LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Headrush) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

A quieter weekend (comparatively speaking) is in store for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults and area this weekend, so we will be able to address all concerts this weekend within two posts, in all likelihood. Sunday's Krash-headlined concert will be previewed separately closer to the event, but here. let's look at the covers-leaning action over the next few days, including some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will be the headliners of this year's North Shore Agricultural Fair (a.k.a. the Laird Fair) on SATURDAY NIGHT at the Laird Fairgrounds 20 minutes outside of town! Apologies for the short notice, the band oddly hasn't really plugged the booking on their Facebook group (fans confirmed the Laird Fair gig there on August 2nd), but the Laird Fair's Facebook page has been advertising them since late last month. In their first public gig since Rotaryfest, Head Rush (if you believe the schedule) will be taking over the baton as SATURDAY headliners from Silent 9 this year, and according to the AI-generated poster (one of many covering this year's fair), expect "a night of dancing, singing along, and partying". There's plenty of family friendly games, activities, vendors, and much more to take in at the fairgrounds, so click here for the full weekend itinerary and schedule from tomorrow-Sunday.

Like past years with a cover rock band on the SATURDAY, Headrush's concert will be at 9:00 PM with no cover charge (select events have registration fees), but the concert itself will be licensed and 19+. The fairgrounds gazebo is covered but not a completely closed-off building, so just in case, 9&10 News projects a high of 21° in Laird on SATURDAY NIGHT, and there is the potential for rain late, so definitely follow your preferred weather forecast for updates (rain is more likely for the Sunday program though). Visit the above links for more on this year's Laird Fair, and here's Headrush live!

Next up, prolific local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will return to Ije's Place in Desbarats for his third show there TOMORROW NIGHT, but in a new confirmation, he will also return to Beck's Bar for a matinee concert on SUNDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice on SUNDAY's Beck's concert, the venue only announced the show via their Facebook page this past Sunday as part of their weekly schedule reveal, and Tym followed suit a day later with a batch Facebook event page that confirmed two more Sunday matinee gigs on September 27th and November 1st. No word on if the latter will have any belated Halloween themes, but keep these shows as well as THIS SUNDAY's gig in mind for Tym's unplugged hard rock covers! Counting his Trading Post gig yesterday, tomorrow's and SUNDAY's concerts will keep Tym busy with three shows in five days.

Tomorrow's show in Desbarats is proof that "Tim Morisson" (if you believe the venue's AI-generated poster) has went over well on his road trips 45 minutes southeast, and hopefully he is a hit again at Ije's! That show takes place at 6:00 PM with no cover or age limit (though it will be "happy hour for alcohol!" during Tym's sets), while all three Beck's matinees (THIS SUNDAY included) are at 3:00 PM during their weekly euchre tournament, with no cover and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details on all fronts, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Now to shows that had 100% advance notice, and we'll start with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly, who have a rare double header weekend in store, with two shows in two days! TOMORROW NIGHT, they'll make their debut at Outspoken Brewing at 350 Queen Street East, while they'll return to Gateway Casino on SATURDAY NIGHT (they don't host concerts on Fridays), so you have two downtown options this weekend. Like Headrush, fans last saw Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe rocking out at on Stage 1 at Rotaryfest Friday last month, and while these are indoor shows (and Outspoken is a smaller, intimate space as it is), at least there's no air quality concerns to worry about! The classic and hard rock covers will be flowing regardless, so don't miss out at 9:00 PM tomorrow and 8:00 PM on Saturday! Both shows are 19+ with no announced cover. Visit the above links for more on both shows, and here's Quite Frankly live!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head south to St. Ignace, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will return to Kingston Kitchen for their second show there of 2026 on SATURDAY NIGHT! Like last month's concert at the Jamaican restaurant, Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron aren't in St. Ignace for a special occasion (for that, stop by for the truck show next month), so this will just be a good excuse to see Tarnished's hard rocking and 1980s-friendly cover slate, so keep everything in mind if you'll be in Mackinac County or are up for the hour's drive from the Soo! Expect "good vibes and great music" from Crush's sister band at Kingston Kitchen on Saturday night with an 8:00 PM start time, no likely age limit given that this is a restaurant first, and no stated age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tarnished live a few years back!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes (plus our Krash preview) in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Eastern Upper Peninsula Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's another busy weekend for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults and EUP, and its largely because of the EUP why we have to break our previews into three posts! The plan is to look at this weekend's Rock N' Roll Ave, Bone Yard 225, and Generations concert (plus WestFest II) in our next post, with Sunday's short notice Curtis McKenzie matinee as part of our next general news post once we get back in the swing of clearing out our backlog. For now, here's what you should know, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in Sault Ontario and another new northern date!

Just one day removed from his late notice addition to the Maddy's Mighty Mutts Family Fun Day (more on that hopefully soon), local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will play at The Up & Down Lounge at 24 Second Line West for a second straight Thursday TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via his Facebook event page on Tuesday, and at press time, The Up & Down Lounge has not corroborated that he is playing there again TONIGHT. They did start with two straight Jason Taillefer solo acoustic concerts there, so if Tym is playing two straight too, is that the scheduling pattern here, or is Tym legitimately a short notice booking? Regardless, it's good to see Tym staying busy as the summer marches on, and hopefully there's a decent crowd in the west end TONIGHT for his unplugged classic and hard rock covers! Remember, acts play indoors at the Up & Down despite the patio being open.

In one more new booking, Tym will make the 45 minute drive southeast to Ije's Place in nearby Desbarats on Friday, August 14th, as per this Facebook event page! This will be Tym's third show at Ije's, following two shows at the Central Algoma cafe & bakery last month, most recently this past week. though be advised that Ije's Facebook page hasn't plugged that Tym will be back there yet either. Both TONIGHT'S Up & Down Lounge show and next week's trip to Desbarats are 6:00 PM concerts with no announced cover charge, and while the Up & Down gig is likely 19+, Ije's should be all ages as it's not a nightclub. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, let's head across the border to Michigan for some hard rock concerts in the EUP, and we'll start in St. Ignace, where local classic/hard rock trio Peril will return for a special outdoor concert TONIGHT as part of the town's Music By The Bay summer concert series at American Legion Park! Aside from one or two annual gigs in this series, Peril (and Scarkazm) exclusively play at Kewadin Casino when they make trips north of the Mackinac Bridge, so if you want to see Jeff, Howard, and Brooks outside, earlier in the day, or just somewhere other than a Kewadin branch, keep tonight's show in mind! If you can't make it, Peril will be back on Friday the 21st, though be advised that they have not corroborated either booking on their Facebook page in recent weeks. TONIGHT'S concert runs from 7:00-8:30 PM, and it is absolutely free & all ages. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies and temperatures of 72-74° (22-23° Celsius) tonight.

Looks like good conditions are in store for TONIGHT in St. Ignace, so if you'll be in the area or up for the hour's drive from the Soo, consider swinging by for Peril's next local concert! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live a few years back!

Now let's take the half hour drive northeast along Saint Martin Bay to Hessel, where rebranded local hard rock cover band Nate's Chow will play their first show under this name TOMORROW NIGHT at The Islander Bar, but that's not all from them! As you may recall, the band formerly known as Unfortunate Sun rebranded as Nate's Chow (taking their name in part from their predecessors Fake Chow) after frontman Skip Parish left the band in March. Their Facebook description now lists them as a trio with Jody, Brett, and Jason sharing vocals, and while the band's AI-generated imagery does include photos featuring a band of four animals, including their beaver mascot (Nate?) on vocals, drummer Jason VanLuven confirmed on the venue's Facebook page that this will be "our new 3 piece singing debut". We will get into their other three new dates (all in September) in an upcoming post so we can keep our weekend concert previews on a reasonable schedule.

This one-night-only concert takes place tomorrow at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. It will be interesting to hear how Nate's Chow sound, especially if they lean more to the generally heavier covers that Unfortunate Sun played compared to Fake Chow, though with Skip absent (and back in his country/southern rock cover duo Blood, Sweat, and Beers), things could be wide open, especially as the rest of the band aren't established frontmen. That, or "Nate" the beaver is singing, if you believe AI! See above for more details, and here's the former Unfortunate Sun live!

We'll close this post back in St. Ignace, where Ontonogan hard rock quartet Nolium will make their EUP debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino branch! The heaviest and most originals-focused of the three new-to-the-EUP touring bands debuting under the Kewadin umbrella this summer (our Rock N' Roll Ave preview is in our next post!), fans of modern grunge, alternative, and hard rock will take to their cover range, and fresh off of a show in Wisconsin for them, why not zip east across the peninsula? Nolium are a solid band with good enthusiasm and some eclectic song choices that bands in the EUP don't often play, so keep their shows in mind for this weekend! As usual for Kewadin lounges, these are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's a full-set video of Nolium live!

That's all for now, but our weekend concert previews will continue with Rock N' Roll Ave and Sault Ontario concerts next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Wax Mannequin & Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's time to dive into another round of weekend concert previews, and while things aren't as hectic as the last two weeks, there are still enough shows to get to where we'll have to break things in twain, so shows that are only on Saturday and/or Sunday (Generations, 5 Dollar Bribe, Bone Yard 225, and the Barge Bash) will be in tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know on both sides of the border for bands playing shows tonight and tomorrow in some fashion, including a pair of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play his third solo acoustic concert in as many days TOMORROW NIGHT at Ije's Place in nearby Desbarats! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via his Facebook event page on Monday. You may recall seeing late notice word that Tym would be making the 45 minute drive southeast to Desbarats (hometown of Central Algoma Secondary School) four weeks ago for his debut gig there, which I unfortunately missed at the time, so thankfully I heard about this one! Fresh off of shows at The Trading Post and the Up & Down Lounge, Tym should have lots of entertaining hard and classic rock covers in store for fans TOMORROW, and clearly his July 3rd show went well for him to get called back again before July is up! Ije's Place is located off of Highway 17 at 4 Lake Huron Drive, and is roughly between St. Joseph Island and Bruce Mines near the edge of our coverage area.

This indoor concert goes down TOMORROW from 6:00-8:00 PM, this is likely all ages given that Ije's is a cafe & bakery, and there is no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a live-streamed video of Tym there earlier this month! The 2 minute clip sees Tym covering much of The Black Crowes' "She Talks To Angels" and doing a solid job of it, but alas, the filmer didn't zoom in at all, so full screen is your friend here. As this was live-streamed on Ije's Facebook page, it will vanish early next week unless re-uploaded or converted, so watch it below (while you can?) 

Next up, Hamilton "weird folk art punk" solo project Wax Mannequin will return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT for a concert at... Unnecessary Noise? Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was first announced via its Facebook event page this past Friday. As to my understanding, Unnecessary Noise is the private location that has been used for recent Underground Events SSM concerts like the Danger Box one and Soopfest, but the space now has an official name, and it's being used for public event promotion going forward, even if the address isn't at a public locale ("ask a punk"). This isn't entirely new for Wax Mannequin, as Chris Adeney's last show here in August 2024 was also not at a standard venue, instead a residence's backyard. Hopefully Unnecessary Noise proves a fitting spot for Wax Mannequin's return, and their noise definitely isn't unnecessary, with punk and metal tinges across their wide ranging setlist and discography!

Fellow Hamilton alt-folk/punk solo project The Kettle Black will make their apparent local debut tomorrow while on tour with Wax Mannequin, while comedy rock band The Floor Between Us (featuring Stones & Crows bassist Nicholas Gingras) will return as openers after doing the honours two years ago. Like in 2024, this is an all ages concert at 8:00 PM, but unlike that Piecing It Together Shows-promoted event, admission is "pay-what-you-can" with $15 recommended (down from $20 in advance/$25 at the door last time). This should be a fun concert for fans of eclectic original music with punk and hard rock influences across the board, so see above for more details, and here's Wax Mannequin live!

We'll head to the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan to round out this post, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quarter Tarnished, who will make their way an hour south to St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT when they rock American Legion Park as part of St. Ignace's Music By The Bay summer concert series! Once again, St. Ignace is impressively hosting a different live music act daily until Labour Day, with tomorrow's show being the first of two that Tarnished are playing under the canopied stage at 200 North State Street this year, the other being the penultimate show for 2026 on September 5th. Hopefully tomorrow's concert is a smash hit for Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron, though note that the band has not corroborated the booking on their Facebook page at press time. Tomorrow's concert takes place at 7:00 PM with no cover charge or age limit, and lawn chairs are suggested given the park setting.

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for a 40% chance of rain during showtime tomorrow, with temperatures of 72-73° (22-23° Celsius). Yes, artists get to play under a roof, but attendees aren't so lucky, so if you are at all concerned about the forecast and/or the potential for the show being cancelled or abbreviated by the rain, keep tabs with Tarnished for updates. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally, let's head north to Sault Ste. Marie, where Petoskey classic/hard rock cover quartet The Blitz are scheduled to make their local debuts at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While not mentioned in new social media posts in the past month & a half, The Blitz are the first of three non-local hard rock cover bands debuting at Kewadin lounges over the next month. Videos from after their 2022 reunion point to a well varied but often heavy range of covers played with talent and professinalism, and I do hope that things go well so they can blitz a local stage again in the coming months! As usual for Kewadin lounges, this weekend's shows both have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's The Blitz in a recent jam session!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's previews or this month's CD review next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (A Dire Setback) And Friday Night Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that the advertised Fort Creek concert at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on Saturday has indeed been cancelled. This may not be shocking if you saw the local southern hard rock quintet's announcement on their Facebook page last month that they were taking a break until "late fall", but Shooters had posted a Facebook event page for the show previously, so there was a chance that the band forgot about the booking and could still honour it. The event page has since been deleted, so clearly their break forced Saturday's gig to be scrapped. Hopefully Fort Creek do indeed come back later this year!

Now, today's post is half focused on weekend concert previews (Soundcheck's and Slumshine's will be covered in an upcoming post, don't worry!), but let's lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will play just their third pandemic-era concert when they take part in another charity benefit show for late Manitoulin Island rapper Zachary "$onny Vybe$" Cywink on Friday, September 23rd, this time at the Johnson Township Community Center in nearby Desbarats! Last seen at the Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir, A Dire Setback will again head east of the Soo for this gig, another mixed-genre affair like the ones at The Rockstar Bar that Handsome Sandwich played at. No word on if that nightclub's live band hiatus since May played a part in the atypical venue, but hosting this in Desbarats would be a little more accessible to $onny Vybe$' family and friends who aren't local.

For the record, another $onny Vybe$ benefit (albeit with no rock acts) was held at the Sault Ste. Marie Museum last month, so that makes five benefits in his name for his Soo-area friends and fans since his untimely passing (I missed one, evidently, my count was four). Either way, not bad for a non-local performer, Zach clearly made an impact! Like at the Rockstar Bar shows, the mixed genre aspect basically means one rock band (A Dire Setback this time) alongside area hip hop artists, this time including Rick E, Bold Noize, Oh Zee, James Stuart, and DJ AngelAzura. Presented by Sooicide Records, this all ages concert has a 7:00 PM start time next Friday and a $5 admission fee, with all proceeds going to to the Ngwaagan Gamig Recovery Centre in Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island. A canned food drive will also take place for Harvest Algoma, so consider bringing non-perishable food for the cause also!

As for the venue, the Johnson Township Community Center is the hockey arena in Desbarats at 1 Cameron Road, and is a scant 2 minute drive from Central Algoma Secondary School (Desbarats proper is a 40 minute drive from the Soo, roughly between Laird & Bruce Mines). Should be a fun time for rap and punk fans alike to support some great causes, and even after all these benefit shows, hopefully the Cywink family and Zach's friends continue to enjoy the support and recognition in the Soo and Central Algoma! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more from A Dire Setback soon!

Now let's dive into a pair of weekend concert previews for TOMORROW NIGHT, both mercifully with advance notice, and we'll start with southern hard rock trio Bone Yard, who will break from their recent run of private gigs for a publically attendable show at Shooters Downstairs Lounge! A one-nighter due to or resulting in their acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge playing at the OLG Casino on Saturday (remember, Fort Creek are not playing Shooters that night), this will be Bone Yard's first show on a public stage since rocking the Dennis Street venue three weeks ago. While Bone Yard sound happy with how their run of private gigs has been going, it will be nice to see Greg, Alex, and Warren play a normal concert again, and hopefully a solid crowd comes out for their hard rocking cover attack tomorrow! As teased in this short "reel" video, they will be giving away band logo stickers as well tomorrow, so keep that in mind.

As usual for Shooters gigs, this concert will have a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. No word on when we'll see Bone Yard next, so with more private gigs teased, get it while the getting's good tomorrow night at Shooters! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Lastly for today, local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns will return to their most frequent stomping grounds TOMORROW NIGHT, namely The Whisky Barrel on Gore Street! This will be their first show of the fall season after a busy summer of normal gigs and community events alike, and miraculously, the band did indeed plug the show on Facebook, so fans who don't frequent the venue's Facebook page will have heard about it! Last seen at the downtown Scottish-themed nightclub in July, fans will have last seen The Stallyns at The Northern Vibe Festival three weeks ago. Note that the band's own post about tomorrow's concert specifically says that the "full band (will be) crammed in the Whisky", implying that bassist Alex White will be on hand (remember that their shows at this venue have tended to be acoustic and have historically not had a bassist). As usual, this 8:00 PM concert has a 19+ age limit and no cover charge.

The Wyld Stallyns' crowd-friendly and often hard-edged batch of covers should go over well at The Whisky Barrel once again tomorrow night, so don't miss out on all of the action then, see above for more details, and here are The Stallyns live earlier this summer!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Soundcheck and Slumshine previews (and more) tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: ForAllThatIsLost Fatil

Here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our ongoing monthly spotlight of 1-3 YouTube channels whose content is at least 50% devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk videos, be they of musicians, concerts, or anything of direct relevance! This month's randomly chosen channel is one from a regional metal band who many fans still miss seeing on stage, so here's what you should know in this month's feature!
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ForAllThatIsLost Fatil (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnStCnd6WPDzXYqMDBWaKPg) 

Owner: A member of early 2010s Central Algoma death metal band For All That Is Lost's 2011-2013 four-piece lineup (exact identity unclear)

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 4th, 2012; Videos posted from the next day through the following month

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for 2010-2013 death metal standouts For All That Is Lost (or F.A.T.I.L.), this channel features 11 videos, all taken from varying live concerts during their heyday.

Why You Should Watch: This channel is worth checking out as arguably the best source for F.A.T.I.L. videos, and given that it was launched late in their run, you get a nice swath of footage from their early CASS Cafe days through to their prominent run of Sault Ontario concerts! However, the band has been broken up for over four years now (despite reunion teases on social media throughout 2014), so further updates on their channel aren't likely.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

For all that is lost: The earliest filmed but second-to-last uploaded video on this channel is of an early F.A.T.I.L. set from April 2010 at a CASS Cafe event at Central Algoma Secondary School in nearby Desbarats, where the band got their public start. Previously uploaded as a MySpace exclusive video, this features For All That Is Lost's original quintet lineup, including singer Tyler Sperry, guitarists Graeme Caughill & Allen Piche, bassist Ben Deslauriers, and My Dear Malice drummer Kameron Nicholson. Performing an untitled original & "Viscosity of Blood", this was obviously early in their run & the lack of polish shows, but it's sufficiently heavy and it does show the promise that the guys would bring to their Sault Ste. Marie debut the following year! More footage of F.A.T.I.L. and their members at CASS Cafe events can easily be found on other YouTube channels.



For All That Is Lost The Return of Dionysus: Eight time veterans of the former Roosevelt Hotel's Thursday metal night series, it's no surprise that The Rosie figures into their channel's content, including this footage from November 2011's 39th installment, where they played their original "The Return of Dionysus". Now featuring Brook Moreau as their sole guitarist (replacing Graeme in late 2010, while Allen left in mid-2011), this was filmed by myself for our review of this concert, alongside videos of Late & Loud & the future Valentine's Day Massacre. F.A.T.I.L. were still working out some of the kinks after contracting to a quartet, but the technical aggression comes through very nicely, and it's another solid example of what For All That Is Lost had to offer locally during their Sault Ste. Marie dates!



Murmaider Dethklock cover by For All That Is Lost: The most viewed video on F.A.T.I.L.'s channel is their cover of "Mermaider" by cartoon death metal band Dethklok (via the hilarious Adult Swim series Metalocalypse), as filmed during their final concert set at The Locals Attack! at The Canadian Nightclub in November 2012. Yes, For All That Is Lost were wearing white masks, that was a frequent staple of their live shows late in their run. The video quality isn't great, and it's largely filmed from a poor angle to see the band clearly, but the audio comes through well, and the guys deliver a brutal cover that headbanging fans clearly enjoyed! A video of their original "Northern Metal" from this concert was the channel's final upload a month later.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our random selection has given us the channel of Thunder Bay musician Peter Bastedo, whose channel largely features an assortment of Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide concert footage from their early 2010s tour cycles! Look for that on or around October 26th, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

CASS Cafe Metal Video Showcase (Part 4)

It's time for our final CASS Cafe Video Showcase, and though it's probably a month later than it should have been, we're ending with a slightly smaller post than the other three, but there's some pretty cool and talented performances here to end with in our look back at videos from Central Algoma Secondary School's student concert series! For reference, click here, here, and here for the first three installments in this short series. To close, we have three more CASS Cafe videos from recent years to share, so check these out if you wanna!

Going in chronological order, we'll start with this May 2008 performance by 5 then-CASS students as they covered Children of Bodom's "Bed of Razors"! Filmed by Durera guitarist A.J. Biron and uploaded to his YouTube channel shortly afterwards, this unnamed band consists of guitarists Alex Pierce & Andy Turbin, bassist Tom Leindecker, drummer Mike Christie (a regular in a few of the other CASS Cafe videos we've shared) and keyboardist Benn Garside (now known as Late & Loud's bassist.) I'm not familiar with most of these musicians, but they handle this song well for the most part! Filmed on the CASS Cafe stage during practice for the full performance, they know this song pretty well, and Alex's guitar work especially is really good, but vocals would have helped, and the camera angles are weird and jumpy, with members often cut off or shot from behind (or in Benn's case, not even really seen on camera.) I'm glad A.J. posted this video though, as these five musicians sound good together, and it'd be cool to hear more from the majority of these guys musically! Check out their cover of "Bed of Razors" below!



Also new from A.J.'s YouTube channel is this video from December 2009 of four future members of local metal quartet Crimson Crusade at a CASS Cafe set! Featuring most of their current lineup (with ex-guitarist Brent Beaulieu in Brock Pinder's place), it's of their cover of Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight" (which has survived into recent Crimson Crusade setlists), and it's a hit and miss performance from what I can see. My main gripe is Devon Lucier's vocals, which sound forced and not well suited to this song, but I hope things have adjusted to flow better with this song since. Other than that, the cover is pretty well played, if a bit reserved, but check out this proto-version of Crimson Crusade covering Judas Priest in 2009 below!


Finally, we'll close this series where we started, with local death metal quintet For All That Is Lost's CASS Cafe set circa April 2010! We already featured a 1:54 clip from this performance via Chrissy Paetzold's YouTube channel, but another filmer was present at this show, and they filmed their entire two song set that day, including the first song that I still can't place a name for, followed by an early version of their original song "Viscosity of Blood"! The video quality is higher than on the other video, and this early F.A.T.I.L. incarnation (including original guitarists Allen Piche & Graeme Caughill) sound good and promising, but unfortunately, this video is only on the band's MySpace page. Solid stuff though, so check the above links for more, watch this video below, and stay tuned for more F.A.T.I.L. videos from their MySpace page next week!

CASS Cafe Metal Video Showcase (Part 1)

It's time for our first of maybe four CASS Cafe video showcases at the SMS! With Desbarats now within our local range, we can now include the popular live music series at Central Algoma Secondary School, which is the school serving the Algoma District from Echo Bay to Thessalon. CASS Cafe is similar to the Dunn/Hawkplugged series at Superior Heights & Sir James Dunn from what I can tell, and bands like For All That Is Lost, Inhuman Methods, and Crimson Crusade have had notable experience at their high school's CASS Cafe events! They're not the only bands, performers, and lineups that have been a part though, and among many other videos online, there's a healthy dose of metal & hard rock performances from CASS Cafe since 2008 on YouTube, so here's the first of many we'll be sharing to get everyone caught up! (Updated on Saturday at 3:33 AM)

First, let's start with an early video from Desbarats' own For All That Is Lost! The prominent local death metal band of course got their start partly at CASS Cafe events in early 2010, and I did find one video of their original lineup at one such event circa April 2010! As filmed by YouTube user and CASS student Chrissy Paetzold, this featured F.A.T.I.L.'s original lineup, with singer Tyler Sperry, bassist Ben Deslauriers, and drummer Kameron Nicholson joined by original guitarists Allen Piche & Graeme Caughill. The song (which I can't place a name for off hand) wasn't completely filmed, and the camera work is somewhat jittery, but Chrissy got a nice angle and sound out of her camera, and even two years ago, F.A.T.I.L.'s promise was clear! A bit rough around the edges, but remember, this was early for the guys. Allen showed his guitar skills here especially, he fit well with the guys before he left! Check out this early For All That Is Lost video below, and check out Chrissy's YouTube channel linked above for a couple more non-metal CASS Cafe performances by other acts!



Next up is a video from the YouTube channel of former local guitarist/CASS student Ben Kemp-Reynolds! Though he's now taking British Columbia by storm as Benny Blitz of The Lust Boys, you may recognize him from his late 2000s work in bands such as the local blues rock quartet The Glass Statues, who are the focus of 3 videos on his YouTube channel from their 3rd place performance at the 2009 YMCA Battle of the Bands in the Soo. Also on his channel: Two live performances with his old punk band The Dedbeats, one video of a Boston cover with The Diego Experience (more on them in a second), and a couple of metal performances with drummer Mike Christie that we'll be sharing in a future CASS Cafe video post. However, the first one we're looking at is of Ben in a short lived metal band named Vendetta that played at a CASS Cafe event at the school's alumni day in December 2008, and unlike most of the other videos, Ben's on drums here. He's joined by longtime bandmate Benn Garside (now of Late & Loud) on vocals/guitar, A.J. Biron on lead guitar (more on him in a second too), and former Column Ruins bassist Travis Garside (possibly Benn's brother?), but how did they sound?

A cover of Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls", it's generally well played, with nice guitar work, but there's more feedback than this song needs, and Benn's vocals are very monotone (though his slide at the end was cool!) Not a perfect cover, but it's better than some I've seen, and it's an interesting glimpse at these musicians' earlier days, so check it out below, and stay tuned for the rest of Ben's metal videos in a future CASS Cafe video showcase!



Now, let's talk about The Diego Experience that we alluded to earlier! A six-man rock band featuring CASS students that existed from roughly 2008-2009, their lineup consisted of singers Michael Brown (a.k.a. Mr. Diego Brown) and Keegan Gjos along with members who generally seemed to swap instruments in their available videos, including guitarist/bassists Brent Hurley and Ben Eppert (also of Column Ruins), and guitarist/drummer A.J. Biron (Vendetta), with the sixth spot rotating between the aforementioned Ben Kemp-Reynolds on bass or Ty Hurley (Brent's brother?) on bass and drums. Along with the Boston cover linked above, 5 videos from Diego Experience sets have been posted on A.J. Biron's YouTube channel to check out, including covers of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life", Three Doors Down's "Kryptonite", Def Leppard's "Photograph", Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", and Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", so click each link to give them a look! Maybe not the heaviest band ever, but they do have some hard rock covers there, and given the members' ages and the rehearsal time they mentioned in some comments, these covers are respectable! The vocals aren't terribly rangy, but they're not out of tune either, and the instrument players all show multi-instrumental talent!

If nothing else, The Diego Experience had fun during these concerts, and even though I can't find an online page for them, they're worth checking out! I'll embed their cover of "Photograph" below (featuring Diego & Keenan on vocals, Brent & A.J. on guitar, Ben Eppert on bass, and Ty on drums) below, but check the above links for more, and stay tuned for much more from A.J.'s YouTube channel featuring a number of different CASS alumni musicians!



And finally for our first CASS Cafe video showcase, here's a short video uploaded by YouTube user bffcfka in January 2010. Just 26 seconds long, it's of guitarist Brent Beaulieu (who I believe was an early member of Crimson Crusade) riffing on the CASS stage. From what little I'm hearing, I can tell he has talent, but I wish this video was longer, or that bffcfka uploaded more CASS Cafe videos. Still, this is filmed well and of decent quality, so give it a look below, and thanks to Crimson Crusade's Riley Marshall for letting me know of Brent's identity!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news shortly, including my review of last night's Roosevelt Hotel metal night later today and our second CASS Cafe video showcase, which will include three more videos from A.J. Biron's channel and some solo performances from another CASS alum's sets! And that band Column Ruins that I briefly alluded to above? You'll hear more about them in a bit as well. Thanks everyone!

Meet The SMS' New Local Bands (F.A.T.I.L., Inhuman Methods, And Oddfellow!!)

It's time for our first special post relating to our coverage expansion from 45 minutes to 1 hour from the Twin Saults (as part of our 5th anniversary), and I thought what better way to lead off than with a special post to profile the newest bands added to our local band links? That's what's in this post, but we'll get to some more news tomorrow (including new shows, including for the first time, officially covered shows in St. Ignace), so keep an eye out! Now, let's welcome the newest three bands to our full local coverage!

First is probably the most recently prominent band, that being local death metal quartet For All That Is Lost! Listed as being from Desbarats, Bruce Mines, and Thessalon on their various online pages, F.A.T.I.L. launched in the spring of 2010, and have slowly rose in prominence in the area since, from their early CASS Cafe sets to their Sault Ste. Marie debut in March 2011 and beyond, and they've quickly became local favourites with their brutal originals and growing stage presence & talents! Fans may recognize them as 8 time veterans of Rosie metal nights and from concerts with notable out of town bands like Fuck The Facts, Biipiigwan, and Abriosis, while also finishing strongly at two Sault Ontario battles of the bands in 2012, and headlining a number of "F.A.T.I.L. Events/Gatherings" at the band members' homes in the last couple years. Their current lineup of course consists of singer Tyler Sperry, guitarist Brook Moreau (who replaced Graeme Caughill in late 2010), bassist Ben Deslauriers, and drummer Kameron Nicholson, while they also featured second guitarist Allen Piche until last summer.

From their Sault Ontario debut last spring onward, For All That Is Lost have been just as or more visible locally than most other local bands, and it's well past due to cover them formally on the SMS! Since I first saw F.A.T.I.L. live last year, they've grown a lot as musicians and as a band, and their array of original songs and live videos will definitely prove that! A quick YouTube search will find a nice selection of For All That Is Lost videos, along with their various online pages, so in the unlikely chance you haven't already, give their material a look/listen! Here's one of their better originals, "The Return of Dionysus" from the 39th Rosie metal night in November!



The other "new" Sault Ontario-area band is another young death metal act, that being Inhuman Methods! Admittedly, they probably could have been on the SMS since their singer change, as half of their current lineup are from Echo Bay from what I can tell, but it's better late than never to roll them in! Launched last summer, Inhuman Methods made their live debut at the Dead In The Van concert at The Canadian Nightclub in March, and they followed that with a set at the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands the next month, prior to their first shows with their current lineup this summer, including a recent Rosie metal night, the F.A.T.I.L. Gathering in Laird, and a planned set at the second Sewer Swampstravaganza on July 13th. Their lineup currently consists of singer Anthony Tverdal (who replaced Curtis Moir in April), guitarists Alex Swain & Wesley Carson, and Crimson Crusade drummer Robert Crossley, and though a bassist has yet to be 100% confirmed, someone named Alexis Hall is also credited on their latest band logo image, so maybe she's now on bass? I'll let you guys know if I hear anything positive on that front!

Though the Inhuman Methods shows I've seen were rough for timing and on stage comfort levels, there's definitely something there, and the guys are improving! I've heard good things about Anthony's singing too, and hopefully their sound continues to improve and grow as they get more prominent locally! Though their first shows were Lamb of God cover-heavy, they are writing a bunch of originals, one of which ("Inside") was filmed at their Battle of the Bands set in April, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more from their current lineup!



Finally for the new bands on the site is the only new Sault Michigan-area band in this first expansion phase, that being the Cedarville hard rock band Oddfellow! Long a prominent band in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, their run from 2001-2008 saw them achieve a lot of successes, including the release of their only album "Go" in 2005 (which is available to stream online), concert sets all over the U.P. and Lower Peninsula (including a high performance at a Bodog battle of the bands in Detroit in 2006), frequent coverage in The St. Ignace News, and strong recommendations from Northern Michigan radio personalities! Though they broke up in late 2008, and though at least one band member now lives out of state, the guys still maintain and update Oddfellow's online pages, and the possibility of a future reunion is not dead, so who knows what could happen in the future! Oddfellow's lineup consisted of singer/guitarists, brothers, and future S.C.O.W. bandmates Jason & Seth Haske (you may also recognize Jason from the local cover band Chump Change), alongside bassist Phil Kasper & former Riot! By Night drummer Odin Osogwin.

Oddfellow are definitely one of the benefits to expanding further in Michigan for coverage, as they attained a lot of success in the area and beyond during their run in the 2000s, and they throw a unique spin onto their hard rock sound that makes them accessible while also standing out! Given that I have their "Go" album at access, I 100% plan on reviewing it on the site in the future, possibly tied in with a Chump Change show in the same month, so keep an eye out for it in a month with no new releases! That said, for videos, the only one I've found is a low quality drum solo by Odin Osogwin, so for a full preview of Oddfellow, here's the opening song from their CD, entitled "Tricks"!



That's all for now, but definitely check out all of the above bands, and welcome them all to our full local coverage at The Sault Metal Scene! Tomorrow, we will return to some news, including for the first time on the SMS, local shows in St. Ignace, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone!

Happy 5th Anniversary From The Sault Metal Scene!!

Hey guys, today marks our 5th anniversary at The Sault Metal Scene, having launched the original Facebook group on July 4th, 2007, and this year, my computer isn't holed up at Staples getting repaired, so our big plans can go up as scheduled (and of course, happy Independence Day to all of our Yooper fans!) You guys are amazing for all of the support and interest since 2007, I never dreamed we'd be around at this level this far along, and I can't thank you all enough! That said, as we've hinted at on the site recently, our main surprise this month for the anniversary is that, for the first time since we defined a coverage range, we're expanding the "local" boundaries for what we should cover on the site! Thanks in part to the results that we received via our poll on the site in May, I was convinced that there was sufficient support to go past 45 minutes drive time from the Twin Saults for our work on the site, but are we going to instantly jump to a 90 minute coverage range on the site, like most of you voted for? I definitely have plans in mind to go that far, but I want to take things slow, so while we've expanded the coverage range on the SMS, it will just be to one hour for now. Though this doesn't seem like a lot, it opens up a lot of new stuff for the site that I'll get to in a bit!

Why the smaller initial expansion? Basically, so we can acclimate ourselves to new shows, bands, and topics that will come up for the site before we gradually move up to a 75 minute range, and finally, 90 minutes. Doubling the range overnight would be a major adjustment and I want things to be gradual and easy to follow for everyone. Note however that the expansions likely won't include the Lower Peninsula, as it's a very different area with few direct local connections, and with the Algoma District and U.P. almost being the same size, I wanna keep things roughly as equal as possible between the two regions.

With that said, what's new with our current one hour range for Sault Ontario! Well, the new towns we're adding into our range include Desbarats, Richard's Landing, Batchewana Bay, and Port Findlay, among other communities in between, which does add a noticeable amount despite it's seeming smallness! Probably the biggest news is that we're adding two new bands formally to our coverage, those being two recently prominent area death metal bands: For All That Is Lost and Inhuman Methods! Both are definitely due for equal coverage on the SMS, and along with the new band we're adding in Michigan, we'll be profiling them in an upcoming special post to sort of welcome them into the full fold, so keep an eye out for that! For concerts and venues, this probably won't add a lot of new places to what we have been covering in Canada, but one aspect this will add is the CASS Cafe sets at Central Algoma Secondary School in Desbarats, which has been home to a number of bands and genres over the past so many years, including metal & hard rock, and I'm also planning to profile CASS Cafe videos in a series of some kind to share these with a deserving local audience! Stay tuned for more of these new integrations into our Sault Ontario coverage!

As for the Sault Michigan area, expanding just 15 minutes more adds a lot more areas to our coverage, so here's some of the more notable spots! In Chippewa County, we've added Raber Township & Trout Lake Township, but neither is really hopping for bands or shows that I've seen. However, the expansion takes us into a new county for the first time, that being Mackinac County, which lies just south of Chippewa, and they've given us some noticeable local additions! New towns added to our coverage range include St. Ignace, Cedarville, Hessel, Moran & Brevort Townships, and the Marquette Township, and these will give us some nice new additions! One is a new band, that being the defunct Cedarville hard rock band Oddfellow, who achieved some solid notoriety in their 2000s run, and they'll add some solid archive material to our links! For shows, we'll get a lot of new additions thanks primarily to the Kewadin Casinos in St. Ignace & Hessel, which both host live entertainment (especially in St. Ignace), and we'll profile these new additions on the site shortly! There are scattered bars and venues in this new range that can also count for concerts, especially from road-friendly bands like Banned, so keep an eye out for some dates (and more) in our newly added communities in our Sault Michigan coverage range!

With that all said, we'll be unveiling all of the new stuff on the site shortly, including a profile post of the three new band additions, a series of CASS Cafe videos, alerts on all of the new concerts that now fit in our local range, and anything else that's newly local on the SMS, so keep an eye out for all that along with the news and feature posts you know and tolerate from before! Also, keep an eye out for our relaunched Twitter page as well, as I'm gonna give that the old college try again today and hopefully I'll stay on top of things there also! Thanks again for all of the support, interest, and readership over the past 5 years, and here's to lots more to come! I can't stress enough how important every one of you guys are to how far this site has came, even if your comments were on the negative side of the spectrum, as they made my work better for all parties. The best is yet to come though, and I hope you guys are along for the ride no matter where we go! Thanks everyone, and remember, further coverage expansions lie in our future!