Friday, March 21, 2014

The Rest Of The Weekend Concert Previews, Assorted Updates, And The Return Of No Arrow?

Today's post both closes this weekend's hard rock & metal concert previews and covers some recent news items (including a band resurrection and some cancelled shows), but remember to check out yesterday's post for previews of shows taking place today! Now, here's what you need to know!

A special benefit event named Medifest 2014 goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at The Grand Theater! The first hard rock-featured show of the year at this venue, the event is designed to raise proceeds and awareness for the expiring Medical Marijuana Access Regulations program, and to help preserve existing rights to medical marijuana usage in Canada and promote awareness to the cause. For all information on that angle of Medi-Fest, visit the Facebook event page! In terms of the music, there are now 6 acts due to a late notice addition, so who's playing? The event will be headlined (and promoted) by new local alternative/funk rock quartet The Elements in just their second live concert appearance, while bassist James White's punk trio Redundant are also on board for their first Grand Theatre appearance since the Motion Carried days, and classic metal quintet Project 421 will make their own Grand debut tomorrow night while riding the momentum from the Anvil show! As well, Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison will make a rare solo appearance tomorrow night in his first public concert set in almost a year, which should be interesting!

A debuting local band named Obviously D'uh are also scheduled for tomorrow's show, but I still have no information on them, though I'll update this if I hear anything! The late notice addition is The Craig West Experience, a new local rock trio featuring most of local prog-rockers Machines Dream (minus Keith Conway), so don't miss their experienced talent! Admission is via a $10 donation (but advance tickets are available on request), an 8:00 PM start time is advertised, and age limits are unclear. Check the above links for more information! Though I don't smoke marijuana at all, I understand it's benefits, and if Medi-Fest succeeds at spreading awareness, then things will work out well! Hopefully there's a huge turnout, and for a preview, here's The Elements at their debut show!



Lastly for known hard rock concerts this weekend, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's weekly concert/jam night arrangement at The Harp Pub & Grill continues TOMORROW NIGHT! Entering the 16th week of his current regular run at the former Madison's Pub, this week's show was postponed from it's usual Friday night placement due to tonight's Glitch show at The Harp, so if Saturday doesn't work out for you, Tym will be back at his normal day next week! Regardless of day, his acoustic hard rock covers are always a reliable option for your weekend concert/live music plans, and if you're a prospective open mic performer, there's always that angle to keep in mind too! There's no announced cover charge for Tym's show tomorrow, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:00 PM start time as well. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Tym should be at usual form for his unplugged and diverse covers tomorrow, so take note of it, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Extreme's "More Than Words"!



Next up, remember defunct local grunge trio No Arrow? Well, they re-emerged online last week, over 3 years after their last show, though their future status is somewhat muddled. The return of sorts appears to mainly be an outlet to finally release their debut album "Souls For Sale" (which was started in 2007) through Right Notes Recording, which I believe is drummer Joe Falco's new independent label, and they're even getting some internet radio play this week. However, there has been something of a falling out between Joe and frontman Dann Pichette since, and while I won't get into details on that aspect, Joe has updated the new No Arrow Facebook page since, and he also changed a few song names (i.e. "Sikkha" is listed as "Sik Master") via their streaming copies on Soundclick. Even before recent revelations, these plans just looked like a posthumous release of the album, especially with Dann living out of town & the band's various bassists not being visibly part of the new activity, though who knows what will happen now if Dann and Joe aren't on the same page.

I always enjoyed No Arrow during their active run, and while I'd love to see "Souls For Sale" finally out in a completed state, I'd definitely rather see it happen if Dann & Joe (who were with the band from the beginning) came to a consensus on everything. I would question why three song names were changed when that's what they've been called since the late 2000s, but I'm not involved in the process to know all that went on. If more comes out on these No Arrow plans, I'll have them here!

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

  • These Sins of Time frontwoman Alexa LeClair is looking for a bassist to play "rock originals", though it's not clear whether this is to fill the vacant bass slot in T.S.O.T. or for an unrelated music project (for what it's worth, she previously looked for a drummer without clarifying the intended band earlier this year as well.) If you're interested in trying out, message Alexa at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from this past Sunday!
  • The previously announced Heavy Thursday at The Roosevelt Hotel on April 3rd has quietly been cancelled, as per the deletion of it's Facebook event page on Monday. A reason has not been announced, but as of last Saturday, Victoria punk band (and projected headliners) Babysitter listed their local date on Facebook as having a venue to be announced. Disappointing, but hopefully the series persists, and don't miss the next confirmed installment with Tribune on April 17th!
  • It looks like next weekend's scheduled RamWagon dates at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino have been cancelled, as new local country rock band Highway 63 (which I believe features ex-Monkey's Uncle frontman Henry Switzer) are now advertising that their debut concert weekend will take place over the same nights. The venue has yet to confirm this, but I'll note that RamWagon haven't updated their Facebook page since they severely cut their 2014 concert schedule last month. Stay tuned in case we get any extra clarification!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles and new Anvil videos soon! Thanks everyone!

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