LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Wolf Fest & Double Down!!)

In today's post, we're focusing solely on LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all involving prominent local cover bands, so here's what you should know for later this month and beyond!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's summer break is almost over, and after eleven weeks away from the public stage (even festivals), they have announced a busy slate of nightclub gigs through mid-December! Now, two caveats here: I'll hold their return gigs next weekend for that round of weekend concert previews given the now-short notice, while with the exception of next weekend's dates, all shows are listed as being on a single night (and all but one of those is given as being on a Friday only). Given normal booking trends, I will treat the Jay's and Reggie's bookings as being for the Friday and Saturday of the given weekends, but we'll let you know if that isn't the case. All new dates were announced via Facebook event pages this summer, mostly last month. Beyond next weekend, their first show back at The Water Tower Pub since June will take place on Friday, September 19th, with a return there also taking place on Friday, November 21st.

Both of these are one-nighters, as The Water Tower Pub historically doesn't book the same band on consecutive days. After playing a private stag & doe on September 26th, fans can see Joel, Beej, Dan, and Ric back at Beck's Bar for one night only on Saturday, September 27th, and it will be good to see them back at this newer west end favourite for the first time this fall! On October 3rd and 4th, Double Down will return to Reggie's Place for the first time since last year, and while I don't know why the Syrettes and crew haven't played there in so long, hopefully they rock the house well for downtown fans next month! Lastly, as part of their run of monthly weekends at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, you can see the guys back at the Korah Road nightclub over the Thanksgiving long weekend (October 10th-11th) before returning to the former Roosevelt Hotel on November 21st-22nd and December 12th-13th.

Sounds like a lot of good chances ahead to hear their hard rocking cover array, complete with teased new setlist additions, so keep all of these dates in mind, and we'll address their first shows back from their break on Thursday! All of these shows are 19+ with no announced cover charge, while start times are 8:00 PM at The Water Tower Pub, 9:00 PM at Beck's, and 9:30 PM at Reggie's and Jay's. Visit the above links for more details on Double Down's fall/winter return schedule!

Finally, and after three weeks of teasers from Northern Superior Brewing Co., we can finally answer this question: What is Wolf Fest? Well, it is a community festival taking place on Saturday, September 27th where the downtown microbrewery plans to give back to the Sault area and supporters, and there will be beer on tap (as you'd expect) plus food and a wide array of local vendors and artisans. This even extends to barbers, tattoo artists, and an arcade, believe it or not! Visit the brewery's Facebook page for complete non-musical details so far. Rather than cram everything into the Tap Room on site, Northern Superior will hold Wolf Fest at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and four bands will rock the big stage under the tent there, including classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9, confirming their prior teasers about playing here. Good to see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve back at it after their recent Tap Room gig!

The headliners in three weeks are veteran local/Toronto pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks (who do cover hard rock songs on occasion), while frontman Tony Marcello's son Anthony will play a rare concert with his dad that night when his indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous also rock Wolf Fest. The advertised lineup is rounded out by online page-less Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury (featuring Redefined, Late Shift, Headrush, Billy Bastards, and Tripod The Dog alumni), while the poster references "special guests T.B.D.", so we'll have to see what that entails. Wolf Fest is presumably an all ages event, it runs from 3:00-11:00 PM on the 27th, and admission is by donation to the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie. I think Northern Superior could have gave Wolf Fest more direct promotion and less of a teaser campaign, especially as it's three weeks away, but this sounds like a fun event with a lot going on, so visit the above links for more on Wolf Fest! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Nameless & Silent 9!!)

While nowhere near as busy as what we saw locally in July, things are definitely busier locally for hard rock concerts this weekend, and we will have to stretch out our weekend concert previews to two posts as a result. As such, this weekend's Heavy Lies The Crown, Generations, and Tarnished shows will feature in tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know otherwise, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! 

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have a busy weekend ahead, and it starts TOMORROW NIGHT when they return to The Tap Room at Northern Superior Brewing Co., followed by the featured headliners slot at the annual Laird Fair outside of town on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on both fronts, the band only announced both dates on their Facebook page on Monday, though they have been advertised for the Laird Fair in their own promotional materials before then. TOMORROW'S show is the second late notice one in as many weeks from an SMS-amenable band at the Tap Room, and is a bit of a surprise booking from Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve, as they normally take the summer off from standard nightclub shows, only playing festivals and private bookings then. In fact, while we're on the subject, they'll be back at the Tap Room on Saturday, September 27th as well!

That show was quietly confirmed on their website's concert calendar, and we'll wait on other public shows there for now due to the later scheduling but they will be more active publically this fall. As far as I can tell, there's no raison d'etre for TOMORROW'S brief pause of their summer break from bar shows, but the fun classic and hard rock covers will be in full swing at Northern Superior, especially at a venue better known for acoustic acts! TOMORROW'S and next month's shows are at 8:00 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover. As for the Laird Fair (a.k.a. the North Shore Agricultural Fair), Silent 9 are this year's headlining band, taking over for the now-defunct Soundcheck on SATURDAY NIGHT! The Friday band slot this year was replaced by karaoke. Loads of family friendly entertainment is in store in Laird (outside of Echo Bay), both for farming and agricultural events and for games and activities, so be sure to visit the fair's Facebook page for the complete schedule!

Silent 9 will set up shop on SATURDAY NIGHT under the covered (but not entirely indoors) stage at the fairground site at Lake George Road East once again, which bodes well for the rainy weather forecast, but do follow your preferred weather forecast for updates on Laird Fair events like this (9&10 News is calling for a high of 27° that night). The concert proper is a licensed 19+ event at 9:00 PM, and admission to the concert is included with fair passes, which run for $10 for the day and $20 for the full weekend. Visit the above links for more on Silent 9's busy short notice weekend, and for a preview, here they are live last year!

Next up, let's skip over to Michigan for another new confirmation, as local hard rock quartet The Nameless will debut at The Goetzville Tavern in nearby Goetzville on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by the band on their Facebook page on Sunday, though the venue has been plugging this show on their Facebook page since last month. Stalwart Agricultural Fair aside, this is the first standard concert that we've covered in Goetzville (outside of Pickford) since 2014, believe it or not. The Goetzville Tavern may be better known to local readers as Yooperman's Bar & Grill, and it re-opened under its new name and ownership in April at 18017 East M-48. Concerts have sporadically taken place there since last month, with The Nameless being the first heavier-leaning act there, so welcome them to a new locale an hour south of here in style on SATURDAY!

The Nameless take the stage on SATURDAY at 7:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Note that The Goetzville Tavern technically closes at 10:00 PM nightly, but they will clearly extend their hours for concerts if need be, and The Nameless are advertised to play until 11:00 PM. The official Facebook event page strongly hints that the show will be outdoors under a tent, so given that, 9&10 News is calling for a 70% chance of rain on SATURDAY dipping to 40% at night, with temperatures expected in the mid-high 70s (a high of 27° Celsius). I have no idea if they have provisions to postpone the show or move it indoors due to rain, so follow The Goetzville Tavern and/or the band on social media for updates if you are all concerned. Otherwise, visit the above links for more details on the hard rock action in Goetzville on SATURDAY NIGHT, and here's The Nameless live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! 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 ALERT (B.A. Johnston) & The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews

Before we begin today's post, just a heads up that the expanded Cruisin' The Dub car show was planned for today at both A&Ws on Great Northern Road, with Soundcheck playing the car show at the new one as normal, while Bone Yard (more on them in a bit) would headline a motorcycle show concurrently at the old one. This would have been a Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada fundraiser, as is often the case for A&W car shows locally. While the advertising online for this one was minimal, it doesn't matter now, as Cruisin' The Dub was cancelled on Tuesday due to today's weather forecast, as per Soundcheck drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page. Unlike past A&W car shows, this was going to be held between 5:00-8:00 PM today, and while they would have dodged this morning's rain, they wouldn't have made it until 8:00 PM before the rain came back (and with wind to boot.)

This is hardly the first time that an outdoor local concert was cancelled due to a gloomy weather forecast, but given that this is an annual event for a great cause, hopefully A&W reschedules in some form! Alas, August 17th each year is A&W's Burgers To Beat MS Day, hence the timing for this event. We'll let you know if it gets a do-over, but now let's dive into shows this weekend, sans Sault Michigan & area, plus the late notice (as bands go) street party on Sunday. Let's start with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that some of you will be eagerly anticipating!

Hamilton outsider folk/punk musician B.A. Johnston will return to Sault Ste. Marie for his fourth headlining concert appearance on SATURDAY NIGHT at Outspoken Brewing! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced when B.A. confirmed his fall tour slate on August 8th, but I was waiting for information from the local promoters that have surprisingly never came (it must have been booked in house). Personal Facebook postings confirm that the show is on, so if you've missed B.A.'s amusing and eclectic brand of one-man punk rock, audience participation, and oddly relatable music, be at the 350 Queen Street East brewery on SATURDAY! This will be B.A. Johnston's first local date since rocking the temporary Legion Bar at The Marconi Club just under a year ago, with all four of his Soo gigs being at different venues.

Despite the minimal local advertising, fans who saw B.A. locally in 2015, 2019, and last year will know why you can't miss his live show, so be there on SATURDAY to see what he has in store! This is a 19+ concert with no advertised openers, and note that his Legion Bar show last year had an 8:30 PM start time and $12 admission. Visit the above links for more details, and here's B.A. Johnston live (though you'll want to see him for yourself)!

Next up, local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will continue his weekly run of acoustic solo gigs at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT! As it turns out, last week's show there was indeed cancelled due to (you guessed it) rain, as per Tym's personal Facebook page. This is why I've included weather forecasts for outdoor concerts in our weekly concert previews in the past few years, just to warn everyone in the event that weather affects the proceedings, and Tym did confirm that it was off after our preview post went live. Apologies for missing that! As such, tomorrow's show will be his sixth in his weekly arrangement at The Trading Post this summer, with at least one more to go, but note that in his prior weekly runs here, Tym did continue playing into early September. We'll let you know when/if any September dates there are announced!

Note also that Tym is not playing with The Nostalgic Band this weekend, after playing dates with his classic metal trio for four straight weekends, necessitating Tym playing two different shows on Fridays lately, but not tomorrow. This concert has a 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and no cover charge, while 9&10 News is calling for sunny weather of around 17°, so it'll be a little cooler and much drier than last week. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live at The Mike Case Stage!

We'll wrap up this preview post with local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard, who may not have been able to rock the old A&W today as planned, but they still have a busy weekend at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! As has been the case for their weekends at the former Reggie's West this summer, they'll be subbing in as the jam night hosts rather than Soundcheck tonight, and while we don't count jam nights as fully fledged "concerts" for our purposes, it is good to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren can still play somewhere despite the car show cancellation! In terms of traditional concerts, they will be rocking out at Jay's TOMORROW NIGHT, but the big event will actually be on SATURDAY, when Bone Yard serve as the headline musical entertainment for the Dragonfly Run, which is the relaunched Ride For ARCH motorcycle rally for the Algoma Residential Community Hospice. For full details on the bike rally proper, click here!

Along with music inside Jay's, there will be a street party outside of the Korah Road nightclub, local vendors, and family entertainment, and in a late confirmation, Bone Yard will have an opening band, namely new local rock band Skinbox (featuring Pixo Control/Vol. alum Steve Edwards). We still don't know anything on Skinbox's sound or membership beyond Steve, but this will be their first public concert set, so come out on Saturday to check them out! Their set begins at 7:00 PM, Bone Yard are on at 9:00 PM all weekend, these are 19+ concerts, and there's no cover charges beyond any ARCH donations. Great cause, solid hard rocking music, what's not to love? See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Bone Yard live at Shooters Downstairs Lounge this past Friday! This was live-streamed to their Facebook page.

The video sees Bone Yard covering Roger Miller's "Me & Bobby McGee", which is (was?) a staple of their acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge's set, and to that end, frontman Greg Simpson plays guitar rather than drums here. It's a fine cover of this oft-covered song by local classic rock-leaning groups, but alas, the filmer shot this vertically, not that I can be too shocked, as their last horizontal video posted on Facebook was shot in August 2022. Give Bone Yard's new video a watch below, and don't miss Bone Yard at Jay's this weekend!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's known hard rock concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard, Double Down, The Northwest, And Soundcheck!!)

It appears to be one of those weekends, namely a busy one full of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! Alas, all of today's hard rock/punk weekend concert previews are of shows that were only publically announced on social media in the past five days, so I'm pushing the previously announced Fort Creek & Peril concerts to our next preview post hitting the site by tomorrow morning. With all of that out of the way, here's what you should know to start off the weekend!

New local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will play their second live concert weekend TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on the band's Facebook page on Saturday, though be advised that Reggie's has not publically confirmed them at press time. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows come three weeks after this talented foursome debuted at Reggie's, and with Bone Yard, Mojo, Griphook, and Mustang Heart alumni in their ranks, you know that Double Down will deliver the goods for classic and hard rock fans! These are 9:00 PM gigs with no cover charge and 21+ age limits once again. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video from Double Down's first concert! Drummer Ric Datson uploaded this to his YouTube channel on April 24th, so what do you see/hear?

After a post-production intro featuring the sound of a jet flying by, we get a montage of clips and no full songs, which may be disappointing for some, but this conceit is not brand new for Ric's channel if you recall some videos of his old bands. Filmed on a stationary camera at different zoom levels (and different levels of crowd involvement as the night wore on), the video is full of snippets of familiar covers that will please fans of members' prior projects, but the lighting is surprisingly dark by default unless stage lighting is in action. Good teaser of what to expect TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's, so check it out below, and stay tuned for some more videos from weekend #1 from other sources soon!

Next up, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these gigs via their Facebook page on Tuesday, and the venue had not followed suit whatsoever at press time. This is basically the re-booking of their cancelled Shooters weekend in early March, which was a casualty of 2/3rds of the band falling ill that weekend, meaning that TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows will be Bone Yard's first at the Dennis Street nightclub in over three months. Good to see them downtown again, and hopefully their southern fried hard rock covers find another strong audience TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are 9:00 PM shows with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brief new video of them live earlier this year!

Uploaded on Saturday, this was filmed by attendee Trevor James at Shooters in February (I think) for his Tiktok page, and while his page there has either been deleted or made ultra private since, the band was able to save it for a Facebook upload. It features the guys covering all of Golden Earring's "Radar Love", and it sounds good with lots of nice angles, though the vertical-only limitations of TikTok videos do a disservice to how Trevor shot this. I'd have cropped the black bars out for Bone Yard's upload, but it's still a solid performance of this live staple, so check it out below, and don't miss Bone Yard at Shooters TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, these shows have not been announced publically by either the band or venue (at least as far as Facebook goes), and I only know about them because of plugs on personal Facebook accounts. Last seen at The Esquire Club via a show(s?) in early April that similarly had no public notice online (well, not until 7 hours prior), TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts follow Shooters gigs last week, and should provide fans with more fun hard rocking covers and good times! Be advised that Soundcheck had to cancel their usual jam night hosting duties at Jay's Piston Broke Pub tonight due to a band member falling ill (they didn't specify who, but it's not singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver, who typically doesn't appear at jam nights).

How this will affect TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT's shows, if at all, is to be determined, but stay tuned to band members' personal Facebook pages for details if you are able. Yes, this weekend's Soundcheck gigs were originally scheduled for bassist Jim Michaud's old band Obsession when they announced their now-scuttled 2023 concert slate. As usual, they have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details when/if they surface, and here's Soundcheck live!

Finally for today's previews, we'll head back downtown to Outspoken Brewing, where local indie/punk quintet The Northwest and alternative/indie rock quartet Man Feelings will reportedly join forces for a special matinee concert on SATURDAY! Once again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via Man Feelings' Facebook page last night. Like every show above, the venue hasn't confirmed it publically that I have seen, and neither have The Northwest, who haven't posted on their Facebook page in over a month, despite being the ostensible headliners on SATURDAY. No word on why this is a matinee concert (Man Feelings gave a 2:00 PM start time, with Outspoken normally opening at 3:00 PM on SATURDAYS), but remember that the 350 Queen Street East microbrewery is a smaller venue that has lent itself more to acoustic acts in the past, so this should at least be a more intimate event than you may be used to.

Still good to see The Northwest back on a local stage for the first time this year, and Man Feelings should still have momentum on their side following their set at The Loft last week! This will also be our first previewed concert at Outspoken since their January-February closure and all of the rumours therein, but they have bounced back and hopefully more good times are ahead! This 2:00 PM event has no cover charge and a presumed 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Northwest live!

That's all for now, but look for our Fort Creek and Peril previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Project 906), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we dive into this weekend's concert previews, just a heads up that I have removed The Wyld Stallyns' show at Outspoken Brewing tomorrow night from our calendar. While the band had agreed to play the first Friday of "every month" at their Taproom late last year, the venue has been closed since early January, with their Facebook page being cagey on the reasons, and there's no sign that they've re-opened this month. Maybe I'm wrong and they just haven't announced it, but I doubt The Stallyns are playing tomorrow, at least at Outspoken, but stay tuned if we hear anything! Now, here's this weekend's concert previews and new videos, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to Jack's Pub & Grub in Brimley for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via its Facebook event page on Tuesday. Project 906 made their first appearance at the Willabee's Motel sister venue in November, and from what I have heard, the guys had a good debut there, so hopefully Billy, Joe, Dustin, and Odin deliver more of the hard rock goods with their covers-heavy sets TOMORROW! Note that advertising on the Facebook event page hypes up to "come join us to start the I-500 weekend right", even though Brimley is a 20 minute drive away (some attendees may be exploring the E.U.P. while in town, of course). TOMORROW'S show is at 8:00 PM with no announced cover charge and a 21+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Project 906 live in concert!

Next up, we'll head back to Sault Ontario for two more late announcements, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, we only heard firm details about these dates via the venue's Facebook page on Tuesday, but when Soundcheck announced their bassist change on their Facebook page on Monday, they alluded to playing live this weekend without naming the location. Soundcheck just played at Reggie's three weeks ago, so this is a relatively quick turnaround for them, but hopefully their rocking blend of old school rock covers and select country favourites find another strong audience TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Note that while Obsession's Jim Michaud is their new bassist, Soundcheck did jokingly ask if regular fill-in Rob Gilmar was free this weekend in their Facebook post on Monday, implying no immediate changes.

Remember that Jim may not know their whole set for a double header weekend yet, let alone Thursday jam nights at Jay's (and Obsession still have their own farewell gigs to prepare for next week), so I can absolutely see Rob filling in short term. We'll let you know if anything concrete comes out! TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT's concerts are 9:00 PM affairs with no cover charge and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live last year!

Lastly for known and announced hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults and area this weekend is the previously announced return of Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino branch TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their first local gigs of 2023 (following a Grand Rapids road trip last month), this weekend's shows coincide with the aforementioned International 500 snowmobile race, which goes down on Saturday and has attached events taking place all weekend long, with many tourists coming in to check this one out as usual. Click here for full I-500 details if you're interested in checking out the race and other events in person! Tarnished's shows are not expressly tied to the I-500, but Kewadin Casino is home base for many indoor pre- and post-race functions, so anyone who wants to stick around late for some hard rocking originals and covers should know to head to The Rapids Lounge tomorrow and/or Saturday night! 

Tarnished will be on both nights at 9:00 PM, there is a 21+ age limit, and there are no cover charges, but expect it to be much busier than normal given the I-500 festivities in and around the casino. Visit the above links for more details on what should be a great weekend for exposure's sake for Tarnished, and here they are live last year elsewhere at Kewadin!

Finally for today, here's some new videos from a Sault Ontario band who are not playing live this weekend, namely southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard! This is their off weekend in their previously announced run of February-March shows (they'll be at Shooters with more band t-shirts in tow next weekend), but you can still see them via these live-streamed videos on their Facebook page from their show this past Saturday at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, one seeing them cover The Beatles' "Come Together". The other video is embedded below, and it is their cover of Golden Earring's "Radar Love" from the end of the first chorus onward. Alas, both videos were shot vertically, but Bone Yard sound good in both, and the filmer did get some nice angles and shots of both the band (who have their own distinct & matching band shirts) and Jay's, which is definitely getting spruced up slowly with the new ownership!

Note that, when promoting this show on Facebook last week, Bone Yard noted that "we got a special guest making his first appearance" this weekend, and that "something tells me this guy is going to be hanging around there for a while". This wasn't an allusion to a band member addition, rather the return of the taxidermed moose head that was a fixture at The Rosie/Reggie's West for years, and at that patrons were known to kiss on their birthdays. Good to see it back on display under the new regime, but give Bone Yard's live-streamed videos a look above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Wyld Stallyns & Soundcheck), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

The first concert weekend of 2023 is upon us, and while things are predictably quieter than last weekend, hard rock fans still have a couple of options! This post includes LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE, plus some new videos, a cancellation, and an apology for a missed event last week, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will play their first concerts of 2023 (Thursday jam night duties excepted) when they return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for headlining gigs TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Tuesday. While we're on the subject, Soundcheck will also return to The Esquire Club for newly advertised concerts on January 20th & 21st and then on February 24th & 25th, all as confirmed via the venue's Facebook page's poster advertising bands playing in the first quarter of 2023. It's great to see Soundcheck (no space) kicking off the year on a busy note, and it'll be interesting to see where else and how often we'll see them in a traditional concert setting! TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows at the former Reggie's West have 8:00 PM start times, and the Esquire Club dates begin at 9:30 PM.

All six of these gigs have 19+ age limits and no cover charges. West end fans will have lots of chances ahead to take in Soundcheck's old school and heavier rock covers (and some country) in the next two months, including TOMORROW & SATURDAY at Jay's, so see above for more details on them all, and for a preview of this weekend's gigs, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, let's add the next expected date from local funk/hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns at Outspoken Brewing as part of their "first Friday of every month" arrangement there, which comes on Friday, February 3rd! Adding this to our calendar comes in the wake of learning that their planned Outspoken Brewing show tomorrow night is not taking place. According to the venue's Facebook page on Tuesday, they reasoned that "we figured everyone still needed to recoup from New Year's Eve", though note that the announcement was included in details on reduced hours this month. If Outspoken are rescheduling The Stallyns for later this month, they haven't firmly said yet, stay tuned to their page if you are at all curious. Hopefully things resume on schedule for the monthly Friday series next month! Shows at Outspoken Brewing's on-site Taproom generally have 6:00 PM evening start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges.

This six-piece fan favourite band should have more fun cover action in store for fans at the Queen Street East nightclub/brewery on the first Fridays of months ahead (Good Friday in April acknowledged), so visit the above links for more on The Wyld Stallyns and/or Outspoken Brewing!

Let's head back to this weekend's still-on concert previews now for local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession's first shows of 2023, as they'll return to The Esquire Club themselves TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Unlike many of their weekend nightclub cover cohorts in town, Obsession announced a year's worth of gigs at The Esquire Club and Shooters on their website last year, so we already knew about this weekend's shows, with Jess, Gabe, Jim, and Steve scheduled to play at the Second Line West venue one weekend a month for the first half of 2023. Three weeks removed from their last shows, also at The Esquire Club, hopefully Obsession deliver the classic hard rock goods for fans once again tomorrow & Saturday! Like with Soundcheck later this month, these are 19+ events with no cover charge and 9:30 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details!

For a preview, here's a new video of Obsession live at The Esquire Club last month covering Neil Young's "Keep On Rocking In The Free World", as posted to their Facebook page last week! This isn't an ideal preview of Obsession proper both from the 30 second runtime only really capturing the repetitive chorus, and the fans on the floor largely obscuring the band, but it sounds good while it lasts, and everyone's clearly having fun dancing to the music, which is always welcome to see. Check it out below, and don't miss Obsession back there this weekend!

Finally, I wanted to belatedly apologize for missing a concert for coverage on the SMS on New Year's weekend, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished returned to The Islander Bar in Hessel this past Saturday for their New Year's Eve party! I profusely apologize for not covering it on the site proper, but the band only announced the show on their Facebook page that same day (The Islander Bar's Facebook page first plugged it early last week, but their announcement slipped me by at the time). I was able to get the word out about this one via our Facebook page, as December 31st was devoted to our year-in-review post, but again, I apologize for not getting on the site proper, I would have had I known about it even the day beforehand! Usually, I start posts with such apologies, but I put this one at the end because there's more to say than just acknowledging the missed show, as Tarnished put up a video to promote it!

While they waited until that afternoon to plug it themselves, Tarnished at least went all out to make a final push, with Alex (I think) putting guitarist Nathan Webber on the spot mid-practice to answer some big questions about the show. Fun and energetic little clip that does have some solid guitarwork in the background, so check it out below, and apologies again! I hope Tarnished impressed fans and revelers alike to send out 2022!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck) And Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

The first concert weekend of December is upon us, so let's kick off the month right! Due to the amount of shows this weekend, I'll hold the Rhythm & Brews shows in Sault Michigan for tomorrow's post, so don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you should know in Sault Ontario for hard rock concerts, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these gigs via their Facebook event page earlier today, and at press time, the venue has not confirmed the dates online. Fresh off of their return to Toystock this past weekend, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts will be Cameron, Terry, Paul (or Rob?), and Glen's first shows at the Dennis Street nightclub since a one nighter in mid-November, but it's been a wait since the summer for them to double up for a weekend at Shooters like this. Despite the late notice, hopefully Soundcheck's classic, hard rock, and country covers find solid audiences TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are 8:00 PM gigs with 19+ age limits and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live in concert earlier this year!

Next up, local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will return to Outspoken Brewing for a concert at their Taproom TOMORROW NIGHT as previously announced, but following that, their new run of gigs on the first Friday of every month will take them back to the same venue on Friday, January 6th! The description on event posters confirms that The Stallyns have agreed to play the first Friday each month there, end date unclear, hence us listing the January gig. Last seen at The Whiskey Barrel a couple of weeks ago, the Speers & company have ingratiated themselves well with Outspoken this year, and hopefully tomorrow's show at the newly confirmed January date both go swimmingly with their hard rocking cover set! Both shows have 8:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and entry to the Taproom has a suggested $10 cover, though "pay what you can" is also offered. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here are The Wyld Stallyns live!

Now, we'll stick entirely with this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return for headlining concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fresh off of their headlining duties at Toystock (fallout forthcoming), these will be Bone Yard's first shows at the Queen Street East mainstay nightclub in three weeks, and these comprise the penultimate weekend in Bone Yard's six week run of steady weekend concerts. Of those six weekend bookings, Reggie's is the only locale to be booked twice, so hopefully existing and new Boneheads alike come out for Bone Yard's southern fried hard rock covers tomorrow and/or Saturday night! As usual, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Finally for today, new local metal trio The BAG will reportedly make their public concert debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they headline at The Esquire Club! For full disclosure, the band has not posted on their Facebook group for any reason since November 13th, and The Esquire Club still haven't acknowledged The BAG as playing this weekend, but unless given reason otherwise, we'll cover these shows as normal. After months of house/backyard parties and recording sessions towards a handful of singles on streaming platforms, this will be The BAG's first test in front of a public audience, and if you want a sampling of what Spencer, Austin, and Bradley bring to the table, check out this setlist from one of their private gigs. Their original material so far points to a solid groove/thrash metal hybrid sound, but hopefully their covers will carry them to a strong reception in the west end (assuming these are still on!)

Originally scheduled for online page-less local cover band Buzzsaw Jaw before dropping out for unannounced reasons, tomorrow & Saturday night's shows have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's one of two brand new songs from The BAG! Quietly posted on their YouTube channel on November 12th and recorded in their Mission Control Studio sessions in the summer, the new tracks are "Roadkill" (which is a short groove metal rocker with a nice guitar solo) and embedded below, "Get Out", a slower and thrashier track that delivers a promisingly intense sound, so definitely check both out above & berlow!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Rhythm & Brews preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal/Punk Video Showcase!!

Before we resume our Soo's Got Talent finals coverage, let's tackle some other recent videos from unrelated events on the site today, so we don't fall too behind on everything else going on! These include live footage from two big concerts that took place last month, but first, here's a new cover song featuring a very familiar face... and his uke!

After skipping October, local/Toronto punk covers project Mikey & His Uke's newest collaboration was posted to their YouTube channel earlier today, this time being a cover of AC/DC's "Shoot To Thrill"! In their fourth video since project leader Mikey Hawdon moved back to the Soo, he plays ukelele (at first) and guitar here, alongside Mikey's old Merves/Gabba Heys bandmate Amy Zuccheto (a.k.a. Amy Gabba) on lead vocals. If you haven't followed her since her last turns covering Joan Jett and The Runaways with Mikey's otherwise Ramones-centric cover bands in their local gigs, Amy has since fronted an AC/DC tribute band named AMY/DC that Mikey also played in while still living on Toronto, so she's a natural choice for this cover! Other performers are Frenzal Rhomb guitarist Lindsay McDougall (who also featured in August's NOFX cover), Chats bassist Eamon Sandwith, and past Frenzal Rhomb touring drummer Kye Smith.

As usual for the Mikey & His Uke series, this video is very well edited, and everyone is clearly having fun with this remote collaboration! Amy handles the verses slightly more leisurely than the original, but she has a great voice for Bon-era AC/DC, and the instrumental performances are all exactly what you'd hope for. Nice to see Mikey dip into heavier waters here too, so give the newest Mikey & His Uke cover a watch below!

Next up, let's dive into a pair of videos that I'm three weeks late to talk about on here (my apologies), as prolific local concert filmer Christopher Paci was in attendance for the two closing bands at Outspoken Brewing's second annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 15th, uploading four videos to his YouTube channel the next day! No luck on The Wyld Stallyns, Nein German Guys, or Frankly Speaking, alas. Chris' videos at The Rink outside of The Machine Shop include two of headlining psychedelic hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley, who he filmed covering Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and as embedded below, the back half of their original song "Stuck In Rotation". The audio is a little tinny, but Chris got a good vantage of the stage, and it looks the like the crowd turnout and the weather were both good for Oktoberfest! Solid performances from Adrian & crew, so give The Uncanny Valley's new videos a look above and below!

The other new videos take us back to the aforementioned Mikey Hawdon, as his new local old school indie rock cover band Bookclub made their live concert debut as the Saturday co-headliners at Oktoberfest! Still online page-less, this band features 3/4ths of The Inner City Surfers in mostly shuffled roles (Mikey on vocals & guitar, Dave Bahun on guitar, and Dustin Jones on bass), plus Dave's old Room 206 bandmate Al Watson on drums, as well as trumpet player Erin Antonello. Very odd seeing a trumpet in a non-ska band, but as we've seen with Josh Norling in numerous local rock bands, a little brass never hurt anyone! Despite early teasers of Bookclub covering 1980s-1990s indie rock bands that you don't tend to see tackled around here, both of the songs that Chris filmed are ones I've seen performed locally, including The Refreshments' "Banditos" and, as embedded below, Cheap Trick's "Reach Out".

While not a full-on punk band like we're used to seeing from most of the Bookclub members, power pop like Cheap Trick specialize in is not far removed, and their established talents are on full display on both songs! The recording quality is similar to the Uncanny Valley video, so keep that in mind, and Erin wasn't always very audible in the mix, but it'll be interesting to see where Bookclub go from here, especially as Mikey is actually in town full-time again, not commuting from Toronto steady. Give their videos a watch above & below, and stay tuned for updates!

We'll close today with some more recent live cover action, this time from local classic/hard rock quartet Obsession, who made their local & public debut with new lead singer Jessica Amadio at The Esquire Club on Halloween weekend! Two videos from the Halloween party on October 29th were posted to their Facebook page since, including a 44 second clip of them covering Trooper's "Raise A Little Hell" that was posted yesterday bunched in with live photos, but embedded below is the longer 90 second clip of them covering Poison's "Nothing But A Good Time". Yes, Obsession had costumes for the occasion, with Jess going as Kiss' Paul Stanley and Gabe as AC/DC's Angus Young, but I am not 100% positive on if Jim and Steve had a specific person that they were dressed as. This video was edited with Capcut and has lots of professional cuts to different camera angles with post-production effects, and views of the costumed attendees.

The Achilles heel with this video is that it was compiled and uploaded in portrait orientation despite a heavy use of landscape footage, so big chunks of it are tiny unless they fill the space with post-production effects. That said, Obession sound good in both videos, and Jess is definitely at ease on the stage and has a strong voice to match! Good first public outing for the new lineup, so look for them back at The Esquire Club next weekend, and give their Halloween weekend clips a look above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our continuation of our Soo's Got Talent finals coverage next! Thanks everyone!