Most Of This Weekend's Metal, Hard Rock, And Punk Concert Previews!!

I'm out of town for the weekend (at least), but the SMS can't stop, as there's another big concert weekend upon us! We're focusing on previously announced shows today, with a nice mixture of sounds and styles within, including a big returning hardcore punk band, so here's what you need to know for this concert preview post, starting with Thursday nighters taking place tonight!

The announced seventh installment of J.D. Pearce & Tidal Records' Gonqshow concert series goes down TONIGHT, as Toronto folk/death metal quartet Vesperia will play Sault Ontario for the first time as headliners at The Algonquin Pub! An extreme, brutal, and mature sounding band featuring Hallows Die drummer Dylan Gowan in their lineup, the former Bolero should devastate The Gonq TONIGHT, so don't bypass them for some Thursday night entertainment! Though there is one other out of town band on the lineup, local death metal veterans The Bear Hunters are the listed co-headliners, and you know what aggression and excitement they bring to the table, so expect a great set from Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny tonight as well! The listed openers are Sudbury "sci-grind" quartet Ruptured Birth in their own local debut, and with members of Before The Black Gates in their lineup, their unique take on grindcore shouldn't be missed, so don't be late!

Note that a previously announced set by Sudbury death metal trio Fractal Generator will not take place as they couldn't make the show, while a hoped headlining set by Crimson Shadows didn't reach it's Kickstarter goal to fund it. Now promoted by Destroilet's Brenton Ellis despite still being a listed Gonqshow event (Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie passed the job to Brent), admission will be $8 for this 19+ show, which will start between 9:00 & 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! A nice throwback of sorts to the Rosie's Thursday metal nights, there's a solid lineup here, so keep this show in mind for TONIGHT! Here's Vesperia live last month!

Next up, former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will continue his pair of weekly concert arrangements with solo headlining gigs at Gliss Steak & Seafood TONIGHT, TOMORROW, AND SATURDAY, followed by his long running Harp Bar & Grill series TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though we haven't found Facebook event pages for these shows yet, all are confirmed on SooToday's entertainment page. Fans of Tym's acoustic rock covers once again have a wealth of options to check out this weekend, whether you want suppertime entertainment at the restaurant at the corner of Bay & Dennis, or nighttime revelry at the former Madison's Pub, so keep all five of Tym's shows in mind for TONIGHT through Saturday! The Gliss shows are all 6:00 PM events with no cover and no age limits (but remember, this is a restaurant), while the two Harp shows start at 10:00 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit. For more details on Tym's busy weekend, check the above links, and here he is live a few years back!

Also this weekend, local hard rock quartet Long Shot are scheduled to return to The Fraternal Order of Eagles' clubhouse in nearby Heyden TOMORROW NIGHT! Though oddly not plugged recently on their Facebook page, this will be the guys' first show since their Rotaryfest debut last weekend, their last local gig before taking a road trip to Sarnia for a show there, and (at least) their third show at this sporadically-used Heyden venue since last year. Evan, Adam, Nathan, and Jeremy have steadily been growing in profile in recent months, and while this is somewhat of an unfamiliar venue to some, this should be a solid location for Long Shot's next show! If last fall's Eagle Club show is anything to go by, tomorrow's concert will have an earlier 7:00 PM start time & no announced age limits, and bring cash just in case, but we'll let you know if something finite is announced. Check the above links for more details, and here's Long Shot on Saturday!

Finally for today, here's the main event of the weekend, as Vancouver hardcore punk legends SNFU will make their long awaited return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Yes, this is officially the eighth Gonqshow event in that series, but given the size and hype, it's naturally upstairs rather than downstairs. After the cancellation of their planned 2013 local show, this will be the first Sault Ste. Marie appearance by Mr. Chi Pig and company in over six years, so it's way overdue for a local audience to open up and say "SNFU"! Notably, this show is during the band's 30th anniversary tour for their debut album "...And No One Else Wanted to Play", which will be performed in full tomorrow, so keep that in mind! Local support will come via by local punk/metal bands (and upcoming split CD participants) Destroilet & Jack Spades, the latter of whom finally getting a chance to open for SNFU after the 2013 show was called off. Very fitting choices, so don't be late!

Note that local grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back are listed as performing on the poster above, but are not credited on the Facebook event page, and the band hasn't recently acknowledged the show, so they appear to have dropped out. A $20 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert, which has an announced 9:00 PM start time. Given how successful SNFU's 2009 show was at The Grand Theater, there are high expectations for tomorrow, so if you love old school hardcore punk, be at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT for SNFU! Here they are at The Grand 6 years ago!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan and late notice previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Vesperia, Of Tall Tales, AxMinister, And The River Jacks!!)

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 rapper Mikey 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!