More Likely Concert Cancellations, Plus Tarnished's Newest Live-Streamed Shows!!

For this 69th straight daily post at the SMS, we do have new video content, but let's start with the latest on the local concert calendar and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer extended the state's stay-at-home order until Friday, June 12th, and you can read more about this announcement at this link or your preferred Michigan news sources. Businesses cleared to re-open in the Sault Ste. Marie area can still do so, but this order means that casinos must remain closed through at least this date, Kewadin Casinos included. As such, I have removed The Lows' concert at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on June 12th from our calendar, as well as Peril's scheduled June 12th weekend shows at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace. The one-nighter at The Rapids Lounge on June 13th from Pontiac hard rock band Tripp 'N' Dixie will remain in our listings for now.

Note that Tripp 'N' Dixie have not posted on their Facebook page at all since February, so if the show is publically cancelled, it may be through Kewadin or the state government before the band. In Sault Ontario, the only remaining concert scheduled this summer in our calendar is the Alienator-headlined show at Soo Blaster on June 4th (next Thursday), and I have reluctantly opted to remove it as well. As of this writing, Soo Blaster have not announced that they'll be re-opening in time for this show, and even if, I can't see this going on when everything else around it has been cancelled. In any event, neither Alienator nor local openers The Bear Hunters have publically acknowledged the show on their Facebook pages. If I am wrong, I'll redact this! Lastly, I have to give a huge apology, as a hard rock concert (obviously now cancelled) was scheduled for yesterday in the Soo that we completely forgot to cover on here, to be headlined by Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer!

To have been held at The Canadian Nightclub, this show was announced back in January via it's Facebook event page, and it would have been Destroyer's fifth local concert appearance since 2010, and first since rocking the same venue in March of last year. Promotion of it didn't visibly get far (ticket prices weren't even listed), and while I definitely regret not covering this one in the winter, it never took place anyway for sadly obvious reasons. Hopefully Destroyer return to the Soo when things settle down!

The second half of today's post takes us back into live-streamed concert territory, as Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished held their 13th & 14th at-home concerts on their Facebook page on Friday and yesterday! After switching to a two hour set for the prior two installments, and dealing with a mid-show power outage on night #2, Alex & Josh has originally planned to do two hour sets again last week, but both only ran for an hour (or so) due to warm temperatures during recording. That said, the audio quality remains poor across both live-streams for my setup, so Audacity manipulation and maximum volume may be necessary. Friday's live-stream again has the wide-screen video letter-boxed in standard definition, but they finally corrected the aspect ratio problems in yesterday's live-stream, so that one is embedded below. Starting with Friday, that set features 2/3rds of Tarnished covering Three Doors Down's "Kryptonite", Incubus' "Drive", ...

...Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl", Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World", Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Blue On Black", Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love", Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll", Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me", Bob Seger's "Turn The Page", Skid Row's "18 & Life", and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising". As for yesterday, Alex & Josh tackled Sublime's "What I Got", REO Speedwagon's "Take It On The Run", The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin' In The Dark", and Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box", before Josh swapped out his guitar for his acoustic bass. Afterward, the guys play a new original song named "Cabin Fever" from their upcoming EP, Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5", Billy Idol's "White Wedding", Alex's own solo track "Crazy World", Green Day's "Basket Case", Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust", The Romantics' "What I Like About You", and Cameo's "Word Up". This was a nice selection of tunes overall from these two nights!

The audio quality remains a deep concern, but the guys seem to have a strong handle on these covers, new and old alike, and the stage lighting does add some visual flair to the performances! No word on when we'll see Tarnished back with more live-streams (and for how long), but give these a watch above and below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Pantychrist & Mike Haggith), Another Cancellation, And More Updates!!

We have a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the ensuing months, plus some shorter assorted updates in today's post, but before then, we have another COVID-19 coronavirus cancellation to note on here, as local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's planned St. Patrick's Day concert at LopLops Lounge has been postponed, as per the band's Facebook page. However, LopLops proper will remain open if you want to visit as a regular patron, and it is still owner Stephen Alexander's birthday, so hopefully he gets lots of relevant greetings in that regard! I had figured that if any more dominoes would fall this weekend, this would be the one given the holiday ties and The Tide's name recognition, but I didn't want to stir negative rumours about it beforehand. Now, with that said, The Wyld Stallyns have confirmed that they are still playing at The Whiskey Barrel tonight, and they are planning to take fan requests for live video streams if you don't want to attend.

As well, I have not seen any announcements regarding calling off Tym Morrison's slate of acoustic matinee concerts at Northern Superior Brewing & Gliss today and The Kiln tomorrow, though given their more intimate settings and the lack of any touring headliners, they are less susceptible to a coronavirus-related cancellation, in theory. Of course, we will keep you posted with updates on show postponements and cancellations when & if they roll in. Stay safe out there!

Now, let's kick off those new concert announcements, and both happen to be at LopLops too, starting with local/Thompson, Manitoba indie/hard rock musician Mike Haggith's return home for the official CD release concert for his new album "If Ever Comes The Day" on Friday, May 15th! This will be Mike's first local concert appearance since his acoustic Outspoken Brewing gig in August, but this looks to be formatted way more similarly to his last solo CD launch show here (in July 2015 at Rednecks for "The Warinside"), complete with a live backing band to be announced. For reference, he played alongside his then-Din bandmates Curtis McKenzie and Brandan Glew at that event. Much of the online materials for this show reflect "If Ever Comes The Day" proper, including information on it's lyrical inspiration & themes, the amount of songs and run time (12 songs, 47 minutes), and a few new-to-us song names like "Back Away Slowly" & "Into The Setting Sun". The full cover artwork is also now up on Facebook.

No word on potential opening bands, but 2015's release concert also featured the now-inactive Wild Iris and solo artist Micheal Husband. The "If Ever Comes The Day" release concert will have a $5 cover charge with a 19+ age limit and a 10:00 PM start time, and CDs will be on sale for $10, which does include a digital download card. When Mike announced that this album was coming out on a Friday, I had a hunch he would have a CD release party for it, and we're lucky enough to have it on local soil! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on the show & CD as they roll in, and I think we know what album we're reviewing on the site in May!

Today's other new concert announcement will see all-female Hamilton hardcore punk quartet Pantychrist make their Sault Ste. Marie debut at LopLops on Monday, June 1st! Long-time readers may actually recognize Pantychrist from being scheduled for the cancelled Das Bunkerfest II in Garden River back in 2015, so it's great to see the ladies finally playing a local date five years later! Pantychrist's rough-edged, aggressive brand of hardcore punk should be more than welcomed on a local stage in June, and while LopLops may be a somewhat surprising venue, they should own that stage on this night! At least one opening band is to be announced. Promoted by the Oh!No Collective (who would have held Das Bunkerfest II under their old name Six, Two, Oh.), this 19+ show has a 9:00 PM start time, and while a cover charge has not been announced at press time, bring at least $5. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

• A Facebook event page has finally surfaced for the Alienator-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on June 4th, which confirms that this will be an ALL AGES event. Tickets are also now on sale via Soo Blaster, The Rad Zone, and through promoter Mathieu Villebrun, though a promised online sale point on the event page is not immediately visible. Visit the above links for more details!
• SooToday contributor Chris Belsito posted this interview article with Matthew Good on Thursday, a day before he postponed his entire Moving Walls Tour, local date on March 26th included. How's that for unfortunate timing! The article proper features Matthew talking about his recent touring, songs he likes playing live, his new album, and some recollections on coming through or staying in Sault Ste. Marie on prior tours (his divisive 2007 show here was not brought up directly.) Very informative article, so give it a look above, and hopefully we hear about the rescheduled Soo event soon!
• Apologies for the delay in acknowledging these on the site, but a couple of local news outlets were in attendance for and got photos from the We Will Rock You musical production at GFL Memorial Gardens in January! SooToday's Donna Hopper & SaultOnline's Megan Pounder both snapped lots of photos, with Donna's being higher quality, but Megan got far more pictures total. The context may be lost if you don't know the story, but it seems to have been well received by attending Queen fans! Give them a look above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Alienator, Scarkazm, And Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide) And More Updates!!

Let's get back into some news and notes on the SMS today, as we continue clearing out a recent backlog of news. Today, we have some assorted short topics at post's end, but leading off, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS ranging from this month to the end of the year!

Local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will play their first concert of 2020 when they play their usual St. Patrick's Day weekend concert on Saturday, March 14th at LopLops Lounge! This will be The Tide's first show since rocking the same venue just before Christmas, and will be their second straight St. Patrick's Day themed event locally since downscaling their touring (the prior few years' worth of seasonal gigs had been out of town.) Of course, green beer and Irish themes will abound, but this concert has a double meaning, as it coincides with LopLops owner Stephen Alexander's birthday that day. Sounds like a fun way to celebrate the occasion in two ways, so don't miss The Rising Tide's Celtic punk originals next weekend, perhaps with teasers for their upcoming album? Like last year, there are no advertised openers for this 19+ & 10:00 PM event, but unlike last year, admission is $10 rather than $15. You can buy tickets at this link and presumably at the door.

It's great to see Dustin and company back in action after a relatively quiet winter, and with their favourite holiday backdrop combined with Stephen's birthday, this should be a lively one to take in the festivities with next weekend! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, this show hasn't been formally announced on social media at press time, but promoter Mathieu Villebrun (a staple attendee of local metal concerts) asked me to help get the word out on the site. The show in question will reportedly see Thunder Bay post-hardcore/sludge trio Alienatör make their local concert debut on Thursday, June 4th when they headline at Soo Blaster! A newer but firmly established band in Thunder Bay who recently opened for Soulfly there, Alienatör's punchy and intense brand of extreme metal has some doomy grit and strong talent throughout, and it will be neat to see them on a local stage in four months! Mathieu also told me that local death metal band The Bear Hunters will open in their second live concert of 2020, and it's great to see them playing a little more regularly than we're recently accustomed to! Tickets for this presumably 19+ show will be $8 in advance or $10 at the door, and will be available at Soo Blaster, The Rad Zone, and through Mathieu directly.

A Facebook event page, posters, and other official advertising are forthcoming, as is the ticket onsale date. This should be a solid concert for extreme metal fans, and while Mathieu's not a regular sight for us in terms of concert promotion, I believe he was involved with the Cattle Decapitation show here in 2009. Fingers crossed this concert is a huge hit for all involved, so stay tuned for more information when it rolls in!

Lastly for today's new show announcements, let's head to the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm have announced five Kewadin Casino gigs for the end of 2020! All announced via event pages on their Facebook page, these are not yet confirmed on Kewadin's website, which hasn't updated the entertainment page for either of the local branches' lounges past July as of this writing. After having no advertised Kewadin stops at all this summer (yet?), Scarkazm will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on October 2nd & 3rd, as well as a rare non-Friday/Saturday gig when they provide the New Year's Eve entertainment there on Thursday, December 31st! These dates sandwich a return weekend at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin branch, scheduled for November 27th & 28th, and for what it's worth, Scarkazm's sister band Peril have not followed suit with late 2020 show announcements yet.

As usual for Scarkazm's local dates, expect all five of these to be 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. This veteran trio always delivers a hard hitting night of covers and possible originals when they come north of the Mack, so keep these dates in mind at year's end, and visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more details! Scroll to the end, each date has an individual event page.

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

• Sault Ontario punk/metal quintet Jack Spades announced on their Facebook page earlier today that they're taking a break from live concerts until the Anti-Queens show at The Rockstar Bar on May 23rd, so they can focus on writing and recording new studio material. The band didn't elaborate on if they plan on releasing a third CD or if this is just to work on new songs, but new Jack Spades music is never a bad thing! Stay tuned for updates!
• Local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith revealed on his Facebook page on Sunday that his upcoming album "If Ever Comes The Day" is finally finished, and to look for updates this week. At press time, nothing has followed, but Mike has elaborated more about the album on his personal Facebook page, so more is definitely coming soon. Keep posted on Mike's social media accounts for more details!
• The Roberta Bondar Pavilion will again host the Sault Ste. Marie Recreation and Culture Department's annual Summer Concert Series in July & August, and musicians are being sought to play this year! Like in 2019, this series will see live acts playing under the big tent on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and hard rock acts like Soundcheck and The Wyld Stallyns played in the series last August. Click here for the application form and related information if you or your band are interested in playing! The deadline is April 30th.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!