LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Nudge & 415E) And This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

For the first time since Saturday, we're covering news and previews in a post on the SMS, partly due to a recent news slowdown, but we do have a full news post coming this weekend! Today's post is devoted to previews of this weekend's hard rock concert previews in the area, mostly in Sault Michigan, though we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for THIS WEEKEND and next too! Also, if you saw a recent Rockstar Bar Facebook group posting referencing a Stiffler's Mom gig this Saturday, that appears to have been premature or incorrect, as it's since been removed from said post. If anything changes again, we'll let you know, but let's begin our previews, and check out our review of AlgomA's new CD in the post below this one!

Ishpeming/Marquette hard rock cover favourites Nudge have announced two more local concert weekends for 2014, as they'll be back at The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, before returning there on Friday, December 12th & Saturday, December 13th! Apologies for the short notice for this weekend's shows, the band just confirmed them via this weekend's Facebook event page. The gigs this weekend are either new additions or are replacing shows at a further location (they weren't listed when we covered Nudge's Soo dates last month), but December's are absolutely new, and will almost certainly mark their last local dates of 2014. Tomorrow's show will also mark Nudge's first local appearance with new drummer Jeremy Weiger, who replaced the again-departed Eric Schlumpf last month, though some fans may see him accompany frontman Danzo McCracken at his solo acoustic set at The Frog tonight as well. Nudge seem to rotate drummers as frequently as Spinal Tap, but hopefully Jeremy sticks!

Both this weekend's and December's concerts have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 10:00 PM start times, so check the above links for more details, don't miss Nudge back at The Satisfied Frog TOMORROW & SATURDAY, and here's Nudge covering Godsmack a few years ago!



Also in new concerts, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E will make their Dondee Lanes debut NEXT WEEKEND (October 24th & 25th), which follow their previously announced gigs at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Next weekend's shows (possibly their first ever at a non-Kewadin venue) were announced on their Facebook page two weeks ago. It'll be cool to see the guys at a different venue for a change, so if you like the Dondee, don't miss next weekend's shows! Before then however, 415E will make their first concert appearances in 2½ months this weekend when they debut their new quartet lineup, with Mitch Goetz and Tony Hubbard replacing Jack Slater & Devin Anderson respectively on bass and drums, ending a long stretch where founding members Dave Menard & Chris Hubbard played shows as a duo. Great to see a full lineup again, and fans of Dave, Chris, and Tony's old band Splitshot will be glad to see them back together again!

Both this weekend's Rapids Lounge gigs and next weekend's at the Dondee have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and likely 9:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the above links, don't miss a chance to see the new look 415E lineup in action this month (including TOMORROW & SATURDAY), and here's 415E live last year!



Moving to shows that were 100% previously announced, Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for headlining gigs there TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in the U.P. at a private gig in August (and publically in June), this will sadly be Driven's last concert weekend at any location with singer/bassist Tony Rhome, who's retiring from the band in order to settle down, spend more time with family, and pursue new interests, as per a heartfelt message that he posted on the band's Facebook page two weeks ago. Driven fans are bound to be disappointed by this news, but our best wishes go out to Tony, and hopefully fans send him off with a bang this weekend! For what it's worth, Driven have not announced if they will continue without him yet, but they haven't visibly announced later gigs for this year either. This weekend's shows have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charges, so don't miss Driven's last local gigs with Tony THIS WEEKEND, and here's the guys covering Metallica!



Lastly, we'll head north to Sault Ontario, where Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will kick off his 46th straight week of concerts at The Harp Bar & Grill on Pine Street with solo acoustic gigs TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Unlike the last few weekends in his ongoing arrangement with the former Madison's Pub, Tym is outwardly promoting the Saturday half of this weekend's sets there via the Facebook event page, so keep both tomorrow's hosted jam night and Saturday's pure solo acoustic show in mind! As usual, you can take in Tym's entertaining covers either night at around 10:00 PM, there's no announced cover charges, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, check the above links! It's good to see Tym's successful run at The Harp moving steadily along, so don't miss it on the Ontario side, and here he is covering Journey!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this weekend, plus our next poll on Saturday! Thanks everyone!

Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews (Including Alice Cooper), Plus New Videos!!

For our second weekend concert preview post today, we're covering a major concert going down tomorrow in the Soo, plus a popular cover band's return north in St. Ignace this weekend! We also have new videos from two very different acts to round things out, so read on below for what you need to know, and get your Sault Ontario weekend concert preview fix (plus a new concert video) in the post below this one!

The legendary Alice Cooper will play his sixth Sault Ste. Marie-area concert TOMORROW NIGHT when he headlines at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! The Detroit shock rock icon was last seen locally at the same venue in August 2007, which followed two Kewadin gigs in August 1998 and one more in 2001, along with his Sault Memorial Gardens show in 1990, so Alice and company are definitely no stranger to the Soo! The second to last gig on his current Raise The Dead tour before he heads out with Motley Crue, Alice will surely have a lot of memorable songs like "Under My Wheels", "Poison", and "I'm Eighteen" in store for fans, as well as his iconic and highly elaborate stage show that has to be seen to be full appreciated, so don't miss out on all of this classic hard rock action tomorrow night! For reference, this will be among Alice's first live dates with new guitarist Nina Strauss, though aside from bassist Chuck Garric, his backing band is entirely different from his last local date in 2007, so take note of that just in case.

A few dozen tickets are still available for tomorrow's show, and while the center seating is sold out, some side section seats are still available from the fourth row and back. Tickets are $68.50 a seat or $58.50 for general admission, and you can pick them up at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. This is an ALL AGES show, there's no announced opening band, and everything starts tomorrow at 7:00 PM. Check the above links for more details! Alice Cooper is well worth the money for his awesome stage show and classic repertoire of original songs, so if you missed his last 5 local dates, do not miss TOMORROW'S show! For a preview, here he is live last summer in Germany!



Finally for our announced weekend concert previews, Cheboygan classic/hard rock trio Driven will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at this venue (or in our area in general) 9 months ago, this weekend's shows will also end a short 2 month break that the guys have been on since April, so it'll be nice to see their hard rock cover attack back on stage this weekend! Notably, these shows coincide with St. Ignace's 39th annual car show weekend, and Driven are likely anticipating a great turnout to go along with it, so keep that angle in mind as well! Also note that Driven's Facebook page teases a St. Ignace gig on August 9th, but it's part of a "party", and won't be at the casino, so unless we hear otherwise, it's probably a private event. Admission should be free for this weekend's 21+ shows, and everything should start at 9:00 PM. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a rare concert video of Driven from last month of them covering Metallica's "Enter Sandman"! Short, and an odd choice for fans to dance to, but great to finally see!



We'll close today with new videos, including another new clip from Sault Michigan hard rock cover trio Power Slug! Fresh off of a weekend road trip for shows in Manistique, the guys posted this new video of last week of their cover of Eric Clapton's "Cocaine" at The Savoy Bar & Nightclub in the Soo, presumably at their show there a couple of weeks back. While the filmer was quite far from the stage again, the angle is more central, so the quality's a bit better than on their Midnight Oil cover (also, is drummer Bob Helsten singing here? Solid job either way!) Check out Power Slug's new video below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!



Finally, here's a new cover video from the Lupine Festival in Brimley a few weeks back that I thought would fit on here! The largely acoustic festival played host to the local hard rock trio Train Wreck, but their frontman Erik Rintamaki filmed numerous other performers for his YouTube channel, uploading the videos last week. Mostly, the videos don't fit on the SMS (some could argue for this Black Crowes cover though), but embedded below is a cover of what is sometimes considered the first metal song, Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild". This was done by singer/guitarist Stephanie Sabatine (who recently sang with the acoustic band Aftermath) and two other unidentified musicians, and while this is a very different form to hear this song, Stephanie & company effectively soften it for this setting, so give it a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Gatgas tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril, Driven, Scarkazm, and 415E)

Today's post is 100% devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS across the river, as Kewadin Casino's concert calendars on their entertainment pages have been updated through year's end! There are some blank dates still, but most weekends through December 27th now have a slated artist, and yes, there's some verified hard rock bands within! I'll clarify a few things first though, including that while Kewadin still advertises RamWagon's previously announced shows this year, I'm still under the impression that the band was succeeded by new country rock quartet Highway 63, who took over their planned March dates in the Soo last month. Unless there's renewed activity, I wouldn't read into their continued inclusion. Also, the band named #YOLO is indeed the new acoustic rock trio featuring local metal alums Amy Beairl, Mike Libertoski, and Tony Rogers, though their name is now No Decision (Alice in Chains reference?) They basically replaced Toast after singer Melissa Strand moved out of town, but it's not clear yet if they cover a heavier song sampling than Toast did.

There are also a handful of bands with new hard rock show concert confirmations in December only, but to spread them out, we'll cover them separately in an upcoming post. For the rest of the new and previously announced Kewadin Casino dates in both Sault Michigan and St. Ignace, check the above links, but let's look at the new hard rock & metal confirmations in chronological order by earliest dates!

First, Charlevoix classic metal trio Peril are now confirmed for an additional four weekends at the two main regional Kewadin Casino branches through year's end, including dates at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on May 30th & 31st and October 10th & 11th, and returns to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on October 24th & 25th and December 12th & 13th! Joining upcoming dates at both branches through July that we already knew about, most of the new show confirmations are via Kewadin's entertainment pages, but the May dates aren't listed there, so they appear to be new additions after Kewadin's last updates, and were announced via Peril's Reverbnation page. It's great to see Jeff and company back in the Eastern U.P. for even more 2014 dates, so don't miss their old school heavy attack at either Kewadin Casino throughout the year, including for three consecutive weekends in May & June! All of the new shows have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges, so check the above links for more details!

Next up in new Kewadin Casino announcements are some new late 2014 dates for local hard rock band 415E! Joining previously announced regional dates through June, the former Hubbard-Menard Band will rock The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on August 1st & 2nd and then on November 7th & 8th, which sandwich a return to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie on October 17th & 18th. It's great to see the band back for some more regional dates later in the year, so look for some entertaining originals and covers well into the fall! Note as well that this newest band photo on their Facebook page depicts just singer Dave Menard and guitarist Chris Hubbard on stage with no drumkit or bass visible with them. Have recent gigs been just as a duo due to Jack Slater & Devin Anderson's recent out of town residence, or was this a one-off moment? Either way, 415E will be on at 9:00 PM for the new dates, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. See above for more info, and don't miss 415E's next announced dates in St. Ignace next month!

Moving back to new shows relating to Peril frontman Jeff Hudson, his Traverse City metal band Scarkazm have one more regional concert weekend now booked for 2014, as they'll return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for a weekend on August 29th & 30th! Slated to be just their third concert weekend in the E.U.P. following dates in January and later this month, this melodic groove metal band (with Jeff on drums) must have made a great first impression in January, and hopefully their intense originals and covers go over nicely again for their August dates in St. Ignace! I wonder if they'll come north to Sault Michigan at some point? Like the above dates, Scarkazm's August weekend will be 21+, the shows start at 9:00 PM, and there is no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details, and make sure to see Scarkazm live in St. Ignace in two weeks!

Finally for today's new Kewadin concert confirmations is the return of Cheboygan classic hard rock trio Driven to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on October 17th & 18th! These come almost 4 months after their upcoming St. Ignace stops in June, and while they don't come up north too often (and to Sault Michigan even less), their experienced and fun cover attack should find another solid audience come October! As with the above dates, Driven's October shows are 21+ affairs, start at 9:00 PM, and have no announced cover charge, so check the above links for more details! This popular trio always deliver a fun party atmosphere at their live dates, and their St. Ignace stops this fall should be no exception, so stay tuned for updates on Driven's next trips to the E.U.P. in June and October if they roll in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles tomorrow, plus the remaining new Kewadin Casino hard rock show announcements for December hopefully on Friday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E, Peril, Driven, And RamWagon), Including Some Cancellations!!

First off, I just want to congratulate Team Jacobs on winning gold at the Olympics in Sochi this morning! You've done Sault Ste. Marie proud, we can't wait to see you guys get your medals! Now, today's post at the SMS is 100% devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS across the river at the Sault Michigan and St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branches, as the respective entertainment pages for each location (links here & here) are now updated for concerts at The Rapids Lounge & Northern Pines Lounge through the summer, and yes, a bunch of hard rock bands have new dates! Now, due to the amount, we'll save the two new shows from Banned (which are last chronologically) for another upcoming post just to spread things out, but they are coming! Also, if you look at the entertainment pages, you'll notice a new band named #YOLO (which did include the hashtag) that's playing three upcoming weekends through July, though another recent personal Facebook post credits them as No Decision.

While public updates are minimal on them, I can confirm that they're more or less the same as defunct rock cover band Toast's late-era acoustic lineup, just with former Shift frontwoman Amy Beairl on vocals instead of the now relocated Melissa Strand (and I believe their name was once Pushing Forward Back according to older Kewadin schedules.) Promising, we'll have to see how they sound, and thanks to guitarist Mike Libertoski for the info!

We'll start our verified hard rock cover announcements with Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E, who will apparently play their second through fourth concert weekends of the year at the local Kewadin branches, including their long awaited returns to St. Ignace on March 21st & 22nd and on May 30th & 31st! The March weekend will be the former Hubbard-Menard Band's first shows at The Northern Pines Lounge in 8 months (barring interim announcements), while they'll also return to the Sault Kewadin for the first time in almost 5 months with a weekend there on June 13th & 14th. Nice to see the guys playing more following their late-2013 hiatus, so hopefully they get a solid turnout for these dates, sporadic as they may be! Again, I can't verify if their lineup as the same as last year though, but in this case, no news might mean no change. Like usual, these shows have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charge, and 9:00 PM start times, so check the above links for more details, and don't miss 415E's Van Halen-influenced intensity later this year!

Also with three upcoming Kewadin concert weekend to add to their schedule is Charlevoix classic metal trio Peril, who will return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for shows on May 23rd & 24th and on July 25th & 26th, which sandwich a Rapids Lounge return in the Soo on June 6th & 7th! For upcoming concerts, these join their already announced St. Ignace gigs next weekend, while the June stops in Sault Michigan will be their first there in over 4 months. Peril's entertaining metal covers should fit in nicely again as they return to the Eastern U.P. in mid-2014, so if you're up for some live heavy action, you know where to be! For the record, no new dates for frontman Jeff Hudson's other metal band Scarkazm were among the recent announcements at the regional Kewadin branches, but hopefully their April shows go well so they come back up here! Like the 415E shows, expect 21+ age limits, no cover, and 9:00 PM start times, so check the above links for more details, and be there for Peril's next U.P. shows!

Now to some summer exclusives, Cheboygan classic hard rock trio Driven will make their long awaited return to the Upper Peninsula for a concert weekend on Friday, June 27th & Saturday, June 28th at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace! These will be this skilled veteran band's first Kewadin Casino dates in 9 months, so it's been a long time coming for the regional return of Driven, who have carved out a very solid reputation for themselves! I just wish there was more media online to check out of theirs. As above, you must be 21 to see Driven in June, there's no announced cover charge, and everything starts at or after 9:00 PM. Check the above links for more details, and fingers crossed these aren't Driven's only Eastern U.P. stops of the year, as fans will know how good they are!

Finally for today's new shows, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet RamWagon have a new Kewadin concert weekend announced, as they'll apparently return to The Rapids Lounge on Friday, August 8th & Saturday, August 9th! Promising sign for this rising newer quartet (featuring Monkey's Uncle and Full Throttle alumni), but there have been a ton of cancellations too. Aside from the above shows and their scheduled Sault Kewadin weekends on March 28th & 29th, October 24th & 25th, and November 28th & 29th, Kewadin's entertainment pages no longer list other announced RamWagon dates that were confirmed on their Facebook page last month, with it's schedule being refined on Sunday. Their March 14th & 15th Soo shows are now divided between Banned alum Alex Schrovenwever's current cover rock band Ricochet and a live UFC 171 broadcast, while their May 9th & 10th dates in St. Ignace and August 1st & 2nd shows in the Soo are now slotted for local acoustic rock duo The London Gentlemen (though the latter shows are still listed on RamWagon's Facebook page.)

Also, the shows on July 11th & 12th, October 17th & 18th, and December 19th & 20th have replacements to be announced, and the cancellations leave RamWagon with no upcoming St. Ignace dates in 2014, or anywhere for a four month stretch starting in April. A reason for the cancellations (or withdrawals?) has not been publicized, but something big must have happened to suddenly lose 6 concert weekends. Hopefully all's well in their camp though, and hopefully their modern hard rock covers go over well next month! The new August shows also have a 21+ age limit, no cover, and 9:00 PM start times, and check the above links for more details!

That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar for Late & Loud's reunion show! Thanks everyone!

The Rest Of This Weekend's Local Hard Rock Concert Previews, Including Night Ranger!!

Before we get into this post, I wanted to apologize for missing a late band addition for last weekend's Walk To Rock Against Bullying in Sault Michigan, as local hard rock trio Power Slug were added to the lineup the day before, as per frontman Chris Leask's personal Facebook page. As they don't have online pages, this was easy to miss, but still I apologize for missing the announcement! No word though on if they replaced an announced act. Now, here's our second weekend concert preview post for this weekend, covering Sault Michigan concerts (and the Sault Ontario shows we couldn't fit in yesterday), including a major show on Sunday across the river, so read on below for the previews!

In our last of the weekend's Sault Ontario hard rock concert previews, newer local quintet The Thrill Junkies will play their second & third local dates TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT in their Roosevelt Hotel debuts! Coming off of their successful local launch at The Nicolet Tavern last week (and their Spanish gigs), the band featuring 4 members each of Turner Up's last & Havadder's 2012 lineups should have a great weekend of hard rock covers in store for their fans at The Rosie this weekend, so if you missed their Spanish dates or last weekend's show, keep this weekend's events in mind! Both shows have 10:00 PM start times, you must be 19 to attend either night, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Things seem to be going well for this new band, so don't miss their Rosie debuts this weekend, and when postable and embeddable media comes out of them in action, we'll have it here!

Now to our Sault Michigan hard rock concert previews, starting with the return of Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen in St. Ignace (or any Eastern U.P. venue) in early May, this talented veteran band will be playing just their third & fourth regional dates since drummer Kurt Beard returned to their lineup, and if you're familiar with their past trips north, you'll know the fun covers that they'll bring to the table this weekend, so keep them in mind! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend either show, and there's a 9:00 PM start time. For more details, visit their Facebook page! It's nice to see Driven back in our territory after their summer away from the U.P., and hopefully there's a solid crowd in the St. Ignace Kewadin tonight and tomorrow for Driven! If we come across video of their live show, you know we'll have it here!

Back in the Soo, Kinross hard/classic rockers Banned will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen there six months ago, Alex, Don, and company remain one of the most frequent live concert sights in the Eastern U.P., but these will be their last "jobs" in the Sault area before taking a road trip down to Grand Rapids for their furthest away show yet next weekend, so just in case, don't miss this weekend's action! Admission should also be free for this weekend's dates, you also must be 21 to attend, and 9:00 PM start times are likely. For more details, visit the above links! It's always good to see Banned rocking the Soo, and hopefully they rock The Rapids Lounge hard this weekend, so keep it in mind for your weekend plans, and for a preview, here's Banned playing their song "Deadbeat Dog" in Charlevoix last month!

Finally for the weekend schedule, it's the latest major headlining concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the aforementioned Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as San Francisco hard rock notables Night Ranger will make their local debut (I believe) THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Best known for hit songs like "Sentimental Street", "Goodbye", and (of course) "Sister Christian", this multi-platinum selling quintet should have plenty of hard edged classics and catchy ballads in store for their local fans, and it'll be good to have them in the area on Sunday! Former Bad English frontman John Waite will open this show with a solo set, and while most of his music has leaned to rock & AOR sounds, you may best know his own work from his hit song "Missing You", but don't let that scare you off, as he can rock with the best of them! Tickets are still available from the second row and back for $48.50 (seated) or $38.50 (general), and you can buy them at this location, by phone at 1-800-KEWADIN, or in person at the Kewadin box office. Check the above links for more details!

Note that there's no hard rock shows for The Dreammaker's Theater that are currently announced for the rest of the year, so this could be your last chance to see a big ticket hard rock show there until 2014, and Night Ranger should appeal to hair metal and classic rock fans on Sunday! We'll have fallout from the show when/if it comes in, and for a preview, here's Night Ranger playing "Sentimental Street" live earlier this year!



That's all for today, but in case there's no new updates later tonight, I'll see you guys at The Algonquin Pub TONIGHT for The Hydra's Teeth, Haggith, and The Danger Cats, and if all goes well, upstairs at The Rockstar Bar for Glitch too for at least a spell! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Caveman Morrison & Driven), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

On day 67 of our posting streak at the SMS, we're mainly focusing on this weekend's announced metal/hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults and surrounding areas, and if I missed any, I'll let you guys know A.S.A.P.! Along with some recent updates to one of our monthly feature series', we have previews of 5 shows this weekend, and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from two of those bands, so here's what you need to know!

After a seven week hiatus from the stage, local metal/hard rock cover trio Caveman Morrison will return to the stage TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Roosevelt Hotel! I apologize for the short notice, but these shows were only announced on Tuesday, and I didn't want to redundantly cover the same details twice in a few days. This will be the first full concert weekend from Caveman Morrison's full current lineup since February (as their show last month was a one-nighter with guest drummer T.J. Case), and while we have seen frontman Tym Morrison often in the interim at solo shows, it'll be great to see the full band back together to rock The Rosie with their widely varied covers again! Admission should be free for TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, you must be 19 to attend, and both nights have 10:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! These should be some fun concerts, so don't miss Tym, James, and Johnny playing some great metal & hard rock classics again this weekend! For a preview, here's Caveman Morrison covering Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride & Joy" in 2011!

Also in new concerts, Cheboygan classic hard rock trio Driven will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on September 20th & 21st for their second regional concert weekend of 2013! These will also be just their third & fourth local dates since drummer Kurt Beard returned to the fold, so long time fans of Driven's cover onslaught should welcome that! However, you can see Driven in St. Ignace much sooner than September, as they're also playing at The Northern Pines Lounge TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, so we have this weekend's shows to preview as well! My source is this image on Driven's Facebook page, Kewadin Casino has yet to confirm fall concert dates. Always an entertaining band, don't miss Driven this weekend or in September for their varied covers and classics, and like usual, expect a 10:00 PM-ish start time, 21+ age limit, and no announced cover charge for tonight, tomorrow, and their September gigs.

For more details, check out the Facebook event pages via the above links! Don't miss Driven's regional return this weekend, keep their September shows in mind, and stay tuned in case we hear about some live videos or more local dates from them!

Finally for weekend concert previews (albeit with no attached new show announcements), Kinross hard/classic rock quintet Banned will return to Todd's Tavern in nearby Moran, Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT for yet another concert at arguably their favourite recent concert venue! Their first of at least two shows in Moran this month (they'll be back there on the 25th), the Traynors and company should have a nicely varied set of covers & originals in store for their latest in a prolific string of recent regional concerts, so don't miss out tomorrow night for this show (and no, they're not playing anywhere tonight.) Admission should be free tomorrow, there's a 21+ age limit, and I imagine the earlier 8:00 PM start time will be in effect as usual for Todd's Tavern dates. For more details, click here, and best of luck to the Banned crew on yet another night of music tomorrow in Moran! Take the drive down there tomorrow if you can, and for a preview, here's Banned covering The Black Keys in the Soo in March!



Finally for today, here's some more updates to our past profiles in our Battle of the Bands Rewind series! In our profile of the Algoma University Battle from December 2009, I added trivia on competitors Josh Stephney & Nolan Rainville (Bring The Fallen) & Terrence Gomes (Creedon & The Animal Detectives) in the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands last month with The Bear Hunters, Giwakwa, and The Northern Tragedy. Then, I updated our profile on the Sault College Battle from February 2010, to note third place band Sykotyk Rampage's own appearance at the Rockstar Bar Battle, and to add ex-bassist Brian Cattapan's new Sudbury band Zero Hour (plus Nebraska Arms' Guy Thiffault's new band Crawfather) to the section on competitors' later bands. Finally, I updated our Downtown Showdown profile to note the likely inactive status of 3rd place band The Tenagens, and to add Ottawa indie band Paterson Hall (featuring 3/5ths of The Tenagens) to the section on competitors' later bands. Plus, I added notes on the Rockstar Bar Battle appearances from Len Ward (who judged at both), B.T.F. frontman Josh Stephney, and The Fury bassist Tony Briglio (now of Sykotyk Rampage.)

We have one more to update, so look out for that in a future post, along with more news and notes to come, so stay tuned, and go occupy a venue this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Driven, Peril, And Powerslug) & Some SMS Link Updates!!

It's time for another new post in our 15th straight day of updates at the SMS, and we're mostly gonna focus on the local Kewadin Casino branches today, as they've confirmed the upcoming concert schedules for The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan and The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for concerts through June, via each venue's respective entertainment page! Not counting the previously announced shows in April & earlier, the new dates largely don't skew to heavier bands, but via the above links, you can read up on new dates from local solo musicians Jimmie Cowles & Perry Hatch, country rock band Bittermoon (with ex-Monkey's Uncle bassist Jim Belleau), classic rock bands Chump Change (featuring Oddfellow & Bucksaw alumni), Crossorads, and Handsome Sam & The Homewreckers, indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen (with half of Nixxon Dixxon's old lineup), new local rock quartet Toast (featuring Swayze Train & Clownsack alumni; genre confirmation forthcoming), and a yet-unknown band named Sir Charge (let me know if you have any information on them!)

As for the heavier-leaning new concerts, we'll start at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven will return on May 3rd & 4th! I believe these will be their first shows in the region of 2013 (if I missed any, my apologies), and these will also be their first shows since drummer Kurt Beard returned to their lineup, so loyal Driven fans should be sure to welcome him back later this spring! No word yet on any other regional shows (including possible returns to Sault Michigan or Timmy Lee's Pub), but hopefully we hear something on that front soon! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and 10:00 PM-ish start times are to be expected. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see Driven bring their hard rocking cover sets back to the area for two more shows to kick off May, and hopefully their fans are out in full force for their first local show in too long! Stay tuned for more on Driven's next U.P. plans as I hear of it!

Next, we'll travel north for the only new metal shows in May & June at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as Charlevoix classic metal standouts Peril will return to the region for local shows on June 7th & 8th! These will be the band's first Sault Michigan concerts of 2013, and they come over 3 months after their first regional dates of the year at the St. Ignace Kewadin, so either way, we're due for Jeff, James, and Brooks to rock the area with some hard hitting covers! I'd expect 21+ age limits, no cover charge, and 10:00 PM start times to be in effect for Peril's June dates here as well, and like with Driven, check the above links for more information! Peril always deliver a solid weekend of metal classics when they make their way north for some U.P. action, so don't miss their next regional shows in June, and keep an eye out for local-related updates from Peril as they roll in!

Finally for the newly announced Kewadin Casino gigs, we'll head back down to St. Ignace for Powerslug's next Northern Pines Lounge dates, as the Sault Michigan hard rock trio are scheduled to return there on June 21st & 22nd! Their first St. Ignace dates in 5 months, these join the guys' upcoming Sault Kewadin gigs on March 22nd & 23rd, along with whatever shows we hear about in between via personal Facebook pages (they really need online pages to promote their shows.) Still, with members of Toast & Kilacel in their lineup, the talent is there for a solid night of hard rock covers (and perhaps originals?), so don't miss out on Powerslug's St. Ignace Kewadin dates in June, especially with this much advance word! Like the above shows, expect a 21+ age limit, no cover charge, and 10:00 PM-ish start times for both shows. Powerslug have the talent and veteran success to ensure a great show, so circle the June 21st weekend on your calendars, and stay tuned for Powerslug updates as they come in!

Finally for today, here's some assorted updates to links on the site, namely what's been added & replaced. In terms of additions, I've added links to local graphic design company Maxx Graphix (who have done work with and for metal/hard rock bands & shows) and inactive music management agency Escape Into Music into our "Other Sault Ontario Metal Links" section, while I also added The Sault Metal Scene's Twitter account into the new section listing SMS accounts on other music/social media websites. Me and Twitter have a love/hate relationship, and it's not widely used among local metal bands anyway, hence why I've phased out updating it frequently, but feel free to tag and follow, as I still log in to check for occasional Twitter-exclusive news! Finally, I replaced the link for the yet-released Woods of Ypres tribute album "A Heart of Gold", as it's Facebook page was quietly deleted for unknown reasons in the past few months, but it's Facebook group is still alive & well. If we find more links to add, remove, or change, I'll let you guys know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Caveman Morrison), Weekend Concert Previews, And More News!!

I've been a bit busy with some college work this week, so I apologize for the lack of news yesterday. We're a bit behind, but we'll start making up ground today with this weekend's metal and hard rock concert previews! Well, the ones I can 100% confirm at least. I know of 5 metal-leaning shows (including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for two newly announced ones), so read on below for what you need to know, and stay tuned at the end of this post for a few assorted other recent stories!

Local cover metal trio Caveman Morrison have announced a pair of new concerts for TOMORROW NIGHT & SATURDAY NIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, but the Facebook event page was only launched on Tuesday, and I held off plugging it then to avoid redundantly covering it twice in three days. Following a month off of the local stage, the popular hard rock and metal band will return to The Roosevelt Hotel once again in what should be an entertaining pair of concerts! Admission should be free for both nights, 10:00 PM start times have been announced, and I expect 19+ age limits to be in effect, so check the above links for more details! It's always good to see Caveman Morrison back on stage, so hopefully their prolific and hard hitting metal classics go over well from Tym, Dutch, and Johnny at The Rosie tomorrow & Saturday! For a preview, here's Caveman Morrison covering an Ozzy Osbourne classic at The Rosie last year!



Also in the heavier concert previews is the latest show from new Sault Ontario hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings, who are returning to the site of their debut concerts (The Nicolet Tavern) for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! If memory serves me correctly, this is the band's only scheduled Friday night show through March, so if Fridays work better than Saturdays on your schedule, then don't miss tomorrow's concert! The quick rise of this talented local band continues, and with two originals and plenty of diverse covers in their setlists, they should easily be welcomed back to The Nic tomorrow for what could possibly be their last show of 2012! Admission should also be free for tomorrow's concert, with a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit to be expected. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I'd expect The Suicide Kings to be on their game in their sixth show tomorrow, so don't miss their wide ranging hard rock sound at The Nic, and for a preview, here they are playing three songs at Toystock last month! (Also, if you can help book some Southern Ontario dates in June towards The Suicide Kings' proposed first tour run, message them at this location!)

Finally for the heavier concert schedule this weekend are the only Sault Michigan-area hard rock shows that I currently know about, as Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven are returning to St. Ignace TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This frequently seen Northern Michigan band will be back at the Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino this weekend for what will be their last U.P. shows of 2012, and they should bring an entertaining blend of hard and classic rock covers to the stage tomorrow & Saturday! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. Check the above links for more details! Though Banned are lacking for live videos, they have a lot of talent and fun times, so don't miss their hard rock covers all weekend in St. Ignace, and stay tuned for more Kewadin Casino concert updates hopefully this month!

And lastly for today, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or artist name:

• Brimley metal trio Half A Man recently addressed their current status on their Facebook page, where it was revealed that they're soon recording their first non-demo CD, and will have media samples online soon from them. The band was last seen at LemmaFest in June, but have long been planning and slowly working on original recordings that have slowed much activity over the past year. Hopefully we hear more from them soon, so keep an eye out for updates!
• New local metal project Hydra (featuring Late & Loud and Torture For Pleasure alumni) have posted a new demo song named "The Circle" onto their Reverbnation page, which is solidly heavy (though incomplete for vocals and drums like their others), so give it a look at the above links for another preview of what's to come from them!
• Are you guys interested in having ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach come to the Soo area for more than just a film shoot? Allstar Promotions is exploring the possibility of booking him for a concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino next month with tickets in the $27 range. There's already wide support for the idea (Newberry hard rock band Smashcan want to open for the possible show as well), but if you want to throw your two cents into the idea, click here, and fingers crossed!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Haggith) And Weekend Concert Previews, Including The Evans Blue Show!!

It's time for this weekend's local metal & hard rock concert previews, and though the weekend itself is somewhat light, there's a huge concert event going down across the river along with a few other events (not counting any possible ones that I can't source online), so we have an extended preview of that to close this post! For now though, let's begin with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for Sault Ontario on Saturday!

Local grunge quartet Haggith will make their second live concert appearance in Sault Ontario TOMORROW AFTERNOON as a featured act at this year's Art Gallery of Algoma Culture Days! I apologize for the short notice, but news only came on this gig earlier this week, and I didn't wanna redundantly post the same details twice in a brief span. This event is primarily to promote artistic development and exploration, and to let local youths learn art techniques of their own, so for more details on the artistic aspects of this event, click here! That said, there will be musical entertainment from at least one band (that being Haggith), who will be playing two sets outdoors on the Sault Waterfront Boardwalk tomorrow afternoon, and though a specific location isn't advertised, I'd have to assume they'd be fairly close to the Art Gallery of Algoma at 10 East Street (near the library downtown), so aim that route if you wanna check things out! That said, Haggith will play two sets at 2:00 PM & 4:00 PM tomorrow, with two very different sets planned, as per this photo from their Facebook page, but what's in store?

Their first set will comprise of songs from their planned second album "Deuce" & a bunch of covers (including new versions of Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, The Who, and Joe Walsh songs, among others), while their second set will see the guys play their upcoming debut album "Dragon Joy Ride" in full, along with the non-album track "Public Enemy" and what the band are calling an "extended ending" following the reprise of "Wanko". Haggith's performance will be an all ages and FREE event, with them starting at 2:00 PM and Culture Days itself beginning at 1:00 PM tomorrow. Check the above links for more details! Sounds like an entertaining event, and hopefully Haggith continue their local inroads with a successful day of music, so don't miss it! For a preview, here's Haggith covering Cheap Trick's "Reach Out" at a jam session earlier this month!

Now, we'll move to Sault Michigan for the previously announced shows of the weekend, starting with the return of Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven to the area TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! A month after last hitting St. Ignace for shows at Timmy Lee's Pub, these talented area favourites will cross the Mighty Mac once again to rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for two concerts this weekend, and you know they'll have lots of entertaining hard rock covers in store for their local fans! Oddly, I haven't seen recent mentions from Driven on these shows on their online pages, but hopefully they're still on & ready to rock St. Ignace for these 21+ concerts! No cover charge is likely, and I'd expect them to be on at 10:00 PM tomorrow & Saturday. Check the above links for more details! Driven should deliver a fun weekend of hard rocking covers for their fans in St. Ignace, so consider a drive down there to see them in action, and hopefully we'll get media of them in action at some point!

Finally, it's a special and very notable hard rock concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW NIGHT, as three notable hard rock bands will rock the stage for some great causes! As you may remember, Sault Michigan students Kim Rogers and Kelsey Raffaele tragically passed away in early 2010 in separate area accidents, and four hard rock bands (Pop Evil, Evans Blue, Graveyard Tan, and locals Nixxon Dixxon) came together to play a special benefit concert in their memory that February. Over 2½ years later, Toronto hard rockers Evans Blue will return to Sault Michigan tomorrow night, this time to headline a very similar second event for the same great causes! Proceeds for this show will go towards The Kids Driving Responsibly Challenge (a group launched in Kelsey's memory to help stop texting & driving), as well as scholarships in both Kim & Kelsey's names for local students, which are great causes to help keep their memories alive and help prevent similar accidents in the future! 

For Evans Blue, this will be their first local concert appearance with current drummer Dusty Saxton (Howard Davis was on drums during their 2010 show here), but their high tempo Chevelle-ish sound (including hit songs like "Cold (But I'm Still Here)" should go over really nicely in their return, so don't miss them tomorrow night! Opening for them on their current Graveyard of Empires tour will be Ohio hard rock quintet State Your Cause, who should make a splash in their Sault Michigan debut with their melodic and diverse blend of hard rock styles! The opening band will be Detroit hard rock quintet Fifth Way, in their first local concert appearance since opening for The Gin Blossoms at The Dreammaker's Theater in April! Featuring Rudyard native Zak Stelmaszek on guitar, Fifth Way are no stranger to the Soo following a number of notable appearances at Kewadin Casino concerts, and I'd expect the same from their heavy brand of originals tomorrow as well, and yes, they'll be plugged in this time! Also, note that this will be Fifth Way's first local concert appearance with new bassist Victor Wooten, who replaced Mike McMann this summer.

This ALL AGES concert, which is being put on by Allstar Promotions in cooperation with Kewadin Cares and local radio stations Rock 101 & 99.5 Yes FM, surprisingly still has tickets on sale for the ultra cheap price of $10 from the eighth row back (center seating aside.) To buy them the usual way, click here for online purchasing, visit the Kewadin box office in person, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or visit Allstar Graphics on 822 Ashmun Street! However, like the 2010 Pop Evil-headlined concert here, local businesses have joined the cause to help this show sell out and enable local attendees (students in particular) to be able to attend, with many buying or encouraging ticket purchases just for the charitable aspect. Those who buy tickets for non-personal use have been freely distributing them to local schools and people who will want to go, with the radio stations pushing for listeners to buy or match ticket sales, with the person buying the most winning a $100 Allstar Graphics gift card. Everything starts at 7:00 PM tomorrow with Fifth Way opening the festivites, and for more details, check the above links and this brand new article from The Soo Evening News featuring info on the concert and some remarks from Zak Stelmaszek about it! (For the record, I don't know any details on any possible meet & greets, so I'd call ahead just in case.)

This sounds like another awesome concert for some great causes, and hopefully all three bands rock the house both tomorrow and in their joint Traverse City set tonight as well! Kim & Kelsey are definitely still missed locally, and if the money raised and attention given help even in a small way, then it'll all be worth it, and kudos to the bands and organizers for all they're doing! Hopefully the show will be sold out by tomorrow night, and you know we'll have all the fallout as it comes in on it! For now though, let's preview this show with Evans Blue's music video for their song "Erase My Scars", and make sure to buy/obtain your tickets for this huge concert tomorrow night!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review (of Woods of Ypres' third album "Woods III: The Deepest Roots & The Darkest Blues") this weekend, along with more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rock Till You Drop) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we get to the concert previews, just a note that if you're curious about the share buttons and new options in the top left corner of the page, that's an addition by Blogger and not something I chose. I guess it's handy if you use Google+ or another social networking site and wanna share the SMS on there, so make use of it if you wanna! That said, today's post is devoted to concert previews from TONIGHT through Saturday, including one big Sault Ontario show (and it's latest lineup news), two weekend sets in St. Ignace, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT relating to a major Sault Michigan-area event, so here's what you need to know!

For a second straight year, the Chippewa County Fair in Kinross, Michigan will be hosting a battle of the bands TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, but I was waiting for additional info on it. Entitled "Rock Till You Drop", three area bands will converge at the grandstand at the annual Sault Michigan-area summer fair to compete in this unique battle for a great cause. Though admission is FREE, the winner is actually picked in a busker style, with donations given to each band in a bucket after their set, with the band collecting the most donations winning, and all proceeds from this voting method going to the Eastern Upper Peninsula Home Health & Hospice, which is a nice gesture! I'd prefer charging admission for the charity and have an actual judging panel, but this involves attendees better! Three bands will compete, though regrettably, I can only confirm two (despite my best research attempts to figure out the third), but if I figure out who the third band is/was, I'll be sure to let you guys know! One of the bands however is trying to defend their title, as young local hard rock quartet Tantrym Tyme are among the competitors! They won the Rock Till You Drop battle at last year's Chippewa County Fair under their old name Abstract (defeating local Christian rock band Seeking Reverence and defunct hard rockers Splitshot), but can their current lineup reclaim first place?

The other band I can confirm (both via their respective Facebook pages) is Kinross hard rock quintet Banned, who have faced the current Tantrym Tyme in battles in the past (albeit ones without much online press.) Can the Traynors & company deliver a first place performance in the name of the E.U.P. Hospice tonight, will Tantrym Tyme win first again, or will the third band win it all? Attendees will find out TONIGHT at 7:30 PM for the battle, which is ALL AGES & FREE! For all details (minus the mystery third band), visit the above links! This should be a fun event for fairgoers, and at least compared to other Sault Michigan area battles of the bands, there's at least multiple online sources to document it for SMS notice! Even last year's has info, even if I only heard about it late. Out of fairness, I won't post a preview video given the competitive nature of this show, but hopefully lots of money is raised, and no matter who wins, may the best band win Rock Till You Drop! (Oh, and Banned's "job" in Moran last weekend was indeed on Saturday, like most of their shows.)

Now to the previously known local metal/hard rock concerts in the Sault area (i.e. ones I can 100% confirm online), starting with the long awaited return of Skull Fist to The Canadian Nightclub TOMORROW NIGHT! After two well received headlining performances at The Canadian in the previous two years (the first of which gave us the SMS' most popular YouTube video ever), the Toronto speed metal quartet will be back to melt faces and create some huge moshpits in this first show of their Tear Down The West Canadian tour, and if you saw them in 2010 and last year, you'll know just how energetic and exciting Skull Fist are live! Though three opening bands were originally lined up, only two will be playing tonight following the dropouts of Frightlight, Redundant, and The Valentine's Day Massacre for varying reasons, but one band that remained through it all will be the returning classic metal quartet Late & Loud, who will make their first concert appearance since winning the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands over 4 months ago! Though I've heard talk of there being a form of finality to tomorrow's performance, I won't go too in depth until the band makes any official announcements, so for now, get ready for another high impact set of old school metal originals after their summer away from the stage!

With the band dropouts, promoter Tiffany Stocco has enlisted members of her local punk band T-Rex Manning to play short notice tomorrow as the opening band under the name "Pools of T-Rex", even though I believe their lineup will be no different to that of Pools of Booze who played at two concerts earlier this year. That said, Pools of Booze/T-Rex's sound is heavier than T-Rex Manning's is generally, so things should work out for metal fans! Admission will be $5 tomorrow night, with bands starting at 10:00 PM, and despite recent all ages concert examples, this show will be 19+ for unrevealed reasons. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a great concert full of high impact metal, and two long awaited returns to the stage, so hopefully a good sized crowd turns out despite the lineup changes and the impending long weekend! For a preview, here's Skull Fist's music video for their song "Head of the Pack!"



Now back to the Sault Michigan area for the two weekend bar concert sets that are going down this weekend, starting with the return of Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven to Timmy Lee's Pub in St. Ignace! Though an infrequent sight in Sault Michigan itself, Driven hit St. Ignace a fair amount, and tomorrow & Saturday's shows at "The U.P.'s Official Welcome Center" will mark their first shows there that we've caught for SMS coverage since we expanded our range (though we missed a pair at Timmy Lee's in July.) Online media is hard to come by of Driven (hence the lack of a preview video), but they know and cover lots of hard rock, so if you're up for the hour's drive south to St. Ignace, you should be entertained by Driven's cover onslaught! There's no announced cover charge for either tomorrow or Saturday's show, you must be 21 to attend, and a 9:00 PM or later start time is likely. Check the above links for more details! Driven should entertain at Timmy Lee's this weekend, so consider a drive down to 748 West U.S. Highway 2 for all of the excitement tomorrow night or Saturday night!

And finally for the known weekend schedule, local hard rockers Monkey's Uncle will keep the heaviness going in St. Ignace tomorrow night & Saturday night thanks to their own shows there at the Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! Shows at non-Kewadin venues from this veteran local hard rock band are very hard to source, but Monkey's Uncle are favourites at both of the area Kewadin Branches with active music schedules, and their covers and originals should deliver some great times and fun in St. Ignace this weekend! As usual for their Kewadin shows, a start time of 9:00 PM or later is likely, with 21+ age limits and no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Monkey's Uncle should impress and give some great hard rock sounds all weekend at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, so if you're up for some live music, a trip to St. Ignace for either Driven or Monkey's Uncle this weekend wouldn't be bad bets! For a preview, here's Monkey's Uncle covering Finger Eleven's "Paralyzer" a few years back!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review tomorrow, as we're looking at defunct Cedarville hard rock quartet Oddfellow's only album "Go"! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Driven), 3 Inches Of Blood Concert Preview, And Much More!!

Our busy July at the SMS continues tonight with another news post, and today, we have some Sault Michigan/St. Ignace concert venue details & changes, new concert videos from a recent hardcore punk show, and a preview of a major metal concert TOMORROW NIGHT, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this fall at a new location for our coverage!

Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven have two more St. Ignace stops lined up this year, but not at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino. If you've followed Driven in recent years, you'll know that one of their favourite area venues is Timmy Lee's Pub, "the U.P.'s official welcome center", which has hosted live music frequently in recent years (and we'll talk a bit more about the venue itself in a bit), but Driven will return to Timmy Lee's Pub at 748 West U.S. Highway 2 in St. Ignace for a concert weekend on what should be August 31st & September 1st! Their schedule says September 1st & 2nd, but that'd mean they were playing Saturday and Sunday, which I think is wrong, but if my assumption is what's wrong, I'll correct that on here! These join shows at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino at the end of that month as well. Also, note that I missed Driven's shows at Timmy Lee's this past weekend, but with the news and posts we've been swamped with this month, I'm regrettably not surprised. Apologies to Driven & their fans for the missed dates, but don't miss their next St. Ignace stops in 2012!

Their upcoming shows at Timmy Lee's should have 9:30 PM-ish start times and 21+ age limits, while a cover charge hasn't been announced. Check the above links for more details! It's good to see Driven coming back to St. Ignace more this year, so stay tuned for more on their next local trips on the site as I hear of it!

We'll get back to some Sault Michigan venue news in a second, but first, here's a big Sault Ontario concert preview, as 3 Inches of Blood are coming to The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT! In their at least second show here (having rocked the Soo circa 2003), this very popular and talented Vancouver power metal quintet will bring their fast paced power metal sounds (with occasional death/hardcore flourishes) to what should be an impressive crowd tomorrow at The Rosie, including material from their new album "Long Live Heavy Metal"! Also of note: their current bassist is Fear Factory/Strapping Young Lad alum Byron Stroud, which is notable in & of itself! Joining them on their Long Live Heavy Metal Canadian Tour are Charlotte, North Carolina thrash/death metal quintet Wretched (not The Wretched as some local press have called them), and they'll be sure to melt faces with their hard hitting blend of metal sounds and venomous lyrics tomorrow as well! The local openers include local melodic death metal notables The Bear Hunters and Battle For The Blood winners Winkstinger, both of whom will have some diversely entertaining originals for their fans at The Rosie tomorrow night, so be there early so you don't miss them!

Admission will be $10 if there are any tickets left at the door, which isn't a guarantee. At last word, tickets were still available at The Rosie and at Music Depot, while The Rad Zone's supply was sold out, so if you don't have your ticket yet, there's your options! This will be a 19+ event, and the doors open at 9:00 PM tomorrow night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be quite a huge concert, and hopefully I'll see you guys all there for it! While I admittedly find the vocals for 3 Inches of Blood to be very forced, their music quality and talent is top notch, and I wouldn't miss this show for anything, and the openers will bring their own brutality as well! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's 3 Inches of Blood's music video for their new song "Metal Woman"!



Thirdly tonight, here's some new videos from a recent concert, namely Maximum RNR's local return at The Rockstar Bar on June 30th! The 705 Video Magazine's Fred Kember shot 3 videos of the Toronto hardcore punk quintet's latest local concert that were uploaded to the 705VM YouTube channel the day afterwards, and though the same scratchy audio problems that plagued their Garden of Bedlam videos are back here, they give a nice quality look at Maximum RNR in action, especially for frontman (and Sault native) Diamond Brent Panther's on/off stage intensity! When I said he's his own mosh pit, I meant it, and you can see proof in this video, this video, and the one below (not sure of the song titles, they didn't mention them live), so give these videos a look above and right here!



Finally for today, here's the Sault Michigan venue news I alluded to above! First, in terms of Timmy Lee's Pub in St. Ignace, it's definitely a popular bar from what I can tell, and they also have a full menu and TVs for sports events, so it seems like a nice enough location, even being featured in the Yooper Bars book from last year, and having merchandise for sale! Regulars will know better than I for it's appeal, but check out their website and their Facebook page for more! Also of note: their Facebook page includes rare live photos of defunct local hard rock band Splitshot (pictured) from a May 2011 show there with their original lineup, and it's good to finally see the guys live over 6 months after they broke up, even as photos! Finally, we've added both Timmy Lee's & the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino to our Sault Michigan (and area) concert venue links at the bottom right, while moving two to our Other Local Metal Links, those being The Savoy Bar & Nightclub and Zim's. Neither have hosted a metal/hard rock show in over a year that I've heard about, so to keep the concert venue links current, I moved them out of that section, but if I hear of one or both returning to active metal/hard rock booking, I guarantee I'll move them back!

That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at The Rosie tomorrow night for 3 Inches Of Blood, and if I can get some stories for a new news post tomorrow, I'll get one up! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug, Peril, Monkey's Uncle, And Driven), And Our First "Local" Shows In St. Ignace!!

Continuing with our news and our special coverage expansion posts, this newest post is all about LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS concerning possibly the most active concert venue for our newly added coverage area, that being the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace! Three of the 5 Kewadin Casinos now fall within where we cover (those being the branches in Sault Michigan, St. Ignace, and Hessel), but while the Kewadin Casino in Hessel doesn't have much live entertainment at its Northern Nook Lounge, the St. Ignace Kewadin has roughly an equal amount of live entertainment at their Northern Pines Lounge, and as a result, it & The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin have a lot of common bands on their past & present schedules. Judging by the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, they have only two scheduled acts that aren't playing at the Sault Kewadin this year, and only one band are playing in the Soo and not St. Ignace for the current Kewadin schedules, so things are definitely very familiar! With the expansion to St. Ignace, that gives us SIXTEEN new hard rock and metal shows in the area, along with two more newly announced hard rock shows at the Sault Kewadin, but before then, just a note on other bands confirmed at both branches through the end of the year.

Bands also on the schedules for the Sault & St. Ignace Kewadin Casinos through December include classic rock bands Aisle8, Bittermoon (with Monkey's Uncle alum Jim Belleau), and Crossroads, local cover rock quartet Chump Change (featuring Oddfellow's Jason Haske), local indie acoustic duo Fallen Heroes (only at the Sault Kewadin), solo artist Gabe Couch (St. Ignace only), Oscoda classic rockers Grounded, indie rockers The London Gentlemen (featuring ex-Nixxon Dixxon members), and local country artist Paul Perry, so if any of those artists pique your interest, check the above links for their next local dates at both Kewadin Casino branches!

Now, let's get to our first ever local concert announcements on the site in St. Ignace, as local hard rock trio Powerslug will return to both the Sault Ste. Marie & St. Ignace Kewadin Casinos this year! Even in the Sault Kewadin's case, they're new to the site, so those were newer additions to the schedule, but no matter what, Chris Leask, Chris Gurnoe, and Bob Helsten will bring the rock at their next Kewadin stops in 2012! The guys will hit The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on August 10th-11th and November 23rd-24th, which these shows bookending a return to the Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan on November 2nd-3rd, so keep these dates in mind! All six shows should have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 10:00 PM-ish start times. Check the above links for more details! Despite a lack of online pages yet, a band featuring I.S.O.M., Kilacel, and River Witch alumni are guaranteed to bring some hard hitting tunes to the Kewadin Casinos this year, so keep all of their upcoming concert weekends in mind, especially knowing how late notice many of their other shows get announcements on!

Next up, Charlevoix metal trio Peril have two concert weekends lined up at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino this year! This talented and hard working metal band (featuring former Bad Side drummer Brooks Elliott) will rock St. Ignace on August 24th-25th and November 9th-10th, adding to concert weekends at the Sault Kewadin next weekend, October, and December, meaning they're alternating Kewadin branches for stops each month (except September) through the rest of the year, so there's plenty of chances to see Peril live in the Eastern U.P. in 2012! Note however that Peril's own concert listings photo from May credits the August weekend as being at the Sault Kewadin, which appears to be a simple error, so don't get confused! Like the Rapids Lounge shows, Peril should be on at around 10:00 PM with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit in both August and November in St. Ignace, and check the above links for more details! Peril should rock either Kewadin well with their hard hitting classic metal covers, so don't miss them this year, and remember to go see them next weekend in the Sault!

Also new to our Sault Michigan-area concert listings are two St. Ignace concert weekends from local hard rockers Monkey's Uncle! Though updates on the band's current incarnations and concerts at other venues are as scant as ever (sadly), Kewadin Casino's entertainment pages do confirm that Monkey's Uncle will return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on August 31st & September 1st, and then again on November 16th & 17th, which are sandwiched between stops at the Sault Kewadin next month, in October, and December, so if nothing else, you know when Henry Switzer & company will be rocking Kewadin Casinos next! Like the Peril shows, I'd assume the next two St. Ignace weekends for Monkey's Uncle will have 10:00 PM-ish start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits, so check the above links for more information! These should be some solid shows, as even though recent news and information is minimal, their old material has provided us with some nice previews, so go check out Monkey's Uncle's hard rocking sound at either Kewadin Casino from next month onward, and if I hear more on them, I'll have it here!

Finally for new Northern Pines Lounge shows in St. Ignace, Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven are returning to the Eastern U.P. for a pair of concert weekends this year! Though no Sault Michigan dates are in this latest batch, they are regularly seen in St. Ignace at a couple different venues, and trips to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin are lined up for September 28th-29th and December 7th-8th for Driven this year, so keep them in mind! Like the above shows, Driven should be on at 10:00 PM with no cover charge and 21+ age limits for all four of their next St. Ignace Kewadin dates, and of course, check the above links for more details! Though online media of Driven in action is fairly sparse, they have a nice hard rock sound with loads of covers in store, so don't miss their next Northern Pines Lounge shows later this year, and stay tuned to the SMS in the next while for more Driven concert news for another St. Ignace venue in 2012!

That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for a review of TONIGHT'S 47th Rosie metal night and a special CASS Cafe video showcase, our first of maybe four to get everyone caught up on that high school concert series! Thanks everyone!