Friday, June 29, 2012

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Powerslug & That's Chester) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's time to preview this weekend's concerts, but before that, note the banner at the top of the site. Our 5th anniversary is fast approaching, and this year's anniversary surprises come in the form of expansion. How much, how far, and to what? The banner has clues, but the first stages will be revealed on Wednesday, so stay tuned then! As for today's post, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend across the river and TOMORROW at a local fundraiser that may interest some of you guys, along with previews of the other metal/hard rock concerts tonight & tomorrow, so here's what you need to know! (Updated at 3:28 PM)
Link
I apologize for the short notice on these shows, but I literally only just heard about them a couple of minutes ago. Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Corner Pub Bar & Grill TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT for their first concerts since LemmaFest! Drummer Bob Helsten only just announced the shows on his personal Facebook page this afternoon, but with no online pages, it's better late than never to hear word! Apparently, both shows will be outside The Corner Pub, possibly on a patio there, though I'm not sure why this is the case, as The Corner Pub does have an indoor stage. Maybe there's a conflicting event this weekend? No matter the case, Powerslug will bring their talented brand of hard rock back to the live stage tonight and tomorrow, so don't miss them! Admission should be free for both nights, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time seems likely. For more details, visit the above links! Powerslug should deliver some great hard rocking tunes all weekend long, so don't miss them across the river, and for a preview, check out this Facebook video (which I can't embed here) from their Ludington concert weekend earlier this month!

Also in new shows, local classic hard rockers That's Chester are the headlining entertainment at this weekend's Ride For Sight event in Sault Ontario! This long running charity fundraiser for blindness has brought motorcycle riders out on the road for a great cause since 1979, but only this year is it finally debuting in Sault Ste. Marie, so click here for all the details on this great event and how you can support the cause or ride your bike with everyone else! In That's Chester's case, they'll be performing at 9:00 PM TOMORROW NIGHT at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion to close out the Saturday, and they're among three local acts playing this weekend, including local country band Asylum Country tonight and the new local country band High Road (featuring ex-Lion Ride guitarist Marco Pedalino) tomorrow at 4:30 PM. The music is more spread out than you tend to see, but there's plenty of Ride For Sight events happening before and after the bands on Saturday, so it'll all flow! Note that "Social" is credited alongside the bands for entertainment, but I have no idea if that refers to anything musical. As best as I can tell, That's Chester's set under the tent downtown has no admission charge or age limits, and I don't think it's restricted to just Ride For Sight participants. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page!

It's great to see That's Chester supporting such a great cause, and it'll be interesting to hear them play at the Pavilion, which is definitely a change from their usual concert spots! I apologize for the short notice on this show too, I only just heard about it yesterday. If you're up to support a great cause, check out some cool motorcycles, and hear some solid local music, head downtown for That's Chester at Ride For Sight tomorrow night! For a preview, here's That's Chester covering Deep Purple's "Highway Star" at Docks a few years ago!



Now to the rest of the weekend previews that we knew about before, starting with a stacked metal concert TONIGHT at The Canadian Nightclub, as five high profile metal bands are coming to melt our faces! Toronto death metal standouts Hallows Die will return to the Soo as headliners, which is bound to interest fans disappointed by their two song set at the Ypres Metal Fest in April, so be prepared for their brutal and melodic take on metal tonight! They're local favourites from a reason dating back to their shows here last year, so don't miss them! Opening for them, we have four notable Northern Ontario metal bands, those being Sudbury improv/comedy death metal trio 85 Pound Poutine (likely featuring Wolven Ancestry's Mark Howitt under a stage name), Sudbury blackened death metal quintet Before The Black Gates, North Bay death metal quartet Buried Out Back (featuring Empyrean Plague guitarist Dave Strba), and local death metal notables The Bear Hunters (guitarist Mitch Sirie is promoting this show), which adds up to a stacked lineup of Ontario metal! Of the openers, 85 Pound Poutine should be very amusing (especially if you can decipher death growling), and B.T.B.G. are a long time coming for a local show, and they should do great, as they're rising fast in their genre!

As for the other bands, Buried Out Back are a group I need to hear clearer audio from, but the videos I've seen show a brutal death metal sound and nice intensity, so they should compare well! And The Bear Hunters, we know very well locally, so I'd expect nothing but the best from them tonight! Also note that this concert does have the feel of an unofficial continuation from the Ypres Metal Fest thanks to it's same venue & familiar lineup (only Before The Black Gates don't have alumni from the event), so if that's some extra incentive to go, keep it in mind! Admission is $10 at the door for tonight's show, it is ALL AGES like other recent metal shows at The Canadian, and everything starts at around 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome concert, and I will not miss it for anything, so I hope to see you guys there for all of the Ontario metal mayhem at The Canadian tonight! Check out all of the bands above, I'll see you guys there, and for a preview, here's Hallows Die's opening songs from their set at what's now Coch's Corner last fall!

LinkNow to the only Sault Michigan metal/hard rock shows that I know of this weekend, as Marquette hard rockers Nudge are back in town TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT for another weekend engagement at The Satisfied Frog! Continuing on a recent schedule of playing in the Soo every four weeks, this entertaining cover quartet will be sure to rock The Frog as well as they ever do, and hopefully a good crowd came out for frontman Danzo McCracken's solo shows there over the last two nights! As usual for Nudge's local stops, they'll be on tonight & tomorrow at 10:00 PM, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like another fun weekend from Nudge, and it's always good to see them keeping up a more frequent local schedule than we've been used to in recent months! Their hard rocking covers always pull in a good crowd and response, so don't miss Nudge at The Frog this weekend! For a preview, here's Nudge covering an Ozzy Osbourne classic at a show a few years back!



And finally, brace for impact at The Rockstar Bar tomorrow night, as Maximum RNR are coming back to Sault Ontario! The prolific Toronto hardcore/punk quintet will play their third ever local concert tomorrow, though it will be their first show here outside of the former Foggy Notions, where they previously played in 2002 & 2011, though it'll just be their second with Saultites in their lineup. As you may remember, ex-Lion Ride bassist and former Detroit frontman Brenton "Diamond Brent Panther" Ellis has sang with Maximum RNR since 2010, and they've since been joined by his longtime bandmate (and fellow local talent) Curtis Faux on bass, after replacing Davey Dee in the band last summer. Their relentless energetic hardcore sound will be sure to bring a much needed dose of heavy music to The Rockstar Bar tomorrow, and old Detroit fans will be right at home with Maximum RNR, so don't miss them! The openers for this show were slated to be local country/punk favourites The Billy Bastards, but they revealed on the Facebook event page yesterday that they had to cancel. A reason for their withdrawl wasn't publically revealed, but I heard that frontman Aaron Gibbs became a father a couple days ago (congratulations!), so that could be related. A new opening band is apparently in the works though, so stay tuned to the SMS for updates on that front!

Admission will be $5 for tomorrow's concert, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is listed. Check the above links for more details! It's great to see Maximum RNR back in town, and I definitely will be there to check them out finally! I was too young in 2002 and was sick last year, so I especially don't wanna miss this show! Stay tuned for updates on the opening band, prepare for some great hardcore/punk (and lots of quick but intense songs), and for a preview, here's Maximum RNR's current lineup playing three songs live last summer!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Hallows Die concert review and our review of The Harsh Heads' CD tomorrow, and much more as we enter July! Thanks everyone!

No comments: