LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Mourning Wood), The End Of The Pixo Control, And More!!

Before we tackle this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to touch on at the SMS, so let's cover that beforehand! To round out the post, we have some assorted recent updates, a new video, and a surprising band breakup, so here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show yesterday via it's official Facebook event page. Playing their first concert at the former Nicolet Tavern since the short handed "Phil A. Show" weekend at the end of July, Mourning Wood are positioning this show as an after-party of sorts for tonight's Dolly Parton concert at The Essar Center, even (jokingly?) suggesting that Dolly might show up at some point. This seems to imply a more country-focused set TONIGHT, but come on out, as they should at least have a few heavier songs! Note that this is a one-nighter due to last night's Water Tower Pub show from drummer Glen Thomas' 1960s-themed classic rock band The Peace Vibe. There is no announced cover charge for TONIGHTs 19+ show, which starts at 10:00 PM. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, it looks like local alternative/ grunge trio The Pixo Control have disbanded. The surprising news comes after frontman Michael Mikus renamed their Facebook page after himself (as "Mike Mikus") on Thursday, indicating that he's transitioning to work as a solo musician. A reason for The Pixo Control's apparent demise hasn't been announced publically, but there had been rumours about their next moves & possible member departures since their two-man acoustic set at The Tech in May, which the guys had said would be their last gig "for a while" at the time. Now, Mike has launched a solo website affiliated through final Pixo Control bassist Dustin Goodall's recording studio Unsalted Audio, and his first solo music video "Drowning Crown" can now be seen via his YouTube channel. The song is much poppier & lighter than The Pixo Control's originals were (he describes the new genre as "cock & soul"), and to further signify the shift, Mike tears off a Pixo Control t-shirt at the beginning of the video.

There appears to be a calculated plan here to move on to a lighter & more carefree sound in Mike's new solo work & the new video, where he dances down Queen Street East in his underwear, then jams the song in an alley with an eclectic crowd. It is a fun video, but I hope he doesn't completely erase The Pixo Control from memory, as they've been a strong, exhilarating live band since their 2013 debut, and "Probably Not" was a very solid CD itself! Of course, I wish Mike all the best with his new solo career, which seems to be starting on the right foot, and hopefully we hear more from Dustin, Keeghan, Steve, and Matthew in the future as well!

Also today, here's a new video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din! Entitled "Our Diniversary" (in honour of the first anniversary of their current lineup's formation), this was uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on Thursday, as well as their Facebook page. The clip compiles assorted footage from high profile concerts that The Din played in the past year (largely at The Tech, which is now in our concert venue listings), as well as portions of their comedic Facebook videos, as set to studio versions of songs from "Give In To The Din. On the one hand, the video includes exclusive footage from some recent concerts that have yet to see the light of day in other public formats, but on the other hand, it reuses certain clips multiple times despite it's 2 minute runtime, and the backing audio sync isn't lined up consistently with the visuals. Still, this is definitely worth checking out for Din fans, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

• Troubled Mind frontman Mike Vincent has posted three more instrumental studio recordings onto his Bandcamp page towards his planned second solo album! Entitled "Chapters of No Light, "Phases of Pain", and "We're of Nothing", these are intended for a double album named after the latter song, according to personal Facebook postings. Though currently without vocals, the songs are well written and heavy, and showcase Mike's progression as an artist, so check them out above! However, the usage of provocative historical pictures on his Bandcamp page might offend some listeners.
• In their first Facebook page post since July, local death/thrash metal trio Pillory revealed that they'll "be playing a crushing show" on Friday, October 28th, and would have more details soon. This is the first I've heard of a concert on this date, but what could they be getting at? We'll let you know when more is announced from the band or this show's promoters!
• The annual Toystock fundraiser concert is coming back for a fifth installment on Sunday, November 20th! Promoters Maxx Entertainment revealed in their Facebook page's new cover photo that it will return to The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road for a second straight year, and it willl once again have 10 bands across 10 hours, with donations to Christmas Cheer again being the primary goal and entry method. No bands have been publically announced yet, but message Maxx Entertainment above if you want in for Toystock V in two months' time!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile either tonight or tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!