LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Love 'N Revenge & Seax), Plus New Soundcheck Videos!!

Here's a new news post for your Sunday afternoon reading, which is half devoted to new videos from a prominent local band on the covers circuit, but first, let's kick things off with two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS featuring touring performers from years past!

Los Angeles arena rock/glam metal quartet Love 'N Revenge will return to Sault Ste. Marie when they headline at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, August 24th! Many of you may recall seeing this band (fronted by ex-Rockarma singer Damon Kelly) when they opened for Dokken at what's now GFL Memorial Gardens back in September 2017, and fresh off of a tour run opening for The Bulletboys, they should have momentum on their side when they bring their Hair Scare-ready brand of original glam metal songs to a local audience once again! I know Love 'N Revenge were well received at the Gardens two years ago, but how will things go next month? The Facebook event page advertises former Syre drummer Jamie Constant as a special guest, and while specifics weren't given, it seems more likely that Jamie has a solo act of some kind, as he's not Love 'N Revenge's drummer. Syre were a big name as Canadian hair metal went back in the day, my uncle would be excited!

A 19+ show as usual for The Rockstar Bar, this concert will have a low $5 cover charge, and an early 8:00 PM start time is advertised. If you love hair and glam metal, you won't want to miss out on all of the action here next month, so visit the above links for much more on this intriguing concert!

Next up, Worcester, Massachusetts speed metal quintet Seax will make their local concert debut on Sunday, September 1st when they rock Soo Blaster! Touring in support of their new CD "Fallout Rituals", their fast paced NWOBHM-inspired sound, strong instrumentation, and liberal sprinkling of falsetto vocals should attract many old school metalheads in just over a month's time, and it's great to welcome Seax north of the border! Joining them on the Canadian/Pacific Northwest leg of the "Speed Inferno Tour 2019, pt. 2 is Montreal thrash metal trio Warsenal, who local fans may recall seeing as headliners at the third Swampstravaganza at The Oddfellows Hall back in August 2013. Though it's been a long 6 year wait for Warsenal's Sault Ste. Marie return, their grittier, intense brand of speed metal will serve as a worthy compliment here! Lastly, local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters (who opened for Warsenal locally in 2013) will kick off this show in their Soo Blaster (and 2019) debut!

Marking just their second live appearance since October 2017, it's great to see The Bear Hunters finally back on stage after another wait of far too long, so don't miss out then! Note that earlier advertising of an additional "special guest" has since been removed. Presumably promoted in-house at Soo Blaster, this 19+ show has a $10 cover charge at the door, and while an 8:00 PM start time is listed, the early start time isn't all that necessary, as this is the Labour Day long weekend, so many of us will be off work on Monday the 2nd. This should be a great night of fast paced metal intensity, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close today with new videos of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck from a couple of recent shows of theirs! Six videos were posted onto drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel last week,  including three from their Thursday, July 18th headlining slot at Rotaryfest's Stage 1, where they covered Night Ranger's "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", Styx's "Too Much Time On My Hands" (as also filmed for Chris Paci's channel), and as embedded below, Kenny Loggins' "Footloose." Largely filmed from the lawn in front of the Stage 1 seating, you do get a good angle of dancing fans, but the visual quality isn't great on these videos. The vertical camera angle and nighttime setting are part of it, but overexposed lighting doesn't help at all, and it's hard to make out any details as a result. Musically, these hold up, and the guys handle all three covers with aplomb, so give them a look above & below!



The other three new Soundcheck videos come from an Esquire Club concert two weeks ago, one which featured guest bassist Cory Valentine in lieu of Paul Belair. These videos include covers of Honeymoon Suite's "New Girl Now", an impromptu rendition of The Cult's "Wild Flower", and as embedded below, "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" once again. Mostly filmed on a stationary camera with some panning and scanning, the songs sound good again, and the horizontal camera is a huge help, but the washed out colours aren't optimal, and Terry and/or Cory are often cut off in frame. Give all of Glen's new Soundcheck videos a look above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review and more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!