Oh!No 2018 Video Showcase, Part 2!!

Hey everyone, here's our second showcase post of videos from last week's Oh!No concert festival at Robbie's Church in nearby Leeburn, Ontario, with all videos courtesy of Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel once again! For our rundown of videos from the closing three acts, the bonfire, professional photography, and assorted household cleaning notes, visit yesterday's post below this one. Continuing in descending order, Chris filmed Thunder Bay psychedelic/desert punk quintet The Franquilizers next, capturing them performing the last half of a song which I cant 100% identify by name (maybe it's new?) The dark nighttime lighting doesn't help visibility here, but this song has a laid back feel while also harbouring some hardcore punk-tinged vocals. Not an optimal view, but The Franquilizers' got a solid reception last week, as they did last year, so give Chris' video of their set a look below!



Next up, here's some more Northern Ontario punk action from last week, courtesy of Sudbury trio Lightmares, who are seen here playing their original song "Soup". More of a modern indie rock-tinged sound here, but there's enough punk energy and swagger to go around with this solid performance, and the lighting is a little better on stage! Strong performance, if a little muffled in the video, so give Lightmares' video from Leeburn a look below!



Also performing last week (during the sunset, even) were Barrie punk quartet Beaver Slap, as this fan favourite, all-female group can be seen here performing three songs, though they were performing sans singer Midge Beaver for reasons unannounced in an online form. While they played some songs as a three-piece (including the Chris-filmed "Don't Bleed"), they also jammed an open mic selection for attendees to join in on. As seen in both Donna Hopper's and Mimi Abitbol's photos from the festival (the latter on the band's Facebook page), you can spot the likes of C.T.W.'s Tyler Gibson, festival co-promoter/ex-Fuller frontman Jamie Vincent, and even a young girl (as in, elementary age) taking over lead vocal duties for short turns. Chris did film two videos featuring guest singers, including one with Bear Hunters singer Nik Deubel channeling his inner Rick Astley by covering "Never Gonna Give You Up"?! I don't believe that's what Beaver Slap are actually playing, but beggars can't be choosers!

Nik reminds me a bit of Glenn Danzig with his cleans before unleashing his usual growl, but I want to hear him in higher quality before fully judging. The other video (embedded below) features Winkstinger frontman Josh Amendola singing a song I can't easily identify, and while he still faces the side of the stage too often when singing, his harsh vocals shred through the music well! Beaver Slap adapted nicely to being short-handed with a crowd friendly backup plan, and the girls sound good throughout the clips, so give their videos a look above and below as well!



Finally for our second Oh!No fallout/video post, let's tackle the remaining out of town bands from last week's festivities! The day's first touring attraction was Toronto indie rock quartet Forest City Aurora, who Chris filmed for this video, though I can't identify the song by name. Garbageface aside, F.C.A. were the only touring non-punk/metal band on the bill, but their melodic and easy flowing sound comes through really well on this video, so genre fans should get a kick out of them! As well, visit Forest City Aurora's Facebook page for one more video of their set courtesy of a band colleague. We'll close today with the second out of town band last week, as F.C.A. were immediately followed by London post-grindcore trio Fat Cop, who Chris filmed two videos of, partially because the first video's lighting is too bright thanks to the sun (the second video with better lighting is embedded below.) That said, this barely sounds like the same band as on their studio recordings, in some respects!

From what I've heard of Fat Cop on Bandcamp, I expected a lo-fi instrumental noise rock attack, but in these videos, they have more vocals and more of a punk influence. New sound, or just how things translate live compared to the studio? In any event, their aggressive sound looks like it got a positive response from attendees near the mid-point of Oh!No II, so give their videos a look above and below!



We'll likely close our Oh!No festival fallout and videos in the coming days by looking at the local openers, plus any odds and ends I missed regarding the event and out of town bands, so look for those and more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Oh!No Music Festival II & Banned!!)

Here's a new news post for your Saturday afternoon reading, and it's devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on each side of the border, including a big returning festival! Before I get too far, just a reminder that a musicians' mixer will be held at The Canadian Nightclub TONIGHT where local musicians can meet, coordinate, and arrange musical collaborations. This is not a concert, but it's being promoted by Jeremy Hannah's Sault MusicScene agency. 9:00 PM, 19+, no announced cover, so keep it in mind if you're looking for musicians to jam/work with! Now, here's those new concerts!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned have announced a handful of new concert dates for 2018, as per new Facebook event page creations through their Facebook page, and they start with three gigs at the Jack Passmore Grandstand at Kinross Speedpark on June 2nd, June 23rd, and September 7th! Remember, Banned played their hometown race track last September too, so this is nothing new for them. They'll be serving as entertainment after Saturday practice wraps up on June 2nd & 23rd (the practice sessions for the season opener and Triple Crown events respectively), while the September 7th show will follow the Friday practice for the Memorial Invitational race, so keep these relatively unique concert sets in mind for later this year! In more traditional realms, Banned will also return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on September 28th-29th and on December 14th-15th, returning there for the first time since March, so don't miss those either!

These concerts also join newly confirmed gigs on July 3rd & 11th in De Tour Village and Curtis, both of which are outside of our 1 hour coverage range. The three Kinross Speedpark shows are listed at 9:00 PM with no age limit or cover charge (though note that the races proper have ticket admission), while the Rapids Lounge shows are at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. Click here for Facebook event pages on these and previously announced Banned shows in 2018, and don't miss this talented group at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace next month!

Next up, the Oh!No Music Festival is officially on for year #2, so what should you know on it? Taking place on Saturday, September 8th, the Six, Two, Oh.-promoted concert festival will return to "Robbie's Church" in nearby Leeburn, Ontario, with much the same atmosphere of last year's event, with overnight camping and "hangouts" available, and food vendors on site, though no word yet on a prospective bonfire. The performer lineup is expanded from 13 to 17 acts this year, with only four bands from last year not returning for 2018 (The Elements, Handsome Sandwich, and out of towners Run Coyote & Artificial Dissemination), so if you liked last year's roster, you should be right at home once again! The seven out of town bands will include Barrie punk quartet Beaver Slap, Sudbury punk standouts Lightmares, and Thunder Bay desert rock quintet The Franquilizers (all back from 2017), alongside four touring bands new to Oh!No '18, so who are they?

The other 4 out of town acts include Peterborough hardcore punk trio Cross Dog (featuring former Lion Ride guitarist Mark Rand) in their first local concert appearance in five years, and Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface (as seen at a few well received local shows last year), while Toronto indie rock quartet Forest City Aurora and London post-grindcore trio Fat Cop will be making their local concert debuts at the Oh!No fest. This lineup alone is stacked, and it's particularly cool to see Cross Dog back after far too long! The 10 local bands this year include four returning bands, they being punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, alt-punk trio A Dire Setback, death metal quartet Winkstinger (in their first announced show of 2018), indie/hard rock trio Vol., and drone rock trio Pointless, while 2017 solo performer  Brenton "Slumshine" Ellis will return in his new surf rock band The Dynowaves.

The new additions for 2018 include local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver and alt-hard rock quartet Id Iota, plus indie/folk solo artists Jackson Reed & Shae Tull, though no word yet on if DJ Seith will be back to spin tunes between bands. Quite a stacked lineup full of familiar faces, including a much sooner Shit Liver return than we anticipated (if only their splitmates AlgomA were playing too!) More details, including full timeslots, admission fees, and ticket locations are to be announced , but tickets go on sale on July 1st. For reference, they cost $25 last year, but there were also less bands. As well, with a shuttle bus likely not in the cards, remember that promoters encouraged ride-sharing and cab rentals for fans to get to Leeburn and back last year, given the relatively remote locale. There are a lot of unknowns yet for Oh!No II, but visit the official Facebook event page for full details, and it's great to have it back on September 8th! Stay tuned for more details as they roll in!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Band Camp Rejects) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

On this busy weekend, let's cap off this weekend's concert previews with shows taking place on tomorrow & on Sunday! For sake of reference, we are definitely holding Monday's Hazytones/Eclipse show for a Sunday news post to give it proper emphasis given it's late notice and Monday timing. Also, while the second annual Northern Vibe Festival is taking place this weekend in Ophir, the Hempfest successor event doesn't have any advertised metal or punk bands this year. Hopefully it's a massive hit though, it's great to see it back! Now, let's begint his post with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet The Band Camp Rejects will return to the stage on Saturday, August 20th (one week from tomorrow!) at Reggie's West during this year's Ride for ARCH event! Returning from a successful first installment last year, this charity event (likely inspired by the Rides for Sight and Autism) will see local bikers rallying through town for the ARCH Hospice, with Mojo guitarist Alex D'Ettore leading the ride to and from the former Roosevelt Hotel. This is absolutely a great cause, so visit the Facebook event page for all current details on the rally, outdoor beer garden, and more! As confirmed by Alex in a comment there on Wednesday, The Band Camp Rejects (featuring Havadder, Mourning Wood, Issues, and Under the Influence alumni) will join 4 other bands on the Ride For ARCH lineup, with the aforementioned blues rockers Mojo headlining at 8:30 PM.

Classic rockers Flashback will co-headline at 7:00 PM, with The Band Camp Rejects at 5:45 PM, country veterans The Algo Rhythms at 4:45 PM, and country rock favourites Bone Yard opening at 3:30 PM. Registration for the Ride for ARCH proper is at 11:00 AM, and while there are no advertised age limits or admission fees for non-riders, visit the above links for full details! It's great to see everyone band together to help ARCH out, and it's good to see that The Band Camp Rejects are still alive following their Rednecks debut in April, so stay tuned for updates as they come in!

Next up, let's tackle more of this weekend's concert previews, starting with the long awaited return of Montreal hardcore punk veterans The Ripcordz to Sault Ste. Marie TOMORROW NIGHT at The Canadian Nightclub! Marking the culmination of long teased plans for an ALL AGES headlining date in the Soo, this will be Paul Gott & company's first local stop since the "Fed Up!" split CD release show in October, and if you know The Ripcordz' talent, reputation, and intense stage show, you absolutely won't want to miss them at The Canadian tomorrow night! Local punk/metal favourites Jack Spades will also return as openers for their second local set with their current quartet incarnation, with local classic metal quintet Project 421 (replacing Destroilet) and their sister modern hard rock band Eclipse rounding out tomorrow's lineup. Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce in association with Tidal Records, this show has $15 admission at the door.

$10 advance tickets are available through members of the local opening bands and at The Rad Zone. Doors open at 7:00 PM for this ALL AGES show, and for more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a huge attraction for punk and metal fans on this busy concert weekend, especially given the lengthy wait for a local Ripcordz show without age limits, so don't miss out at The Canadian tomorrow, and here's The Ripcordz live!



Also this weekend, Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 (not to be confused with the aforementioned Project 421) will return to Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley for a headlining show TOMORROW NIGHT! Playing their first show since last month's Highland Clan Motorcycle Club event, this follows a well received Pickles stop last month as well, and I'm sure that the Ten Kings successors will have a solid night of hard hitting classics in store for fans in Brimley tomorrow night! As usual for their Pickles stops,. Ten Kings will be on at around 10:00 PM tomorrow, you must be 21 or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Project 906 live!



Finally for this weekend's previews, we'll head to The New American Pub, where Winnipeg post-punk/"sad dad rock" band 1971 will make their Sault Ontario debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! This intriguing band will bring their somewhat bleak yet punk-tinged and creative sound to The New A for this special Sunday nighter, and hopefully there's a good turnout for them! Despite this show featuring two out of town bands, local indie punk quintet Northwest will play second with a set of their own entertaining originals, while Thunder Bay "desert rock" quintet The Franquilizers are the advertised openers, with psychedelic punk and hard rock originals in store, so don't be late so you can catch them! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this 19+ concert will start at 9:00 PM with a $5 cover charge.

This should be an entertaining concert for fans of varying punk subgenres, and with some entertaining and creative bands coming in from out west, definitely consider a trip to The New A for all of this action! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's 1971 live!



That's all for today, but we'll see you guys at The Tech TONIGHT for The Din's CD release show! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (1971), Din & Gnaeus Updates, And More!!

Before we begin this post, we have a big Sault Michigan concert cancellation to note on here, as tomorrow's outdoor FireHouse concert on Ashmun Street has been cancelled, as per promoters Superior Entertainment's Facebook page this morning. They cited slow ticket sales as the reason, noting that "unfortunately, this is a risk business driven by sales", which is definitely disappointing, especially given the hype and promotion behind it! Hopefully we see FireHouse, Redburn, and a Sault Michigan battle of the bands again in the future! Now, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, big updates from a rising band, and more from Sault Ontario, so let's get rolling!

Yet another new show from Six, Two, Oh. will hit The New American Pub on August 14th (one week from Sunday!), as Winnipeg post-punk/"sad dad rock" outfit 1971 will make their local concert debut that night! Playing an often dark yet accessible blend of genres that should appeal to punk and indie fans alike, 1971 should leave a good impression at The New A next weekend, so be sure to give them a listen! Though another out of town band is playing on the 14th, local indie punk quintet Northwest are the highest slotted openers that night, and they should deliver a solid show like they have a done at The New A opening for Lost Love earlier in the year! Thunder Bay "desert rock" quintet The Franquilizers will open the proceedings in their own local debut next weekend, and their grittty & psychedelic punk originals should give the show a nice kick, so don't miss them in their opening set! This 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time, as has recently been usual.

Note that this show also joins one more new Six, Two, Oh. show at The New A, which is headlined by Vancouver alt-country band Skeeter & The Deets on September 7th, but if Tuesday's Debutaunt show teaches us anything, it's that anyone could open, so we'll let you know if the openers enter our range! As for the 1971 concert, it should be a good time for fans of punk sub-genres, so check out those bands above in advance of the 14th!

Next up, here's the latest from local alternative hard rock trio The Din, starting with another great local news media spotlight in this in-depth Sault Star article by Jeffery Ougler on Wednesday, which heavily outlines the band's history, recording process, ambitions, and even personal lives! It mostly covers known ground, just with much greater biographical detail and lots of interview clips with the band, while in terms of scoops, the article confirms that their new album's producer Daniel Schmidt is guitarist Tammy Hill's father (and a veteran local drummer himself), and Tammy noted the apparent reasons for the demise of her old band Leaked. Though the article incorrectly notes that frontman Mike Haggith fronted his old band Haggith (he was the drummer there), give the whole article a look above or in The Sault Star paper itself, as it really tells The Din's story really well and in great detail! Stay tuned for much more from The Din in the coming days, and don't miss their CD release show next week!

Also today, here's a short new video find from last month's Rotaryfest Stage 2, courtesy of their Facebook page! It's a 13 second clip of post-punk quartet Gnaeus playing their song "Circles" at the outdoor Clergue Park locale, and while it's not a lengthy (or close) look at Gnaeus, it's nice to find more footage of them live! A new video of indie rockers K.I.C.K.'s headlining set is also online to check out too via Rotaryfest's Facebook page, albeit longer and from a sharper angle of the stage, but it's similar quality otherwise. Give Gnaeus' new Rotaryfest video a look below, stay tuned for more from this page, and don't miss both bands TONIGHT at the "Meditations" release show!



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

• The Castle-headlined concert on Wednesday, September 28th has been relocated from The New American Pub to 180 Projects on Gore Street, as per promoters on the Facebook event page earlier this week. A reason for the relocation wasn't announced, but it's likely for scheduling conflicts, as Six, Two, Oh. are still holding a number of shows at The New A in the coming months. Last seen hosting April 2015's Biipiigwan show from the same promoters, it'll be nice to see a new show at 180 Projects, so see above for more details!
• In a late clarification from June 4th's Redneck Rock Bash II concert at The Rednecks Saloon, the show saw a late contraction from five acts to three, as local punk trio Redundant and indie solo artist Shit Creek Survivor both did not show up for the event, as per Project 421 guitarist Blair Burch in a recent personal conversation. Reasons for their withdrawals were never publically stated, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and hopefully the show went well either way!
• Local goregrind duo Rotopsy have quietly been added as a late fourth act to the Debutaunt concert at The New American THIS TUESDAY, as per the Facebook event page in recent days. They join an eclectic lineup featuring an out of town pop punk headliner, plus opening sets by a rapper and stand up comedian, so there's a little something for everyone on the lineup now!

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