As summer heats up in Metro Moncton, as do the musical happenings taking place in the city.
Of course, the biggest concert to be hitting the city in July is the Nickelback-headlined show taking place on Saturday, July 7, at Magnetic Hill. Love them or hate them, Nickelback’s show on the Hill is a testament to just how big of a band they have become since their 2001 breakthrough album Silver Side Up. The last time the group performed in Metro, it was at a sold-out Coliseum in 2006.
Of course, there are plenty of other show options for musical appetites of every taste in July. Here are some of the highlights that I feel will be worth checking out.
The BackYard Devils play Moncton’s Plan B Lounge tonight. Their special guests for the show are Montreal band Joel Kaiser & The Devil’s Own and Josh Peters & True Grit. Tickets are $10. Show time is set for 10 p.m.
It’s been a heck of a year for Moncton bluegrass-country heroes The BackYard Devils. Since last October, the group won three Music New Brunswick Awards for their debut album and had a rather busy spring. The band recently played an international guitar festival in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec and have been invited to play the opening of a golf course in Gatineau, Quebec.
While the latter might not be the typical gig that one might expect the group to undertake, their relentless, energetic live show most likely played a big part in having secured such an opportunity.
BackYard Devils member Erik Arsenault says that despite a rather busy spring, the band is preparing to slow down as summer approaches.
‘We have some shows lined up in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island this summer but between mid-July and mid-August, we anticipate slowing down,’ he says. ‘A couple of the guys in the band are off to play at Le Festival L’Orient in France while our bass player Remi and his wife are expecting a new arrival.’ Arsenault shares that the group has approximately an album’s worth of new material written and though they had intended to record their sophomore record this winter, the group decided to put those plans on hold.
‘Our debut record is a year old but it’s brand new to a lot of the places we are playing so we decided to continue getting our debut record out to as many people as we can in the meantime.’
White Lung performs at Plan B Lounge, 212 St. George Street on Sunday, July 1. Their special guests for the show are Moncton bands Fear of Lipstick and Thalidomy Kids. Cover charge for the show is $10.
Vancouver punk band White Lung is in the midst of a massive North American tour. In the days leading up to their Canada Day performance at Plan B on St. George Street, the group was slated to play shows in Brooklyn, Boston and more in support of their sophomore effort Sorry, released at the end of May.
With four seven-inch singles and 2010′s full-length CD It’s The Evil to their credit, the group’s video for Take The Mirror as featured on their website at whitelung.ca is a dark but compelling view.
Supporting the group is Moncton’s own Fear of Lipstick who are continuing to support their most excellent Seasons record. Fear of Lipstick vocalist-guitarist Eric Neurotic shares that the highly acclaimed Seasons will see release on cassette later this year courtesy of a label located in New Mexico.
If the Canada Day fireworks don’t quite quench your thirst for excitement, Plan B is going to be the place to be on Sunday evening.
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators are scheduled to perform a sold-out show at Casino New Brunswick on Monday, July 30. Show time is set for 8 p.m.
While his former group Guns N’ Roses continue to show a baffling disrespect to those coming to see their concerts by taking the stage late, fans of former GN’R guitarist Slash shouldn’t need to worry about having any rock star attitude sprung upon them when Slash and his band perform at Casino New Brunswick at the end of July.
Slash and his band of merry men are touring eastern Canada in support of their latest record Apocalyptic Love. The record is a phenomenal listen and will almost definitely appeal to fans of the classic Guns N’ Roses record Appetite for Destruction.
Judging from live clips that have surfaced on the Internet, vocalist Myles Kennedy can more than hold his own with the band, which also happens to includes former Age of Electric vocalist-guitarist Todd Kerns.
Though nothing is certain, it is arguably safe to say that fans attending the show should expect a mix of Slash’s original tracks with some of the classic GN’R material mixed in as well.
Article published in June 29, 2012 edition of the Times & Transcript
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