Monday, May 11, 2015

Zaum & Pixo Control Concert Previews, Plus Caym Show Updates & Much More!!

Before we finish uploading our Swampstravaganza videos (the joys of seeing a concert with 9 different bands AND 4 open mic performers), here's a news post for your Monday morning featuring a rarity: two Monday night concert previews! Those lead off today, but we also have the latest from a prominent metal band and some assorted extra notes, so here's what you should know! (Updated at 12:36 PM)

We'll start with our double Monday previews at Cafe Natura, where local alternative hard rock trio The Pixo Control will return TONIGHT as local openers for Winnipeg pop rock quartet Naysa! Visibly an upstairs affair after December's basement show at the Elgin Street venue, The Pixo Control should be in fine form following their set at the Biipiigwan show earlier this month, and hopefully there's a solid turnout at this ALL AGES concert tonight! As for Naysa, while not a "heavy" band, their gloomy pop rock & indie originals have attracted a solid following, and they'll be a nice fit at Cafe Natura tonight, so be sure to stay late to check them out as well! TONIGHT'S concert starts at 8:00 PM, there is a $7 cover charge, and again, this is ALL AGES! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, don't miss the alt-rock entertainment tonight at Cafe Natura, and here's The Pixo Control live at LopLops Lounge last year!



The second half of today's downtown Monday hard rock concert action goes down TONIGHT at The Rednecks Saloon, as Moncton, New Brunswick "Middle Eastern mantra doom" duo Zaum will make their Sault Ste. Marie debut! A unique band that mixes doom metal with dark ethnic chanting and moods, their familiar yet creative sound should find a solid audience with local metalheads! German experimental/jazz duo The Jealousy Mountain Duo will join them tonight as well, and while not a heavier band, their own intriguing hybrid originals should make their own mark amidst the varied sounds to be had at the former Nicolet Tavern tonight! Local support will come via local hard rock quartet Haggith (in their second show with their current lineup and first at Rednecks in 8 months), so if you missed Caleb's return to the band on Saturday, here's your makeup date (and look for "Apocalypse II" as well!)

The new openers tonight are Jack Spades bandmates Johnny Belanger & Jesse Cook in an acoustic cover set, replacing local progressive rock quartet Mannapool (who were confirmed to have dropped out yesterday via promoter Mitch Sirie on the Facebook event page, likely for similar reasons as their Swampstravaganza exit.) Johnyy & Jesse should set a good tone, so come early! This 19+ show has FREE ENTRY, and a 9:00 PM start time is listed, but promoters are aiming to end early given that it's a Monday night. For more details on this diverse and intriguing concert, visit the above links, and here's Zaum live last year!



Next up, we have some big changes to announce for THIS FRIDAY'S Caym-headlined concert, which has been moved from The Oddfellows Hall to The Algonquin Pub! The show, now fully promoted by J.D. Pearce again, will now be the kickoff show for his and Tidal Records' Gonqshow concert series there, so there's all the more reason to check out Caym's first headlining date in the Soo on Friday night! To go along with the venue shift, the cover charge has been halved to $5, but sadly, this is now a 19+ event. This all confirms that Heavy North Entertainment are no longer involved with this concert, with planned local openers Them also removed from the bill for similar reasons. J.D. alluded to the changes on the Facebook event page by saying that "someone dropped the ball", but you can read into that however you want. This should be a great show either way, so stay tuned for our full preview later in the week!

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

  • Local rap/metal band The Apocalypse Afterparty have parted ways with drummer X (a.k.a. Steve Mozarowski), as confirmed to me by Steve at Saturday night's Swampstravaganza. Allusions to internal tensions in the band (often of a cryptic nature) have been made on Facebook in recent weeks, but we won't get into any details here. Best of luck to Steve in the future, and stay tuned for more on The Apocalypse Afterparty as we hear it!
  • Local doom/death metal band Giwakwa have quietly confirmed the addition of Beaumont Avenue's Mitch Sirie as their new bassist AND lead singer, replacing both Nolan Rainville and Mitch's Bear Hunters bandmate Josh Stephney. Surprise announcement to be sure, but Mitch is a talented multi-instrumentalist with a lot of band experience, so he should fit in well! Our source is the band's Facebook page, but more details are forthcoming.
  • We have moved local hard rock quartet The Side FX back to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band featuring Garden of Bedlam, Papa Fogal's Chair, and Elements alumni haven't made a public statement since playing at bassist Mike Bird's stag & doe over a year ago, though keep in mind that guitarist Alex Walls lives out of town. Hopefully they turn up again, and best of luck to him, Mike, Rob, and Derek in the future! 

That's all for now, but keep posted on our Facebook page for the rest of our Swampstravaganza videos, with our review guaranteed to come afterwards! Thanks everyone!

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