While early June promises to be punishing, it’s worth noting for those who are stuck in the city this long weekend that Oxbow is playing Toronto tonight. For the first time. Ever.

You gotta love a city whose major concert hall changed its name to match the fictional venue where Spinal Tap performed in the legendary mockumentary. Alas, beer is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think Milwaukee–or maybe zoo animals, if you’re into that–but it does have a bit of metal history as well…

Alas, when I saw Ghost the first time around, they only had the debut album to draw from. I was quite surprised at how many kids were both moshing and singing along to the likes of “Elizabeth” and “Satan’s Prayer,” but their performance didn’t strike such a chord with me….

First thing I thought when I woke up this morning was “Hey, it’s Record Store Day!” No, not Hitler’s Birthday, the Columbine Massacre Anniversary, the day Black Sabbath tickets go on sale (I got mine on Thursday via presale–33rd row floors) or even that day when everybody gathers in a park to smoke pot. Apparently, purchasing vinyl is now more important to me than smoking marijuana. I think I’m becoming a square, maaaaan!

So when U.D.O. first announced his North American solo tour back in January, I knew I had to be there. I’ve had the opportunity to see Accept three times since their 2010 reunion, but I’ve never seen the original voice of Accept. And that’s no knock on Mark Tornillo, who has filled in admirably in both the vocal and the height department…

Black Sabbath has yet to announce any North American tour dates, but when Universal Music Canada unwittingly leaked that they’d be playing Toronto, oh, about a month ago, we were alerted to the fact that they’re supposed to be coming to town August 14th. What Universal doesn’t say is when tickets go on sale, although I’ve heard rumours about April 13th either being a pre-sale or official on-sale date…

It’s been a little while since I’ve seen Kylesa in concert, 2+ years to be precise, and that was an early show. Suffice to say, I’m stoked to see them hitting The Annex again this summer, but when I saw the full touring lineup, I definitely did a double-take…

For a moment there, I thought I had hit the jackpot. All these attractive young women were adding me on Facebook–and they appeared to be into heavy rock too, what with names like Lilly Rockgrrl and Rocksy Stoner. But then I found out it was all a ruse, perpetrated by the management of an Austrian stoner rock band…