LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood & Tym Morrison) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Hey guys, I just wanted to say that I've opted not to attend last night's Speak Easy Battle due to my cold not improving enough, which might be for the best, as 4 of last night's bands are involved in the VM Radio Battle that I'm a judge for, and I want to be fair and have an even playing field without potential biases or pre-concieved notions on how bands will do in two weeks and at the finals. We will update everyone on the results and more from the event as we hear it though, so stay tuned! Now, today's weekend concert preview post includes SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TONIGHT & TOMORROW and more, with one show having a new confirmed band, so here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood will hit The Rockstar Bar for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we first heard about them via the venue's Facebook group on Monday, so we held them for this weekend's previews. These will be Terry, Steven, and T.J.'s first shows at The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs bar in two months, and while they're the first shows that this talented cover band have announced in two weeks, bassist Steven Flint's personal Facebook page implied that they played shows this past Monday & Tuesday at Reggie's Place downtown (not Reggie's West.) If true, I do apologize for missing them, but you'd have thought the band would have promoted them on their own pages, especially given the atypical days. Regardless, it's great to see Mourning Wood back at it this weekend, so don't miss out at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT & TOMORROW!

There's no announced cover charge (but have cash on hand just in case), you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is in effect. For more details, visit the Facebook event page, and here's Mourning Wood live last year!

Next up, we'll add longtime Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's March concert slate at The Harp Bar & Grill to our schedule, as his ongoing year+ weekly arrangement there marches on! He'll be back at the former Madison's Pub TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, as well as next Friday the 13th, as well as March 20th & 21st and on March 27th & 28th, and like above, I apologize for the short notice on this weekend's shows, but as usual, we waited for Facebook confirmation before plugging the next set of shows here. Also, note that while his website's calendar lists a show on Saturday, March 14th, we're not listing it here due to that being the night of the UFC 185 PPV, as The Harp tends to broadcast UFC PPVs, but if that assumption is wrong, we will correct that. Tym's unplugged hard rock covers have entertained many audiences at The Harp since late 2013, and that shouldn't change this month, so don't miss him TONIGHT, TOMORROW, or later this month!

Admission should be free like usual for this month's Harp shows, you must be 19 to attend, and there are 10:00 PM start times in effect each night. For more details, visit the above links, don't miss Tym THIS WEEKEND, and here he is covering Extreme a few years back!



Moving to previously announced concerts, we'll head south to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will take the stage for solo headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of shows at The Rapids Lounge just last month, it's great to see Jeff, Adam, and Brooks back already to deliver their fan favourite metal covers to their U.P. fans! Actually, this weekend's shows are Peril's first since last month's Kewadin gigs, so local fans could see themselves as spoiled, especially with St. Ignace stops coming later in the month! As usual for Peril shows here, there are 9:00 PM start times in effect, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. For more details, check the above links and the official Facebook event pages for each day (linked here and here), and for a preview, here's Peril's take on an Ozzy Osbourne classic!

We'll close today's previews with the biggest concert of the weekend, as both Heavy North Entertainment & Blood Shed Productions will host their first non-house party event of 2015 TOMORROW NIGHT when French goregrind quintet Benighted will make their local concert debut when they headline at The Oddfellows Hall! A favourite of promoter/Them frontman Tyler St. Amour, their brutal death metal sounds and technical skill should be welcomed on Saturday night at 11:00 PM! Joining them here and on their Canadian tour are Montreal theatrical death metal quintet Bookakee, whose unique stage show, costumes, and theatrics should set them apart along with their metal intensity this weekend, as they have to be seen to be fully appreciated, so don't miss them at 10:00 PM! A lineup of six local metal acts are signed to open on Saturday, including one new confirmation, so who all is playing? VM Radio Battle finalists The Bear Hunters will play their first non-battle set of the year at 9:00 PM, while grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back are late additions at 8:30 PM!

Announced on the Facebook event page on Wednesday, their addition is a pleasant surprise, and their hard hitting originals should find a solid audience in their 2015 debut! The remainder of the lineup includes local hard rock/alternative quartet Haggith at 7:45 PM, Blood Shed goregrind acts Rotopsy & Crucify The Whore in their 2015 debuts at 7:00 & 6:15 PM, and the long awaited non-house party debut of Them, the pageless new metal trio from Bring The Misery, Revolution, and Infamous alumni, as they'll open at 5:30 PM. Also, Blood Shed fans should keep a look out for copies of the recently released 11-way split demo, as this will be their first concert since it was released due to the release party being cancelled again. Tickets are available for $7 through promoters in advance (the price jumps to $12 at the door), and this is an ALL AGES show. For more details, visit the above links!

I regrettably won't be at this show, as The Bear Hunters and Haggith are still involved in the VM Radio Battle that I'm a judge for, so I don't want to risk any complaints about favoritism for them or a bias against other competing bands by attending, or gaining a pre-concieved notion on how they'll do, but I do hope this show is a huge hit! I know this has been highly anticipated by H.N.E. and Blood Shed fans, and I was curious to see the headliners and Them in particular, but hopefully there will be lots of photos and videos next week! See above for complete details, and for a preview, here's Benighted live in 2012!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of last night's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands later today! Thanks everyone!