Rush, more concerts and reviews, and the summer of slacking

More than a month since my last post... But it's not for lack of love! It's just that time seems to be moving at an unusual rate this summer and I'm having a hard time keeping track of where it all goes. So, for the time being, here's a little recap on what I've been up to music-wise in the last several weeks and what's coming up in the near future.

On June 6 we saw Johnny Hollow open for Attrition in Toronto, though unfortunately missed Attrition's set. JH's acoustic cello opener was a particular highlight of the night.

A few weeks later, June 25 to be exact, I stumbled into a heavy gig at Casbah: Sexbeast (I'd run out of attention span by the time they came onstage) with openers The Electric Candles (who replaced their awol drummer with an ipod), SKULL (whose delightful doominess assaulted us from the back of the room) and the "amazing" and intense ViLipeNd (the band that brought me through the door in the first place).

June was a slow month compared to May. July has been quiet so far too but that changes tonight with The Creepshow playing at Casbah.

Then tomorrow night (Friday, June 16) we head to Toronto for Woods of Ypres playing with Battlesoul and The Great Collapse at The Blue Moon Pub on Queen East.

Then the noise continues Tuesday (June 20) when High On Fire roll into Casbah with Skeletonwitch and Priestess.

And if that wasn't enough... road trip to Montreal next weekend for Heavy MTL. A few highlights from the two-day fest I'm most anticipating: Melissa Auf der Maur, Rob Halford, Testament and Mastodon (all scheduled for Saturday). Full report here and at exclaim.ca to come.

I've only managed a couple new cd reviews in the past few weeks, but swing by the Exclaim site if you want to know what I thought of the new Nevermore and Witchery albums.

Last but definitely not least, if you're in need of a Rush fix (and even if you're not) you should peruse hellbound.ca for a while. If you haven't already checked out our Canada Day Rush feature be sure to have a look – we've got reviews of the new Rush documentary Beyond the Lighted Stage and an interview with directors Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen, plus staff (and guest) picks of our favourite Rush songs and fav Rush albums. And as of today you can read Sean Palmerston's review of last night's Rush show in Toronto with photos by Adam Wills.