After a weekend concert preview-induced delay, here is this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This monhtly feature post looks at a defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk act (randomly selected from our band links), and this month gives us a prolific and familiar face who has a lot of music to his name and promoted by his podcasting and radio platforms, so with that said, here's what you should know!
Audio/Video: A prolific original musician with online material dating back to at least the late 2000s, Mike has hundreds of original songs and collaborations on his Reverbnation page, and while that platform maddeningly doesn't display upload dates for songs, none are visibly recent. His YouTube channel also features "assorted Audiofumes and Randomoniumz" from his active period on social media, the vast majority featuring him performing in some capacity. Note that Mike does not perform in live concert settings (at least not formally) and has not released his solo music on major streaming platforms or physical media. Here's Mike playing his 2013 original composition "Dream Of Insomnia"!
Info/Analysis: A staple of our local band links since the SMS moved to Blogger in 2009, Mike Cliffe has been an active musically in various forms since then, though he always focused on studio collaborations and jamming over live performance, with only sporadic covers. Much of his work with other musicians has been via international and far-flung artists, often met via networking for Mike's podcast-turned-internet radio station Audiofumes, which remains active with a very eclectic playlist of genre-free music. Local collaborations have happened, including with prolific local rock drummer Glen Thomas in the early 2010s, while Mike is the father-in-law of Jupiter Marvelous frontman Anthony Marcello. Mike seems to be focusing on running Audiofumes more than his own music nowadays, but his guitar talents cross genre lines with a lot of technical flair and a good ear for melodies, and you do still hear his own music on the Audiofumes podcast!
It would be interesting to hear Mike compile even a compilation of his best solo material as a paid album release, but there's plenty of good songs of his to check out between Reverbnation and YouTube, like "Bad Regime", "In Equity", and "Dog's Breakfast" among many others. Give him a listen above, and check out Audiofumes for a wide array of underground music!
I hope that you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, our randomly selected inactive band is actually from another prolific local rock guitarist name Mike, specifically the inactive early-mid 2020s punk supergroup Mikey & His Uke! Look for that on or around October 10th, and for more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!
Let's conclude this surprisingly busy weekend concert preview slate in tonight's post, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), but also here are videos from two recent concerts, so with all of that outlined, here's what you should know on this Friday night!
Fresh off of the end of his seasonal Mike Case Memorial Stage run for 2026, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison isn't resting on his laurels, as he will kick off a new series of Sunday matinee concerts at Reggie's Place THIS SUNDAY! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show in this batch Facebook event page on Monday, and Reggie's haven't been actively promoting musicians playing there recently on social media. This isn't a regular weekly or bi-weekly run, but Tym will kick things off with consecutive shows THIS SUNDAY and next Sunday the 20th, before playing there on October 11th (on the Thanksgiving long weekend) and October 25th (no word yet on if that show will have any Halloween themes). Tym is only blocked once each in the last two months of the year, namely on November 15th and December 13th, so keep all of these shows in mind if you're a fan!
Tym's unplugged hard rock cover action will take place THIS SUNDAY and the five Sundays to come in Reggie's 2:00-6:00 PM matinee block. All dates are 19+ with no announced cover charge. Matinees or not, Tym doesn't commonly play at band-frequented nightclubs as a solo act, so note the downtown action ahead in the last third of 2026, see above for more details, and for a preview of SUNDAY's show, here he is live!
Next up, here's a new show for next month from promoters Underground Events SSM, and if you want some newer original music to kick off the Thanksgiving long weekend, then you may want to come to Beck's Bar on Friday, October 9th. On this night four weeks from today, three bands will join forces, including alt-hard rock quartet Riverside Stasis, ska punk quartet ASDP (fronted by promoter Mikhal Muto), and newer local "diamond rock" band (and Doo & The Boyos side project) Stones At The Alter! The former two bands have been reasonably visible recently, ASDP's continued lack of social media beyond Instagram and Bandcamp acknowledged, but Stones At The Alter's presence is encouraging given how quiet they have been over the past four months, so hopefully things are going well behind the scenes for them! Remember, S@TA guitarist William Wardlaw is ASDP's bassist, so assuming nothing changed this summer, he'll have a busy night next month.
This 19+ concert will have FREE admission (not even a "pay what you can" option) and a 9:00 PM start time. Sounds like an intriguing array of live music with originals and covers expected all night, and you can't beat that admission price, so keep the Thanksgiving weekend action at Beck's in mind, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
We'll next head to the EUP to wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, specifically local cover hard rock trio Nate's Chow at the annual Stalwart Agricultural Fair in Goetzville TOMORROW NIGHT! Two years removed from headlining "the biggest little fair in Michigan" under their old name Unfortunate Sun, the now Skip-less group will head back to Goetzville to cap off a weekend full of family entertainment and farm games/activities (Sault Ontario readers will see many parallels with last month's Laird Fair). Tomorrow is the closing day of the Stalwart Fair, so be sure to visit the official Facebook page for the full itinerary of what's going down in Goetzville prior to the show. Nate's Chow are hitting the outdoor stage at 8:00 PM (after the last draft horse pull) at the fairgrounds at 8081 East M-48. Admission to the fair is a flat $5 for the whole weekend, and this is definitely all ages.
9&10 News is calling for clear skies for most of the evening tomorrow in Goetzville with temperatures ranging from 58-65° (14-18° Celsius). Fall is definitely here! Visit the above links for more details, and here's a brand new live video from their Facebook page from their "end of summer bash" at The Islander Bar in Hessel this past Saturday! The clip sees the guys covering Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" with drummer Jason VanLuven on lead vocals. Interesting pick, and Jason's vocals may be gruffer than the song really needs, but it's an energetic and up tempo cover that I do wish was filmed for longer than 41 seconds. Give it a watch for yourselves below!
Finally, let's look at videos from Wednesday's Bone Yard 225 concert at the aforementioned Beck's Bar in Sault Ontario with Stones & Crows frontman Spencer Pine on guest guitar! After frontman Greg Simpson posted vertical videos on their Facebook page to promote that they're now booking 2027 concert dates and have some new band merchandise and t-shirts to sell, they headed to Beck's for the concert, where three official videos were shot, though sadly, two are A. vertical, and B. live-streams, so they will vanish from Facebook around October 9th given their current guidelines. As such, I won't embed either here, but give them a watch while you can! One is the last three minutes of a fast blues rock song with guitarist Alex D'Ettore on lead vocals that I cannot immediately identify (Alex's singing through this cell phone camera isn't super clear), while the other is a full take of "the dirty three" + Spencer covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Running Down A Dream". Embedded below is the only proper video of the three.
The horizontal(!) video was uploaded on Thursday, and captures an 8+ minute extended jam version of The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Little Wing" with Spencer on lead vocals. Good to see the guys letting Spencer sing a bit here, and the collaboration between him and Alex on guitar was a good idea, and they are clearly having fun shredding together! Spencer does seem overdressed compared to Bone Yard, but Becky's idea to bring him together with your local 225 worked out, and I just hope that there was a decent turnout given that this was literally "midweek mayhem". Give these videos a watch above and below, and there's more coming!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!
Here's weekend concert preview post #2 for this busy weekend in the Twin Saults and area! Along with previously known gigs, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and new videos from two of the local bands in question, so here's what you should know!
Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to The Lakeside Lounge at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the casino's Facebook page on Wednesday, confirming that their schedule of bands at their new-ish acoustic-leaning lounge are indeed going beyond August. SATURDAY'S concert will be Tarnished's first at Bay Mills in two weeks (albeit a one-nighter due to the new karaoke nights there on Fridays), but they have played since in both St. Ignace and downstate in Cheboygan, reportedly playing on a pirate ship in Mullett Lake this past Saturday. For the life of me, I can't find details on this event (even though it wasn't local, I'd have at least mentioned it here had someone said more), but hopefully it was a swashbuckling good time! Like Tarnished's summer shows at The Lakeside Lounge, SATURDAY's gig will be in acoustic two-man-band form.
As such, don't look for Chris & Ron, who only play their electric gigs, but they should be present for Tarnished's St. Ignace show next weekend. This concert is a 21+ affair at 8:00 PM on SATURDAY with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a video of Alex & Josh at The Lakeside Lounge back in June! Quietly uploaded to Bay Mills' Facebook page during the show, the vertical video sees half of Tarnished covering Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" for 26 seconds. Interesting choice that doesn't really suit their background beyond Tarnished leaning to the 1980s covers lately, but Alex's singing is an improvement to me, so check out this new unplugged video from Bay Mills Resort & Casino below!
Next up, let's head north to Ontario, but an hour east of the Soo to Bruce Mines, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will be the featured band for day #1 of this year's Central Algoma Exhibition (a.k.a. the Bruce Mines Fall Fair) TOMORROW NIGHT! Two nights removed from their special midweek Beck's gig with Spencer Pine, "the dirty three" will close out the opening night of the fair, playing immediately after the demolition derby at 6:30 PM, so a start time is not known (the intent may be so you have to see the derby prior). The bulk of the exhibition activities are on Saturday and Sunday, including a classic rock/country-leaning concert on Saturday featuring Sault Ste. Marie cover bands Sunday & The Broken Hearts, Whiskey Hippy, Out & Out Country, The Cloud Bandits, and Evinrude(?!), so be sure to visit the fair's Facebook page's AI-generated posters and schedules for the full itinerary and non-musical event listings.
Tomorrow's Bone Yard show (complete with on-site beer garden and food vendors) will have a $10 gate fee for admission to the fair/demolition derby, but the concert will have a separate $30 ticket price. This may seem steep, but included is admission to Saturday's concert, so keep that in mind! Fun little change of pace for Greg, Alex, and Warren, so if you're up for the drive east for the car smashing action, you'll get some southern fried hard rock as the nightcap! See above for much more on the Bruce Mines Fall Fair, and here's your local 225 live (videos with Spencer are coming soon!)
Now back in Sault Ste. Marie, Hamilton-based Led Zeppelin tribute band Led By Zeppelin will make their local debut on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Sault Community Theatre Centre! This show comes exactly eight weeks to the day from a different Led Zeppelin tribute band (London's Zed) serving as the featured headliners at Rotaryfest Stage 1, so Zeppelin fans will get a quality encore if so desired! I'm not one to compare tribute bands against each other, and Led By Zeppelin have a handicap in this regard, as the members don't attempt to dress like Robert, Jimmy, John Paul, or John. Musically, they nail the Zeppelin sound well, so don't miss out what should be a fun concert for classic hard rock fans on Saturday! All of the action goes down at White Pines Collegiate's on-site theater on Saturday night at 8:00 PM, and tickets are on sale for $61.02 (adults), $49.72 (seniors 65+ and students 16-25), and $27.12 (kids 15 and under).
Most center section seats have sold in the first eight rows, but left/right section seats and further back seats in the center are still readily available. The price point compared to Rotaryfest (free) will be a concern for many, but the former Kiwanis Theatre is a fancier, high quality indoor venue, so keep that in mind. Buy tickets online at this link, at the door, or at the Station Mall box office, see above for more details, and here's Led By Zeppelin live!
Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their most recent gigs at Reggie's Place, this will be Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony's first stop at the Bay Street casino in over a month. This veteran group should have lots of entertaining classic and hard rock covers in store, so don't miss out if this is up your alley on Saturday! Gateway Casino gigs are all Saturday nighters at 8:00 PM regardless of band, with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of them live at Reggie's late last month! This was filmed by prolific local concert attendee and supporter Audrey Marshall for her personal Facebook page, with half of the band sharing it separately to their Facebook group afterwards.
The 64 seconds long video sees Generations covering "Your Daddy Don't Know" by the early 1980s Canadian hard rock band Toronto. Solid choice that definitely suits Valerie's vocal range, and it's a good, lively performance, though I do wish Audrey had filmed for longer than 64 seconds. Give it a watch below, and look for much more from Generations on Saturday!
That's all for now, but we'll conclude our weekend concert previews with Nate's Chow and Tym Morrison next! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this weekend's concert previews, I wanted to apologize for missing an acoustic concert at Beck's Bar on Tuesday that was headlined by the revival of The T.R.I.P., the sporadically seen acoustic side project of cousins/ex-Double Down bandmates Joel & Beej Syrette! Their late-era bandmate Dan Beaupre joined them on Tuesday for this pool night-concert (regardless of what happened with Double Down, Ric was never in The T.R.I.P.). I'm assuming that this wasn't musically far off from Double Down (being unplugged aside), and I do apologize for missing it, but we'll let you know if they get social media or play more public gigs!
This weekend looks to be a busy one for hard rock fans, buoyed by some late announcements this week, so we'll look at one big one today plus two shows that did have prior notice, with remaining Saturday-Sunday gigs to follow. We'll start with a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for SATURDAY NIGHT, as Wolf Fest II goes down on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion! Apologies for the short notice, as hosts Northern Superior Brewing Co. only finally announced the lineup in a permanently accessible location on their Facebook page last week, when I couldn't slot it into a news post in time to cover it before it became the week of the event. Alas, Northern Superior had teased the event without going into great detail via "Stories", memes, and hype posts for the last few weeks, and some performers had shared the lineup in their own "Stories", but nothing finite and sourceable. I get maybe doing it like this for year #1, but why again when the basic intent is the same?
I'd be getting the word out on who's playing, what's going on, and so forth with a lot more than ten days' notice! Nevertheless, Wolf Fest II (as hyped by Jan from Jan's Not Movin'!) is Northern Superior's second annual fall concert festival to give back to the community for their support, and there will be an eclectic array of local vendors (even barbers and an arcade!), plus beer tents, food, and of course, music. Things will be headlined by Toronto-based Coldplay tribute band The Coldplay Show, and while I can't pretend to be a fan of Coldplay, it is definitely a change of pace from tribute bands that usually come here. They do sound like the real deal, so keep them in mind! A band schedule hasn't been posted, but seven local groups will be opening, including two SMS-leaning acts, namely classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 (returning from last year) and alt-rock/punk cover sextet BookcluB (whose "Story" of the poster teased the lineup for me last month).
Also playing on SATURDAY are local Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tragically Hip tribute bands Mellowship Slinky and The Luxury, while indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous (who also played last year) and jazz cover group The Hustle Brothers will also take the stage under the big tent. "The Howling" will begin at 3:00 PM on SATURDAY with The Royal Canadian Army's 49th Field Regiment pipe & drum band, similar to how a Royal Canadian Navy band kicked off Wolf Fest I. Last year's lineup had five bands, so I couldn't ballpark when set
times will be, but 2025 headliners The Killer Hooks played at 8:15
PM. Like last year, admission to Wolf Fest on SATURDAY is via donation to the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie, and I have not seen firm reference to age limits. While the Pavilion's tent is acknowledged, 9&10 News is currently calling for scattered showers and thunderstorms that day, along with a high temperature of 23°.
The low temperature on SATURDAY is forecasted at 13°. I presume Wolf Fest will go on rain or shine thanks to the tent, but I do hope that they have most of the activities under the tent too (we don't need the mechanical bull shorting out!). In spite of promotional choices that I wouldn't have made, Wolf Fest II sounds like a fun time for fans of live music, craft beer, and local businesses, so consider heading to The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on SATURDAY now that you again have the answer to the question: What is Wolf Fest? Visit the above links for more details, and here's Silent 9 live last year!
Finally for weekend concert preview post #1, we'll head to The Art Hub At Spring (at 504 Queen Street East), where local hardcore punk/crossover thrash trio Hails will take the stage TOMORROW NIGHT! This "hardcore hometown throwdown" is part of frontman Brenton "B.G." Ellis' takeover of The Art Hub this month, following the kickoff of his Audio/Visual Eviscerate art exhibition there last week (running through next Saturday), and this all mirrors a similar residency that he and Ha!ls had there in 2023. In what could arguably be the heaviest concert to ever take place at the former Big Brothers headquarters, Hails will be joined by ska punk quartet ASDP (led by former Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto) and the recently resurfaced local extreme metal quintet With Gunfire (featuring new Hails guitarist Anthony Orazietti and ASDP bassist William Wardlaw). Lot of close connections here, so the camaraderie should be neat alone!
This all ages concert has an admission fee of $10 or "pay what you can", and the concert starts at 7:00 PM tomorrow. If you want some explosive original-leaning action this weekend, this is your best bet, and hopefully the relatively intimate Art Hub space can contain the three bands, as it did when Brent hosted last week's Autopilot concert! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Ha!ls live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Led By Zeppelin, Bone Yard 225, Generations, and Tarnished previews in our next weekend concert preview post! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a concert that missed our coverage, but the lone SMS-amenable band on the bill ended up dropping out. Fans of party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty are well accustomed by now to them being on the bill of otherwise-rap-only concerts at Blaster Powerhouse in the 2020s, and they were advertised to open for 94Fatso and Robbie G there on Friday (here's the poster). Between the band's lack of social media promotion and my own busy personal schedule, this fell through the cracks, which I do apologize for, but The AA did not play due to personal commitments (thank you to Paul for confirming.)
Hopefully all is well with him, Mikhal, and Amanda, and that we see them back at it down the line, and I do hope that the rap concert was a big hit! Now to two mid-week concert previews as we fully emerge from the Labour Day long weekend, with some more news and notes in the back half, and we'll start with the always-prolific Tym Morrison, who is slated to conclude his annual Wednesday summer concert arrangement at The Mike Case Memorial Stage TOMORROW! Unless Tym's run is extended (it has been before), this is your last chance to see Tym's unplugged covers on the 1332 Great Northern Road outdoor stage for the 2026 season, so keep tomorrow's show in mind if you enjoy his unplugged classic and hard rock covers! As usual for his shows there this year, Tym will be on at 6:30 PM tomorrow with no cover charge or age limit.
9&10 News is calling for temperatures hovering around 20° tomorrow evening with clouds disappearing as the 2 hour show progresses, so things should be similar to last week. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, we'll have more on his new Reggie's show announcements later this week, and for a preview, here's Tym live!
Next up, here's a special Wednesday night concert at Beck's Bar, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will play their first fully-plugged-in public concert in Sault Ste. Marie in over a month TOMORROW NIGHT, but they won't be alone. For this one-off(?) concert named "Midweek Mayhem", they will welcome Stones & Crows/Jupiter Marvelous guitarist Spencer Pine in a brief reversion to Bone Yard's 2009-2021 form factor. Beck's owner Becky Sawyer was inspired to bring Spencer and your local 225 together after being impressed by Spencer's guitar skills during Stones & Crows concerts there, and given his and Alex's talents on the six string, this should be fun to see what they can cook up together alongside Greg and Warren! Implications in marketing have this being more of a freeform/jam night setup than a typical Bone Yard concert, but if you want their full three-piece shabang, check them out an hour east at the Bruce Mines Fall Fair this weekend, preview forthcoming.
In deference to this being a work/school night, tomorrow's concert runs from 8:00-11:00 PM, though the 19+ age limit and no cover charge remain as expected. It will be very interesting to hear how Spencer fits in with "the dirty three", especially if he is able to sing lead at all, so visit the official Facebook event page for more on Midweek Mayhem, and here's Bone Yard 225 (sans Spencer) live a couple of years back!
Also today, I wanted to acknowledge an event that local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush played at last month at Mulligan's Irish Pub. On August 22rd, the guys played their last summer gig for the year at the afterparty for the sixth annual Andy Buffone Memorial Golf Tournament, which is a fundraiser for Canadian Mental Health Association Algoma held at The Sault Golf Club at 1804 Queen Street East. Click here for SooToday's coverage of the tournament, who Andy Buffone was, and what funds raised here go towards at CMHA Algoma. While nominally held at Mulligan's (the golf club's on-site bar/restaurant), Headrush's concert was outside on the front lawn, and bassist John Amendola heavily implied on the band's Facebook group that they also played at this tournament last year, though they did not publically acknowledge their involvement at all in 2025.
I didn't cover this on the SMS last month because it wasn't open to the general public, just registered golfers and donors, but John praised the event well, from the start to the alleged end-of-night "shenanigans", so hopefully everything was a hit for a worthy organization like the CMHA! A video from the private gig was shared by John to their Facebook group, which sees Headrush playing the back half of their cover of April Wine's "Roller". Sadly, the video is both vertical and incomplete, but they were in solid shape on this big outdoor stage, and John Anderson was hitting the notes you expect on vocals, so give it a watch above! I can't embed it here, possibly due to John Amendola's video privacy settings.
Finally for today, let's head south to Sault Michigan for updates from local/Grand Rapids classical metal band Theatre of Night! While their Facebook updates have been slight since releasing "Christmas Night III" last year, they have been teasing that they might be returning to do another Christmas tour run this year after not playing shows last year. Their website has confirmed two new band members joining Craig, Steve, and Erik, including vocalist Aziza Poggi (replacing their most recent live singer Marquita Bernard) and bassist Alex Darwin (replacing Luke Bernard). Aziza is a Grand Rapids-based classically trained mezzo soprano singer with a strong background in Western Michigan, and while I can't find substantial details on Alex's musical background, he is pictured with a 5 string bass, which is usually a good talent indicator. A reason for the Bernards' departure wasn't announced, but all past live and studio singers with Theatre of Night are listed as "guest singers", regardless of if they were officially advertised as band members.
No, they did not credit Luke or fellow past instrumental members Greg Giles, Chris Webster, or Scott Andringa in the same way. German session vocalist and former full-band member Gaby Koss remains credited as a "featured singer", implying that she will turn up on some future studio material. While we await full band samples with Aziza & Alex, this Instagram-exclusive video from last week sees guitarist Steve Giles and drummer Erik Sales jamming "O Holy Night", which is an effective teaser of what's to come later in the year! I believe the band turned off external embedding on Instagram, so give it a watch above, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night soon, let alone on the SMS as the week continues! Thanks everyone!
I hope everyone's Labour Day long weekend is starting on the right foot! Today on the SMS, we have new live videos from three different acts plus some related updates, but first, here's early info on what to expect for a downtown concert event later this month!
Initial details on the third and final Downtown Street Party for Queen Street East in 2026 have been announced via You Belong SSM's Facebook page! We already knew that it would take place on Thursday, September 17th on a closed section at the western end of Queen East from Dennis Street to Gore Street (bus terminal onward), and things will likely be similar in scope to street party #1 from June, as there's no doubling up due to forest fire smoke cancellations. Expect family entertainment, a kids zone, a vendor market at Queen & Tancred, businesses open along the way, beverage gardens, and much more, and the likely cooler temperatures will appeal to many as well! Live music will return, but unlike the last two parties, organizers have yet to make a distinction on where specific artists are playing, other than saying that there will be two stages, one per block. Local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith is the only SMS-amenable act confirmed here.
Mike (presumably with his Big Finish Band) will be joined somewhere that day by country singer/guitarists Brian Tremblay and Jeffrey Wright, jazz group The Hustle Brothers, Dustcovers frontman "Just" Tom Peer (who played with Mike & crew on The Canopy last month), "and more". I'm not calling this as a concert yet, as I don't have a firm location for where everyone is performing, but keep things in mind over the next couple of weeks! For the record, no artists announced for this party were scheduled for the cancelled July party, so that musical lineup was sadly a complete wash. Visit the above links for current details on the last street party!
Next up, here's some recent live concert videos, starting with a video of Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer's headlining concert at the first annual Prince Fest last week! This was filmed by Mike Blair of 705Live Sound Co., who were running sound for the festival outside of DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse in Prince Township that night. The not-quite 1 minute long video sees Destroyer playing the Kiss classic "Rock & Roll All Nite" with an uncredited special guest helping on vocals. A comment on the Facebook upload suggests that he could be named Frank but I can't confirm anything beyond that. How Frank(?) got to sing on stage, I don't know, but it's a solid cover for what we do hear! I wouldn't have done the "pan from the soundboard to the stage" thing that Mike likes doing though, as it gave too much away about crowd levels in the field. Give 705Live's Destroyer video a watch for yourselves below!
Also today, here's the latest updates from local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis, who may be remaining a quartet following Liam Dinsmore's departure, as their Facebook page's description now calls them "a a four piece indie, blues/pop rock band". We'll let you know if they add a new second guitarist though! The Handsome Sandwich/HeadFirst successors announced via this vertical video from The Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir that they now have official t-shirts on sale, and you can see the band opening the box of shirts to sell for the first time there. No word on if using The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" as backing music was a hint to anything, but the black shirts feature the band's new logo in white. Given where the river flows in the logo, it does look like "Riverside Stassis" to me, but buy yours at their next shows! The band has also confirmed last month's venue announcement that they'll be opening for The Lazys at Blaster Powerhouse on October 9th!
This adds to what should be a fun night of varied hard rock stylings next month, and The Lazys are very much a known commodity on Canadian rock radio, so click here for more on this concert! Lastly from Tea and the guys, they uploaded their first ever live concert video onto their new YouTube channel on Wednesday, which sees them playing their new original song "Run" at Northern Vibe. Filmed by the aforementioned Mike Haggith, he moved around a lot to get lots of distinct and close angles of Riverside Stasis from all angles on the Forest Stage. Chorus is slightly repetitive, but this is a harder rocker than "The Fool" was, and a really strong video of the full song, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Riverside Stasis!
Finally for today, this is a new live video that I considered using for recent concert previews, but seeing as the venue that uploaded it opted to include hard-coded captions in post-production to promote concerts that only happen there, I opted to just share it in a normal post. As you may recall, classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison played two solo headlining acoustic gigs at The Up & Down Lounge on Second Line West a month ago, and for gig #1 on July 31st, the bar/indoor golf lounge's Facebook page shared this video of Tym covering Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?". Like with the Destroyer video above, this doesn't quite hit 1:00 in length, but the biggest issue is that it's way too zoomed out, complicated by Tym sitting as usual for his solo dates. If you zoomed in to focus on Tym and not the lounge interior, you could even completely crop out the unnecessary caption!
Video choices that I wouldn't have made aside, Tym does well with this CCR classic, so fans of his solo unplugged concerts will appreciate it! The Up & Down Lounge have been cagey at best when plugging who has played at their recent Thursday evening concerts, but we'll let you know if hard rock shows get firmly announced there, and give Tym's promotional video from last month a watch for yourselves below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS next month! Thanks everyone!
Despite this being the Labour Day long weekend, it's quiet for hard rock/punk concerts in the Twin Saults and EUP, so barring a surprise show announcement, our weekend previews fit in only one post! Note that Double Jack are playing at the soon-to-close Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this weekend, and I don't mean the former Exit 808, as the Bay City-area classic rock cover band of the same name (who the local band changed their name over) are playing there this weekend. Confusing, but good to see the original Double Jack making their way north!
We'll start our previews in Sault Ontario with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will take the stage at Reggie's Place TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows first came to my attention via personal Facebook postings, and neither the band nor venue have publically advertised the gigs on social media. This weekend's shows will be Soundcheck's first there with their new bassist, as Sidekicks/ex-Double Down bassist Dan Beaupre has joined the group, replacing the now-retired Jim Michaud. I have not seen a 100% confirmation that Dan has also joined their sister band Separate Wayz (whose lineup is 75% identical), but it seems quite likely given how often they play "epic crossover" dates. Of course, this also reunites Dan with his old Hollow bandmate Terry Eaton, so fans of that 1990s group should like that!
Dan was present at their last two weekends at Jay's Piston Broke Pub too. Note that AI-generated artwork on personal accounts is referring to the band as "Soundcheck 7.3", but if they have tacked a Bone Yard 225-esque number onto their name, there hasn't been a public confirmation yet. Dan is a solid and experienced rock bassist who should fit Soundcheck (and Separate Wayz?) like a glove, so welcome him to the fold TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT if you haven't yet! Both shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!
Next up, let's head to The Art Hub At Spring (technically at 504 Queen Street East) TOMORROW NIGHT, where local hard rock quartet The Reeves and space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening will join forces to open for Saskatoon indie rock quartet Autopilot! In something that completely slipped me by when this show was announced, this is actually a sequel to a concert from last fall, as Autopilot and The Spaceship Opening played at Piecing It Together Shows' pop-up venue on Wellington Street West in November, which I didn't cover here because I couldn't verify The Spaceship Opening's genre at the time (that may have been the final hard rock-included concert from the former Dryer Fire). 10 months later, they're rolling it back at a different downtown locale, but this time with The Reeves as a second opener, in what they referred to on their Facebook page as "our 2nd show" (did their debut at Toystock this past November go badly or did it just get forgotten?)
Regardless, their new originals should pair well with Andrew & Ralph's minimalist hard rock before Autopilot's distinct indie/alternative sound hits the stage! Promoted by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis as part of his slate of events and art exhibits at The Art Hub this month, this stop on Autopilot's Name That Tour! 2026 is an ALL AGES concert at 6:00 PM tomorrow, and admission is $15 or "pay what you can", which is down from last fall's $20 door charge (though it did have $15 advance tickets). Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Reeves live!
Now to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for the back half of our long weekend previews, and we'll start an hour south in St. Ignace, where Sault Ste. Marie classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will take the stage TOMORROW EVENING for the penultimate night of the town's Music By The Bay concert series at American Legion Park! This annual seasonal run of outdoor concerts daily from June-September wraps up with Nancy Kelel there on Sunday, but Tarnished are back once more before the fall truly begins, having last played at the park at the end of July. Presumably the full band with Chris and Ron in tow after they missed the band's acoustic Bay Mills Casino show last week, you can enjoy Tarnished's old school-leaning rocking covers tomorrow from 7:00-8:30 pm, and this is absolutely an all ages concert with no cover charge. If you can't make it, the guys will be at The Driftwood Sports Bar there in two weeks!
Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for 68-70° temperatures (20-21° Celsius) tomorrow evening with sunny skies, which sounds like a perfectly cromulent way to end the season if you like outdoor concerts. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Finally(?) for this weekend's previews, we'll head to The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel, where local hard rock cover trio Nate's Chow will play their third post-renaming show TOMORROW NIGHT! Fans may recall seeing Jody, Brett, and Jason debut the former Unfortunate Sun's new name and Skip-less lineup at The Islander Bar last month, with a late notice gig downstate in Alanson in the interim. That show went well, complete with a bachelorette party concurrent with the concert, and now Nate's Chow are back home in the UP, so expect a fun night of hard rocking covers tomorrow! Unless The Islander Bar has had heavy renovations, I wouldn't believe how it's depicted in the AI-generated poster. "Nates Chow" (someone forgot the apostrophe in the prompt) are on tomorrow at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's our first live video of Nate's Chow in concert!
Filmed by an uncredited attendee at last month's Hessel concert and posted to their Facebook page, this sees the band covering The Barenaked Ladies' "The Old Apartment" with Jody on lead vocals, and it's always neat seeing a Sault Michigan area band covering Canadian content! The audio is somewhat muffled, and the video is only 30 seconds long, but the performance isn't bad at all, and Jody's singing suits the original track, so give it a watch below, and don't miss the guys back at The Islander tomorrow night!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
Info/Analysis: A staple of our local band links since the SMS moved to Blogger in 2009, Mike Cliffe has been an active musically in various forms since then, though he always focused on studio collaborations and jamming over live performance, with only sporadic covers. Much of his work with other musicians has been via international and far-flung artists, often met via networking for Mike's podcast-turned-internet radio station Audiofumes, which remains active with a very eclectic playlist of genre-free music. Local collaborations have happened, including with prolific local rock drummer Glen Thomas in the early 2010s, while Mike is the father-in-law of Jupiter Marvelous frontman Anthony Marcello. Mike seems to be focusing on running Audiofumes more than his own music nowadays, but his guitar talents cross genre lines with a lot of technical flair and a good ear for melodies, and you do still hear his own music on the Audiofumes podcast!
