Alter Bridge/In Flames Concert Preview, New Soo Art Rocks Videos, And More!!

We are back with this new news post for your Monday afternoon, so what's contained within? New videos and fallout from a recent concert, clarification and news from a new local promoter with a familiar name, and leading things off, our preview of a special Tuesday night concert in the E.U.P. with some huge headline acts, so here's what you should know!

Orlando hard rock quartet Alter Bridge and Swedish metal veterans In Flames will make their way to our area TOMORROW NIGHT for the latest Allstar Promotions concert event at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Of course, Alter Bridge have had a ton of success with rock radio hits like "Addicted To Pain", "Isolation", and "Open Your Eyes", and their fan favourite originals and soaring vocals should be very well received when they rock the Soo Kewadin tomorrow! In Flames will also be very interesting to see locally, as while they have seen a very polarizing response to their newer alternative material, they have many fans from their recent era and older death metal albums alike. Are you in this for "Clayman", "Come Clarity", or "Battles"-era In Flames? Hopefully there's a little something for all tastes, but it's great to see them here! Note that a previously announced opening set by Tennessee hard rockers Devour the Day is no longer advertised by them or Allstar Promotions.

No word on if they are indeed off the show (and if so, why), but it would be nice to see them finally play a local gig! This stop on Alter Bridge's "The Last Hero" tour goes down tomorrow at 7:00 PM, this is ALL AGES, and tickets are still available from the first row and back for $38.50, though at press time, only 15 center section seats remain. Get your tickets A.S.A.P. if you don't have any yet at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office, and check out Allstar Promotions' Facebook page for details on how to enter for meet & greet passes! This should be a great concert for hard rock and metal fans, so see above for more details, and here's Alter Bridge live!

Next up, here's some extra details from that new Facebook personal account called The SaultMusicScene that launched on Friday, so what should you know on it now? After some ambiguity about the identity of the administrator (and confusion on if I was involved), it has been confirmed that Autumn Roots frontman Jeremy Hannah is running it, and it's not just a tool to help promoters advertise their events: He's promoting shows again! Fans will remember Jeremy for his work with Big Voiced Records in the mid-late 2000s at The Oddfellows Hall, but he has dabbled into promotion and live sound since with Pure Sound Audio, Spotlight Canada, and the cancelled Music Mayhem show in April 2012, though none of those got very far off the ground. Jeremy has elaborated that he is open to working with other promoters on events, and is apparently planning to promote shows at The Canadian Nightclub and The Upper Deck Bar & Grill upstairs from that venue.

First up from Jeremy's new agency is a Canada Day weekend show on Friday, June 30th at The Canadian, which will have 6 bands to be announced, a door prize, and $5 advance admission (which doubles at the door.) Click here for more details, and we'll let you know if metal, hard rock, or punk makes the lineup! While I think the SaultMusicScene name is a little too familiar to the 2000s website of that name (especially as Scott MacLeod's not visibly involved), it is great to see Jeremy back in the promoting game, and if this lives up to it's ambitions, this will be an asset to bands and fans alike! See the above links for more, but remember, you have to be a friend to read postings on the main page, unless Jeremy relaxes the privacy settings.

We'll close today with new videos from Friday night's Soo Art Rocks concert at The Canadian Nightclub, but first, just a note from promoters Live705's Facebook page! In their latest post there, they thanked everyone making Soo Art Rocks a success, noted that their next concert will be in June (details coming this week), credited Pointless frontman Bill Priddle for helping A Dire Setback make "notable changes to polish our songs", and teased that they will be booking touring bands in the future. Very encouraging all around, so stay tuned as more details fall into place! As for the videos, A Dire Setback are the subject here, as photographer Josh Pace filmed the punk quartet playing the end of their set-closing self-titled original on Friday night for his personal Facebook page, which the band subsequently shared publically on theirs.

Though only 38 seconds long, the guys are in great form, and this is a nice showcase for bassist Matt Quinn too! The side stage angle puts him in the background on this clip, however. I do plan to film this song in full as well at an upcoming concert, but given that it's tended to be a set closer, I may have to have a backup video ready in the event of a file error, but I'll figure something out. Check this clip out below, and stay tuned for more from A Dire Setback and Live705 when it comes in!



Finally, here's a new clip from Live705's Facebook page, which is a live stream of the end of an early song during Id Iota's headlining set, including the introduction of guest cellist Pete Mozarowski to the crowd. Given the short length, vertical angle, and placement in the song's runtime, this isn't an optimal look at Id Iota, but it's nice to see some new footage of this alt-hard rock quartet, and they sound good from what we hear, so give it a look too!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Din), The Next Local Battle Of The Bands, And Much More!!

Originally, I planned to double up two posts on the SMS tomorrow, but with a big announcement regarding the Soo's next battle of the bands, I thought it was prime time to get this on the site while the news is still fresh! Also, you will find lots of assorted shorter news items to cap things off, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will play a headlining concert at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, May 20th! Heading to this popular Queen Street East venue for the first time since their NLFB Meltdown audition set earlier this month, this appears to be just a regular headlining set for Mike, Tammy, and Brandan, so prepare for a full set's worth of high energy alt-rock originals and select covers in a months' time! An opening band is to be announced, and we will let you know when they are confirmed (for reference sake, Mike Mikus is playing at LopLops on Friday the 19th.) The Din's show on May 20th is a 19+ event with a $5 cover charge and a door opening time of 9:00 PM. If you're ready to give in to The Din once again, then keep this show in mind for next month, and visit the official Facebook event page for current details!

Next up, the annual battle of the bands from local concert promoter J.D. Pearce is returning for year #3, but with big changes, so here's what we know so far! After two years as the multi-night VM Radio Battle of the Bands in March, the battle (presented by Tidal Records) has been contracted to a one night event to be held on Saturday, June 3rd, and with Village Media not credited on the Facebook event page, The Rad Zone have stepped in as the battle's new title sponsor. However, the battle will be held at The Canadian Nightclub once again, which is always a great choice! Plans call for a $1,000 cash prize for the winning band (as was the case in 2015), with professional recording time, industry professional feedback, and more on the line. Listed sponsors will include Twin City Sound, photographers RAD.imagery, and Sudbury's CSA International, the promoters behind this June's Rock the Border Music Fest (whose lineup will reportedly be announced tomorrow), among many others. Keep those components in mind come June 3rd!

Details regarding band registrations, individual prizes, audience admission, ticket sales, judges, and more are forthcoming, but for reference, look up the results and recaps from last year's battle for a potential idea of what to expect. A start time of 6:00 PM is in effect, and this will presumably be a 19+ event. Though things have been retooled since last March, the newly titled Rad Zone Battle of the Bands should be a great event with a lot of intrigue, especially given the relative lack of one-night judged battles in the Sault Ontario in recent years, NLFB Meltdown aside! Check the above links for all current details, and stay tuned as updates come in!

Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while and as usual for these short item groupings, these are in alphabetical order by band, company, or series name:

• Memphis hard rock quartet Devour the Day have been added as a second opening band for the Alter Bridge/In Flames concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on May 16th, as per promoters Allstar Promotions' Facebook page on Sunday. This is a bit of a makeup date for Devour the Day, who Allstar had previously advertised to open for Shinedown locally in July 2013, but they were on a separate tour and were replaced in the Soo by fellow Memphis rockers Prosevere. It's great to see Devour the Day finally rock The Dreammaker's Theater, so get more details on this expanded concert above, and tickets are still available!
• As per their Facebook page on Sunday, Sault Ontario punk/metal veterans Jack Spades have enlisted former Winkstinger/Sativa Rose guitarist Anthony Orazietti (a.k.a. Tony AO) for their new lineup, restoring them to a quintet for the first time since Tiffany Stocco's departure last summer. It's great to see Anthony back in a local band, he showed skill in his short runs with recent groups, so hopefully he adds well with Jack Spades starting at the CKY concert! Stay tuned for the identity of their new drummer!
• After an 8 month hiatus from public updates, local indie/punk quintet Northwest resurfaced on Tuesday via some photos shared to their Facebook page taken at Mission Control Studios, one with producer Dustin Jones at the controls while bassist Mike Smykacz is playing. This heavily implies that they're recording new material, but is a second album in the works, or is something else afoot? Stay tuned for updates, but it's great to see Northwest back regardless!
• Wondering where local goregrind duo Rotopsy have been lately? Well, the guys revealed on their Facebook page in December that a new EP release named "A Worthless Collection of Aggressive Sounds" is in the works, with a full length release also planned for later in 2017. The planned cover art is even online, and in a surprise, it is safe for work, showcasing Rotopsy at The Oddfellows Hall with a red colour filter and a surprisingly happy crowd. Check out current details at the above links!
• SooToday's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper returned after a 2 month hiatus with a new episode yesterday, spotlighting the aforementioned NLFB Meltdown audition/battle at LopLops on April Fools Day, in which Donna was a judge! The video is solely about winning performer M.D. Dunn, who talks about his victory, preparation, and songwriting, and while no other bands are featured, Donna did ask Mark about his thoughts on the night's other bands. Entertaining episode, especially for fans of M.D. Dunn, so click here to give it a look, and good luck in Sudbury! I wonder if SooToday filmed the other bands that night?
• In a related note from our coverage of the former VM Radio Battle of the Bands, it appears that VM Radio proper (Village Media's local internet radio network) was quietly shut down in the past 5 months, as per the closure of it's website, and we have removed their rock station VM Rocks from our links. A reason for it's ultimate demise wasn't given, but VM Radio hadn't been actively promoted for reasons other than battle sponsorship in many months. With the lack of Canadian-produced FM radio in this market, VM Radio seemed to fill a void upon launching in late 2014, but hopefully the concept resurfaces in some form down the road!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our next poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Shinedown Concert Fallout, Including New Videos & The Opening Band's Actual Identity!

As promised, we've got Shinedown concert fallout to get to today, as Sunday night saw the multi-platinum Jacksonville hard rock quartet make their local debut at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! By almost all accounts that I've read so far from the show, it was a huge success for both Allstar Promotions and in the eyes of attendees! Photos from the show were uploaded by promoters onto Facebook at this location, confirming that there was a meet & greet for fans to meet Shinedown (Daughtry had the same on Saturday), but the big piece of unreported news from the photos is that the openers were NOT Devour The Day, despite being reported as such by Allstar Promotions on June 26th. In reality, Devour The Day were on tour with Hinder this month, though I'm not sure why they were announced as the openers for the local Shinedown concert. In reality, the opening band was hard rock quartet Prosevere, who (like Devour The Day) are also from Memphis, so that may have helped lead to the confusion. I haven't seen videos of their set (though photos are available from Sunday at the above links), but how do Prosevere sound?

Lighter sound than I was expecting, but Prosevere have an appealing modern rock sound with fun elements, a clear energy, and nice use of melody, and hopefully they made a good impression on local fans! Of course, I apologize for the incorrect news on the site, but promoters never corrected the earlier announcement on the openers, and I'd seen no references to Prosevere being involved on other pages (similarly to Ace Frehley's openers 16 Second Stare from his 2009 Kewadin date.)

Now to the videos, as I've found footage from at least 4 YouTube channels from the show, so let's give these some deserved attention! We'll start with 3 videos from YouTube user Christopher Paci (who also uploaded videos from the Buckcherry, Evans Blue, Queensryche, and Sebastian Bach concerts in the past year), as he filmed Shinedown playing three songs from their new album "Amaryllis" on Sunday night, including "Unity", "I'll Follow You", and (as embedded below) "Enemies"! All uploaded early this morning, Chris' camera work is fairly jittery, and the audio gets muffled on occasion, but the quality is fairly good otherwise, with a clear view of Shinedown in action (and looking quite dapper too), with the songs sounding pretty close to the studio originals from what I've heard on the radio! If only he was slightly closer, but at least Chris could zoom. Solid videos, so check out his video of "Enemies" below, and see more at the above links!



Another uploader of 3 videos was YouTube user encorevids (first name Mike), who you may remember from posting videos of the Buckcherry/Papa Roach and My Darkest Days concerts at Kewadin Casino from past years! Posted on Mike's YouTube channel yesterday, the videos are of another take of "Enemies", plus clips of "If You Only Knew" and (as embedded below) "Bully", so check the links to give these a look! Mike had a similar angle to Chris (if more slanted), and though the quality is very fuzzy with no zoom, the audio is more consistent and clear, so that works out well! Check out Shinedown playing "Bully" in the Soo below!

Two more videos were uploaded by YouTube user 91dwaynel yesterday, including another clip of "Bully" (albeit mislabelled) and, as embedded below, an acoustic cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man"! It's preceded by some joking around about what cover to do by singer Brent Smith & guitarist Zach Myers (the other members weren't present for this song), including brief clips of them covering Black Crowes, Nirvana, and Bon Jovi songs before finally launching into "Simple Man", complete with a great crowd singing along with every word! Nice sense of humour and crowd involvement from Brent & Zach, and this cover is definitely one of my favourite Shinedown tracks, so it's nice to get some great quality video to go along with it! Dwayne was in the front row or close to it, and the videos are solid quality with very clear audio, so both of his clips are well worth watching! Give Shinedown's "Simple Man" cover a look below!



Finally for the Shinedown videos that I currently know about, YouTube user Melissa McNamara uploaded one video from the show yesterday, which is of the guys playing their song "The Crow & The Butterfly". Very good audio, but it's cut off at the beginning, and it's filmed from a very far angle from the stage with no zoom (and on a cell phone camera), so it's one of those tall & narrow videos. It's worth checking out for the clear audio though, so check out "The Crow & The Butterfly" from Sunday night below!



That's all for now, but of course, we'll have more Shinedown concert fallout and videos as we hear of them, and if all goes well, we'll have this month's YouTube Channel Profile up on the site later today! Thanks everyone!

Shinedown Concert Preview, Cancer Fundraising For Luke LeBlanc, And A New Video!!

Finally, here's our fourth and last post covering this very busy weekend in hard rock and metal concerts, as arguably the biggest of the weekend is going down tomorrow night! Our extended look at that leads off today's post, but we also have news on a local musician's major cancer fight, and a recent live concert video, so read on below for what you need to know!

In the second of two major concerts from Allstar Promotions this weekend at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino (following TONIGHT'S Daughtry concert), multi-platinum Jacksonville hard rock quartet Shinedown will make their Sault-area debut TOMORROW NIGHT! Touring in support of their new CD "Amaryllis", Shinedown have been one of the most successful modern hard rock bands of recent years, with hits like "Second Chance", "Save Me", and "Bully" keeping them as staples of rock radio, and they have a lot of popular and memorable songs that are sure to strike a nerve tomorrow night! They'll be joined by Memphis hard rock band Devour The Day (featuring two members of Egypt Central) as openers for tomorrow's show, and their energetic and upbeat hard rock sound should suit them well as they hit the Soo themselves! Note however that Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way (featuring Rudyard native Zak Stelmaszek on guitar) will NOT be opening this show anymore, as per their Facebook page last week. A reason was not announced, but note that Allstar Promotions never publically confirmed that they were playing.

Disappointing news to be sure, especially knowing Fifth Way's local familiarity and talents, but no matter why they're out, they WILL still be opening for Tesla on July 27th (one week from today), so keep that in mind! The Shinedown concert (which is ALL AGES) will go down at 7:00 PM TOMORROW, and as of this writing, only a handful of center section tickets (mostly in the fourth row) were available, so this is a near-sell out. If you want to try for tickets, click here, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or visit the Kewadin box office! Also, I have no idea on the protocol for a potential meet & greet, so call ahead just in case. Check the above links for more details! This should be a very successful concert, especially knowing Shinedown's popularity and success in recent years, so if you have tickets, have a great time! Myself, I don't mind a few of their songs (like their "Simple Man" cover), though I admittedly find a few of their songs overplayed, but they have a lot of talent, so don't miss their local debut TOMORROW! For a preview, here's Shinedown's video for their newest single "Unity"!



Next up, another fundraising campaign has been launched to help raise money for former Half Past frontman Luke LeBlanc's battle with cancer. Launched by Denise Armstrong on May 21st on the website GoFundMe, the links above explain that Luke and his family need financial assistance to help him at this time of need, along with noting that the cancer has spread to his stomach, spine, kidney, and one eye. The main goal is to raise $20,000 for his fight and related expenses, though as of this writing, only $120 had been donated. Luke's a very nice guy, and I commend him 100% for his brave battle with cancer in the past year, as well as keeping his trademark sense of humour through every up and down! He's also a talented singer, as Half Past fans and his old bandmates should attest to, but right now, his health is what's most important. If you can even donate a few dollars, that would mean a lot to Luke and his family right now, so keep this fundraising campaign in mind, click here for information, and help out if you can! Get well soon, Luke!

Finally for today, here's a new video from the second Golers concert at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 4th! Filmed by AlgomA singer/bassist Kevin "Marty Chase" Campbell & posted on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is of the Vancouver crossover/thrash band playing their original song "This Is Not A Test", as filmed on a stationary camera on one of the long tables near the stage. Good angle of this short original track, and the audio quality's solid, but the video is fairly dark. Still very solid, so check out this new Golers concert video below!



That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for Bushplane Musical Madness II, and if weather and timing permits, you might spot me at the Tenaris Second Stage in the evening before or during Sailor's Tongue's set, especially with their hyped CD availability! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug & Dirtbag In A Dress), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Our first post of the day is 100% Sault Michigan (and area)-centric, and it includes news on a recent album release across the river, previews of this weekend's known heavier concerts (including one for the Fourth of July), and much more, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for some upcoming dates in the region!

Local hard rock trio Powerslug have been newly confirmed for three upcoming dates in the region with some advance word, and neither are at Kewadin Casino! One will see them make their first ever live appearance (barring a missed late notice gig) at The Back Door TOMORROW NIGHT in a rare hard rock-leaning set for this venue, which will see Powerslug play live after the Fourth of July fireworks conclude, so how's that for a capper to the evening? Apologies for the short notice on that one, I held it a bit longer to avoid redundantly plugging it twice in a short span. The other new shows will be a full weekend at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill on August 2nd & 3rd where they'll share the stage with local rock cover band/Swayze Train successors Toast (drummer Bob Helsten is in both bands), though no word on if these will be outdoor or indoor gigs. It's unique to see local band sharing a weekend engagement like this, but with their own varied and proficient sets, this should be a fun weekend next month!

All three shows (including TOMORROW'S Back Door set) are 21+ with 9:00 PM-ish start times, and I'd bring cash for a cover just in case. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page for next month's "PowerToast" shows! Despite their lack of online pages, Powerslug have a good thing going, and hopefully tomorrow's Fourth of July show starts with a bang, literally! I have no videos to preview it with, but don't miss the action to kick off the holiday weekend, and don't miss their shows next month either!

The other new-ish show is something unique for our Sault Michigan coverage, as it's an outdoor concert (and publically attendable, I'll emphasize) being hosted at someone's house THIS SATURDAY! Think the old F.A.T.I.L. outdoor shows in Thessalon and Laird for a reference, but this one's in Sugar Island, and it will be headlined by recent LemmaFest performers Dirtbag In A Dress! The former Bucksaw (who are apparently looking to change their name once again in the near future) will play their first show that I've ever gotten advance word on for something other than LemmaFest on Saturday at the new home of Brandon McKerchie (a friend of the band) as part of a big outdoor party, though I don't know if there's other causes for the event. On Saturday, Dirtbag In A Dress will be joined by a band named "Bill & The Bare Bottom Boys" (I assume the Bill is D.I.A.D. guitarist Bill Ogston?), though I know nothing else on them at present. Like the F.A.T.I.L. gatherings, attendees are welcome to attend and camp out, and as far as I can tell, there's no admission costs or explicit age limits, but drink responsibly if you do go.

The full event has a 1:00 PM start time, but no explicit band times have been made available. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Also note that I have not posted details about the finite address of the event out of privacy concerns (it is a man's house, after all), but the event page will give you directions for when you get to Sugar Island. This should be a fun and unique weekend for sure, so don't miss the action on Saturday, and for a preview, here's Dirtbag In A Dress covering some heavier songs at LemmaFest last month!



Now to a previously announced show (and our last of the known heavier gigs to preview through Saturday), Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned will return to the region for a one night only show at The Runway Bar in nearby Hessel THIS SATURDAY for their first concert at this venue in almost 5 months! This also follows a quiet June for this generally busy band, during which their only dates (in Blainey Park and Gould City) were all outside of our coverage range, so it's great to have the Traynors and company back within an hour of the Soo for their expanding variety of covers and originals! Saturday's show in Hessel (a half hour northeast of St. Ignace, 50 minutes south of the Soo) will go down at 9:00 PM, with no announced cover charge, and a likely 21+ age limit. For more details, visit the above links! Banned should deliver once again as they return closer to home, so keep this show in mind, and for a preview, here's Banned's current lineup covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" earlier this year!



Finally for today, here's three assorted Sault Michigan-regional stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Memphis hard rock band Devour The Day (featuring ex-members of Egypt Central) have been confirmed as the openers for the Shinedown concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 21st, as per Allstar Promotions' Facebook page last week. They should be a good fit with their high energy hard rock sound, so check them out above, and get your tickets A.S.A.P., as they're going fast!
• In their first bit of public updating since August 2012, Eckerman/Strongs hard rock band Moss have welcomed original bassist Terry Carrick back into the fold, replacing frontman David Mills, who will remain as their singer (making them a quintet.) I'm not familiar with Terry musically, but hopefully he adds well to Moss, and hopefully they'll have more news sooner than it has been coming!
• The first live video of local hard rock quintet RamWagon's live debut at LemmaFest was posted on their Facebook page last week, and it's an incomplete cover of Cameo's "Word Up" (or is it the KoRn cover?) Shot on a cell phone camera from a far distance, the guys do seem to know the song and rock it well, but I'd like to see longer, closer, and more videos of them in action before really judging. Check it out at the above links, but note that as a Facebook video, I can't embed it here.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new Sault Ontario-centric post later tonight! Thanks everyone!