Friday, August 8, 2014

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned), Sault Michigan Concert Previews, And Das Bunkerfest Info!!

In our second weekend concert preview post, we have an acknowledgement of a private show that has a great lineup and is getting solid advertising (we don't often plug private shows, so this says something about this one!), but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related show preview for the Sault Michigan area this weekend!

Kinross, Michigan hard rock trio Banned will once again be among the live entertainment for this year's Sugar Island Music Festival, specifically playing TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band just announced their involvement on Monday, and I think the Sugar Island Festival's schedule was only recently publicized too. After largely taking July off (aside from private events), Banned will return to the public concert scene at this long running regional concert festival, which sees regional artists playing on the familiar outdoor stage from today through Sunday, along with kids activities and nightly campfire jam sessions, so be sure to visit this link for full details on non-musical events! Emceed by Stephen Lee Rich, Susan Urban and Phil Cooper, Banned (again this year's only hard rock band) will play this evening at 7:15 PM, and will be preceding Flint classic rockers 3-Zip, Hillsdale jam band All Arms, The Fosters Sportsmen's Club Band, and Toledo classic rockers Three & A Half Man at 10:15, 9:30, 8:45, and 8:00 PM respectively.

Today's other acts include local pop rock duo Missy & Chelsea at 6:30 PM, Junior & The Dinosaurs at 5:45 PM, and co-event MC Stephen Lee Rich at 5:00 PM. The other days do not feature Banned, but today's last 4 acts and Stephen are all returning for Saturday & Sunday (3-Zip are headlining each night too), so for full schedule details after Friday, click here! Located off Lecoy Road on nearby Sugar Island (which requires a ferry ride to get to), admission is $10 for an all-weekend button at Grooves Music in the Soo, or at The Hilltop Bar, Ed's Bayview Store, and the Westshore Convenience Store on Sugar Island. Kids 12 and under are FREE, and click here for costs relating to camping, vending, and related events. Check the above links for more details! While we're on the subject, Banned will also return to The Runway Bar in Hessel, Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT for a previously announced solo gig there, as part of the festivities at The Runway Bar's "backyard bash" with a preceding dinner, so if you're in the Hessel area and are up for some more normal live music, don't miss Banned's first stop there in 6 months tomorrow!

That show will be 21+, have a 9:30 PM start time, and has no announced cover charge, so check the above links for more details on it! Nice to see Banned back on the public stage this weekend, and hopefully Alex, Don, and Jim get back to their usual tricks in the process! Busy weekend for festivals too, with The Emergency in Sault Ontario tomorrow as well, but The Sugar Island's classic/folk performers and family entertainment have long been successful, and hopefully things work out well this weekend! For a preview, here's Banned covering the Imagine Dragons!



Lastly, I wanted to acknowledge an invite only private event this weekend that has quite the impressive lineup, and is making the rounds a fair amount via some bands' online pages, but is definitely a private show. Tomorrow & Sunday, Oh! Right Arm! Promotions (in association with Blood Shed Productions and RedD Monkey's Steve Mozarowski) are hosting Das Bunkerfest 2014 in nearby Garden River, which will be hosted near the Ojibway River with camping encouraged, and everyone's pitched in for a solid lineup full of familiar faces, newer projects, and some from out of town! In case you haven't seen the poster (which has been publically shared), the featured bands tomorrow include Edmonton garage rockers The Archaics (who just played here last month), local grunge duo Bad Back, rappers Conika & Gnostic, the return of local bass standout James Watterworth, DJ Hakan' Loob, ukelele performer "Tchandra Tchaikovsky", and three acts that we're awaiting further details on (Apocalypse Afterparty, The Beau Regards, and Mikey Thomas.)

As for Sunday, the bands include Edmonton hardcore quintet Ringleader, Saskatchewan punk quartet Castaway, and local/St. Catharines' grindcore trio Shit Liver (in just their second local show since moving), as well as local sludge trio AlgomA, Blood Shed grind acts Crucify The Whore & Rotopsy, the long awaited return of local thrashers Pillory, and the live debut of frontman Robert Sartini's newest metal band Shadowthrone. Excellent and diverse lineups, and the promoters have outdone themselves, though it's honestly a shame in many respects that this is by invite only. If you're received a Facebook invite, you can check the Facebook event page for full event details (including the event address when confirmed by promoters), and either way, give the poster a look above! I have indeed been invited, and while Sunday is definitely the best lineup for metalheads, I honestly have better odds of attending tomorrow, if at all, pending my schedule. Either way, we'll cover any and all fallout from the show when publicized, so stay tuned just in case, and if you've been invited to Das Bunkerfest, don't miss out on all of the action this weekend in Garden River!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new defunct punk band feature and more soon! Thanks everyone!

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