LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Throwbacks & Banned) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Today's post tackles most of the local metal/hard rock concert previews for this weekend that I currently know about, but we'll touch on the X-Mess acoustic show featuring The Danger Cats TOMORROW, along with any potential late notice gigs I may be alerted to. Two of the shows are SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and along with said previews, we have extra news on each, including a new show for New Year's Eve, our first video of one of them, and first, a new local band, so here's what you need to know!

A new local rock trio named The Throwbacks will make their live concert debut TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Roosevelt Hotel! Apologies for the short notice, I only just heard about these the other day. No online pages for them yet, but they apparently play a variety of classic/modern rock, and their lineup includes Lucky 13's Jeremey Salatuk & Jeff Gray alongside 2 Buck Beers' Brent Royer on drums (and probably lead vocals.) Brent previously played with Jeremey in Wishbone & with Jeff in the original Turner Up, so there's history all around for these three! I don't know exactly what The Throwbacks will play in concert, but given all three members work in a hard rock-leaning band in the early 2010s, I'm inclined to believe they'll be similar to a Turner Up-ish band. Both tomorrow & Saturday night's concerts have 10:30 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I'm curious to hear more about The Throwbacks, and hopefully their debut this weekend goes off without a hitch, so check them out at The Rosie, and when I hear more on this band, I'll let you guys know!

(Note as well that I have no idea if Jeremey & Jeff's presence in this new band means anything negative for Lucky 13's status, but keep in mind that they last played live two weeks ago, and they're not an overly frequent live band as it is. Just in case though, I'll keep you guys posted when we hear new stuff on Lucky 13!)

Also in new concerts (and linking to a show TONIGHT), Kinross, Michigan classic hard rockers Banned will rock The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in nearby Barbeau on Tuesday, December 31st as part of their New Year's Eve festivities! This will be their first show at this venue in almost 5 months, and it keeps with their usual trend of playing a concert on New Year's Eve (you may remember them in at The Bird in 2011 and at Todd's Tavern last year), so hopefully they send off 2013 with a bang in just under two weeks! There's no announced cover charge for this 21+ show, and a 9:00 PM start time is likely. This show joins a private wedding that they're playing next weekend, and of course, a rare Thursday night set TONIGHT at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where they're the musical entertainment for The Autism Alliance of Michigan's Relentless Tour stop in the Soo! This event is headlined by a speech by Michigan State Spartans basketball star Anthony Ianni about his battle with autism and how he overcame it to find success and purpose in life, so if you go, definitely consider checking that out!

Tonight's event (which also has a resource fair, prizes, face painting, bouncy castles, and other family entertainment) starts at 6:00 PM, it's definitely ALL AGES, and there's no admission fee! For more details, visit the above links & the event poster! This is a very unique but important event that should hopefully raise a lot of awareness for this important cause, so don't bypass it if you're across the river TONIGHT, and Banned should rock  themselves! For a preview, here are the guys playing their song "Plaid Girl"!

Finally for today, Sault Ontario classic/hard rock quintet The Thrill Junkies will return to Docks Riverfront Grill for two more concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Likely their last concerts of 2013, this talented veteran outfit should have another hard hitting weekend of covers and familiar hits in store for fans in Docks' Playroom (the name for the main area for bands), so don't miss this union of Carbon Black, Lois Lane, Full Circle, Havadder, and Scary Uncles alumni down at Docks this weekend! A $4-ish cover is likely for these 10:30 PM concerts, and you must be 19 to attend either tomorrow or Saturday night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see The Thrill Junkies back at Docks so soon after their November shows there, and hopefully it truly is a Thrill Junkies Christmas this time around, so keep them in mind for your weekend plans! For a preview, we finally have a video glimpse of the band in action, so what should you know on that front?

Filmed by bassist Justin Langlois' dad Michel and uploaded to his YouTube channel two weeks ago, this comes from The Thrill Junkies' set at The Canadian at Toystock on Decmember 1st. The video features the band covering The Foo Fighters' "Times Like These" and Volbeat's "Heaven Nor Hell", and the guys sound pretty good here! Travis Sharpe's vocals are strong, and the guys know the songs well, though their stage presences are somewhat stiff. The camera angle's nice too, if a bit far, but the lighting's inconsistent, with Travis lit up way more than everyone else. Nice to finally see a video of The Thrill Junkies, so check it out below, and don't miss them at Docks this weekend!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our X-Mess preview and more tomorrow! Thanks everyone!