Today's post is devoted to more videos from last month's Dokken-headlined concert at The Essar Center in Sault Ontario from two different sources, and we'll start the remainder of videos from Christopher Paci's YouTube channel! We originally featured his Love 'N Revenge videos in our first Dokken concert fallout post on Monday, in order to ensure that all three bands were covered there, but he did film the other two bands, despite a 3 day delay for videos from Dokken's set for one reason or another. Chris made the wait worth it though, with seven videos of the Los Angeles hair metal band being uploaded earlier this week, and they include their songs "In My Dreams", "Maddest Hatter", "Dream Warriors", "Breaking the Chains", "Into The Fire", "Don't Close Your Eyes", and as embedded below, "Alone Again".
Filmed from the front row or very close to it, Chris has a great angle with nice audio quality, but after hearing these, I agree that Don's voice isn't what it used to be. He can still carry a tune though, particularly on slower songs, and fans helped on the bigger hits! Give Chris' Dokken videos a look above and below, and kudos to Chris for all of his hard work!
Today's remaining videos come from promoters Superior Entertainment's Facebook page from the days surrounding the concert, and while short and only focused on Firehouse, it's nice to see some more video footage! This clip is of 30 seconds from the end of "Shake & Tumble" and beginning of "All She Wrote", so it's nothing that we haven't already seen from Chris Paci, but the audio sounds pretty good, and the camera is mounted at a good angle, so check it out below!
Finally, this 17 second clip of the members of Firehouse (sans frontman C.J. Snare) went online the day before the concert, and it just serves as a pre-show commercial. Nice to get some direct hype, especially considering that they were already here in the Soo when it was shot, so give it a belated look below, and apologies for missing it at the time!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian readers! Today's post is our long-delayed fallout post from the Dokken-headlined concert at The Essar Center back on September 30th, so what what all went down over a week ago? Well, SooToday's Donna Hopper was on hand for the show, covering it in this article from the following day, where she noted that assembled fans enjoyed the concert, despite a low attendance of only around 800 fans. Hey, it's better than the Jackyl concert got nine years ago, if that counts! The article features some interview remarks from attendees, including some disappointment at the turnout, while Donna did get 22 photos from the event, including 8 of the headliners, 7 of Firehouse, 3 of Love 'N Revenge, and four of fans, and they're of predictably great quality, so give them a look above! This wasn't all for online local news coverage of the show, as Sault Online columnist Ernest Skinner covered a different side of things for his post-concert article, so what should you know about that?
In a nutshell, the article is about Ernest picking up Firehouse in Sault Michigan to bring them across the border for the concert and interviewing them en route, before focusing on the concert proper and happenings pre- and post-show, such as the afterparty hosted by Gliss Steak & Seafood, and talking with Don Dokken himself the next morning. Very cool of Ernest to not only get this kind of inside access with the hair metal legends, but to also share this in-depth story online, so definitely check out his article for a different side of a major local concert like this! In terms of videos, there are surprisingly none of Dokken yet that are publically viewable on YouTube or Facebook at press time... but there is one on Instagram! Uploaded to the Instagram page of local progressive metal band Kraken Mara (more on that in the coming days), this is of Dokken playing their classic song "Into The Fire" that night! The guys don't sound bad from what we hear, though the full song wasn't filmed.
As for Don's singing voice, he sounds fine here, but I am aware that some social media posts noted that his voice wasn't as strong as it used to be. Whether that's factoring into the lack of public videos or not is up for debate, but note that Ernest said that he sounded great in his Sault Online article. Good central angle and solid audio, so give this one a look below!
A post shared by Kraken Mara (@kraken_maraband) on
Kraken Mara also uploaded a video to Instagram of openers Firehouse playing their song "All She Wrote" at a similar upper-backdrop-heavy angle, and they sound pretty good too, and about on par from from the Kewadin Casino videos of theirs that I've seen! Familiar song with energy, so fans will be happy with this one, even incomplete, so check it out below too! Note that one more video is up on Kraken Mara's page, but it's a pre-set video with Guns N' Roses' "You Could Be Mine' over the P.A., and no live bands playing at that point, but watch for a surprise walk-by cameo.
A post shared by Kraken Mara (@kraken_maraband) on
Finally for this first fallout post, I wanted to acknowledge opening act Love 'N Revenge, who I've also only seen videos from via one source, namely Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel! Yes, Chris was at this concert, but he curiously didn't film Dokken's set (that, or his videos are very delayed), and we'll absolutely touch on his Firehouse videos in an upcoming post. His Love N' Revenge videos feature the Los Angeles arena rock group covering frontman Damon Kelly's old band Rockarma's songs "That's All" and "Bring It", but embedded below is their own original song "It's Rock 'N Roll". Though a relatively new and unfamiliar band compared to who played later that night, Love 'N Revenge's sound was a great fit, with their own originals meshing well with the Rockarma holdovers, and their sound has a good high energy that would fit well on The Hair Scare! Give Chris' solid videos a look above and below, and stay tuned for Chris' Firehouse clips!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for some special mid-week concert previews on the site next, and yes, we'll touch on extra videos from the above concert later this week too! Thanks everyone!
(Updated on Saturday at 12:31 AM) A quiet but eventful weekend of concerts is upon us to help end the month of September, and with no currently known short notice gigs, let's get right into what's going down for hard rock fans, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison has his usual solo acoustic gigs at Gliss Steak & Seafood TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY, but Tym will also return to The Barrelhouse Wine & Whiskey on Queen Street East THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice on the Barrelhouse show (this post was edited on Saturday to add it), as it was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Friday night. Now four weeks into a run where Tym plays a nighttime gig alongside his ongoing long-term Gliss arrangement, keep all four of this weekend's shows in mind for some entertaining hard rock covers, be you taking in the Gliss matinees or SATURDAY NIGHT's return to the popular downtown tapas restaurant for a second straight week! Yes, we'll touch on Tym's expected October gigs next week, we won't forget about them!
While there are no cover charges, mind the restaurant locale of these four shows, with the Gliss gigs being 6:00 PM events with no age limit, and SATURDAY'S Barrelhouse show being 19+ at 10:30 PM. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, we'll head to The Canadian Nightclub, where local alternative hard rock trio The Din and fellow alt/punk trio Handsome Sandwich will join forces for their own concert TOMORROW NIGHT! After some earlier public uncertainty about this show's status, The Din have since verified that it's still on, meaning that their third-to-last concert (and last outside of LopLops) before their upcoming disbandment is on, so don't miss out on this one before it's too late! Material from their forthcoming second and final CD will be played along with older classics in what The Din are promising will be "a special night", so keep that in mind too! As for Handsome Sandwich, this will be their first live concert since the Oh!No Festival in Leeburn earlier this month, and first in Sault Ste. Marie since July's Vaultry show at The Canadian. This unique band has been quiet on Facebook since that event, but hopefully they deliver a fun set to kick off tomorrow's festivities!
No cover charge is announced for this 19+ concert, which has a 9:30 PM start time. With The Din's time as an active band winding down, tomorrow's show is even more notable than it otherwise would be, so don't miss out, especially if you can't see them at LopLops next month! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's The Din live at The Canadian earlier this year!
In a quick detour to the Eastern Upper Peninsula, we'll next look at the return of Traverse City, Michigan metal trio Scarkazm to our area, as they'll be rocking The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Continuing a recent regular run of shows up north (having played St. Ignace and/or the Soo's Kewadin monthly since July), the Peril sister band should be in fine form for another high impact weekend of covers and perhaps originals, so don't miss Dave, Adam, and Jeff at the St. Ignace Kewadin tomorrow and/or Saturday! If you can't make this weekend's shows, Scarkazm will back in Sault Michigan in three weeks, and in St. Ignace in December. As usual for Scarkazm's gigs in our neck of the woods, expect 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits this weekend. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and for a preview, here's Scarkazm live!
Finally for this weekend, a rare metal concert at The Essar Center will take place THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, as Los Angeles hair metal legends Dokken will make their long awaited return to our area! Almost 12 years removed from their set opening for Quiet Riot in Sault Michigan, fans will surely be rockin' with Dokken all night as they play hits like "Alone Again" & "Burning Like A Flame", so don't bypass this one if you're a hair metal fanatic! This will also be Dokken's first local gig with current bassist Chris McCarvill, having changed bassists thrice since their 2005 show here. North Carolina glam rockers FireHouse will join them in their third local concert set and first since 2014's Bret Michaels show in Sault Michigan, so look for more entertaining classics like "When I Look Into Your Eyes" & "Don't Treat Me Bad" in their first gig on the Canadian side of the border! Los Angeles melodic arena rock quartet Love 'N Revenge (fronted by Rockarma's Damon Kelly) will open in their local debut, who should pair well with the headliners!
A rare cross-border event courtesy of Sault Michigan concert/MMA promoters Superior Entertainment (of 2015's P.O.D. & Saving Abel shows), floor seats from the fifth row and back are still available for this all ages concert at 7:00 PM on Saturday, and tickets cost $62.15 (minus online service fees) at this link, at the in-person box office, or by phone at 1-866-775-9422. This should be a fun concert for hair metal lovers, and remember, if this show's a hit, it will encourage more major touring acts to play at The Essar Center in the future! Check the above links for more on this concert, and here's Dokken live earlier this year!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
With a surprising amount of backlogged news to tackle over the next few days, here's a surprise news post for your Friday night, so what's in store? Some assorted recent updates, a pair of new videos relating to local metal bands, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!
Local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will play a rare headlining concert set when they hit The Rockstar Bar on Friday, August 11th! Last seen at this venue on Canada Day, this talented and raucuous quartet will be in ska-mode in two weeks' time, as the Facebook event page confirms that saxophonist Josh Norling will join them as a guest for the first time this year! (This also seemingly gives online public confirmation that he's not a full band member.) Josh always adds a fun "element" to The Elements' live show, and it'll be nice to see him back with the guys next month! Local alternative/hard rock quartet Bizotic will open on the 11th in a rare Rockstar Bar appearance of their own, and they'll be a fine compliment with their own horn instrument-infused originals, so don't be late for their set! This 19+ concert has no announced cover charge and a 10:00 PM start time, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates when & if they arrive!
Next up, here's a pair of new videos, including a new promotional clip for the Oh!NO 2017 Music Festival in nearby Leeburn on September 9th! Posted to co-promoter/AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent's YouTube channel yesterday as his first upload there in three years, the video features assorted muted clips of local musicians (performing at the festival or not), friends of Six, Two, Oh., and other random footage, as interspersed with pan & scan views of the festival poster. The featured audio is of Sudbury punk trio Lightmares' song "The Sweat of a Hero" (will they play it here in September?), and while the video says more visually than vocally, it's a fun way to hype up this ambitious fall festival! I won't spoil the individual content, but it's well put together, if slightly random, so see more on this event above & below, and stay tuned for continued updates as they roll in!
Also, local punk/metal quintet (and Oh!NO Festival performers) Jack Spades' song "Motorwolf" is featured in a new YouTube video from Monday where Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno goes skydiving! Uploaded to Josh's personal YouTube channel (whose content is largely more based on his independent movie studio Spacebag Productions than his bands), the video features Josh and his buddy "Powers" as they prepare, take off for, and execute the skydive at the Niagara Skydive Center in Welland. Solid song choice for this well edited video, which is thrilling & amusing at different parts, though the audio is very quiet, so crank up your dial before you watch 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:
Are you wondering who's promoting the Dokken/Firehouse concert at The Essar Center on September 30th? None other than Superior Entertainment (source here), the Sault Michigan agency best known for putting on 2015's P.O.D./Hoobastank and Saving Abel concerts, plus numerous MMA events at Kewadin Casino. This rare cross-border promotional concert could also be seen as redemption for Superior Entertainment, whose Firehouse-headlined Superior Festival last year was cancelled shortly before showtime. It'll be very interesting to see how the promoters do on the Canadian side of the border, so keep that angle in mind!
Pillory bassist Jordan Leach-Berube announced in a Musicians Wanted Facebook group
post on Thursday that he is "leaving soon" and is looking for bass
players to take over in his three current bands (not named there beyond
genre, but I'm 99.999% sure he means Pillory, improv/jazz trio The Peach Thieves,
and ambient/drone trio Pointless.) I'm not sure where Jordan is going,
but he's a talented musician that will be missed in the Soo, and be sure
to message him at this link or above if you're interested in auditioning with one or more of these bands!
Sault Michigan metal quartet Stoned Ape Evolution will return to the stage as one of the opening bands at Bay Mills Bands Together's Labour Day Rock & Jock Softball Tournament in Brimley on September 2nd! They'll join fellow new confirmations Strange Brew (an acoustic rock duo) and The Damn Jahnkes (a new band presumably featuring past B.M.B.T. performer Ken Jahnke) at the outdoor fundraiser concert in just over a month. Solid choices, and it's nice to see S.A.E. alive and well, so visit the above links for more current details on this event!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
We're back on this Monday evening witha new news post, so what will you find within? Some assorted recent updates, new videos from a recent concert, and leading off, a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this fall, so here's what you should know!
Platinum selling Los Angeles hair metal legends Dokken will return to the Sault Ste. Marie area for the first time in almost 12 years when they headline at The Essar Center on Saturday, September 30th! Last seen locally when they opened for Quiet Riot at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in October 2005, Dokken should have a set full of hard rocking hits like "Breaking the Chains" & "Dream Warriors" in store when they rock the downtown arena this fall! This will also be Dokken's first regional stop with Chris McCarvill on bass (Barry Sparks was their bassist in 2005.) Joining them are North Carolina glam rockers FireHouse in their third local concert appearance, last seen opening for Bret Michaels in Sault Michigan in early 2014, with last year's Superior Music Festival being cancelled in the interim. With hits like "Don't Treat Me Bad" & "Love of a Lifetime" still in
their repertoire, this will be a great way to welcome Firehouse back to
the Soo, so don't miss them either!
Opening this show are Los Angeles melodic arena rock quartet Love 'N Revenge, a newer project from former Rockarma frontman Damon Kelly, and they should provide a nice compliment to kick off the night! As announced this morning on SooToday, The Sault Star, and Rock 101, tickets go on sale THIS FRIDAY for $55 (minus taxes and service charges) at this link, at the in-person box office, or by phone at 1-866-775-9422. Showtime is 7:00 PM, and this is an ALL AGES event. This should be an exciting show for Hair Scare loyalists, and remember, if this show is a hit, it'll encourage The Essar Center to bring in more hard rock shows! Check the above links for current details, and stay tuned for potential updates!
Next up, here's lots of video footage from the return of Project 421 at The Canadian Nightclub on Saturday night! As posted to their Facebook page yesterday, the local classic metal quartet brought their original and cover onslaught back after a nine month stage hiatus, and their whole hour-long set was filmed on a stationary camera, so what songs can you hear within? In order, we have Iron Maiden's "Running Free", Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy", Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?", Saxon's "Denim & Leather", Judas Priest's "Metal Gods", their original "No One Rides For Free", Iron Maiden's "Powerslave", Black Sabbath's "After Forever", their original "Into The Darkness", Metallica's "The Four Horsemen", and Iron Maiden's "The Trooper", so how's that for a nostalgia mindtrip (plus two originals)? The video quality isn't optimal, given that fans on the floor get in the way of the camera, which sadly wasn't zoomed in either, but the audio's fine!
You have to really crank it, especially if you're relying on laptop speakers, but the guys sound vibrant and energetic, and Blair Burch handles lead vocals fine and with conviction, though higher register songs like "The Trooper" fared worse. Of course, the Diamond Head cover is ever prescient given that 421 are opening for that band in September (details here), and it's great to see Project 421 back in advance of that highly anticipated concert, so give their full set from Saturday night a listen below!
Project 421 also shared two videos from a much closer filmer on the floor on their page yesterday including "Am I Evil?" again, and as embedded below, both "No One Rides For Free" and "Powerslave". The audio is louder, but not as clear, so keep that in mind when watching, but the visuals are much better, and you can see Blair, Frank, Daniel, and Chris back in action just as if you were on the floor that night! Give these videos a look above & below too!
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:
Local alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback have been named as openers for THIS THURSDAY NIGHT'S Treble Charger return concert at LopLops Lounge, as per their Facebook page yesterday! Though not yet advertised on the Facebook event page for the sold out concert, their addition makes sense, given their recent work & advisement with guitarist Bill Priddle. Now publically confirmed as a "sneak peek" and kick-off show for Treble Charger's upcoming tour run, check the above links for more on this highly anticipated event!
Local alt-hard rock trio The Din revealed the setlist from their portion of the aforementioned Project 421 show on their Facebook page on Saturday, confirming there that the 9 song set was almost entirely based around songs from their planned second CD! Three of the songs are newly confirmed titles to the online record, including "Weekend Delivery", "Missing", and "In The Moonlight", though I can't confirm yet on if one of those was the untitled new song from their demo vocal track videos. Hopefully the nearly-all-new set went well for The Din this weekend!
After an almost 6 month hiatus from updating their Facebook page, local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven posted there on July 1st, but finally had a new update regarding the band proper on Thursday, noting that "the writing process has begun" and they can't wait for us to hear the material in question. Are they recording new songs, or perhaps re-recording their unreleased debut EP, or is something else afoot? Stay tuned for updates as they roll in!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as we continue the last full week of July! Thanks everyone!
Today's post is devoted to more videos from last month's Dokken-headlined concert at The Essar Center in Sault Ontario from two different sources, and we'll start the remainder of videos from Christopher Paci's YouTube channel! We originally featured his Love 'N Revenge videos in our first Dokken concert fallout post on Monday, in order to ensure that all three bands were covered there, but he did film the other two bands, despite a 3 day delay for videos from Dokken's set for one reason or another. Chris made the wait worth it though, with seven videos of the Los Angeles hair metal band being uploaded earlier this week, and they include their songs "In My Dreams", "Maddest Hatter", "Dream Warriors", "Breaking the Chains", "Into The Fire", "Don't Close Your Eyes", and as embedded below, "Alone Again".
