LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 421 & Stereo North), A New Local Band, And A New Video!!

Before we get into this post, I wanted to apologize for missing a late lineup addition for a concert last night, as local alternative hard rock trio Mike Haggith & The Din were added as a late third band to the Stereo North/Eclipse concert at The Rockstar Bar! The news was announced on The Din's Facebook page yesterday morning, and it completely slipped us by until today. Apologies for missing that on here, hopefully they had a great set! Now, today's post (which has many common ties) features a new video, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for in a couple of weeks, and leading off, a new band that we actually just mentioned, so here's what you need to know!

New local nu-metal quartet Eclipse finally have a Facebook page, so we can finally add them to our band links! Debuting on stage on December 5th at The Rockstar Bar (unless they did indeed play at the Jason Michaud benefit the previous month), Eclipse are a side project from 3/5ths of classic metal quintet Project 421, albeit tackling a more modern setlist, and they have been seen as an opening act at scattered downtown concerts since then, usually opening for Project 421 in the process. Their lineup includes singer Curtis McKenzie joined by guitarist Daniel Horton and drummer Chris Thompson, with bassist Fred (last name still uncredited) rounding out their lineup as Eclipse's only non-421 alum, and for the record, I don't recognize Fred from any past local bands. Eclipse have yet to post any videos from their concerts so far, but they're listed as playing covers of everyone from Billy Talent to Linkin Park to System of a Down, so if you've ever wanted to hear Project 421 play newer songs, pay attention to Eclipse!

The band has also made reference to playing original material, but again, there's no videos yet that I've seen. Given the members' past local band work (though Fred is a wild card), I can't imagine Eclipse don't bring the goods, especially with Curtis & Daniel's long history together! I haven't been able to see Eclipse live yet due to the personal family matters I've been managing in recent months, but hopefully I'll be able to do so soon, and check out Eclipse at the above links!

It remains to be seen when we'll next see Eclipse on stage (though they were linked to the second Speak Easy Battle of the Bands before it was postponed), but we will be able to see Project 421 live in a couple of weeks, as they'll be playing a solo concert on Friday, January 22nd at The Rednecks Saloon! After over two years of playing strictly at multi-band events, the classic metal favourites will play their first ever show by themselves with no outside headliners or opening acts, similarly to the weekend cover band regulars in the Soo, so if you're up for three or four 45 minute sets from Project 421, be at Rednecks one week from Friday! And yes, this is a one-nighter, the next show that we're talking about will be on that Saturday. There is NO COVER for the Project 421 concert on the 22nd, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there is a 10:00 PM start time in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This sounds like a solid way for Project 421 to help kick off 2016, and it'll be curious to see if they play more solo gigs like this!

As for the Saturday night show on January 23rd, we'll see a familiar lineup hit the stage at The Rednecks Saloon, including 2/3rds of last night's Rockstar Bar lineup! The show in two weeks will be headlined by pop punk quartet Stereo North once again for their second show of 2016, and the listed openers include the aforementioned Mike Haggith & The Din (this time with advance notice), but in place of Eclipse, local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will hit the stage for their first show of the year, and they should fit well come Saturday the 23rd! Promoted by Project 421 bassist Daniel Horton (in a rare show of his that he's not playing), this show goes down one week from Saturday at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and again, no cover charge. For more information, visit the official Facebook event page! Of late, we've seen these bands (plus Project 421 & Eclipse) sharing the stage frequently, which is good to see, and hopefully there's a great turnout at the former Nicolet Tavern on the 23rd!

Finally for today, here's a new video of the aforementioned Project 421, courtesy of their Algonquin Pub concert on December 23rd, and uploaded to their Facebook page on Christmas Eve! Of note, this is the first public video that we've seen since singer Curtis McKenzie returned to the band last summer, and it's of the band covering Dokken's "Breaking The Chains". Unfortunately, it's filmed on the vertical angle and is only 25 seconds long, but Project 421 handle the song well from what we can see, so give it a look below, and apologies for the delay in getting it on here!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!