It's now time for our 172nd monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and continuing our impressively long backlog of new album releases this year, we are looking at local progressive metal duo Convergence's debut EP "One" on this snowy Halloween! Backdated with a December 20th, 2022 release date on Bandcamp, the album proper seemed to initially go live on their (now-deleted) Wix website in June 2023, when the former Kraken Mara announced their name change. While this is Convergence's first paid EP release, they did post two EPs named "Press Start" & "Game Over" on their website under their original name in 2021, but neither was buyable despite appearances, and "One" is comprised of final versions of 5/8ths of the songs from them. The EP has seen tweaks to the songs over time, and even briefly had a sixth song ("The Ebb") appended to it, but it was moved to their "Dead & Dreaming" single.
The two permanent members of Convergence are ex-Late & Loud guitarist Brendan Christie and his brother-in-law Jake Valois (who specifically plays bass is not credited), with programmed drums on most songs. Guest musicians include Kelowna,
B.C.-based drummer Cliff Aubut (from the band Stasis) on "The Woodward" & "Moon's Haunted", and former State of Misery/Valentine's Day Massacre singer Steve Errington-Rhodes (now of Prosector) on the opening track. With their Wix site down, you can now exclusively buy "One" on Bandcamp for $5 and stream it for free there as well (upon release, it initially cost $9.99). With five tracks running for about 25 minutes, let's begin this EP review!
"One" begins with "Stratus", which begins with Steve screaming overtop some strong progressive metal instrumentation, and while it's been over a decade since we last saw him on a local stage, it is very cool to hear his deathcore stylings again, which have grown so much! Convergence don't stick to a traditional song structure here, with it jumping from djent-laden metal to softer passages multiple times, but we get some strong soloing and a nice technicality, and Brendan & Jake have a strong chemistry throughout! I am admittedly more used to the instrumental version of this song, but it comes through very nicely with Steve's intensely diverse vocals, and hopefully they work with him again! Track #2 is "The Woodward", which is the EP's longest song. Electronic beeping leads into a slow drum intro from Cliff (you can tell that these are real drums) as the band proper builds things steadily in heaviness and aggression.
While not as heavy at its peak as "Stratus", it does have more of a techno influence via that intro beeping recurring, and it does gradually get heavier with more of a groove metal riff late. I wouldn't have shoved the guitar solo so late, let alone have it be so short, and I do think that this song was getting oddly repetitive despite the freedom of progressive metal, but Convergence showed their talents nicely here! "Miscreant" marks the EP's midpoint, and it's a more in-your-face song from the off, with strong chugging guitar work and more impressive technical songwriting, but the hammering of the programmed drums at two points was a little much. The quiet bridge is well placed, if with an oddly low volume to it, and it's a highlight track overall for prog metal fans, but the drum track and abrupt ending are noted. Fourth on "One" is its shortest track, "Antipath", which is the second and final song with just Brendan & Jake.
A solid prog metal riff is balanced out with softer, more droning guitar here, and I don't find that the two balance each other very well, especially with how repetitive the soft guitar line gets. As such, this song works best when the heavier riffing is dominating the proceedings, especially in the first minute and in the 2:00 stretch. While solidly composed, the structure and repetitive rhythm guitar doesn't make this a favourite track for me on this EP. The last song on offer is "Moon's Haunted", which has another electronic opening (almost retro video game-y) before Cliff's drumming kicks in, so fans of "The Woodward" will be familiar with how this opens! A definite improvement on "Antipath", this brings things to more of a normal tract with technical, fuller guitar work and a well done structure, but the ending is very abrupt as it pixelates out, and that really caught me off guard. Still a solid closer!
So, what are my final thoughts on "One"? While not perfect for my preferences, this is a strong debut for Convergence that shows some impressive musicianship and songwriting! Don't go into this expecting Late & Loud 2.0, as Brendan has more to offer as a technical musician, and he and Jake have a lot of heavy and well composed riffs, breakdowns, and solos across these five tracks, and fans of progressive and djent metal will want to take notice A.S.A.P.! Granted, I'm not the best at being specific about more complex songs like these, but these hit way more often than they miss! Having guests helped flesh out most of the EP, and between Steve's deathcore vocals and Cliff's skilled drumming, hopefully they (and more?) turn up on future recordings! That said, I wasn't a fan of the droning background guitar in "Antipath", the repetitive percussion on "Miscreant", or some abrupt song endings.
Convergence seem like a modular band that can adapt and be built on/tore down as song needs and availability dictate, which bodes well for the future, and hopefully new material and plans from them live up to their considerable talent! If you like progressive metal, do check out Convergence and "One" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Next month, we will be looking at local punk trio Hails' debut EP "Rock and Rolls", so watch for that in the coming weeks, and stay tuned for more news and notes as we enter November! Thanks everyone!
For our last news post of October 2023, let's preview the two known hard rock shows on Halloween night proper (unfortunately on a Tuesday this year), along with a mini-concert review and video from this past weekend, so here's what you should know!
We'll start at Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where their stacked lineup of Halloween events concludes with local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns taking the stage TOMORROW NIGHT! This Halloween night event will be nothing too new for the Speers' & company, having played at The Whisky Barrel over Halloween weekend last year, while their old sister band The Elements were a frequent sight at Halloween concerts in their heyday. Unless they played somewhere since and didn't advertise it, tomorrow's show will be be The Stallyns' first gig since playing at The Water Tower Pub early last month, and it will feature all of Shooters' Halloween frills, including drink specials, spooky decor, later kitchen hours and a costume contest. Gift cards await the attendees with the best overall costume, best couples costume, and best makeup, much like at the shows on the weekend.
Tonight's festivities are at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. October 31st or not, tomorrow's concert will not be timed ideally for many, hence why it's good that Shooters had Soundcheck playing on Friday and Saturday for those who have work/school to worry about on Wednesday, but if you can brave the work week timing, The Wyld Stallyns' varied and often heavy covers should turn some heads for the occasion tomorrow night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Stallyns live in concert last year!
Next up, five different acts will take the stage at The Art Hub At Spring for a rare post-pandemic multi-band Halloween concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Now, full disclosure that organizers are calling this a "private event", but the show is being publically advertised with a publically known venue, so the verbiage is intended to reflect that they want you to RSVP to attend rather than just waltz in as normal. Given that, I'll cover it on the SMS, but make sure you RSVP via the Facebook event page if you want to guarantee that they'll let you in. Five acts are scheduled to rock The Art Hub tomorrow, and if the poster order is any indication, local metal trio The BAG will headline the festivities. A mystery act named the Psychic Spies are listed before them, and while I don't know any 100% details on them/their sound, a possible sonic hint is that "psychic spies" are the first words sung in The Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Californication". Could that be a red herring?
The middle band are new local rock quartet Skinbox (featuring Pixo Control, Gnaeus, and Stoned To Deaf alumni, plus recent Half Past drummer Jamie Labreche), who are actually putting this event on. Still no word on their sound/genres, we'll let you know when we hear anything! The other acts are solo musicians, including folk punk/emo act Agnosticism (who were supposed to play at the cancelled Goulais River Halloween concert on Saturday) and folk/pop singer/guitarist Hannah Lindsay, who you may recall seeing with The BAG and other acts at Lopstock in July. Costumes are encouraged for this Halloween night event, which has no announced age limit. It is a BYOB event starting at 9:30 PM, and while admission is free (RSVP notwithstanding), a tip jar will be present if you want to support the bands. Again, a Tuesday nighter will be tough for many, but to see lots of rising young talent, this is a very worthy event to attend!
The action takes place at 504 Queen Street East, but remember to RSVP if you want to attend! An event like this with a publically advertised venue but RSVPs to enter is not common for the Soo (at least as heavier concerts go), but hopefully the crowd is good and energetic on a work/school night for some spooky vibes and good music! Visit the above links for more details, and here's The BAG & Hannah live at Lopstock!
Finally, here's a surprise: a mini concert review! On Saturday, I took a friend to Shooters Downstairs Lounge so she could check out the Entomica bug lab exhibit as part of the Dennis Street nightclub's Halloween events, and we coincidentally happened to still be there at the start of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's concert that night! This was unplanned, I didn't have my proper concert camera, but while I was there, I captured a (horizontal!) video with my cell phone and took a picture, albeit far from the stage. I hate being that guy in everyone's road, especially when I wasn't in costume. We caught Soundcheck doing nine songs, three with Terry Eaton (complete with very cool animated mask) on vocals & the rest with Cameron Oliver singing lead, including renditions of Three Doors Down, ZZ Top, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Tragically Hip songs.
Everyone was in costume, with drummer Glen Thomas especially dressed to the nines as an evil clown! What I heard sounded good and familiar for fans of their classic and hard rock cover array, plus a southern/country tinge (we last heard them do Eddie Rabbitt), though I will say that I do think Soundcheck should banter with the crowd more and introduce songs moreso, especially on a big weekend like this. Here's Soundcheck covering Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" with Cameron on vocals as their second song at Shooters on Saturday night!
That's all for now, but to end the month, look for our newest CD review on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
After a bit of a delay while we worked through Halloween weekend concert previews, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Continuing out spotlight on local metal, hard rock, and punk-focused YouTube channels that were randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions, we're tripling up for October 2023 due to the first chosen channel only having one video, and the second only having two videos from the same band's concert set, so a third single-video channel was picked to fill it out. Each channel here ended up having videos shot at high profile local concerts from the late 2000s-mid 2010s, so here's what you should know!
Owner: YouTube user and Sault Ontario resident Samantha Mick
Channel Timeline:Launched on September 17th, 2012; Only video uploaded on July 2nd, 2016
Channel Summary: Sam (who sadly passed away in 2020, obituary linked here) was in attendance for Abbotsford, B.C. power pop/punk quartet Hedley's outdoor concert at The Yard on Canada Day in 2016, with her video capturing a memorable incident from the show where singer Jacob Hoggard called the mother of a girl (reportedly YouTube user stevie17058) caught texting during the show, using her own phone! He had done this at multiple shows, not just ours. Now, three different people uploaded video from this to YouTube, with C Auffrey getting the best quality and most complete video of the local occurrence, but Sam's captures the phone call side of things well also! For full disclosure, this video and concert came two years before the sexual assault allegations against Hedley and Hoggard were made public.
Owner: YouTube user NorthernFunko, possibly named Taylor, but I can't confirm anything else
Channel Timeline:Launched on January 25th, 2009; Videos uploaded on December 9th of that year
Channel Summary: This channel's only videos come from Norwood, Ontario hard rock quartet Three Days Grace's second and (to date) final concert at the Essar Centre (now GFL Memorial Gardens) on December 8th, 2009, where NorthernFunko filmed them playing "Never Too Late" and the slightly more popular "The Good Life". Though not as well attended as their 2006 debut here, it was a very entertaining concert (being a huge fan of Adam-era 3DG, I was at both), and the crowd response and energy are captured well on both of these videos! The choppy video quality, muffled audio, and somewhat jittery angle are forgivable to an extent given that these videos are almost 14 years old (hard to believe!), but more videos from both local Three Days Grace concerts are available elsewhere on YouTube.
Channel Timeline:Launched on May 26th, 2012; Only video uploaded that same day
Channel Summary: Josh's channel (distinct from his old Chainsaw666 channel) only features one video, and from a show that Garden of Bedlam didn't even play at. On May 23rd, 2012, Juno Award-nominated Ottawa grindcore band Fuck The Facts headlined at the former Canadian Nightclub, with Josh's video capturing that show's three local opening bands in performance order. These include Central Algoma death metal quartet For All That Is Lost playing most of "Ripped In Two", inactive local grindcore trio Shit Liver playing parts of five songs, and death metal quintet The Bear Hunters playing chunks of "Bloodthirst" & "Dominate". Given the age of the video, these come through pretty well today thanks to Josh getting some nicely varied angles, and while the staticy audio during Shit Liver's section, most songs being abbreviated, and the lack of Fuck The Facts are noted, this is a nice little slice of the local metal scene from over a decade ago!
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! We're finally back to looking at a single video channel today, as our random selection has spotted us AshesToDustBand, the official channel of the short-lived early 2010s high school hard rock band Ashes To Dust! Look for that on or around November 26th, and for a Halloweeny news/concert preview post plus this month's CD review next! Thanks everyone!
As promised, we're continuing the Halloween weekend concert previews today (sans Tuesday nighters, look for them in a few days), but to round things out, we have updates from a prominent local metal band and some new videos. Here's what you should know for this mostly Michigan post, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local hard rock quintet The Nameless will return to The Merchant's Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced in advance via its Facebook event page two weeks ago, but that completely slipped us by at the time. This will indeed be The Merch's Halloween party, but true to the West Spruce Street nightclub's social media ways, their own advertising does not confirm The Nameless by name (fitting, given their name!). Attendees at The Merch can expect a costume contest, prizes, and drink specials, not to mention The Nameless' brand of hard rock covers, and while there's no shortage of Halloween festivities in the E.U.P. this weekend, perhaps this show will pique your interest the most! There's no announced cover charge for this 21+ event, and while The Nameless give a 9:00 PM start time, The Merch say 8:00 PM on this poster with the costume contest ending things at 11:00 PM.
The Nameless don't post on Facebook that often, but it's a good thing that they got the word out about TOMORROW'S Halloween party, so don't miss out on all of the action TOMORROW! Visit the above links for more details, and as Facebook won't allow me to embed The Nameless' only public video here for preview purposes due to copyrighted audio at the start, click here to see them live in their debut concert!
Next up, if you want something taking place a little further south, than why not make the half hour drive to Rudyard, where local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 will return to Huck's Pub & Grill for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Called "Huck's Pub's Horrific Halloween Party", this is the final new date of the batch that Project 906 announced back in June, so we await further gig announcements from their camp in due course. Their first show at the former Joe's Bar all year, guests coming to celebrate spooky season can expect a costume contest and multiple prizes therein, and while this should result in some Halloween decor and such, they haven't specified if there will be drink specials or anything like that. If you want to take in Project 906's hard rocking range of covers, then come down to Huck's tomorrow night at 8:30 PM! This is a 21+ event with no announced cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Project 906 live in concert earlier this year!
Also today, here's the latest from St. Ignace deathcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown, so what have they been up to since we last talked about them on the 18th? Well, later that same day, they posted anothed "Reel" onto their Facebook page of them playing their newer song "Jell-O" at the Tantric concert in Gould City last month. Short, vertical, and unembeddable, but it's heavy and clear while it lasts! The following day, H.L.T.C. shared some recent concert photos (Gould City among them) while noting that today was "training day" to test out "our present". A comment from a fan implies that it might be an IEM audio cable, for what its worth. Yesterday, the band shared a post from guitarist Ted Olson's personal Facebook page where he noted recent upgrades in studio, credited his bandmates, and revealed that their forthcoming second full length album will be a concept album, though public details are to be revealed (how does "Jell-O" fit a story?)
Aside from plugging another run of official H.L.T.C. hockey jerseys (click here to see them and to find out how to order one), their only other update is a new video (an embeddable, horizontal one at that!) Uploaded last week, the black & white clip features Ted and drummer Jaxon Massaway jamming in studio, and while only 13 seconds long, what we hear sounds alright as rhythm tracks go! Brandon West was filming the video but is not heard on camera, while bassist Christian Cook was not present (Ted's post above implied that he has been absent from some band activity lately due to scheduling conflicts). Give everything new from Heavy Lies The Crown a look above & below, and stay tuned for updates!
We'll head north to Sault Ontario to wrap up this post, via our first video look at the one-off Fuller reunion at LopLops Lounge on December 28th! Bassist Mark Rand posted this to the concert's Facebook event page yesterday, and it features him, frontman Jamie Vincent, and drummer Nathan Sauve rehearsing in town for the big reunion set. This will definitely be a reunion of their late-era lineup from the mid-2000s, not the 2002 lineup from their self-titled EP, for the record. Unfortunately, this video is both vertically shot and in black & white, but it's great to see this punk/emo band back & sounding in good form after almost two decades away, and they should draw a good crowd to LopLops over the holidays! For the record, Mark confirmed in the video description that the ticket sale link for this concert is not out yet, but is coming soon. Check out Fuller's rehearsal video below, and we'll have updates when they go live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
Before we kick off our Halloween weekend concert previews, just a heads up that the planned multi-band concert at Triple H Cabins in Goulais River has been cancelled, as per Agnosticism frontman Mikhal Muto on Facebook. Circumstances out of the organizers' control are to blame, and while I know what specifically happened, I'll refrain from publicizing details out of respect. Eight acts on Harmony Beach for Halloween would have been a neat attraction, and hopefully things are ironed out to try again down the line! Now, let's dive into the busiest concert weekend of the fall season, starting with hard rock bands playing tomorrow and Saturday night! Saturday-only events will be covered tomorrow.
We'll start at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, where local southern hard rock cover veterans Bone Yard will take the stage for traditional concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! As they have done in recent months when booked for normal concerts at Jay's, Bone Yard will also be subbing in for Soundcheck as Thursday jam night hosts tonight, so while we don't count jam/open mic nights as "concerts" on here, Bone Yard are calling this their "triple threat Halloween weekend bash". Tomorrow's show is basically standard fare (Halloween decor aside), but Saturday's festivities will be ramped up with a legit Halloween party, with costumes encouraged and a costume contest with prizes, plus a giveaway for a gift basket from Amore: For Your Pleasure, among other seasonal frills. Last seen at Jay's in August, hopefully Bone Yard's southern fried classic & rock hits strike the right chord for fans over the Halloween weekend!
If you desire something closer to October 31st proper (Tuesday this year), then country musician Leslie Cook's matinee gig on Monday will also be seasonally themed with a costume contest, and karaoke that night will also have a Halloween costume theme. As for Bone Yard this weekend, their shows (jam night tonight included) have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!
Next up, while the aforementioned Soundcheck aren't hosting jam night at Jay's tonight, they will not be idle for this spooky weekend, as they will be rocking Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Yes, that includes Saturday, as the Dennis Street nightclub is pausing its Saturday DJ experiment to have a band on a night when many other local bars are following suit. The classic/hard rock cover quartet are just one component of a stacked lineup of Halloween events at Shooters, including tarot card readings tomorrow & Saturday, a bug exhibit from Entomica on Saturday, a scavenger hunt on Friday, a costume contest on Saturday, and a Halloween video dance party upstairs at The Queen of Hearts Club concurrently with Soundcheck's show on Saturday. Themed drinks and Halloween decor are also to be expected, while we will cover The Wyld Stallyns' concert on Halloween night proper early next week, as it's a little too soon yet.
For the record, no word on if karaoke night on Sunday will have any direct Halloween frills beyond decor and drink specials. Click here for full Halloweeny details for what Shooters has going on this weekend! Regarding Soundcheck, their old school classic and hard rock cover favourites can be enjoyed tomorrow & Saturday night at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charges and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live in concert last year!
Also this weekend, newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will return to The Esquire Club for that venue's Halloween festivities TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While this will be Silent 9's first time rocking a venue over Halloween weekend, half of the band did so with the former Obsession last year at The Esquire Club, so that much will be familiar for venue regulars and fans alike! Comparatively speaking, there's less advertised for Halloween this weekend at The Esquire Club compared to Shooters and Jay's, but there will be a Halloween party on Saturday stretching from porketta to the concert proper, and a costume contest is absolutely on the docket with a prize awaiting the best dressed. Silent 9 proper haven't rocked The Esquire Club since the summer, but hopefully they keep the party hopping with their fan friendly and often heavy range of hit covers this weekend!
A 9:00 PM start time is advertised for these shows, which have 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. These should be fine opportunities to check out this distinct new cover band in action, let alone helping soundtrack the Halloween weekend on Saturday, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Silent 9 live!
We'll close this preview post by heading to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock cover quartet Rhythm & Brews will take the stage at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Mildly surprisingly, the guys did plug these shows on their Facebook page, allowing fans to publically see their latest Photoshop creation (with the band members' heads pasted onto trick-or-treaters). Unless they played an unadvertised gig in the interim, these will be Rhythm & Brews' first shows in two months, and first at The Rapids Lounge since July. Despite their continued lack of public media from their concerts, this talented union of Nixxon Dixxon & Highway 63 alumni should turn heads this weekend as usual! Re: Halloween, I cannot confirm specific seasonal frills on Saturday geared solely at the Rhythm & Brews show, but Kewadin's website does list general Halloween events at their casinos.Expect 21+ age limits, 9:00 PM start times, and no cover charges this weekend. There's still no public videos to preview these shows with, but if you like hard rock, you should like Rhythm & Brews' skilled and familiar lineup, so visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more Halloween weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
As you may know, the semifinals of this year's The Soo's Got Talent took place at Soo Blaster on Saturday, and while videos are not (yet?) out for the competitors, we now know the six finalists moving forward to the finals on November 4th! In alphabetical order by last name, the finalists are singers Xavier Pelletier LeBouef, Demoy MacSamuels, Greg McLeod, and Elly McWatters, plus singer/guitarist Storm Rausch and dancer Jophin Saju. The four eliminated competitors (all singers) are Arin Karki, Raedyn Matechuck Levesque, Celeste Rector, and Kristina Sagrak, with Kristina being the only Golden Buzzer recipient to not make the finals. Xavier and Greg were competitors in last year's T.S.G.T., with Xavier now making the finals in back-to-back years, while Greg has bettered his placement from 2022. From what I was told, Greg didn't actually perform on Saturday, so how did he advance?
Reportedly, Greg had to miss the semifinals due to a death in his family, so he was given a spot in the finals as a result (this was announced live at the event, but as I wasn't there, I'll refrain from going into extra details just in case). It's impossible to say if he'd have qualified the normal way, but he's a talented singer, and hopefully he has a strong showing next month! Assuming a similar format to 2022, the six finalists will have two performances on November 4th, one standard and one alongside Mike Haggith & his solo band, which poses some interesting challenges. For one, Jophin Saju is a dancer, not a singer, and his T.S.G.T. videos have him dancing to Indian pop/rap songs. Will Mike & crew learn something along these lines, or will Jophin dance to something more rock-based? Also, will Demoy MacSamuels (whose filmed videos have all been of original songs) get the full band treatment for one, or will he try a cover?
It also remains to be seen how they'll handle guitars with Storm Rausch also playing guitar (note that, when singer/guitarist Colin Gasparelli took part in last year's finals, Handsome Sandwich guitarist Jesse Cook sat out the group's song with him). I will note that finalist Elly McWatters is well acquainted with Mike Haggith & his band, having guested on vocals with them live, let alone being a bandmate of drummer Brandan Glew's in Re:Born, but as far as I can tell, Mike signed on to perform at The Soo's Got Talent well before Elly decided to audition. Will that familiarity give her a leg up on the 4th? Come to Soo Blaster that day to find out! As per event advertising, admission for the finals will still be $22 for adults and $12 for kids, and a start time is to be announced (the semifinals began at 6:30 PM but last year's finals were earlier in the day due to Soo Blaster double booking Afroman that night.)
Between Elly's Re:Born work, Greg's classic rock base, and Xavier's past metal/rock covers in this event, there will be performers who fit Mike Haggith & his band better on paper, but how about them on their own? While the wait continues for official video from The Soo's Got Talent post-round 1, Mike live-streamed his half-hour long set (which was an intermission set between the semifinalists) to his YouTube channel. Oddly, he hasn't posted a description there, and this is regrettably shot vertically, but it's nice to see any video from the last two rounds! On Saturday, Mike's usual local bassist Jacob Quarrell was booked for a separate event, so he was replaced by Far From Fine bassist Matt Fronzi for the evening. In order, their set included "Hot & Cold", "If Ever Comes The Day", "MorningStar", "I've Seen It Before", a cover of Matt's old band Gnaeus' song "Lovers", and "Twist Of Fate".
Part of why only six songs were played is that Mike broke out his storytellers hat to promote his albums, explain his freak knee dislocation at Rotaryfest & recovery from it, and introduce the band/credit Matt & Gnaeus (this was apparently the first time Matt has played "Lovers" on stage in seven years!). Everyone performed strongly, and Mike was more animated than he was at the Northern Vibe Festival in August, including his intense vocals-only work on the closer! I do wish that this video was filmed horizontally, if not closer to the stage, but kudos to Mike for getting this at all, so check it out for yourselves below!
That's all for today, but look for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Today's post is devoted to some recent videos, mostly from cover-centric musicians, and let's begin with bands recently seen in concert, starting with two live-streamed videos from local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard's Facebook page at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on Friday night! One is a 30 second clip of the guys covering ZZ Top's "La Grange", but embedded below is a much longer (if not full) rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man". Alas, both were filmed vertically, but the person behind the camera got good angles of Bone Yard in action, especially on "La Grange" while it lasted, and the guys sound solid overall on both! Give Bone Yard's newest concert videos a watch above & below!
Next up, here's some newer videos of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' show at Shooters on Friday the 13th, as filmed by attendee Monique Chartrand and uploaded to the band's Facebook group the following day! One is a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" with drummer Tony Santoro on lead vocals, but the video embedded below is longer and features frontwoman Valerie Powley on vocals. I admittedly cannot identify this cover, but that's not the fault of Monique or her camera, as there's an abnormal level of audience chatter during it that really complicates trying to hear Valerie's singing in any detail. Like with Bone Yard's video above, these were filmed vertically, but more distantly from a table, so keep that in mind. Well performed all around, if not entirely ideal to viewing quality depending on what you prefer, so give these a watch above & below!
Also today, here's some new videos from local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback's Facebook page in the past week! Well, less videos and more "Reels", as all of their recent uploads are as such, making them all permanently vertical, unable to be played in background tabs, and unable to be embedded on external websites. Interestingly, these "Reels" mostly feature footage shot when they opened for The Nameless Friends at Reggie's Place earlier this month, despite the band never plugging the concert on Facebook. Despite being brand new concert footage, four of the "Reels" just feature edited clips set to audio from their 2020 self-titled debut album ("Faded", their self-titled song, "Kicking & Screaming", and "Everlasting"), along with lyrics for included song snippets laid on screen. Local bands that post exclusive video footage in "Reels" rarely post the raw/full video separately, but it'd be neat if A Dire Setback did!
The only other new "Reel" was made to promote "Kicking & Screaming" music video and their debut album, with a (pillarboxed) clip from the video and more lyrics superimposed. It is great to see A Dire Setback ramp up their online presence this month after largely being quiet on Facebook post-pandemic, and while I've never been fond of "Reels", at least they're giving fans some new media. Check them out above!
We'll close today with a video that I should have covered on here months ago just on novelty factor alone, and it features Double Down/ex-That's Chester drummer Ric Datson playing a drum solo.... inside the Sault Ste. Marie Museum?! Yes, the museum at the corner of Queen & East hosts live concerts occasionally as well as the Fringe North festival, but it's still not the first locale you think of for a drum solo. Of course, Ric is the assistant curator of the museum, so he had an in to get his gear inside! Ric set up his Crush acrylic drumkit inside an empty gallery during a changeover in temporary exhibits, and was mainly filmed for fun to see how this newer kit sounded in a big, empty room. As uploaded to his YouTube channel in June, the video starts with 38 seconds of sped-up footage of Ric setting up his drums, before jumping to him drumming for almost four minutes.
The main view is an overhead shot from behind him, while the other (seen in an inset window in the upper left) is from a straight-on view to his left. This is a neat video for fans of Ric's (let alone drum solos), and while I'm sure you'd better appreciate the acoustics of the room in person, the echo and reverb does come through in the video, and it's certainly a unique way to see a local drummer show his stuff! Give it a watch for yourselves below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
So, have you been waiting for our second round coverage of The Soo's Got Talent, especially with the semifinals taking place TOMORROW NIGHT? Well, here's what I've got, and it's sadly less than I'd like! Despite the annual local talent competition posting videos of most acts onto their Facebook page from the audition level at Wacky Wings and the first round at Soo Blaster, they posted zero from the second round on September 29th. I knew that they weren't working with Passion Video Productions again this year (I wonder why not?), but they still had someone rolling a camera for prior nights, so what happened three weeks ago? Well, after sixteen acts were whittled down to twelve on September 15th, plans were for the judges (including guest Dustin Jones filling in for Mike Severin) to send the four Golden Buzzer winners and four other competitors to tomorrow's semifinals.
However, the judges opted to send ten of the twelve competitors through, with singers Christopher Halliday and Stan Fera being the only eliminations after round 2. In alphabetical order by last name, your semifinalists at Soo Blaster tomorrow (all singers unless otherwise stated) are Arin Karki, Xavier Pelletier LeBouef, Raedyn Matechuck Levesque, Demoy MacSamuels, Greg McLeod, Elly McWatters, singer/guitarist Storm Rausch, Celeste Rector, Kristina Sagrak, and dancer Jophin Saju. Unless plans change/have changed, six of them will be sent to the finals on Saturday, November 4th, and there is no longer a safety net for the Golden Buzzer recipients, so Xavier, Elly, Storm, and Kristina are fighting to advance like everyone else is now! With that said, these 10 performers will not be the only musical entertainment to expect tomorrow, so who else is playing?
Well, as you may recall in 2022, The Soo's Got Talent struck a deal with Handsome Sandwich to not only play a guest set during the semifinals, but also perform with the finalists, backing them up on their choice of song. This year, they're doing much the same thing, but with a new band, namely local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his all-local solo band! Tonight, they'll be playing a mini-set, likely after the actual competitors perform and before the judges' decisions are announced, marking Mike's first concert in Sault Ste. Marie city limits since his knee dislocation at Rotaryfest in July (though he and the band did play at The Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir in the interim). While a public post wasn't made about the lineup tomorrow, Mike's personal Facebook page did confirm that recent live bassist Jacob Quarrell will not be on bass for tomorrow's set, but he is expected to rejoin them at the finals next month.
As the reveal wasn't made publically, I won't jump the gun on who the replacement bassist is tomorrow, but he's a familiar face! If you want to attend the semifinals of The Soo's Got Talent, then all of the action begins at 6:30 PM tomorrow at Soo Blaster! For the record, apologies for the short notice, I was waiting for media to turn up from round 2 and it'd have been Murphy's Law that I posted this much sooner and videos then turned up. This all begins at 6:30 PM tomorrow, and admission is $22 for adults and $12 for children, with proceeds going to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit at Sault Area Hospital. Just as a reminder, judge Valerie Powley will head west from Soo Blaster to The Esquire Club after the semifinals wrap up to perform with Generations, so things will end before that concert begins at 9:30 PM. Hopefully she, Mike, and Darren Robertson have a good time once again judging the semifinals!
Hopefully someone shoots videos that are publically viewable at the semifinals tomorrow, but regardless, I hope to have more timely coverage of who advanced to the finals in two weeks on the site! In any event, if you want to show your support for the remaining contestants, support a good cause, and see Mike Haggith back on stage in the Soo, consider heading to Soo Blaster TOMORROW! For a preview, here's Mike & his band in Ophir in August, but that's all for today, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
A relatively quiet concert weekend lies ahead in the Twin Saults, albeit the calm before the Halloween weekend storm. Still, I am holding one big event for tomorrow's post, namely the semifinals of The Soo's Got Talent, as I was waiting for as much public video from round #2 to turn up, but did it? Stay tuned then, but now let's dive into traditional hard rock concerts this weekend, and some details on a major local development that may have SMS ties in time, but first, here's SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the dates via their Facebook event page yesterday, but at least they made one for them! The guys (sans Cameron) will also be hosting jam night there tonight as usual, and while we don't consider jam/open mic nights as "concerts" due to their in-built unpredictability, Soundcheck are calling this their "triple decker weekend" at Jay's. This should be a fine weekend for fans of Soundcheck's classic and hard rock cover attack, so don't miss out on all of the action TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, perhaps also including jam night tonight if you don't mind seeing mystery guests join in for mystery covers! These are 19+ events at 9:30 PM with no cover charge. See above for details, and here's Soundcheck live!
Next up, here's some shows that had prior notice, starting with local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard returning to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be Bone Yard's first gig at the Dennis Street nightclub in two months, and is a one-nighter as usual for this venue this season due to Shooters hosting DJs on most Saturdays. If you'd enjoy seeing Greg, Alex, and Warren unleash some hard rocking classic and southern rock hits, you know where to be tomorrow! Note that Bone Yard have confirmed that they will return to Toystock at The Grand Gardens North on Sunday, November 26th, as per their updated Facebook concert calendar pictured here, but I'm waiting for the full lineup announcement before going into details on the SMS. Tomorrow's Shooters show is at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live at Shooters in the summer!
Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Postponed a week due to the band trading weekends there with The Steeltown Playboys, fans of their first few months together will especially want to take notice of tomorrow's show, as drummer Tony Santoro revealed on their Facebook group yesterday that original guitarist Brandon Ruch will return to fill in for an absent Tony Kajnar. This is a one-night-only switch (the band didn't say why Tony K. will be unavailable), but it'll be neat to see Brandon back! Both Tonys will be present on Saturday. Just to clarify scheduling, it does look like singer Valerie Powley will be 100% available on Saturday too, as The Soo's Got Talent's semifinals (where she is judging) begin at 6:30 PM at Soo Blaster and are projected to wrap up in time for her to get down to the west end. Stay tuned tomorrow for our belated round 2 coverage & semifinal preview for The Soo's Got Talent!
Generations' classic and hard rock covers can be enjoyed at The Esquire Club tomorrow and/or Saturday night at 9:30 PM, these are 19+ events, and there's no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Generations! This was shared to their Facebook group by Mario Naccarato, and it features the Jus' Chillin successors covering Alannah Myles' "Love Is" at Reggie's this past weekend. Rare when you Alannah covered locally, especially when it's not "Black Velvet", but Valerie is more than up to the vocal task! Alas, the vertical camera angle is not ideal, and Tony S. is completely blocked from view from where Mario was filming. Give it a look for yourselves below!
Let's close today with a topic that I have completely resisted talking about on the SMS for the longest time, namely the downtown plaza. Many will have followed the plans, delays, agreements, and construction of the plaza beside the new Soo Market at the corner of Queen Street East and Brock Street, and while a concert stage was teased as part of it since early on, I've opted not to cover the plaza on the SMS because it's not really relevant until it is. It has to get heavier bookings first, let alone open successfully, which seemed up in the air for a time as things got delayed. Local news outlets have kept fans abreast of the plaza's progress, but we got some finite plans re: concerts there, as SooToday parent company Village Media have donated $50,000 towards construction of a stage & video screen, and $100,000 towards maintenance & advertising over the next 10 years on what will be called the Village Media Stage (click here for SooToday's coverage).
The stage isn't ready yet, but the plaza will be officially opened to the public on Saturday, October 28th at 10:00 AM, and will be used in its current state as part of Halloween festivities downtown as well as Bon Soo events to be identified. I don't suspect that concerts will be on the docket until the stage is 100% complete (not to mention once winter is over), so look to the spring of 2024 at the earliest for possible concerts. I hope the plaza is a successful investment for the downtown core and for the Soo at large, and we'll let you know as SMS-relevant details come in! That's all for today, but stay tuned for The Soo's Got Talent coverage next! Thanks everyone!
