Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Malignant Neoplasm

Plans have changed for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as our randomly selected pick for this month's past band spotlight was local/Toronto punk cover supergroup Mikey & His Uke, who just posted their first new song in over a year last week! We'll look at the new song on the site in our next post. Obviously, they're not defunct (or inactive) anymore, so in the rare cases where my next selection comes back to life after being picked, I go with the closest alphabetical act who I haven't already looked at, and only one defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk act whose name starts with an M qualifies at present. As such, things are much more brutal & underground this time, so here's what you should know!

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Malignant Neoplasm

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Cybergrind/Gorenoise

Lineup:

Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson, all instruments

Audio/Video: This studio-only project released 9 demo albums onto their Bandcamp page between July 2013 and April 2021, with their final album "Hugz" teased as one of their few albums "that's good from start to finish". They also took part in two of label Blood Shed Productions' mid-2010s splits, both alongside their sister goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore, and select albums from their catalog were sold on CD at Blood Shed-affiliated concerts in the 2010s. A compilation of all of Malignant Neoplasm's songs was offered for a time in 2022, but never publically posted. Few of the MxNx-specific videos on the Blood Shed YouTube channel are more substantial than just re-uploads, but here is the (vertical) music video for "Needle Aspiration Biopsy" from their self-titled debut!

Info/Analysis: One of the many 1-2 man metal/grindcore bands signed to Blood Shed Productions in their 2010s heyday, Malignant Neoplasm differed from Tyler's better known band CTW via an electronica influence permeating their music, while their imagery and songs often reflected medical procedures and real photos of human anatomy (not NSFW but still graphic) until their 2018 relaunch, even going so far as to name an album that year "No More Medical Songs". Otherwise, they shared the same pig squealing vocals, short song lengths, lo-fi production quality, drum machine, and provocative song names and lyrics that CTW were known for. Malignant Neoplasm's original Facebook page was converted into CTW's (now-deleted) second Facebook page, and their replacement mostly posted new songs and teasers for them, plus the release of new t-shirts. Occasional hints and archival song shares continued from 2022-2025, and Tyler last posted teasers of music being played on a stereo in two March 2025 videos.

Like the bulk of Tyler's other 2010s metal acts, Malignant Neoplasm are critic-proof. You either like this style of metal for what it is, or you won't, and these fall in line with his "I play what I want and you don't have to like it" ethos. The techno influence and extra background noise helped distinguish them from CTW, even if it made them less amenable to live concert performances, and they developed a cult following similar to what CTW, Rotopsy, and others got at the time. I applaud Tyler for doing his own thing without apologies, but what you see is what you get. I still think that the Blood Shed guys could have coalesced into one great five piece death metal band, but give MxNx a listen above if you want to dive in!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! The series returns on or around November 10th, and we'll have more news and notes on the SMS this week. Thanks everyone, and to our Canadian readers, in the event a new post doesn't come prior, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm, The Sky Pilots, And Tarnished), And One More Concert Preview!!

A SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT fell into my lap, so let's dive into a mostly all-Eastern Upper Peninsula post on this Saturday morning (not Sault Michigan, everything here is taking place or was filmed in other towns). Along with a Sault Ontario concert preview, we do have more upcoming EUP concerts that were recently announced, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to The Lakeside Lounge at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley for another acoustic concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, I just heard about it this morning, but Bay Mills had first confirmed the gig on their Facebook page on Monday. TONIGHT's still-short notice gig will be Alex & Josh's second straight Saturday nighter at the Brimley casino's newer acoustic-amenable lounge, and while I don't know if this was always scheduled or if they're a late fill-in, hopefully they get a solid turnout for their 1980s-leaning rock covers once again! Remember, their acoustic shows do not have Chris or Ron present, we'll let you know when the full band announce new dates. Everything goes down TONIGHT at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's (half of) Tarnished live!

Next up, The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino has updated their band schedule through the end of November via their entertainment page! Of course, it's just the St. Ignace branch, as The Rapids Lounge in the Soo is expected to close at month's end to make way for the construction of the new sports bar and water park. Kewadin have taken the extra step of noting genres for bands playing there on their entertainment pages though, which is long overdue, though very general, as they often don't get more specific than "rock & roll" as a descriptor. Just to clarify, Timberline and Uncle Ugly don't cross our "hard rock" line from what I've seen and heard, though they do have occasional covers. A band that does though kicks off the month on Friday, November 6th & Saturday, November 7th, namely Munising classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots, in their first local appearance since rocking the St. Ignace Kewadin in May.

Always good to see former Swayze Train/Electric Motor Fish singer Melissa Strand in our area, and hopefully they have a strong turnout next month for their hard rock-leaning cover selection! As usual for Kewadin lounge gigs, these will both be at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on The Pilots' return!

Meanwhile, The Northern Pines Lounge are booking some very familiar faces for the American Thanksgiving weekend, as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will play their last EUP shows of the year at The Northern Pines Lounge on Friday, November 27th & Saturday, November 28th! Of course, their sister band Peril is rocking out at the soon-to-close Rapids Lounge tonight, so now Yooper fans know your last chances to see either band before 2027. Scarkazm's hard hitting originals and covers should go over well next month, so don't miss out on all of the action in St. Ignace then! Same as for The Sky Pilots three weeks prior, these shows are at 9:00 PM, have no announced cover charges, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Visit the above links for more details, and don't miss Jeff leave the drumkit to front Peril tonight in the Soo before The Rapids Lounge as we know it closes next month!

Finally for today, here's one more weekend concert preview for Sault Ontario, as local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will set up shop at Reggie's Place TOMORROW for another Sunday matinee concert! The third of six scheduled concerts on the batch Facebook event page for his late 2026 dates at the Queen Street East nightclub, this is one of two Sunday matinees ahead for Tym in October, with a return coming on October 25th, though note that Reggie's Facebook page hasn't publically confirmed any of Tym's recent shows there. If you're up for a fun afternoon of classic and hard rock favourites from this talented local musician and former Caveman Morrison frontman, head to Reggie's for the Thanksgiving Eve music! This is a 19+ event at 2:00 PM with no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (TNT) & More Thanksgiving Long Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, here's the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what else you should know in the area from tonight onward!

Local acoustic classic/hard rock cover duo TNT will return to the stage on SUNDAY NIGHT at Beck's Bar! Apologies for the short notice, Beck's only announced the matinee show in their weekly concert calendar announcement on their Facebook page on Monday, and TNT still don't have a dedicated social media page to promote their own shows with (granted, their sister band Soundcheck rarely updates theirs much anymore either). This is Travis & Terry's first announced acoustic concert since their set at Maddy's Mighty Mutts' Family Fun Day in August, though I did want to acknowledge here that the guys did play a run of eight Saturday matinee concerts at Misty's Fifties from May-July, which I belatedly discovered on the Second Line West nightclub's Facebook page via a bunch of mostly AI generated promotional images. This notably made them the last hard rock-leaning act to play there before Becky Sawyer of Beck's Bar bought Misty's.

I do profusely apologize for missing those shows for coverage here, but alas, they were mostly on late notice on the venue's end, and TNT don't have their own page to plug upcoming shows with. Hopefully they were all a hit, and could Terry n' Trav(is) play there more once Misty's reopens? At least we know about SUNDAY'S Beck's show, which takes place at 3:00 PM during their weekly euchre tournament, and it is 19+ with no cover once again. Visit the above links for more details, hopefully some public videos turn up soon, and stay tuned for more from TNT and Soundcheck (7.3?)

Next up, let's jump over to Sault Michigan briefly, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will play their final gigs at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino branch TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Peril are alive and well, but frontman Jeff Hudson confirmed on their Facebook page that they won't be back at the Soo Kewadin "for the foreseeable future" due to "the upcoming construction changes". It's well established by now that The Rapids Lounge is closing soon for heavy renovations in advance of a new sports bar opening on site or nearby in 2027, and based on updates to Kewadin's entertainment page for upcoming lounge schedules, it does appear that the NuCorp-headlined concerts over Halloween weekend will be the final ones at The Rapids Lounge as we know it. As such, Peril are the last hard rock-leaning band to play there, and they have played there loads over the years, so come on out for all the action this weekend!

These will also be Peril's last EUP gigs for 2026, but their sister band Scarkazm will be back at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace before the year is out though, and we'll have more on that in an upcoming post. Tonight & tomorrow's concerts are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges, and if you're curious, cover band Detour and Detroit blues rock musician Chris Canas will play the next two weekends before NuCorp send out The Rapids Lounge at months end. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live in St. Ignace!

Also this weekend, Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will return to The Esquire Club TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! This double shot in the west end will mark the long awaited return to the weekend nightclub circuit for Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve, after their annual summer spell of just festivals and private gigs extended through September (their last gig of any kind was opening for Fefe Dobson). As such, it's been a long and silent six months for Silent 9 at The Esquire Club, but hopefully their fan friendly classic and hard rock covers get a solid reception this weekend as they return to the regular bar grind! Tonight and tomorrow's shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Silent 9 live at Wolf Fest II at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion last month! This was uploaded to the band's Facebook page on September 15th, a few days after Wolf Fest took place.

As usual for their own social media video uploads, this is (sadly) short and vertical, with the 39 second clip seeing the guys covering AC/DC's "Shoot To Thrill". Despite the above issues and some recurrent light reflections, Silent 9 do a solid and upbeat job with this song, one of my favourite AC/DC singles, so give it a watch below, and look for much more this weekend!

Finally for our Thanksgiving long weekend previews, we head to The Sault Community Theatre Center at White Pines Collegiate & Vocational School, where Oshawa-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bon Jovi Forever will rock the Soo once again TOMORROW NIGHT! Bon Jovi Forever just played at the former Kiwanis Theatre last fall, while they also headlined at The Rockstar Bar a decade ago, so clearly they've done something right to make returns here in the mid-2020s. Covering both the 1980s and early 1990s hair metal days and their more general rock sound of more recent times, BJF deliver the goods for fans of the New Jersey legends, and if you know how Jon Bon Jovi sounds live nowadays, Baz will take you back to what you're used to! All of the east end action goes down tomorrow night at 8:00 PM, and tickets are still on sale at this link, at the door, or at the community box office at Station Mall. The first six rows in the center section are completely sold out, as are the front rows on the left and right, but there's plenty of seats left!

Adult tickets cost $61.02, seniors 65+ and students 13-21 years old cost $49.72, kids under 9-13 cost $16.95, and kids 8 and under are free, and use the promo code group6+ for a discounted group rate if you are buying for 6 or more people. Visit the above links for more on what should be a fun night for Hair Scare fans, and here's Bon Jovi Forever live at the SCTC last year!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS over the long weekend! Thanks everyone! 

Friday Night Concert Previews, Including Switchfoot & The Lazys!!

Our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend concert previews are getting off to a late start following yesterday's sad breaking news, and as luck would have it, tomorrow is quite busy for concerts (mercifully, all with advance notice), so let's dive right in for post #1! Hard rock bands booked half or entirely on Saturday (Peril, Bon Jovi Forever, and Silent 9) and Sunday's late notice TNT matinee will be in our next preview post later today.

We'll kick things off TONIGHT with this weekend's arguable main event, as San Diego alt-hard rock quartet Switchfoot will make their local debut at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Best known among casual fans for their rock radio hit "Meant To Live", Switchfoot are touring in support of their new album "Forever Now", and have two+ decades of hit singles on the Christian charts as well as more crossover singles on the rock side of things like "Dare You To Move", and they should find a good audience for their often hard-edged set tonight! Florida emo/alternative quintet Anberlin (of "Feel Good Drag" fame) will also make their Soo debut tonight as openers, and with their own Christian crossover sound, they should fit in while also demonstrating their own unique contemporary originals! This all ages concert goes down tonight at 8:00 PM.

This show hasn't sold as well as other modern hard rock concerts at The Dreammakers Theatre have so far, so plenty of good tickets are still available in the second-fifteenth rows ($91), further back ($81), or standing room only ($71), while there are also VIP passes on sale. You can buy tickets at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, at the in-person box office, or via Kewadin Casino's new mobile application. Hopefully things do well across the board tonight, even if it's not a long weekend for Yoopers, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Switchfoot live!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario to kick off the holiday long weekend in style at Blaster Powerhouse, where Australian hard rock quartet The Lazys will make their local debut TONIGHT! A relatively rare example of a non-domestic band whose get more airplay here than in the States (104.3 The Fox were even doing ticket giveaways), The Lazys' old school-tinged originals like "Hot Under The Collar" and "Too Tough To Die" are loud rocking anthems that will be very neat to see on a local stage for the first time! Winnipeg "nu grunge punk n' roll" quartet The Bloodshots are joining them on their Too Tough To Die Tour, and if that name is familiar, it's because you just saw them open for their sister Nirvana tribute band Aneurysm at Beck's Bar last month. Not every day where a touring band comes here on two different tours a month apart, but they left a good impression in the west end last month, so how about an encore?

The local openers are alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis in their first of two different concerts tonight, so while this is pricier show, it's also the one with more hype and promotion, and hopefully Tea and the guys set the good tone before they make their own way to Beck's Bar! This all ages concert will itself begin at 8:00 PM, and tickets cost $40 at this link or at the former Soo Blaster, though the door price will jump to $50. This should be a fun and explosive way for Sault Ontarians to kick off the long weekend, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Lazys live!

Also taking place TONIGHT is the return of local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 to The Water Tower Pub for one night only! Announced via their under-maintenance website's concert calendar but oddly not plugged by the band on Facebook since, this will be an "uncorked" show as usual at this particular locale. No word on when we'll next see "the dirty three" in their plugged-in splendour, but if you like their softer side and/or miss The Bearded Lounge, consider a trip to The Water Tower Pub tonight for their classic, southern, and hard rock covers gone acoustic! In their since-deleted concert calendar for October 2026, The Water Tower Pub had listed tomorrow's timeslot there for "TBC", which I took to mean "to be confirmed", but is there a band with that acronym playing instead? Tonight's show from your local 225 is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #1, we'll head west to Beck's Bar, where a trifecta of local bands will join forces for a FREE concert TONIGHT! The aforementioned Riverside Stasis will head west to headline this show, fresh off of opening for The Lazys at Blaster Powerhouse, so if you're a fan of this union of Headfirst and Barbarians alumni, you have two chances to see them live tonight, one much cheaper than the other! Opening this show are ska/crust punk quartet ASDP (whose frontman Mikhal Muto is promoting the concert via Underground Events SSM) and local "diamond rock" quartet Stones At The Alter (featuring ASDP bassist William Wardlaw on guitar). Note that S@TA haven't plugged this concert on social media, and haven't posted at all or played live since the spring, but this will be a good way for them to get back out there! This concert takes place tonight at 9:00 PM and is 19+ as usual.

A completely free (not even "pay what you can") event from Underground Events SSM is rare, so definitely consider coming out for all of the original and cover action, especially if you're priced out of/not a big fan of The Lazys. You'll get to see Riverside Stasis either way! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Riverside Stasis live!

That's all for now, but we'll have more weekend concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

R.I.P. Marshall Jaaskelainen (1991-2026)

The Sault Metal Scene would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of prolific local musician Marshall Jaaskelainen, who suddenly passed away on Tuesday at the age of 35, as per numerous personal Facebook postings that broke earlier today. Well known across genre lines as a bassist (stand-up and electric alike), Marshall will be best known in an SMS context from his work in local/Toronto Celtic punk band Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide for their entire 2007-2021 run. Marshall was joined there and in multiple other projects by his older brother Sheldon Jaaskelainen on cello, and with The Tide, they released three studio albums and had been working on a fourth when they fell inactive. Over the years, you may recognize Marshall from work on stage and/or in studio with such bands as The Wild Turkeys, The Way Backs, The Boot Hill Crooners, and The Steeltown Playboys, and he was still playing live as recently as this summer. Marshall was also a mandolin instructor at Case's Music in the 2010s.

This sad news seemed to hit like a sack of bricks for many in the local music scene, and even beyond Marshall's talents and frequent band work locally and on the road, he was also known for his kindness and sense of humour. Others who knew him better than I can attest to his character better than I ever could, but in our interactions, he always came off well and appreciative, and regardless of your music taste, you'd be hard pressed to find a better stand-up bassist in the area than him. We'll have details on services and memorials when/if announced, but our best wishes go out to Sheldon and the entire family, and go check out some of the brothers' original music if you have the chance. R.I.P. Marshall!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Rock Orchestra & Riverside Stasis), Fefe Dobson Concert Fallout, And More!!

Before we settle into weekend concert preview mode for the Thanksgiving long weekend, here's a packed news post on this early Thursday morning, including some assorted shorter updates, known videos from a recent concert, and leading off, two nearby LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS that are notable in different ways, so here's what you should know!

Local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis and acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will join forces for a special outdoor concert on Friday, October 16th at The Canopy on top of Village Media headquarters! The rooftop space at 298 Queen Street East has been used sparingly as a live concert venue this year, notably at last month's second Downtown Street Party, where Dos Amigos' sister band BookcluB already played a headlining set. Next Friday's show will be the premiere of Village Sessions, a rooftop concert series that is implied to not be returning until 2027 (it will be mid-October next week, after all), but it will be a platform for originals-focused local headlining bands, and the corner of Queen and Bruce will be closed to accommodate the concert. In fact, this concert will have two hosts, namely long-time Rotaryfest Stage 1 MC Andrew Stuetz and Pat Mackan, who is the administrator of the Musicians page on Village Media's social media network Spaces.

After taking September off from the stage, Riverside Stasis will be fresh off of playing two concerts this Friday (more details in our weekend concert previews), while Dos Amigos remain busy even if their social media accounts don't (they recently played a private gig at a retirement home, believe it or not), and this will be a fun change of pace before it gets too cold for practical outdoor gigs! This is obviously free and all ages next week, and is expected to run from 7:00-10:00 PM. Hopefully the weather cooperates to give the Village Sessions pilot a fair shot, so visit the above links and Andrew's SooToday article for more details on all of next week's rooftop action!

Next up, the first major SMS-amenable concert at GFL Memorial Gardens for 2027 has been announced for Tuesday, May 11th, but the headliners aren't a major original touring band. Rather, they are The Rock Orchestra, a touring classical group who reinterprets rock and metal songs in epic orchestral and gothic fashion, complete with a dark candlelit stage show and suitable costuming to match, including instrumental performers in makeup and skull masks. The only equitable band to really hit the area is Sault Michigan's Theatre of Night, but they're a metal band with orchestral flourish and a Christmas theme in live performance, whereas The Rock Orchestra are a full-on touring orchestra who just happen to cover bands like Metallica, System of a Down, Evanescence, and The Cranberries (generally with a female singer if not instrumental). They do have a cover album too, with some very creative takes to check out.

The Rock Orchestra have played in Sudbury before to a positive reception, and it will be very interesting to see how they go over in seven months, but there's plenty of time to build anticipation, and videos of their shows will really show what they have to offer better than I can in text! Tickets for this all ages & 7:30 PM concert go on sale on Friday at 1:00 PM at this link or at the arena box office, but the ticket prices aren't being released until sales begin. Visit the above links for much more on The Rock Orchestra's Sault Ste. Marie debut, and stay tuned for more details!

Also today, I have put this off long enough, as there are a few videos on Facebook from the free Fefe Dobson concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion last month! Alas, multiple videos from the show were only shared as "Stories" (including at least one of local openers Silent 9 and one from the City of Sault Ste. Marie Facebook page that featured a shot of the line of fans), so I obviously can't link to those here. The Vivid Arts Festival headlining event was a hit based on fan reports on social media, and while multiple videos were posted online on personal accounts, the only page that I have seen permanent public videos shared on is the aforementioned City of Sault Ste. Marie Facebook page. One is actually of Toronto pop rock cover band Goodnight Sunrise's opening set, while the other has clips from Fefe's set. Unfortunately, the City opted to upload both as vertical highlight reel videos with dubbed over stock pop music instead.

Why not let us actually hear raw audio from a well attended concert? I think most fans would rather have heard "Bye Bye Boyfriend" or "Stuttering" rather than Giulio Cercato's "Dance On" while out of context clips of the concert were played. The only positive is that Facebook somehow didn't content match the audio, so I can embed it here. Give it a watch below, and see more from the concert at the above links! 

Finally for today, here's three shorter assorted updates from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• The Full Throttle Saloon has a new home, as they will make the four minute drive northwest from the former Primavera Hall to The Market Mall at 275 Second Line West! Owner Rosa Carello has reportedly leased space in the Cravings Diner location at the now-strip mall, but I'm not 100% sure what this means for Cravings (this SooToday article from last month indicated that that most of their staff were recently laid off due to financial difficulties). A grand re-opening is still to be announced, so we'll let you know when it is, let alone when concerts resume there!
• Over two years after Crooked Music closed, Sault Michigan finally has a new local music store, named Rockstars Music! Located at 212 Ashmun Street (beside Ozone of the North), they opened on September 13th, and offer gear for sale as well as studio recording space, instrument repair, and lessons on multiple instruments, with Tarnished/Crush frontman Alex Traynor and Nameless guitarist Mike East serving as instructors (as best as I can tell, Alex is the owner). No word on if they'll sell local CDs like Crooked/Grooves Music did, but it's great to see a new music store back in the EUP, so stop in weekdays from 11:00 AM-5:00 PM!
• In the wake of the passing of Canadian hard rock singer Sass Jordan last week, The Sault Star re-published the interview that Jeffrey Ougler conducted with her in August 2008 in advance of her last local appearance at the Bell Border Jam festival in Sault Ontario. The article erroneously dates the show to "the fall of 2008" and otherwise stripped out mentions of the now 18-year old event, but it's a good interview with Sass reflecting on the ups and downs of her career, whether she could have theoretically auditioned for Canadian Idol, and the future of the music industry. Kudos to the paper for reposting the interview, and R.I.P. Sass!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (PetFest & Bimbo), Plus The Sale Of Misty's Fifties!!

Let's try to quell a new backlog of stories that's growing around here, via two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming weeks, plus news on a familiar local nightclub changing hands, so here's what you should know!

The next multi-band concert at the Pizza Hut in Sault Michigan will go down on Friday, October 23rd! Just one day removed from this year's LSSU Battle of the Bands (auditions close on Sunday), this Serious Business-promoted concert will actually feature three touring bands, two of which have been in the EUP in the past. Your headliners here are Detroit experimental/prog rock duo MRKT, while also making the trip to the Soo in two & a half weeks are Marquette art punk duo Bimbo (who headlined at Pizza Hut in May), and Muskegon "weirdo punk" trio Violet Scum, who you may remember headlining at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley in May of last year. There's a lot of eclectic sounds from these three bands, so do check them all out for a sampler of what to expect! Local punk duo About:Blank (who opened for both Bimbo and Violet Scum's prior shows in the EUP) will kick off the evening.

Parker & Kade will be less than a week removed from their headlining show at The Merch, and hopefully they keep their recent momentum up well here! This 18+ concert has a 7:00 PM start time, and admission will be $15, identical to the Bimbo show in May. Looks like another intriguing concert on Ashmun Street ahead, so if you're in the EUP or are able & willing to cross the border, don't bypass this action! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, a huge fundraiser concert will take place at Blaster Powerhouse in Sault Ontario on Saturday, November 21st named PetFest! As the name may suggest, this event will be in support of The Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society, with 100% of proceeds going there, so if you wanna help animals in need and the work that goes into their care and adoption, consider coming out! Based on band stature, I'm assuming that the lineup listed on the poster and Facebook event page is the planned running order top-to-bottom and left-to-right, so if that is true, death metal veterans Eden Plague (the former Bear Hunters) are headlining in a rare appearance at the former Soo Blaster. Expect some "life metal" from these brutal local mainstays next month! Sporadically seen alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will co-headline in their second show of the year, and if you know anything about frontman Chris Nielsen's day job, you'll know that they'll be on board with a pet charity concert like this!

Also scheduled next month are hard/blues rock trio Stones & Crows, alt-hard rock quartet The Reeves, blues rock musician (and mayoral candidate!) Josh "The Preacher" McNally & his Jackleg Band, new local pop punk/emo band Homeroom Hero in just their second concert (interesting seeing Larry sharing a bill with A Dire Setback for the first time since he left that band), and talented young hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe. The show will be opened by former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci, who is actually promoting this concert, so kudos to him for supporting a great organization and cause like this! Andrew has been slowly re-acclimating into the live scene in mid-late 2026, as fans who recall his wildfire smoke-cancelled open mic appearance at Rotaryfest will be aware, but how does his modern acoustic solo set sound? Find out next month! PetFest takes place eight days before this year's Toystock, in case you were wondering.

Tickets for this all ages event will be $20, and are on sale at this link and presumably at Blaster Powerhouse (no idea if Andrew or the bands can hook you up, or if at-the-door admission will stay at $20). The concert begins at 4:00 PM and will run until midnight, but I don't know if every act gets an hour's timeslot to perform, set up, and tear down, or if there will be variable set times. This looks like a great time and great value for fans of active local bands, especially original ones, so visit the above links for more details!

Finally, here's some big news for fans of a local venue or two, as Beck's Bar owner Becky Sawyer has bought a second local nightclub, namely Misty's Fifties! The news was announced in this SooToday article by Brandon Walker last week. A reason for Lori selling the 658 Second Line West nightclub after 33 years was not announced, but Becky used to work there, and spoke positively of the memories behind the bar there. Of course, she has done a very strong job with the former Vibe Lounge in the past year+, and Beck's is just a 3 minute drive from Misty's straight down Goulais Avenue, so oversight of the two bars should be simple enough. Misty's Facebook page was last updated on September 1st, and Becky has signalled "that there are some amazing changes coming". One appears to be new signage at the building proper, as that was recently taken down (not the proper street sign yet.)

Misty's will be closed "for a few weeks" for the revamp, renovations, and some training, but Becky vows to honour the history of the bar since it opened in the 1990s. SMS readers will best know Misty's from frequent matinee concerts from Tym Morrison and, most recently, TNT, but its size has left it more amenable to acoustic acts (nothing that I was aware of was scheduled there during the renovations). Will that continue? What all is and isn't changing beyond the signage? We'll let you know when the bar reopens, but visit the above links for more details, best of luck to Lori in what's coming next, and stay tuned for more news and notes shortly! Thanks everyone!