Concert Announcements - August 13, 2012

There’s been some lineup changes to Knotfest this Saturday, August 18 at Somerset Amphitheater in Somerset, Wisconsin. I’ll have more details about this in a separate post.

Station 4 in St. Paul is hosting a night of local metal with Face Of Oblivion, Micawber, Ominous Conception, Australis, and Vessels For Our Ghost on Wednesday, August 21 for a cheap ($5) all ages show.

Poison frontman Bret Michaels will headline the Breathe Easy Music Fest II with a special solo acoustic show on Sunday, August 26 at The Pourhouse in Minneapolis. This solo is a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and also features performances from the Tim Mahoney Band, Cole Allen Band, Crankshaft And The Gear Grinders, Saving Starz, BKS, and Clifton Wales.

Hard rock gods Boston return for a show on Saturday, September 1 at Treasure Island in Welch.

Offbeat metalcore band Blessed By A Broken Heart performs with local heroes Write This Down (their new album Lost Weekend is reviewed here) play Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, September 8. This is super-early (4:00 doors) all ages show with massive support from Children 18:3, My My Misfire, Rob Mahlum, City Of The Weak, and October Fades To Black.

Fresh off a show last month at the North Star Room, hard rockers 12 Stones play Minneapolis at First Avenue on Wednesday, September 12 with local support from 3 Pill Morning.

Rochester’s own rising metalcore band and Facedown Records recording artist Your Memorial blast into Station 4 in St. Paul for an all ages show on Saturday, September 15 with For All I Am, Erra, With Life In Mind, Revival, In The Line Of Duty, and Couriers.

Faribault Harley-Davidson in Faribault is celebrating their 35th anniversary with performances by Skid Row, L.A. Guns, and Annex on Saturday, September 22, along with a bike show, burnout pit, and other activites.

The original lineup of Taking Back Sunday has reunited, and they’re out on the road to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their seminal Tell All Your Friends album. First Avenue in Minneapolis will be hosting them on Thursday, October 11 with Bayside and Mansions for an all ages show.

John Lydon’s (Sex Pistols) Public Image Limited have released their first album, This Is PiL, in 20 years and are supporting it with a tour that hits Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Monday, October 22. An old friend of mine had recorded a PiL show at First Avenue back in the late 80s, and I remember it being a really cool show.

Old school Canadian punk band Propagandhi are back on tour, and play the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Wednesday, November 7 with Off With Their Heads and The Menzingers.

Electronic/industrial act Assemblage 23 plays Ground Zero in Minneapolis on Thursday, November 8 with Espermachine and Thought Thieves.

Pierce The Veil plays on all ages show on Saturday, November 10 at The Cabooze in Minneapolis with Sleeping With Sirens, Tonight Alive, and Hands Like Houses.

The AP-sponsored tour of metal band Miss May I lands at Station 4 in St. Paul on Thursday, November 15. Support for this all ages show will come from The Ghost Inside, Like Moths To Flames, The Amity Affliction, Glass Cloud, Peter Says Denim.

Finally, the Savatage-led Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings their annual Christmas extravaganza to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for two shows (3:00 and 8:00) on Saturday, December 29 to perform The Lost Christmas Eve for the first time. Ticket information has not yet been released.

In Concert This Week - July 23, 2012

Well I completely neglected getting this update posted before the weekend, so here’s an abbreviated rundown of what’s going on the remainder of this week.

Tonight, Monday, July 23 has two shows in the area. First, former Stabbing Westward singer Christopher Hall brings The Dreaming back to Station 4 in St. Paul with Whither The Tide, Sargent Avenue, and Uzza. Check out my previously posted review of The Dreaming’s latest album, Puppet, here. Hard rockers 12 Stones also play tonight in Mounds View at the North Star Room with Blameshift, Digital Summer, Throwing Gravity, and Sinful Angel.

Off the wall band I Set My Friends On Fire play Station 4 in St. Paul on Tuesday, July 24 with support from The Color Morale, Our Last Night, My Ticket Home, Fact, To Release, and From Concept To Chronicle.

It’s a night of hardcore punk at the Triple Rock Social Club on Wednesday, July 25 with Media Blitz, In Defence, Triple Crossed, Rivit, and Total Trash. There’s also a couple locals show on Wednesday with progressive metal band Hollowstone playing with Urn and Cold Colours at Station 4 in St. Paul, while industrial/electronic band As|Of teams up with Christopher J. Wray, Phenetick, and KPT at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis.

Thursday, July 26 has Within The Ruins, Molotov Solution, and Adestria playing Station 4 in St. Paul. Halfway Jam in Royalton begins on Thursday with an evening show featuring Jackyl, Trixter, and Bang Tango.

Concert Announcements - July 6, 2012: BANSHEE Reunion, FEAR FACTORY/VOIVOD Shockwaves Tour Cancelled

Minneapolis-based Tooth & Nail recording artist Write This Down have scheduled a show at Station 4 in St. Paul on Tuesday, July 10 with support from Red Moring Voyage, Harp & Lyre, Awaken, Imagine The Silence, and Sick Of Talking About It. Write This Down released their new album, Lost Weekend, last month.

Following the announcement a couple weeks ago of major lineup changes to the Shockwave 2012 Tour and co-headliner’s Voivod July 3 cancellation, Blabbermouth reported two days ago that the other headliner, Fear Factory, has also dropped out resulting in the whole tour having the plug pulled. The tour was supposed to start tonight, July 6 in Seattle, and pull into Station 4 in St. Paul on Thursday, July 12.

Hard rockers 12 Stones return to the area on Monday, July 23 for an all ages show at the North Star Room in Mounds View with Blameshift, Digital Summer, Throwing Gravity, and Sinful Angel.

As Blabbermouthreported earlier this week, the revamped Queensrÿche with new lead singer Todd La Torre will still be playing their scheduled show at Halfway Jam in Royalton, Minnesota on Saturday, July 28. This lineup has played two shows as Rising West, but apparently this will be their first appearance officially as Queenrÿche.

Hardcore/crossover band Media Blitz from California will storm the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis for a special half-room show on Wednesday, July 25 with In Defence, Triple Crossed, Rivit, and Total Trash.

Local metal band Tomorrow Brings New Blood are having a record release show on Friday, July 27 at Station 4 in St. Paul with Beastface, The Atlantis Theorem, Element, and Apothecary. This is an early 18+ show. Tomorrow Brings New Blood will be selling their new, self-titled album for only $5 at the show.

Support for the Taproot and Smile Empty Soul show announced last week at Station 4 in St. Paul on Monday, July 30 has been set. Opening the show will be Severah, 14 Clicks, Requiems’s End, and Terror Overising. This is a 16+ show that starts early at 6:00 pm.

Totally underrated technical power metal band Banshee has reformed with a new singer, George Call (Omen, Aska), and released a new album, Mindslave. Original guitarist Terry Dunn is taking the band out on the road, and they will be playing Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, August 1. I witnessed the first Banshee reunion concert with original vocalist Tommy Lee Flood in 1999 at America’s Pub in Kansas City, and they guys blew down the house. This promises to be another killer show.

Rock band The Classic Crime is making a stop at the North Star Room in Mounds View on Saturday, August 18 for an early all ages show.

Black metal band Abigail Williams has booked a final, lengthy U.S. tour that circles the continent from July 26 in Santa Barbara, California to September 15 in Portland, Oregon. Right now they are slated to play in St. Paul on Thursday, September 6. This show is unconfirmed, but I would guess that it will happen at Station 4. Additional details will be posted when they become available.

Norwegian industrial/electronic band Icon Of Coil are touring North America this fall and hit Ground Zero in Minneapolis on Wednesday, September 12 with [:SITD:}, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, and Dissociate.

Stoner-sludge band Big Business will hit the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Monday, September 17. This is an 18+ show, and tickets go on sale Monday, July 16 at 12:00 noon.

Write This Down was recently added to the list of artists performing on the Shiprocked cruise from November 27 to December 1. The cruise departs Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the Bahamas with an impressive roster of hard rock bands including Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, P.O.D., Sevendust, Filter, Fuel, Geoff Tate, Gilby Clarke, Lit, Black Stone Cherry, and In This Moment. You find more information at the Shiprocked website.

Weekly Concert Update, Part 2 of 2 - ANVIL, THE DREAMING, NEW MEDICINE, 12 STONES Concerts Announced

Looking ahead first for the biggest news of the week, Canada's legendary and unlikely film stars Anvil are set to explode at Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, February 22. No further information is available at this time. If you're unfamiliar with Anvil, you owe to yourself to learn about them by watching the award-winning movie Anvil: The Story Of Anvil and reading their autobiography of the same title.


  


Former Stabbing Westward vocalist Christopher Hall brings The Dreaming to St. Paul at Station for a just-announced show on Thursday, December 8 with Killing Floor, Withering Deity, and Create Control. This is a 16+ show and is $10 at the door. The Dreaming just released their latest album, Puppet, earlier this month.

Local hard rock bands Eden, Vaudeville, Smiling Politely, and Aiming For Aurora are teaming up for a show at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on Friday, December 9. Advance tickets are only $5 ($8 at the door), and this show is 18+.

Twin Cities-based New Medicine is currently wrapped some dates in the southern US, but they return home to play the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis on Thursday, December 22 with an opening band to be announced. This show is 18+, and tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door.


Mega-selling Christian band 12 Stones comes to Station 4 in St. Paul on Sunday, January 15 with Forever Waiting, Requiems End, Tepetricy, and Essex for an all ages show ($12 advance, $15 at the door).

As expected, Belphegor has dropped off the upcoming Dark Funeral tour that comes to St. Paul at Station 4 on Thursday, February 9 and Inquisition has now been announced as their replacement. Still on the bill are Abigail Williams, Gigan, and Maledicere. This show is 16+, and tickets are $17 in advance or $20 at the door.