LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Curtis McKenzie) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this weekend's hard rock concert previews, just a heads up that local hard rock quintet HeadFirst are not playing at Reggie's Place this weekend, and have been replaced by classic rock veterans RPM. A reason for HeadFirst's withdrawal wasn't announced, but the band never publically acknowledged the shows again after first plugging them in a concert calendar post on their Facebook page on May 13th. Hopefully all's well in their camp, and RPM should fill in nicely! Now, here's what you should know on a relatively quieter weekend for hard rock/punk acts, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related apology!

Former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie is back as a solo musician and will play at The Dive Gastro Pub THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, after previously playing there this past Saturday! Profuse apologies for both the short notice and for missing last week's show, Curt first mentioned either concert on his solo project's Facebook page on Monday, and for one reason or another, The Dive only plugged last week's show in a Facebook video about that day's concurrent pajama party (the former Low & Slow has been promoting multiple theme nights since the new ownership took over). As far as I can recall, Curt's short notice gig at The Dive last week was his first formal public concert since his short-lived band The Bridge Heads had their momentum stunted by the first pandemic lockdown in March 2020. Since then, we're mainly seen Curtis musically via 2020 live-stream concerts and occasionally performing during his gaming streams on Twitch.

It's great to see Curt back on a stage, and hopefully last week's show (which I would have happily covered here had someone publically advertised it in writing) was a hit! THIS SATURDAY'S encore will (like last week) take place on the patio outside of the 648 Queen Street East restaurant, and that night's theme includes a blacklight party (someone will win a prize for being the "brightest guest") and gin specials for World Gin Day. As this is outdoors, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather at 15° with a 30% chance of rain, and it'll be likelier at night, so keep close eye on the forecast as we get closer to showtime. This is a 19+ event at 9:00 PM with no cover. See above for more details, and here's Curt live!

Next up, here's some shows that definitely had advance notice before this week, starting with more acoustic hard rock action from the ever prolific Tym Morrison, who plays at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT before returning to Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! This is week #2 of Tym's weekly seasonal run at The Mike Case Stage, as well as the second of his weekly run at Misty's after his prior bi-weekly schedule there was (nearly) doubled. Of course, you'll get many more chances to see Tym at the Great Northern Road and Second Line West locales through the end of their advertised runs in September, but if his stacked slate of classic and hard rock covers strikes you as a good time for this weekend, you know where to be! Now, be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 30% chance of rain tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM.

The Weather Channel (whose hourly forecast goes further) only has a 12% chance of rain during showtime, but regardless, expect 11-12° temperatures and mostly cloudy weather. Again, check your preferred local weather forecast tomorrow to see if anything screwy happens, as Tym has cancelled or shortened his Trading Post gigs due to weather before. That 7:00 PM show is also all ages, while the Misty's Fifties concert on Saturday is a 4:00 PM matinee with a presumed 19+ age limit, and neither show has an advertised age limit. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here and here for more details, and here's Tym live!

Also this weekend, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will go "uncorked" for another one-nighter at Gateway Casino on SATURDAY NIGHT! Like with their past shows at Sault Ontario's downtown casino, this is an unplugged affair, and you could call it a warm-up before they plug things back in for their shows at the Queen Street Cruise next weekend. If you miss The Bearded Lounge and/or like seeing your local 225 in acoustic trappings, you know where to go this weekend, and it'll be over a month before they play another "uncorked" show as per their most recent schedule! Remember, Gateway Casino traditionally only hosts bands on Saturdays, and Bone Yard have not announced that they're playing elsewhere tomorrow. This concert has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Greg, Alex, and Warren live and unplugged a few months back!

 

 

Finally for this weekend's currently known previews, we'll head to The Distraction on East Street, as online page-less (Instagram aside) local folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism will return for another set on SATURDAY NIGHT, but this time, as a support act. Here, they'll be opening for the alt-rock band formerly known as Skinbox, who have since renamed themselves to The Haze, and will debut their new name and mystery drummer on Saturday as well! No word on if they'll sound about the same as Skinbox did during their late 2023 shows (1990s-2000s alternative and Arctic Monkeys covers), but of course, the fact that they're opening for The Ripcordz later this summer shouldn't be ignored. Punk fans will get their fill via Agnosticism's folk punk original attack, and hopefully Mikhal lays down some solid tunes before Steve, Brad, Jordan, and *insert drummer's name here* take the stage on Saturday!

 

As usual for shows at The Distraction, this is an all ages affair with a "pay what you can" admission model ($5 is suggested), and Agnosticism kick things off at 9:00 PM. This should be a fun time for punk and alternative fans, especially with the unknowns about how Skinbox The Haze will look in their relaunch, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Agnosticism live!

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!