Today's post is almost entirely devoted to one local band in particular, and one that I no longer have to include the "online page-less" qualifier for in write-ups! LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS lie within as well, so here's what you should know on this rainy Sunday morning!
We have a new-ish local band to add to our links, and they are BookcluB, at long last! Despite debuting on stage at Outspoken Brewing's Oktoberfest concert in 2022, it took over 20 months for the band to launch a Facebook page, so now we can link them here and they can publically promote gigs on social media! As you may know, BookcluB is the current live project from former Inner City Surfers/Rising Tide bandmates Mikey Hawdon & Dustin Jones, albeit in different roles (Mikey on vocals & guitar, Dustin on bass). Since debuting, they have been joined by drummer Allan Watson (ex-Room 206) and trumpet player Erin Antonello, while Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling came on board by last fall to round out their horn section. Handsome Sandwich/ex-Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch is the band's newest member, joining over the winter to replace fellow Surfers/Room 206 alum Dave Bahun.
Rather than sticking to most members' punk backgrounds, BookcluB specialize in alternative and indie rock covers, often songs that other local bands don't play. There's enough here to cross the SMS' radar based on their complete playlist and background, and of course, they'd theoretically do a bang-up job on ska punk with Josh & Erin around! BookcluB have played numerous festivals and community events since debuting, far moreso than traditional bar gigs, including sets last year at the Fringe North and Summer Moon Festivals, a Queen Street block party last August, Mikey's pre-wedding concert at Soo Blaster featuring multiple bands of his, and two December headlining dates at LopLops, among other events. Recently seen at the Great Lakes Outdoor Show and Searchmont's Spring Bash, BookcluB's next show (weather permitting?) is at Thomson Farmstoday at 1:00 PM during their first ever teddy bear picnic.
Other previously announced dates from them ahead include their second straight Rotaryfest Stage 1 set at Clergue Park on Saturday, July 20th, before playing at the second annual Salty Marie Trails Fest at Hiawatha Highlands the following week. It is newly confirmed that local pop rock cover band The Dead Stops (featuring Garden of Bedlam & Sense of Truth alumni) will be opening there, so look for them at the Trails Fest too! Three dates (one oddly not referenced on the band's Facebook page yet) are new to us, including a reported set this weekend during Poutine Feast, which moves to the new Downtown Plaza this year after previously being held outside of the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site. Given the relatively late notice, I'll hold off on formally going into details at this juncture, but we'll have more for our Canada Day weekend concert previews (last year, Poutine Feast organizers only announced the full entertainment lineups on the Tuesday prior).
The next date is the one that BookcluB didn't mention (yet), as they'll return to The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Thursday, August 8th! This show takes place during the city of Sault Ste. Marie's annual
Summer Concert Series under the big tent, with musicians again playing
there on Tuesdays and Thursdays in July & August, though BookcluB
are the only real SMS-amenable band scheduled for 2024 (click here for the full performer lineup).
BookcluB played in this series last summer too, and hopefully they get a
solid crowd and non-humid weather for the occasion! This Thursday
nighter takes place at 7:00 PM, it's definitely all ages, and there is
no cover charge. Lastly for today's BookcluB announcements, they will hit The Machine Shop on Saturday, September 28th when they play at The ARCH Bucket List Ball, a returning charity event to support the Algoma Regional Community Hospice.
The ball will feature "an abundance of alluring adventures", including dinner and refreshments, caricature portraits, a magician, tattoos, and more entertainment to support ARCH, and hopefully there's a great turnout for the cause this fall! Note that organizers have not confirmed BookcluB's involvement online, let alone possible other musicians. A 5:00 PM start time is advertised for this all ages event, but given the charity ball nature and all you get for going, tickets cost $125 (you can buy them and 10-person table seating at this link). We'll pick things back up for BookcluB with our Poutine Feast late notice preview later this week, but see above for much more on them now that they have social media! Thanks everyone!
Due to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS hitting the old news desk, I have extended our third (and final?) weekend concert preview post for the New Year's Eve weekend to cover five different events, all but one taking place on Sunday night to ring in 2024. Soundcheck aside (whose New Year's show was covered on the site yesterday), here's what you should know for the remainder of the local hard rock slate!
Online page-less local punk/alternative cover quintet Bookclub will topline Sault Noir's New Year's Eve party Saved By The Ball on SUNDAY NIGHT at The Machine Shop! Apologies for the short notice, Bookclub were announced as performing at this event a few weeks ago but it completely slipped us by until this week. The second concert event put on by ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick's current promotion agency to feature a punk or hard rock band, Sault Noir are sparing no expense to make this a night to remember, including 1990s-themed costume and dance contests with prizes, dancers from Soo Dance Unlimited, and a honest-to-goodness ball drop inside the venue at midnight. Read more about the inspiration and expectations for Saved By The Ball in this SooToday article by Chris Belsito yesterday! Musically speaking, Bookclub will be joined by rappers from No Filter Records (only Sawbe was identified by name in promotional materials) and DJs AngelAzura, DJ Seith, and Damaging D.
Saved By The Ball is a licensed & ALL AGES event, though attendees under 16 years of age must have adult accompaniment. Tickets run for $25 apiece and include a free slice of pizza and entries for draws to win a VIP ticket upgrade or passes to all of Sault Noir's 2024 events. VIP tickets are $100 and also get you a loot bag, early entry at 7:00 PM (the event otherwise begins at 8:00 PM), and access to the upper mezzanine. A $100 group rate for 5 people also exists, and get your tickets at the door or online at this link. Proceeds from this event will worthily go to Pauline's Place and The Soup Kitchen. Visit the official Facebook event page & the above links for more details on this huge event, and here's Bookclub live!
Next up, we'll head over to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for the first of three known New Year's Eve concerts from hard rock bands, as local classic metal/hard rock trio Tarnished will be sending out 2023 on SUNDAY NIGHT at... The Fraternal Order Of Orioles Nest in Kincheloe? Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced that they were playing here on Wednesday. This club has sporadically been hosting live music in the latter half of 2023, and they'll welcome Tarnish(ed) there for the first time to Nest 311 for their New Year's party, which is publically attendable and not limited to existing Orioles. Hors d'oeuvres will be served throughout the festivities, and it'll be interesting to see how Alex, Parker, and Josh go over on SUNDAY in case it could lead to more hard rock-leaning concerts there! This New Year's event goes down at 4916 West Curtis Street in Kincheloe (20 minutes south of the Soo) on SUNDAY NIGHT at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Now back to shows that did have advance notice, and we'll take a slight detour back to Sault Ontario for a show taking place TOMORROW NIGHT, as local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will play their final show of the year when they go acoustic at The Water Tower Pub! Last seen unplugged two weeks ago at Gateway Casino and at The Water Tower Pub early last month, hopefully Greg, Alex, and Warren's classic and hard rock favourites find another strong audience at this central venue tomorrow! A one nighter as per usual at The Water Tower Pub (Angry Joe & The Growlers are playing there tonight), tomorrow's show is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, Bone Yard have four new live-streamed videos on their Facebook page to check out! These all come from their show at The Esquire Club this past Saturday.
The videos include what appear to be two original songs, something that Bone Yard has long teased but rarely post videos of. One is "a new one" whose lyrics were not especially clear, but the other one appears to be called "Fuck Around & Find Out". The two cover videos are of Van Halen's "Eruption" & The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" back to back and, as embedded below, Van Halen's "Ice Cream Man" (I embedded that here as its structure is the most amenable to being played unplugged). Alas, all four videos were shot vertically, but the filmer had a good vantage point to capture Bone Yard's set, and their originals are solid hard rock compositions, so give them a watch for yourselves above & below!
Back to Sault Michigan and area we go, and we'll next head to the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Michigan-based classic/hard rock tribute band The Rock Show will make their local debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge! One of two touring tribute bands playing New Year's Eve parties at Kewadin's two regional branch lounges (Niagara Falls party rock cover band XPrime are playing at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo), The Rock Show will definitely give fans in St. Ignace and Mackinac County the heavier night of rock favourites on Sunday, so be sure to visit their website to find out what all they have in their back pocket! Yes, The Rock Show have an alter ego as a Journey tribute band, who will be playing a private event at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin branch tomorrow while they're in the U.P., so if you see anything about that, now you know!
I am unsure about specific New Year's frills, but it isn't unreasonable to expect something beyond the usual cover band amenities. As such, there is no advertised admission fee/cover charge on Sunday, it remains a 21+ event, and expect a 9:00 PM start time. From what I have seen of The Rock Show, they deliver the goods for fans of classic and hard rock, so don't miss out on their 2023-capping concert in St. Ignace! See above for more details, and here they are live!
Finally for known hard rock concerts on this jam-packed New Year's weekend, we'll head back to Sault Ste. Marie, where local hard rock quintet The Nameless will end the year on SUNDAY NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! While not announced by the venue on Facebook (as is sadly far more common than not for bands who play there), this will be The Nameless' first gig since rocking The Merch for that venue's Halloween party, and they will reportedly return in March for a St. Patrick's Day weekend gig, exact date and such forthcoming. No details on end-of-year party frills were given, but hopefully Sault Michigan fans who want to enjoy some live hard rock covers will get the opportunity on Sunday! If you are at all curious, Sault Ste. Marie's annual anchor (not ball) drop will take place just not far from The Merch on Ashmun Street, so if you want to duck out to be part of the festivities, click here for full details!
Sunday's Nameless concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, click here for their sole public (if unembeddable) concert video, and see above and yesterday's post for complete details on hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults known to me over the next few days! Thanks everyone!
Hey everyone, it's time for our next concert review, as for the first time ever, I'll share my thoughts on a Roosevelt Hotel punk night! Stay tuned afterwards though for how you can check out another new song from Garden of Bedlam's forthcoming full length album, but now, here's the review!
As yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, the Rosie was decorated in green and shamrocks for the occasion, and yes, green beer flowed throughout! Opening the festivities for this punk night was local/Toronto classical/punk trio RedD Monkey, who were about as good as I've ever seen them! Their mix of fast paced punk rock with a cello is always a unique sight, and they delivered soem good rocking material last night! Along with their original punk tunes, they brought back their "cello rap" sound to open and close the set, even throwing a cover of Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" in there, which was unexpected! Their energy was very good, and Steve Mozarowski's voice hit all the right notes, even with his on-stage banter! Solid punk set from them, and it's nice to see them play for a bit longer than I'm used to! After them were Montreal pop punk band Skepsis, who put in a solid set of their style of music, though I'm admittedly not a fan of pop punk. They had good energy and seemed happy to be playing in town! They are a talented band, and it showed on the songs they played, though Collin Steinz's singing was hard to make out for some reason. Not my thing, but they put in some good stuff, all things considered, and they fit well in this show!
The main event was "green Irish metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage, who were right in the St. Patrick's Day theme, with members donning either St. Patrick's Day-related hats or dyed green hair! This was the first time I've seen them live in a year, and luckily they didn't appear to lose a step from then, although I did miss Curious George at his usual placement in front of the drumkit. Musically, in case you don't remember, Sykotyk Rampage's songs are made up at recording sessions, then re-learned for live performances, and the style of them is widely varying and very original. You have to hear them to get it, but I appreciate their sound, which is tailor made for drinking! They broke out drinking songs like "Drinking On The Weekend", "Drinking Problem", "and "Called In Dead" last night, including a well received cover of Flogging Molly's "Fuck You, I'm Drunk", which seemed to sum up the night well! Other "sykotyk" tunes like "Dolly & Valium", "Sex Toy, Oh My Baby", and "Lowest Of The Low" made the cut last night, with Paul and Dirk Becker's unique styles of singing giving voice to the material! The band played as well as I could expect for this harsh brand of music, but their stage arrangement seemed very cramped, and Brian Cattapan wasn't as animated on stage as I was previously used to seeing.
Overall though, for the sound Sykotyk Rampage provide on stage, they delivered as good of a set as I expected! There were of course numerous songs I'd like to have heard on stage, like "Take A Bite", "Long Way Down My C**k", "He Drinks", and any of the old "Wanga Danga" tracks, but with a 23 album back catalog, omissions are more than expected. They won't be everyone's cup of tea, but their brand of "crash music" will find fans among you punk rockers and metalheads, so give them a chance and see if you can appreciate their original brand of music! Of course, St. Patrick's Day fit well for their drunken madness too, so that ambiance is also nice! Check out my photos from last night at this location, or visit The Sault Metal Scene's Facebook page! And yes, I do have a video, so here's Sykotyk Rampage playing their song "Sex Toy, Oh My Baby"!
One more note today, and it's courtesy of Garden of Bedlam! They've been keeping busy recently, including booking a new out of town concert date on June 11th in Thunder Bay, and launching a campaign to get on this year's 15th annual Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands at this year's Vans Warped Tour! As in last year's campaigns by Lion Ride, Sykotyk Rampage, and many more Canadian bands, Garden of Bedlam are hoping to earn a slot on the Battle of the Bands at one Warped Tour show this summer, specifically the Mississauga stop on July 15th at The Flats at Arrow Hall. If successful, Garden of Bedlam could not only play at The Warped Tour in Mississauga, but could compete a chance to record a 3 song EP with producer Matt Squire and a $15,000 Guitar Center shopping spree! Another local band's getting on this again too, I'll tell you about them soon as well, but click here to vote for Garden of Bedlam! You MUST register a free account to vote, but it's a painless process, trust me. They need the support, they only have 27 votes at present (over 1,500 out of the top 10 for Mississauga), so let's band together and get their votes up! Check the above links for more, and did you notice there's something...."new" in the music player?
It's a new studio quality song from Garden of Bedlam, more specifically, "Three Days"! That was the song about the Kiss Battle of the Bands from 2009, and now you can stream it on their Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands page at this location! Note that if you're a Firefox user like myself, the player might not load (it doesn't for me), so I recommend opening their Battle of the Bands page on Internet Explorer to hear the new song. What do I think? Again, I'm holding my complete thoughts until my planned CD review of "Everything Will Die", but if you liked "Three Days" live, your feelings won't change! Check the above links for all that's new from Garden of Bedlam!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our new poll, which launches TONIGHT! Thanks everyone!
Hey everyone, I apologize for the lack of updates over the last little while. I was in Detroit for family Christmas stuff, and my uncle's computer (and lack of Firefox) didn't make SMS posting easy. Plus, we've been busy as well, but on Saturday, I had good reason to not be around that night: I was at a concert with a local band! That is this post's first story, but stay tuned afterwards for some VERY exciting news from Woods of Ypres! Firstly though, here's what went down at that concert on Saturday night!
A few weeks ago, Elipzis bassist Ryan Harrison offered me some complimentary tickets to a show they'd be playing on December 18th, which was the WRIF Jingle Ball in Warren, Michigan, just outside of Detroit. Because I was going down there that weekend anyway, and because I'm overdue to see this rising local hard rock band in action, I agreed! However, after an issue involving a hacked Facebook account, there wasn't any follow-up on Ryan's offer. Then, Elipzis announced last week that they were holding a contest for three prize packages from the band and GHS Strings, the guitar company who sponsor guitarist Chris Webster, including lots of GHS swag and two tickets to the WRIF Jingle Ball. Fans could enter by e-mailing their MySpace page to suggest what song they should open their set with. Still hoping to go, I entered and suggested they open with "Six Shots". Not long after, I was informed I won, so it was off to The Ritz in Warren for me! Before I discuss their set, I want to add that all four members of Elipzis (and their manager) are complete class acts who were all welcoming, kind, and completely lacking any rock star egos! I couldn't say enough nice things about them, and I want to thank them for the hospitality, the copy of their demo, and for everything else they've said, done, and offered before and since!
Elipzis were fourth on the bill, smack dab in the middle of the show, following three other female fronted Michigan rock bands: Anderson Valley from Oakland County, and Detroit's own Mound Road Engine and Fillmore Slim. I missed half of Anderson Valley's set (I didn't figure they'd start so early), but they got in the Christmas spirit and sounded alright, though nothing about their sound or set really stuck with me. Mound Road Engine were heavier and I loved their frontwoman's stage presence, but her voice had an odd nasal tone. Her range was very nice though, and the band were energetic and had some good sounds! Fillmore Slim were more original, especially from their look, though not as heavy. More of a glam rock sound, with decent aggression and some catchy songs, but the singing wasn't as rangy as I'd have hoped. When Elipzis hit the stage, the audience was sadly pretty sparse up front, but the band sounded really good! I hate sounding locally biased, but I'm 100% honest: They were the best band to that point! I have praised frontwoman Rachel "Fizz" Kiger's singing before on the SMS, but live, she sounds pretty close to the studio tracks, so theres little to complain about there! I like the operatic quality her singing can take on certain songs, and she honestly had the best vocal range of the singers from the bands on Saturday night!
Chris Webster shown off some nice riffing and solos during Elipzis' set, and though he seemed a bit tucked away in the corner of the stage, he shown a high energy level and seemed into each song! Ryan Harrison, who I previously was most familiar with as a singer in the now-defunct Riot! By Night, proved to be a more than capable bassist as well! His lines and notes sounded good when they were audible, though some solo sections would be nice to hear once in a while! Drummer Bob Helsten (a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone of I.S.O.M. and End of Existence fame) was very much into into each song on drums, never faltering, while offering some brutal backing vocals on "Take Me On"! That's something I'd like to hear more of, as you can never be too heavy! What struck me about these guys (and girl) especially was their chemistry. It was evident on every song, be it the originals on their demo or their covers of songs by Evanescence and Halestorm! After their set, the band members expressed disappointment (or worse) concerning the sound at The Ritz and the audio feedback they heard throughout the set, but I honestly couldn't tell, they sounded just fine to me!
It was really nice to see Elipzis after months of covering them here, and I never would have guessed that my first time seeing them live would be somewhere other than Sault Michigan! I honestly would rank them very high, if not #1, of the bands that played at the WRIF Jingle Ball, as they had the best mix of hard rock, top level singing, and visible chemistry of the bands on the bill! Radio hard rock fans will be sure to enjoy Elipzis, so the next time they're back home, make sure to check them out! And because of the fact that a "review on the run" for the SMS is a new thing (and it's the Christmas season), I took two videos, so check them out below, Elipzis playing their originals "Take Me On" and "Forensic Truth"!
The rest of the concert featured three more bands, including Detroit hard rockers 60 Second Crush, California solo artist The Fabulous Miss Wendy, and Detroit rock quintet Sponge. It's interesting to note that all seven bands on Saturday except Sponge had a female member, and of those, all but 60 Second Crush had a female singer. Women were definitely in control on Saturday in two different respects: on stage and on stripper poles, where a raunchy Santa Claus' "naughty pole dancing elves" provided entertainment of their own. No I didn't get pictures, in case someone asks, I don't want to invoke any negative responses in case someone finds that stuff offensive. Of the top three bands, 60 Second Crush had a solid sound but the frontman's singing was pretty standard and didn't stack up to the female singers of earlier. The Fabulous Miss Wendy really impressed me with her guitar skills and energy, and the fans responded well to her! Former Kid Rock guitarist Kenny Olson also joined in during her set, which was cool to see, especially from a guy who enjoyed Kenny's work with Kid Rock before he went country on us. Sponge though, I have to admit, didn't grab my attention at all. They weren't all that heavy, the songs seemed to just lie there, and nothing seemed glaringly original. They had awesome crowd support, but I can't say I really enjoyed them.
The atmosphere was also really nice, with holiday wreath raffles (I won one from No Fun Records), merchandise from Chiller Drive-In and Fourtwenty Clothing, and live broadcasting for Detroit rock station 101 WRIF! This was a fun concert, and different from what I usually see locally, which isn't a bad thing! I made out with lots of prizes, a great first impression of Elipzis, and some good music to boot! Maybe down the road, I'll review more sets from local bands if they play a concert out of town when I'm in the same area!
Finally for today, here's some big news from local doom metal band Woods of Ypres! Remember last August when I mentioned the interview that frontman David Gold conducted with the Canadian comedy metal podcast The Governor's Ball? Well, a new interview with David is featured in the newest "blackened holiday" episode of The Governor's Ball that was posted online on Friday! Conducted while David was still in Kuwait (he's back home in Canada now), The Governor asked David about why he went to Kuwait, what it's like for him out there musically, Woods of Ypres' signing with Earache Records, why they finally signed a label deal, their upcoming new album "Woods V: You Were The Light", Earache's reissue plans for "Woods IV: The Green Album" (how does a vinyl release sound?), plans for some unreleased newer material, and the things he'll take back from his Kuwait experience. The absence of talk of Woods of Ypres' fake breakup is odd, but it's a nice long interview that covers a lot of ground about the band's past and future! The Governor lets David talk about anything and everything without interruption, which is nice, and he also injects some humour into the proceedings! His "horror villain" voice is especially unique, it always has been! I don't listen to The Governor's Ball as often as I really should, but I have got to amend that!
The interview starts about 1:30 into part 2 of the current episode, and runs until about 20 minutes into the file. We can't leave it there though, as pretty much as soon as the interview wraps up, music plays underneath The Governor's speaking, evolving into...A NEW WOODS OF YPRES SONG! It's their new album's title track, "You Were The Light", and it's a very solid number that feels like a more upbeat (but still doomy) version of a "Woods IV" song! I won't pass detailed judgment until we review "Woods V", but it won't get a negative review! It runs from around 20 minutes in until roughly 26 minutes in, and after a short commercial for The Governor's Ball, it's time for ANOTHER new Woods of Ypres song! Entitled "Falling Apart", it's much heavier than the first track, and also a really cool song, but again, I won't give a detailed critique until "Woods V" is in our hands! This song runs until around 33 ½ minutes into the file. So, how can you listen to the interview with David and both of the new Woods of Ypres songs? Just click here! It opens as a QuickTime file on my browser, but it works on other media players if you download it. Check out the rest of the podcast at this location, including Part 1 and the latter half of Part 2, featuring guest co-hosts Silenoz from Dimmu Borgir and Ivar Bjornson from Enslaved talking about metal and their bands with The Governor! This is well worth your time, give The Governor's Ball a listen TODAY, and I'll have more from Woods of Ypres as it comes in!
I'd normally say that this is all for today, but I just remembered: I have a Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile to post tonight! It is on S.C.A.R., featuring local solo artist Mike Haggith, so watch out for that in the next few hours! Stay tuned!
