All “hell” was breaking loose on  the weekend with a plethora of events happening on the weekend.

I only caught  some of Friday’s events.

 The Owl Acoustic Lounge had a  busy Friday, Sept.9.

 I missed an early show by Leeroy Stagger and his band.

 But most of the full house stuck around  for the first part of the set by local rockers Hell Diablo.

 Unfortunately a lot of them cleared out midway through their set.

 Sunglassed frontman Tyler Brownfield snarled into his microphone pounding out  rhythm on his Gretsch, bassist Shawn Worden was lost in the groove as always and locked in with drummer Eric Hamilton while lead guitarist Taylor Ackerman supplied fierce , bluesy stoner rock style solos, which gave Hell Diablo a  Nashville Pussy meets Queens of the Stone Age feel.

 They played a lot of their album “Blood is the New Black” including familiar tracks like “Cold Hearted Man,”  and “Bright Side,”  but also gave the audience a taste of  their upcoming album, playing the new single “Push Comes to Shove” and a couple other new songs.

 I missed Taylor Ackerman’s Global Acid Reset’s closing set. 

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor

The Chevelles are always a good time.

They were helping raise some money for Muscular Dystrophy at the Place, Sept. 9.

 With everything going on on the weekend, they didn’t have as big of a crowd as usual, but the one who were were were having a blast dancing to a drum heavy mix of to the hits of the ages.

 Seamus Chevelle Aka Joe Brewster put his bagpipe playing skills to good use on a. great cover of  AC DC’s “Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll). He also sang lead on the more punk  covers including Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell” and Iggy Pop’s “Real Wild Child.”

Tim Carter sang lead on most  of the songs including the Romantics’ “What I Like About You.” 

Scott Kanashiro did his usual triple duty on keyboards, guitar and vocals.

 He showed impressive range  on Queen’s “ Fat Bottomed Girls.” and “ I Want to Break Free” which showed off some superb multi-vocal harmonies.

An excellent cover of Prince’s “ Let’s Go Crazy” was a highlight.

 And I moved on after a solid cover of Bruce Springsteen’s m“Dancing in the Dark.”

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor

The Pack are back for the last time — again.

“ I know we always t say that, but this time it’s legit,” said guitarist vocalist  Becky Black , who together with drummer Maya Miller, make up the popular Vancouver based blues punk/ garage rock duo The Pack, A.D. . They return to the Slice, Wednesday, Sept. 28 as part of a quick western Canadian tour that begins, Sept. 23 at the Luna Festival in Revelstoke.

“Originally we thought we release one last album (“It Was Fun While it Lasted”) in April 2020 and tour that and that would be it. But then Covid happened and we couldn't do that. We were going to Europe and the U.S and Canada. So we’re doing it now,”  Black added.

“ We’re not ending the band or anything. If a festival wants us to play then we will. But these van tours are a lot. So we’re not doing that anymore,” she said.

 They  toured the U.S. and Europe as originally planned earlier this year.

 “ We toured all over the U.S down the east coast, through Florida and Texas. Then we went to Europe. But had to cancel the last few dates of it because of Covid. We both got it. You can only dodge it for so long,” Black added.

“ Crowds were really good. People were starved for it. And a lot of bands were touring at the same time as we were,” she said.

September is a celebration of the written word.

 The biggest highlight of the week is  Word on the Street, Sept.17 beginning at 11 a.m.

 There will be speakers, authors and live music from a variety of musicians including Starpainter performing at the Lethbridge Public library downtown.

 In addition to  Word on the Street, two terrific plays happen this week.

 New Wes Theatre’s production of multiple award winning drama  “Next to Normal continues at the Yates Theatre until Sept. 24.

 Jay Northcott and Eish Van Wieren  bring their joint “ The Parasite to Did’s Playhaus Sept. 14-17. They explore the  issue of reproduction through  “ an alienesque vapour wave world filled with wondrous masks and puppets.” Showtime is 7 p.m. each night.

 And the University of Lethbridge announced a busy semester filled with music and drama.

The playwright’s prize gala is  in the David Spinks Theatre at 5 p.m, Sept. 15.The U of l’s first drama mainstage presentation of the summer “ The Dumb Waiter” is in David Spinks Theatre, Oct. 4-8. And Dr. Faustus is Nov. 1-5.

 The first Theatre Xtra show of the season is  Nov. 17-19.

But those aren’t for a few weeks.

For  a few laughs, Drunk Improv returns to Good Times on Thursday. Juan Forno returns to Good Times, Sept. Sept. 16 and 17.

 There is a heap of music happening as usual.

Luke James Bruce hosts Mojos opne mic on the west side tonight, Sept. 12.

The blues jam at the Slice, scheduled for  Sept. 13 has been cancelled as Saskatchewan songwriter Jake  Vaadeland and the Sturgeon River Boys  make their first Lethbridge visit at the Slice. There is a $13.75 cover.

 Greg Rekus returns to the Owl Acoustic Lounge to host their open mic with  Paige Beller, Sept. 13.