As we continue to catch up on news and notes with the holidays in the rear view mirror, today's post is mostly devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month, but in regards to the first of the shows, there's more to it both from a familiar face's new project and album, so here's what you should know across the board!
We have a new-ish local metal project to add to our links, and they are
Sell This!, the current band from former
RedD Monkey cellist Pete Mozarowski! While Pete remained active as a solo musician after RedD Monkey's final local gig in December 2013, he eventually moved to Winnipeg for a spell, where Sell This! began by 2020. As far as I can tell, their only social media page is via
Bandcamp, where Pete notes that Sell This! are a hybrid of industrial, classical, and metal, indicating that "it sounds a lot like if Trent Reznor sang for Apocalyptica". While in Winnipeg, Sell This! released their debut EP
"The Cancer Stage of Capitalism" in December 2020, followed by the full length
"Isn't This A Democracy?" in 2022 (featuring some guest performers), and
a live single featuring two songs from an upcoming release. The lyrics on offer are
very political and influenced by societal decline, so note that when listening.
Sell This! definitely have a unique sound as local bands go, shelving the old punk influences of RedD Monkey for a darker sound with a more engaged, protest-type lyrical bent, and while Pete's vocals can lack in force and confidence, I see where he'd be making Nine Inch Nails comparisons for his delivery. Interesting to hear for sure, but when can you see Sell This! live in the Soo? Well, how about on Saturday, January 13th when they headline a
CD release party at
The Distraction! Yes, Pete has a new album for release that day called
"Empires Everywhere", which will be performed in full by Sell This! next Saturday, and it will be interesting to see how his live set looks! No word yet on the album's cost, but "Isn't This A Democracy?" costs $10 on Bandcamp. Opening next Saturday is local folk punk solo project
Slumshine in a rare non-Fringe North set, and hopefully Brent and his pink knit ski mask set the tone well in their Distraction debut!
The concert proper takes place at The Distraction (the former Big Guns Barbershop building at 72 East Street) next Saturday at 8:00 PM. It is an all ages concert, and while the recommended admission fee is $5, "pay what you can" is also acceptable. Visit the above links and the Facebook event page for more details on Sell This! and their CD release party next week!
Next up, prolific local folk punk/extreme metal musician
Chase Wigmore will also be playing at The Distraction on Friday, January 19th! His first live concert in two months, it is worth noting that Chase indicated on
his Facebook page that his November date at Soo Blaster was "probably my last", referencing his teased hiatus from concerts/recording to focus on his personal life, but clearly he isn't stepping back
just yet!
The Facebook event page indicates that Chase will playing acoustic folk here, but knowing his intensity and guitar talents, fans shouldn't be left in the lurch too much in two weeks! Local/Toronto outsider folk musician
Shae Tull will open, and she's a talented singer & guitarist in her own right, so don't bypass her set on the 19th either! Interestingly, doors open at 5:00 PM for this concert, which is slated to run until 9:00 PM. No word on why the show has such an early timeslot, for the record.
Otherwise, this show is similar to the Sell This! concert, in that it's an all ages affair with a $5 admission fee recommended (or "pay what you can" if you wish). It's good to see Chase back on stage given his hints that he may not be performing live for much longer, so don't miss out on all of the unplugged action later this month, and see above for more details!
Finally for today's post, we have one more SMS-amenable concert at The Distraction to take note of, and it will see rising young metal trio
The BAG and punk fan favourites
Vanity First join forces on Saturday, January 27th! Unlike the above shows, this one was not announced via a venue-created Facebook event page, rather this concert poster on
Vanity First's Facebook page (at press time, The BAG have not confirmed the booking). Of course, Vanity First played one of the first shows at The Distraction last month, while this will be The BAG's first show there, and first live date since rocking Soo Blaster in November (which also featured Chase Wigmore, as alluded to above). Given that today's other two new Distraction gigs feature two solo acts apiece, fans hoping to see full rock bands there!
The ground rules for this concert about on par with Sell This! next weekend, including a 7:00 PM start time, all ages format, and $5 cover charge recommended (or "pay what you can"). It's great to see bookings picking up at The Distraction, but of course, if you want to encourage more concerts there, go see these three shows later this month! See above for more details on all three, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment