LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & This Weekend's Hard Rock & Punk Concert Previews!!

November is here, so let's kick off this new month with our first weekend concert previews for it! There's a fair amount of live hard rock and punk action this weekend, including a couple of touring bands from out east, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!

With another month upon us, let's add former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's latest solo concerts at Gliss Steak & Seafood to our concert listings, including stops at the Quality Inn's house restaurant TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY, followed by expected gigs on November 9th-11th, 16th-18th, 23rd-25th, and 30th-December 2nd! Apologies for the short notice on this weekend's shows, we again waited for Facebook confirmation before calling them, which came earlier this week on their Facebook event page. With increased Mark's gigs also on his schedule, Tym's keeping very busy with acoustic matinee gigs at local restaurants, and with his extensive setlist and long-standing talent, fans will have lots of chances to see Tym live this month, so keep his November Gliss gigs in mind! We will touch on the rest of Tym's December gigs next month, as is the case when his Gliss schedule straddles two months on one weekend.

As usual for Tym's long term run at Gliss, expect 6:00 PM start times TONIGHT, TOMORROW, SATURDAY, and through December 2nd, and while these shows do not have stated cover charges or age limits, remember that this is a restaurant. Check the above links for details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts, starting with the local debut of Montreal alternative metal quartet Special Ops TOMORROW NIGHT when they rock The Rockstar Bar! Featuring a catchy, radio friendly, but metal-injected sound that should appeal to many fans, Special Ops are touring in support of their new EP "Baby Take It All", so give them a listen and consider coming out as their tour run winds down! Local indie/hard rock quartet Vol. will open in their first non-acoustic show with new keyboardist Mikaela Murtonen, so if you're curious to hear how she sounds with the guys, head down to The Rockstar Bar tomorrow to find out! Original plans called for alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback and then death metal standouts The Bear Hunters to fill the third band slot, but both have dropped out of this show, with Vol. frontman Steve Edwards citing "unforeseen circumstances" for The Bear Hunters' exit on the Facebook event page. Hopefully nothing bad happened!

As for A Dire Setback, there have been rumblings of a recent lineup change that may have contributed to their withdrawal, but the band themselves have not formally announced anything at press time. In any event, Steve is looking for a replacement band on short notice for tomorrow night, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on Tuesday if you're interested in playing! A $10 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert, which goes down tomorrow at 9:30 PM. Check the above links for more details, and here's Special Ops live!



In a brief detour to the Upper Peninsula, fans can check out Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned live at The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These shows come just one week following their short notice St. Ignace gigs last week, so if you couldn't make it to those, at least these had lots of advance word! As of this writing, these are also Banned's last advertised Northern Pines Lounge shows of 2017, with only a Soo Kewadin stop in December also scheduled, so keep tabs on their Facebook page for word on potential shows elsewhere. Alex, Wayne, and Don should have another fine weekend of classic and hard rock covers in store for fans, so don't miss out this weekend at 9:00 PM both nights! These are both 21+ shows with no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Banned live!



Finally for this weekend's currently announced metal, hard rock, and/or punk concerts, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for the local debut of St. John's, Newfoundland post-punk quartet Incredible Woman THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at LopLops Lounge! An early stop on their Canadian tour this month, this indie-tinged noise rock outfit will bring an intriguing blend of punk to LopLops on Saturday night, in what should be a fun concert to help kick off the month, so don't miss this one if you can help it! As of this writing, a potential local opening band has not been announced. A 9:00 PM start time is likely for this 19+ concert, which likely has a $5 cover charge, as is usually the case for this venue. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Incredible Woman live!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Special Ops), A Surprise Album Release, And More Updates!!

Here's another new news post for your Wednesday, so what's on tap? Some overdue videos to share, the latest from a prominent local metal band, and a surprising EP release to take note of, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this year!

Montreal alternative metal quartet Special Ops will make their local concert debut when they headline at The Rockstar Bar on Friday, November 3rd! One of the last stops as they return home from their Take It All Tour (in support of their "Baby Take It All" EP), this hard rocking outfit has been making waves out east for the better part of a decade, and their sound is heavy yet accessible enough to appeal to many listeners, so don't bypass them early next month! New local indie/hard rock trio Vol. will open the proceedings in what should be another high impact set from this union of Pixo Control and Aldous alumni, and for what it's worth, they indicated on their Facebook page that they're currently "finish(ing) up our first album." News to me, but are they still just writing songs, or are they actually recording? Stay tuned for updates!

Yes, we are aware of another show that Vol. is opening next month at The Algonquin Hotel, but with ambiguity about which floor it's being held on, we're waiting for confirmation therein. Tickets for this 19+ show are $10 and will presumably be available at the hotel's front desk, though I cannot confirm a potential jump in price at the door. Bands start at 9:30 PM on November 30th, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more on what should be a fun night of hard rock action!

Next up, we have a surprise new album release, as local black metal solo project Abhorrent Forest released their second EP on Monday! Like their debut "The End of Life" from January, this EP (entitled "Ethereal") was an abrupt release on the project's Bandcamp page, though unlike it's predecessor, it has a minimum asking price of $10, rather than a "name your price" model. I would assume "Thorn of Torment" was left off of "Ethereal" due to the EP's theme, which eschews black metal for dark ambient instrumentals, so don't go into this expecting the same sound as earlier Abhorrent Forest material. As this is a new release, might we see a review of "Ethereal" on the SMS? Yes, possibly as soon as next month, as our review of the AlgomA/Shit Liver split is likely coming next week, and because I don't review albums from the same band twice in a 6 month span, I have to hold our review of The Din's final album (coming next month) until December.

That all said, it's a nice surprise to see Wyrn back in action with new Abhorrent Forest material, and if you like ambient music, this will be worth a listen especially, so give it a listen and/or buy it at the above links, and keep watch in case we review "Ethereal" later this fall!

Also today, here's the latest from local doom metal trio AlgomA, who apparently intend to remain on the bill for the local finale of the "Trading Faces" split release tour with Shit Liver on October 2nd (one week from Monday) at The New American Pub! Though the band had to pull out of the tour proper due to guitarist Boyd Rendell's health problems, he confirmed on the Facebook event page yesterday that "I'm gonna do my best to play this one", so at least we'll see both halves of the tape rocking out in their hometown! If anything changes in regards to AlgomA's set, we'll let you know, but hopefully Boyd rests up and gets well soon either way! FYI, Shit Liver kick off the tour proper in Toronto on Friday, and I have no new updates on the "Trading Faces" cassette tapes beyond what we already know from it's Bandcamp release. However, AlgomA are keeping busy with uploads of their contributions from their prior splits with Chronobot and Hooded Menace on their YouTube channel, complete with lyrics!

Uploaded yesterday for their first postings there in a year, both of their songs from the former vinyl record release are now officially available on YouTube ("Electric Fence" & "Phthisis") but embedded below is their half of the split single with Hooded Menace, namely "Failed Stunt Fatality". No word yet on when we might see their contributions to "Trading Faces" on their channel, but it's nice to have more studio quality AlgomA aggression available on YouTube, so check them out above and below, buy "Trading Faces" above, and stay tuned for the local release party on October 2nd!



Finally for today, here's some long overdue acknowledgement of some video shares to Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's Facebook page! Apologies for the delay in these making the site, Facebook videos can fall through the cracks very easily. All shared from keyboardist Craig Harrison's personal Facebook page prior to any talk of a Christmas tour became public, they include this video was uploaded with the caption "Studio time..." but it's just a silent slideshow of Craig, a studio computer, and a skull. No doubt we've heard some of the material from said studio time, but the video doesn't stand up well on it's own, especially without backing audio. Also, this video from February captures 10 seconds of a dark orchestral instrumental which sounds very promising, and it'd be cool to hear that one in full! A Facebook copy of the now deleted YouTube upload of the piano ballad "If I Could Just Tear Down These Walls" also still exists via a Facebook share in January. We'll touch on more if found, but what's embedded here on the SMS?

In fact, it's the newest of these clips from June 29th, featuring Craig manipulating an iPad for effects while guitarist Steve Giles and uncredited guests play on in the background. Not bad for what it is, and it has a somewhat eerie feel! Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night as we hear it!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!