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

As it's the 18th of the month, it's now time for this month's new poll to kick off, and also, time to end last month's poll! As you may remember, last month's poll posed this question to you guys: What was your favourite local metal/hard rock concert of 2013? We got a very solid 50 votes in the past month (2 higher than in the late 2013 poll), so thanks to everyone for voting, but who won our last "favourite _____ of 2013" polls? The results are below!

The Dayglo Abortions at The Rosie on September 9th (17 votes, 34%)
Haggith at The Algonquin Pub on December 7th (13 votes, 26%)
40 Sons at The Rockstar Bar on February 28th (9 votes, 18%)
The Bear Hunters at The Oddfellows Hall on October 30th (2 votes, 4%)
Biipiigwan at The Moose Lodge on November 24th (1 vote, 2%)
Airbourne at The Canadian Nightclub on August 19th (1 vote, 2%)
Bunchofuckingoofs at The Roosevelt Hotel on August 12th (1 vote, 2%)
Swampstravaganza III at Oddfellows Hall on August 10th (1 vote, 2%)
Frightlight at The Roosevelt Hotel on August 1st (1 vote, 2%)
The Golers at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 4th (1 vote, 2%)
The Golers at The Roosevelt Hotel on June 20th (1 vote, 2%)
Skeletonwitch at The Canadian Nightclub on June 3rd (1 vote, 2%)
Other (1 vote, 2%)
The Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands from April 3rd-24th (0 votes)
The Ripcordz at The Algonquin Pub on April 13th (0 votes)
The Crusade at The Canadian Nightclub on May 20th (0 votes)
Striker at The Roosevelt Hotel on June 25th (0 votes)
Oddzfest 2013 at The Oddfellows Hall on July 26th (0 votes)
The Ripcordz at The Roosevelt Hotel on October 26th (0 votes)
Bam Margera at The Canadian on December 14th (0 votes)

What do you guys think? In ascending order, I'm very surprised by the amount of shows that got 0 votes, especially as all received at least one in the half year polls, including the early 2013-winning Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, and both of last year's Ripcordz shows (which combined for 7 votes!) It's all in who votes, I guess. 8 shows (and "Other") were tied for fifth with a single vote, including a surprising 5 vote dropoff for Frightlight's short film benefit last August, but most finished in an appropriate location given their totals in their predecessor polls. Fourth place went to the Devil's Night show at The Oddfellows Hall last fall (which was only a slight drop from the half-year poll), while in the biggest surprise of all, the first 40 Sons show from last year surged from 1 to 9 votes! More fans must have been on the site in the past month than in the summer! Again though, the late 2013 poll's top 2 voted shows held their spots for the full year poll, with the Haggith farewell show holding steady in 2nd, and in 1st place with 17 votes (34% of the total) was The Dayglo Abortions' gig at The Rosie on September 9th!

I'm still impressed with how well the most recent Dayglo concert has done in these polls, especially given the rainstorm's severe impact on the turnout, but longtime fans of theirs will know exactly what a great show that they put on, and it was well worth the weather!  As one of the last major metal/punk shows at The Rosie, it's extra notable in hindsight too. Thanks to everyone for voting, and here's to a great 2014!

As for this month's poll, I thought I'd cover a topic I've debated doing for a while, but in the wake of some recent concert venue closures and changes in the area, this makes sense to see where people's hearts lie. With that said, here's this month's question: Which of these recently closed local concert venues do you miss seeing metal/hard rock shows at the most? I often hear complaints about there being few places for local metal bands to play at, and we have lost a few notable venues in the last 5 years, but which one has the most fan support nowadays? To be included in the poll, the venue must have closed in the given incarnation in the past 5 years (so no Club Princess), it can't be still open in the form we last knew (i.e. Runway Park), and it must have hosted multiple bands that are on the SMS (so no Bottoms' Up Lounge.) For sake of clarification, we haven't included venues that have the same general band roster despite a name and theme change, hence the absence of The Nicolet Tavern & Madison's Pub.

With that said, I've chosen 8 recently closed concert venues in Sault Ontario to focus on this month (plus two more general options for fans who don't agree with the 8 given), so read on below for your choices in this month's poll!

The original Coch's Corner: Though Coch's Corner lives on at the former Foggy Notions location, I know there are fans who miss it's prior location underneath the former Days Inn on Bay Street, which became a Holiday Inn Express shortly after Coch's moved in early 2012. Unlike it's current incarnation, the old Coch's Corner welcomed non-acoustic metal and punk bands, and hosted many of J.D. Pearce's late 2000s shows, but do you miss the old Coch's Corner's inviting downtown locale?

The Eastgate Hotel: This is a bit of a cheat given that The Eastgate was long closed by the time of it's demolition in 2010, but it was still an active bar as recently as 2006, and there were still some fans holding out hope that it'd return as an active bar/venue in the late 2000s. Now the site of Algoma Insurance parking, The Eastgate was once a go-to location for metal concerts back in the day, but do you miss it more than it's more recent counterparts?

Foggy Notions: The other venue that ended as we knew it due to Coch's Corner's move into it's building in 2012, Foggy Notions (last known as Feedback in late 2011) was a long-time mainstay for music fans at 708 Queen Street East, and before then at 624 Bay Street under a few different owners, hosting a number of notable local and out of town bands, including many metal bands! Small but inviting, do you miss Foggy's more than other recent closed venues?

GLOW/The Other Place: I've long heard discussion relating to buying this Gore Street venue and re-opening it, but nothing has came out since GLOW closed it's doors for the last time in late 2010. Also briefly known as the Nite-Life Dance Club, fans may remember a number of big metal shows there in 2007 & 2008 under it's Other Place moniker, and it had a successful run for dance fans too, but do you miss the venue at 119 Gore more than the rest?

The Outback: The closure & demolition of Sault College's on-campus bar and concert venue in early 2012 may have been a long-term gain in order to facilitate their new Student Wellness Centre (which hosts The Outback's successor Odeno), but there are bound to be many Sault College alumni (like myself) who miss The Outback for it's occasional heavier concerts and memorial events! Do you miss The Outback the most?

The Roosevelt Hotel: Admittedly, the jury's still out on the future of this Korah Road venue as a metal host after recent news media hinted that the now renamed Reggie's West is open to booking out of town bands, but given the original Reggie's Place's full country theme, some fans still have reservations. Largely thanks to The Rosie's former metal & punk night series', it became a go-to spot for concerts in the early 2010s, but is it your most missed recent venue?

Smack Daddy's/Bossy's: This recently closed central bar & venue was most active in mid-2011 as Bossy's Pub N' Grub for metal bookings (including Tym Morrison, Hollow, and more), but longtime patrons probably know it best as Smack Daddy's Bar & Grill. Never as active for SMS-covered concerts as other choices in this poll, Smack Daddy's is being torn down this year to construct office buildings, but will you miss it more than other examples?

The Vibe Lounge: Active as a bar & venue in 2010 & 2011, The Vibe Lounge on Goulais Avenue served fans even deeper into the west end than The Rosie, and it hosted a fair amount of (largely cover) hard rock bands during it's short run. Still the home of the Polish-Canadian Hall (which has recently been a popular wrestling venue), The Vibe Lounge did have some loyal fans when open, but were you among them?

Other: Do you not particularly miss any of these concert venues the most? Is there another closed concert venue that you miss more than these 8? Were you thinking of an older venue like The Windsor Park Hotel or the Ramada Inn? Maybe one that's just been inactive recently, like the Bellevue Park Bandshell? If for any reason, you don't miss any of the above bars and venues, vote for "Other"!

VOTE TODAY!! You have until June 18th to cast your votes, so let's see what you guys think about this month's topic, and let's see what people's general thoughts are on closed concert spots! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news later today! Thanks everyone!