LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Beaumont Avenue, Lucky 13, And Tym Morrison), A Band Name Change, And Concert Previews!!

Today, we're focusing on this weekend's metal & hard rock concert previews, mostly of the SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT variety, as all but two in Sault Michigan this weekend were only just confirmed online this week. One of the bands playing this weekend actually just changed their name too, so read on below for what you need to know for your weekend concert planning!

The band formerly known as The Suicide Kings will hit the stage TOMORROW NIGHT for a headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced at the end of a post from bassist Mitch Sirie on Tuesday night, where the band also announced that they have changed their name to Beaumont Avenue. Mitch cited recent personal events for the change, which I believe also caused the postponement of their Urawk live karaoke series' debut at The Rednecks Saloon from last week to tonight (if you know the band personally, you'll know what happened.) They also cited the name bringing the band "unwanted negativity" and assumptions that they were a full metal band when they cover much more than just that. The Beaumont Avenue name references the street that the guys jam on, so the personal connection fits well! Under any name, TOMORROW'S show will be the band's first concert set since Musicfest earlier this month, and their first at The Rockstar Bar since February.

There should be a $5 cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM-ish start time is likely. Check the above links for more details, including on TONIGHT'S Urawk debut if you're up for live karaoke of any genre! I like the reasoning for the new name, but it will take time to settle in, especially as The Suicide Kings have accomplished so much under that name. Fingers crossed they find the same success and more, so don't miss the newly renamed Beaumont Avenue tomorrow night! For a preview, here's their Buckcherry cover at The Canadian last fall!



Also in recent new concert confirmations, we'll now add Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's July slate of solo dates at The Harp Bar & Grill to our concert listings, pushing his ongoing concert arrangement there to it's 31st-34th weeks! As such, he'll be playing acoustic solo dates (Fridays as part of hosted jam nights, Saturdays as normal solo gigs) TOMORROW, next Friday & Saturday, on Friday, July 18th, and then on July 25th & 26th, and apologies for the late notice on tomorrow's show, as I couldn't slot it into a post when announced on Facebook on Monday. All of the other new dates are via Tym's website's concert calendar, and note that he's not playing at The Harp this Saturday due to the former Madison's Pub's broadcast of UFC 175, and he's not listed for a show there on July 19th either for yet unknown reasons, so keep those off Saturdays in mind. As well, Tym will return to The Road House Bar & Grill on Trunk Road for a second straight monthly customer appreciation night on Thursday, July 24th, so if you miss Tym's regular run there, check out the acoustic hard rock action & meal deals then!

Aside from the Road House gig on the 24th (which starts at 5:00 PM and is likely all ages as a result), all of these gigs have 10:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 19+ age limits. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page for TOMORROW'S show! It's great to see Tym's ongoing relationship with The Harp continuing to be successful (and to see him play some more gigs at other venues), so don't miss his unplugged cover classics tomorrow, and here he is at The Harp in January!

And in one more late notice concert announcement, local classic/alternative hard rock cover quartet Lucky 13 will apparently be playing at The Rockstar Bar themselves THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Once again, apologies for the short notice, I only just heard about this show via The Rockstar Bar's Facebook group yesterday (though for what it's worth, the band hasn't confirmed this show yet.) The booking will be Lucky 13's first since the end of May, and if true, it's a bit surprising given that Lucky 13 (from what I'm used to) generally take the summer off. If there's any clarification to the contrary, we'll let you know, but keep an eye out for Lucky 13's hard hitting and varied covers on Saturday if all goes well! There will be a $5 cover charge, 10:30 PM-ish start time, and 19+ age limit in effect, so check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the guys at The Canadian! (Also, I've seen advertising on The Rockstar Bar's pages recently for a band named The Ottomans that's playing there next weekend. I have no info on them or their genre yet, but if they end up fitting on the SMS, we'll let you know!)



Closing with shows that had some advance word, Northern Michigan Kiss tribute band Kiss'd will make a rare return to the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT with headlining concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! This weekend's shows round out the recent U.P. invasion of singer/bassist Jeff Hudson's array of Northern Michigan hard rock bands, following recent St. Ignace shows from his other acts Scarkazm, Audio Circus, and of course, Peril. However, Kiss'd are more of a novelty for both concept (how often do you see tribute bands in the E.U.P.?) and in their own live frequency, as they've only played four shows before this weekend, and not since 2012. Even still, Kiss'd play a fun and faithful version of Kiss' classic sound, though some of the vocals aren't dead ringers for the originals, so keep what should be a great weekend of Kiss material in mind for this weekend! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and everything starts at 10:30 PM tomorrow (due to the Fourth of July fireworks) and at 9:00 PM on Saturday. Don't miss out, and for a preview, here's Kiss'd live in Alma in 2011!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new post tomorrow, plus more news and notes to come! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Kiss'd), New Videos, And More!!

Before we head off to TONIGHT'S Jack Spades EP release show, we have a new news post for you guys today, so what's on tap? Some assorted recent notes (including a concert cancellation), a new cover video, recent coverage of a major all ages show, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for across the river this summer, so here's what you need to know!

Continuing the recent influx of Charlevoix, Michigan metal musician Jeff Hudson's bands into Eastern Upper Peninsula concert dates, his Northern Michigan Kiss tribute band Kiss'd will hit The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, July 4th and Saturday, July 5th! Note that these shows are still to be announced on Kewadin's entertainment page, but I imagine it's just a little behind. Joining already-announced 2014 dates for Jeff's other bands Scarkazm, Audio Circus, and (of course) Peril at our regional Kewadin branches, these will actually be Kiss'd's first announced shows on their Facebook page since 2012, though I'm not sure if they've played a show unadvertised there in the interim. Featuring Jeff on vocals and bass as "Paul Stanley", Kiss'd have a faithful sound that fans of Kiss should take to if their older videos are any indication, though the vocals aren't always close ringers with the original songs. Be sure to check them out in July though! You must be 21 to attend, there's no announced cover charge, and there are nightly start times of 10:30 & 9:00 PM, so check the above links for more updates on how to get Kiss'd!

Next up, we have some recent local coverage of last weekend's fourth annual Sewer Swampstravaganza at The Oddfellows Hall to share on here! Posted to the YouTube channel of local event promotion and entertainment website Sault Online on Tuesday, this features video footage of Sudbury unplugged hard rockers Aggressive Acoustic covering Monster Magnet's "Space Lord" during soundcheck, which bookend a minute long interview clip with promoter Steve Mozarowski outside of the hall, so what is discussed there? Steve talks about how he started the annual event in 2011 as a RedD Monkey tour fundraiser, though it has since transitioned into a showcase for youth-centered local talent, while he'll also look into grants for next year's event and the possibility of free admission. Aside from the windy conditions impairing the interview, it's a solid promotional sample for the event, and the Aggressive Acoustic footage is well shot! I wonder what became of the Brutaly Fatal video footage that the same Sault Online correspondent filmed that evening?

Also to note: Steve described RedD Monkey as "broke up" in the video, though official Facebook statements only go so far as to say they're on a hiatus, so we'll go on that until/unless something else is stated. As well, the video description incorrectly lists both Ashes To Dust & Pillory as playing that night, misspells Aggressive Acoustic, and accidentally calls Haggith "Haggard", but hopefully that all gets fixed! Nice to see some new local media coverage of the Swampfest, so check out the full video below!



Also today, Pillory frontman and Crimson Crusade guitarist Robert Sartini posted a new cover video onto his YouTube channel on Wednesday! His first video there in 5 months (and first solo cover video since last August), this is a guitar rendition of Wisconsin death metal band Putrid Pile's "Blood Fetish" that he learned by ear. Though I'm not too familiar with Putrid Pile, this a solid rendition, but I think the original backing track is a bit high in the video. This should tide Pillory fans over while we wait for public news from their camp, so give Robert's new video a look below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Former(?) Social Suicide guitarist Anthony Boudreau is looking for a high school-age guitarist who can play anything from old school rock to progressive metal for his new local band project. If you're interested in trying out, message Anthony at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from May 7th!
• The Die Mannequin concert scheduled for June 14th at The Rockstar Bar has been cancelled, as per updates to the Facebook event page by promoter J.D. Pearce on Tuesday. A reason wasn't announced there beyond J.D. saying that it was "out of my hands", but while this is disappointing, does the survival of the event page lend hope for a possible rescheduling? We'll have to wait and see!
• A 14 year old local metal guitarist named Jordan Attoni is looking to jam in a local metal project. He has played guitar for 4 years, and is influenced by bands like AC/DC, Metallica, and Avenged Sevenfold, so if you're interested in trying out or getting more details, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week!

That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for Jack Spades' EP release show! Thanks everyone!