Last Month's Poll Results & This Month's New Poll!!

Well guys, it's time to close up last month's poll. detail the results, and then unveil our new poll! Befoe I start, I just want to quickly say that the results from both halves of the poll, including the restart, have been combined for the below results, so the totals are larger than the poll results you saw if you checked the status at all. As you may remember, last month's poll question was "What was the biggest local metal news story of 2010?", and we got a pretty high vote total when all was said and done, so thanks to all who voted! Here's the final results, followed by my analysis:

As It Stands' return (58 votes)
CD Plus' closure (13 votes)
The "secret" Coch's Corner show (8 votes)
The Eastgate Hotel's demolition (6 votes)
Kiss finally come to Sault Ontario (5 votes)
The Oddfellows Hall's return of all ages shows (4 votes)
The Roosevelt Hotel's return to concert booking (4 votes)
Bryan Belleau parts ways with Woods of Ypres (2 votes)
Garden of Bedlam headline The Second Stage (2 votes)
Papa Fogals' Chair's reunion show (2 votes)
Woods of Ypres signing with Earache Records (2 votes)
Frightlight releasing "It's A...Live!" (1 vote)
Lion Ride unveil new material (1 vote)
Miguel Gauthier's move from Sault Ste. Marie (1 vote)
Mike Haggith's local debut (1 vote)
Other (1 vote)
Algoma Hope4Haiti (0 votes)
Gates of Winter's return (0 votes)
Phatstick's return to Sault Ste. Marie (0 votes)
SBD releasing "Sonic Experiments" (0 votes)
Sykotyk Rampage releasing "Bella Disgusta" (0 votes)
Turner Up's lineup overhaul (0 votes)
Woods of Ypres' fake breakup (0 votes)

The options with no votes surprised me to an extent, as they all had levels of importance, from band status changes to album releases to charitable causes, and I hoped at least most of them would get a vote! The one vote choices didn't surprise me, except for Frightlight's new album release, which I assumed would get more support. The two vote selections are about where I thought they'd place, but Woods of Ypres' label deal should have gotten a bit more support! The sixth place tie between The Oddfellows Hall and The Rosie's return to concert booking was cool to see, and hopefully more concerts keep rolling in at both venues well into 2011! In fifth place with five votes was Kiss finally coming to Sault Ontario, which completely surprised me as I assumed it'd be first! Hey, it all depends who votes. The Eastgate Hotel's demolition placed in fourth with six votes, another surprising result. Nice to see such support for The Gate from readers, and I'd be right with you if I could have attended! Third was the "secret" Coch's Corner show, which I still can't spill the beans entirely on, but if you were there, you know why it placed so high! In a surprisingly high second place with thirteen votes was CD Plus' closure, a true testament to how popular it was with local music lovers, and how much it's missed!

And the winning choice, in a landslide victory, was As It Stands' return. Now I don't want to renew bad feelings over the whole "poll restart" thing, but let me say this: As It Stands are a talented and popular metalcore band, they successfully rallied their fans to vote, and it paid off! They are not and never have been scandalous, I just assumed (wrongfully or otherwise) that someone stuffed the ballot. Especially given the similar results in the second half of the poll, it made me realize that more people should rally their cause for these polls so that we can get high vote rates and more competitive finishes, but As It Stands deserve kudos! It's great to see them back, and here's to a great 2011 for them!

Now to our new poll! Like last year, I planned to do a "favourite concerts of 2010" poll this time around, but I decided to add an extra part to it this year. Last year, I just smushed the votegetters from the "first half of 2009" poll with a bunch of major concerts from the second half, and looking back on it, that's not exactly fair to the concerts from the last 6 months of that year. So for this year, we're doing two more "favourite concert" polls: One for the second half of 2010 this month, and a cumulative "best of 2010" poll next month! So this month, I pose this question to you guys: "What was your favourite local metal concert of the second half of 2010?" I picked 16 prominent metal and hard rock concerts from July 1st-December 31st, 2010 for this poll, and I want to state two notes about the choices. One, Turner Up & Caveman Morrison's headlining shows aren't listed because I'm likely including them in next month's "best of 2010" poll, so they're there already. Secondly, like our past favourite concert" polls, all listed choices have lineups consisting of at least 50% metal/hard rock bands. This excludes notable concerts like both Rotaryfest stages, Lion Ride's show at The Canadian last month, and Soo Music Mash-Up, among others, but you can vote for those in "Other" if you want! Now, here are your choices for this month's poll!

Bands: That's Chester
Venue: Many local concert venues
Date: Numerous weekends from January-December
Info: Local classic hard rock cover band That's Chester have kept a frentic pace through 2010 through dozens of concert dates in the Sault Ste. Marie area, with everywhere from The Canadian Nightclub to The Vibe Lounge welcoming these talented local veterans to their stages! I've heard many good things from That's Chester in recent years, and if you were at any of their concerts last year, was it/were they your favourite of recent months?

Bands: Frightlight and Marshmellow Gun
Venue: Coch's Corner
Date: July 10th
Info: On this July night, fans in attendance got to witness a live CD recording, and how often does that happen with local bands? Frightlight laid down some entertaining horror punk/metal for their debut EP "It's A...Live!" at this concert, with new local rock band Marshmellow Gun setting the tone with their unique mix of genres! Aside from the special nature of this concert, it was a fun night of music, but would it rank at the top for the last half of the year?

Bands: Kiss, The Envy, and Garden of Bedlam

Venue: The Essar Center

Date: August 10th
Info: In terms of sheer scope, this was arguably the biggest concert (of any genre) in Sault Ste. Marie last year! A rescheduling of the postponed December concert we won in Kiss' tour routing contest, the hard rock legends finally came to The Essar Center with pop rock band The Envy in tow, and of course, Kiss Battle of the Bands winners Garden of Bedlam in the opening slot! This was one hell of an experience, and would you rate it similarly high?

Bands: Skull Fist, The Isosceles Project, and Thekillingfield

Venue: The Canadian Nightclub

Date: August 11th
Info: A diverse night of metal was in store for the night after Kiss, when three touring metal bands rocked The Canadian in August! With Skull Fist's classic metal attack, The Isosceles Project's instrumental proficiency, and Thekillingfield's extreme assault, there was something for everyone at this show! This concert was very well recieved, and I can easily speak to it's awesomeness, but is it your favourite of late 2010?

Band: Endast, Blood Drunk, and As It Stands

Venue: Foggy Notions

Date: September 2nd
Info: More devastating out of town bands came to Sault Ontario to rock Foggy's on September 2nd, including Montreal death metal quintet Endast and Kamloops experimental grindcore band Blood Drunk! Though they both delivered a heavy and brutal concert, this was also notable for featuring As It Stands' local return after over a year away from the stage! With loads of moshable music in store, was this your favourite show from late last year?

Band: Crued

Venue: The Canadian Nightclub

Date: September 4th
Info: One of the more frequent hard rock tribute bands to come through Sault Ontario, Crued: The Notorious Motley Crue Tribute came to Sault Ontario for the second time in five months for a night full of classic Motley Crue songs at The Canadian Nightclub! Hair metal always has an audience in town, and Crued satisfied that craving with another concert full of Motley Crue hits, and they'll be back in April for more! Would you vote for this show?

Bands: Gunz N' FN' Rosez & Turner Up

Venue: The Rockstar Bar

Date: September 23rd
Info: As Crued's numerous stops here would suggest, tribute bands have a definite place locally, and that shown once again on September 23rd, when Gunz N' FN' Rosez returned to Sault Ontario for a night of Guns N' Roses classics at The Rockstar Bar! With local classic rockers Turner Up as openers, a lot of high quality music was in store for attendees at this concert! So, GNR fans, was this the best concert of the last six months?

Band: Browbeat, Fitswitch, Frightlight, and Caveman Morrison

Venue: Foggy Notions

Date: October 9th
Info: Local hard rock trio Browbeat made their long awaited return to the stage at this October show, but with frontman Dutch Vanderploeg battling some vocal issues, reinforcements were called in, including Frightlight and his then-bandmates in Caveman Morrison! This was a surprise in itself, but the biggest shock came when 4/5ths of the original Fitswitch lineup took the stage for a few songs at the end of the night! Was this your favourite show?

Band: WinkStinger, Frightlight, and The Mothermakers

Venue: Coch's Corner

Date: October 30th
Info: The fifth annual Coch's Corner Halloween party took place on Devil's Night last year, featuring headliners WinkStinger in just their second live concert! Frightlight returned as well for this show, with their debut album surprisingly launched that same night as well! Also featuring punk cover band The Mothermakers and lots of Halloween-related items and events, this was a fun way to spend Devil's Night, but is it your top show from late last year?

Band: Breaking The Fourth Wall, As It Stands, WinkStinger, and Bring The Fallen

Venue: The Roosevelt Hotel

Date: November 11th
Info: The well recieved metal nights at The Roosevelt Hotel kicked off on November 11th when Montreal hardcore band Breaking The Fourth Wall came to Sault Ontario once again for a night of metal! As It Stands, WinkStinger, and the returning Bring The Fallen also joined the bill for this first metal night! I've heard mixed things about this show specifically, but it did set the groundwork for a continuing series, and maybe you guys had fun? Vote then!

Band: Garden of Bedlam

Venue: The Rockstar Bar

Date: November 12th
Info: After many months of album recording and some high profile gigs with Kiss and at Rotaryfest, Garden of Bedlam returned to the site of their Kiss afterparty for a hard hitting metal concert at The Rockstar Bar in November! Despite some issues with the audio equipment (not the speakers, apparently), fans had a great time in their return to the stage, with anticipation growing for their next album! Was this your top show last year?

Bands: Grady and The Motorleague

Venue: The Grand Theater

Date: November 16th
Info: After over a year and a half without metal shows at The Grand Theater, one popped up in November, headlined by Austin, Texas country metal trio Grady! Their loud but proficient brand of southern fried hard rock left fans satisfied and wanting more, with openers The Motorleague setting the pace with a high energy punk sound! It was great being back at The Grand for a concert, but would you say it was your favourite late 2010 show?

Bands: Total Chaos, Bring The Fallen, Frightlight, RedD Monkey, Shit Liver, and Changing Waves

Venue: The Oddfellows Hall

Date: November 21st
Info: Even though the headliners at this concert were punk legends, there was more metal than punk on this lineup! California's own Total Chaos returned to Sault Ontario for this concert, featuring a great supporting lineup, including Bring The Fallen, Frightlight, cello/punk rockers RedD Monkey, and the live debuts of Shit Liver and Changing Waves! A stacked lineup and lots of punk and metal attitude made this a very notable concert last year, but do you agree?

Bands: Sativa Rose, State of Misery, Shit Liver, and The Bear Hunters

Venue: The Roosevelt Hotel

Date: December 23rd
Info: New local bands were the theme of the day at this Roosevelt Hotel metal night concert! With classic metal trio Sativa Rose and death metal bands State of Misery, Shit Liver, and the debuting Bear Hunters enlisted on the lineup, fans were treated to some of the best in the new wave of local metal bands in the area scene! I couldn't make this one, but I heard it was awesome, and if you were there, would you agree?

Band: The Mark Rand Band, Destroilet, and The Scary Uncles

Venue: Coch's Corner

Date: December 29th
Info: The holiday season kept getting heavier thanks to Lion Ride guitarist Mark Rand, who enlisted some of his local musician friends to lay down live versions of his solo project's original material for fans back home at Coch's Corner! With the returning Destroilet and local punk trio The Scary Uncles playing support, old school hardcore and punk fans were right at home at this concert! For a great night of aggression, would this have ranked #1 for you?

Band: Sativa Rose, The Bear Hunters, State of Misery, and WinkStinger

Venue: Foggy Notions

Date: December 31st
Info: If there was a heavier way to end 2010, I don't know if it! The Rosie's lineup from December 23rd (save for Shit Liver, who were replaced by WinkStinger) hit Foggy Notions on New Years Eve to ring in the New Year with tons of extreme and brutal metal! Family commitments precluded me from attending, but those who were there can speak to how heavy this show was! Was the last metal show of 2010 the best?

Other: If you wanna vote for another concert, metal or not, Sault Ontario or Sault Michigan, pick this choice! Remember, for ideas, bands like Lion Ride, Ultraviolence, The Entropy, 2112, Crush, Tym Morrison, Phatstick, and more rocked Sault Ontario in the last half of 2010, along with extra shows from some of the bands in the above choices! Vote here if your choice isn't above!

VOTE TODAY! I'm optimistic for a high total this month, and remember, the top voted choices for this month's poll will battle the top choices from our poll on the top shows from January-June 2010 in next month's poll! Stay tuned, and we'll have a new news post either tonight or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!