The First Half Of This Weekend's Hard Rock/Punk Concert Previews!!

Another busy concert weekend is upon us, necessitating two posts to cover it all. As such, look for our previews of this weekend's Bone Yard 225, Double Down, Tarnished, and Nameless concerts in tomorrow's second preview post, so don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you should know, starting with a big punk show TONIGHT!

Leading off this busy weekend is the long awaited return of Pomona, California hardcore punk legends Total Chaos, who will headline TONIGHT at The Stellar Door under The Distraction! The second basement show at the former East Street barbershop, this space won rave reviews when The Ripcordz played there this summer, and hopefully the good vibes of a good old fashioned punk basement show continue for Total Chaos in their first local concert appearance since they rocked the former Oddfellows Hall fourteen years ago. Hardcore punk fans won't want to miss their established and newer original fury, so don't miss out tonight! Opening here are Ottawa "post street punk" band BALM Squad in their local debut, and they'll be a strong lead-off band with their hard hitting original sound, so don't bypass them tonight either! Surprisingly, this show does not have any advertised local opening acts.

Note that local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT opened for BALM Squad in Toronto in July, and will open for The Exploited at two GTA shows this weekend, so the local connection goes further than you think! If you hadn't bought the limited $25 advance tickets by now, door admission is via a "$20 or pay what you can" setup, the Mikhal Muto-promoted concert starts at 9:00 PM. and this is definitely an ALL AGES venue (no alcohol, please respect the space). Despite being on a work/school night, this should be a great night of hardcore punk action, so don't miss out at The Stellar Door under The Distraction tonight, and here's Total Chaos live!

Next up, let's dive into musicians on the weekend cover circuit, starting with prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who will wrap up his summer 2024 arrangement at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT before returning for another matinee  on SATURDAY at Misty's Fifties! As The Mike Case Stage only hosts live musicians seasonally, their live music schedule ends in early-mid September, hence why this is Tym's last Friday evening gig there of the year. If you like seeing Tym playing outdoors way down Great Northern Road, this is your last chance until (likely) mid-2025, so keep tomorrow's show in mind! If you prefer seeing him indoors and earlier in the day, his Misty's Fifties run continues until at least the end of the month, and we'll let you know if it gets extended at all. You can enjoy his unplugged classic & hard rock covers tomorrow at 7:00 PM and Saturday at 4:00 PM.

The Misty's show is likely 19+, and neither has a cover charge. For his outdoor swan song for 2024, tomorrow's Trading Post concert, we're looking at sunny-to-clear skies with temperatures at around 23°, so it should be a fine evening to wrap up the season's schedule with! Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here and here for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Also this weekend, former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will hit the road just outside of town to play at the Rowdy Ranchers Horse Show at the Laird Fairgrounds TOMORROW & SATURDAY! This annual event is hosted by the local Rowdy Ranchers Round-Up horse club, and will see lots of family enterainment, vendors, and horse/pony shows and exhibits, so if you ride or just love horses, you might want to head out to Laird for all of the action this weekend! Visit the above links for more on the non-musical specifics. Curt will be the matinee musical entertainment during the day throughout the weekend, though he nor organizers have stated when exactly he's playing each night. On Saturday, there will be a nighttime headline band (pop rock cover quartet Lime), but given the formatting of this event, I hesitate to say that Curtis is "opening" for Lime. Regardless, the Rowdy Ranchers Round-Up is FREE & ALL AGES with gates opening at 8:00 AM.

Note that, according to Curt's Facebook page, he had been booked to play at The Dive Gastro Pub tonight but the show was cancelled, as the former Low & Slow had mistakenly double booked tonight's "Think It Over Thursday" gig (the actual performers there tonight are Aaron Lucas & Jeff July). Curtis hadn't announced a September 12th show in advance anyway, but hopefully we see him back at The Dive soon! As for the Rowdy Ranchers Horse Show, this may seem more like a country music-amenable event, but hopefully Curtis' hard rocking covers keep the good vibes going in Laird this weekend! See above for more details, and here's Curt live!

Finally for this weekend, we'll head back into city limits for local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at the former Reggie's West early last month, these shows will be joined by Generations hosting Jay's weekly Thursday jam night tonight, so if such events interest you as a spectator or prospective performer, keep that in mind! It is worth noting that Generations frontwoman Valerie Powley does not take part in their jam nights, a'la Cameron Oliver missing Soundcheck's, but she will be back to sing all night this weekend, and the guys have teased having new Bob Seger and The Outfield covers to debut in their sets. Tomorrow and Saturday's traditional concerts (and jam night tonight) are 19+ affairs with no announced cover shows, and the normal concerts have 9:30 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the second half of our weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Double Down, HeadFirst, And Curtis McKenzie!!)

For our last news post of the month, we're looking at LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), all via weekend nightclub cover circuit regulars, so here's what you should know on this Friday evening!

Former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for concerts TOMORROW NIGHT and on Thursday, September 12th! Apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW's show, Curt only announced it via his Facebook page this afternoon, where he admitted that it was "a bit last minute, but I'll never turn down a gig". In one more kinda-new confirmation, he will be playing at the Rowdy Ranchers Horse Show at the Laird Fairgrounds on Friday, September 13th as well, joining the previously confirmed Saturday the 14th gig there, so whether you're into horses or just want to see his acoustic hard rock covers just outside of town, keep his dual bookings in Laird in mind in two weeks! Back to The Dive, Curt's show TOMORROW at the former Low & Slow will be an outdoor "Patio Play" gig, while his show on the 12th will be a part of the restaurant's "Think It Over Thursday" series, which is traditionally held indoors.

All three new shows are free, with The Dive shows being at 9:00 PM and 19+. The Rowdy Ranchers Weekend is definitely open to all ages, and while an 8:00 AM start time is listed, I don't know when exactly Curtis plays (pop rock cover quartet Lime are the Saturday evening headliners). The Weather Channel's current hourly forecast is calling for 20° temperatures and increasingly cloudy skies TOMORROW NIGHT, and there is a strong possibility of rain after midnight that could obviously abbreviate Curt's show, if not move it indoors. If you are at all concerned about the forecast, follow Curt or The Dive for updates. Visit the above links for more on Curt's September slate, and here he is live!

Next up, here's what was originally planned to lead off today's post before Curt's shows were announced, as The Esquire Club has announced their fall concert schedule through to the end of the year! After the Second Line West nightclub's two months summer break from the weekend cover band grind, they resume hosting live musicians next weekend, and surprisingly, only six different bands are in the rotation across these seventeen weeks. As per the official schedule shared on their Facebook page on Tuesday, they will welcome classic/hard rock cover quartets Silent 9 and Double Down there next month, but both bands already announced those dates on their social media and were thusly already announced here. Silent 9's website has all of their 2024 Esquire Club dates beyond listed too! The first new-to-us shows here from hard rock-leaning bands are courtesy of fellow classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, so when can you see them?

Soundcheck (still no space) return to Second Line West for the first time since late June when they take the stage on Friday, October 25th & Saturday, October 26th, with returns slated for November 22nd-23rd and then on December 20th-21st! No word yet on if The Esquire Club will hold their Halloween party early with Soundcheck or if they'll wait a day to do so with Silent 9 for a second straight year, but we'll keep you posted! Also note that Soundcheck's December shows are the last before Christmas, so there could be holiday themes there too. All six of Soundcheck's shows have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:30 PM start times, and good rocking covers will be present at all three!

While classic/hard rock veterans Double Down had announced their September dates at The Esquire Club (playing there on the 13th-14th and on the 27th-28th), their calendar doesn't go further than mid-October, leaving out two upcoming concert weekends there. Fans can see the Syrettes, Brad, and Ric back on Second Line West when they take the stage on November 8th-9th and December 6th-7th, so if you want to see this union of Griphook, Bone Yard, and Mojo alumni, you have four upcoming west end weekends to take note of! No major frills or holiday weekend tie-ins to note here, but Double Down's hard rocking blend of covers should attract positive notices once again, so keep their shows later this month in mind along with their already-known dates this month! Again, these are 19+ events with no cover charges and 9:30 PM start times

Finally, the other new dates from an established hard rock-leaning band come courtesy of rising young hard rock quintet HeadFirst, who will return to The Esquire Club for one weekend only on the current schedule, that being on Friday, December 13th & Saturday, December 14th! The guys debuted here as late notice replacements for Mustang Heart (get well soon, Lorenzo!) in June, and while it is mildly surprising that HeadFirst (also no space) are only booked for the two gigs in this slate, they should inject things with a positive energy and lots of solid originals and covers! Note that new local classic rock band Headrush (who debuted at Toystock last year) are playing The Esquire Club for three weekends in the fall schedule. I plan to talk about them in an upcoming post, but despite both being bands with classic rock covers and having names starting with "Head" (which is bound to get confusing for some), they are very different.

Hopefully venues keep that straight if HeadFirst and Headrush are booked in close timeframes! Again, these are 19+ events with 9:30 PM start times and no cover charges. Sounds like a quality (if smaller than normal) lineup of upcoming bands at The Esquire Club, so definitely visit the above links for more on these bands, Bourbon Blue, and Mid Life Crysis' upcoming shows there! That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of HeadFirst's debut EP on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations & Curtis McKenzie), Exit 808 Updates, And More!!

Before we dive into another busy (if not as busy) weekend concert preview stretch, let's catch up on some recent news and notes, mostly from Sault Ontario, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, updates from a recent concert, and more. Here's what you should know!

Former Haggith/Eclipse singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for one night only on Saturday, August 3rd as part of their "Patio Play" acoustic concert series! Newly confirmed on his Facebook page earlier today, this will be Curt's first show at the former Low & Slow since playing there on July 13th, so things must be going well at The Dive for him to get called back three weeks later! This will also be one of two shows that he plays there in a six day span, joining his previously announced "Think It Over Thursday" gig on August 8th. That show (weather permitting?) has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. In another new confirmation, Curtis will be the Saturday matinee entertainment at the Rowdy Ranchers Horse Show at the Laird Fairgrounds just outside of town on September 14th! On name alone, you'd assume that country music would be booked instead, but you'd be wrong!

Hosted by the local Rowdy Ranchers Round-Up horse club, this FREE & ALL AGES event features horse and pony shows, local vendors, kids entertainment, pony rides, a petting zoo, a movie, and more so be sure to visit the above links for more on all that the Rowdy Ranchers are bringing to Laird that weekend! Curt will be performing matinee sets during the day, with pop rock cover quartet Lime headlining as the featured Saturday night musicians. I don't know when musicians take the stage on September 14th, but doors open at 8:00 AM. Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more on Curtis' upcoming unplugged hard rock shows

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' next public concert goes down on Saturday, August 10th at Shooters Downstairs Lounge, as per drummer Tony Santoro on their Facebook group on Monday! After a string of weekly gigs leading up to their Rotaryfest Stage 1 set this past Thursday at their casino gig on Saturday, this union of Jus' Chillin, Obsession, and Flat Stanley alumni will be taking the next couple of weekends off (interim gigs for Pierre and Tony S. with Tex Riviera & The Ride aside), so if you enjoy their classic and hard rock cover range, keep this show in mind! A one-nighter due to Shooters' Friday DJ nights this year, this show has a 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for lots of video footage from Generations' Rotaryfest set in the coming days, likely over the weekend!

Also today, let's take a brief detour to Sault Michigan for some updates from local hard rock sextet Exit 808, whose shows at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino this past weekend had a lot of different faces! We knew going in that Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins was filling in for Will Robbins (who was on vacation), but they had one more guest musician, as singer Amy Beach was ill over the weekend and had to sit out the gigs. Rather than go full Infathom with Dillion singing all weekend, they recruited Jeremy Sheckell of the Marquette hard rock band No Expectations to fill in for her parts (the two bands have shared the stage in the western U.P.). Also, Exit 808 have officially confirmed that Division of Sanity/Exiled alum Myke Young is their new permanent bassist (replacing the long since departed Isaac Royer), though Myke and recent fill-in Blaze Beairl both played sets this weekend.

There's been no shortage of moving parts in this band since they formed as Double Jack last fall, but hopefully the current lineup holds long term! While Exit 808 implied that "videos" were shot at these gigs, only one has been uploaded to their Facebook page so far, and it features everyone covering Nazareth's "Hair Of The Dog" with Dillion on lead vocals (Jeremy backing) and Blaze on bass. Shot in odd dimensions (vertical but wider than 9:16), the cover is well performed, but if you ask me, the two singer balance doesn't work as well when it's two guys, and there seemed to be an awkward jump into the chorus in the clip. Check it out below, and look for more updates & content from Exit 808 soon!

Finally, here's three assorted shorter news items out of Sault Ontario from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• In the past three weeks for Shooters Downstairs Lounge's annual Talent Quest karaoke competition, the guest judges were members of pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue on July 7th, southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 on July 14th, and Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band on July 21st. The latter is notable in that guitarist/backing vocalist Elly McWatters won Talent Quest last year, so it'd have been neat to have her on the other side of the table this year! Three qualifiying rounds (judges unclear) remain before the 25 semifinalists return on August 18th, so visit Shooters' Facebook page for more on that event!
• The first public video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down with new guitarist Beej Syrette was shared to their old Facebook page (the personal account that I thought they abandoned after Adam left) last month! It features the guys covering Big Wreck's "That Song" at Reggie's Place on June 21st with Beej's cousin Joel on lead vocals, and was shot by attendee Lisa Corbett for her personal Facebook page before being publically shared by the band. Sounds good to me, and Beej's guitar playing seems sound! I can't embed the video here due to privacy settings on Lisa's account, but stay tuned for lots of Double Down footage from Rotaryfest soon!
• I have removed defunct local classic/hard rock trio The Nostalgic Band from our inactive band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook group (and only social media band page) in recent months. This band united Caveman Morrison and Nikkfitt alumni on the weekend nightclub circuit from May-September 2023, but activity abruptly ended last fall due to personal differences. Note that bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg prefers to take down his bands' Facebook pages if they break up, hence why Browbeat aren't linked on the site. The Nostalgic Band were a promising veteran act, but don't miss frontman Tym Morrison's acoustic shows at multiple venues all summer!
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for another busy concert preview weekend on the SMS in the coming days! Thanks everyone!