Here's likely our last weekend concert preview post on this busy weekend, but we'll begin with a late notice confirmation, as Gnaeus WILL join The Pixo Control for TONIGHT'S LopLops Lounge concert prior to their Rotaryfest Second Stage debuts TOMORROW! Our source is The Pixo Control's Fscebook page, as the official event page oddly doesn't list a second band. Good to see, they're a natural fit, so if you can't make Rotaryfest, head to LopLops TONIGHT! Now, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (including SHORT NOTICE shows), the last of our previews, and some more notes, so here's what you should know on this Friday afternoon!
Local classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed the shows via this Facebook event page overnight, marking a rare event page for one of their concert weekends. After a weekend off, it's great to see Terry, Steven, and T.J. back in their usually busy form, with this weekend's Rednecks sets bookending the guys' Rotaryfest debut on Stage 1 at Clergue Park, so if you prefer some all ages afternoon action, be at Rotaryfest at 1:00 PM sharp! On the event page linked above, frontman Terry Eaton also clarified the band's special guests for their Rotaryfest set, with local country singer Mark Tarantini and pianist/guitarist Scott Infanti joining them for apparently the whole set, clearly indicating their country ties, so if you like that side of Mourning Wood, this will be a nice treat! Mark will also join Mourning Wood for a set at Rednecks TONIGHT, so keep that in mind as well, but no word on if the Jeff McNiece guest spot listed in the program will still occur.
Also, if you were wondering about the labelling of the band as "The Woods" in the above photo, that appears to be just a nickname for the individual members and not a name change, as they're still credited as Mourning Wood on the event page. TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S Rednecks concerts are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges and 10:00 PM start times, so check the above links for more details, don't miss their Rotaryfest set tomorrow either, and here's Mourning Wood live last year!
Next up, we'll head across the river to look at Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned's August concert calendar, as per their Facebook page on Wednesday! Following their previously announced Soo Kewadin shows over the July 31st weekend, Alex, Don, and Wayne will return to The Sugar Island Music Festival in nearby Sugar Island on Friday, August 7th, which will precede a show at The Runway Bar in Hessel on Saturday, August 8th, so if you're up for some Banned action at either this long running local festival or a headlining bar gig, you have options in a few weeks! For reference, The Sugar Island Festival's lineup is very similar to past years, with it's band roster mainly comprised of festival regulars with scattered newer talent, but click here for the full schedule. Following a road trip to Drummond Island on the 15th, Banned will also return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday the 22nd & Saturday the 23rd!
While nothing past August 1st is announced on Kewadin's entertainment page yet, it's great to see Banned back under the Kewadin umbrella again, so keep all of the above shows in mind! The Runway & Kewadin shows have 21+ age limits, no cover, and 9:00 PM start times, while the Sugar Island Festival is ALL AGES, admission is free for kids & $10 for adults for the whole weekend, with advance buttons available at Grooves Music&& Sugar Island merchants (click here for details!) Banned will be on at 7:15 PM, and are the fourth of eight Friday bands, joining such notables as Retro Troop, Missy Zenker, and headliners 3-Zip. Check the above links for more info, and stay tuned for more on Banned's upcoming shows!
Also today, here's our last of the weekend previews (barring an extremely late notice show), as local glam/power pop trio Caroline Divine and indie/alternative quintet Aldous will join forces after their Rotaryfest Second Stage debuts to rock LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! Joining the spate of Stage 2 performers playing extra gigs over the Rotaryfest weekend (like TONIGHT'S Pixo Control/Gnaeus show at LopLops and the Stereo North/Long Shot show at The Rockstar Bar), this will unite two rising young bands at one of their favourite venues, with Caroline Divine's retro yet current take on hard rock and Aldous' fast-rising indie rock originals sure to impress as they round out their busy Saturday, so whether you want an encore or just prefer a nighttime bar concert, you have options! A 9:00 PM door opening time is listed for this 19+ concert, which has no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and here's Caroline Divine's full set at Lopstock II last month!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:
Edmonton pop punk quintet (and recent Gonqshow headliners) Calling All Captains are looking to play Sault Ste. Marie again on the way back home from their tour, with this Facebook event page hyping a "house/garage show" for Saturday, July 25th, or at least the intent that they'd like to play a show of at least that level next week. Heavy North Entertainment have reportedly expressed some interest in putting this show on, but if you can help out, message Calling All Captains above!
In late updates to TONIGHT'S Man & His Machine-headlined house party concert at 124 Anna Street, the 11:00 PM headlining slot may not be booked for a local act (though rapper Mikey Thomas expressed interest), while the opening slot by local thrash/grind band Them will be retracted to a duo for unannounced reasons, which presumably means that bassist Austin McCrae won't be featured, even though he's playing tonight with Brutally Fatal. If we get any lineup confirmation, we'll let you know!
In advance of their local concert debut at The Algonquin Pub this coming Thursday, Toronto metal band Vesperia are the focus of this new Sault Star article by Jeffery Ougler, where frontman Morgan Rider talks about the band's upcoming Wacken Open Air appearance and battle of the bands run at the hailed German metal festival, plus his music background and day job. It's a nice article to hype next Thursday's show, so give it a look at the above links! (Note that the article still lists Fractal Generator as opening, though they've since dropped out of the show.)
That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at Rotaryfest TOMORROW, as I plan to hit at least 4 bands on each stage, so hope to see some familiar faces out and about! Thanks everyone!
We have a busy stretch coming up on the site, with four posts planned in the next two days alone, including at least two concert preview posts (today's for Sault Ontario and one tonight for Sault Michigan), plus this month's delayed "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow morning, and a new news post tomorrow that will, in all likelihood, cover the Rotaryfest Second Stage's return and possible late notice shows this weekend. Let's kick things off though with this weekend's Sault Ontario hard rock and punk concert previews, including late lineup confirmations for the newest Gonqshow event, and SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!
Local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will return to The Harp Bar & Grill TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, plus Gliss Steak & Seafood TONIGHT and the next two evenings as well! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about these shows earlier this week via their new Facebook event pages (here & here.) Given that a new month is upon us, we'll also add Tym's new July dates to our concert calendar due to his ongoing weekly arrangement at The Harp, and given his recent regular appearances at Gliss (entering his fourth straight week at the restaurant inside The Quality Inn), we will consider his shows there to also be an ongoing regular agreement unless or until there's confirmation otherwise. As a result, we're now listing dates in our listings at The Harp and Gliss from next Thursday the 9th-Saturday the 11th, plus the 16th-18th, 23rd-25th, and July 30th-August 1st, and like recently, he's only at Gliss on the Thursdays, and at both venues on the Fridays & Saturdays.
The Gliss dates are all matinees at 6:00 PM with no announced cover charges or age limits (but remember, he is playing at a restaurant), while his dates at the former Madison's Pub all have 10:00 PM start times, no announced cover, and 19+ age limits. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss Tym's entertaining hard rock covers on either stage this month, including TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! For a preview, here's Tym live!
Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Lucky 13 will return to The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about this show the other day via SooToday's entertainment page, though note that the band hasn't announced a concert through their Facebook page since March, so confirmation may not come through there. A one nighter (with country band Thin Ice playing on Saturday night), this will be Lucky 13's first Rockstar Bar show since filling in for Havadder last month, and their fan favourite alternative and hard rock covers should find a good audience this month, so keep this one in mind for your Friday plans! There is no announced cover charge TOMORROW (but bring cash just in case), you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Lucky 13 live at last year's Toystock!
Moving to previously announced concerts, we'll head to The Rednecks Saloon TOMORROW NIGHT, where local hard rock/alternative solo musician Mike Haggith will have his own release party concert for his newest solo album "The Warinside"! Released online in May, physical CD copies will officially go on sale tomorrow at the former Nicolet Tavern, and Mike and his side project band Mike Haggith & The Din will headline the concert and perform "The Warinside" in full during their first of two sets! The second will contain extra original songs and covers. This is by far the largest release party that Mike has ever held for one of his concerts, and it's great to see the CD get the full band treatment tomorrow, so definitely consider coming out for this one! By contrast, the openers are quite varied, including progressive/soft rock quartet The Wild Iris (formerly The Pesto Shirts) and solo singer/guitarist Micheal Husband (who I have little info on concerning his sound.) Definitely a mixture of styles, but this way, there's a little something for everyone!
Promoted by Mitch Sirie, tickets are available in advance through Din members for $5, but the price jumps to $7 at the door, while paying $10 will get you a copy of "The Warinside" as well! No word on what sole copies of the album cost though if you're not getting a ticket bundle deal. This is a 19+ concert, and Micheal Husband kicks off the show at 9:30 PM. For more details, visit the above links, and don't miss what will arguably be Mike's biggest local show as a solo performer or frontman! For a preview, here's Mike & The Din live this spring!
Finally for this first concert preview post, the sixth installment of Tidal Records & J.D. Pearce's Gonqshow summer concert series goes down SATURDAY NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub, with Edmonton pop punk quintet Calling All Captains now headlining in their local concert debut! The first stop of the band's All Hands On Deck Tour of eastern Canada, this energetic band have a fun and up-tempo brand of punk that fans of older local bands like A Fall From Innocence should take to, so be sure to check them out this Saturday if you're up for a pop punk attack! Originally planned to be a very diverse concert featuring metal, punk, and rap, the metal headlining portion of this show dried up when Toronto thrash trio AxMinister dropped out of the show in May for unannounced reasons, so Calling All Captains are now headlining alongside two local rap acts! A joint set by Conika and DJ Seith will replace AxMinister on the bill (as per the Gonqshow's Facebook event page), while Mikey Thomas will still open the show with his own solo rap numbers.
Having two rappers and a DJ opening for a punk band isn't a typical fit, but Mikey, Conika, and Shane are all very good at what they do, and they should set the tone nicely before Calling All Captains take the stage! A $5 cover charge is likely for this show, which is a 19+ affair with a likely 10:00 PM start time. This show has unusually not received a lot of promotion specific to it online, but if you love pop punk and/or rap, be sure to head to The Algonquin Pub TOMORROW! For a preview, here's Calling All Captains putting their own spin on a Lorde song for this video!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan previews later today, with this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post coming tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin, I wanted to apologize for yet another missed Mourning Wood concert, as the classic/hard rock trio played a short notice matinee concert at The New American Pub on Saturday night, as per their Facebook page that day. The alert came too late for us to slide it into a timely post, but it was their first New A set in two months. Had this show have had more advance notice, we'd have definitely plugged it here, but our apologies either way! Now, today's post is entirely devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all from a newly announced concert series taking place over mid-2015, so here's what you need to know!
Local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has announced a summer concert series called The Gonqshow that will see at least 10 different concerts hit The Algonquin Pub over a four month span between May and September! The first time that he's announced such an ambitious long-term run at a venue since the short-lived Heavy Thursdays at The Rosie, most of these concerts will have $5 cover charges, and all will likely have local opening bands. You can get more details at the official Facebook event page, but the first Gonqshow date (barring any interim announcements) will see Calgary punk sextet The River Jacks make their local debut on Wednesday, May 20th! Taking place early in their cross-Canada tour, their up-tempo punk sound with a folk tinge and message should find an audience here next month, so keep this show in mind as the Gonqshow begins! For reference, The River Jacks have touring bands joining them across Canada, just not in the Soo.
Local openers are being sought for this and most other shows that J.D. has planned for The Gonqshow this year, so message him at this link or above if you want to open for The River Jacks next month! Unless later stated otherwise, this is a 19+ event with a $5 cover and a likely 10:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the above links! This should be a great way to kick off this series, so don't miss The River Jacks' folk/punk attack!
Two Saturday night events (on May 30th and June 27th) await a public announcement of who's playing them, but next among announced Algonquin Pub events in this series is a wildly diverse concert on Saturday, July 4th that will be headlined by masked Toronto thrash trio AxMinister in their local debut! Possibly familiar as well for sharing the stage with locals AlgomA at a Sudbury event in June, their gritty pounding thrash originals should also make lots of fans on the Fourth of July (the SMS' eighth birthday too!), so keep them in mind! When I said this was wildly diverse, I meant it, as Alberta pop punk quintet Calling All Captains will open in their own local debut, and while a far cry from AxMinister, their energetic alternative sound will be familiar for fans of bands like A Fall From Innocence, so they'll find a good response as well! Capping off the wide sound array will be local rapperMikey Thomas, and fans of his Blood Shed sets will know his skill for that genre!
There's arguably a little something for everyone at this show, which will again likely be a 19+ affair with a 10:00 PM start time and a $5 cover charge, so check the above links for more details, and whether you love thrash, punk, rap, all, or some of the above, keep this show in mind for July!
Next on the Gonqshow slate is an Algonquin Pub concert on Saturday, July 18th that will see Sudbury hardcore punk quartet Of Tall Tales make their own local concert debut! Some readers may recognize them from sharing the stage with local bands at the last two Rock 'N Roar Battles of the Bands in Spanish (they and locals Beaumont Avenue both placed last year, earning opening slots at last August's Rock 'N Roar Festival), but this will be our first chance to see O.T.T. on a local stage. Their originals (which give me a Howard Jones-era Killswitch Engage vibe at times) should impress many local fans in July, so definitely check them out, especially for their Backstreet Boys cover! Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will be one of at least two local opening bands for this show, and message J.D. A.S.A.P. via the above links if you want to open for this show too!
Again, this show will have a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 10:00 PM start time unless stated otherwise, and we'll let you know if something is! It's great to see Of Tall Tales finally make their local debut, and they should leave a huge impression, so keep tabs on this show as more updates roll in!
Lastly for today, we'll head to The Algonquin Pub on Thursday, July 23rd, where Toronto folk/death metal quartet Vesperia will make their local concert debut amidst the Gonqshow! Formerly known as Bolero and featuring Hallows Die drummer Dylan Gowan in their lineup, Vesperia's melodic extreme metal sound will definitely pique the interest of many metalheads, especially given their experienced and talented lineup, so do not bypass this one in July! For reference, Shit Liver are playing with both Vesperia & Hallows Die in Sudbury this Friday, click here for more details. Local openers are completely undetermined as of this writing, but again, if you want to open, message J.D. via the above links! Like the above shows, this one will likely have a $5 cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a 10:00 PM start time unless stated otherwise. For more details, visit the above links, and definitely remember this show for some summertime metal brutality! Stay tuned for updates!
There are four more shows in August and September among the Gonqshow roster, which we'll touch on in an upcoming post to spread them out, but the above links will give you info on them before then! J.D.'s outdoing himself once again, so kudos for what should be a stacked summer concert season, and I'm sure he's not done yet! Stay tuned for more here and on Facebook to come, and for more news and notes as they roll in! Thanks everyone!
