LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Headrush & About:Blank) And The End Of The Sault Star In Print!!

Before we get into today's news post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Canadian hard rock icon Sass Jordan, who passed away on Friday at the age of 65. Sass had cancelled a number of concerts since last month due to a serious medical issue, and is survived by her husband, former Guess Who frontman Derek Sharp and their daughter, among other extended family. Born in England as Sarah Jordan and later raised in Montreal, Sass broke through on Canadian radio and on MuchMusic with her debut album "Tell Somebody" in 1988, and became a major hitmaker in the early-mid 1990s with songs like "Make You A Believer", "High Road Easy", and "Sun's Gonna Rise". She also made a new generation of fans in the 2000s as a judge on all six seasons of Canadian Idol on CTV. Sass had played multiple shows here in the 1990s, including at least once at The Eastgate Hotel.

Her final local concert appearance was when she opened for Kim Mitchell on night #2 of the Bell Border Jam at Runway Park in August 2008, which is her only local date that is well documented online. Sass Jordan's accessible bluesy take on hard rock helped her win a Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist in 1989 and further nominations, and she will be missed by many fans and friends. Visit your preferred music and news websites for more information. R.I.P. Sass!

Today's post otherwise features big news from local news and two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll actually start in Sault Michigan, where local hard rock/punk duo About:Blank will play a rare headlining concert on Saturday, October 17th at The Merchant's Bar! The band announced the show on their Facebook page on Friday, and it will mark their first public date since the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands in Brimley in July. Parker & Kade did acknowledge playing at the Highland Clan Motorcycle Club's East Coast Fall Fling in the Soo yesterday, but in researching HCMC events, they are all at a private location that you have to inquire within about if not already a member. The club has brought in other local hard rock bands like Tarnished and The Nameless for recent events too, and photos can be seen on their Facebook group, but despite public acknowledgements, they were not fully public concerts.

It will be good to see About:Blank back on a fully public stage in just under two weeks as part of a busy month for them (more on their other show this month soon), and note that they will have new merchandise on sale here. Yes, new merch at The Merch! This concert has an oddly short 2 hour run time starting at 10:00 PM, a 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and we should have more from them next week!

Next up, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for another entry in what will be a packed Halloween weekend for concertgoers, as local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will open for local/Toronto pop rock cover veterans The Killer Hooks at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre on Saturday, October 31st! Entitled "Fright Night At The Museum", this special event will mark the first hometown appearance from The Killer Hooks (led by former Gsis Murphy frontman Tony Marcello) since headlining a video dance party at Blaster Powerhouse in April. This show too will see them break out their video dance party format, which will be a fun multimedia experience to go along with a talented live band, and they do have occasional hard rock covers! Headrush will be two weeks removed from their next gigs at The Esquire Club, and their heavier 1980s-leaning covers should set the right tone on Halloween night as their fall schedule begins taking shape!

Presumably on a similar scale to this summer's Cory Marks show in the hangar, expect "goolish (sic) times" and "killer music" along with a costume contest, with prizes going to the best individual and group costumes. Sadly, this will be a 19+ event, doors open at 8:00 PM, Crank Sound Distribution will reportedly be on hand, and tickets cost $35 (up $10 from The Killer Hooks' April show here, but that didn't have Halloween frills). Tickets are on sale at this link, at the Bushplane Museum, or at sponsors Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room. This will be another strong contender to your Halloween schedule, so visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Finally for today, this doesn't bear directly on our coverage, but it was announced last week at The Sault Star and its sister newspapers in Northern Ontario will end print operations at the end of October. In this CBC article, it's noted The Sault Star's parent company Postmedia is transitioning to a digital-only distribution format for their news outlets here and in Sudbury, North Bay, Timmins, Elliot Lake, and Espanola, while the Cochrane Times-Post will end operations outright. No local jobs will be lost, as the paper was being printed in North Bay, where its printing press is closing and will see those cuts. Affected markets will still get a once-a-week newspaper, namely Northern News This Week, which will feature curated articles from Northeastern Ontario communities, but I have read conflicting reports on if it will be free like the former Sault This Week or only to paid subscribers. Stay tuned to the newly redesigned Sault Star website for updates.

The closest print newspaper after this will be The Sault Evening News in Sault Michigan, while St. Joseph Island still prints the weekly (if small) Island Clippings. The slow decline of The Sault Star to an ever-thinner three days-a-week publication was a hint that this was coming, alas, but The Sault Star lives on as a digital news outlet up against SooToday, and in our coverage of relevant Sault Star articles, I never assumed that they were print-only anyway. As long as we have effective local journalism for years to come, but it will be strange to not have the paper of old when we want it. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Nate's Chow, Tarnished, And Dos Amigos) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Our crush of weekend concert previews ends here with shows in the EUP and Sunday matinee concerts, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly SHORT NOTICE ones, so here's what you should know to cap off this busy Saturday!

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will head back to The Lakeside Lounge at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley for a two-man acoustic concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the casino only announced the show on their Facebook page on Wednesday, with the band corroborating it the following day. As usual for shows at this new acoustic-leaning lounge at "your perfect up north retreat", TONIGHT'S concert has just Alex & Josh (no Chris or Ron) playing 1980s-leaning rock covers for assembled fans, or if you believe Bay Mills' advertising, "the energy, great tunes, and good vibes". Just three weeks removed from their last show there, hopefully there's a decent turnout once again for their hard rocking cover action! This show is at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tarnished at The Lakeside Lounge!

Next up, let's head north to the Soo, where local hard rock cover trio Nate's Chow will rock The Merchant's Bar TONIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band quietly confirmed this show via this updated AI-generated concert calendar on their Facebook page on August 24th, which also removed their cancelled show at The Merch last week, so TONIGHT's show is (like with Dos Amigos) a de facto rescheduling a week later. Their new show-specific AI-generated poster for TONIGHT indicates that this will be "Nate's Chows (sic) debut at The Merch", but that only goes back to their name change, as the former Unfortunate Sun played there over the I-500 weekend in February and multiple times prior, including when members were in Fake Chow. While we're on the subject, the concert calendar from August also confirms that Jody, Brett, and Jason will return to The Merch for two mid-week shows later this year, so what should you know on that front?

One will be on Wednesday, November 25th (on Thanksgiving Eve, or as Unfortunate Sun called it, "Drinksgiving"), and the other will be on Thursday, December 31st as part of The Merch's New Years Eve party. Holiday action is coming soon in two ways from Nate's Chow, so keep these shows in mind after TONIGHT'S regular Saturday nighter! All three Merch shows are 21+ affairs at 9:00 PM with no cover, and time will tell if there are frills to admission or the experience on December 31st. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Nate's Chow live!

Also, let's head north to Sault Ontario for two Sunday matinees, as local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to Thomson Farms Cider & Winery for a matinee concert TOMORROW! Apologies again for the short notice, the farm only announced that Dos Amigos would be performing via this AI-generated poster on their Facebook page, though Dos Amigos members did mention that they'd be playing TOMORROW in Facebook "Stories" a few days prior (the band has not publically confirmed it in a permanent social media post). TOMORROW's show will basically be a makeup for Dos Amigos' planned matinee gig at Thomson Farms this past Sunday, which they were "unable to make" for unannounced reasons (The Low Light Company replaced them on short notice). Last Sunday was the kickoff for the cider mill & winery's fall festival running through Halloween, so expect the corn maze, pumpkin patch, food and drinks, vendors, the corn cannon(!) and more.

No word on who the teased live musicians today are, but like today, TOMORROW'S Dos Amigos matinee is at 12:00 PM with no age limits or cover charges. This is implied to be outdoors on the patio again, so 9&10 News is calling or 13-14° temperatures with mostly cloudy skies, and while there is a slight rain risk that afternoon, it's expected to dissipate during the concert timeframe. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview of the acoustic punk action ahead TOMORROW, here's Dos Amigos live!

Finally for this weekend's previews, former Haggith/Project 421 singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie will rock Beck's Bar TOMORROW! This show was actually announced by Curt on social media back in May, so Bone Yard 225's advertisement of it on their website's concert calendar must have been erroneous or was cancelled months ago. Regardless, Curt's brand of alternative and hard rock covers is a reliably entertaining sight at local venues, and hopefully he has some more good stuff in store for fans on Goulais Avenue tomorrow afternoon! As usual for Beck's Sunday matinees, this is at 3:00 with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and will take place during Beck's weekly euchre tournament on Sundays. If that interests you, inquire within about details on how to compete. Visit the above links for more details on tomorrow's concert, and for a preview, here's Curtis live a few years back!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post and this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

The Punk Rock Fiesta & Quite Frankly Concert Previews!!

In post #3 of this unusually busy concert weekend for early October, we're looking at an eventful punk reunion concert with a lot to say and another cover show tonight, with post #4 (covering EUP and Sunday matinee shows) coming up next. Here's what you should know!

First up, it's a big one for long-term fans of the local punk scene even with the recent band withdrawal, as the first annual Punk Rock Fiesta goes down TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! The second of two straight retro reunion concerts there (following yesterday's Hard Rock Review), this is the spiritual successor to December's Fist Magnet/Room 206/Spigots reunion concert at the former Soo Blaster, and marks the formal debut of PROD/ex-Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy's new promotion agency BCDR ("Bush Core Drunk Rock") Productions. The big story that broke last week was that planned headliners Random Killing had to drop out of this event due to guitarist John Hajdu's ongoing recovery from severe pneumonia that he contracted last month, but the Toronto hardcore punk legends have already been pencilled in to headline this event's expected return in late 2027, and Random Killing merchandise will be on sale tonight anyway.

Hopefully John gets better soon, and that they do come back when back to 100%! They were not replaced on tonight's bill, and I have not seen any adjustments made to the set times or order as a result, so while I am going off of the earlier promoted start times, they may be subject to change (all other bands were allocated a half hour each). If all else is the same, the new headlining band is hardcore punk trio Hails in their Rockstar Bar debut at 10:30 PM, preceded by the (one-off?) reunion of local cowpunk/hellbilly quintet The Billy Bastards for their first show in 11 years at 9:30 PM. Another reunion of 1990s punk staples Fist Magnet will take place at 8:45 PM, so if you couldn't get enough in December, here's you encore! New & online page-less local punk quartet PROD ("punk rock overdose") will play just their second public concert set at 8:00 PM, featuring members of the Fist Magnet reunion lineup.

Debuting local punk quartet Dead II Society (featuring alumni of Garden of Bedlam, The Billy Bastards, and The Northwest) will play their long awaited first public concert set at 7:15 PM, and the night will kick off with a mystery new local band named The Baby Rails at 6:30 PM. Intentional secrecy or not, I don't know a thing about this band, but we'll let you know when things go live! This 19+ concert has been sold out since long before Random Killing dropped out, but tickets did cost $25, and while there was still wiggle room for admission at the door, it's better if you bought an advance ticket just in case. I haven't seen any major notices towards ticket resales or refunds without Random Killing (local punk nostalgia is strong), so expect a packed crowd at The Algonquin Hotel's resurgent upstairs bar regardless. Even with an all-local bill, this is shaping up to be a great night, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Hails live!

Lastly for weekend concert preview post #3, it's the return of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly, who will make their way to DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse in nearby Prince Township TONIGHT! The band has been taking a break for the last month and a half, most recently playing at Gateway Casino in mid-August, with tonight's concert being their first at the venue way down Second Line West in over six months. It's a small venue, and 20 minutes outside of the Soo proper, but if you live out near Airport Road or are up for the drive west, keep this batch of classic and hard rock covers in mind for tonight on this busy weekend! Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe hit the stage tonight at 8:00 PM, there is no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 or older to attend. Visit the above links for more on tonight's concert in Prince Township, and here's Quite Frankly live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Oktoberfest 2026) & A New BookcluB Video!!

I badly misjudged our weekend concert preview schedule, particularly not anticipating that this SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT would take up a whole post! In deference to that, I am anticipating two weekend concert preview posts tomorrow, one covering Punk Rock Fiesta and tomorrow's two known hard rock shows in the EUP, and the second covering Quite Frankly and Sunday events. Stay tuned, but for now, here's that big new concert!

Local punk/alternative cover sextet BookcluB and debuting local pop punk cover band Anthems will both perform during Outspoken Brewing's sixth annual Oktoberfest event TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, Outspoken only announced the band lineup on September 24th last week, and I wasn't able to rush it into a post before it became the week of the event. Like last year, TOMORROW'S celebration of German culture, food, and (yes) beer will be a street party on a closed section of Queen Street East on the block where Outspoken is located. Specifically, it will be between Elgin and Bruce Streets, basically between the courthouse and GFL Memorial Gardens. Among the entertainment TOMORROW will be various local craft and food vendors, multiple beverage tents, custom German cuisine for the occasion, a stein holding competition, family-friendly games, and more, so click here for full non-musical details on what's going down TOMORROW on Queen!

Details on specific staging for this event were not given, but six acts are scheduled tomorrow, with BookcluB playing their first publically acknowledged concert since Wolf Fest last month, and they should get a good reception! They are playing TOMORROW at 6:00 PM. As for Anthems, I haven't found public social media accounts or media of them yet, but according to Facebook "Stories" (sigh), they are the new band from former Northwest/Small Town Rivals frontman Wayne Watkins, and their set will feature a lot of (if not entirely) Blink-182 covers. Intriguing already, but we'll let you know when more on Anthems is publically unveiled! Their set leads off the music program at 3:30 PM. Other bands playing TOMORROW include country/folk quartet Honey & Groove (featuring Lime, River Fools, and Maynard Hayes alumni) at 4:45 PM.

While the mid-tour Golden Scoundrels are the nominal headliners with a two hour timeslot, two local DJ/EDM acts (both alumni of Rotaryfest Stage 3 this year) will close Oktoberfest TOMORROW, namely the online page-less Kid Gryz at 9:30 PM and Flummoxx capping the night at 10:30 PM. Flummoxx and BookcluB are both returnees from this event in 2025, FYI. Oktoberfest 2026 runs from 3:00 PM-midnight (Flummoxx's set listed to go to 12:30 AM acknowledged). While you obviously must be drinking age for that aspect of Oktoberfest (bracelets will be provided upon entry), this is an ALL AGES event, and minors are free as long as they have adult accompaniment. Otherwise, adult attendees will cost $20 via online tickets at this link or upon entry TOMORROW. In what could be the last major SMS-amenable outdoor concert of 2026, 9&10 News is calling for 12-15° temperatures.

The day is expected to start mostly cloudier and get even cloudier as the day wears on, and there is a chance of rain at night's end/during Flummoxx's set. Given the timing, I can't see that throwing a wrench into the plans, but follow your preferred weather forecast if you're at all concerned (and layer up regardless!). Sounds like a fun day for music, beer, and street party fans alike, so see above for full details on what to expect on Queen Street East TOMORROW, and for a preview, here's a new video of BookcluB live! This was shot by the administrator of the Seldom Seen SSM Facebook page during their Wolf Fest II set last month at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, who filmed the band covering The Champs' "Tequila". Of note, trumpet player/backing vocalist Erin Antonello notes at the start that "we're just waiting for our new lead guitar player". Is Carmen already out of the band?

Nope, rather the "new lead guitar player" was frontman Mikey Hawdon's young daughter Finley, who joined in for this fan-requested cover on a toy guitar before switching to a tambourine midway through. It's a fun cover, but the father/daughter collaboration will sell this alone for many, even though SeldoM Seen SSM shot it vertically. Give it a watch below, and look for BookcluB at Oktoberfest TOMORROW!

That's all for now, but we're going to cram our weekend concert previews with much more coming soon on this busy first weekend of October, starting with Punk Rock Fiesta and Michigan shows! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) And Weekend Concert Previews, Part 1!!

This is an unusually busy weekend for concerts at this time of year, so much so that I'll have to break up our hard rock/punk concert previews into three posts! Today's will look at bands playing tomorrow and/or Saturday in some description, but larger events on Saturday (namely Oktoberfest, Punk Rock Fiesta, Quite Frankly, Curtis McKenzie, Dos Amigos, and shows in the EUP) to follow. We're on it, and we're starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know to start things off!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck (7.3?) will reportedly return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows have not been publically announced on social media by the band or venue, and I only learned about the shows via personal Facebook postings. Soundcheck most recently rocked the Queen Street East tavern early last month, with this being their second weekend there with their current lineup. Should be a fun weekend for classic and hard rock cover action, assuming the personal Facebook postings are accurate! This AI-generated image was made by Reggie's for their shows there in May, but intentionally or not, it's not dated so it can be reused (though if the guys really have tacked 7.3 onto their name, why not make that official on their public social media pages? They should use social media more regardless.)

TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges, and the shows were not advertised as "epic crossovers" with their sister band Separate Wayz, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Nicole won't turn up. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, a packed weekend at the resurgent Rockstar Bar kicks off TOMORROW NIGHT with the one-off supergroup Hard Rock Review taking the stage there! For one night only, staples of local hard rock bands of the 1990s will join forces for a night full of 1980s-leaning rock covers, and for recent SMS coverage's sake, the most familiar names here will be (former?) Dodge This/Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer and Flathead Ford/ex-Gsis Murphy drummer Anthony Fabiano. Good to see Jay in a plugged in band again after way too long! Bassist Robert Iacoboni (who later made his way to Taiwan in his extensive musical journey) and drummer Jeff See will round out their full lineup, but Robert's friend Dallas Crockett (of the Kelowna-based AC/DC tribute band High Voltage) will guest for a six song mini-set of AC/DC hits. Dallas isn't local, but his guest turn will add some zest to the proceedings!

One night before punk reunions take place at the same venue with Punk Rock Fiesta (preview coming tomorrow), Hard Rock Review will have no announced cover charge tomorrow night, but bring cash just in case given that most of the performers are living out of town. This is a 19+ concert with doors opening at 8:00 PM. Obviously, I have no videos of Hard Rock Review (shouldn't it be "Revue?") to preview the show with, but the Facebook event page lists bands that the guys will be covering, and with the talent on display, fans of this era of local hard rock bands should have a blast tomorrow night! See above for more details on the Hard Rock Review's debut!

Also taking place TOMORROW NIGHT is the return of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations to The Water Tower Pub for one night only! While the band did announce the shows last month as part of their slate of (at least) three October gigs, the shows have been confirmed anew via the venue's October concert calendar, and we'll address its unaddressed hard rock shows in an upcoming post. After skipping this central nightclub last month, fans will get to see Generations back there tomorrow, and hopefully their classic and hard rock covers go over well as usual! As The Water Tower Pub hosts different acts nightly, country singer/guitarist Jeffrey Wright is headlining there on Saturday. Tomorrow's concert will be an 8:00 PM affair as usual with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Generations live!

This was shot at their Gateway Casino concert last month, and was uploaded to guitarist Joe Miller's personal Facebook page before being shared to the band's Facebook group. It features him, Valerie, Pierre, and Tony covering Amanda Marshall's "Let It Rain", which I don't recall them covering in past media. Not badly handled, and Valerie's voice is more than up to the task of this mid-1990s slice of Cancon. Well filmed and horizontal to boot, so give it a watch below, and don't miss them at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow!

Finally for preview post #1, we'll go west to Beck's Bar, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage on SATURDAY NIGHT! Just Saturday though, as despite their website still listing the Sunday matinee for an "uncorked" concert, Beck's has since confirmed on their Facebook page that Curtis McKenzie is playing that day instead (preview forthcoming). A reason for the switch was not announced, but hopefully it's just a simple scheduling conflict. The full electric Bone Yard 225 experience awaits on Saturday though, with this being their first full plugged-in ("corked") concert since their one-off with Spencer Pine early last month, and their first typical weekend nightclub gig in city limits in two months. Now that the fall season is firmly in place, "the dirty three" should have a solid night of hard rocking covers and originals in store for fans at the Goulais Avenue nightclub on Saturday!

If you want to see your local 225 in "uncorked" mode, their next acoustic gig will be next Friday at the aforementioned Water Tower Pub. Saturday's concert is at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cove charge, so see above for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: JaxonsMusic's Channel

For our last post of September 2026, here's this month's delayed YouTube Channel Profile! In our monthly look at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose uploads are at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts, we have conveniently drawn the channel of a musician covered in this month's album review, so here's what you should know!

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JaxonsMusic's Channel (http://youtube.com/@jaxonsmusic)

Owner: Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist and ex-drummer Jaxon Massaway, also known as a solo musician under the handle Jaxon James

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 9th, 2018; Videos posted from November 2022 through this spring

Channel Summary: Actively uploading videos since a few months after he joined the St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band, Jaxon has uploaded 62 videos here (34 proper videos and 28 "Shorts") over the past four years. Most of his mainline videos are from HLTC concerts, with the rest largely being solo performance videos on guitar and/or vocals, with Jaxon dabbling in his own original metal material in the past year as well. The "Shorts" are mostly brief vertical performance videos, some clipped from his longer uploads, but there is one Heavy Lies The Crown concert video in that section. A couple of videos here are non-musical, either for comedic purposes or to vlog about his time working in the culinary industry at festivals.

Why You Should Watch: "You filthy crowners" will appreciate the Heavy Lies The Crown concert videos here, though note that all come from Jaxon's time behind the drumkit, so you'll want to visit the band's Facebook page to see recent stuff since he moved to guitar. While Jaxon's music taste is more diverse than his band work may let on, he shows a lot of multi-instrumental talent across his solo videos, and a deceptively good voice for both extreme metal and country, so don't bypass what this rising young EUP talent has to offer! Note that the seven released songs in his solo original catalogue are not here, but you can stream them on his YouTube Music channel.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Choke - HEAVY LIES THE CROWN (LIVE AT THE FRENCH ROAD BASH): Of Jaxon's videos with Heavy Lies The Crown, the best in terms of actually seeing the whole band (as in, not at night and not a drumcam video) comes from their set at the annual French Road Bash in Alpena in August 2022, which they have played multiple times. Heavy were represented here by frontman Brandon West (the only other performer here still in the group) alongside guitarists Ted Olson and Christian Thanasiu and bassist Christian Cook. Between Brandon's long hair and Ted's headless guitar alone, it does give a good nostalgic feeling to see this era of HLTC again, and this performance of "Choke" captures them in their element with solid video and audio quality across the board! He also uploaded a video of "Choke" from their set at Summerbash in Gaylord the previous month.

 

 

Your Face - WISP (DRUM COVER): The most viewed video on Jaxon's channel is actually one of his solo cover performances, where he drummed along to the song "Your Face" by the shoegaze/hard rock musician Wisp in April 2024. This is actually Jaxon's only drum cover video, with every other cover here featuring him on vocals and/or guitar. I'm not the biggest shoegaze fan, but there is a Deftonesy vibe to this song, and the recording quality is strong, helping show off the drum skills that got him noticed by HLTC!

 

 

VØRRN (THALL): I wanted to highlight one of Jaxon's original songs here, but as already noted, he has kept uploads of his finished original music on the Jaxon James YouTube Music channel (you can also hear those songs on other major streaming services). Only three original pieces are on his own YouTube channel, including a demo named "Peripheral Vision", and two tracks given the project name Thall, one being a 34 seconds-long instrumental. Featured here is his newest Thall song, named "Vørrn" (possibly a misspelling of the German word for "front"). Brutal and technical song that death metal fans should be curious to hear, while also having a touch of shoegaze in the clean vocals, and Jaxon did good work to spice up the video in post-production! No word on if Thall will indeed resurface as a formal side project, but he hasn't posted a new video in the six months since this went live, nor released new original music on streaming.

 

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series should return closer to schedule on or around October 26th, so look for that then and for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

The Queen: It's A Kinda Magic Preview, Recent Concert Fallout, And More Updates!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that the Led By Zeppelin concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 30th, exactly 20 weeks after the original September 12th date was cancelled the day of the show (the band has since confirmed on their Facebook group that guitarist Kelsey Irwin was admitted to Sault Area Hospital that day with a kidney infection). All tickets for the September 12th event will be honoured in January if not refunded, and click here to buy tickets anew. Glad to hear that Kelsey is on the mend, and hopefully there's a solid turnout in four months! Now, here's a concert preview, recent concert details, and some more assorted notes!

We'll start today with a mid-week concert preview, as Australia's own touring tribute favourites Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will return to the aforementioned Sault Community Theatre Centre TOMORROW NIGHT! While the most recent Queen tribute concert here was the England-based Majesty at The Machine Shop in March, tomorrow's headliners are the best known locally, as Queen: It's A Kinda Magic have previously played at the former Kiwanis Theatre three times, including in May of last year. Post-pandemic, QIAKM have been a reliable draw at White Pines with their proficient take on the Queen back catalogue with presentation to match, and despite the mid-week timing, hopefully they deliver another kinda magic tomorrow! This show takes place at 7:30 PM, and tickets are on sale at this link, at the Station Mall box office, and presumably at the door for $75 (adults).

Kids 13 and under will cost $45 each. Warren and crew always draw good numbers here, but there are still tickets available from the 11th row and back (center section) and the second row and back (left and right sections), with no gallery seating once again. If you love Queen's diverse and often heavy range of classic singles, don't miss out on tomorrow's action, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic live!

Next up, let's clarify some missing aspects of the third and final Downtown Street Party on Queen Street East from September 17th between Dennis and Gore Street! Organizers never specified exactly who was playing on which of the two stages and where, but based on photos from the City of Sault Ste. Marie's Facebook page and personal videos, I can confirm that the de facto "Dennis Street Stage" was in front of the THRIVE Child Development Center at 126 Queen, across from CINTAS. That's where country singer/guitarists Brian Tremblay & Jeffrey Wright played, as well as headlining jazz cover band The Hustle Brothers, who must have been moved there late, as frontman Jay Case had signalled in a personal Facebook comment that they'd be on the Gore Street Stage instead. Speaking of the "Gore Street Stage", that was located in front of Second Hand World, and featured Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band with "Just" Tom Peer opening, like last month.

In media that I am able to see from the street party, there was no third act at the corner of Queen & Tancred ("and more!" or otherwise). If you know where to look, you'll see some good quality video and photos of the musicians and the varied family entertainment, though as best as I can tell, all of the videos are on personal accounts, not public pages. Big Finish Band guitarist Chris Nielsen had a fun time from what I saw though! See above for more on what is public from this month's street party!

Now, let's look at some of the fallout from the Dale Corcoran tribute concert at The Rockstar Bar on September 19th! We didn't cover the event as a formal concert here because there was no official band lineup (things were implied to be jam/freeform heavy), but bandmates of his from groups ranging from the heavier 1980s bands Riggy Zomba and Vandyl to the country-leaning Southern Guns & Hillbilly Heartbreakers performed in Dale's memory. Crank Sound Distribution was on hand for this well attended event, which was loaded with familiar faces to local music fans of the era. A number of personal postings have media from the night, but embedded below is a video shot by Headrush bassist John Amendola for his band's Facebook group of musicians that night covering Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers". It's rare hearing 1980s Deep Purple on a local stage, so kudos to all involved for not going with an obvious pick!

Clearly, John didn't know who everyone was on stage for this song, which goes along with the loose jam night feelings, but there was a lot of praise for the singer, who nailed this song!  Good stuff, and I'm sure Dale would have been proud of all of his friends and old bandmates coming together like this, so give the Deep Purple cover a watch below!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual for these short form topics, these are in alphabetical order by artist or company name: 

• Despite announcing that they'd be hosting five final shows back in July, local concert promoters Piecing It Together Shows' reported last concert took place this past Thursday at Broers Jansen, headlined by Indiana alt-country musician Jess Jones. While the finality isn't mentioned on their Facebook page, the former Dryer Fire confirmed it in a Facebook "Story". If the other three teased farewell concerts were indeed cancelled, it is unfortunate, but best of luck to Nicole in the move and whatever comes their way next!
• Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing have dropped out of this Saturday's Punk Rock Fiesta concert at the aforementioned Rockstar Bar. On the Facebook event page yesterday, the band revealed that guitarist John Hajdu is recovering from severe pneumonia, and they failed in attempts to secure a short-notice fill-in guitarist for this weekend. Promoter/PROD guitarist Christian Foisy confirmed that Random Killing will return for the planned second Punk Rock Fiesta next year, and Random Killing merchandise will still be on sale on Saturday. Our best thoughts go out to John as he recovers, and hopefully we see Drool and crew back in 2027!
• In the newest video on their Instagram page (which I am unable to embed here), Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids classical metal band Theatre of Night teased that there are "good things to come for the holiday season...", while showing off keyboardist Craig Harrison's tracking computer setup with an instrumental solo in the background. The caption didn't need to be hard-coded on top of the video, but what are Theatre of Night teasing? They have a new Michigan-based singer and bassist, so a Christmas tour seems likely, but could new studio material be coming as well? Stay tuned!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!