LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished) Plus The Peril And Stones & Crows Concert Previews!!

This packed slate of hard rock concert previews marches on with a second Thursday post, this time looking at SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in the E.U.P., more Michigan concert action related to a big ongoing event this weekend, and a Sault Ontario debut concert, but let's head to Mackinac County to kick things off! Our previews of announced hard rock shows in Sault Ontario on Saturday will be in our next post.

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover band Tarnished will return to St. Ignace for a second straight year of St. Ignace Car Show-timed live music on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice, these two(!) shows were first announced on the band's Facebook page. Last year, Tarnished played at The Driftwood Sports Bar during this annual event, but they will actually be playing two shows elsewhere, and they appear to be linked to the car show proper for show #1, a matinee gig from 2:00-5:00 PM outdoors at McGregor Lot, a parking lot behind the former Shell station at 200 South State Street (some vendors from the car show will be set up there, but the actual car show is spread out through town). After things wrap up in St. Ignace, Alex & Josh will disembark from Chris and Ron, taking the 45 minute drive north to Brimley for a rare acoustic duo concert at Bay Mills Resort & Casino that night!

This show will reportedly be in the "Lakeside Lounge", which has been given as the name for their location of their concerts and karaoke nights this month rather than the Back Bay Grill & Games. "Your perfect up north retreat" finished renovations and expansions in January, and it does seem like they're shifting concerts to the new lounge (all of which have been acoustic, for what it's worth) at least for the summer. Hopefully things go well for half of Tarnished there on SATURDAY NIGHT! The Lakeside Lounge show in Brimley is a 21+ affair at 8:00 PM, the car show matinee in St. Ignace is all ages, and neither has an announced cover charge, though click here for full details on what to expect at the car show. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 74° (23° Celsius), so for an outdoor concert, you can't ask for much nicer summer weather than that!

I wish Tarnished had announced their two gigs on SATURDAY with more advance notice, especially with the hype around the St. Ignace Car Show's 50th anniversary, but hopefully this talented hard rock group (in full form in the afternoon or unplugged in Brimley) have a solid pair of concerts with attendances to match! Visit the above links for more details on both, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live and unplugged a few years ago!

Next up, there's one more familiar hard rock cover band rocking the St. Ignace Car Show weekend, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Peril haven't hyped up the car show angle in their own promotion, but Jeff, Howard, and Brooks landed two key timeslots at the casino, as Kewadin hosted and sponsored the cruise night tonight and will be hosting the after-party on Saturday, so it is somewhat of a hub for official events outside of showing/driving the classic cars. If you're not into the car show or would prefer to stay closer to the Soo, they'll be back at The Rapids Lounge in two weeks, but Peril should get a sizable crowd for both of this weekend's gigs, and hopefully their hard hitting and crowd friendly covers go over as well as ever! These are 21+ shows at 9:00 PM with no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, we'll head north to Sault Ontario, where new local southern hard rock trio Stones & Crows will make their live concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar! This new band features Jupiter Marvelous guitarist/ex-Electric Church frontman Spencer Pine (a.k.a. "Bukky VanZant"), Floor Between Us bassist Nicholas Gingras ("Nikki Crow"), and Riverside Stasis/ex-HeadFirst drummer Anthony Boudreau ("Tony Stone"), which is definitely a promising lineup! Stones & Crows have not yet posted public media of them performing in any capacity, but they claim to "hit with a modern hard rock sound rooted in blues & grit", which sure sounds like an extension of Electric Church to me, and it will be good to see Spencer fronting a live band again! Remember, when Beck's does book live bands on Fridays, it's never the band playing the Saturday nightcap, and we'll preview Bone Yard 225's show there on Saturday in our next post.

Just to clarify something, I am aware that Spencer is the owner of local internet radio network Tomahawk 141, and I'd love to talk about it on here, but since I belatedly discovered it (when Stones & Crows launched), the rock/blues station has never worked for me. If Spencer gets it back online, I'll let you know! Tomorrow's Beck's concert will see them "rock the night" and "all night long" (assuming that the night only runs from 9:00 PM-1:00 AM), this is a 19+ event, and there's no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for our Bone Yard, Generations, and A.S.D.P. previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bone Yard 225), Thursday Concert Previews, And New Videos!

(Updated at 9:58 PM) This weekend's concert slate is quite busy again after getting a relative reprieve last week, so let's start things a day early today! After all, two (three?) of the shows are Thursday evening affairs, and have more to say than normal given the setting of them, so here's what you should know to start, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! We'll touch on Friday-Saturday nighters and/or the Northern Vibe Festival in preview post #2 hitting the site tomorrow.

Joining the previously confirmed Soundcheck concert at the Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road tomorrow, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will indeed be headlining the concurrent motorcycle show at the old A&W at 121 Great Northern Road TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice on Bone Yard's end, public advertising confirming their involvement only showed up on Facebook earlier today, but remember that they have been busy prepping for the Dragonfly Run on Sunday (preview forthcoming). The dual sets by both bands at the respective A&W car and bike shows is a reprise of last year's Cruisin' The Dub festivities, only this year, Mother Nature isn't going to interfere, as 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies and weather of around 23°. Both car & bike show were rained out in 2023, so things should run smoothly across the board!

As expected, Cruisin' The Dub is in support of Multiple Sclerosis Canada, with lots of classic cars and motorcycles to check out across both Great Northern Road A&Ws, along with family friendly games, prize draws, and refreshments, and a hard rocking local band at both locations, so keep all of this in mind TOMORROW! A much bigger follow-up to the car-only show that Soundcheck played in June, the car and/or bike show will have no cover, they're absolutely ALL AGES, and both run from 5:00-8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on TOMORROW'S action, stay tuned for more from both bands this weekend, and here are both bands live, including one of three new videos of Bone Yard 225 live via their Facebook page! Two of them were live-streamed from their concert at the Laird Agricultural Fair on Friday, including one of them covering The Ramones' classic "I Wanna Be Sedated" with bassist Warren Reville on lead vocals.

While it is vertical, the filmer largely only focused on Warren, so the orientation isn't so bad in that regard! Solid cover but the vocals came through very quiet. The other Laird Fair video (which is horizontal) sees them covering ZZ Top's "Tush" with guitarist Alex D'Ettore on lead vocals, and it's a solid cover with good energy! Embedded here is their (also horizontal!) new video from one of their Reggie's Place gigs in July, where they covered The Tragically Hip's "Little Bones" with singer/drummer Greg Simpson handling vocals. Another strong cover filmed in high quality, if slightly to its detriment given the stage lighting at Reggie's, but check this out for yourselves below, and don't miss Bone Yard TOMORROW!

Next up, Hails frontman Brenton Ellis' acoustic punk solo project Slumshine will play a rare live set TOMORROW NIGHT when they return to the Sault Ste. Marie Museum for their third straight set at the annual Fringe North Festival! The only SMS-amenable music act playing Fringe North this year, Slumshine will see Brent break out his acoustic guitar and pink knit ski mask for the first time since last year's Fringe North when he opens up "the Comet Stage", which will be set up outside of & behind the museum tomorrow night (as such, expect the same sunny & 23° weather conditions as at Cruisin' The Dub). The official program outlines all of the details you could ask for re: this year's festival, including a complete performer lineup at the Museum and elsewhere, celebrating art and culture in all of its diverse forms. Like last year, Slumshine's set (named "A Work In Progress") will be themed around Brent's recovery from drug addiction.

Click here to read more about Slumshine's modus operandi and what to expect lyrically from their set, courtesy of Fringe North's website. While Slumshine's set opens tomorrow's program at "the Comet Stage" at 7:00 PM, each individual performer is priced separately at different tiers, with no batch price packages to cover an entire day's musicians on one stage. Brent will be a musical outlier anyway tomorrow, as he precedes sets by Toronto R&B musician Aieysha Haws at 8:00 PM, Thunder Bay rapper O'Rose at 9:00 PM, and rappers from local label Sooicide Records at 10:00 PM. If you want to see Slumshine's set tomorrow from 7:00-8:00, the minimum advertised price is $5, though $15 is the "support the artist" rate (note that the program lists both tiers as being $5 higher than the online ticket page does). It is also worth noting that Brent will be jetting off to Southern Ontario for shows with Hails this weekend!

On Friday and Saturday, they'll be opening for Toronto "hypnofolk" band Twintwa (who also played with Ha!ls at It's The Pits in Leeburn) and Hamilton electro-noise rock band Better Homes For Meaner People, across both nights, the former at Vertagogo in Hamilton and the latter at the third annual Humber River Art & Music Festival in Toronto, where the three bands will be joined by Peterborough rapper Garbageface, the Soo's own Shae Tull, and many others. Hopefully both shows are hits for Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan this weekend, but don't miss Slumshine tomorrow at the museum first! See above for more details on Fringe North 2024, and for a preview, here's Slumshine live back in 2019!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck), Northern Vibe Festival Updates, And New Videos!!

Here's another news post on this Tuesday evening, which is half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, but we also have lineup updates for an upcoming festival to take note of too, as well as some new live videos. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will be playing at the annual Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road on Thursday, August 22nd! The guys had played a car show there on June 30th as well, which had no advance public advertising on social media that I could find, though it did take place, as noted on personal accounts and presumably in person at the restaurant. However, next week's actually is making the rounds for advertising on Facebook, with drummer Glen Thomas sharing a poster on his personal Facebook page on Friday. This will be the annual car show there, with donations going to Multiple Sclerosis Canada, and will also include family entertainment and refreshments. The plan is to have a concurrent bike show at the older A&W at 121 Great Northern Road too, and while Glen said that "I believe" Bone Yard 225 is playing that, Bone Yard have not confirmed that at press time.

This special Thursday outdoor matinee concert(s?) goes down at 5:00 PM and it is absolutely all ages with no stated cover charge, donations aside. Of course, Mother Nature is the elephant in the room here, as last year's Cruisin' The Dub car/bike show was cancelled due to rain that day, so absolutely keep tabs on your preferred local forecast next week just in case. While we're on the subject, Soundcheck will also return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only on Saturday, August 31st! The band has not confirmed this show publically yet, but the venue did via (belatedly) posting their August concert calendar on their Facebook page yesterday, marking their first monthly schedule drop there since May. This will be Soundcheck's first show at the Great Northern Road nightclub in just over two months, and it should be a prime opportunity to hear Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen's diverse and often heavy array of covers before the summer season ends!

A one-nighter as is custom at The Water Tower Pub, the band on Friday the 30th will definitely be the aforementioned Bone Yard 225, who already confirmed that "uncorked" gig via their website's concert calendar. Soundcheck will be on at 8:00 PM for this Labour Day long weekend concert, which has a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's upcoming dates, and don't miss them (and Bone Yard) at the Laird Fair this weekend, preview forthcoming!

Next up, here's the latest lineup updates for this year's (final?) Northern Vibe Festival in nearby Ophir over the August 24th weekend! We still don't know the complete band schedule (though organizers did finally unveil it publically last year, if on short notice), but they have been publicizing many individual performers on both the band-centric Forest Stage and DJ-centric River Stage on their Facebook page this summer. Through there, they have confirmed two new Forest Stage acts that were not previously advertised, and still aren't on their website. One is Sudbury psychedelic hard rock trio The Dirty Mystics in their debut (not just locally, anywhere!) and the other is veteran local folk/country singer/guitarist Brian Tremblay, so their diverse sounds should add to the festivities! No word yet on if they're replacing anyone, but note that announced touring acts Hellrager, James Roy Daley, and Medussah have not (yet?) gotten individual Facebook plugs where every other Forest Stage act has.

It's also worth noting that magician Ryan McFarling is also returning for this year's Northern Vibe too, but his Facebook promotional image describes him as a "special guest" and does not tie him to a stage, despite being a scheduled Forest Stage performer last year. Whether this is the last Northern Vibe or not, the lineup is shaping up well, and while we await the complete nightly band schedule, visit the above links for full current details on how to attend next weekend!

We'll close today with two new videos from reunited local hard rock quartet Half Past's Facebook page, courtesy of their second show of the year, which took place at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on August 3rd! One sees the guys covering most of "I Don't Care" by Apocalyptica & former Three Days Grace singer Adam Gontier (interesting seeing that song covered by a band with a guitarist and bassist given that Apocalyptica replace both with cellos), but embedded below is their longer cover of Chevelle's "Joyride (Omen)". Solid covers of these modern hard rock hits, and Jordan is definitely getting more and more comfortable as a frontman via the shared clips from this year! The filmer also made use of the floor to film lots of close (and horizontal) angles, so do check these out above & below, and don't miss Half Past opening for Selias at Soo Blaster next month!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes as we continue playing catch-up tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), Convergence Updates, And More!!

Today's post was going to be very different, but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT fell into my lap, so we're changing course by looking at that, a linked new video, and the latest updates from a talented original metal band, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck have one more charity car show gig at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road for 2023, and it goes down TODAY! I profusely apologize for the short notice, the band has not publically confirmed this gig on their Facebook page (alas, they rarely do for these A&W car shows), and I only heard about it via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page this morning. This is the rescheduling of the Cruisin' The Dub car/bike show that was supposed to have been held across both of the Great Northern Road A&W locations last month (bikes and Bone Yard at the old one, cars and Soundcheck at the new one), but advertising indicates that everything will be at the new A&W TODAY, with just Soundcheck playing, though be advised that the poster doesn't specify live music. Besides Soundcheck and the classic cars/bikes, expect games, raffles, popcorn, and more family friendly entertainment!

All proceeds go to the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, which is always a very worthy cause. While rain often seems to hit A&W car shows (hence why last month's was cancelled & postponed), 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather in the 15° range, so it should be quite comfortable and dry! This all ages event takes place from 1:00-3:00 PM TODAY (again, I'm sorry about the late notice), and there is no cover charge to attend. Click here for more details, and for a preview of THIS AFTERNOON'S festivities, here's a brand new video of Soundcheck live! This comes from Glen's YouTube channel, and it is from a recent Thursday jam night at Jay's Piston Broke Pub that they hosted no later than September 7th. The video features the band sans singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver (who usually doesn't appear at jam nights) alongside an uncredited guest singer tackling Judas Priest's "Grinder".

You can tell that Terry, Jim, and Glen didn't 100% know this song in advance, but such is how these jam nights often go, and it's a fun performance with heavy & committed vocals from the guest! Shame about the vertical video though, especially with the lower half of the frame being just an empty floor. Give it a watch below, and don't miss Soundcheck (with Cameron) at the postponed A&W car show TODAY!

The second half of today's post is devoted to the latest from local progressive metal duo Convergence! The former Kraken Mara have not been idle since we last talked about them in June, and I do apologize for the delay in covering their summer activity, so what's been going on with Brendan & Jake as of late? Well, on July 9th, they announced that they had officially signed as "signature artists" with Halo Guitars, a well known guitar/bass customization company, so keep that in mind when watching the videos! Just over a week later, they posted a new song named "The Ebb", and true to prior teasers, it was belatedly added to the official track listing of their debut EP "One" as song #4, so you'll get it if you buy the EP (if you bought it beforehand, the song costs $1 on its own). Good thing we have an album review backlog, so if anything else gets added after the fact in the coming months, we'll be able to review it/them from the off!

As such, I'll hold comment on the song for now, but it does feature session drums from Kelowna, B.C.-based drummer Cliff Aubut. Still hard at work on new material (whether some/all is added to "One" or not, I can't say), Convergence posted two "Reels" on their Facebook page with teaser clips of new song named "Dredge" and "The Burial", featuring post-production spacey visuals and footage of guitarist Brendan Christie playing the songs in studio. Sounds promisingly heavy and technical, but the jury's still out on the full songs. Another "Reel" on August 16th featured advertising for Halo Guitars alongside footage of their 2021 video of them playing "Stratus" at the Bushplane Museum, but of course, "Reels" remain brief and vertical-only videos that cannot be embedded on external websites or played in background tabs, so they are what they are. Do Convergence have any videos that I can embed here?

Yes, two of them! In August, they posted two abbreviated playthrough videos of their songs "Ishka" and "Chimera", and while neither is brand new, they also aren't (yet?) included on the "One" EP. While both are structured similarly, I've opted to embed "Chimera" here as it's longer (though neither is visibly a full song) and it features guitarist Jake Valois on camera too! Good to see him, as Brendan alone appears in the majority of their performance clips. What we hear is on point for fans of progressive instrumental metal, and I'm curious to see how things progress for Convergence, so give everything a watch above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Handsome Sandwich & Soundcheck), Spades GT Updates, And More!!

Plans for today's SMS post changed when a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (and missed show needing an apology) fell into my lap this morning, so that leads off today's post along with one more new show and some other recent updates. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Jay's Piston Broke Pub TONIGHT after previously playing there last night! I profusely apologize for the short notice and for missing yesterday's show, the band did not publicize them on their Facebook page, while the venue only announced them on theirs yesterday morning. I really must do a better job at checking out venue pages when bands don't get the word out themselves, I apologize again, and hopefully yesterday's show was a hit! Same for jam night at the former Reggie's West on Thursday, but we've never covered those as "concerts" here. If you'd prefer to hear Soundcheck's classic and hard rock covers outdoors, then good news, as they'll reportedly be the musical entertainment at TOMORROW'S returning Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road! Again, apologies for the short notice, official promotion does not mention a band.

Late notice or not, Soundcheck have played at multiple car shows at this A&W, and hopefully they deliver the right soundtrack for all of the classic cars, especially as proceeds go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada! Both TONIGHT'S (and last night's) Jay's shows are/were 9:00 PM events with no cover charge and 19+ age limits, while TOMORROW'S car show gig is a 1:00 PM matinee affair for the entire family with no cover. 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather at 22° during the car show, which isn't as hot as we have had lately! Visit the above links for more details, apologies again for missing last night's show at Jay's, and here's a brand new video of Soundcheck (with no guests)! Uploaded to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel last week, this was filmed at The Esquire Club the night before their Obsession tribute gig there, where they covered Kenny Chesney's "Young".

A staple of their set since Cameron Oliver joined the band, he is solely on vocals here and is not playing guitar. Unfortunately, the filmer of this video was shooting vertically, leading to a lot of panning between 3/4ths of the band and Terry from where they were standing, but this cover comes through well, at least from what I know of this song! I'm not a big country fan, but it sounds on par with Soundcheck's prior filmed versions for the performance quality. Give it a watch below, and don't miss them at Jay's TONIGHT and at the car show TOMORROW!

Next up, local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich will make their Water Tower Pub debut on Saturday, July 8th! Their first true solo gig with no support or external headlining bands of 2023, this event will come fresh off of their appearance at the Poutine Feast one week from tomorrow, so these two gigs will literally bookend July's first full week. Still riding the momentum of their "Deconstructed" album release, look for a long night of originals and covers not unlike what fans would have seen from the Sandwich in early-mid 2022 gigs, albeit before Rafael came on board! This is definitely a one-night-only gig, as The Water Tower Pub historically books separate acts on Fridays and Saturdays, but if you're curious as to who's playing on Friday the 7th, keep tabs on the venue's Facebook page, where announcements are usually made a few days prior. This 19+ show has an 8:00 PM start time and no cover. Visit the above links for more details!

We'll close with updates from Handsome Sandwich members Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger's old band (Jack) Spades GT, who play their first concert in Sault Ste. Marie since 2019 tonight at The Machine Shop! In terms of their recent daily run of (to me) annoyingly restrictive "Reels", those ran until June 14th, with the last four including three more Indie Night In Canada videos from the same filmer (one focused each on singer J.D. Pearce, guitarist Daniel Horton, and bassist James Roy Daley), closing with this preview "Reel" to hype the "Sewer City Radio" album being on "all streaming platforms" (quite an accomplishment if "all" is true!) Again, "Reels" can't be embedded externally, are only uploaded vertically, and can't be played on background tabs, so click above to see them! In terms of the Indie Night In Canada gig proper, Spades GT's set was highly praised by Jay Broderick of LoudTO in this article.

If this doesn't sell Spades GT on the unitiated, I don't know what will! While they said that Indie Night In Canada on June 5th would be their last Toronto show for "some time", I guess "some time" is code for "thirteen days", as they played at See-Scape there this past Sunday to open for Dogo Suicide. Hopefully that later notice gig went well! Lastly, Daniel hyped their show in Cambridge that night using this "Reel" with lots of mirrored and rotated copies of the same footage. Was the chef's kiss well placed? Click here to see, but hopefully the show was a hit! Stay tuned for more on their July plans soon, don't miss them at The Machine Shop tonight, and look for more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Slumshine), The Tym Morrison Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed (if abbreviated) concert earlier this week, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck played at a car show at the newer A&W on Great Northern Road on Thursday. The band never promoted this gig on their Facebook page, and I only belatedly heard about it via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page... but the show only lasted for an hour before heavy rain washed the band out and they were unable to continue. Hopefully their gear wasn't damaged, and I do apologize for missing the show, I'd have covered it if someone said something! Now, here's a weekend concert preview & a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine are back and will headline day #3 of this year's Fringe North Festival with a concert at The Sault Ste. Marie Museum TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Slumshine's Facebook page has not been updated to reflect this date, but project leader Brenton Ellis' personal Facebook page, and Fringe North's own promotional materials have picked up the slack. Slumshine had been publically dormant since the release of their "Slumlord" EP in May 2021 and the launch of Brent's current band These Magnificent Tentacles that same week, and they hadn't played live at all since early 2020, so you can see how a new Slumshine gig could take fans by surprise! As you may recall, the Fringe North Festival is the annual arts & culture festival intended to showcase open, censorship-free, and limitless performances from artists of all stripes, and is hosting in-person events again this year.

While many Fringe North performances remain as videos viewable by ticket purchasers only (The Uncanny Valley participated as such last year), and there's no linked Up The Arts Festival at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion like there was pre-pandemic, The Sault Ste. Marie Museum at the corner of Queen & East is the 2022 home base for in-person events. However, recent Facebook promotion indicates that the poor weather forecast for this weekend has forced Fringe North to move previously planned outdoor events inside the Museum, but capacity is limited across the board whether they were in the museum or not. Full details on any schedule adjustments are available on the Fringe North Facebook page. The only hard rock/punk-leaning in person act this year, Slumshine will be performing in the Museum at the Durhan Gallery TOMORROW NIGHT at 10:00 PM as part of a six act program, with Slumshine as the only "band".

Also scheduled are a performance of the one-act play Danielle at 8:30 PM, a Haus of Gore drag show at 7:00 PM, musical comedy troupe The Floor Beneath Us at 5:30 PM, a Project Nishin Niizh watch party (for indigineous culture videos reflecting the impact of the pandemic) at 4:00 PM, and Tim Murphy's historical one-man-show Wasn't It Grand? at 2:30 PM. It is worth noting that Slumshine's set TOMORROW NIGHT is plugged in the official Fringe North program as "a personal recovery based musical performance piece incorporating visual art", implying that Brent's paintings will be involved along with personal song lyrics, but of course, his pink knit ski mask is a given. Performances at Fringe North are individually priced, and while the format is "pay what you can", organizers suggest $10 for most acts and $20 as a "support the artist" price. Age limits are not specified, but use your discretion given the open culture.

Space limits inside the Museum for both size and pandemic protocols mean that there will be only 35 paid attendees allowed to see most acts, Slumshine included, so head down to the Museum A.S.A.P. if you want to ensure you're in before showtime! I'm very surprised to see Slumshine back, if at a very restricted event for capacity, but hopefully Brent has a lot more up his solo sleeve after TOMORROW NIGHT, so look for his entertaining unplugged punk originals downtown! Visit the above links for more details, Slumshine are back in our active band links, and here they are live!

We'll close tonight's post with one more weekend concert preview, as local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for a matinee concert THIS SUNDAY! Tym debuted at the Dennis Street nightclub last month with two consecutive Sunday matinees before ceding the timeslot to Leslie Cook over the last two weeks. Tym's back over the next two Sundays, and while I don't know if he and Leslie are trading two Sundays in rotation for the time being or not, fans of his deep covers setlist should find a lot to like in a couple of days! No weather issues to deal with either, doubly so given that it's at Shooters Downstairs Lounge. Whether this works out better for you than his Trading Post gigs or if you can't get enough, Tym's show on Sunday has a 3:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

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

Video From A Recently Missed Concert, Plus More Dopethrone Concert Footage!!

A hopefully busy week is upon us at the SMS, so let's keep things rolling with a new news post devoted to two topics: More videos from a recent extreme metal concert, and leading off, a new clip from a show this weekend that regrettably didn't make the site. Here's what you should know!

As it turns out, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck played a short notice outdoor concert yesterday afternoon outside of the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road, serving as the musical entertainment for one of their occasional summer car shows. I profusely apologize for missing this show for coverage on the site, but Soundcheck only plugged it on their Facebook page yesterday morning, and alas, Sunday mornings are not usually prime-time for us to be on the lookout for late notice show announcements. Given the nature of the concert and it's outdoor, all ages setting, you'd think this would warrant more than a few hours notice, but it is what it is. That said, we're not entirely left in the lurch, as a video from their set was posted onto their Facebook page, so we can see how things sounded and looked yesterday! The video features Soundcheck covering Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son", and the guys were playing under a tent set up outside of the restaurant, a nice touch to guard from the elements.

Featuring guitarist Travis Sharpe on lead vocals, this is a solid cover of this roots rock classic, and the vocals are well done, but couldn't they have moved Travis' microphone over a bit so he didn't have to be standing right behind that tentpole? For what it's worth, it looks like Paul Belair was back on bass after Jason Taillefer's recent fill-in stint, though there was no Facebook confirmation of his return. Strong performance overall, so give Soundcheck's newest video a look below, and apologies again for missing this one, we'd have covered it on here had it gotten even a day's notice!



Next up, let's tackle some long overdue concert videos from Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, as he was in attendance for last month's Dopethrone-headlined concert at The New American Pub, and I regrettably am only just getting to his footage now. Sorry, Chris, things just slipped through the cracks, but we did cover his Anvil videos on time here! Chris shot eight videos of the three bands, including four of the headlining Montreal "slutch metal" band, though he clearly had as much trouble titling song names as I did when I covered Six, Two, Oh.'s Facebook videos from the night. His Dopethrone videos are linked here, here, and here, while the last and longest of them is embedded below. Much like on Six, Two. Oh.'s footage, the very dark lighting is a detriment to the visual clarity, but it does help the doom metal mood in a way, and Chris got good angles of fans moshing! The aggressive but slow metal is nicely captured, so give everything a look!



The other half of Chris' uploads are of the local openers, including two videos of returning doom metal trio AlgomA's set, with over 13 minutes shot between this clip and the 7:49-long footage embedded below. The improved lighting helps to see Kevin, Boyd, and Jamie back in their natural element after a 19 month layoff, and fans are definitely into these aggressive originals, helping prove that AlgomA didn't have any rust to shake off last month! Vocals can be a little muffled, but AlgomA fans would be well served to check these videos out above & below!



Finally, Chris shot two videos of local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver's surprising opening set, including this 2:11 clip (complete with My Dinner From Andre sample) and a longer one embedded below. Despite crowd heads in the way, Shit Liver had the best visual clarity and lighting of the night, and their fast paced noise attack is well captured as they ended a year's break from the local stage so give their videos a look as well!



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

Even More Assorted News From The Last Few Days!!

And the clearing out of my backlogged news desk continues! Firstly, I wanna re-mention something before I get too into new stories: It was sort of buried in my last post, but Nixxon Dixxon ARE playing at Dondee Lanes THIS WEEKEND! It's not plugged on their MySpace page, but band contacts confirmed that they'll be there (thanks to Ernest Beaumont for the info!) 8:00 PM start time on Friday and Saturday, 21+, no announced cover, hopefully each show is a success! More news is on the way today, so here we go!

Hey music fans, you have a new bar to check out for future concerts! It is The Vibe Lounge, and it's not where you'd expect. It's actually located at 232 Goulais Avenue, which was the old location of the Polish-Canadian Hall! This isn't anywhere near downtown, unlike most local bars/concert spots, it's near to Bayview Park and The Hard Times Bar & Grill, if you're looking for an idea of it's locale. I notice that some of the staff at Nite-Life Dance Club have been posting and updating on The Vibe Lounge's Facebook page, so it looks like everything's well handled! Compared to Nite-Life though, The Vibe Lounge seems to have things in common with The Bottom's Up Lounge in tone and atmosphere too, with martinis prominently advertised. Coffee and more casual alcohol are available too! Pictures of The Vibe Lounge that have popped up online so far don't show much of the venue as a whole yet, but it looks nice from what I can see! And as for concerts, the first takes place on Friday when local rockers Stiffler's Mom play at The Vibe Lounge's grand opening party in a special invite-only event! No word on metal shows there yet, but when there is, I'll let you know! But The Vibe Lounge is fully open now, so if you're in the Goulais Avenue/Second Line area, stop by for a drink! To become a fan on Facebook, click here!

Next up, have you noticed that since their inception last year, we have never found online samples of the sound of local hard rockers Riot! By Night? Well, we still don't, but the next best thing is on YouTube! Frontman Ryan Harrison has a YouTube channel featuring five acoustic solo covers! The videos feature his singing and guitar renditions of songs by Evans Blue, Butch Walker, Coheed & Cambria, Matchbox Twenty, and Sister Hazel, and on listening, he's not bad at all! Solid singer, and his guitar skills are good too, though you know me, I'd love to hear some heavier stuff too! Check out Ryan's videos at this location, and if anything else video/audio wise pops up from him or Riot! By Night online, I'll let you know! Remember, you can next see them live in Barbeau next weekend! For now though, here's his acoustic rendition of the Evans Blue song "Over"!



Now here's something that has a "rock" connection of sorts, though it's definitely more offbeat, and I figure this could get mentioned! On Saturday, there will be a city-wide charity car wash involving local high schools! Now why does this get a Sault Metal Scene mention? Well, Sir James Dunn Collegiate & Vocational School are taking part, and will be theming theirs around rock n' roll! It takes place, I believe, in the SJD parking lot from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM, and the car washers will all be decked out in their best hard rock gear! They were hoping for stuff like bandanas, wrist bands, black t-shirts, jeans, that kind of stuff! All proceeds from this car wash will go towards Teen Challenge North, a drug & alcohol rehab program for local teens to help them get their lives in order! There will be trophies for the overall best car wash, highest student participation, most money raised, most cars washed, and best school spirit, and best theme. Hey, as a hard rock/metal fan, I'd give the latter award to the Dunn! If I can give one piece of advice, it's this: Play Rock 101 or some metal/hard rock CDs on a sound system outside, it'd add to the environment! So if your car needs a wash on Saturday, get the most rocking car wash of all at the Dunn and support local charities! Get more info at this location!

Three more shorter news stories for today, let's go through them in alphabetical order by band name:

• A new bulletin post from Sault Michigan metal band Analog Deficiency is hyping the fact that they're looking for a new singer! They're looking for someone who can sing AND scream, so take that into account. If you're interested, or know someone who is, message the band at their official MySpace page! There's also some audio demo clips there, so if you want an indication of their sound before submitting interest for singing, check them out!
• Sault Ontario hard rockers Half Past are asking fans when would be the best time for them to book a possible headlining show! Basically, when would the best time be for you to see them live? Post your ideas at the topic about this at their official Facebook page! Also, the band are working on a fourth original song and have added a handful of new covers to their setlist!
• Local hardcore rockers Out Of The Mouth Of Babes have uploaded a new version of their first original, "Take A Walk With Me", to their MySpace page! The new version features current singer Matt Maccarone in place of their original singer Josh McNally, but otherwise doesn't have much different. Pretty good, it's nice hearing Matt in heavier stuff! Check it out at the links above, and if I can 100% confirm a new OOTMOB show, I'll let you all know!

I think this is mostly it for news I've had backlogged since my tough exam/test stretch! In my next update, I have information relating to a long awaited local album, and how you can get it, kind of! Likely previews of this weekend's Blind Baby and Nixxon Dixxon shows too, so stay tuned for all that!