LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Blood Guy & The Din) & Our Toystock V Preview!!

(Updated at 4:40 PM) We're finally closing this weekend's concert previews with a lengthy look at an annual holiday season event, but before we get there, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, and a SHORT NOTICE one for TONIGHT!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will return to LopLops Lounge TONIGHT to open for Saskatchewan southern rock trio Johnny 2 Fingers & The Deformities! Apologies for the extremely short notice, we only heard about The Din's involvement earlier today after the band originally announced the gig on November 9th via this promotional slideshow video, though note that the official Facebook event page doesn't acknowledge a local opener at all, and The Din never promoted the show with written text until just yesterday, so if you skim past photos & videos, you'll have missed it. This will mark The Din's second show of the day, following their Oddfellows Hall set at 6:00 PM TONIGHT during The Live 705 Show, so if you can't make the former or prefer the latter, keep this one in mind! As for the headliners, you may recognize Johnny 2 Fingers & The Deformities from headlining last month's punk rock bingo event at The New A (more on that in a second), and this engaging southern rock band will play the Soo again on their way back home TONIGHT!

A 19+ age limit is in effect for TONIGHT'S 10:00 PM concert, which has a $5 cover charge. For more details, visit the above links, and apologies again for the short notice, The Din's involvement in this show wasn't well advertised on it's own, piggy-backing on this weekend's other shows if mentioned at all. Come find The Din TONIGHT at The Oddfellows Hall or LopLops, stay tuned for our Toystock preview later in this post, and here's The Din live!

Next up, Edmonton punk/alternative quartet Blood Guy will make their local concert debut on Tuesday, December 27th when they headline Six, Two, Oh.'s sixth punk rock bingo event at The New American Pub! Formerly known as Rotbottyrot, Blood Guy's experimental but hard hitting blend of punk should deliver a solid concoction of rock intensity over the holidays, and while I encourage checking them out online, look for Rotbottyrot links, as there's much more readily available under that name than under the Blood Guy moniker. At least one local band will be added as an opener, and we'll let you know when they are confirmed. The bingo aspect of the night will likely be called by Brenton Ellis once again, so if you want to win some irreverent prizes, get your dabbers ready, and bring cash for cards! A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert, which is advertised to start at 9:00 PM. Check the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates on The New A's latest round of punk rock bingo!

Next up, here's our extended preview of TOMORROW'S fifth annual Toystock! Making it's second straight trip to The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road, Maxx Entertainment (or Choose Maxx) is once again hosting this special ALL AGES charity concert, with all admissions and donations going towards Christmas Cheer, which is always a great cause! The Stuff-A-Bus will once again be on site, while Santa & Mrs. Claus, princesses, and the Elf on a Shelf will all be in attendance to meet the kids, and there will be face painting, photos, cotton candy, a play area, and prize giveaways & draws for the occasion, so check the official Facebook event page for full non-musical details! Once again, Toystock features 10 bands in 10 hours, all donating their time for the cause, and all but one are new to the event, so who can you expect tomorrow? The headliners at 9:00 PM are country rock cover quartet Bone Yard in their record breaking fourth Toystock set (third as headliners), so stay late for their tried and true sound!

1960s-themed classic rock quartet The Peace Vibe will co-headline at 8:00 PM, while classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires will be the highest slotted heavier band at 7:00 PM, notably in their first non-Rockstar Bar show with new guitarist Bill Brouillard. The aforementioned Din will take the stage at 6:00 PM, while That's Chester alums Greg Simpson & Gabe Tessaro's acoustic rock duo Guitars & Tequila (or Tequila & Guitars) will replace The Rude-Offs as the 5:00 PM band. Funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will perform at 4:00 PM (no word on if Josh and Jonas will be back though), while ex-Flat Stanley frontman Jim O'Leary will debut his new rock band Shyte at 3:00 PM, similarly to how his old band Griphook launched at the first Toystock. We have no info on Shyte otherwise yet, but be at Toystock TOMORROW to get the scoop! Fan favourite punk trio Redundant will make an increasingly rare live appearance with a set at 2:00 PM, so if you've missed Justin, James, and Rick lately, don't be late!

The online page-less, sporadically seen hard rock quintet The Band Camp Rejects (succeeding last year's one-off Under the Influence) will be on at 1:00 PM, while students from Case's Music will replace Bocturoc Academy students to kick off Toystock V. Will they bear similarities to the late Mike Case's Junior All Stars bands? We'll find out before long! Once again, admission for tomorrow's festivities is via donation of a new or gently used toy, non-perishable food, or cash, while extra donations are definitely appreciated, and The Grand Gardens will help supply food and drinks for attendees to partake in during the event proper. Toystock V is shaping up to be another fun day of live music and Christmas goodwill to help kick off the season, especially coming fresh off of the Santa Claus Parade tonight! This event, in some ways, is like a fall/winter Rotaryfest, just indoors and with a much wider artist rotation, so whether you're in it for new, familiar, or rarely seen bands, you have options!

After missing last year's Toystock due to family health concerns, I will be in attendance for my third Toystock, and first concert at the Northern Grand Gardens (I've been there for a wrestling event, but I believe that's all), so this should be very interesting to see how things look and sound! That's all for today, but I hope to see everyone there for Toystock V, here's a 3 Day Millionaires video as a preview, and stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!