Most Of This Weekend's Local Hard Rock & Punk Concert Previews!!

On this Thursday morning, let's kick off this weekend's concert previews by looking at some shows on each side of the border from tonight through Saturday! For reference, we will touch on Sunday's Reanimator concert, Saturday's recently announced multi-band show at Rednecks, and anything else on late notice tomorrow, so look for that then, and here's what you should know for today's previews!

Fresh off of their Skate By Day, Rock By Night Tour of Southern Ontario, local grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control, post-punk quartet Gnaeus, and alt-hard rock quartet Id Iota will return to the local stage at LopLops Lounge TONIGHT! Now morphing into the last leg of The Pixo Control's "Tour Petite", this is the first local show in about two months for The Pixo Control, who should be in fine form with their recent momentum! Both of the openers will unveil their newest band members on a local stage for the first time tonight (namely Gnaeus drummer Alex Proulx and Id Iota bassist Dan Linklater), with both bands also playing in the Soo for the first time this year, which hasn't been since June in Id Iota's case! That said, tomorrow is the de facto local CD release party for this union of Free Beer & Dirty Few alumni, as Id Iota's debut EP "Maudlin Fair" will be on sale, so bring extra cash to get a copy! Promoted by Ears & Eyes Online's Jackson Reed, doors open at 8:30 PM for this 19+ concert, which has a $5 cover charge.

Note that this show was originally slated to be headlined by Toronto indie duo Moon King with locals Aldous and Telephone & Address joining The Pixo Control as local openers, but the show was massively overhauled after learning that Moon King couldn't make the event. This should be a fun concert, and if all goes according to plan, I hope to be there for my first ever concert review at LopLops, so I hope to see everyone there! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Pixo Control live!



Next up, let's take a detour to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for some hard rock action there this weekend, starting with new local blues/hard rock cover quartet Project 906, who will play their first ever concert at The Strongs Motel & Tavern in nearby Eckerman TOMORROW NIGHT! Aside from coverage of Werehold Records artists and archive material from The Tumble Inn, Eckerman (45 minutes west of the Soo) isn't a common sight for our coverage on the SMS, but The Strongs Tavern has been experimenting with live bands in recent months under their new ownership, and it'll be interesting to see how Project 906 do as they continue to expand their range! The Ten Kings successors will be on at 9:00 PM tomorrow, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Check the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's this talented quartet live in Brimley!



Also this weekend, Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT as they continue their generally monthly gigs at the Soo and St. Ignace branches! The Sir Charge/Monkey's Uncle successors have developed into a reliable and very entertaining sight at the local Kewadin Casino lounges, and with another weekend on tap in their hometown, definitely consider checking them out for some classic-tinged hard rock favourites! Remember, the band hasn't openly promoted concerts in advance on their Facebook page since February, but that doesn't mean that they're cancelled, as personal accounts and media postings confirm that they're still playing the previously announced dates. 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges are expected for this weekend, so see above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison's latest acoustic gigs at Gliss Steak & Seafood, which take place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT as usual! A longtime presence in the local scene with Caveman Morrison and in solo gigs, Tym's ongoing weekly arrangement at Gliss has proven to be reliable for matinee unplugged entertainment since it's debut, so keep it in mind if you're up for Tym's extensive range of covers this weekend! While on the subject, we've changed the link for Tym in our band links from his website to his Facebook group, as his website has been down for a couple of months now (no idea why, but the domain name doesn't seem to have expired, and the Caveman Morrison site is still up.) Tym should be on at 6:00 PM both evenings, and while neither has a cover or age limit, remember that this is a sit-down restaurant. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews next, and we'll see you at LopLops TONIGHT! Thanks everyone!