LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & The Din), New Videos, And More Updates!!

We're back with a new news post on this Saturday afternoon, including some recent new concert videos and some assorted updates, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on both sides of the border!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned have announced five upcoming concert weekends at regional Kewadin Casino branches through the end of 2017! Joining returns to the Manistique Kewadin branch next month and in September, the Alex Traynor-led group will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for concerts on June 30th & July 1st, October 6th & 7th, and December 1st & 2nd, while new dates are now locked in for The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace on September 22nd & 23rd and then on November 3rd & 4th! These shows were all confirmed via their respective Facebook event pages yesterday (as seen here), and while Kewadin had recently confirmed the Soo shows on their entertainment page, there's nothing yet regarding these St. Ignace gigs, notably their first ones there since December of last year.

No word yet on if there will be more shows in late 2017 to announce at other venues, but remember that the band gave their recent Hessel gigs very little advance notice online. We'll keep you posted, but it's great to see Banned staying busy to close the year, August's apparent off month aside! All 10 of these new local dates are 9:00 PM affairs with no announced cover charge and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Banned!

Next up, here's a new concert announcement for Sault Ontario, as local alternative hard rock groups The Din and Bizotic will hit LopLops Lounge on Saturday, July 8th when they open for Hamilton space rock quartet SIANspheric in their local debut! This will be The Din's first concert at LopLops in three weeks, following TONIGHT'S acoustic duo headlining set, while I believe this will be Bizotic's first LopLops gig in four months. Both acts should perform solidly as they continue their forward momentum next month! As for SIANspheric, their experimental and ambient rock originals have helped them make an established name over the past 2 decades, and it'll be interesting to finally hear them on a local stage in three weeks, so give them a listen as well and see what you think! This 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for potential updates as they roll in!

Also, here's our first public video look at Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie's revived solo project! Curtis' girlfriend April Bryant was on hand for his Vape Escape concert yesterday, and filmed five videos of his solo set, though no word on if he ever intends to share the Dokken cover publically that's floating around on personal accounts. These new videos feature Curt's covers of Three Days Grace's "Wake Up", Seether's "Broken", Pearl Jam's "Better Man", Collective Soul's "December", and as embedded below, Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box", so these will be right up the alley of Eclipse fans craving a more reserved selection of covers, even though Curt is in fact playing an electric guitar in all clips. The videos can be a little jittery, but Curtis sounds good on these renditions, and while I'm not complete in the know on The Vape Escape or e-cigarettes, hopefully he provided a quality soundtrack for patrons last night! Give these videos a look, and don't miss Curt TONIGHT at LopLops or TOMORROW with Eclipse!



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:

• Local punk quartet A Dire Setback will hit the road for the first time when they travel to Sudbury on June 25th (one week from tomorrow) to open for Victoria, B.C. alternative/punk quintet Vaultry at The Asylum! If this sounds familiar, it should, as Vaultry are headlining at The Canadian two weeks later on July 7th on their way back home, and A Dire Setback are opening (and promoting via Live705) the Soo show. Nice to see such synergy with these two Northern Ontario stops, and good luck to A.D.S. out east next weekend!
• Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie announced on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Wednesday that the local death metal band has "awoken from their hibernation and are hungry", and would love to perform on local concerts that would have them. With only two shows to their name in the past year, it'd be great to see them on more concert lineups in 2017, so message Mitch here or above if you want some bear hunting metal action on stage again!
• In a news release from the City of Sault Ste. Marie offices yesterday, the city confirmed that the Rock the Border Music Fest tomorrow is completely cancelled, as well as noting that the concert was not city-sanctioned, and advised readers to "be cautious when buying tickets to events outside of normal channels." You can read more on the official statement, including details on contact with promoters, via this article from SooToday's Donna Hopper, but hopefully things can be put to rest now! As for AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell's teaser in the comments about a big Six, Two, Oh. concert this fall? Stay tuned!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates next week on the site! Thanks everyone!