Saturday, October 5, 2024

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm, Rhythm & Brews, And Tarnished), Plus X's & Y's Updates!!

Today's post is 100% devoted to Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula, as we have a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE with a related apology) to take note of, along with big news on an upcoming album release, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TONIGHT after previously playing there last night! Apologies for the short notice and for missing yesterday's show, they were only announced on the band's Facebook page yesterday morning, with the band admittedly calling them a "surprise show", despite there being two gigs. According to (temporary?) bassist Chris Leask's personal Facebook page, yesterday's and TONIGHT's shows came about after "a last minute cancellation". The originally scheduled Rapids Lounge band this weekend was Traverse City dance rock quartet Risque, who confirmed on their Facebook page that they withdrew due to "unforeseen circumstances", but "we are all okay". Hopefully that is the case, and that Risque's scheduled return to the Soo Kewadin in December goes on!

Kudos to Tarnished for stepping in last night & TONIGHT on late notice, and this means that The Rapids Lounge hosted the same band in consecutive weeks, which is not common but a big thing for fans of their hard rocking covers and originals! TONIGHT's (and yesterday's) shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details, apologies again for missing yesterday's show (surprise though it may have been), and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, let's stay with new Kewadin Casino shows, as the entertainment pages for both regional Kewadin branches have been updated to reflect bookings through the end of November! Not a ton of new hard rock-leaning bookings ahead there, and we already knew about Peril's St. Ignace shows next week and Fyrbird's Thanksgiving weekend there too, but Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return north for two concert weekends at both Kewadin lounges next month! The Peril sister band will first rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin on Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd, and in case you're wondering about a potential Halloween theme, I wouldn't bet on it given that their general events calendar points to their parties and costume contests at all branches being on Saturday the 26th (Sault Ontario's Touch of Class will be in St. Ignace that weekend).

As for The Rapids Lounge, fans will be able to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff back there on (Black) Friday, November 29th and Saturday, November 30th as they light things up over the Thanksgiving long weekend. That may be the last time you can see either Scarkazm or Peril in the E.U.P. this year, so don't miss out on Scarkazm's hard hitting covers before December rolls around! All four of Scarkazm's November gigs up here have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. See above for more details!

The only other verifiable new hard rock shows at either local Kewadin branch will come on Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd once again, but this time at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo, where local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews are slated to return to the stage! Rhythm & Brews (featuring current Tarnished performers Chris Leask and Ron Suchey on bass and drums) don't play live all the often right now, with next month's shows being their first publically advertised gigs that I have seen since June. It will be good to see Brandon, Chris Hubbard, and crew back in just under a month's time, and hopefully their hard rocking covers provide a strong kickoff to the month! Once again, I don't believe Kewadin Casinos are celebrating Halloween a day late at all based on their event calendar listings, and if you come there on the 26th to celebrate, that night's Rapids Lounge band will be local country duo Perry/Hatch.

As with Scarkazm in St. Ignace that same weekend, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits for Rhythm & Brews' Soo shows. Visit the above links for much more on Kewadin Casino's regional lounge gigs for the rest of the fall season!

Let's close today with the latest from local metal solo project X's & Y's (led by former Life's Eclipse guitarist and Werehold Records founder Jason Mills), who has been very busy in recent months! As of September 11th, their long-gestating debut album "The Obsidian Dream" was complete, and unlike every Werehold release from their heyday, this actually is done and dusted, and Jason sent the album to be printed on physical CDs the following week! The full album will be released on Friday on all major streaming services and on CD while supplies last. The first 30 CDs come with an NES-inspired band sticker, and if you order it early, it will immediately ship, so you may get yours before October 11th if you're quick/close enough. Jason posted the video below onto X's & Y's Facebook page on Thursday to preview the packaging for "The Obsidian Dream", which will have eight songs, and note the Werehold logo on the back!

I'm not sure if this is a first step for the label's rebirth or just to have a label for the release even just in name, but it's neat to see it on a real physical CD in 2024! Two of the songs have guest musicians (pause it 19 seconds in to see their names clearly). If you've been following Jason's original metal music over the past couple decades, you'll wanna pick up "The Obsidian Dream", so visit the above links to get your CD and/or more details, and click here to see guest guitarist Jeremy Belter playing a riff from the final cut "Never Left"! Very incomplete, but very promising at the same time!


That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

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