When the members of the hard rock band Of Mice and Men take the stage Friday night at the Cla-Zel, it will mark the sixth time senior Mike Hammer has seen them live.
Hammer became a fan of Of Mice and Men after Austin Carlile, lead vocalist, left the metalcore band, Attack Attack! in 2009. He has even bought tickets to go see the band again Saturday night in Detroit.
“I like [Carlile’s] high-energy stage performance,” Hammer said. “It’s going to be a good show.”
The show is for all ages and will consist of three opening acts: Affairs, Goodbye Blue Skies and Chunk! No Captain, Chunk! The doors open at 5 p.m.
Currently, Of Mice and Men is supporting pop punk band, A Day To Remember on the “Right Back At It Again” tour and is playing in town as part of four off-date shows during the progress.
Chris Marshall, guitarist and vocalist for Toledo’s post-hardcore band Goodbye Blue Skies, is excited to be opening for Of Mice and Men and has played concerts with his band throughout the United States. Playing shows in the Toledo area makes the concert closer and more intimate between the crowd and the band, he said.
“It’s a different element because when you play shows at home all of your friends and family can come out,” Marshall said. “We love what we do and so if we can create music that can let out frustration, then it’s our therapeutic way to get things off of our chest.”
Broc Curry, president of Innovation Concerts in Toledo, is hosting the show at the Cla-Zel because of the venue size and rapid selling of pre-sale tickets.
“We like working with the people from the Cla-Zel and the room is amazing and is one of our favorite rooms to do concerts in,” Curry said. “With this show, people are buying tickets and it’s looking like it’s going to be a really successful night.”
Tickets for the concert can be purchased online at Ticketmaster, or at stores such as Finders Records, RamaLama Records and The Culture Clash in Toledo for $15 in advance. Tickets at the door are $18.
“There’s a different kind of energy with the music that we play,” Marshall said. “If you’re having a bad week, you can come out to a heavy show and let your aggression out and have a good time.”
