LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations & Ha!ls), The Rock Show Preview, And More!!

In what will likely be out last formal news post of 2024, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, one final concert preview for tomorrow's New Year's Eve slate, and a mini-concert review from a show that I partially caught this past weekend, so here's what you should know!

Local hardcore punk/crossover thrash quartet Ha!ls will play their first show of 2025 on Sunday, January 12th when they headline at The Distraction! The post on the venue's Facebook page references where the door to their basement level venue space The Stellar Door is, but I have not seen a firm confirmation otherwise that this show is taking place downstairs or not. A partial make-up date for the cancelled December 21st show there, this will be Hails' first local date since Halloween, and hopefully Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan draw in a solid crowd for their hard hitting original attack despite this concert being on a work/school night! In an extreme rarity, Sault Michigan punk quartet and 2023 LSSU Battle of the Bands winners The Sole Aggressors will cross the border on this night, in their first publically announced date since rocking Brimley in November. Ha!ls have played downstate in Michigan before, but to see the Twin Saults uniting like this is very encouraging!

New and online page-less "space rock" duo The Spaceship Opening (featuring ex-Redundant bassist Andrew MacDonald) will open in their second publically advertised concert, after debuting at the Space Wizards show at Soo Blaster in September. Intriguing addition, and hopefully we hear more from them soon! This all ages concert has admission of $20 or "pay what you can", and everything starts at 8:00 PM. The border-hopping angle alone is reason to circle this show on your calendar, as E.U.P. bands playing in Sault Ontario and vice versa is very rare (Touch of Class aside), so come on down to show local promoters and The Sole Aggressors that this is worth repeating! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced a few more new concerts for next month, as they'll return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for their first full weekend of 2025 on Friday, January 17th & Saturday, January 18th! The shows were announced by drummer Tony Santoro in this concert calendar image on the band's Facebook group yesterday, and will mark Generations' first traditional concerts at the former Roosevelt Hotel in four months, though members have played there since with Tex Riviera & The Ride. As you can see, they're also listing a date there on Thursday, January 16th, but that is assuredly going to be the weekly jam night at Jay's, and remember that we don't consider jam/open mic nights as "concerts" for our purposes due to how unpredictable they are. However, note that singer Valerie Powley usually sits out the jam nights that Generations is the house band for, so if you want to see her, don't come on Thursday!

As usual for concerts at Jay's, expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charge next month. Good to see Generations keeping busy as January draws ever closer, so visit the above links for more on this talented classic rock foursome's 2025 slate so far!

Also today, let's hop the border to Sault Michigan for one last hard rock concert preview for 2024, as Bay City classic/hard rock tribute band The Rock Show will rock New Year's Eve in the E.U.P. for a second straight year TOMORROW NIGHT! After headlining at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on December 31st last year, this talented throwback group will make the hour's extra trek to deliver another New Year's bash, this time at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin (like last year, they are playing a private gig at the other Kewadin branch the night prior as a Journey tribute band). If you want to check out this very proficient and crowd-friendly group's slate of hard rocking covers from the 1970s and 1980s, be at The Rapids Lounge tomorrow night for The Rock Show's year-closing rock show! As best as I can tell, tomorrow's festivities remain at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge.

I haven't seen any printed reference on Kewadin Casino's website towards any seasonal frills to help ring in 2025 with, but be prepared with cash in case there's any premium perks or activities beyond the lounge's usual refreshments and the casino proper. The Rock Show will entertain music fans and partiers alike with their faithful covers, so don't miss out on all of the action tomorrow at the Soo Kewadin, and here they are live!

Finally for today, here's a surprise mini-concert review! On Saturday night, me and a friend went to the aforementioned Jay's Piston Broke Pub for supper, and while I knew that local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck were playing there that night, there were no guarantees as to how much we'd see of their set. As it turns out, we were there for their first five songs, where they covered Creedence Clearwater Revival, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Tragically Hip songs with Cameron Oliver on vocals, and two songs (one being a Tom Petty cover) with Terry Eaton on vocals. This was the beginning of Soundcheck's penultimate concert as an active band (they are breaking up after tomorrow night's New Year's Eve party at the YNCU Curling Centre), but aside from some off-hand mentions of this being their last bar show, it felt like a standard gig for the guys. Soundcheck sounded good and had their covered refined well with some solid reactions from attendees, including a couple of dancing ladies, and I can only assume that this improved later on!

Jay's also looked good (I hadn't seen a band there since the Rosie days), harbouring a similar layout but with some new trim and logos to suit the vehicle motif. It is a shame that Soundcheck are disbanding, as they're still a solid classic and hard rock cover outfit, but between Cameron's solo country output and Terry, Jim, and Glen's extensive work in local bands, hopefully everyone stays busy in 2025, and that they have a great final concert tomorrow! Here's my video from Saturday night, of Soundcheck covering The Scorpions' "The Zoo" with Terry on lead vocals!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!