LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (BookcluB, Curtis McKenzie, And Tym Morrison) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this final concert weekend of August (also the Labour Day long weekend), we have an eventful but not overly busy weekend in store for hard rock fans in Sault Ontario, mostly including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, plus a quiet cancellation. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison's acoustic solo act will set up shop once again at The Dive Gastro Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via Tym's Facebook event page on Sunday, with the venue following suit on their Facebook page not too long ago today. The Dive hosting live music on Fridays is not common based on prior months with a calendar, but Friday nighters have happened once in a while, and TOMORROW'S show is likely so booked given that it's the long weekend and the arguable final weekend of the summer season. After we missed Tym's Think It Over Thursday show there last week, good thing we didn't miss TOMORROW's return! Note that, while his Facebook event page still says that he is playing a matinee show there on Saturday, we can confirm that Tym is not performing at Misty's Fifties that day.

Country veteran Allan Mooney has confirmed that he is playing there instead, as per this new plug for the booking, and note that Tym was also once scheduled to play at Misty's last week but that show wasn't even covered on the SMS (he was playing at The Eagles Club that night and there was never fresh promotion for Misty's). A reason for the cancellation of tomorrow's (and last week's) Misty's gigs was never announced, but hopefully his show there next Saturday is still on!  TOMORROW'S 19+ and free show at The Dive is on the patio once again rather than "the naughty corner", with 9&10 News calling for clear skies and cool temperatures hovering around 13°. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, local alternative/punk cover sextet BookcluB and their unplugged sister duo Dos Amigos will take part in BookcluB guitarist Brandon Ruch's local farewell concert at The Whisky Barrel TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via its Facebook event page on Monday. Dubbed "Branstock: A Ruch & Roll Event And Moving Away Party", TOMORROW'S concert is the final one for Brandon before his impending move to Barrie, following a prolific three year run in active live bands after graduating from Algoma University's music program. The former Generations & Handsome Sandwich guitarist will pull double duty TOMORROW, as he will be headlining with his folk/country band The Golden Scoundrels, while the lineup will be rounded out by indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (formerly The Hollow Heads), so there's a little something for many tastes at Branstock!

While this will presumably be Brandon's farewell with Bookclub after over a year & half with them, he is not leaving The Golden Scoundrels, who have been ramping up their touring schedule as of late anyway. This 19+ concert has no cover charge and an 8:00 PM start time. Brandon will be missed locally for his prolific multi-genre talents, so help send him off the right way TOMORROW, especially given how this package of bands will be rocking an unusually small and acoustic-leaning venue for the occasion! Visit the above links for details on Branstock, best of luck to Brandon in Barrie, and for a preview, here's BookcluB live!

Next up, former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will bring his solo acoustic show back to Beck's Bar for one night only on SATURDAY! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Wednesday when they announced this weekend's live music schedule. In his last post on Facebook before this week, he thanked fans for going to see him at Beck's on August 2nd before noting that he wouldn't be able to perform live for 4-6 weeks due to recovery from dental surgery. SATURDAY is exactly four weeks since, to the timeline lines up, and hopefully he is fully healed to sing his hard and alternative rock covers in the west end once again! On SATURDAY, Curtis is in the 3:00 PM matinee timeslot, and the band playing the 9:00 PM nightcap there are new local country cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters.

Remember, Curt isn't "opening" for Elly, he and her band both have four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart, but there's no cover charge if you want to hang out to see both on SATURDAY! Regardless, there's a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Curt live!

Finally for this weekend's known heavier shows, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end their summer slate with regular concerts at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at the Dragonfly Run this past weekend, these will be their first traditional nightclub concerts in three weeks, and cap off a busy month of shows on the road and at charitable motorcycle events. With Greg, Alex, and Warren also working on their long gestating debut album this month, they should be in fine spirits to rock Reggie's for fans looking for live rock and roll over the long weekend! Note that a live-streamed video from the Dragonfly Run was shared to the band's Facebook page, but new 30 day time limit or not, the video just features attendees and riders before the bike rally proper began, and does not feature any live music performances. Tomorrow & Saturday's concerts have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges.

Also, your local 225 will have fresh stock of official band merchandise on sale this weekend, and they are now taking pre-orders for official band hoodies, so if all of that interests you, have cash on hand at Reggie's! Visit the above links for more details, and here's "the dirty three" live!

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

A Missed Concert Apology, More Ripcordz Cancellation Fallout, And New Videos!!

Before we dive into what is looking like a little busier concert weekend in the Twin Saults, let's look at some news and notes from both sides of the border, including new video uploads, updates on a major recent concert cancellation, and more, so here's what you should know!

To lead off this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this past weekend's round of previews. Given how slight last weekend's hard rock/punk slate was, knowing about this one would have been extremely optimal! This past Saturday, local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos returned to Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room for a one-nighter, after playing their third announced show there in June, but unfortunately, the venue only plugged the gig on their Facebook page that morning and it completely slipped us by. On Dos Amigos' end, the BookcluB side project also never acknowledged the booking on their Facebook page prior. I profusely apologize for missing this show regardless, but acoustic acts do well at the unique setting of the Tap Room, and hopefully Mikey & Dustin had a good show on Saturday! Actually, we can see if they did for ourselves now, as they shared a video from the concert the following day!

The first public video on Dos Amigos' Facebook page (and their first post there of any kind in almost four months), the video sees Mikey & Dustin covering Rancid's "Roots Radical" and doing a solid job of adapting it to a two man unplugged setting! I wish the filmer got more than 24 seconds, but everything sounds and looks good at the Tap Room. and the vertical camera angle isn't as objectionable because both guys are in frame without issue. Give it a watch below, and apologies again for missing this show in last weekend's previews, I'd have happily covered it with even a day's notice!

Next up, here's more on the mid-show cancellation of last month's Ripcordz concert at The Distraction in Sault Ontario! In a follow-up article on SooToday on July 30th, Sault Fire Services public education officer Aaron Gravelle confirmed that the show was cancelled following "a fire safety complaint", with police and fire crews determining that the basement space didn't have sufficient fire/life safety measures in place, and was thusly not approved for use as a concert venue. Fire Services and the city's building division will reportedly work with The Distraction towards ensuring "future building compliance", but whether this means that concerts will return to the East Street nightclub and when, I don't know. In the article, Ripcordz frontman Paul Gott is interviewed in text and in an attached video by contributor and former Honest Job frontman Drew Armstrong, where Paul praised the Soo and small concert venues like The Distraction.

Despite the cancellation, Paul was cordial and respectful on camera about the abbreviated concert and the local scene, let alone the younger generation of punk fans and musicians, and it's a good watch for fans! Unfortunately, I can't embed videos directly embedded onto SooToday (this isn't from YouTube) on the SMS, but give it a watch above, and it includes black & white photos from the local openers' sets!

Finally, let's zip over to Sault Michigan for some relatively rare videos of local classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished's current lineup in action! These actually come from the Fourth of July parade in the Soo last month, where Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron performed on a float once again (the band as a whole has done this for at least three years now). At least two people posted their own copies of the half hour-long parade route to YouTube, one being user onewxone, who was stationed beside the Ashmun Street Bridge. In his video, Tarnished become audible 24:30 into the 30 minute video (which was edited slightly in post-production to reduce the dead air between floats). While in earshot, Tarnished were covering The Go-Gos' "We Got The Beat" and while you only see them on camera for about 25 seconds, you can hear them at varying levels of clarity for two minutes before and afterwards.

Click here to jump straight to Tarnished's spot in the parade, but I won't embed that particular video here because of the sharp stationary angle of the procession. Embedded below is the parade video shot by Sunshine Gregory, who was filming further down the route at the corner of Ashmun and West Portage Avenue, capturing the procession with more of a side view, and not on a tripod. In Sunshine's video, you can first hear Ron's drumming at 24:17, and the guys are covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" at this juncture. Like they did for at least part of last year's July 4th parade, Alex & Josh walked alongside the float while both cameras were rolling, with Chris and Ron performing on the float itself, and you get a better view of that in Sunshine's video given her placement en route. Here, Tarnished are only on camera for 16 seconds, but Sunshine was moving her camera around to better capture what an attendee might see.

You can hear Tarnished finish the song, so they're audible in this parade video for about 80 seconds. The guys sound good on both covers, and Alex was definitely having fun engaging with the crowd from what was captured! If you're curious, the Independence Day parade actually featured two bands, as the E-Free Church's Sault Ste. Marie campus had contemporary Christian performers on their float, which rode down midway through the parade. They had a camera of their own rolling for their own parade video on the float itself, which gives a unique view from the other side, but check out the full parade and Tarnished's performances there above and below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dos Amigos, Tarnished, And One Shot) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's almost the Civic Holiday long weekend (well, for most) in Sault Ontario, and there's a lot of hard rock-leaning concerts going down for the occasion, so much so that it will take three posts to get through everything! Alas, most of the shows this weekend were only announced on short notice, including all of the Saturday-only gigs in the post after this one, but today's focuses on bands playing shows tomorrow night in some form or fashion. Here's what you should know to lead off this busy weekend!

Let's bookend things in Sault Michigan and the E.U.P., and we'll start with local classic metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished's return to The Merchants Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this booking on their Facebook page yesterday (The Merch still only rarely promotes bands playing there on their own social media). Last seen in St. Ignace two weeks ago, TOMORROW'S one-night-only gig will be Tarnished's first in Sault Ste. Marie proper since they rocked The Savoy Bar on Independence Day, though Alex & Josh did indeed compete in (and win) the Superior Whitefish Festival battle of the bands in Brimley this past Saturday in their new side band Crush. We'll have more on that project soon, but hopefully they ride that momentum well with Chris & Ron TOMORROW as they shift back to cover mode with Tarnished at The Merch!

TOMORROW'S concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge as usual. Hopefully Tarnished deliver some fun hard rocking covers for fans at The Merch despite the late notice, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for some more late notice gigs, starting with acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos, who will return to The Whiskey Barrel on Gore Street for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page last week, as part of their weekend music schedule for the rest of the summer, though note that the band has not posted on their Facebook page at all in over three months. TOMORROW'S show will be the BookcluB side project's first publically advertised gig anywhere since rocking the same venue in late June. While we are still lacking public videos of Mikey & Dustin unplugged, fans of their long collective work in the Inner City Surfers and more will enjoy their more reserved take on punk classics TOMORROW! This a one nighter due to The Whisky Barrel's weekly Saturday jazz night.

As usual for local gigs at this acoustic-leaning Irish pub, TOMORROW'S concert has no cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and an 8:00 PM start time. Should be a fun one for punk fans looking for a lighter evening, so visit the above links for more on Dos Amigos' Whisky Barrel return!

Also this weekend, new local rock/metal sextet One Shot will debut at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, we first learned about these dates (let alone the band) when Reggie's posted about them on their Facebook page on Monday. I don't have a lot of specifics on One Shot (not to be confused with the defunct Long Shot), but they appear to mostly be high school aged, if not entirely, and this reminds me of when Reggie's booked Sylo not long after their name change. Kudos to them for booking rising young hard rock talent on occasion like this! One Shot's lineup features singer Ashton Sommers (who you may recognize from local stage musicals), guitarists Tucker Lidstone (who has played solo folk sets at The Distraction) and Aiden Snider, ...

...bassist Alex Fournier (who also has stage musical experience), drummer Edan St. Amour, and backing(?) vocalist Kate Bird. I have yet to find a social media or band page for One Shot, let alone media of them or hints towards their sound, but young local talent is always welcomed, and hopefully they have a strong debut weekend TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are 9:30 PM shows with 19+ age limits and no cover as usual, See above for what is publically known so far about One Shot!

We'll close preview post #1 with a rarity for this weekend: previously announced shows that were first advertised before this week! These take us back to Michigan, specifically The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where local hard rock band Exit 808 will set up shop TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After seeing their Merch show in the Soo three weeks ago cancelled due to day job conflicts with multiple band members, this weekend's gigs will be Exit 808's first truly local shows since they rocked The Northern Pines Lounge in early June, with just one E.U.P. weekend left afterwards before the summer season is over. Based on tags on their Facebook page for this weekend's shows, former Exit 808 Double Jack guitarist Nathan Webber will again guest with his old band this weekend, with their ranks otherwise full re: the current lineup. We'll have more from Exit 808's non-local dates since late June in upcoming posts.

Tomorrow & Saturday's St. Ignace shows have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. This talented, dual vocalist-led hard rock band should have two more solid nights of lively covers, so as Exit 88 said, bring your friends & a positive attitude! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live last month!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for late notice Saturday-only concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Ikons Of Rock), More Weekend Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

A slight delay for this second weekend concert preview post, but it is supplemented with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this fall and some new videos from another band playing this weekend, so here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Winnipeg/Las Vegas classic rock tribute band Ikons Of Rock will make their local concert debut on Sunday, October 5th at The Sault Community Theater Centre! This wide ranging tribute pays homage to hard rock legends from the 1970s onward, and as you can see in promotional materials, members (including Harlequin & Streetheart alumni) dress up as the covered legends in questions, with an emphasis on heavier artists, including female rockers and even going as recently as Rob Zombie! Ikons of Rock's multimedia-friendly live show is sort of a "jack of all trades" approach that you might recall from Las Vegas residencies, and there's definitely lots of talent in their ranks, so it will be neat to see them at the former Kiwanis Theater this fall! Unlike the newly announced Steve-O show at the S.C.T.C. this fall, tickets have not went too fast yet, so there's plenty of good seats available for Ikons Of Rock!

This all ages concert has a 7:30 PM start time, and tickets are only being sold in the lower area, not the gallery. All seats have flat prices regardless of location, those being $65 for adults and $55 for kids 12 and under or students with valid student ID. As of this writing, there are open seats in all rows, so act now before things start filling up! Get yours at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall, and visit the above links for more details!

Next up, let's finish up this weekend's known hard rock/punk concert previews, starting with new local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos' involvement in the Lot & Loaded Parking Lot Jam outside of Forty Five Social TONIGHT! This is an outdoor acoustic concert taking place during/after the Sault Ste. Marie Festival Of Beer down Queen Street East, which has bands of their own at the Downtown Plaza (as previewed in our last post), so the 117 Spring Street men's clothing store is capitalizing on the festivities by hosting concurrent live music along with offering cocktails behind the store on their patio and attached parking lot. Of course, Dos Amigos bandmates Dustin Jones & Mikey Hawdon are also playing at the Festival Of Beer at 3:30 PM with their alternative punk sextet Bookclub, so it'll be a busy day for them!

Dos Amigos play at 7:00 PM when the Festival of Beer is slated to end, with veteran local singer/guitarist Jay Case headlining at 9:00 PM, while folk artist Matthew James at 4:00 PM, Pillory bassist Blair St. John at 2:00 PM, and country musician Marty Frolick at 1:00 PM will kick off the program at Forty Five Social. Nice change of pace and alternative for music (and beer) fans today, so keep all of the action in mind downtown, and Dos Amigos' unplugged punk covers should find an amenable audience! Lot & Loaded is a free event, and 9&10 News is currently calling for mostly cloudy weather at 17° with no chance of rain. See above for more details, and no public Dos Amigos videos yet, we'll let you know when there are!

Lastly for this weekend's hard rock concerts, we'll zip across to Rudyard, Michigan, where local hard rock quartet The Nameless are advertised to return to Huck's Pub & Grill TONIGHT! Now, I do want to preface this by noting that the band has not publicized this concert on social media, and also did not do so for their advertised Huck's concert last month, while Huck's Facebook page hasn't acknowledged this show at all since this concert calendar from May 9th. At the same time, no one has said that it isn't happening, so I'll treat it as on unless otherwise stated, but it is odd that The Nameless would promote their recent shows at The Merch but not these. Assuming all is well, tonight's Rudyard gig will be The Nameless' second there with their current lineup, and their first show anywhere since the end of May. They are a talented hard rock band with lots of fun covers, so don't miss them tonight!

Notably, veteran local country musician Gary Hatch is playing a matinee concert today to tie in with Huck's customer appreciation day (complete with a pig roast!), but this is a separate 3 hour concert, and he isn't "opening" for The Nameless. That said, Huck's recent "nighttime" concerts have all had early start times, usually at 6:00 PM, tomorrow included, so don't be late! Expect a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Nameless live!

Lastly for this post, let's look at some new videos from local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst in advance of their debut at Beck's Bar tonight! To promote the concert, one more teaser "Reel" was shared to their Facebook page, which features frontman Red Jettison and guitarist Rainey Rancourt standing outside of Beck's physical signage while debating ways to get the word out about tonight's concert. Rainey has many ideas, but will Red like any of them? Find out there, and then go see them on Goulais Avenue tonight! For something longer and embeddable, the band posted a second music video from their new album "Road Trippin'" onto their YouTube channel on May 28th (apologies for the two+ week delay), and this time, it's for the song "Steam"! Red compiled this video entirely out of public domain black-and-white cartoons from the 1930s, expanding on that concept after using an early Disney cartoon in the "Slay The Dragon" video.

This video was edited around cartoons that had something to do with trains given the song's allusion to steam engine trains, namely the Looney Tunes short Porky's Railroad and the Fleischer Studios cartoon Betty In Blunderland (a pre-Hays Code cartoon, at that!). I'm a classic cartoon buff, so I approve of re-appropriating public domain cartoons from Porky Pig & Betty Boop in this manner, and while I might prefer actually seeing HeadF1rst in their own video, Red did a good job editing this to match the song. Check out the "Steam" video below, and you may hear them play it tonight at Beck's!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Cory Marks, Tarnished, And Dos Amigos) & The Start Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Another packed concert weekend is upon us, but not as busy as we thought, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225's "uncorked" show at The Water Tower Pub has been cancelled "due to a double booking", as per their Facebook page. The double booking appears to be with the band, not the venue, as The Water Tower Pub's June concert calendar now has no one scheduled on Saturday. Hopefully all is well regardless, but don't miss Bone Yard plugged in at Reggie's next week, with their next acoustic gig being at Beck's next month! Now, let's dive into the first half of this weekend's concert previews, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

North Bay country/hard rock solo musician Cory Marks will return to Sault Ste. Marie TOMORROW NIGHT to headline at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre! I profusely apologize for the short notice, this show was first announced on social media on May 26th, unusually late notice for a show with a touring headliner, but this isn't just a run of the mill concert. This coincides with Hope Air Day, a celebration for raising awareness towards equitable health care, specifically towards providing air travel for those in remote and northern areas who need medical assistance. Hope Air proper is a charity out of Toronto that does great work for those in Northern Ontario and elsewhere with medical needs, and kudos to them and the Bushplane Museum for putting on a concert to promote the cause! Cory Marks will be familiar from his Machine Shop dates in July 2023 & September 2024, where his hard rock and country hybrid originals got a strong reception, and it will be good to see him in a charitable light for local show #3!

Events will take place at the Bushplane Museum and at the Sault Ste. Marie Airport TOMORROW to promote Hope Air Day, and Cory filmed this Facebook video last month to plug the event. Taking over for Silent 9 as local openers TONIGHT are new local acoustic folk duo The Dustcovers. TOMORROW's concert is all ages at 7:00 PM, and it is FREE, though you can RSVP at this link to guarantee a seat. Reportedly, Hope Air's Facebook page will be live-streaming TOMORROW'S concert as well, and remember that Facebook live-streamed videos are now time-limited to 30 days. I'm really surprised at the lack of buzz for this show, but it should be a great time for a great cause! See above for more details, and here's Cory live!

Next up, we'll start at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room, where new local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will take the stage for their third concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via personal Facebook postings and "Reels" from the band. Similarly, personal Facebook postings indicated that Dos Amigos actually played their second show at Outspoken Brewing this past Saturday, a show that they nor the Queen Street East microbrewery acknowledged publically on Facebook, just via personal accounts. That was an even busier weekend as it was, but I profusely apologize for missing that show, even with the lack of public postings about it. Hopefully Dustin & Mikey got a strong reception at Outspoken, and will again at Northern Superior's Tap Room TOMORROW!

While Dos Amigos have surprisingly not posted on their Facebook page in almost two months (and have no publically embeddable videos yet), friends of Mikey Hawdon & Dustin Jones on Facebook can see "Reels" of them playing acoustic covers, with the newest one being a fine acoustic cover of Rancid's "Olympia, WA". Even if it was public, it's a "Reel" (and black & white), so track it down if you're curious! You can see half of the Inner City Surfers rocking the Tap Room TOMORROW at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details!

Also today, let's head across to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, the band only announced the show via its official Facebook event page on Tuesday. Last seen in Brimley two weeks ago, this will be Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron's first concert in the Soo proper since rocking The Merch in early April. Good to see Tarnished staying busy, and despite the late notice, hopefully they draw a solid crowd for their hard hitting covers (and perhaps a few originals?) on SATURDAY! As usual for Tarnished's stops at The Merch, expect a 9:00 PM start time at 108 West Spruce Street with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details on SATURDAY'S concert, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live last year!

Finally for this post, we'll head even further south to St. Ignace, specifically at their Kewadin Casino branch, where local hard rock band Exit 808 will take the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge! Considered to be the kickoff to the band's summer concert series, these previously announced shows will be their first gigs since the Musicians Unite fundraiser in the Soo in March, and their first shows in St. Ignace all year, so if you've missed seeing them in the last two months (or beyond in Mackinac County), don't miss their hard rocking, two vocalist-led cover attack all weekend! Like at Musicians Unite, Exit 808 will be sans guitarist/bassist Blaze Beairl for unannounced reasons (no, Heavy Lies The Crown aren't playing this weekend), so sitting in on both instruments are ex-guitarist Nathan Webber (in his first show with his old band in over a year) and Project 906's Joe Jenkins on bass.

Joe had sat in with Exit 808 at Musicians Unite, so he'll be familiar in that respect, while it is neat to see Nathan (currently with About:Blank) rejoining the former Double Jack for a night! Tomorrow and Saturday's shows (their only E.U.P. dates this month) are 9:00 PM events with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Exit 808 live!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dos Amigos & Curtis McKenzie), A New Song, And More Updates!!

We've made it to the month of June, and as far as I'm concerned, the summer season has also begun! Starting off things for June 2025 is a new news post featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on very SHORT NOTICE), a new single from a local metal project, and some assorted recent notes, so here's what you should know on this Sunday morning!

Former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to Beck's Bar for a matinee concert TODAY! Apologies for the short notice, this gig is legitimately a late notice replacement show due to folk singer/guitarist Matthew James dropping out of his planned Sunday matinee date there for publically unannounced reasons. Hopefully all is well with Matthew, but kudos to Curt for slotting in on a day's notice, and if you missed him at The Dive on Thursday, you have another chance to see his hard rock covers earlier than you may have realized! However, TODAY's matinee is a change from the former Vibe Lounge's usual scheduling, as it will have a special start time of 1:00 PM rather than 3:00 PM. This is to accommodate Beck's Bar's late involvement in the United Ironworkers Motorcycle Club 786's annual Poker Run, which will see participating bikers stop in at Beck's en route. Click here for full details on the Poker Run itself.

Should be a unique atmosphere for this concert, especially so recently into Beck's run since re-opening, and hopefully there's a good turnout for Curtis' covers at this Goulais River nightclub TODAY! As usual, expect a 19+ age limit and no cover, and remember, this show starts two hours early for the Poker Run's benefit, so Curt's not guaranteed past 5:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on TODAY'S late notice concert, and here's Curt live!

Next up, new local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will take part in the Lot & Loaded Parking Lot Jam outside of Forty Five Social on Saturday, June 14th! This special multi-act concert is being held concurrently with the annual Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer, and will take place in the parking lot of the men's clothing store in the former Salvation Army building at 117 Spring Street, which is just a stone's throw from the Festival of Beer itself, and "crafty cocktails" will be offered on site while checking out Lot & Loaded. We await full confirmation on the Downtown Plaza music lineup for the festival proper, but the Parking Lot Jam means that Mikey Hawdon & Dustin Jones will be pulling double duty, as they'll be playing prior at some point with their alternative cover band Bookclub. Should be a fun, if busy day for Mikey & Dustin, so don't miss out in two weeks at both locations! At Forty Five Social, Dos Amigos are co-headlining at 7:00 PM, which is when the Festival of Beer itself ends.

Headlining here is veteran local musician Jay Case at 9:00 PM, while the other musicians are the aforementioned Matthew (or "Matty") James at 4:00 PM, Pillory bassist Blair St. John at 2:00 PM, and country music veteran Marty Frolick at 1:00 PM. There is no announced cover charge for this outdoor concert, and while there isn't a stated age limit, remember that this is coinciding with the Festival of Beer. Visit the above links for more details!

Also today, here's a brand new studio single from local deathcore duo Hollow Sky! Their third original song and first in just over a year, the song is called "To Die For", and according to the band, it's streaming "everywhere". Definitely not an accurate claim, as unlike their first two singles, it's not on Boomplay (yet?), let alone Bandcamp, Tidal, and so on. By "everywhere", they mean Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Deezer. To promote the single, Hollow Sky ramped up their social media presence in the preceding weeks, including teaser "Reels" featuring the single cover artwork and clips of the song, one featuring guitarist Adam Fahrer playing a djent riff from it. While we're in the unembeddable and vertical portion of this post, they also shared a "Reel" of Adam playing along with Dream Theater's "Strange Deja Vu", a song whose riff he loves. Sounds good to me!

The last teaser video (not a "Reel" despite being vertically framed) features on-screen lyrics for the sample clip, implying that they might be posting a full lyric video for "To Die For", but as best as I can tell, there isn't one yet. Featuring clean vocals along with death growling from Liam Tallon alternating relatively frequently, this track has a catchy bounce to it while still displaying really solid technical guitar work, and the production suits everything well, so it's great to see Hollow Sky back at it! No word on if we'll be waiting another year for their fourth song, but give yourself something to die for below, and stay tuned for more Hollow Sky updates!

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

 

• I have moved local hardcore punk solo project Choking On Appendages to our inactive band links. A heavier solo project than we had previously seen from Hails/Agnosticism guitarist Mikhal Muto, C.O.A.'s only public activity was the release of their debut EP "Macabre" on Bandcamp on May 30th last year, with no further social media pages launching for the project. I liked what I heard from Choking On Appendages, and hopefully Mikhal revisits them down the road, but follow his current bands and promoted concerts to see what he's currently up to!
• Also back in our inactive links is local death metal band Chronic Demonic, who have not posted on their Facebook page since one year ago yesterday. A long-gestating group led by ex-Frightlight guitarist Kevin Powe & ex-Faithless Sin bassist Ryan Gratton, Chronic Demonic played live just once, covering The Misfits at the former Roosevelt Hotel back in 2013, though they continued updating fans on their updates (or lack thereof) for over a decade afterwards. Their perseverance was always nice to see, and it'd be great to see that proper concert down the road! Hopefully we hear more from Nik, Kevin, Ryan, Jonathan, and other ex-members soon, and R.I.P. Sabrina!
• In a late addition to the Derev-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on May 23rd, promoter Tyler St. Amour (also using his middle name William in the advertising) opened the show with a solo set, as per his agency Heavy North Entertainment's Facebook page that morning. Tyler's addition was "due to some scheduling conflicts", but whether he was replacing advertised solo opener Chase Wigmore or was an extra act, I can't immediately confirm. As a musician, Tyler is best known as a metal bassist and vocalist with bands like Them and Bardo, but this was implied to be an acoustic set, so it'd be interesting to hear how he sounds in that format!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

More Weekend Concert Previews, A New Local Punk Band, And An Archive Interview!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran local journalist and concert videographer Mike Caruso, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 77. You can read his self-penned obituary at this link, which confirms that he is survived by his son Chris, sister Rose, a niece and multiple nephews, and their extended family. There will be no funeral services, but arrangements are entrusted to the O'Sullivan Funeral Home, and donations to the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie in his name would be appreciated. Mike was a mainstay of Sault Ontario news via his association with Craig Huckerby's local news websites (LTVNews, SooNews, Local2, SaultOnline, and FirstLocalNews) over the years, with his camera frequently rolling for articles and features. Mike was an ardent supporter of local music, and he filmed countless bands at nightclubs, charity events, and festivals over the years.

While videos uploaded directly to the news sites are obviously long gone, Mike uploaded dozens of concert videos to his YouTube channel from 2010 to 2020, capturing a wide swath of local musicians in their element, often focusing on veteran cover acts, and he remained supportive even amidst his more recent health issues. Mike also acted in the first six seasons of the local Rogers TV soap opera Tami. My interactions with Mike were largely just brief pleasantries at concerts, but he was a good man who did so much to promote local musicians and the Soo at large, and he will be missed. R.I.P. Mike!

Today's post otherwise wraps up this weekend's concert previews, plus a surprise interview find, and to start, here's our preview of a show from a debuting local band and new addition to our links, namely Dos Amigos! A spinoff/sister band to both The Inner City Surfers and Bookclub, Dos Amigos (whose name and branding is inspired by the movie Three Amigos) feature singer/guitarists Dustin Jones and Mikey Hawdon in another collaborative project. If you're familiar with their other band work (let alone Mikey's acoustic exploits on his uke), you should be right at home here, and they will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at The Whisky Barrel! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced this week alongside the band's public launch. This new project doesn't have public videos yet, but two "Reels" are circulating on personal Facebook pages, and you can see Mikey & Dustin covering Blink-182 and Bad Religion in them.

What I heard sounds good, and definitely would seem to indicate a lean more into punk than Bookclub tend to play, so definitely track those "Reels" down for a preview of TOMORROW'S unplugged action on Gore Street! Two more shows were announced on personal postings, but I'll wait for public advertising of them before covering them here, unless none is forthcoming, then they'll get the short notice treatment. TOMORROW's debut of Dos Amigos goes down at 8:00 PM at The Whisky Barrel with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Dos Amigos!

Next up, here's the last known local hard rock concert for this weekend, which will see former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie make his debut at Beck's Bar TOMORROW! While best known for playing at The Dive since resurrecting his solo project, this will be a prime opportunity for Curt to unleash his hard and alternative rock covers on a new audience and locale, so head to the former Vibe Lounge on Goulais Avenue (near Millie's Mini-Mart) tomorrow to hear some solid covers in a familiar but still new locale! Tomorrow's show is in Beck's 3:00-7:00 PM matinee timeslot, and precedes that night's separate concert from Tex Riviera & The Ride (Curtis isn't "opening" for The Ride, these are separate concerts on the same day, but you can stick around to see both if you choose). Early start aside, this has a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Curt live!

Finally for today, here's a surprise YouTube discovery, namely a video upload of a text interview, and it was with late Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold! This dates back to November 27th, 2004, shortly after the release of their second CD "Pursuit Of The Sun & Allure Of The Earth", and was conducted by "Lockeed" of the old online metal magazine Lunar Hypnosis. Almost two decades later, 'zine founder Joe Mlodik re-published it in video form for his his YouTube channel Joe's Metal Mancave this past September, with music supplied by his Wisconsin-based ambient solo project Noctilucant. The interview is literally screenshotted in from Lunar Hypnosis, and the contrast isn't ideal to read the text even at full screen, but you'll see David discuss the early response to "Woods II", how he described their sound at the time ("summer black metal" is what he called it), the inspiration behind their name, ...

...then-recent band member departures, the launch of his own label Krankenhaus Records, and their 2005 plans, including their unreleased cover of Bathory's "Lake Of Fire", early teasers of "Woods III", and their next lineup additions. As a bonus, three Lunar Hypnosis reviews of Woods' first two CDs are screenshotted at the end, with "Greg B" giving their first two CDs a 7/10 and 8/10 each, and "Steak Eyes" giving "Pursuit..." a 7/10. Not the easiest interview to read visually, but it's great to see someone republish an old 'zine interview like this, let alone on Woods of Ypres, and it's interesting to see how things were going early in Woods' Toronto era with two decades of hindsight! Check it out for yourselves below, and R.I.P. David!

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