Here's one more news post on this Saturday morning before we dive into some month-ending feature posts, and it includes a big new album release and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know!
W
e have one more hard rock concert preview for this weekend, as former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Curt only announced this gig on his Facebook page yesterday, and the venue has not corroborated this booking on theirs. I wonder why The Dive doesn't post a monthly events calendar anymore? Despite announcing next month's Beck's show with over a month's notice, TONIGHT's Dive show (his first there in two weeks) has far less of a turnaround to get the word out, but hopefully there's a sizeable crowd at the former Low & Slow, even with Oktoberfest and Wolf Fest running opposite it downtown! You can take in Curtis' alternative and hard rock covers TONIGHT at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more on TONIGHT'S show, and here's Curt live!
Next up, let's wrap up the hard rock show announcements at The Esquire Club for this fall, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will return there on Friday, November 14th & Saturday, November 15th! These are surprisingly the only announced public shows ahead for Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve after Wolf Fest tonight, with the rest of their 2025 shows (and beyond) on their website's concert calendar being private events. No idea if we'll get interim announcements of some kind for Silent 9 at public venues or nightclubs, but in case this is it for them in 2025 for general audiences, don't bypass their hard rocking and fan friendly cover slate in seven weeks! We will let you know if any SMS-leaning bands play at the Second Line West nightclub in early-mid 2026 when announced, but Silent 9 will be on at 9:30 PM with no cover charges and 19+ age limits in November. See above for more details!
We'll close today with big album news, as local alt-hard rock band Handsome Sandwich's sophomore album "Collage" yesterday was surprisingly released to major streaming services yesterday! Keeping the album name teased as early as their return to the stage in May, the abrupt release has much less fanfare than when "Deconstructed" came out in May 2023, and reminds me of when Johnny & Mitch's (old?) local death metal band The Bear Hunters released "The Dead Testament" quietly online at the end of 2020 without similar hype or a release party during their slowdown of activity. Hopefully this isn't a bad omen for the Sandwich's future, but it's great to see "Collage" finally out! This album was recorded at the Algoma Conservatory of Music between September 2023 and early 2024, and features the seven songs teased right along, including "Carousel" and "Unhappy", the two song titles that were not widely reported on social media.
Credited to the label imprint Sonic Sunshine (not Ugly Salad this time), Handsome Sandwich are represented on this album by singer Taylor "Tea" Emlaw, guitarist Jesse Cook, bassist Rafael Medina (who didn't record on "Deconstructed"), and drummer Johnny Belanger, while former guitarist Mitch Sirie tracked parts for the album in late 2023 before his departure from the band, and he is featured on the cover artwork. Former rhythm guitarist Brandon Ruch (who replaced Mitch for most of 2024 and has not himself been replaced in the band yet) is credited in Distrokid's tags for the album on YouTube, but I don't know what songs he contributed to, nor if there are any guest performers otherwise. I don't know when/if CDs will be on sale, but this image from their Facebook page of a back cover with titles would imply that they were at least planned. "Collage" can now be streamed on Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, Boomplay, and BeMusic.
The album is not on Apple Music or Bandcamp at press time, even though "Deconstructed" was released on both, and as such, it isn't on sale on mp3 format anywhere yet, just on pure streaming services. In any event, an album review on the SMS isn't imminent, as we have quite a backlog built up for new local album reviews (Agnosticism, Ha!ls, Spades GT, No Arrow, and Sykotyk Rampage are next), so assuming an mp3 or CD copy of "Collage" goes on sale by then, we won't be able to review it until February 2026. Stay tuned for more from Handsome Sandwich when updates roll in, check out "Collage" above, and look for that Agnosticism review next! Thanks everyone!
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