Friday, September 18, 2009

Previews Of This Weekend's Shows, A New Poll, And More!!

It's time to update you guys once again, for we have two local metal shows this weekend to preview! Also, today's the day to post a new poll on the SMS, and go over the results from last month's poll! Plus, I have some blog updates and some Woods of Ypres and WLSO news, so let's kick things off with the local concert previews for this weekend!

Firstly, Sault Michigan grunge rockers Half Stupid return to the live scene tonight! They will be among the performing acts at a September Music Festival tonight at 6:30 PM at The Big Bear Arena! The show will also feature Sault-area solo artist Amanda Rairigh, and another guest act (which may be Cherubic Red, but I can't reliably confirm that.) Tickets are just $5, there will be 50/50 tickets sold, and if you can go, I recommend you do! Half Stupid are a great band with a sound you don't hear much in the Sault area (just them and No Arrow that I can think of.) I can't wait to hear new material from these guys! For a preview, check out this video for their original song "The Pit & The Pendulum"!



Meanwhile, back in Ontario, local rock band Quite Frankly will have quite the gig tomorrow, when they play live at The John Rhodes Center following the Canadian Major Football League championship game between the Edmonton Stallions and your Sault Steelers! It looks like you have to see the game to see the performance, so tickets for it are $10, and you can buy them at The Canadian, Four Seasons Collectibles in The Station Mall, The Duke of Windsor Sport Shop on Queen Street, and at the pro shop at The Soo Pee Wee Arena! The game starts at 4:15 tomorrow afternoon, with Quite Frankly taking the stage whenever it ends! Visit the event pages for the game and the concert itself by clicking the links!

These guys (and girl) are definitely worth checking out if you can, and if you like football too, it might be a no-brainer to head to The John Rhodes Center tomorrow! For a preview, here's a clip of Quite Frankly covering the AC/DC classic "Thunderstruck" from a recent show at The Speakeasy!



And if I hear anything out of these shows, I'll be sure to share them with you all! Now, it's time to shut down another monthly poll on the SMS! Now, if you guys remember correctly, last month's question was: What band merchandise would you be most likely to buy at local shows? Only 12 votes, but the results are quite clear: You guys want t-shirts! 58% of votes went to that choice, and I can see why! Band shirts are an easy way to show that you're a fan of a band, and they will last a while as long as you take care of them! Stickers and buttons finished second with 25% of the votes, with CDs 3rd with 17%, and every other choice (patches, hoodies, hats/toques, posters/pictures, anything affordable, and other) had no votes. I expected more votes for CDs and less for stickers and buttons, but hey, it shows what people want!

So now it's time for a new poll, and I figured that with their new album coming out next month, it's only fitting to do a poll about Woods of Ypres to lead up to that! And one question popped up in my head more than others. So I pose this question to you guys: What is your favourite Woods of Ypres song? I picked songs by their popularity and recognizability through some Google searching, with the picks weighted out by what albums they were on. Here are your choices!

Allure Of The Earth
Awaiting the Inevitable
Crossing the 45th Parallel
December In Windsor
Distractions of Living Alone
End Of Tradition
The Northern Cold
Shedding The Deadwood
Song Of Redemption
The Sun Was In My Eyes: Part Doom
The Will To Give
Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground
Other

VOTE TODAY!!! I wonder which song is the favourite. A couple seem more likely than others, but I wonder if you guys will pick something different? Let's see more than 12 people this month, OK?

Now, here's an update from local radio station WLSO: The Sounds of Lake State, which you can find at 90.1 FM. As you guys know, WLSO is the campus radio station at LSSU, so now that the fall semester has begun, the radio shows have returned as well! And although I can't confirm what genre some shows are, I do know that there are a couple of metal shows! One is The Delta Dial, which airs Tuesdays at 11:00 AM for 2 hours, and airs everything from classic rock to metal! This show also has a Facebook group, which you can access at this location! And immediately after that, the metal continues with A Touch of Class, which runs until 3:00 PM! No page for it, but according to WLSO's site, it's definitely metal! Finally, I can confirm that Fridays at 5:00 PM, Dentistry Before Novacaine is another metal show, and it runs untill 7:00 PM!

I don't know much about the other two shows, but The Delta Dial's Facebook group is now in the Other Local Metal Links, and all three shows (as well as any show on WLSO) have request lines! If you wanna call in to request some metal, call (906) 635-2863! And I'll update you guys if I find out any more about these and any other metal shows on WLSO!

Next, you may have noticed a bit of a difference to the SMS lately. Well, I did some more cleaning up to the Other Local Metal Links! I have created new link sections for local music stores/lesson shops, and they're now underneath the Venue Contact Info on both sides of the page! They include all the local music stores that appeal to us metalheads, including addresses and phone numbers. One new store has been added: Music Depot, on Gore Street in Sault Ontario. It lacks a site, but it's in that section now!

I also created a section for local rock radio stations, so for contact info for Rock 101, Energy Rock Radio, The Bear, and WLSO, you can find that on the right of the page under the Sault Michigan Music Stores section! Also, I'm experimenting with colour coding some links by which Sault something's in (red for Ontario, blue for Michigan.) Just testing to see if it looks alright, give me feedback if you like it or not!

And finally, remember when I mentioned that the special edition vinyl for Woods of Ypres' song "Allure Of The Earth" featured a special cover by Australian cellists Sebastian Simpson and Chris Doig? Well, if you don't wanna buy the vinyl to hear it, good news! It's been posted onto YouTube by user KSCIAA! It's really well done, and puts a more orchestral feel to an already great song! Check it out right below this paragraph! And if you want the vinyl of Allure of the Earth with this song, visit this location for details!



That's all for today, I'll be back very soon with more local metal news and updates! Thanks everyone!

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