Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar, who suddenly passed away on Wednesday at the age of 58. At press time, a cause of death hadn't been revealed, but he is survived by his son, Tantric guitarist Sebastian LaBar. Visit your preferred rock music news sources for further details as they roll in. Local fans may recognize Jeff from his appearance with Cinderella at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in April 2011, not to mention their Hair Scare-approved classics like "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)", "Nobody's Fool", and "Shake Me" that fans got to see singer Tom Keifer perform solo here just before the pandemic began. I'm not a diehard glam metal fan, but Jeff was a talented guitarist who supplied strong work where needed, and our best wishes go out to everyone affected by his loss. R.I.P. Jeff!
Now, today's post is otherwise all about Rotaryfest, which returned to in-person activities yesterday in drive-thru form in the parking lot outside of the former Lowe's, and you can see video from early in The Steeltown Playboys' opening set yesterday in this SooToday article, plus shots of Ribfest and some of the paths vehicles take. From what I have seen in Facebook photos, organizers opted to bring the Clergue Park-era Stage 2 set (or a close facsimile) to Lowe's Plaza for the bands, rather than cart the much larger Stage 1 set north. If you want to have your FM radio ready before arriving, the frequency carrying the music is 107.1 FM, which is interference free, as there are no proper local stations immediately around it. I can confirm that 107.1 FM does carry music before/between bands, presumably to keep the music going for everyone who attends if they choose, so you can leave the radio there for convenience.
A video of Blues Harvest's reunion set is floating around personal Facebook pages, and things seem to go smoothly, but I can't confirm if the audio is from a car radio or if it's the much quieter live sound. Chris Paci (who filmed a lot of major concert videos pre-pandemic) told me that attendees could get out of their vehicle to see the bands if they wore a mask and maintained social distance, and vehicle-less attendees were asked to watch in the grassy hill by Pennington's. The live music feed was loud enough to be audible without an FM radio, so while it's still quieter than normal, keep that in mind. Lastly from his report, there was a lot of honking in usual applause breaks, which seems to go with the territory (thanks again, Chris!) You can also read more about the 2021 Rotaryfest changes in these preview articles by SooToday's James Hopkin and via The Sault Star's Brian Kelly, plus new photo postings from the newspaper.
The Sault Star's article said that only every second parking space in the stage area would be allocated for attendees, with 50 cars estimated as a maximum attendance, and organizers saying that most attendees would likely only stay for two bands. Be advised that all of this came out while Ontario was in Stage 2 of re-opening, and specifically planned to abide by it's regulations. Despite the province entering Stage 3 yesterday, this follow-up article by Brian Kelly confirms that the already-planned format is not changing, as it's too late logistically and organizers are fine with how safe it is. Most of the articles otherwise are just going over the rules to enter and safely get ribs/see the bands, while optimistically talking up this year's format and the hope for a return to Clergue Park in 2022. Kudos to The Rotary Club for doing what they can to ensure that this year's festival takes place safely!
Finally, here's the debut single from Rotaryfest newcomers Jonesy Land... at least in name! While the band you'll be seeing at 7:00 PM tomorrow is a proper punk band paying tribute to frontman Dustin Jones' back catalog, the Tidal Records YouTube channel posted this video last month for their song "Sunshine Parades" which features a softer reggae-inspired sound and motivational lyrics about seeing better days and coming together, with suitable photos interspersed with videos of Dustin singing neck deep in water and while strumming the guitar on the beach. So far, this is the only Jonesy Land-branded song that has been released, but Dustin had been posting occasional new acoustic originals online during the pandemic that were never tied to one of his bands, so are they for Jonesy Land? In any event, the video does not feature any of the backing members of the live band you'll see tomorrow.
The song is fun and cheerful, and perfectly fits the lyrical content, so fans of Dustin's softer and folksier music won't jump too far to see where he's going with this! Time will tell if Jonesy Land is just a name for Dustin's truly solo exploits of if tomorrow's show is actually the debut of a proper full-time band (they don't truly have social media pages yet), but give "Sunshine Parades" a watch below, and maybe we'll hear it tomorrow?
That's all for today, but stay tuned for new news posts in the coming days, and don't miss day #2 of Rotaryfest tonight, with the final 7 bands playing tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Our last post of July is a showcase of live metal & hard rock concert videos from a YouTube channel that I recently came across that hadn't appeared to get a lot of attention (possibly because many videos didn't have descriptive titles.) Uploaded by YouTube user leather1972 (who I believe is Brenda "Leather" Roy, sister of "Soo Stories" author Duane Roy), this channel has had videos since 2007, but Brenda's only been posting live concert videos since February 2012, with the channel mainly based around karaoke performances beforehand (some of which were in Sault Michigan!) A few dozen videos are on her channel from concerts, including non-metal acts like Obsession, Lorrie Morgan, and Greg Lamothe, so be sure to check out Brenda's channel at this location to see her other clips! Today, we'll look at most of the acts on this channel with metal/hard rock performances, and out of fairness, we'll look at them in chronological order (with the latest videos in an upcoming post), so here's what you need to know!
Brenda's earliest concert videos come from Rotaryfest's Second Stage on Queen Street East from July 17th, 2010, as she filmed two videos of headliners Garden of Bedlam's set that night! They're of the prominent local metal band playing their songs "Everything Will Die" (albeit cut at the end) and, as embedded below, "Your Disgrace", and they turned out pretty well! The big flaw is the lighting combined with her camera angle, especially on "Everything Will Die" (way too far from the stage), but she came closer during the second video. This was a well filmed set for the guys, but it's nice to get more angles, so check out more above, and here's Brenda's video of "Your Disgrace" from Rotaryfest 2010!
Also in delayed local concert videos posted last February, she posted four videos from a Rockstar Bar concert by defunct local hard rock band Half Past, which I believe came from singer Luke LeBlanc's last show with them on February 26th, 2011. Brenda's filmed videos were of Half Past (also featuring Skeyes of Seven's Alain Fletcher & Frightlight's Chris Thompson) covering Staind's "For You", 10 Years' "Wasteland", System of a Down's "Aerials", and (as embedded below) Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness", complete with a guest vocalist on a specific part of the song. The videos do suffer from very dark lighting & muffled audio (and the 10 Years & S.O.A.D. songs aren't filmed in full), but the songs are clearly identifiable, and their talents are clear, especially with Alain's guitar work! They're also a good reminder of Luke's vocal talent, and in a perfect world, he'd be on stage rather than in the hopsital. Check out Half Past's Disturbed cover below, see more at the above links, and remember to donate to help Luke's medical funds in his cancer battle by clicking here!
Lastly for her batch of February 2012 postings, Brenda uploaded four videos from Pennsylvania glam metal legends Cinderella's headlining show at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on April 14th, 2011! The videos are of Cinderella playing their songs "Shelter Me", "Gypsy Road", "Shake Me", and (as embedded below) "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)", but how did they turn out? Not spectacularly, though she did have a good angle from the left of the stage. The videos are visually grainy, and the audio has stuttering loud portions that make them hard to listen to, which is a shame, as they sounded fine otherwise. Nice to see them all the same, so check out more above & below!
Finally for today's coverage of Brenda's video uploads, we jump forward to last month, as she filmed three songs that Griphook frontman Jim O'Leary and friends (including Obsession's Valerie Powley) played at the Faces of the Soup Kitchen fundraising event at The Machine Shop at Mill Square (the former St. Mary's Paper site) on June 1st. Uploaded two weeks after the event, the videos include Jim & friends covering Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy", The Band's "The Weight", and (as embedded below) Nazareth's "Sunshine"! You may remember "Sunshine" from Local2's video covering this event's artists, and while it's nothing we haven't seen, it's a nice different angle of their set with solid audio quality and a good close angle, so check out the gang covering this Nazareth classic below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more updates soon, including the remaining hard rock videos from this channel! Thanks everyone!
For our 25th straight day of SMS updates, we have this month's YouTube Channel Profile for you guys! As always, this monthly feature series looks at 1-3 YouTube channels with (at least) a 50% concentration of local metal/hard rock-relevant videos, featuring information, profiles, recommendations, and videos to check out from each! Today marks our first one-channel Sault Michigan profile in 10 months (even though the owner's from Sault Ontario), and if you're a major concertgoer across the river, this will definitely be appealing, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profile! (Updated on October 15th, 2013)
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Channel Timeline: Launched on April 29th, 2009; Videos posted from then through August 2011
Channel Summary: Despite being a resident of Sault Ontario, Dino's YouTube channel is entirely comprised of concert videos from The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in 2009 & 2011! Attending at least five during his use of the channel (including three hard rock concerts), Dino launched his channel with four videos from the Staind/Hoobastank concert on April 28th, 2009, later adding to it with two videos from one of ZZ Top's shows here that September. After a hiatus of over a year for new videos, Dino returned with three 2011 videos from the Cinderella concert on April 14th, following up with one video of Loverboy's show there on June 3rd, and closing with a video of Whitesnake's local show on August 26th of that year.
Why Should You Watch: Because this is a quality resource of major Kewadin Casino concerts, even if three or four of them don't lean heavier! Though Dino's seats varied depending on the show, he has good camera work for the most part, and the audio of each band is pretty clear, so it's definitely a good spot to check out recent Dreammaker's Theater concert footage! Note however that Dino hasn't visibly used his channel in over a year & a half, in case that changes your mind on subscribing, but hopefully he'll film some more local concert footage at some point again!
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out: staind at kewedin casino: For his first Kewadin concert videos, Dino uploaded four videos from the April 2009 show featuring Massachusetts hard rock notables Staind and California alt-rock openers Hoobastank, including two videos of each. All four are filmed at a far angle from the stage, which can be somewhat jittery, but luckily, his view of the stage is fairly clear, and the audio picks up well! The featured video here is a slightly more aggressive take of Staind's song "So Far Away" (plus crowd sing-along), while his other Staind video was of their hit "Right Here". The Hoobastank videos include their songs "My Turn" and "The Reason", but the latter doesn't seem to load on YouTube consistently.
dfunk 2: Though his most viewed video his his Loverboy clip, Dino's most watched metal performance video is of Pennsylvania glam metal quintet Cinderella playing their song "Nobody's Fool" at The Dreammaker's Theater on April 14th, 2011! One of three Cinderella videos that he shot (including their songs "Shake Me" & "Somebody Save Me"), Dino got a much closer angle of this show than he had for Staind, with a very clear & close viewpoint and nice quality audio that captures Cinderella's sound well for the most part, but if you prefer heavier songs, his other Cinderella videos will be more up your alley!
MOV02361.MPG: Dino's last concert video on his channel is of British metal legends Whitesnake playing their song "Bad Boys" at the Soo Kewadin in August 2011, and it's very similar to his Cinderella videos by his crowd placement (though maybe a bit further.) I like that he shot a song that wasn't one of their more overplayed hit singles, and though the audio lacks a bit, Whitesnake sound great on this heavier late 1980s track! However, this his only video from this concert, but other channels will hook you up if you want to see other local Whitesnake clips!
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll return to Sault Ontario for another single-channel profile, as I've randomly selected YouTube user stumpypet1's channel, which features 4 videos from defunct local hard rock band Quite Frankly in late 2009! Should be enough for it's own self-contained profile, so watch out for that on or around April 20th, and stay tuned for Sunday night concert previews tomorrow, plus more news! Thanks everyone!
In what is likely our final news post of this month, we're squeezing in some more big stories before we post this month's CD review on the site tomorrow, so here's what's on tap for tonight! We've got the latest updates for the battle of the bands in April, some newly discovered videos from a Kewadin Casino metal concert last year, and leading off, some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, so read on below for all the news, and check out this morning's post featuring big Garden of Bedlam news, more battle updates, and other assorted topics in the post below this one! (EDITED, 7:47 PM)
Ontario AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who are coming back to Sault Ontario THIS FRIDAY!! The local favourites will make their first appearance in the area since Hempfest on Friday night at The Canadian Nightclub with a night full of Brian and Bon-era AC/DC classics, and you know the'll put on a great show! Local bookers wouldn't bring them here so often if they didn't deliver, so if you want some high voltage rock n' roll this weekend, be at The Canadian on Friday night! I apologize for not having this earlier, as Who Made Who referenced this show on their Facebook page a week ago as their "next stop", but no venue was credited, so I held off until fuller word came my way. Doors open at 10:00 PM for this show, you must be 19+ to attend, and though no cover charge is announced, I'd expect one, so bring at least $5. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a great night of AC/DC hits and favourites, and with a talented and well-suited tribute band to rock it all out for their fans, you won't wanna miss Who Made Who on Friday if you're an AC/DC fan! Stay tuned for more on this show as the week rolls on!
Also in new concerts is a Sault College Campus Watch fundraiser pub at Coch's Corner on February 25th, and local classic metal quartet Late & Loud will headline this show in their Coch's Corner debut! Barring a new show announcement beforehand, this will be their first concert of 2012 & their first show since the fall, though 3/4s of Late & Loud did play a show as General Striker last month. Note that despite their presence on the Facebook event page and the preliminary event poster, local hard rockers Half Past are NOT playing this show. Guitarist Alain Fletcher confirmed their non-involvement with me earlier today, and huge thanks to him for letting me know! A post on the event page implies that "the other band" hadn't confirmed due to a lack of practice space, but whether Half Past was the implied band or not isn't known. Still, Late & Loud should deliver a great concert, no matter what! Unlike most non-Halloween concerts at Coch's Corner, tickets for this event will be $10 (it is a fundraiser pub, after all), you likely have to be 19 to attend, and the start time is (oddly enough) 7:30 PM. Reportedly, there will be door prizes as well, but fuller details (like where to buy tickets) are not out yet. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This sounds like a very interesting event for a solid cause, so keep an eye out for more updates as I hear them, and apologies again to the Half Past camp!
Next up, here's the latest updates on the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands on April 20th at The Grand Theater, as two more bands are confirmed for the lineup, and both are seemingly new! One, I know stuff on, and they're a new blues rock quartet named The Moves. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they feature prolific local bassist Nathan Bouliane (ex-As It Stands, The Outside Lights, etc.), frequently seen local singer/guitarist Josh McNally (Deter, The Crossed, etc.), and Blackwater alumni Cody McMillan & Dave Pihlaja on guitar & drums respectively. Talented lineup, and though I don't believe they'll play a hard rock style, they have metal alumni in their ranks, and some notable Battle of the Bands competitors from recent years! Notably, Nathan took 1st place and "Best Bassist" at the 2008 Case's Music Battle of the Bands as a member of Stillbroke, and Blackwater (with Cody & Dave in tow) won the Sault College/Scotties Tournament Battle in February 2010, so don't sleep on The Moves come April 20th, as the talent is there! The other newly announced band for this battle is a new band named Inhumane Method, of whom I know nothing about. Nothing public about their identity has came my direction, and despite a metal-implying name, I can't say anything definitive on them yet. If you can help identify who Inhumane Method are, e-mail me at robertfigures@hotmail.com!
This brings the confirmed battle lineup to 9 bands, making it the biggest Sault Ontario battle of the bands since the Kiss battle, and there's still more bands to come! I'll note that Late & Loud are still not advertised for this battle, despite the band's indications that they registered. I confirmed with guitarist Jonathan Tiberi earlier today that they entered and were looking into why they weren't advertised yet, so hopefully this gets resolved soon! Stay tuned for more battle updates as they come in!
And finally for today, remember when we mentioned that the Castlegar, British Columbia internet radio station Energy Rock Radio (which was locally based from 2008-2011) had shut down? Well, the station may have ended, but some local news from Energy Rock Radio has still found it's way onto my radar via some videos on the ERR YouTube channel! Before moving out west, Energy Rock Radio creator and DJ Ryan Kaarlela attended the Cinderella concert at The Dreammakers Theater at Kewadin Casino on April 14th, 2011, and he posted 7 videos from the show onto YouTube in June! The videos include short clips of "Shelter Me", "Heartbreak Station", "Second Wind", and "Push Push", along with longer videos of Cinderella playing "Somebody Save Me", "Nobody's Fool", and "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)", so click each link to see Ryan's videos! I think these slipped my radar for two reasons: They weren't posted until two months after the show, and Ryan didn't tag the Soo or Kewadin Casino in the videos, so they weren't visibly from the local concert on first glance, and I apologize for having these so late.
The videos are good quality, and Ryan's angle on the right is fairly close, but the audio has scratchy moments, some videos are too short, and singer Tom Keifer isn't too clear on the recordings. Still, these are nice videos, so check them out at the above links, give Ryan's new "Energy Rock Radio Show" a listen on Hard Rock Radio Live on Saturday afternoons, and here's Cinderella playing "Somebody Save Me" in April!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of Foothill Road's second EP TOMORROW in our likely final post of January 2012! Thanks everyone!
Hey guys, here's one more post for your Saturday, and if you've been hoping for Cinderella concert fallout, then good news! I have a bunch of videos from the show that I've found on YouTube, and a news article I sadly didn't see until after the show, so that's the focus! I have lots more news to share tomorrow, so stay tuned for those as well, and check out my posts from earlier today for our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on The Heatseeking Moisture Missiles, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT at The Bird, and all of the latest SMS March Mayhem updates! Now, it's Cinderella time, as here are the new videos!
First, YouTube user ccs62111 uploaded 3 videos from Cinderella's headlining set at The Dreammakers Theater at Kewadin Casino from Thursday night onto their YouTube channel yesterday, so here's what you should know! The videos are of Cinderella playing their songs "Coming Home", "Heartbreak Station", and "Somebody Save Me", and click on each link to check them out! The filming's good, and the ccs62111 had a good spot closer to the stage on the left hand side. The video quality can be slightly blurry at points, and the stage's darkness combined with that doesn't help when it is, but these are good videos! The band sounds good, about how you'd expect Cinderella to sound at this point in their careers, and Tom Keifer's voice is holding up well despite his vocal issues that he's been battling with! I should note that only the "Coming Home" video is of the song in full, the others don't even crack two minutes in length, and if you're looking for more aggressive and heavy tracks, "Somebody Save Me" will be your preference. Good stuff all around, check the above links for more, including another local concert video that I plan on featuring on the SMS in the future! Because it's the longest of the three videos from this channel, here's Cinderella playing "Coming Home" from Thursday night!
Also uploading concert footage from the Cinderella concert is YouTube user dfunker76, who you may remember as an uploader of videos from Staind & ZZ Top's Kewadin Casino concerts! Three Cinderella videos were posted on their channel yesterday, and they include full videos of Cinderella playing "Shake Me", "Nobody's Fool", and "Somebody Save Me"! The videos aren't "titled" to reflect the songs, but I did my research. The footage was shot further back in the crowd than ccs62111's videos, so there's often crowd members in the way of the lower third of the screen, but the footage doesn't go blurry at all and is more centered on the stage. The audio quality's fairly good too! I like these more than dfunker76's Staind videos for quality as the user is closer to the stage this time, and the songs sound good either way! Give these a look at the above links, and here's Cinderella seemingly channeling AC/DC in their performance of "Shake Me" from Thursday night!
Finally for videos, here's a single Cinderella video from YouTube user bizzass25, who finally posted a video to their channel almost four years after launching it! This is of Cinderella's classic power ballad "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)", and ironically, this is from the right side of the stage, completing the trifecta of Cinderella concert camera angles! I think this is the best quality footage from the show, I hope bizzass25 has more videos to share! Everything's clear and visible, it's in HD, and the camera's filming from a nice close spot, so definitely give this one a look if you're in the market for Cinderella concert video footage! Here's the video of Cinderella playing "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" from Thursday night's show!
Finally for this Cinderella-centric post, here's a (sadly) late news article surrounding this concert, as The Sault Star's Jeffery Ougler wrote an article about Cinderella featuring interview excerpts with frontman Tom Keifer! Fittingly titled "If the shoe fits...", the article was posted eight days ago, and it largely focuses on Tom Keifer's vocal issues dating back to 1991, due to vocal chord paralysis, and the long road to recovery to allow him to sing properly again. I have two problems with this otherwise good article, which describes Tom's struggles with his voice and the band's progress since their late 1980s peak. One, there's no quotation marks to denote when Tom's speaking, which really can throw you off. Any interview written in paragraph form like this should have some distinction between interviewer and interviewee. Maybe it was corrected for print, but I'm not a Sault Star subscriber for me to prove that. As well, very little is said about the show from Thursday night save for a capsule mention at the end, but at least in that respect, the article is timeless and can be discussed post-show! Good article, just pay attention to know who's "talking" and when. Click here to read, and kudos to Tom for getting back out there and sounding good in the process!
That's all for tonight, but stay tuned, as we have some big stories to get to tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
It's time to preview this weekend's local metal and hard rock concerts! Smaller weekend than we've seen lately, but there's some big shows this weekend, including some notable returns AND a major Kewadin Casino concert, which will lead off this post! Here's what you need to know for your concertgoing this weekend!
Firstly, it's the second major Kewadin Casino hard rock concert of 2011, as Philadelphia hair metal legends Cinderella are finally coming to Sault Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT at The Dreammakers Theater, and yes, it's the band this time! Cinderella have sold over 18 million records dating back to their late 1980s peak, and have hit songs like "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)", "Shelter Me", and "Coming Home" in store for us local fans on their 25th anniversary tour! In fact, their original lineup is back together for this tour, so that should get classic fans psyched! No word on a possible opening band, but we know from many past shows that Kewadin may not even mention them. Cinderella were definitely one of the most notable hair metal bands of the 1980s, and if you loved the hard rock of the time, you'll surely enjoy this concert! Doors open at 7:00 PM, it's an all ages event, and tickets are $39.50 American. If you're interested in tickets (which aren't sold out), click here to buy online, or you can pick them up at the Kewadin box office or by phone at 1-800-539-2346! Sounds like a fun night of classic hair metal, hopefully this show is a success! Check out the above links for more on Cinderella and this show, I'll have post-show updates if they come in, and for a preview, here's Cinderella's video for their classic hit "Nobody's Fool"!
Meanwhile tomorrow night, Sault Ontario metal fans have much to look forward to at The Roosevelt Hotel as the next metal night takes place there tomorrow! Yes, Dismembertainment will bring you three young local metal bands to rock the house down, including headliners Bring The Fallen! After a three month "break" and numerous breakup rumours, Bring The Fallen are back tomorrow, which is awesome news! Hopefully they have much more in store beyond this show! Joining them tomorrow will be local death metal quintet State of Misery (fresh off of the Sewer Swampstravaganja) and Desbarats death metal band For All That Is Lost, who are always a welcome sight locally! Sounds like a great night of death metal, so make it out if you can! This show has a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 9:30 PM start time. For more details, check the above links! Best of luck tonight if I can't make it out, and I have some more intriguing news from Dismembertainment to come in a future news post as well, so keep an eye out! For a preview, here's Bring The Fallen playing their original "Nostalgia" in November!
Now for Turner Up, as they hit The Roosevelt Hotel themselves on Friday & Saturday! These will be their first shows at The Rosie since their new lineup formed, including singer KT Antler, guitarist Kyle McKey, and founding member Robert Brown now on bass, so things will look and sound a lot different compared to their last shows there! I still haven't heard the new lineup, but I have faith that they sound good. Scott and Rob know talent when they hear it! So if you want to enjoy some classic hard rock covers, your best bet is The Rosie this weekend! They'll be on at 10:30 PM on Friday & Saturday night, you must be 19 to attend, and there's no cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! These should be some good nights of music from Turner Up, hopefully they're a huge success! Check the above links for more, and when videos or audio of the band in action with the new lineup come online, I'll let you guys know!
And finally, it's the long awaited headlining concert from Brimley hard rockers Half A Man! After over two months away from the stage, they'll hit The Merchant's Bar on April 16th (itself postponed from an original March date) to rock the house with their original hard rock songs! Also joining them as openers are Great Bodily Harm, a new local supergroup featuring ex-Hammerspace singer Kirk Labadie, former Half A Man drummer Doug Reed on guitar, River Witch guitarist Chris Leask on bass, and End of Existence frontman Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten on drums! That'll be interesting to check out too, I wonder how they sound? Plus, I expect some new Half A Man merchandise and such on Saturday as well, so keep an eye out for that! This show is a 21+ affair, it all starts at 10:00 PM, and there is no cover charge. Check their Facebook page out for more details! This should be a very interesting concert, and hopefully it helps lead to some more big things for Half A Man, who deserve it! Check the above links for more details on this show, and for a preview, here's Half A Man playing "Slow Rock 75" at The Bird in February!
That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for our next Defunct Local Band Profile at midnight sharp, especially because there's been a band change. What happened and who's being profiled now? You'll know at midnight! Stay tuned!
Happy New Year, everyone! Hopefully 2011 is as great as 2010 hopefully was for all of you, if not better! Like last year, I wanted to devote a post to some of the things to look out for in the coming year. This is by no means comprehensive or complete, but 2011 has a lot of things in the works, so it's worth devoting a bit of time on, just like last year! So let's take a look at what we know is coming this year, and what to expect!
In terms of major concerts in either of the twin Saults, the only metal/hard rock ones that we can reasonably confirm at the moment are both at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino. The first announced one will feature a huge package of radio hard rock and post-grunge bands, including Buckcherry, Papa Roach, My Darkest Days, and Bleeker Ridge on March 14th! Allstar Promotions are hoping this concert will be a huge success, and knowing the success and popularity of these bands, I don't see any real reason why this won't be one of the biggest hard rock shows of 2011! The other confirmed major concert across the river at The Dreammaker's Theater is exactly one month later, and it involves Philadelphia hair metal legends Cinderella! They'll come to Kewadin Casino less than a year after another Cinderella (the play) was featured there. This time, it actually is the band, so if you want some live glam metal, you know where to be on April 14th! More details are likely to come in on both shows, but if you want to buy tickets, you can buy them at Kewadin Casino's ticketing page, at their box office, or by phone if you call 1-800-KEWADIN! As for other major concerts in the metal and hard rock vein, no others are known yet, but Allstar Promotions always have something up their sleeves, and you never know when The Essar Center will book something heavy, so be sure to keep an eye out!
For other concerts this year, we know more than we knew last year at this point, so here's what's scheduled! Hempfest returns this August after a year's relocation, with Frightlight and Half Past already among the confirmed acts, so if you want to support marijuana culture or enjoy some great music, head down to Ophir in August! Motley Crue tribute band Crued also return to Sault Ontario on April 30th for a high energy set at The Canadian Nightclub! The rest of the known shows on this side in 2011 revolve around the bands who frequently hit the bars for weekend sets, including a handful of Turner Up gigs at Docks Riverfront Grill through February and Tym Morrison's weekly arrangements at Foggy Notions and The Big Cheese. Expect more to be announced from both bands, including more weekend dates from That's Chester and many more shows from many other local acts as the year wears on! Sault Michigan concerts are harder to verify, but a ton at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino have been confirmed for almost the entire year, including numerous new dates from Monkey's Uncle, Splitshot, Peril, River Witch, and Driven! Expect shows from some of those bands at venues like The Bear & Dondee Lanes too, among others, but verification of those isn't simple. Add The Darwin Project's show on February 19th in Rudyard too, and you have a big year of concerts across the river already!
Check the SMS concert listings on your left and right for full confirmed dates that I currently know of! This doesn't even count the possible shows for 2011 that we can assume or guess will happen, so here's a couple more prospective metal concerts to keep an eye out for! Kewadin Casino had talked of possibly holding another major summer festival following the success of last year's 25th Anniversary Festival, and you know some metal bands could be on that! Other possibilities include both of the stages at Rotaryfest, the Bellevue Park concert series, the Sugar Island Music Festival, Oktoberfest & Sidewalk Sales in Sault Michigan, any possible battles of the bands, the concerts connected to The Guitar Studio rock camp, and (although not concerts) open mic and jam nights at various local bars and concert spots!
You could also throw possible CD release parties on there, as there are a pile of local metal and hard rock albums that have either begun recording sessions, or are in line for releases in the very near future! After a slower than usual 2010 for local album releases, hopefully the floodgates open in 2011! We'll go over some of these in full detail tomorrow for our January "Where Are The New Albums?" update post, but check out all the bands who have albums announced, partly recorded, or finished without release: April Eyes, Bring The Fallen, Garden of Bedlam, Gates of Winter, Half Past, Lion Ride, Mike Haggith, No Arrow, Riverin, Sense of Truth, Silver Dream, Sykotyk Rampage, Tym Morrison, and Woods of Ypres, and that doesn't even count certain bands' plans for multiple releases this year! Not to mention, bands like The Bear Hunters, As It Stands, State of Misery, and others have new original material that may or may not have release plans down the road as well! In Sault Michigan, Clownsack's new EP is still in the works for a release, along with Bad Side's retrospective DVD, and with new material from Elipzis and Half A Man (among others), you never know what could be announced across the river this year! We'll elaborate more on many of these albums tomorrow!
There, hopefully this is a good look at what we know and might expect for 2011, but this just scratches the immediate surface. As 2011 rolls along, much more will come out, and as I hear about it, I'll have it right here! I should have a new news post TONIGHT, so stay tuned for that, as well as our "Where Are The New Albums" post tomorrow, a revision to our current poll, and more! Thanks everyone, and once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
After three straight days of concert reviews, it's time to return to a sense of normalcy, if for only one post before 2010 ends! I have some special posts coming over the next little while, but for tonight, it's business as usual, including a concert cancellation, two concert previews for New Years Eve shows, and first, a MAJOR LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!
Remember in March when I reported that Philadelphia glam metal legends Cinderella were coming to Kewadin Casino in May, only to find out a day later that it was actually a live production of the PLAY based on the fairy tale, NOT the band Cinderella? That was one of my strangest errors ever since starting the SMS, but I'm sure many of you could see where I was confused. Kewadin Casino frequently books hair metal bands, Cinderella had just announced a new tour, and you don't usually hear anything about live stage plays there, let alone ones who share names with a band who seem likely to play there. Well, I can finally make amends for that, as yes, Cinderella (the band) ARE coming to The Dreammaker's Theater on April 14th, in the second announced major hard rock show there in 2011! I can verify that it's the band this time around because The Sault Star reported this show earlier this afternoon at this location, so unless they got their Cinderellas mixed up too, then we're 100% in for some hair metal goodness in April! Best known for hits like "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)", "Coming Home", and "Shelter Me", they've sold over 7 million albums since their 1983 inception on the backs of their exciting hair metal sound!
This concert will take place on April 14th, 2011 at 7:00 PM, with possible opening bands not announced yet. Tickets are now on sale for $39.50 at Kewadin Casino's ticketing page, at their box office, or by phone if you call 1-800-KEWADIN! Hair metal fans should be right at home with this concert, which promises to be a hard hitting night of classic songs...that is, unless it's the play again. It can't happen a second time, can it? If it does, I'll change all this, but I think we're good this time around! Stay tuned for updates as they come in!
Now for previews of the known metal/hard rock concerts taking place on New Years Eve, or tomorrow night! But first, here's a cancellation, as the planned Turner Up concert tomorrow is completely cancelled. Originally scheduled for The Nicolet Tavern (according to Robert Brown on the band's Facebook group), they were later added to the New Years Eve lineup at The Rockstar Bar along with Obsession and local comedian J.P. Naphan. No official word on why the Nicolet booking was off, but it would have been cool to see them at The Rockstar Bar! However, since that announcement, band members' Facebook pages have since retracted that statement and now, there's no Turner Up this weekend at all. Odd to see a weekend with no shows from them, but I imagine they'll be back in full force in 2011!
Now to the shows that are still on, and we'll start at Foggy Notions, where four of the newest and brightest metal bands in Sault Ontario hit the stage one more time to end 2010! The headlining band is WinkStinger, four days after they dropped out of the Nightmare After Christmas Party at Foggy's. Hopefully Alan Wells' voice is back for the show, so that WinkStinger can unleash their assault of extreme hardcore metal to ring in 2011 in the heaviest way possible! Also scheduled are two of the newest death metal bands in town, State of Misery and The Bear Hunters! Both are sure to devastate with their heavy and aggressive takes on death metal, which have both gotten some high notices since their respective live debuts! And yes, if you're wondering where the new State of Misery videos are, I'll have them in my next news post. The picture on your left (and the Facebook event page) also confirm that local metal cover trio Sativa Rose have also been added to the lineup, essentially replacing Bring The Fallen as the fourth band tomorrow night. They've also been making waves since their debut this summer with their very proficient classic metal covers, so watch out for them as the openers tomorrow night! Check the above links for more on the scheduled bands!
This show takes place at 9:00 PM tomorrow night at Foggy Notions, with NO COVER CHARGE! You must be 19 to enter. This is probably the best and heaviest way you can end 2010 with, so if you are free and have no other plans, then head to Foggy's for this show! I regrettably can't go, as we have family plans tomorrow night, but I am VERY overdue to see Sativa Rose, The Bear Hunters, and State of Misery, and you have my word: I WILL be at shows with these bands in 2011, hopefully sooner rather than later! WinkStinger too, I've loved their concerts! For now though, check the above links for more details, and for a video preview, check out this brand new video of WinkStinger playing their original song "Where'd We Go Wrong" from the Garden of Bedlam concert earlier this month! Thanks to YouTube user WhiskeyBar1 for the upload!
And finally, in Sault Michigan, the place to be is The Corner Pub Bar & Grill, where a prominent local hard rock band make their long awaited local return tomorrow night! For the first time since July's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, local hard rockers Elipzis play a local concert, as they close out 2010 with a New Years Eve bash! This was no hiatus though, they've been rocking all over Michigan, and are poised for a big homecoming tomorrow night! A 7:00 PM start time is listed on the official Facebook event page, with no announced cover charge. Like most bar shows, I would expect a 19+ age limit. It's always good to see Elipzis back in town, and their brand of melodic hard rock has attracted fans all over Michigan, so they should deliver a nice set of music tomorrow night to celebrate the New Year! Plus, who knows when they'll be back home for a concert? Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Elipzis playing their song "Take Me On" earlier this month in Warren, Michigan!
That's all for tonight, but stay tuned tomorrow for a special post where we look back at 2010 and the events, shows, debuts, demises, releases, and stories from the past year! Thanks everyone!
Things are picking up lately, aren't they? March was seeming to go really slowly for news and updates in the local metal universe, but 5 straight days with new posts most say something! Here's some new news and updates!
(EDIT, MARCH 25: Well, I made a dumb mistake, though to be fair, the link wasn't clear about it at first. I initially reported that hair metal bandCinderellawere coming toKewadin Casino in May. Well, Cinderella will be there, but NOT the band, a live production of the play. Kewadin only updated the info today to clear up that it was the play, rather than the band. I assumed (as I'm sure some of you would have as well) that it was the band coming here in May, not the actual fairy tale story. Might be a dumb mistake, but you can see where I was coming from. The band Cinderella have a tour in the works, and Kewadin Casino frequently books classic hard rock and hair metal bands (like Tesla in June), so that seemingly made more sense than Cinderella the play coming here. And it wouldn't have been the first time that a show was announced on Kewadin's ticket page before the artist announced it, as in last year's Ace Frehley concert. Still, this is my fault, and I give my deepest apologies, especially to anyone who I got the hopes up of!)
Next up, it's time for some more local videos! And we'll start with another clip from this past Saturday's one-off set from Fitswitch's original lineup at The Elks Hall for guitarist Kevin Powe's stag and doe! This time, it's of their song "Only Wanna Be With You", featuring guitarist Rick White on vocals! It appears that Krista Kelly filmed this one as well, or at least the same camera was used. Great audio and decent quality, though the room is really dark. Still good though, check it out below! Now, let's all cross our fingers and hope that Fitswitch, whatever the lineup, play another public concert down the road, I'd for sure be there!
The second new video I have to share today comes from Sault natives Sue Inside! Yes, the metal band featuring Saultites Shane Lipsit-Fraser and Jeff Vogel are still active, though as I've said on here, have since moved to Oil Springs and London. Now a three piece with Adam Veen on bass, the band have periodically released some jam session recordings to Shane's YouTube channel, as well as some new stuff on their CBC Radio 3 page! Shane uploaded three new acoustic video clips the other day, of the songs "New Jersey", "Skeleton Surprise", and "Wine"! They feature Shane and Adam on guitar and a guest, Craig MacDonald, on one of those stand-up hand drums, not sure of the technical name. "Skeleton Surprise" isn't bad, though it does run long. Solid acoustic rock, no major complaints. "New Jersey" takes a stranger turn. It's more spoken word anthology horror story than song. Definitely worth seeing for the uniqueness of it! "Wine" is a bit softer than "Skeleton Surprise", kinda strange even still, but Sue Inside have never stuck to convention, not that that's bad!
The videos are also unique in that Shane's not singing on them, Adam handles the vocals, and you know what? He isn't bad at all, he has a really good hard rock voice on "Skeleton Surprise", that impressed me! He also shows off some unique talents on the other two vocally, nice to see! I'll show you guys one of the new videos, the heaviest of the three, so here's "Skeleton Surprise"! Hopefully we'll see more from Sue Inside real soon, and check out the new videos (and more) at this location!
Now back to stuff from The Cancer Bats' show on Monday, in support of Billy Talent! I still haven't found any new videos from the show of them, or any band for that matter, though a YouTube user from Thessalon may be posting some soon according to one of his other videos, so that may be something! Of course, if you took video of The Cancer Bats, or found footage of their set, let me know! I haven't seen any new news articles either, though Donna Hopper's photo album from the show is now online on SooToday! 44 photos of Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, and the crowd, with no signs of Against Me! or The Cancer Bats. I wasn't sure what to think of that at first, but Lucas Punkari (who covered and photographed the show for SooNews.ca) told me yesterday that press photographers were restricted to only photographing two bands. I find that very odd, but it does makes sense to photograph the two biggest bands rather than the openers. Still, Donna's photos are awesome! I recognized Albert from Out Of The Mouth Of Babes and Wayne from Renderware/Nebraska Arms in a couple pics, and it also includes photos from the afterparty at The Rockstar Bar, so it's definitely worth checking out, which you can do at this location!
And finally, a second Facebook event page has been launched for April 3rd's Destroyer concert at The Rockstar Bar! Remember, Destroyer are "Canada's premier tribute to Kiss", and will surely tide over Kiss Army members impatient for our yet-to-be-announced Sault Ontario show! Nothing new about elements of the concert to be discussed, it's still $12 in advance, $15 at the door, with tickets available at The Algonquin Hotel & The Rad Zone, with a 10:00 PM start time, but it has some great bio info now too! It tells of how they're a family friendly band and talks about their own accomplishments as a Kiss tribute, it's cool to see! Also, there's a poster for the show now, which you can see on your right! Hopefully this show's a success, click here for full details and to confirm your attendance!
That's all for now, hopefully I'll have a new post with some big updates very soon! Keep your browsers pointed here!
