LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) & Canada Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Canada Day weekend is upon us, and there's some live hard rock action to take in over the next few days in the Twin Saults, so here's this weekend's concert previews, sans potential late notice confirmations! There's even a pair of shows in Sault Michigan tucked in too, but let's start this preview post with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road TOMORROW NIGHT, joining his regular Gliss Steak & Seafood matinees TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice on the Roadhouse show, it was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Sunday. This nighttime solo show comes four weeks after Tym's most recent Roadhouse stop, and will give fans in the east end another chance to check out his hard rocking yet unplugged covers on this holiday weekend, so keep TOMORROW'S concert in mind if you want to see Tym live at a more typical time! As for his ongoing Gliss run, these could very well be his last weekend of shows there before his likely return to playing Thursdays as well as Fridays and Saturdays weekly (stay tuned for confirmation in that regard), but his acoustic covers should play well at The Quality Inn's house restaurant once again over the next two nights!

TOMORROW'S Roadhouse concert is a 10:00 PM affair with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit, while this weekend's Gliss double-header will see 6:00 PM start times and no announced covers or age limits, but remember the locale, it's not a nightclub. Visit the above links and the Facebook event page for the Gliss shows for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live a few years back!



Moving to entirely previously announced concerts, TONIGHT will see the long awaited local debut by Whitby, Ontario garage/noise rock duo Deathsticks when they headline at The New American Pub! After seeing planned local concerts cancelled in October at The New A and April at The Gore Street Cafe for varying reasons, this "power slop" twosome should deliver a creative and aggressive blast of original music for fans in their belated Soo debut, and hopefully the third time is in the charm for Deathsticks tonight! Alt-hard rock quartet Bizotic will open the proceedings at the site of their live concert debut last year, and they should prove to be a solid choice to kick off the night, so don't be late for them! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. (who spoke very highly of Deathsticks after AlgomA played with them on tour last summer), this 19+ concert has FREE ADMISSION, as a token of appreciation from the promoters for fans' support over the last few years.

Very nice gesture on Six, Two, Oh.'s part, so consider a trip to The New A tonight at 9:00 PM for all of the action! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Deathsticks live last year!

Also this weekend, let's take a detour to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to return for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen on the road in Manistique three weeks ago, these will be Alex, Don, and Wayne's first shows in the Soo in almost two months, and this should be another fine opportunity to check out Banned's varied and often heavy covers, so keep this weekend's shows in mind if you're in the E.U.P.! After all, Banned don't have a scheduled show within an hour of Sault Ste. Marie again until the fall, unless a non-Kewadin show is announced in the interim. Tomorrow and Saturday night's shows are both 21+ events, neither has an announced cover charge, and both are advertised to start at 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Banned live!



Finally for today's previews, here's the best bet for metal and hard rock fans for some Canada Day action, as five bands will join forces at The Rockstar Bar THIS SATURDAY NIGHT for a special in honour of Canada's 150th birthday! This Canada Day Bash will be headlined by indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. in the "kick"-off to their busy slate of July concerts, but the rest of the lineup is all hard rock, including punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' new lineup's third concert appearance, funk/hard rock veterans The Elements' second public set of 2017, reunited hard rock quartet Eclipse, and their frontman Curtis McKenzie in his solo Rockstar Bar debut. Not a bad lineup at all, and nice to see some original acts on Canada Day to ring in the sesquicentennial! Note that a previously advertised set by death metal rockers The Bear Hunters was previously removed from the lineup, and while the Facebook event page still advertises that more bands are "to be confirmed", the existence of a poster without any extra acts indicates that may no longer be the case.

Promoted by Paperclip Productions' Daniel Horton (also Eclipse & Jack Spades' guitarist), this show has a $5 cover charge, 8:00 PM start time, and 19+ age limit, while there will be a barbecue on the patio (if weather isn't bad), and the poster notably indicates that there will be prizes and giveaways for the occasion, which isn't stated on the Facebook event page, but prepare just in case! This should be a great concert to rock Canada Day with, so make sure to occupy The Rockstar Bar on Saturday night, and for a preview, here's Eclipse live earlier this month!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Deathsticks, Gianni Gagoots, And Tym Morrison), And A New Music Video!!

I was intending today's post to be a video-only feature from Tuesday's Alter Bridge show (yes, we have enough for at least one more), but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT (plus two more new concerts), I couldn't put this off. Now, alongside a new music video posting, here's what you should know on this Saturday evening!

Former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will play a headlining concert at The Barrelhouse Wine & Whiskey TONIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via it's official Facebook event page earlier this afternoon, and non-Gliss shows are not listed on his website's calendar. Fresh off of his matinee at Gliss Steak & Seafood TONIGHT, Tym will hit the Queen Street tapas restaurant for (at least) the seventh time with this late notice gig, his first announced there in two weeks, and fans of Tym's unplugged hard rock covers should take to TONIGHT's action, so keep this one in mind just in case! Presumably a 19+ event with no announced cover charge, everything starts at 10:30 PM, so visit the above links for more details, here's Tym live, and apologies again for the late notice, we'd have plugged it sooner had we known about it!

Next up, here's some upcoming shows with advance notice, starting with the next concert from local funk/hard rock jam quintet Gianni Gagoots, who will open for Niagara Falls experimental prog rock quartet The Road Waves in that band's local debut at The New American Pub on Friday, June 23rd! Though not quite crossing over into hard rock or punk territory, The Road Waves will be a nice compliment in the improvised jam arena to Gianni Gagoots, who will be playing their first announced concert since opening for The Hazytones last month. Of note, this is the first show from the sauce masters since announcing that they're now self-promoting concerts under the name Like Ten Productions, though they had previously booked gigs internally without a company name. I'm unsure of the meaning behind "Like Ten", but hopefully they can attain similar heights as contemporary number-named agencies Six, Two, Oh. and Live705!

Doors open at 9:00 PM for this 19+ concert, which has a $5 cover charge. This should be a fun time at The New A for fans of improvised and experimental rock & roll, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more on Like Ten Productions' next announced show in the fall!

Today's other new show comes from the aforementioned Six, Two, Oh., as Whitby, Ontario garage/noise rock duo Deathsticks will finally make their local concert debut when they headline at The New American Pub themselves on Thursday, June 29th! Fans may remember hearing about this band's intended local concerts at The New A in October and at The Gore Street Cafe last month, with the former cancelled due to the work commitments and the latter (promoted through the laundromat) quietly called off without public word, so third time should be the charm next month! Promoters played with Deathsticks during AlgomA's summer touring last year, and they thought highly of Deathsticks' unique brand of "power slop", so don't bypass them! Local alt-hard rock quartet Bizotic will return to the site of their live debut as local openers next month, while an additional opening act may be added too.

As a thank you and show of appreciation for fans who have attended Six, Two, Oh. shows over the last couple of years, this will be a FREE CONCERT, while it is still a 19+ event with a 9:00 PM start time. Hopefully this show goes off without a hitch, as I know the hype Deathsticks have received since last fall, and fingers crossed all goes well for this FREE show at the end of June, so see the above links for updates!

Finally for today, here's a brand new solo music video from Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel! Unlike his past solo dalliances (which were primarily acoustic for live sets), this is a fully electric song named "Asleep At The Wheel", which has a definite Alice In Chains vibe, and wouldn't be out of place with Skeyes of Seven proper! For the record, we haven't heard a public update from them in four months, and no word on if this solo video means anything regarding the band's status, but the description notes that the song "represents an awakening" and "remembering who you used to be." The light hearted video features Cory playing in and performing a silly walk in a cemetery, as mixed in with clips of him playing with (and alongside) his baby daughter, and while the camera angle changes can be a little jarring, this is a fun video overall that shows off Cory's soft side while maintaining a dark grungy edge! Give it a look below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The 3 Day Millionaires), Weekend Concert Previews, And A Cancellation!!

Before we kick off this weekend's concert previews, we have a late cancellation to take note of, as tonight's Deathsticks-headlined concert at The Gore Street Cafe was quietly cancelled in recent weeks, as per the deletion of it's Facebook event page. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced by the band or venue, but note that Deathsticks haven't posted on their Facebook page yet this month. This is the second time in six months that a Deathsticks show in the Soo was cancelled, but hopefully we see them here at some point down the road! Now, let's preview still-scheduled shows this weekend, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Tuesday. After taking the past two months off, this talented veteran outfit should be refreshed and ready to rock TOMORROW with a night full of familiar classic hits at their favourite recent venue, so don't miss out in advance of their Rock 4 Autism set next month! Note that this is a one night only event due to country veterans Bone Yard playing at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday night. TOMORROW'S 19+ concert has no announced cover charge, and a 10:30 PM start time is advertised. Visit the above links for more details, and here are The 3 Day Millionaires live last year!

Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts with former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's next round of Gliss Steak & Seafood concerts, as Tym will bring his acoustic hard rock covers back there TOMORROW & SATURDAY! His impressively enduring run at The Quality Inn's house restaurant shows no signs of slowing down, and his unplugged classic and hard rock renditions should provide another quality backdrop of music for fans and patrons at Gliss tomorrow and/or Saturday! As usual for this long-term arrangement, expect 6:00 PM matinee start times both nights, and while these shows don't have announced age limits or cover charges, be cognizant of where they're being held. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym Morrison live!



Now, let's head south to the Eastern Upper Peninsula for shows at Kewadin Casino lounges, starting with the return of Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Though historically better known in our area for playing at the St. Ignace Kewadin, the Peril sister band will rock The Rapids Lounge for the first of at least three weekends in 2017 over the coming days, and it's great to see the guys further north once again! Unusually for such a weekend of live bands at a Kewadin lounge, Scarkazm's shows this weekend are themed, with Kewadin's Facebook page noting that this is an "80's Hair Band Rock Fest", complete with drink specials and awards for "the most awesome" 1980s costumes and best air guitar skills to be awarded. Honestly, I feel that Peril would better fit this theme, but it's an interesting pull regardless, so break out your hair metal and 1980s clothing if you're heading to see Scarkazm this weekend!

As usual for Scarkazm's local gigs (including their St. Ignace Kewadin gigs in two weeks), these shows have 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details, and here's Scarkazm playing assorted covers live!

Finally for today's previews, Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though not newly acknowledged by the band on their Facebook page, their own concert calendar posting from earlier this year confirms that they will be back in St. Ignace for their second weekend there in 2017 over the next couple of nights, which the casino's entertainment page also backs up. Henry, Nathan, Chris, and Ron should have another solid weekend of fan favourite and often heavy covers in store for St. Ignace fans, so don't miss Highway 63 there tomorrow or Saturday night! Like with this weekend's Scarkazm shows, expect 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Highway 63 live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site next, including the Eclipse/Hazytones preview! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Old Wives & Deathsticks), A New Local Band, And More!!

Before we kick off our first news post in four days, just a heads up that today is reportedly the final day for HMV's liquidation sales before their Station Mall location closes for good in advance of Sunrise Records moving in. Last time I was there, everything was 70% off or more, so make use of the sales today if you can, and we'll be replacing them in our music store links shortly as well! Now, here's a stacked news post featuring a surprising lineup departure, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the spring, and first, a new local band!

Over a month after their local concert debut, new local punk/alternative trio Handsome Sandwich have finally launched their own Facebook page, so what should you know? Comprised of Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger, Winkstinger guitarist Jesse Cook, and Redundant bassist James White (with Johnny providing most lead vocals), you may have seen this curiously named band open for Gianni Gagoots live at LopLops Lounge last month, but that remains their only announced concert appearance. Despite the trifecta of past common band links for 2/3rds of the band (James & Jesse with The Elements, James & Johnny with Caveman Morrison, and Jesse & Johnny with Jack Spades), Handsome Sandwich will reportedly not sound like any of them, and will harbour more similarities with Johnny's solo concert sets that he played in the mid-2010s, some with Jesse playing alongside. An original song named "Signs" is in progress, but unless you missed their debut gig, there are no other hints about their sound yet.

A band with such well done (if bizarre) artwork can't be all bad, especially with such a solid lineup of familiar faces from recent punk and metal bands, and it will be very interesting to see how Handsome Sandwich fare into 2017! I know that Johnny had wanted to front a punk band locally for a while now, and if this is the realization of that goal, then look out, as there's a lot of potential to be had, even with such a curious yet creative band name! Stay tuned for more on Handsome Sandwich as it comes in!

Next up, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, starting with the delayed local concert debut of Whitby, Ontario garage/noise rock duo Deathsticks, who will rock The Gore Street Cafe on Thursday, April 20th! Work commitments scuttled this band's planned New American Pub concert in October, but now, they're getting a second chance for local fans to see what the guys in AlgomA saw when the two played together in Peterboroigh last summer. Expect some minimalist but aggressive originals with a psychedulic spacey bent at times from Deathsticks next month when they headline at the laundromat! In place of the never-debuted Dark Garfunkel and Sleeping Together from October, the local opener is ex-Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus, whose own rising solo pop rock originals continue to make waves, so keep him in mind for April 20th at well! Despite Six, Two, Oh.'s intended promotion of October's cancelled date, next month's show appears to be in-house through the venue, as is often the case there.

As usual for Gore Street Cafe events, this is an ALL AGES concert under the venue's usual "pay what you can" model, and an early start time of 7:00 PM is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more from this intriguing concert as it comes in!

Also, we have one more new show to confirm today, but this one is indeed via Six, Two, Oh., as three touring punk bands from out west will hit The New American Pub on Sunday, May 14th for what is being called "The Alberta Intrusion"! The bands in question are Edmonton pop punk trio The Old Wives, fellow Edmonton punk rockers Worst Days Down, and Calgary punk quintet The River Jacks, so how's that for a solid lineup of hard hitting punk from afar? In particular, you may recognize The River Jacks from headlining at The Algonquin Pub two years ago, so if you've missed them since that Gonqshow concert series date, here's the belated sequel! The local opening band is newer local punk/metal trio Stegadeth, whose frontman Bill Bennett opened for The River Jacks here in 2015 with Stereo North, and they should provide solid support to the Alberta intrusion in May! This 19+ show has a 9:00 PM start time and $5 advance tickets, though the price jumps to $7 at the door.

Advance tickets are apparently now available at Northland Music, Case's Music, The Rad Zone and Big Guns Barbershop on East Street, so keep those locales in mind, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details! This should be a great concert for punk fans, with The Old Wives' skate punk sound, Worst Days Down's more alternative stylings, and The River Jacks' old school sensibilities a nice match for any taste, so check the above links to give all of the night's bands a listen, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!

Finally, we have a surprising update from a veteran cover fixture, as local classic/hard rock quartet Mourning Wood appear to have parted ways with drummer Glen Thomas. A reason for his departure has not been publically announced, but singer/guitarist Terry Eaton revealed that they have a drummer vacancy via his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday. Glen has been a fixture with this frequently seen cover band since replacing T.J. Case in August 2015 upon their expansion to a four-piece lineup, and it was nice to see Glen back in a band that played some hard rock for the past year & a half, but hopefully things are amicable, and don't miss him with The Peace Vibe! Glen's departure may explain why Mourning Wood haven't played live in over a month (with Terry & guitarist Steven Flint's side project Soundcheck picking up the slack recently), but they are looking for a new "tub thumper"!

Steven noted in a comment on the aforementioned Musicians Wanted group post that "versatility is key", having singing ability is a bonus, and they just want "a skilled musician who's down to earth" that loves to play live, while Terry mentioned that Mourning Wood have gigs booked through the end of the year, including New Year's Eve (specific dates and venues not listed.) If you're interested in trying out for Mourning Wood, message Terry at this link or above, and stay tuned for updates on their drummer search and more general updates soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Deathsticks & Eclipse), Tantrym Tyme Updates, And More!!

(Updated on Monday at 3:25 PM) Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for missing local classic/hard rock cover band Mourning Wood's shows at Reggie's Place this past weekend, as the band didn't publically plug them on their Facebook page (we only heard about them after the fact via drummer Glen Thomas' personal page today.) Hopefully they were great shows, we'd have plugged them had we heard about them! Now, today's post features two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), plus a new concert video and more updates, so let's get things rolling!

Fresh off of opening for The Ripcordz last night, local modern hard rock quartet Eclipse will head to The New American Pub TOMORROW NIGHT when they open for Montreal stoner rock trio The Hazytones in their local debut! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about Eclipse's involvement via the headliners' new Facebook event page on Friday (an earlier private event page didn't list Eclipse.) The Hazytones' brand of psychedelic originals have been getting a solid response during their Canadian tour, and while they're not a metal band, their songs do have some heavy thematic qualities, so don't miss them TOMORROW NIGHT! Eclipse will join forces with local indie rock quartet and fellow VM Radio Battle finalists K.I.C.K. on TOMORROW's lineup, so look for K.I.C.K. to keep it cool mid-show also! Admission for this 19+ show is $5, and the headliners have confirmed that it will take place at a typical 9:00 PM start time, not 5:00 PM.

This should be an intriguing show for fans of a few different styles, with psyhedelic, indie, and hard rock all represented on the bill, so definitely keep this special Monday nighter in mind TOMORROW! Also, I believe the guys in K.I.C.K. are largely responsible for promoting the show, marking a rare original show at The New A that's not from Six, Two, Oh. Check the above links for more details, and here's Eclipse live!

 
Next up, here's a new show that Six, Two, Oh. are definitely putting on, as Whitby, Ontario garage/noise rock duo Deathsticks will make their local concert debut at The New American Pub on Saturday, October 15th! Described by Six, Two, Oh.'s Boyd Rendell as his "favourite new band discovery" from AlgomA's recent tour run (having played together in Peterborough in June), Deathsticks' hard hitting brand of "power slop" originals definitely have original and entertaining qualities, so come see Matt & Laura lay into the Soo for the first time in two months! A debuting (one off?) hardcore punk band named The Eighties will open the proceedings, and while I can't confirm their lineup yet, they appear to be a supergroup merger of AlgomA & Winkstinger alumni. Sounds promising, we'll let you know if we hear more from The Eighties, whether they launch a Facebook page or not! At least one more local band is to be announced to round out the lineup.

Admission fees haven't been announced yet for this 9:00 PM & 19+ concert, but in the event that promoters don't announce them, bring $5 or so just in case. Sounds like a solid time, with Deathsticks carrying a solid endorsement from the guys in AlgomA, not to mention the debuting Eighties, so circle this show on your calendars for your fall plans, and visit the official Facebook event page for more info as it comes in!

Also today, here's a new video from Sault Michigan hard rock band Tantrym Tyme, in their first Facebook page update in almost a year(!), so it's great to see that they're still alive and well! This comes from a (publically unannounced) outdoor set that the guys played during the annual Downtown Days events earlier this month, with the video capturing Tantrym Tyme covering A Perfect Circle's "Judith", so how does the 75 second clip sound? The vertical camera angle does the band no favours, but the guys are definitely progressing their material and cover selection towards more difficult and less predictable songs, and they sound good from what I can hear, with Jacob Hotlen's voice maturing very well! It should be noted that the video does not feature second guitarist Michael McLeod, who played with Tantrym Tyme at last year's Superior Festival, but with no visible public evidence of him playing with the band since, it's looking more & more like his involvement was a one-off.

Michael was a solid guitarist from the videos that I saw from the Superior Festival, and hopefully we see him in a band again at some point! I wish Tantrym Tyme would update their public online pages with more frequency (what else have we missed in the past year?), but hopefully Jacob, Mike, and Ethan have much more to come for fans in the E.U.P., and give their Downtown Days video a look below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Hamilton garage punk duo Artificial Dissemniation have been added as the third and final band on the K-Man & The 45s concert at The New American Pub on September 17th, where they will play second between the headliners and The Elements. Promoters Six, Two, Oh. confirmed their addition on the Facebook event page on Wednesday, and Artifical Dissemination's hard charging minimalist punk should give this "Ska Saturday" an extra kick, so see above for more details on this event!
• During last night's Ripcordz concert at The Canadian Nightclub, local punk/metal quartet Jack Spades reportedly enlisted a special guest performer during their set, and while there hasn't been a public confirmation, personal postings indicate that the guest was Dayglo Abortions bassist Willy Jak! Nice surprise to be sure, and hopefully media turns up of Willy with Jack Spades! For reference, fellow performers Project 421 reportedly debuted at least one new original song too, as per sister band Eclipse's Facebook page.
• We have moved local cybergrind solo project Malignant Neoplasm to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The Crucify the Whore side project hasn't posted a public update since releasing their "Kittens Have Crustys" album on August 10th last year, with their Facebook page having since been taken over as C.T.W.'s new Facebook home. Malignant Neoplasm were a creative studio act for Blood Shed loyalists, if an acquired taste for many newcomers, but don't miss Tyler Gibson in all of his other active bands!

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