Weekend Concert Previews, Poll Results, & This Month's New Poll!

Greetings metalheads! The weekend's almost upon us, and as usual, there's concerts to preview! Four in fact (remember, the Garden of Bedlam fundraiser is postponed, details in yesterday's post), so I'll tell you what you need to know about this weekend's metal concert schedule! And then, it's poll time, we'll discuss the results of last month's poll and go over this month's! But now, let's start with the weekend previews!

As I first told you guys about yesterday on short notice, local hard rock cover band Turner Up will be back at The Nicolet Tavern for the second straight weekend tomorrow night and Saturday night! Last weekend's set went over so well, they're back already, so you know they must do an entertaining show! Full of talented local music veterans, expect a great night of your favourite covers this weekend! I believe both shows have a start time of 9:30 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and I'd assume there's a 19+ age limit. For full details and to confirm your attendance, visit the official Facebook event page! And if you miss them this weekend, just head to Foggy Notions on Wednesdays to check out Turner Up at weekly jam nights! But this is a proper full concert set, so make sure to consider it! Check out more from Turner Up at their official Facebook group! No video or audio to share yet, hopefully I will soon!

Then on Saturday, get ready for some original crash music from the original crash band! Sykotyk Rampage will hit The Outback at Sault College for their first non-battle of the bands performance since October when they headline this year's Tyler Yuke Memorial Night concert! These have been held in honour of Tyler's memory since 2003 when he tragically died, and his former campus has paid tribute to him ever since! Usually we don't hear about the lineups at the Tyler Yuke Memorial shows, but this time, Sykotyk Rampage are the announced headliners, so get your rocking shoes on! I also understand that there will be open mic performances before Sykotyk Rampage take the stage, which are a common custom at these events. Should be some good stuff there too! Another band named "6th Edition" is credited on the Facebook event page, but I have never heard of them, can anyone help? The festivities start at 8:00 PM, but Sykotyk Rampage have an announced start time for their set at 10:00 PM. I haven't seen any of the "You must be a student or be signed in by a student" rules, so that little inconvenience may not be a problem this time! There is a cover charge by donation to the Sault College music chapter, and it actually IS an all ages show!

Should be a fun show, the unique experience that is Sykotyk Rampage is back for another fun concert, though hopefully the sound's working better than it was at the October show. With the Garden of Bedlam postponement, I'm considering heading to The Outback on Saturday for this one instead, and hopefully some of you guys can make it out too! Confirm your attendance at this location, check out more from Sykotyk Rampage on SoundClick, and for a preview, here's one of the band's videos for the song "Called In Dead" live at the Scotties Tournament/Sault College Battle from last month!



And this leads us to Monday, for a major concert that, though not a "metal concert" on the surface, does count, and I'll explain why. This show is more of a punk show than anything, and a big one at that, as Juno winning Mississauga punk rockers Billy Talent will be headlining at The Essar Center! But what makes this show metal? The Cancer Bats, that's what! A popular metalcore band from Toronto, they're the first band playing on Monday night, in support of Billy Talent, St. Catharines screamo band Alexisonfire, and Florida punk rockers Against Me! All three of those bands have huge followings, especially Billy Talent, best known for hit songs like "Try Honesty" and "Rusted From The Rain"! But of course, as this is The Sault Metal Scene, we must give the metal band it's due! This is actually The Cancer Bats' second show in Sault Ontario, playing here with The Chintzy Slicks way back on June 23, 2006, at The Speakeasy! They're currently touring in support of their upcoming studio album "Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones", and should bring a good onslaught of metalcore to open the show on Monday!

So, how can you get tickets? Well, you can still order them online from The Essar Center's website or LiveNation, click here for all ordering details! Or just click here, might be easier! You can also buy them at The Essar Center's box office, or by calling 1-866-775-9422. All tickets, floor or not, are $42.50, and if that seems steep, keep in mind the bands you're getting combined! And we've had lesser shows priced higher, so it could be worse. Doors open kinda early, at 5:45 PM on Monday, with The Cancer Bats kicking off the show at 6:45 PM! If you're into punk rock and screamo, you'll wanna be at The Essar Center on Monday night! And hopefully, if you're a metalhead as well, The Cancer Bats will bust out some heavy stuff to open the show! I'm not big on the three other bands, so I won't be there, but I hope it's a huge success! For a preview, here's The Cancer Bats' newest video, for their Beastie Boys cover "Sabotage"!



And now, it's poll time! Since today is the 18th of the month, it's time to close last month's poll, discuss the results, and launch the newest poll! As you may recall, last month's question was "What was your favourite metal concert in Sault Ontario in 2009?" Only 46 votes, which isn't bad, though I was hoping we'd crack 70 again. Because there's a ton of choices, I'll just list the results, then go over them quickly afterwards, and here they are!

Frightlight & Half Past at Coch's Corner, October 31 (13 votes, 28%)
Kiss Battle of the Bands at The Canadian, Nov. 29-Dec. 1 (5 votes, 11%)
Lion Ride at The Rockstar Bar, December 27 (5 votes, 11%)
Cattle Decapitation at The Oddfellows Hall, April 12th (3 votes, 7%)
Caveman Morrison at various venues, December (3 votes, 7%)
Sense of Truth at Foggy Notions, December 18 (3 votes, 7%)
Detroit & Destroilet at Coch's Corner, December 29 (3 votes, 7%)
YMCA Battle of the Bands at The Grand Theater, March 20 (2 votes, 4%)
Garden of Bedlam at The Canadian Nightclub, July 3 (2 votes, 4%)
Garden of Bedlam at The Canadian Nightclub, October 17 (2 votes, 4%)
Other (2 votes, 4%)
Ministry of Zen & Fingerbone at Coch's Corner, January 24 (1 vote, 2%)
Upheaval of an Exorcist at The Oddfellows Hall, October 30 (1 vote, 2%)
Garden of Bedlam at Madison's Pub, December 5 (1 vote, 2%)
Blessed By A Broken Heart at The Oddfellows Hall, Jan. 9 (0 votes)
Who Made Who at The Canadian Nightclub, May 15 (0 votes)
Today I Caught The Plague at Oddfellows Hall, June 11 (0 votes)
Woods of Ypres & Inflict at The Speakeasy, August 16 (0 votes)
Lion Ride at Coch's Corner, August 28 (0 votes)
Ultraviolence at Coch's Corner, September 3 (0 votes)
Grady & Domenica at The Canadian Nightclub, October 25 (0 votes)

Well to start, a few of the concerts that got no votes really surprised me, especially the Woods of Ypres show! NO ONE picked it? Very odd. I also find the fact that Ministry of Zen only getting one vote is odd too when you consider that people voted that as their favourite show in the first half of 2009 on the SMS poll in July! The rest of the choices with one or no votes I can at least understand to varying degrees. For the choices with two votes, I'm glad that "Other" is low, so I know people approved of my choices, and I find it strange that Garden of Bedlam-headlined concerts didn't individually do too well, but if you combine them all, it'd be near the top. Nothing above that really surprises me, except for first place: Frightlight, Half Past, and Glamoween at Coch's Corner from Halloween! If you'd have asked me to place a bet on what show would win, I'd have said the Kiss Battle, but wow! 13 votes came in for that, I suppose horror-influenced punk/metal and the return of Half Past won a lot of support! I missed the show too, damnit! Also, just another observation: Of all the shows with 3 or more votes, only one (Cattle Decapitation) took place earlier than October. Was the concert quality better later in the year, or were they just fresh in our minds? Things to think about!

So now it's time for a new poll, and for the first time in 2010, we have a question not relating to the best "something" of 2009! This time, we're dipping into recent events, mostly the local FM radio situation. A lot of you guys are probably still disappointed that we lost The Bear, and now that it's gone, we have just one local rock station, Rock 101...well, two if you count when WLSO airs metal....and maybe three if your radio is strong enough to pick up Real Rock 105.1 out of Cheboygan. You get my point though, FM radio in Sault Ste. Marie has a lot less variety and choice for the rock lover now that we have one less rock station. I'm among you guys who'd like to see something new or changed in the area to bring back what is missed, but what should be done? I pose this question: What would you like to see happen in the local FM rock radio scene? Here are your choices!

(Note: None of the choices involve format changes to existing stations. I don't want drastic changes to what we have, that'd piss off a lot of people in itself. So if you wanna say "OMG I WANT Q104 TO BE A DEATH METAL STATION", vote for "Other". Also, "a new active rock station" isn't a choice because we have one, Rock 101, and it works just fine!)

A new classic rock station: After all, we lost a classic rock station when our Bear station, WIHC in Newberry, wasn't purchased by Sovereign Communications, so a whole radio format disappeared from the area. Classic rock fans would no doubt like to see a classic rock station of some type here again, and some probably think Rock 101 airs too much new stuff anyway. Would you like this to occur at some point?

A new modern rock station: We're talking new stuff here, rock from the past 10-15 years. We used to be able to sometimes pick up a modern rock station here, WLJZ 94.5 out of Mackinac City, which simulcast Northern Michigan's Modern Rock, The Zone, from 2000-2006. Then the guys in Mackinac abandoned the simulcast to launch a variety station, which annoyed me. And I'm sure some modern rock fans think Rock 101 airs too much classic stuff. But is there a market for a rock station catered to younger fans for just recent stuff in the area? Would it be more successful than a new classic rock station?

A rock station in Sault Ontario: Do you know that we only have two FM radio stations fully based out of Sault Ontario that air mostly music? Just Q104 and EZ Rock, and no, I don't count EZ Rock as a "rock" station like we mean here. We used to have more stations on AM, but those got shut down in 1992. I don't think we've ever had a full "rock" station on FM radio in Sault Ontario, wouldn't you say we're overdue? It'd give more locals some jobs, and it's give Canadian bands much needed exposure! And of course, it'd be variety! What do you guys think?

An AM radio rock station: Is it cheating to include AM as a choice for what do about FM radio? Maybe, but most radios pick up AM reception, so it counts! Remember, AM radio isn't just for tourism and talk programs, we do have AM music stations (WNBY 1450 AM airs classic country, for example.) We only have 4 AM stations, and there's plenty of open space for a rock station there, even if it isn't as convenient or clear as FM. Some of you had no problem with CKCY and CFYN on AM way back, I'm sure us younglings could manage! Would you prefer this?

Simulcast an existing station: ...Or in easier terms, air what some other Michigan/Ontario station airs, like how MCTV in the Sault simulcasts what Sudbury produces. This is not a foreign concept, The Bear was part of a simulcast, as are numerous existing local stations (CBC Radio One, for example.) It would be cheaper than actually starting a brand new station, I assume, though there admittedly wouldn't be much of a local connection compared to something actually based here. What do you guys think of simulcasting a station?

Bring back The Bear: Ah yes, there's lots of sentiment for this idea, especially in the aftermath of the local radio buyout stuff. Lots of us miss The Bear, Bob & Tom, Alice Cooper, and the great classic rock! It still lives on in Glen Arbor and Cadillac, so we're left out in the cold now. Essentially, this is the same choice as simulcasting, but this would be having a new company get the rights to simulcast The Bear up here once again. Unlikely, but you never know! I'm for it, is this what you guys would want? Or is there a better option?

More rock music on WLSO: Admittedly, this is an idea that will likely differ all the time, as WLSO, a college radio station, has programming schedule changes every semester thanks to the student-programmed blocks and shows. The Sounds of Lake State airs some real good stuff if you tune in at the right time, lots of more obscure and underground metal bands depending on the time you turn your dial to 90.1 FM, but it's mostly a variety of music and talk programs. A rock-centric format is unlikely as long as WLSO lets students choose the programming (which I completely support), but if WLSO played it more, would it be more of a suitable change/alternative?

Move Energy Rock Radio to FM radio: If you count internet radio with FM and AM, then Sault Ontario DOES have a rock radio station, and it's Energy Rock Radio! Ryan McQueen and the guys over there have done a great job with ERR, awesome playlists and fan interaction, I highly recommend you listen! A move to FM seems unlikely, especially with likely costs and rules and what-have-you, but if you're an Energy Rock Radio fan, wouldn't it be cool to just turn the dial to listen to it when you can't get to a computer?

Take the Hounds games off of Rock 101: The Sault's Rock Station is by far my favourite local station, it has been for years! And now, it's the only station we have where the odds are good that you'll get hard rock when you tune in. However, thanks to their airing of Soo Greyhounds games, we lose over 200 hours of time that used to feature music, and that doesn't count The Denny Lambert Show. I remember when Rock 101 acquired the Greyhounds radio rights from Q104, many friends of mine were pissed about that. I don't mind as much, though I do prefer to actually watch the games, but with few options for other rock stations to flip to during the game, what's a rock/metal lover to do? Would you pick this choice?

I'm happy with what we have currently: Are you in the boat that's just fine with Rock 101 alone? Is WLSO a good enough second choice, when something good comes on? Don't really miss The Bear at all? Or are you a devoted fan of some non-rock station? Vote here!

I don't listen to FM radio: Ah, so none of this affects you. If you're the type that would rather listen to CDs, mp3s, satellite radio, cassettes, vinyls, 8-tracks, or nothing at all, vote here!

Other: Did I miss something you'd prefer to see happen in the local rock scene? Vote for it here!

VOTE TODAY!!! This will be really interesting to see what you guys would want out of the local FM rock radio situation, because we really could use something to give the area more variety and choices in the rock we listen to! That's all for now, I'll be back with news and updates soon, hopefully!