LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Handsome Sandwich) And This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Another weekend is upon us, and it's a relatively quiet one for hard rock concert previews after a busy July. It still has to be extended past one post due to the amount of shows ahead, so Tym Morrison's Sunday matinee at Shooters will be in a news post coming either tomorrow or Saturday. In the meantime, here's what you should know for the next two days, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Local punk/alternative quartet Handsome Sandwich will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for solo headlining dates TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these were only announced via the venue's Facebook event pages last week, but I didn't hear about them until this past weekend. Last seen two weeks ago at both Rotaryfest's Stage 2 and Shooters on the same weekend, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are again promoted as being from "members of Handsome Sandwich" (albeit without the "Ourselves" branding this time), though I honestly don't understand why the venue makes the extra distinctions. All four members are pictured on the poster, and the band don't call themselves "Ourselves" or "Members of..." in their own promotions. Maybe it's because of their extra cover focus to fill four sets? No word on why Sault College was hashtagged with the poster.

In any event, you can take in Handsome Sandwich's brand of music weirder than your uncle's jorts TOMORROW & SATURDAY at 8:00 PM, and these shows are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charge. We'll have more from the Sandwich to share soon regarding some new videos and album teasers, so stay tuned for that, but here they are live in concert last year!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's West on Queen Street East for a traditional concert TOMORROW NIGHT before making their previously announced Prince Township debut on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW'S concert, I only heard about it via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page earlier today (the band has not updated their own Facebook page since July 4th). TOMORROW'S Reggievelt show will follow up their usual open mic hosting duties at the same venue tonight, so if you want a normal concert from Soundcheck (presumably with Cameron), prepare for their classic and hard rock covers there TOMORROW NIGHT! As for Saturday's gig, this is part of the summer concert series at the Prince Township Outdoor Rink at 3042 Second Line West (20 minutes west of the Soo proper).

It will be interesting to see/hear how they do at a new-to-them location, so don't miss out if you're in the area! Both of Soundcheck's concerts (TOMORROW at Reggie's West included) are 8:00 PM affairs with 19+ age limits, but while there's no cover at the former, the Prince Township show (which is both licensed & covered from the elements) will have a $10 entry fee. Visit the above links and the Prince show's Facebook event page for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Now let's head to Sault Michigan and area for some shows that had prior announcements, starting with local hard rock quartet Tarnished, who will play a very rare hard rock concert at The Merchants Bar in Sault Ste. Marie TOMORROW NIGHT before heading to Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard on SATURDAY NIGHT! After the better part of a decade without a known heavier concert to plug on here, The Merch at 108 West Spruce Street should prove to be a fitting venue for Tarnished's upbeat hard rocking originals and covers, so don't miss out in the Soo tomorrow! Meanwhile, their one-nighter at Huck's (née Joe's Bar & Grill) is part of the greater events schedule for Rudyard's annual Summerfest this weekend (click here and here for more details), with Saturday's festivities being the effective afterparty for the Dice Run, which ends there before the concert begins (click here for details if you're so inclined).

Note that due to or resulting in the Merch show on Friday, Huck's will instead host local classic rock cover band Steelhead (featuring Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor's old Banned bandmate Alex Schrovenwever) that night. They're talented too, don't bypass them! Both of these 21+ shows have no announced cover charge, and while tomorrow's Merch show begins at 8:00 PM, Tarnished will be on at 9:00 PM at Huck's (11358 West Main Street) on Saturday. Visit the above links for more details on both shows, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally for today, Manistique hard rock duo Fyrbird will return to our neck of the woods for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! These shows are the culmination of a mini-tour east for Jamie & Rikk, which also included a show in Curtis (outside of our coverage range) tonight. This weekend's St. Ignace stops will be Fyrbird's first within an hour of Sault Ste. Marie since January, and hopefully Fyrbird's gritty, to-the-point brand of two man hard rock covers find a solid audience this direction once again! If you miss out, Fyrbird will return to The Rapids Lounge in the Soo in November, and to St. Ignace over the Christmas weekend. Tomorrow's & Saturday's concerts have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Fyrbird live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Tym Morrison previews and more in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!