Initial Details On The Northern Vibe Festival's Forest Stage Lineup For 2023!!

Single topic post today, as the band lineup for the Forest Stage at this year's Northern Vibe Festival at the old Hempfest grounds in Ophir has been announced via the event's Facebook page yesterday, so who can you expect over the last weekend of August? Just as a primer beforehand, the performance times were not stated yesterday, keeping in line with the last two years since J.D. Pearce began curating the Forest Stage, which never saw a full schedule reveal from organizers. Unless protocols have changed this year, stay tuned to the bands' social media pages for any details on when they are specifically playing. Eleven acts are currently scheduled for the eighth annual Northern Vibe, which is down one from last year (three if you count withdrawn bands), but there will be more touring bands than in 2022. The advertised headliners are Montreal ska punk band K-Man & The 45s, making their first local appearance in over four years!

Fans will recall seeing K-Man & crew on a local stage seven times in six years from 2013-2019, and it will be great to see them back with their horn section and fun energy in tow! The other two touring acts both feature Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin returning to Ophir, albeit not with Spades GT. Rather, his Waterloo hard rock quartet Sierra Pilot and his Cornwall speed metal trio Hellrager will both make their regional debuts at Northern Vibe VIII. Both deliver the genre goods, so don't bypass either in late August, and do check the out to see what they bring to the table! With that said, Spades GT are surprisingly not playing this year's festival.... but Frightlight are! Yes, the inactive local horror punk quintet will rise from the grave for a one-off reunion, in their first gig since this event in 2021! No public word yet on who will take over on drums for the late Chris Thompson, but the drummer was revealed in personal Facebook postings.

Three other acts are all returning from the past two Northern Vibe installments, namely alternative quintet Handsome Sandwich (don't miss their CD release party at The Loft TONIGHT!), punk trio A Dire Setback, and funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns. All will be riding some good momentum after high profile 2023 shows, so they're fine picks to return for a third year! No word on why The Soo Fighters and Dynowaves aren't pulling the triple themselves, however. The newbies to Northern Vibe include local/Barrie alt-hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith (no word on if his new album will be done in time or not), online page-less alternative/punk supergroup Bookclub (sharing the stage with The Wyld Stallyns once again), and new local hard rock quartet Far From Fine (née Ravencore) in their first announced show of the year. The other advertised band are The Castletons, who are new to the SMS, but who are they?

As it turns out, they're a revival of a rock duo that was active locally from 2017-2018, featuring Frightlight bassist Mike "Eddie Fright" Gingras in their ranks, However, they were always cagey in their initial run about their full identities and sound, but based on the intimate venues that they frequented at the time, I'd assume that they're an acoustic act. We'll let you know if anything extra goes public! Northern VIIIbe (see what I did there?) takes place from Friday, August 25th-Sunday, August 27th, but if past years are any indication, bands will only play on Friday and Saturday, with the Friday lineup being shorter (last year had five bands on Friday and seven on Saturday). Like in past years, camping is more than welcomed in Ophir (east of Bruce Mines), and decorations are welcomed, but not glass bottles. Tickets for this year run for $100 minimum, which is down from last year, and packages also exist with bundled t-shirts and/or hoodies!

As is normal for Northern Vibe, there are no single-day ticket options, perhaps justifying why they don't release daily schedules if everyone's paying for the whole weekend anyway, but that's just conjecture on my part. Buy your tickets and/or clothing items at this link, and the implication is that these are early bird prices that will go up in June, so act fast! Sounds like another fun time is ahead for concert-goers, partiers, and campers alike, especially with the River Stage full of talented DJs also on site once again, so visit the above links for complete current details on Northern Vibe VIII later this summer! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

Tym Morrison Concert Preview, New Live Videos, And More!!

Here's a new news post for you guys on this Monday night, including some new videos on both sides of the border, an inactive band note, and to start, here's a mid-week concert preview!

Local classic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's seasonal weekly concert arrangement at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post is expected to continue THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT! As of this writing, there is no Facebook event page for this show, but of course, Tym is no stranger to regular series like this, and time is ticking for The Mike Case Stage for 2022, as it closes for the season next month. If an outdoor mid-week show works better for you than Tym's Shooters matinee on Sunday, then don't bypass his classic and hard rock cover selections on Wednesday evening! As usual, expect a 7:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and no age limit at The Trading Post on Wednesday, while 9&10 News is currently calling for mostly cloudy weather in the 22° range. Visit the above links for more details, we'll let you know if the show is indeed off, and here's Tym live!

Next up, I've delayed covering this video for way too long now, as local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's most recent live concert got the live-stream treatment for his YouTube channel! Back on August 6th, Mike took a road trip to Flin Flon, Manitoba to perform at their Blueberry Jam festival, where he was the fifth of eight acts that day on the Museum Stage (despite the name, artists played at the Flin Flon Tourist Bureau & Campground). The outdoor covered stage played host to a 40+ minute set from Mike, who played eight Thompson-era original songs at the Blueberry Jam, including "The Best You Never Had", "Communique", "MorningStar", "If Ever Comes The Day", "21:45", "The Nature Of The Times", "Into The Setting Sun", and "Take Back The Moon". The stationary camera angle frames the stage well, but the fuzzy visuals and low frame rate on the live stream are not ideal, despite good audio.

I will say that Mike looks absolutely isolated on the Museum Stage by himself, especially with the camera not even trying show the crowd, and visually speaking, it may have been a better aesthetic choice to focus on Mike himself over the stage. Still a solid concert from Mike, and his easy crowd rapport is on full display, so give it a look below!

Also today, I have moved local horror punk quintet Frightlight back to our inactive band links. They have not issued a public update on new band activity since the fallout from their set headlining the Friday lineup of last year's Northern Vibe Festival, but their future has been murky since on two fronts. Of course, frontman J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce currently lives in Barrie, where he fronts the rebooted Spades GT (nee Jack Spades), so distance will be a huge factor towards future plans. As well, drummer Chris "Freaknstein" Thompson passed away in November of last year, which was a huge loss felt across multiple groups, and there's been no public hints towards a return with a new drummer. After previously rocking the Soo from 2009-2014, Frightlight reunited as an occasional live attraction in 2018, playing at J.D.'s Halloween party that year and opening for Michale Graves in September 2019.

A planned set opening for First Jason in April 2020 was cancelled due to the first pandemic lockdown, and J.D. moved out of town that fall, but at least fans got Northern Vibe last year without any incidents. Hopefully Frightlight's spooky brand of Misfits-inspired punk & metal can return in some form down the line if the cards line up, but best of luck to J.D., Rick, Kevin, Mike, and their prior drummers in the future, don't miss J.D. & Spades GT this weekend at Northern Vibe in Ophir, and R.I.P. Chris!

Finally, let's leap across the border for a new video from Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906, as shot by an attendee at their show at The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel on Saturday! This video actually captures the first half of Project 906's original song "The Comeback", which you can hear in full at this link from its 2021 studio recording. This song definitely leans to their blues side, and it's well done for blues rock fans, too bad the video only captures the first half! The guys definitely seem to be cramped with The Islander Bar's stage setup, but the audio comes through, and at least they had an electric fan going. Check it out below!

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

Spun Concert Preview, New Northern Vibe Festival Video Footage, And More!!

For our first news post of September 2021 (which probably should have been sooner than now, more in a minute), we have a weekend concert preview and a few new videos to check out, so here's what you should know!

Marquette, Michigan hard rock quartet Spun will complete their return engagement to the Eastern U.P. for the first time post-pandemic when they rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TONIGHT, after playing there last night! I profusely apologize for not previewing Spun's shows sooner and thusly missing yesterday's here. There's no excuse, but a combination of personal matters, the lack of hard rock shows on this side of the border this weekend, and scheduling quirks just piled up at the wrong time, and Spun deserve better, especially as a touring band who haven't played in our neck of the woods since 2018! It's great to see Spun back after all this time (many readers will remember them as the instrumental core of the prior touring favourites Nudge.), and hopefully last night's show was a safe hit for all who attended, and that their hard rocking covers provide more good times in Sault Ste. Marie tonight! 

As usual, please respect and follow any and all public health/social distancing guidelines at Kewadin Casino to ensure that you and everyone else has a safe time. Otherwise, tonight's (and yesterday's) shows have a 21+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. If you want to some rare touring hard rock action in the Soo in 2021, this would be a great way to do it, so don't miss out on Spun tonight, and I apologize again for not previewing their show yesterday in time! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Spun live a few years ago!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario and area for some new videos, starting with new footage from last month's Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir! First, we have two videos of local horror punk quintet Frightlight's headlining set on Friday, August 27th to share, which were uploaded to the band's Facebook page last night! The videos feature the band's full current/reunion-era lineup covering The Misfits' "Helena" and, as embedded below, playing their own "They All Float", and the filmer got very close to the stage, giving us an excellent & clear view of the band in action than many readers are possibly used to. Frightlight also made great usage of stage lighting here, befitting their more theatrical presentation. I've heard the band sound crisper, but it's awesome to see them back after almost two years, and hopefully they'll be back soon! Give both videos a watch above & below!

Just prior to Frightlight's set on the Friday, the co-headline band was (online page-less) local punk supergroup Jonesy Land in their second live concert appearance! Like at Rotaryfest in July, the band featured frontman Dustin Jones' daughter Jett as a guest singer for a handful of pop/country covers, and one of those was filmed and uploaded to Jett's YouTube channel, which also features her own original solo song "Losing Hope". The Northern Vibe Festival video features Jonesy Land & Jett covering Billy Edd Wheeler's "Jackson", though this version is more based on the rendition by Johnny & June Carter Cash. While a departure musically from Dustin's usual band work, this is a fine cover, and while Jett still comes off as a little nervous, she holds her own! The video quality is solid (if square), complete with nice shots of the crowd, but you can tell that it was raining. Give Jett & Jonesy Land's video a watch below!

Finally for today, here's a new-ish jam session video from local southern/hard rock cover quintet Fort Creek! This was uploaded to bassist Robin "Bones" Lee's YouTube channel in July, and while it is unlisted there, the band did publically share it to their Facebook page this past Sunday, so it's fair game to acknowledge here! The rehearsal clip (filmed well before the unspecified medical issue that scuttled their gigs last week) features Fort Creek covering Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down", and they do so very capably with good energy! However, the video isn't an ideal look at the band compared to live dates, with Bones sitting down, Anthony drumming off camera, and Justin coming in and out of frame repeatedly, but their jam space does look cool! Give Fort Creek's cover a watch below, and hopefully we'll see them back on stage before too long!

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

Our Preview Of The Sixth Annual Northern Vibe Festival!!

The sixth annual Northern Vibe Festival returns to the old Hempfest grounds on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir TOMORROW, SATURDAY, and SUNDAY, so here's our extended preview! After skipping 2020 due to the pandemic, things have progressed to a point where the festival can return to near normality (helped by it being in a wide open outdoor locale), and you can expect lots of musical entertainment & local vendors for food, art, and more, so be sure to check the official Facebook page, event page, and website for full public details on Northern Vibe VI! I stress, public, as organizers still have not released a schedule for the musical performers on any stage, either forgetting (there's a lot of ground to cover) or opting to go with a "you had to be there" approach. I do know the day some acts are performing, so consider this a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, which I do apologize for, but again, there has been no schedule release yet.

As usual, The Northern Vibe Festival will feature two stages of live music this weekend, including The River Stage for DJs and The Forest Stage for musicians, the latter curated by Jack Spades/Frightlight frontman J.D. Pearce in his first promotional role since the pandemic began. This means that the band lineup in 2021 is much heavier than we ever saw in the 2010s, which is great to see.... but who's playing when? First off, take the poster above with a grain of salt, as it hasn't been updated to reflect two lineup withdrawals (including Forest Stage performer DJ Fuels), let alone new additions. As best as I can tell, there will only be live music tomorrow and Saturday (the Sunday aspect is primarily for campers' benefit), so let's go through the bands like this: I'll start with bands that I know are playing on a given day, then we'll move to bands who haven't publically stated when their set is.

The only band that I have actually heard confirm a Friday set is local funk/hard rock quintet The Wyld Stallyns, as per guitarist/vocalist Rob Speers in a Facebook conversation (thanks Rob!) No word on a timeslot, but he did say that the Friday set was due to the availability of a special guest on that day, so keep that in mind if you'll be in Ophir tomorrow! As far as I know, three bands have confirmed that they're playing on Saturday, including instrumental surf rock band The Dynowaves at some point that evening (source: their Facebook page), and two bands back from extended hiatuses with new lineups, namely no-genre quintet Handsome Sandwich at 4:00 PM (source: drummer Johnny Belanger's personal Facebook page), and Foo Fighters tribute quartet The Soo Fighters at an unstated time (source: their Facebook page). For what it's worth, bands allegedly begin at 3:00 PM.

Nice to see The Stallyns staying busy, and if you've missed the three known Saturday bands during the pandemic, get ready for some surf rock action, and welcome Taylor & Mitch to Handsome Sandwich, plus Arthur & Chris to The Soo Fighters! At press time, the other seven River Stage acts have not publically stated what day or time they're playing, but keep tabs on their social media accounts, plus Northern Vibe pages for further updates, and I'll try and let everyone know if I hear anything. Three of the seven are touring acts from Sudbury, including new "northern soul rock n' roll" supergroup Harvey King & The Grindstone (who are promoted highly in advertising), alternative/world solo musician Matt Foy (replacing pre-pandemic touring favourites Dany Laj & The Looks), and funk rock one-man-band Dr. Bong, so it'll be nice to see some out-of-town attractions again after a long break!

The remaining four local bands playing in Ophir this weekend are horror punk quintet Frightlight in their first show in almost two years (they are likely to be in a nighttime timeslot), alt-punk trio A Dire Setback in their first concert since releasing their debut CD, the second live concert appearance from new (and online page-less) local punk/folk supergroup Jonesy Land, and the debut of new local rock quintet Lockdown, featuring 3/4ths of The Soo Fighters covering many other bands. Nice to see so many familiar faces back for a normal-ish concert, let alone of this scale, and it sounds like there will be something for everyone, even if I don't know when everyone is playing! Sadly, ticket sales for the Northern Vibe Festival closed this morning, but they were $100 for the full weekend experience or $60 for Saturday, and nothing was offered for Friday or Sunday alone. Yes, this is a 19+ event.

Click here for event ground rules, including directions to Poplardale Road in Ophir (an hour east of the Soo), what to bring and what not to bring, and so forth. Remember, this is an outdoor event, and the weather forecasts are calling for rain off and on all weekend, especially tomorrow, so be prepared for the elements. Of course, please use common sense re: the pandemic, and wear a face mask when seeing vendors or when not socially distancing (there will also be sanitization stations set up). Hopefully Northern Vibe VI is a huge success as they get back to bringing live music to the outskirts of Bruce Mines once again, and there's a stacked lineup playing this weekend to boot! I just hope everyone has a safe time, both regarding the pandemic and just in terms of respecting the environment, and that it doesn't rain too much. Visit the above links for current and continuing details on the festival, here's Frightlight live, and stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Complete Current Details On The Return Of The Northern Vibe Festival!!

After a one year hiatus due to the pandemic, the annual Northern Vibe Festival will return from Friday, August 27th-Sunday, August 29th for it's sixth installment! Debuting in 2015 as a spiritual successor to the former Hempfest (both are held on the same festival grounds on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir), the Northern Vibe Festival has not been a traditional haven for heavier/punk bands, only featuring a couple at most, sometimes not having any. That changes this year, as local concert promoter and punk/metal singer J.D. Pearce is curating this year's Forest Stage lineup! Remember, Northern Vibe has two separate stages, one for bands, and the River Stage for DJs. This poster lists the original artist lineup, though bands and DJs are mixed together, and there have been a couple of withdrawals since, including DJ Fuels from the River Stage (check the official performer listings on the website for the up to date lineups). Performers have been advertised all month, so why have we not covered the festival on here until now?

Honestly, it's because organizers still have not announced daily schedules for the Forest Stage, and as of this writing, bands are being plugged as just performing during the festival and for us to get our weekend passes. That said, we're less than two weeks out, so I better get the ball rolling and at least mention the scheduled bands (click here to see who's spinning tunes on the River Stage). Three touring acts from Sudbury will make their way to Ophir for The Northern Vibe Festival VI, namely "northern soul rock n' roll" septet Harvey King & The Grindstone, alternative/world music solo artist Matt Foy, and funk rock one-man-band Dr. Bong, none of whom I'm familiar with from local dates in the 2010s. Notably, Matt is a new addition to replace Montreal indie rockers (and pre-pandemic touring favourites) Dany Laj & The Looks on the bill. Shame that Dany and crew had to drop out, it'd have been nice to see them back for a sixth local gig later this month!

The highest listed local band in festival advertising is local horror punk quintet Frightlight in their first live set since opening for Michale Graves here in September 2019, and it will be great to see their spooky brand of punk and metal originals back after such a long wait! Instrumental surf rock trio The Dynowaves also get a high placement in event advertising, so their retro feel-good brand of rock should go over well at month's end too! Reunited no-genre (but alternative/punk-leaning) quartet Handsome Sandwich will play their first show with new singer Taylor Emlaw and bassist Mitch Sirie at Northern Vibe during the festival, while fan-favourite punk trio A Dire Setback will play their first true live concert set since the pandemic began as well! No word on if they'll have CD copies of their debut album on sale, but I doubt they're considering this to be their long-delayed release party, which was to have been in March 2020. 

Two bands who you may have seen at the drive-thru Rotaryfest last month will also play at Northern VIbe (see what I did there?), including local funk/hard rock quintet The Wyld Stallyns and online page-less local punk/country supergroup Jonesy Land (featuring Rising Tide and Lake Effect alumni) in their second concert set of any kind. The last two bands share three members between them, one being local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters! This band will be playing their fourth concert here, which is also their first non-benefit concert outside of Halloween parties. It will also see the debut of new bassist Arthur Lacasse, and in a surprise, his old Half Past bandmate Chris Thompson, who quietly replaced Jonas Gasperas on drums at some point earlier this year. A reason for Jonas' exit wasn't announced, but you can still see him in Ophir with The Wyld Stallyns, and Chris' prolific drum skill and chemistry with Art should go a long way!

Finally, if you'd like to hear Arthur, Chris, and frontman Jules Cote cover bands other than The Foo Fighters, look for their set together as debuting local cover rock quintet Lockdown, where they'll be joined by singer Nicole Ambeault and guitarist Randy Russell (Soo Fighters guitarist Wes Greco is not in Lockdown). Despite their promising lineup, I haven't heard any hints as to what Lockdown's set might include, but don't bypass them at The Northern Vibe Festival at month's end, assuming we don't actually get locked down again! The festival is a 19+ event, it officially begins at 12:00 PM on Friday the 27th, and tickets run for $100 for the full weekend or $60 for Saturday the 28th only (there are no single day passes listed for Friday or Sunday). Buy your tickets online at this link.  Vendors will be on site selling local goods, food, and drinks (click here for the current list, though updates are forthcoming).

Camping is encouraged for attendees, and the festival website lists directions to Poplardale Road, plus recommended things to bring to have a safe/clean time for the sake of the grounds and everyone else (i.e. don't bring glass bottles or bad attitudes). Re: the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be extra hand washing/sanitizing stations on-site, organizers request that you bring and use face masks when going to vendors/not social distancing, and while being an outdoor festival at this point in the pandemic (and in a wide-open area) allows for the festival to occur close to normally in 2021, please be respectful of others and stay distanced where possible. Click here for more on that. It's been a long year & a half+ for a concert festival of this nature and magnitude to return to the Algoma District, and hopefully Northern Vibe VI goes off without a hitch in Ophir in a couple of weeks!

Visit the above links for full current details, stay tuned for the daily schedules when announced, and look for more news on the SMS this week, both from the Northern Vibe Festival and elsewhere! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (First Jason) & A New Local Punk Band!!

Today's post will be very notable for you punk, horror, and horror punk fans, as we have two big topics to address on those spectrums. One is a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with some unique hooks in the spring, and leading off, here's a new addition to our band links that was over four months in the making!

We have a new local punk band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they The Sick Sons, who have became a quickly prominent sight in the second half of 2019! Originally named The Filthy Dadicals, they made a big splash via two major punk concerts at The Rockstar Bar, where they opened for Random Killing in July and The Ripcordz last month, though they only just launched their Facebook page on November 26th. Fans of defunct ska punk group The 12 Gauge Ready will be very interested in The Sick Sons, as they feature guitarist Lucas Schmiedendorf, bassist Dave Barrett, and drummer Clint Wilson in their lineup! Of course, don't forger that Luc and Clint were previously bandmates in both Bankshot and the short-lived 2017 group The HTs. This band's lineup is rounded out by former Downshift guitarist Steve Zuppa (who shares vocal duties with Luc), and their Facebook bio says that they are "fueled by their love of punk rock and craft beer."

You can next see The Sick Sons opening for Northwest on December 20th and The (former?) Cover-Up on the 28th, both shows taking place at LopLops. With a stacked lineup of local punk veterans from numerous high profile groups, it's no wonder they have got such a good reception at their initial gigs! While they don't dip too far into the ska well a'la The 12 Gauge Ready, they easily tackle lots of 1990s and 2000s punk favourites with skill, so give their first public videos a watch at this link, and stay tuned for more!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and it's a newsworthy one, as New York punk/metal band First Jason will make their local concert debut at The Canadian Nightclub on Sunday, April 26th! The band's name is surprisingly literal, because their frontman is Ari Lehman, who played Jason Voorhees in flashbacks and the climax of the original Friday the 13th movie from 1980, filmed when he was just 14 years old. Afterwards, Ari moved onto a music career as a keyboardist and soundtrack composer, but he formed his own horror punk band in 2004, where he is the lead singer and plays a keytar shaped like a machete. How's that for a back story for a band playing here? As a band, First Jason have an entertaining sound that merges a few different genres into a heavy package with lots of Friday the 13th and horror movie fan service for good measure, and they are definitely worth checking out to see what you think! Adding to the intrigue, local horror punk standouts Frightlight will return as local openers for their third post-reunion show!

Last seen opening for Michale Graves in September at the same venue, it would admittedly be ridiculous to call this another one-off concert when we just saw them live less than three months ago, so I have restored them to our active band links for the first time since 2014. It looks like their status nowadays is to only play special or major concerts, and this definitely counts, though no word on if Rick will be back after missing the Graves show. At least one more local opening band is to be announced, we'll let you know when they are. Promoted by Frightlight's own J.D. Pearce (a.k.a. Johnny Pints), this show is a co-production with Steel City Events, the organizers behind the first annual Steel City Nostalgia Fair taking place that same day, where Ari Lehman will be signing autographs and meet local fans, so click here for full details on that event! The organizers also hold the annual Steel City NerdCon at the Bushplane Museum, FYI.

This concert is considered to be the official after-party of the fair, though if there's a bundle admission option for both events, it's not yet public. Concert tickets go on sale online tomorrow (link to be posted on the Facebook event page), and they will run $15 in advance or $20 at the door, with physical ticket availability to be announced next week. A limited "Crystal Lake VIP package" will also be offered where you can get early entry, a photo with Ari, and an autographed Jason mask, so if that interests you, that runs for $40. This is a 19+ event with a 9:00 PM start time. There's a lot to take in here, but if you love horror punk and the original Friday the 13th, how can you pass this show up? Visit the above links for complete details, and here's Ari's preview video for both the Nostalgia Fair and concert here, as shared from Steel City Events' Facebook page on Friday! It's short, but Ari hypes things very well, and the neon Jason mask is a nice touch!



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

Michale Graves Concert Videos, Plus A Brand New Single!!

Today's video-centric post looks at lots of footage from a big recent concert, plus the latest from a prolific local solo artist, but let's begin with the concert in question, as Christopher Paci's YouTube channel now has 12 videos from the Michale Graves-headlined concert at The Canadian Nightclub last month! Kudos to Chris once again, he certainly doesn't have to go through all of this trouble, but it's great to see more footage make it online for the public to see! Eight of his videos are of the former Misfits frontman during his back-to-back performances of his two Misfits studio albums, with Chris filming Michale and band playing "From Hell They Came", "Dig Up Her Bones", "Crimson Ghost", "Day Of The Dead", "Shining", "Hell Night", and "Scream" (his only filmed song from "Famous Monsters".) Embedded below is Graves' opening song, the title track from "American Psycho",and these showcase the live show well with a solid crowd!

Vocals can be inconsistent as the set progresses, and you do get more of a sense of Michale's lack of banter between songs, but the show was definitely a hit with attendees, and you can relive much of the first half above & below!



Next up, Chris got three videos of local horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight's reunion set, where the guys (and guest guitarist Handsome Dan) played their original songs "C.H.U.D.", most of "Fright Night", and as embedded below, "World War Z." Solid performances with the guys fully in their element after the 11 month wait since their Halloween show last year, so give these a look above and below (and get well soon, Chris Freaknstein!)



Lastly, Chris Paci filmed opening alt-punk trio A Dire Setback for a single clip of them playing their song "Everlasting Despair." This may be his only video of theirs, but it is the longest video he posted from this concert, so there's that! Solid and straightforward rendition of this familiar live standard, albeit sounding a little lower than I recall from earlier shows. Check this one out below as well, and stay tuned for more on their debut album!



Finally, here's our first look at a full track from local/Thompson, Manitoba solo hard rock artist Mike Haggith's upcoming 50th studio album "If Ever Comes The Day!" Remember, he is bumping "Bridges" to a later date due to a number of outside circumstances. Entitled "Communique", this song was unveiled in a live-stream on his Facebook page on September 24th. In it's write-up, Mike says that this was the newest completed song for the new CD, which he describes as containing his "best material yet." Apparently, "Communique" is more stripped down than other tracks on the album (as evidenced on the teaser for "The Best You Never Had"), and it helps illustrate his shift back to first-person storytelling on this CD, compared to the mental health advocacy themes on "Bridges." I'll hold full comment on the song until our presumed review of the full album on the site, but fans of Mike's solo material will want to give this a listen below!



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

Michale Graves Concert Review!!

Alright, it's time for a concert review I've been waiting to do since the infamous Mackinac Bridge closure last fall (no inclement wind yesterday!), as let's finally talk about Michale Graves' local show at The Canadian Nightclub! As it turns out, Michale and crew played a special acoustic pre-show for VIP ticket-holders, and from what I heard, it was a great time and he was very open and friendly with attendees, which is great to hear! Door admission was $30, so it did go up from advance prices, though the house wasn't as packed as I assumed it would be. That said, the floor was packed for Graves' set, and fans were very vocal, especially during "Saturday Night"!

Opening last night were local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback in their first concert since they released their debut music video, and they put forth a solid set of their original material for early fans! Alongside established originals like "Kicking & Screaming", "Faded", and "Nightmares", the guys played two newer songs that I don't recall hearing live or online ("Endless Dream" & "Drop Dead") which went over well and seemed to fit their existing sound. I wish Chris Nielsen bantered a little more with the crowd, but he has improved with confidence as a frontman since I last saw A.D.S., and he and Matt Quinn were solid compliments on guitar and bass, while Nick Kainula's drumming was on point (nice to hear a solo there too!) No major frills beyond on-sale merchandise, but A Dire Setback stuck to their guns and delivered a strong opening set!

Second up last night were horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight in their second one-off reunion show in as many years, and given how frequently they covered Graves-era Misfits in their original run and last year, what a night to come back! Rhythm guitarist Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe was back in the fold last night after missing last year's set, but in a huge surprise, lead guitarist Rick "Styles" White was absent for unannounced reasons, a'la their initial 2014 farewell concert. Hopefully nothing bad happened! Jack Spades guitarist Daniel Horton filled in for the set, complete with the stage name "Handsome Dan" and "Aladdin Sane"-era David Bowie facepaint, and he handled things very well in relief! Playing their full "It's A...Live!" EP alongside "World War Z" and their "Bite It You Scum" cover (no Misfits songs for obvious reasons),  the guys picked up where they left off last year with another batch of horror punk favourites!

The set did seem a little rushed for time, but everyone played up to the standards we recall from their original run, with Johnny Pints' vocals strong and clear, and Eddie Fright's bass work was also nicely done in particular! Hopefully we see the guys back out there at some point in the future, but if Frightlight's last show is this one, it was an ideal finale, Rick's absence aside!

Finally, your headline attraction was former Misfits frontman Michale Graves & his solo band in a concert a year & a week in the making, though this time, he performed both of his Misfits studio albums ("American Psycho" & "Famous Monsters") back to back in full. To put it mildly, it was awesome hearing Michale in person doing such classic songs as "Dig Up Her Bones", "Walk Among Us", "Scream", and "Saturday Night"), and fans were very receptive, openly filling in the gaps by singing along! Michale himself was in good spirits, but his stage banter was minimal, and his voice was straining a bit as the set went along, especially noticeable at points where notes were held longer or screamed. However, things went by well, especially with a backing band more than up to the task of handling these familiar songs, and if you love horror punk, there was no better place to be last night! Hopefully they come back at some point!

Overall, this was a great concert full of entertaining and high energy punk rock, and if you called this the unofficial start to the Halloween season around here, I wouldn't dispute your logic! You can check out our photos at this link and/or our Facebook page, and as for our videos, here A Dire Setback playing "Endless Dream", Frightlight playing "She Screams", and Michale Graves playing both "The Haunting" & "From Hell They Came!"







I hope you guys liked this concert review, and stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Two Band Reunions, An Update To Our Band Links, And Much More!!

Let's keep the news train rolling on this Monday evening, so what will you find here? A couple of videos, bands being moved out of and into our inactive band links, and leading off, big updates concerning the openers of a major concert next month, so here's what you should know!

Inactive local horror punk quintet Frightlight and local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will provide support at the Michale Graves concert at The Canadian Nightclub on September 28th, as per updates on the Facebook event page last month! A surprise announcement to say the least, this will one of A Dire Setback's biggest trio-era platforms ever, but of course, this will be Frightlight's first show since the Halloween weekend last year, and just their second since 2014, though this is being advertised a one night only reunion once again, so they remain in our inactive band links. Of course, Frightlight were well known for their covers of and inspiration from Graves-era Misfits, so they are a beyond fitting choice to open! Notably, this will also see the return of rhythm guitarist Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe after he missed their reunion set last year, and as a teaser, Frightlight posted this short video onto their Facebook page on July 31st of Kevin (sans makeup) covering "Rust Angel".

Of course, "Rust Angel" began life as a surf rock-inspired Fitswitch song before their successors adopted it in a heavier form factor, so fans of both bands will like this! The over-exposed lighting and tight camera angle don't add to the visual quality, but it's great to see Kevin playing this song again, and you can see him do so with his Frightlight brethren once more at The Canadian Nightclub next month, so give it a look below!

Next up, here's another notable band return for this fall, as inactive local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters announced on their Facebook page last week that they have reunited with a new lineup! As such, they will return to the stage on November 1st, very likely at J.D. Pearce's previously announced Halloween Party that night, which they played at two years ago in their second and final concert to date. It does make sense that they would be the Foo Fighters tribute for this year, so if you liked them in 2017, here's your next chance! In a time where Parabol, Coral Fang, and Poison Girl can all exist as local tribute bands, why not one more? However, only singer/guitarist Jules Cote (with Dave Grohl wig in tow) will be back for their return, as he will now be joined by ex-2 Minute Warning guitarist Wes Greco, Jules' Chunks of Manh bandmate Max Ambeault on bass, and Elements/Winkstinger drummer Jonas Gasperas, all replacing Jeremey Salatuk and John & Jonny Amendola.

A reason for the lineup departures has not been announced, but remember that this lineup was from two years ago, and Jules & the Amendolas haven't played together with their primary pop rock cover band Cherry Crush since August of last year, so we would be considering them to be inactive for SMS purposes. The new lineup seems promising, but how will they sound at this year's Halloween party? Stay tuned for updates, and unless this proves to be a one-off, The Soo Fighters are back in our active band links!

Also today, I wanted to acknowledge a solo musician being moved to our inactive band links, namely Mike Cliffe. A constant presence in our band links as long as we've had them, Mike is a skilled veteran guitarist whose progressive and often heavy originals are always worth listening to, but as you may know, his music was increasingly entwined with his work as the host and curator of the local music podcast Audiofumes. The 24 archive episodes showcase an eclectic collection of music from the Soo and far flung locations that would be more than at home on public or freeform radio, and collaborations between Mike and artists heard on Audiofumes were once very common. While I have never found a statement confirming it's status. no new episodes have been posted since April of last year, nothing has been posted on the Audiofumes or Sound Bacon pages reflecting Mike's music or new episodes since last summer, and the Audiofumes Facebook group is now largely used as a posting board for songs and some local concerts.

Mike's a very nice guy and an extremely creative musician, so whether or not the podcast ever resurfaces, I hope he dives back into his own music again when the time is right, and you can hear lots of his surviving music on his Reverbnation page. As one of the few Sault Ontario-originated rock radio/podcasting outlets, Audiofumes deserved more listeners, and with the diverse, unconventional array of music in each installment, there was always something to hear and nothing you expect! We'll let you know if Mike and/or Audiofumes return to activity in some form in the future!

We'll close today with a new teaser video for local Tool tribute band Parabol's headlining concert at Soo Blaster on October 12th, as shared to their Facebook page on Thursday! Featuring an assortment of new-ish images and band logos alongside some opening post-production effects, the video is set to a bunch of assorted audio clips of the guys playing live, and while it'd be nice to hear the full songs, you do get a sense of how faithful their sound is to the real thing! Give it a look below, and click here for more concert details!



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

Soundcheck Concert Previews, New Videos, And Much More!!

So as to focus on our (delayed) close to last month's poll and newly launched poll tomorrow, here's a second post on this Thursday, and it includes some assorted recent news, a new video and related apology, a music video from a prominent solo artist, and leading off, the last of our Easter weekend concert previews. Here's what you should know!

First, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's previously announced shows at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After playing their last few concert weekends outside of their 2019 schedule posting, they're back with another pair of dates that had lots of advance notice, marking their first announced gigs there in two months. This frequently seen veteran group should have another solid weekend of hard rocking covers in store for fans at this west end venue this weekend, so keep Terry, Travis, Paul, and Glen's shows there in mind for your Easter weekend plans! As usual, these shows should have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 10:00 PM start times. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, here's the third and final music video from Kinross/Mount Pleasant, Michigan solo artist Alex Traynor's debut EP "Crazy World", as posted to his YouTube channel on Monday! This is for his (somewhat) softer original song "What Everything Is Like (High Life)", which was also third on the EP, and the video was shot by Eric Cairns at Third Cinema Productions, a long-time collaborator of Alex's for solo and Banned projects. The video features Alex waking up on a playground carousel, before roaming through a park in the wintertime, singing in front of forest settings and a brick wall (even playing guitar at the end.) Many of the visuals mimic an older 8mm film camera, complete with letterboxing and pillarboxing to simulate smaller aspect ratios, so there's a nostalgic quality in some ways. Well shot and edited, this is a nice way to round out Alex's music video trilogy, and it'll be interesting to see where his original solo work goes from here! Check the video out below!



Also today, here's our belated first video look at Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quintet Fluid 5ive, courtesy of a show that they played on Friday, February 8th at... Room 21?! I profusely apologize for missing that concert on the site, the venue's coverage completely slipped us by at the time, though as best as I can tell, it had under a week's notice upon it's announcement, and the band's Facebook page never acknowledged it publically. I will definitely try and stay on top of Fluid 5ive bookings more in the future, but at least we have a video out of it! Live-streamed by the venue that same day, this is of Fluid 5ive covering Radiohead's "Creep", less than 3 months after indie rockers Man Feelings covered it in a prior live-stream. Fluid 5ive have a good handle on this song, though frontman Colin Nelson's vocals almost sound too casual, if that makes any sense, and you see a lot more of the bar's strip lighting than you do of drummer Jeff Pennett for the duration.

The vertical camera angle is unfortunate on the whole, but it's great to have a video of Fluid 5ive at long last, and as you can see in the video and the above image from the show, they definitely weren't lying about having a saxophone in their repertoire! Hopefully there's more videos and updates of Fluid 5ive down the line, but give their Radiohead cover a look below, and I apologize again for missing their Room 21 show in February!



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

• Last week, defunct local horror punk quintet Frightlight posted on their Facebook page to say that "it's been too long" and that they "have booked a show", details forthcoming. In case this is another one-off like at Halloween, I'll wait before making a change to their status, but what does this apparent return show entail? Stay tuned!
• The Internet Archive recently posted what they call the MySpace Dragon Hoard, a 1.3+ terabyte batch of songs downloaded from MySpace as part of an anonymous research study from 2008-2010. This is by no means comprehensive for what used to be on MySpace before last year's song deletions, but it's nice to see hundreds of thousands of songs saved! The mechanism for the Dragon Hoard is a horrendous RAM hog, so make sure your device isn't lacking for RAM, and copy & paste your search inquiries for best results. I have found Woods of Ypres, Treble Charger, and Clownsack songs, and there's likely more local acts.
• Despite his announced retirement from live bands last summer, former Soundcheck/Turner Up drummer Scott McLurg posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on April 1st to say that he was looking to play live once or twice a month, and to private message him at this link for details. I waited to mention this here in case it was an April Fools joke, but the posting is still up, so it looks serious. If Scott's able to play live again with some regularity, I'd be glad to see him back out there, and message him above for more details!

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

The Halloween Party (Night #2) Review!!

Here's our review of last night's second half of "The Howling", J.D. Pearce's 14th annual Halloween party concert event! First off, both this concert and Friday's first half took place upstairs at The Rockstar Bar, not downstairs at The Algonquin Pub. Apologies for any confusion, earlier promotion only said this would be at "The Algonquin Hotel", which tends to mean downstairs if advertising isn't specific. The venue was nicely decked out for the occasion, and there were lots of memorable costumes among the strong attendance, including Wayne & Garth, Wario, Elliot & E.T., Guy Fawkes, and Frankenstein's Monster, among many others! I was in steampunk garb, FYI.

Opening the Howling was (effectively) local punk trio Redundant in their second show in a three day span, as they tackled a Weezer tribute set... well, mostly! With bassist James White absent for unannounced reasons, the guys had originally enlisted Travis Sharpe to fill in for the tribute, but with his band Soundcheck playing at the Reggievelt last night, veteran local punk bassist Andrew MacDonald took over the low end instead. Great choice, and familiar to Justin Langlois and Rick White already from their old bands Fitswitch & The Scary Uncles, but how did the set proper go? As advertised, the guys covered a selection of Weezer songs like "Hash Pipe", "Say It Ain't So", and "El Scorcho" (albeit sans "No Scrubs" interlude), and despite warnings from Justin about their amount of jam time on these songs, they all sounded fine! If anything, some of the vocal rhythms were a touch off, but that's minor. If you're not a Weezer fan, than don't worry, as Redundant didn't just cover them!

In a second half stretch, they broke out some renditions of Operation Ivy, Vaselines, and Rise Against tunes, and even one original ("That December" from their new EP), so that was a nice bonus for diehard Redundant fans! Andrew fit in very well on these songs, and everyone handled the Weezer end nicely despite any prep-time issues, so what more could you ask for! Justin even had a sweater on for "Undone"!

The second band last night was the one-off Tool tribute, who didn't have a proper name, though they did jokingly refer to themselves as the actual Tool. Comprised of alumni of bands like Redefined, Sense of Truth, Half Past, and Late Shift, fans familiar with those groups knew the talent on display from this quartet, and it's clear that they brought their A-games for this one! Tackling a range of Tool singles like "46 & 2", "The Pot", and "Parabola", their knowledge and handling of these familiar prog-metal tracks was crystal clear, and if this was a full time band, they'd already be worthy of headline status! I haven't seen John Barber and Anthony Gagnon on stage in a few years, and it felt like no time had passed, with John having a very strong handle on Maynard's distinctive vocal style, and both Steve Myers and Alain Fletcher had every song down pat, even if Steve's wig didn't survive long! These guys got the best crowd on the floor of the night, and with this excellent performance, can you blame them?

Headlining last night was the long awaited reunion set from local horror punk/metal favourites Frightlight, in their first public concert appearance since the Halloween party four years ago! Lineup-wise, this was a reunion of their 2011-2014 incarnation, albeit sans rhythm guitarist Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe for unannounced reasons (though he did design this concert's poster.) Hopefully nothing bad happened! Much like their first 2009-2010 gigs, Frightlight played on as a quartet for a very nostalgic set that included their entire "It's A...Live!" EP, plus later originals like "World War Z", and a cover interlude where they tackled a GG Allin standard and, of course, three Misfits songs. It was great to see the guys don the face paint and member vests one more time, especially Rick Styles and Eddie Fright, who we haven't seen play guitar or bass on stage in far too long. Johnny Pints' vocals sounded rougher than normal, but his commanding stage presence was still intact, of course!

While a rhythm guitar presence was missed, Frightlight gave fans one more entertaining fright night for the Halloween season, and here's hoping there's more in the pipeline when the time is right! Overall, this was a fun way to cap off a busy Halloween weekend, and while there is more to come given the mid-week Halloween timing this year, hopefully this weekend's parties helped satiate your metal and punk desires! You can check out our photos and videos (which do work this time!) at this link or at our Facebook page, all courtesy of my new Fujifilm Finepix S8000FD, which is definitely proving to be a wise purchase based on the photo quality so far! There are still some kinks to work out, especially regarding how far I can push it's battery life, but things will become more consistent at future shows. As for our videos, here's Redundant covering Weezer's "My Name Is Jonas", the one-off Tool tribute band tackling "Schism", and Frightlight playing "Dead Town Anywhere"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!