Blood Shed Productions Updates, Assorted News, And The Return & Story Of Haggith?

It may be a slow concert weekend compared to recent weeks, but the news hasn't slowed, so what's on tap for this Saturday morning? Some assorted recent items (including concert cancellations and another venue closure), some news & notes from a local independent label, and first, some new activity from a band who broke up last year, so here's what you should know!

We'll start today with some new developments from the camp of defunct local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith, starting with news that the band will apparently be playing a reunion show next month! Coinciding with a lot of throwback photo postings & reminiscing, full details are not out yet, but a post on their label Paperclip Productions' Facebook page confirms that it will be at a 19+ venue. I will note that while first word of these plans came out on April Fools Day, Haggith members have not detracted from the original posts since, so it doesn't look like a prank. Is this just a one-off reunion a'la Late & Loud's gig in February, or the start of renewed activity just 4 months after their supposed "final show"? We'll keep you guys posted! Also of potential interest to Haggith fans is a photo album that was posted on their Facebook page on Thursday that details the story of Haggith, from their May 2012 inception through their December 2013 farewell gig, and it gets very candid about backstage goings on, their successes & disappointments, and even band tensions.

Written by drummer Mike Haggith, I won't detail the story too much (it's 27 photos worth), but there's some interesting tidbits to take note of, like how the band's name was a reference to how bands are never named after the drummer, the complete synopsis of their "Apocalypse" album, that guest backing vocalist Kristi-Lee Marshall was briefly an official band member, and the chain of events last fall that led to their breakup. It's an cool read according to this internet-based review medium, and I learned a lot, so check it out above, and stay tuned for more on Haggith's reported reunion concert!

Next up, here's the latest from some Blood Shed Productions metal acts, including goregrind duo Rotopsy, whose demo EP is now finished and will be released in just under two weeks on Friday, April 18th! Apparently self-titled, it will be on sale through personal contact and at their Dank Fest set at The Oddfellows Hall the next day for $3, and it features at least 3 songs ("Your Blood On My JR Shooz", and the new unveilings "Gore Splash" and "X-Hailed".) Note that while "Gore Splash" is a new upload to the Blood Shed YouTube channel as of Thursday, we'll only embed the audio here due to graphic cover artwork. The new song has a fuller sound that shows some progression from earlier recordings, but like before, Dylan Taylor's vocals are not well defined beyond scattered growls & grunts, and the song could stand to be longer and have some guitar input. Fans should be right at home though, so check it out below, and pick up their new demo in a few weeks!

Speaking of Blood Shed artists at Dank Fest, we have another possible band switch for the 13 band marathon coming up in two weeks at The Oddfellows Hall, as Rotopsy bassist Tyler Gibson's solo grind project Crucify The Whore are now listed in place of the returning Brutaly Fatal on the new event poster (as seen on your right, with C.T.W. credited as CxTxW), after previously dropping off the bill entirely prior to the last major lineup shifts. According to promoter Tyler St. Amour on the Facebook event page, Brutaly Fatal "may see some difficulties being prepared for this one", though I'll note that frontman Austin McCrea countered that by saying they can be ready, and the lineup on the event page is not updated yet to reflect this possible change or any timeslot adjustments that could follow. This will/was to be Brutaly Fatal's non-house party debut with new guitarist Rainey Vincent and drummer Bret Shuttleworth (they've also recently teased adding a fourth member), and hopefully things are all good in their camp if they do indeed get replaced! Stay tuned for updates on Dank Fest as they come in!

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

• Local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has cancelled the planned Tribune & Bumpin' Tacos concerts that were scheduled for April 17th & 24th, as per the deletion of their Facebook event pages earlier this week. Both were slated to be part of the former Heavy Thursday series at the recently-sold Roosevelt Hotel, which is the primary reason for their cancellation, but there was a slight chance that they could have moved to a new venue. Hopefully we see both bands back down the road!
• According to a post on a concert promoters' Facebook group on Thursday, local musician/artist Rihkee Strapp (Ye Olde Mold Pickers) is looking to help recently relocated local death metal trio Shit Liver get a Southern Ontario tour run booked for next month. Given that our focus is on the Soo area, this might not hit the right audience, but in case someone who can help reads this, message Rihkee or the band above and at this link to see if you can get them playing somewhere down south in May!
• Pim Street pub & concert venue Smack Daddy's Bar & Grill reportedly closed last week. Online pages haven't been updated to confirm the news, but scattered reports say that the property was bought by new developers who plan to demolish the bar & put up new office buildings. Smack Daddy's had last been a frequent venue for heavier shows in mid-2011 when it was known as Bossy's Pub N' Grub, so it won't be a huge loss in the new concert sense, but this is still disappointing for staff and regulars. Best of luck all around, and if it's any solace, The Canadian's only seconds away!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news through the coming week! Thanks everyone!

The End Of The Roosevelt Hotel, Plus New Project 421 Videos!!

Today's post has some new videos you guys might wanna see at the end, but the main topic relates to the confirmation of some rumours from recent weeks that we only now have proof on, and it's definitely bad news for local metalheads, so read on below to get caught up.

The Roosevelt Hotel as we currently know it will close tomorrow, as the popular Korah Road bar and concert venue has apparently been purchased by a new owner, and will soon be changing it's name as well. Though rumoured for a few weeks, the news was only just confirmed on The Rosie's Facebook page last night, where they also plugged yesterday's karaoke night prior to the changes. An official statement has not been made to elaborate further, but numerous online reports state that Reggie Daigle (owner of the popular downtown country bar Reggie's Place) is the new owner, and The Rosie will be reverted back to a country-leaning bar upon it's relaunch, though it's not clear whether that will be on Friday or if there will be a period of renovations first. If we get any firm announcements or clarifications, we'll have them here! If true, this will mark the second local bar/concert venue in under 5 months to have a name change and subsequent shift to a country theme after The Nicolet Tavern became the Rednecks Saloon in November.

Assuming the new focus of 306 Korah Road ends all metal and punk shows, it is safe to say that the Heavy Thursday series at The Rosie has ended as well just two months after it's inception. To that effect, promoter J.D. Pearce confirmed in a personal Facebook discussion that the Tribune show on April 17th and the Cross Dog show in July are now off from their originally intended forms, and while he apparently has a new plan for Cross Dog, the Tribune show will depend on a venue being secured in the next few weeks. Until a new venue is announced for either, I'll remove them from our concert listings, but stay tuned for official word on them (also, remember that the Babysitter show on April 3rd had already been cancelled last week.) J.D. was exploring the late notice possibility of hosting one final Heavy Thursday tonight as a send-off & thank you to The Rosie's staff and management for all they've done for these kinds of music in the past 3½ years,  but the venue opted for another karaoke night due to time constraints, leaving Griphook's headlining show on Saturday as the last hard rock concert at The Roosevelt Hotel.

No matter what your views were on The Rosie (location, certain incidents, the on-stage pole, etc.), this will be a huge blow to local metal and punk bands and concerts if the reports of an all-country bar go into effect. Beyond just the Thursday night series', The Rosie became a reliable home for metal and punk shows since the fall of 2010, and while I know Reggie's is a very successful bar with a working formula, I hope they don't completely lock out rock bands and continue to host a mixture of styles and bands once the new look and focus takes effect (though in all fairness, an official statement is hopefully forthcoming to fill in any gaps.) If this is the end though, I'll offer my thanks to Robin Istace and the rest of the staff at The Rosie for their hospitality and support throughout the last 3 years, and to Rich Moreland, Typhoid Meaghan, Stephane Vincent, J.D. Pearce, and Mitch Sirie for their work in promoting the 64 Thursday night metal & punk shows (and more) at The Rosie during that span!

We'll close today's post with some happier news courtesy of one of the last metal bands to play at The Rosie, local classic metal quintet Project 421! Like their Black Sabbath cover that we shared the other day, these come from last weekend's set at the Medifest fundraiser at The Grand Theatre, and were shared via their Facebook page yesterday. One was filmed by (and shared from the account of) attendee Joey Phuckel, and it's of Project 421 covering Kiss' "Cold Gin", which sounds really good and has a nice angle, but with one big problem: the video's sideways for the entire duration! Couldn't he have flipped it to the right angle before uploading? The other video is filmed by the same attendee who shot their Sabbath cover (I think), and it's a cover of Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight"! Solid quality again, but the angle does dip on an angle for much of the early runtime. Check out the new Project 421 videos above and below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow morning, if all goes well! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Thursday Updates, MySpace Page Restorations, And Much More!!

Today at the SMS, we have some more assorted recent topics to touch on, including some random shorter recent items, new Facebook song postings, and some nice restorations on a popular social networking/band website, but first, here's the latest updates on a recently launched regular concert series!

It looks like plans to run the new Heavy Thursday series at The Roosevelt Hotel on a weekly basis have been scaled back. In a post on the series' Facebook group yesterday, promoter J.D. Pearce remarked that "there just aren't enough local acts" to cover the series weekly with three bands a night, but he does plan to continue Thursday bookings for local acts when available & when out of town bands play on a Thursday at The Rosie, so message him on Facebook or at the above links if you want in on a potential Thursday! The post leads me to think that there won't be a Heavy Thursday this week, but the next announced Thursday nighter at this venue will be on April 3rd with Babysitter and local openers, and we'll let you guys know if any are announced for this month. I did have a fear that this might happen with the new series, as the original Rosie metal nights started to be stretched thinner after they went weekly, with just one of the last 14 Dismembertainment promoted metal nights from July-October 2011 featuring more than two local bands.

Though the weekly convenience is awesome, I think the old series had better local lineup spreads and promotion when it was bi-weekly, so maybe J.D. could try promoting them on a regular bi-weekly or monthly basis? Either way, he's the right man to do a regular series right now in the Soo, and hopefully he's got some great cards up his sleeve for Thursdays at The Rosie as we enter the spring! Stay tuned for updates at the above links!

Next up, some old deleted MySpace media is back on old profiles, so we can restore some bands we deleted from our band links! In the past month, the social networking/music website has began restoring photos and videos to old profiles that don't violate current requirements or terms of use (source here), so if you've missed some MySpace videos and photos that weren't elsewhere, check again, as they're probably back! Biography information, blog postings, page comments, games, and applications remain absent though. With this revelation, a lot of source videos & photos for our back coverage is at access again, and I can add most (but not all) of the bands we deleted from our band links last summer back to the site, as some now have enough videos and/or informative photos to constitute a "relevant" link for our purposes. With that said, I'm pleased to re-welcome 7/47, The Pisstanks, Riot! By Night, Route 69, Savage Roar, Shift, Twisted Manikin, When They Fall, and Wild Fate back to our band links based on their restored content!

The artists that we didn't bring back were Askew'd, Caedis Omnis, Cherubic Red, Ephidel, Steven Flint, Traynwreck, and Wrathborne, as none have videos or effectively captioned photos, so their restoration to the site would depend on MySpace bringing back old profile information. Huge thanks to MySpace employees for bringing back the videos and photos, this makes our work a lot easier, and I know it will benefit the new music-centric focus of the site, so go check your old MySpace links to see what's "new"!

Also today, local "derd rock" project The Issues posted a couple more new/old original songs onto their Facebook page on Saturday! Uploaded as Facebook videos again, one is a re-post from their MySpace page entitled "Candy Store", and it's a slower and more deliberate song based on a true story that has a surprising maturity going for it! While "Puppets on a String (Trixie)" & "Last Stand" have not made it to Facebook yet, another old 2009 demo named "Kick" did that we haven't heard before, and it has a groove metal sound that I believe features ex-singer Alan "Power" Wells from Winkstinger, so the extreme nature should be of note! I still like the variance shown on their material, and they can handle a bunch of different styles effectively, but it remains to be seen how Mullet and Vinyl do on newer material. Check out "Kick" below, and hear more at the above links!



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

• Did you happen to notice a post on As It Stands' Facebook page on January 28th that featured a photo album of a concert from earlier that month that they were listed as playing? Just in case anyone was confused, that show was in Edmonton and featured a hard rock band from there named As It Standz (with a "z"), so chalk that up to a tagging error. The local hardcore As It Stands haven't played live in a year & a half, and have issued no updates in over 4 months, but stay tuned just in case!
• In a note we haven't elaborated on outside of this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' debut EP is being produced by AlgomA drummer/Bad Back frontman Jamie Vincent! That should be interesting for sure, so stay tuned for updates! (My source is Jack Spades' Facebook page.)
• Relocated local grindcore trio Shit Liver will finally play live in their new Southern Ontario homebase this Saturday in Niagara Falls as part of a breast cancer fundraiser (details here!) The date joins their Soo return date on May 4th at The Oddfellows Hall, as well as a return to the Touch of Death Festival in Cochrane in June. Nice to see the guys getting back into the live scheme of things again, and stay tuned as we hear more!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, including hopefully something tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Jack Spades), Bon Soo Marquee Updates, And Much More!!

We're back with some more news today, including a new jam session video, recent news coverage for a recent concert debut, and some big updates for Bon Soo's music lineup, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this coming weekend!

Joining the performer lineup for The Marquee at this year's Bon Soo Winter Carnival, local metal/punk quintet Jack Spades will be rocking out at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion THIS FRIDAY! As confirmed via frontman J.D. Pearce on a comment thread at this link, this rising local band (featuring members of T-Rex Manning, The Bear Hunters, and The Elements) will be on at 7:30 PM on Friday, which I also now know is the headlining slot for the Marquee, as the live bands wrap up at 8:00 PM (coinciding with the Winter Playground hours.) Sounds like a big showcase for Jack Spades, so if you can't make the second Heavy Thursday at The Rosie, head downtown the next day to make it up! No word on other performers though, but the full schedule isn't being publicized mainly due to possible lineup shuffling. As with other days of The Marquee, admission is free with the purchase of a Bon Soo button (upon entry or at locations here), and it's definitely ALL AGES, so check the above links for more, and don't miss Jack Spades at Bon Soo!

Next up (and also relating to The Marquee), we now know more on the performer lineup for THIS SATURDAY, as local horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight will make their long awaited return to the local stage that night as the Saturday headliners at 7:30 PM, as per their Facebook page yesterday! Last seen at The Rosie in August (which was coincidentally fellow Saturday performers Redundant's last show too), it's about time we get our horror fix from this entertaining and very heavy band after a 6 month wait, so don't miss their return at Bon Soo this coming weekend! No word though on who their bassist will be on Saturday, but for what it's worth, bassist Eddie Fright said he was "back in the Soo" last month on his personal Facebook page. Frightlight join the previously announced Bad Back, Redundant, and Northern Tragedy on the stacked Saturday lineup, and through the comment thread mentioned above, I can confirm that Bad Back are indeed in the 7:00 PM slot, not Redundant, whose return set will be at 5:30 PM that day (The Northern Tragedy are still on at 4:30 PM.) Great lineup for metal & punk fans, so stay tuned for more as we get closer to showtime at The Marquee!

Speaking of shows featuring J.D. Pearce (a.k.a. Johnny Pints), the first installment of his Heavy Thursday series at The Roosevelt Hotel was covered by SooToday's Donna Hopper in an article posted yesterday, which features photos of each band and some interview excerpts! Entitled "Get your weekly dose of heavy", the article includes 22 photos (albeit all in black & white), including 9 from Punch's set, 7 of The Elements, and 6 of The Bear Hunters, so be sure to give those a look for some great shots! In the actual article, quotes from J.D. are included where he cited wanting a regular slot for local & touring bands to play live in the Soo, especially to fit with tour routes, while the article also mentions that Southern Ontario punk bands Die Mannequin & The Bumpin' Tacos will headline two upcoming Thursday nighters (though the dates weren't announced there.) J.D. also said that while he hopes to put on shows most Thursdays, that will depend on continued interest from bands and fans alike.

I'm a bit surprised that no mention was given to either the original Rosie metal nights or J.D.'s nine Thursday shows in 2012 & 2013 before the new series' launch, but the focus was rightfully on Heavy Thursdays, and it's a solid spotlight that will hopefully give some needed media coverage! Remember to go to the second installment with Jack Spades, Project 421, and (maybe) Pillory THIS THURSDAY, and stay tuned for more updates and show announcements as they roll in!

We'll close today with a band I'd assume we'll see in an upcoming Heavy Thursday, that being local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet! The band's Facebook page shared a Facebook video from drummer Matt Waples on Thursday of the guys working on a new original (they've been taking a break from shows to write material for a new CD), and it's promising on the level of their existing work! The video features the band in the round facing each other, which is interesting, but you don't see most of the band well as a result. Despite some roughness, it sounds intense, and hopefully we'll hear it live soon, so give it a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Bear Hunters), Upcoming Album Updates, And More!!

The first month of 2014 is now over, and we're kicking off February in style with a packed news post, so what's on tap for this morning? A new live concert video, upcoming album updates (including some audio recordings for one), and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning a new weekly series' debut installment, so read on below to get caught up!

THIS THURSDAY'S first installment of local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's new Thursday metal/punk concert series Heavy Thursdays at The Rosie is now official with a complete 3 band lineup, so who's slated? Fittingly, local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters (the original Rosie metal nights' most frequent band) are the listed headliners in their first Roosevelt Hotel appearance of the new year, and they should brutalize their fans on familiar ground this coming Thursday! Newer local hard rock quartet Punch (featuring 2 members each of The Suicide Kings & Project 421) will also play on Thursday in their Rosie debut, first show of 2014, and just their third live concert set, and it's nice to see that they're still active and gigging after some recent quietness, so watch out for their high impact originals and covers! The third slot will go to a new local band named The Elements, and while they don't have a known online page yet, their lineup features Side FX singer Rob Speers and Redundant bassist James White alongside a yet-unidentified guitarist & drummer

Unless things have changed since Rob's post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group last month, Elements appear to play a mix of funk rock and alternative music, which should be interesting to check out, so don't miss their debut on Thursday either! There's a $5 cover charge and 19+ age limit in effect, and the announced start time is 10:00 PM. Click here for more details! Sounds like a really solid way to kick off the new Heavy Thursdays series, so hopefully there's a big turnout for the debut, and stay tuned for updates! (As for The Side FX's current status, I'm waiting for a bit more info before we assume anything either way.)

Next up, local hard rock standouts The Suicide Kings have unveiled two new studio recordings via their Facebook page in the past week! Presumably recorded at The Smoke & Oak Room last year towards their forthcoming debut CD, the songs were posted as Facebook videos, and they include their first original "Into The Fray" and, as embedded below, "Jesus Concubines", which I think is a somewhat newer song. Given that I still expect to review their CD upon release, I'll hold on major comments at present, but fans shouldn't have anything to complain about for the sound or recording quality! Note as well that their Facebook page on Thursday suggested that they have "some important news & maybe a surprise or two" to unveil at some point, but it remains to be seen what's specifically intended from said teaser. Check out The Suicide Kings' new studio tracks above and below, and keep an eye out for more news from their camp!

Speaking of upcoming albums, Sault Michigan hard rock group The Highest of Fives recently reemerged from a few months off to resume public work on both their debut CD and their short film (both titled "Bang!", likely cover art featured) as per their Twitter page last week. Guitarist Devin Anderson shared some extra info with me the other day on Facebook that he wanted me to pass the word on, so here's what you should know! The CD has 10 tentative songs (including a self-titled song and the previously previewed "Sweet Apple Pie"), while they'll also be releasing some full length songs soon, including a song written by singer Mitch Goetz named "Take My Time" and one written by recent collaborator Travis Theel (who I believe is a member now) named "The U.P. Song". Plans for media postings, including the short film and new songs, are currently in the works, and we'll have them for you guys when they're public.

I admire The Highest of Fives' ambition, and I'm curious to see what they have in the works! A lot of their recent activity has been related to the short film and collaborations with Travis' solo material (his song "Look How Far We've Come" is also planned for "Bang!"), though the other samples I have heard are promising, so hopefully things work out well for the gang in 2014! Keep an eye out for updates at the above links!

Finally for today, local/London deathcore band Saints & Serpents (a.k.a. the successors to The Valentine's Day Massacre) are the subject of a new YouTube video posting from their live debut in December! Uploaded onto singer Steve Rhodes' girlfriend Taylor Phillips' YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is of the band playing their original song "Lovecraft Cthulhu" at The Richmond Tavern in London, and I'll note that this song is a holdover from the V.D.M. days, being unveiled shortly after the members moved south in the fall of 2012. This is of better video quality than their prior video from this show (especially in terms of lighting), and it's nice to see the guys on stage together again, which we'll get a reunited taste of in May when they open for Fuck The Facts at The Oddfellows Hall! Also, the video's information hypes their drummer search to replace Ian Timmermans (who left after this show), so if you are or know a drummer in the London area, message the guys above, and check out this new live video of Saints & Serpents!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tribune, Jack Spades, And Banned) & The Launch Of Heavy Thursdays!!

We're back with some big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today relating to the launch of a new regular concert series that (given it's date and location) will be sure to get your attention if you're in Sault Ontario! We also have some new shows across the river to cap things off, but for now, here's what you need to know!

Have you missed the Roosevelt Hotel metal nights since their last installment in July 2012?  Well, get ready for regular Thursday night action there once again, as local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has launched Heavy Thursdays at The Rosie, a new regular series for Thursday nights there starting next week! Along with numerous other shows, J.D. has put on nine Thursday nighters at this popular Korah Road venue since May 2012, but never on a consistent schedule, so fans of the regularity of the former Rosie metal nights should like this successor series if it takes off! Plans are for Thursday night metal/punk shows at The Rosie on each Thursday next month (except February 20th due to the Late & Loud reunion show at The Rockstar Bar that J.D. is promoting the next day), and bands are currently being sought for both next Thursday and on the 27th, so if you or your band wants to play, message J.D. at this link or above! The plan is to feature up to three bands each night, and out of town headliners are definitely part of the plans for some installments.

This is exciting news, especially for fans and regulars of the old Rosie metal night series, and knowing J.D.'s prolific success as a regional concert promoter, I have faith this will take off similarly to how it's predecessor did in 2011! Expect a very different roster of local performers though, as most of the local bands who played the old metal nights are now defunct. A lineup for February 6th is not out yet, but the second Heavy Thursday at The Rosie is already set, so who's playing then?

On February 13th, all three local openers for the Anvil concert at The Canadian Nightclub on March 15th will (likely) rock The Roosevelt Hotel for the second Heavy Thursday, with local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades featured in their first Rosie appearance of the new year, and just their second live show with new guitarist Jesse Cook! Featuring members of Frightlight, The Bear Hunters, and Winkstinger, their familiar & entertaining blend of covers and originals should be welcomed on Thursday the 13th! Newer local classic metal quintet Project 421 will play just their third live show, second with new singer Curtis McKenzie, and first ever at The Rosie as well that night, and hopefully there's no inclement weather to throw a wrench into their next local date, so prepare for a fun set of metal hits! Local thrash quartet Pillory are also pencilled in for their own Rosie debut (and just their second gig with their current lineup), but the Facebook event page still says their status is to be determined. We'll keep you posted if they're definitely playing or not!

A $5 cover is lined up for this show, but given it's status as a preview of the Anvil concert (and a kick-off for Jack Spades' Northern Ontario tour dates with Anvil), admission is FREE if you present your previously purchased Anvil tickets at the door, or buy one upon entry! A 10:00 PM-ish start time is likely, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the above links! Sounds like a fun concert so far (especially if Pillory are confirmed), so stay tuned for updates, including on other February installments of Heavy Thursdays!

The only other confirmed Heavy Thursday as of this writing is on April 17th (more proof that the series is in it for the long haul), which will be the 10th installment if no Thursdays beyond February 20th are skipped. That show will be headlined by Vancouver hardcore metal quintet Tribune, who will be making their third local stop that night! You may remember them as the headliners of the 31st Rosie metal night in September 2011, and then from opening for West of Hell at The Canadian in May 2012, so it will be nice to see their diverse metal attack in the Soo again after almost two years! Local opening bands are to be determined, but for reference, Redundant and the now defunct Borderline Divine, Changing Waves, and State of Misery have all opened for Tribune locally, in case that's of note. An admission price is to be announced, but a 10:00 PM-ish start time and 19+ age limit are likely. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for updates on this upcoming Heavy Thursday as they roll in, and kudos to J.D. for bringing aggressive regular music back to The Rosie like this!

We'll close today with one more LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning two shows at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on April 11th & 12th (I'm not going in chronological order for the show announcements today just to group the Heavy Thursday shows together.) The shows will see Kinross hard/classic rock trio Banned returning to Kewadin Casino for the first time since their Relentless Tour rally appearance last month (though these will be their first Rapids Lounge shows in almost 5 months), and it'll be nice to see the Traynors and Jim back there this spring! Note that Banned have yet to confirm these dates officially, but they are listed on Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, which has always been a reliable source. There shouldn't be a cover charge on April 11th or 12th, you must be 21 to attend, and a 9:00 PM start time is to be expected. Check the above links for more info, and stay tuned for more as we hear it!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a bunch of videos soon, along with this weekend's concert previews as we wind down the month! Thanks everyone!