LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Suicide Kings) & Most Of Our Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, it's now time for our second metal/hard rock concert preview post for this unusually busy November weekend, this time covering a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TOMORROW NIGHT and a pair of Sault Michigan-area concert weekends from two popular local bands! We'll touch on tomorrow's Nick Cam Jam in Brimley and Sunday's Biipiigwan show in TOMORROW'S post, so watch out for those then as we wind down the weekend! With that said, let's begin our previews!

Just one day after their return to the stage, Rockstar Bar Battle winners The Suicide Kings will rock The Canadian Nightclub TOMORROW NIGHT as part of the musical entertainment at a benefit event for frontman Mike Gaetano's girlfriend Amy Ellis, who is currently fighting cancer. I apologize for the short notice, this event was announced in October (and acknowledged on here at the time) at this link, but a public confirmation of bands only came yesterday via this Facebook event page. The event itself will feature a pasta dinner at 6:00 PM and other events and prize draws, but the music is slated to begin at 9:00 PM tomorrow night. DJ Reverend J (a.k.a. Jay Perron) will be providing music in between and before the bands, and there are two other scheduled bands, including the recently resurrected rock cover band Havadder! Now featuring Turner Up and Asylum Country alumni in their new lineup, this will be just their second show since their return in September, and I know Jason and company have a few hard rock covers in store, so don't miss their set!

The other band is Late Shift, a new local rock quartet featuring former Redefined bandmates John Barber (most recently of Fingerbone) & Matt Sibilo alongside Matt's former Groove Committee bandmate Anthony Gagnon and North West drummer Clint Wilson. No word on if they lean heavier yet or not, but they have metal chops based on John & Matt's past work, so I'm curious to hear them! Admission will be $25 for the dinner and full event (or $5 for just the bands), and while there's no announced age limits, I'd keep them in mind if you only come for the bands at 9:00 PM. For more details, check the above links! Hopefully this event is a huge success to help Amy, Mike, and her family out at this difficult time, and the music is a solid mix of local rock acts, including some returning and debuting bands, so keep it in mind for tomorrow night! I don't live far from The Canadian, so that's added incentive to check everything out, so hopefully I'll see you guys there! For a preview, here's The Suicide Kings live at The Canadian from August!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock trio Power Slug will return to the local concert stage TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT for shows at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! The pageless but talented band actually haven't plugged the shows on personal Facebook pages yet, but Kewadin's entertainment page has listed them for a while now, so at least there's advance notice! Their first announced concerts (that I know of) since a Halloween party gig in Brimley that we missed on here, look for an entertaining and diverse night of classic and hard rock songs from this talented trio tonight and tomorrow! There's no announced cover charge for these 21+ shows, and a 9:00 PM start time is likely. For more details, check the above links, and for a preview, here's a video of them live that I finally was able to track down! I think if I'd spelled "Power Slug" as two words earlier, this would have already been on the SMS, but it's of Chris, Chris, and Bob covering The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band's hit "Blue On Black"!

Filmed at an August 2013 appearance at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill's outdoor stage (and as filmed by drummer Bob Helsten's Toast bandmate Melissa Strand for her YouTube channel), it's in cell phone dimensions and generally far from the stage, but it's still the best quality Power Slug video I've seen (but to be fair, I've only ever found two.) Chris Leask has a gritty voice that adds a heavier quality to this song, but Bob's backing vocals aren't always audible. Well played though, if bluesier than I assumed for one of their videos, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more from them and Melissa's YouTube channel!

Finally for today (and speaking of Kewadin Casino), The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino will be hosting a regional hard rock band of their own TONIGHT AND TOMORROW, as Kinross hard rockers Banned will be back there this weekend! Coming just two months after their most recent Soo Kewadin dates, look for the Traynors and company to rock the local stage once again with their blend of diverse and often heavy hard rock covers and originals, especially fresh off successful gigs in Hessel last weekend! Like the Power Slug shows at The Rapids Lounge's sister venue, admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and a 9:00 PM start time is likely. For more details, check the above links! Banned continue to impress on their busy schedule, so don't miss their Soo Kewadin shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW, and for a preview, here's Banned playing their original song "Deadbeat Dog" in Charlevoix this summer!



That's all for now, but stay tuned TONIGHT for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, and TOMORROW for our previews of the Nick Cam Jam and the Biipiigwan concert! Thanks everyone!