LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (K-Man & The 45s, Banned, and Gianni Gagoots), And A New Video!!

In what may be our last news post of the month, we're largely tackling LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including a pair of the SHORT NOTICE variety for you readers in the E.U.P., but we also have a new video find to touch on at post's end! Now, here's what you need to know!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for special mid-week shows THIS TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Banned only just announced them yesterday via their Facebook page. Joining their previously announced Rapids Lounge gigs on Friday and Saturday, TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY'S shows coincide with the week's festivities surrounding the annual International 500 snowmobile race. Banned played last year's I-500 both at the outdoor beer tent and for a weekend at the casino, and while it's unusual to see them playing mid-week (let alone four nights in a five day span), don't miss the Traynors and Wayne at The Rapids Lounge TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Just for clarification, we'll preview their shows this coming weekend in our next weekend concert preview post, as they are technically a separate concert weekend with an off day prior.

Despite the mid-week scheduling & I-500 timing, these next two Banned shows are still 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no announced cover charges. For more details on these shows and the I-500 proper, check the above links, and for a preview, here's Banned live at last year's 1-500!



Next up, here's some shows with more than a couple of days notice, starting with newer local funk/hard rock instrumental jam quintet Gianni Gagoots' first ever headlining concert, as they'll be rocking LopLops Lounge solo on Saturday, February 18th! Also making their first live appearances ever at this venue or anywhere in 2017, this will be a good chance to check out this interestingly named band's vocals-less improv hard rock in a familiar downtown setting, and with Redefined, Sailor's Tongue, and Rising Tide alumni (plus a conga player), you'll know you're not in for business as usual in three weeks time! As usual for LopLops concerts, this show has a $5 cover charge, you must be at least 19 or older to attend, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. If you haven't seen Gianni Gagoots live yet, circle this show on your calendars, and visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

Lastly for new concert announcements, Montreal ska-punk quintet K-Man & The 45s will be back in Sault Ontario much sooner than you think, as they are scheduled to headline at The New American Pub on Sunday, March 5th! After four straight gigs in the fall locally, this one will come at least 6 months earlier than locally usual, but if their fun ska-punk originals, exciting stage presence, and "Ska-mones" covers are any indication, local fans will welcome them back to the Soo with open arms in March! The all-local openers will include new punk/metal trio Stegadeth (in their New A debut) and new alternative hard rock quartet Bizotic (featuring Smeltzer, SBD, and Sounds From The Green Room alumni), so if you haven't seen either band in concert yet, don't miss the relatively new blood at this downtown venue in five weeks! This concert will be promoted by Six, Two, Oh., who have promoted each local K-Man concert since 2015.

A $5 cover charge is in effect for this concert, which has a 19+ age limit, and an advertised start time of 9:00 PM. It's great to see K-Man & The 45s back so soon for a fifth local concert appearance, and ska punk fans will not want to miss out on what should be a highlight of the spring concert season, so visit the official Facebook event page for all current details!

Finally for today, here's a new video of new local alternative punk quartet A Dire Setback at last month's YouTube party at The Canadian Nightclub! Uploaded by promoters Underground Empire Records' YouTube channel on December 17th (apologies for the delay), this gives us our first look at the event's complete lineup, albeit belatedly, as promoters never listed a lineup publically in the lead-up to the event proper. Truth be told, A Dire Setback's section of the video is brief, with their performance of "Kicking & Screaming" sandwiched between 11 minutes or so of rap sets each, initially from U.G.E. rappers Chuck "Lil' CZ" Charrette & Ryan "R.D." Derasp, and ending with prolific local rapper Mikey Thomas. The video quality can be a little blurry, the editor cut out a lot of fan reactions between songs, and the on-screen bug really doesn't have to be permanently on screen, but things turned out largely well overall, and everyone performs as you'd expect!

The rappers are skilled in their sound, and A Dire Setback are on point, but hopefully U.G.E. advertises the lineup better if they host a sequel event, and if you're going to brand it as a YouTube party, why not attempt a live YouTube stream of said party? Check out the full YouTube party compilation below, and A Dire Setback's performance is about 10:56 in!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review in all likelihood next! Thanks everyone!