LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tarnished) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

With the Victoria Day long weekend (or May 2-4 weekend, if you prefer) almost upon us, let's dive into this weekend's concert previews! Not a packed number of concerts for hard rock acts this weekend, but there's a big show on Sunday to check out, and let's lead off with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in the E.U.P.!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to the stage for a concert TONIGHT at The Brickyard Bar & Grill in nearby Rudyard! Apologies for the short notice, which Tarnished themselves acknowledged, but the venue actually announced the show back on May 3rd on their own Facebook page. In case you're unfamiliar, The Brickyard was better known as Dan's Place and occasionally hosted hard rock concerts into the mid-2010s, before re-opening with new name & ownership in 2019. After the usual pandemic hiatus, they have recently began hosting live music again on weekends, with Tarnished's show TONIGHT being their first since rocking the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in March. No word on where they've been over the spring, but hopefully Alex, Nathan, Isaac, and Josh shake off any stage rust in time to rock The Brickyard TONIGHT!

This concert (located at 18794 South Tilson Road, a half hour southwest of the Soo) has an 8:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. Despite the late notice on the band's behalf, hopefully TONIGHT's concert is a hit at a relatively new-ish venue for Tarnished, and I'll definitely keep more of an eye on The Brickyard as the year progresses! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts in Sault Ontario, starting with local ska/hard rock veterans Tripod The Dog's third and final stop in The Esquire Club's Buckets, Bands, and Birds series of Saturday matinee concerts TOMORROW! As regrettably missed for coverage on here at the time (apologies again), Tripod fans were able to see Mark and the Amendolas at this popular Second Line West nightclub on March 26th & April 16th, with tomorrow's show ending their run of monthly gigs here before the series concludes without a Tripod the Dog show in June, with regular nighttime weekend gigs expected to return in the fall, pandemic willing. In the Buckets, Bands, and Birds series, expect beer & buffalo wing specials if you go for such things, but remember that the matinee timing will be more amenable to supper-time anyway. Hopefully Tripod The Dog entertain with their well established rock hits tomorrow!

As is the case with other shows in The Esquire Club's Saturday matinee series, this concert has a 3:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and while a 19+ age limit would make sense given the locale, the early timing may be of note if you want to inquire within. Visit the above links for more details, and in lieu of a live video of Tripod the Dog, here's an original song of theirs!

Later on TOMORROW NIGHT, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for the second time in just over a week! After an atypical Friday nighter at the Dennis Street nightclub last week, fans and patrons alike will be able to see Terry, Cameron, Paul (or Rob?), and Glen in action once again with their diverse and often hard rocking brand of covers, so consider a downtown trip tomorrow for Souncheck's wide array of familiar tunes! Yes, Soundcheck also hosted their weekly Reggie's West open mic night yesterday, something we traditionally don't cover as a "concert" on here. Saturday's Shooters show has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and 19+ age limit, as usual for their 2022 shows at this venue. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Soundcheck live at Shooters!

Finally for this weekend, let's head to the Sault Community Theater Center, where Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will finally take the stage THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! While not as prominently covered as Black Label Society's pandemic saga to get a local booking, Queen: It's A Kinda Magic have had multiple dates locked in at the former Kiwanis Theatre, initially in June 2020 before being pushed to June 2021, and ultimately this Sunday. Kudos to the band & their management for sticking with the Soo through all of the highs and lows of the pandemic, and hopefully nothing goes awry again beforehand! This stop on their current Canadian tour should provide an ample opportunity for Queen fans to see a very faithful tribute to Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger that has received numerous plaudits for their visual presentation and close take on Queen's unmistakable sound (specifically from their 1986 world tour), so come on down for all of the action!

Note that the S.C.T.C. advertising says that It's A Kinda Magic are "back by popular demand", presumably referencing the pandemic rescheduling, as I don't think they've played here. Tickets for this all ages show run for $62 (adults) or $33 (kids 12 and under), with $57 discounted rates for those in a group of 6, and I believe tickets held from the 2020 and 2021 dates will be honoured on Sunday. Ticket sales have been good for this one, with the closest seating available at press time being in the eighth row, so keep that in mind. Click here or visit the in-person box office at the Station Mall to get your tickets. Should be a great time for Queen fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Q.I.A.K.M. live!

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

Theatre Of Night & Soo's Got Talent Videos, Mike McCleary Updates, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I have to apologize for missing a concert to cover on here, as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quintet Highway 63 played at The Brickyard Bar & Grill in nearby Rudyard this past Friday for that venue's Halloween party. This event was only announced earlier that same day on Highway 63's Facebook page, which left us little time to cover it, but it had a week's notice on the venue's Facebook page. Alas, we've missed previewing the last three Highway 63 concerts on here, which I profusely apologize for, but there wasn't much I could have done about Friday's show. That said, you may already be familiar with The Brickyard, as it was previously known as Dan's Place, and occasionally hosted hard rock concerts through at least 2014. The 18794 South Tilson Road nightclub relaunched under it's new name in June, and has hosted occasional live music since at least July. It's good to see Dan's is back up and running with a new identity, and hopefully there's more live music to come at this Rudyard favourite!

Now, today's news post otherwise looks at some new video postings from the last while, and some long awaited updates from a prolific local solo musician, so here's what you should know! We'll stay in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula to start, via local classical metal band Theatre of Night's last un-addressed videos shared to their Facebook group in the lead-up to their third Christmas tour, which began tonight in Jackson. Best of luck to everyone in the kick-off show, hopefully it's a huge hit! One video from October 13th is of keyboardist Craig Harrison recording at the computer once again, this time tracking choir and string parts for their studio tracks for the tour. Short but a nice teaser to their more orchestral and grandiose elements! Embedded below is this video of Steve, Scott, and Erik jamming a cover of Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe", wnich may not be seasonal, but it showcases the guys having fun and tackling a metal classic, so give it a look below!



Also today, remember how I mentioned that Miranda Siegrist's YouTube channel feature more Soo's Got Talent footage that we didn't know about, including of third place finishing Sault Ontario party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty? Well, let's tackle those here! Miranda posted four videos from the finals at Soo Blaster on October 11th, both of songs not featured in SaultOnline's full video of the final round. Finalist Coulson Perri's hair and clothing line up in both videos, especially as he shed his jacket and tie during "Hungry Like The Wolf", hence my certainty of the date. Perhaps these were bonus performances after the judges' verdict? One is of Coulson covering Frank Sinatra's "My Way", and the other is of folk singer/guitarist Colin Gasparelli (who was eliminated in the semifinal round) playing an original song with drum accompaniment from Apocalypse Afterparty frontman Paul Stanghetta.  Both are solidly done for genre fans, so give them a look above!

As for The A.A.'s videos proper, they are of their songs from the actual final round competition, namely their cover of R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", and as embedded below, their own original song "Island." Filmed from a distant camera angle in the crowd, the solid audio quality salvages the perspective, and while the SaultOnline/ONNtv footage of each song (linked here & here) is obviously higher quality, I'd never complain about an alternate angle from a fan like this. Give these videos a look above and below!



Finally for today, here's the latest from local solo hard rock musician Mike McCleary, who is back at (public) work on his own music! As you may know, Mike took a hiatus from most social media accounts in mid-late 2019 while his wife Sara ran in the local MP elections, but he reactivated his Facebook page in August and expressed a hope to "return to normal" last month. In August, he revealed that he is in the process of re-recording and revising some of his old original songs, including material that he previously took down (perhaps meaning "The Party Album" & "Propaganda Model".) To that end, he has posted nine new tracks onto his Soundcloud page in the past 3 months, including a new instrumental named "Cyclone", a remake of his 2018 album track "End of Days", and a number of new versions of songs from "Weight of the Truth." However, we haven't heard any updates from his camp since October 22nd, so time will tell what he has up his sleeves next.

Mike's a solid musician who's used his solo platform to express political and mental health beliefs to good effect, even if some of the opinions may be somewhat polarizing, so it'll be interesting to see what form the new versions of these songs take. Luckily, the songs he's re-posted so far retain his musical gifts, but will his existing albums be formally re-released or edited to reflect the new versions and perhaps additions/removals therein? Follow along at the above links to find out, and stay tuned for more news and updates on the site this week! Thanks everyone!