LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tantrym Tyme) & Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we get into this weekend's previews, I wanted to apologize for a few missed gigs during The Savoy Bar & Nightclub in Sault Michigan's Summerfest concert series, as local hard rock trio Power Slug returned to play there on both July 11th & 12th, as well as last Friday (as Infathom only played on Saturday.) My sources are the band & venue's Facebook pages, though note that Power Slug never plugged the shows in advance on Facebook. Our sincere apologies for missing them, hopefully they were all hits, and best of luck in Grand Haven tomorrow night! Now, today's post is otherwise devoted to this weekend's Sault Michigan-area hard rock concert previews, so read on for them, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Young local metal quartet Tantrym Tyme will be playing outdoor sets TOMORROW & SATURDAY as part of this year's Downtown Days in Sault Michigan! Apologies for the short notice, the band only just announced their involvement on their Facebook page on Tuesday. Though not their first live appearances of 2014, these are (surprisingly) the first shows that the band has plugged on Facebook since September, so if you've missed hearing about the former Abstract's local dates online, here's two! Tantrym Tyme's sets this weekend are among the live entertainment at Downtown Days, a yearly weekend featuring sidewalk sales from local merchants, stores, and vendors, alongside kids and family entertainment, food and refreshments, and even car & motorcycle shows, so click here for full details on the non-musical events! Tantrym Tyme's set will very likely be taking place outside or near Harmony Health Foods at 217 Ashmun Street, which is on the corner of Ashmun and East/West Portage Avenue.

As you may know, Harmony Health Foods is owned by (I believe) drummer Ethan Twardy's father, and they've long supported Tantrym Tyme, so the connections are obvious! The guys will be playing at 12:00 and at 3:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday, this is absolutely ALL AGES with no cover, though I'm unsure if there will be other live hard rock bands this weekend. For more details, check the above links! The lack of recent online posts from the band has been strange, especially for helping miss shows like one at the Kinross Speedpark on July 11th (apologies for missing it), but hopefully there's a great turnout for their strongly developing metal renditions this weekend! Keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's Tantrym Tyme live last year!



Moving to previously announced shows, local alternative hard rock trio Plastic are scheduled to make their Savoy Bar & Nightclub debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they conclude the venue's outdoor Summerfest series on it's 6th and final weekend! However, two things will be different from their return set at LemmaFest, one of which being an apparent new member, as frontman Zac Crook's former Half Stupid bandmate Matt Williams has apparently signed on as their new bassist, replacing Nick Moreau. The news was quietly announced on their Facebook page at some point this month, and while a reason for Nick's departure hasn't been stated yet, keep in mind that his personal Facebook page currently lists him as living in Traverse City, so that could be related. Hopefully all is amicable, and best of luck to Nick, but it's nice to see Matt & Zac back together, and it will be interesting to see how things shape up live! Also, Plastic's name on their Facebook page was quietly changed to "Currently Nameless" yesterday, which implies the end of the Plastic name, but why?

This could mean anything from a name conflict, the name belonging to Nick, a move in a new direction, or maybe even actually changing their name to "Currently Nameless", but we'll let you know when/if something is clarified regarding their name! (The former) Plastic's new lineup will be playing in the parking lot of The Savoy tomorrow & Saturday at 10:00 PM, with 21+ age limits and no announced cover, though keep in mind that the band has not acknowledged these shows since they were announced last month. If still on, these should be intriguing shows for hard rock and alternative fans, so don't miss it, and here are the guys at LemmaFest last month!



Closing at the Kewadin Casino branches, we'll head down to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where local classic/hard rock notables 415E are scheduled to return to the stage for a weekend full of hard rocking originals and covers TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Featuring Nixxon Dixxon alum Chris Hubbard and former Splitshot frontman Dave Menard, fans are accustomed to both of their talents from recent gigs, and hopefully their Van Halen-influenced sound goes over well again in their first St. Ignace shows in two months! Note that the band has finally confirmed the departure of bassist Jack Slater and drummer Devin Anderson via their removal from their Facebook page's lineup, following their absences from 415E's 2014 gigs, which appear to have been played (at least in part) as a duo. I know their exits partly stemmed from college commitments out of town, but they're still busy with The Highest of Fives, so best of luck to Devin & Jack there and beyond! 415Es's shows this weekend have 21+ age limits, no announced cover, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's 415E's full original lineup last year!



Finally, we head back to Sault Michigan for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin Casino, as new local modern/hard rock cover quartet Full Throttle will be playing their third and fourth concerts! Remember, this band succeeded members Ryan Kitzmiller, Joe Jenkins, and Will Storey's now defunct band The Bottom Line earlier this month, but are a different band than the original 2012-2013 Full Throttle, whose first lineup also featured Ryan & bassist George Belleau of the current version. Fresh off of a successful debut at The Rapids Lounge last weekend, the guys are hoping for an even bigger turnout and reception tomorrow & Saturday, and just in case they aren't playing elsewhere before September 26th, don't take these shows for granted for a new/old taste of Full Throttle! 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 21+ age limits are to be expected, so check the above links for more details, and we'll let you know if a public video turns up to preview them with!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a stacked new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!