from the afterparty to the afternoon before the walk begins. There will still be a downscaled afterparty that we'll touch on tomorrow, but here's what to expect from the actual walk activities! The Zombie Walk itself begins at 6:00 PM from the Bushplane Museum with the closing ceremonies and prize announcements taking place at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, with orientation, photos, and setup for zombie resistance members in the 5:00 hour. The headlining band on Saturday (making their third straight Zombie Walk appearance) are local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage, whose own zombie themed songs & creative improvised originals will fit well once again at the Bushplane Museum!

Prior to pre-walk announcements at 4:30 PM, local grunge alternative quartet Haggith will make their second straight Zombie Walk appearance at 4:00 PM, and with their planned "Apocalypse II" CD still in the works, some zombie songs from that could be in the planned setlist, so keep that in mind as well! The other performers are solo musicians (both with past experience as bassists in prominent local bands) taking the stage prior to some brain-eating contests at 3:15 PM. The opening artists are North West member Greg Callaghan (credited as "Greg Calhoun" on official posters) at 2:30 PM and Project Legion bassist James Watterworth kicking off the music at 2:00 PM. Doors will open at the Bushplane Museum at 1:00 PM, with zombie face painting, photos, games, contests, and vendors available throughout the afternoon. Admission is $2 plus a canned food donation, and supervised children can get in with a food donation too. For more details, visit the walk's official Facebook group! I'm very curious to see how successful the Zombie Walk is given the expanded pre-walk activities, decreased emphasis on the afterparty, and date/location shifts, but the event has seen solid growth in the past four years, and I have a good feeling about this year's format!

Also, note that all of the musical performers (aside from Greg Callaghan/Calhoun) performed at Bushplane Musical Madness II in July, so if you missed that event (and love zombies), here's your makeup date! I don't know if I can make the Zombie Walk this year (blame scheduling if I can't), but I still plan on hitting the Halloween Party at The Rosie that night, so you'll see me somewhere with camera in hand to take in some seasonal metal and hard rock! For a preview, here's Sykotyk Rampage playing "Sweet Young Thing" at The Bushplane Museum in July!



That's all for today, but stay tuned TOMORROW for our previews of the Zombie Walk Afterparty and the Ripcordz-headlined Halloween Party at The Rosie! Thanks everyone!