LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Stiffler's Mom & Havadder), That's Chester/Tommy Preview, And More!!

Let's keep the news coming on this Tuesday night, so what lies within today's post? New recent concert videos, our preview of a major stage production/concert featuring a popular veteran band, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Havadder will apparently return to The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, November 21st for one night only! The unusually early notice is due to The Rockstar Bar's Martin Fiser announcing the show on the venue's Facebook group yesterday, which was nice of him, and we'll touch on one more new confirmation in a second from there! This will be Havadder's first show there in a month, and comes fresh off of the band's Studio 10 Halloween party, while it's presumably a one nighter due to the Rockstar Republic club nights on Fridays. Hopefully Jason, Jamie, Travis, and Scott knock it out of the park in three weekends' time, so keep this one in mind at around 10:00 PM that night, with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit. See the above links for more details, and don't miss Havadder's fan favourite & often heavy covers on the 21st!

Next up, Martin's other new Rockstar Bar concert confirmations also include the return of local hard rock cover/party trio Stiffler's Mom to The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs venue on Saturday, November 28th! This will be their first announced concert at The Rockstar Bar in over two months, and their first anywhere since their Canadian Nightclub shows over the October 15th weekend. Greg, Michael, and Jon always put on a fun and entertaining show, so be there on the last Saturday of the month to partake in their own often heavy covers! yes, this is a one-nighter too, but rather than the Rockstar Republic, Friday the 27th will see the return of Vancouver psychobilly band Big John Bates & The Voodoo Dollz (who you may remember from opening for White Cowbell Oklahoma in the Soo), so keep that in mind if you're into that genre! Like with the Havadder show, expect a 10:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no announced cover. Check the above links for more details!

Also today, here's our preview of a long awaited live musical production featuring a familiar classic/hard rock cover band's big contribution, as That's Chester will be the house band for Shot In The Dark Productions' version of The Who's rock opera Tommy, which begins a four night run at The Machine Shop at Mill Square TOMORROW NIGHT! An ambitious production of The Who's classic rock opera, these shows (tomorrow's gala benefit and regular shows on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday; Friday's an off day) will feature an all-local cast, including That's Chester's Greg Simpson as narrator, actor/singer Steven Hewgill in the title role, and familiar faces like Valerie Powley & Noah Morden among the cast. If you count these as concerts, these will mark That's Chester's first shows since their Rotaryfest set in July (which previewed the Tommy production.) Featuring classic songs like "Pinball Wizard" and "I'm Free", general admission for Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday's productions are available for $35 (adults) or $30 (students & seniors), while student rush tickets at the door will be $20.

Seats are limited, so get your tickets A.S.A.P. at the Community Theatre Box Office at the Station Mall or at the door if possible! Note as well that tomorrow's opening night is a gala benefit for the Canadian Mental Health Association, as Tommy deals with mental illness in it's story, with cocktails, food, a silent auction, and more. As such, tickets are $60, and are available through producer Marion Widgett only at this link. I'll be very curious to hear how this local version of Tommy does, and hopefully there's huge crowds each night to encourage more musicals like this from Shot In The Dark! Check the above links for details (or here & here), and here's a preview!



Finally for today, here's some videos from the annual Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub, courtesy of local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements' tribute set of Sublime covers with guest saxophonist Josh Norling! Uploaded to the band's YouTube channel over the last few days, the videos include their cover of Sublime's "Wrong Way" by itself, this video featuring their versions of "Badfish" and "5446 That's My Number/Ball & Chain", and as embedded below, a 19 minute-long video from the concert! Here, you will see The Elements covering Sublime's "Saw Red" (with an unidentified guest singer doing the Gwen Stefani parts), "Same In The End", and a song whose name I didn't catch, though Rob Speers credited it as an early B-side, and later indicated that it'd be on their debut CD "G20", which is news to me. It sounds reminiscent of Sublime's "Thanx" at points, for what it's worth.

Featuring a better look at the guys' costumes, the videos are good quality, but a lot of dead air after their set is left in on the video below, and the stationary camera angle is way too high. The Elements sound good though, and Josh fits in well to give these ska punk classics the necessary horn section! Give everything a look above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!