LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Emergency Festival), Gatgas Concert Preview, And More!!

Barring a late notice Saturday nighter or extremely late notice show tonight, we're closing out this weekend's concert previews today with a big hardcore punk show tomorrow night, but joining it today are updates for a major upcoming Sault Michigan show, a new video from a rising young band, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for August! Read on below for what you should know, and check out this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile in the post below this one!

Here's some long awaited venue confirmation on this year's second annual Emergency Festival on Saturday, August 15th, so where's the LopLops Lounge-promoted music & arts festival being held? Well, how does Rocky DiPietro Field at The John Rhodes Community Centre sound? Due to the ongoing debate over the future of The Sault Downtown Association and postponement of their outdoor Queen Street events this summer, The Emergency Festival will move to the football field at 260 Elizabeth Street (not far from the skatepark) for it's second year, which sounds like a good location to keep this successful sophomore event going after another "emergency" affecting the summer concert calendar! No word yet on the band setup, including on if there will be multiple stages as was previously intended, but we'll keep you posted. As previously announced, The Emergency Festival will welcome local punk/alternative bands The Pixo Control, Gnaeus, and Northwest alongside a large out-of-town roster of primarily folk, roots, and indie rock artists, so click here for full current lineup details!

Also scheduled to have a special Art In The Park exhibition, The Emergency will again be an ALL AGES event at 12:00 PM on August 15th, with tickets going on sale at LopLops, Case's Music, and Dish Espresso Bar & Cafe at 740 Queen Street East tomorrow. Oddly, tickets will be $25 until July 2nd, then they'll jump $5 a month until August, so there's incentive to get yours early! Students with school ID will get in for $20, and kids under 14 are admitted FREE. Amidst all of the downtown association struggles, it's great to see Stephen and everyone at LopLops keeping The Emergency going, so check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for updates as they come in!

Next up, here's our preview of the fifth installment of Tidal Records & J.D. Pearce's Gonqshow summer concert series, as London hardcore punk quartet Gatgas will headline at The Algonquin Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Featuring Saultites Bob Bromley Jr. & Garry Ingram in their lineup, fans may remember their memorable local debut at last fall's Hardcore Homecoming concert upstairs at The Rockstar Bar, but now they're headlining downstairs and should be up to their usual old school hardcore tricks! Local support will come via two of the local openers from last fall, those being local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and local hardcore/punk sextet Destroilet (in just their third show with two singers), and given the presence of both Gatgas & Destroilet, might we see another Fistmagnet reunion of sorts like we saw at Hardcore Homecoming? It was a crowd pleaser, hopefully there's a reprise of it! Note that the Gonqshow event page still lists newer local metal trio Faceityoureametalband as opening, but they have since been removed from the concert's event page, and are not listed on the show's poster.

A reason for their exit hasn't been announced, but frontman Steve Mozarowski went on a trip to British Columbia this week as per personal Facebook postings, so that could be related. Hopefully we hear from his new band again soon though! Note also that I'm not sure if the presented band order on the poster is accurate (which would see Gatgas sandwiched between the local bands) or if they will indeed be last. This 19+ concert has a $10 cover charge and a 10:00 PM start time, so for more details, visit the above links! It's great to have Gatgas back (and Bob & Garry back home), so keep this show in mind for TOMORROW, and here's Gatgas live earlier this month!



Also today, here's some news concerning the P.O.D./Hoobastank/Fuel concert at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this coming Friday, including news of a late addition to the lineup, them being Rochester, New York post-hardcore band Lights Out Paris! Our source is co-promoter John Yeubanks on the Facebook event page on Monday. Currently slotted as the third of now six bands, Lights Out Paris have an intense modern hardcore sound that almost sounds like it'd better fit an Oddfellows Hall show, so don't miss them amidst the hard rock action next week! Also, in terms of the returning Integrated System of Machines (who will reunite after a 5 year breakup for this show), their teased new album is reportedly finished mixing, and sounds close to being done entirely according to frontman Orb Hearthstone's personal Facebook page! Remember, I.S.O.M. don't have a new updated online page as of this writing, we'll let you know if one turns up in the future.

Also, a separate personal posting confirms that I.S.O.M.'s new lineup will be a five-piece, with Orb, Chris Leask, Art Dietz, and Bart Rennels joined by a musician with the first name Jon, though I can't confirm a last name or instrument role yet (though process of elimination points to either the guitar or keyboard.) It is great to have Integrated System of Machines back, and hopefully we hear much more from them soon! Stay tuned for details on this huge concert, and get your tickets A.S.A.P. at this link!

Finally for today, here'a a light new video from the aforementioned Gnaeus, courtesy of their YouTube channel on Tuesday! It's of the local post-punk quartet watching their Lopstock II YouTube video on TV via a Playstation 3, so we're literally watching the guys watch themselves, though there is a temporary break late when bassist Matt Fronzi arrives with McDonald's food. Light and amusing, so check out Gnaeus' new video below, and don't miss drummer Brendan Garlick filling in with Long Shot TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, as per personal Facebook postings!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gatgas, Evilheart, Elements, And Hard Up!!)

In today's second post, we're 100% focusing on local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's new Gonqshow summer concert series at The Algonquin Pub, as there are plenty more concerts announced on it's Facebook event page through September for it! Four of the five shows that we hadn't touched on yet here are below in chronological order, so here's what you should know, and check out this weekend's concert previews (remember: Europe rock Kewadin Casino TONIGHT!) and more in the post below this one!

We'll start with the previously hinted concert on Saturday, June 27th at The Algonquin Pub, which we can now confirm will be headlined by London hardcore punk quartet Gatgas! The band featuring Sault natives Bob Bromley Jr. and Garry Ingram memorably made their local concert debut in September upstairs at The Rockstar Bar for Hardcore Homecoming, but they're the announced headliners this time, and their gritty and aggressive originals should find a similarly high reception in June! Actually, this may be considered a sequel of sorts to Hardcore Homecoming, especially as the announced openers both played that show too, they being local hardcore punk veterans Destroilet (in their third announced show as a sextet) and local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, and they should fit in fine once again! I wonder if we'll see Garry join Destroilet again for another rousing cover of "Evil God Hater"? No word yet though on the Fistmagnet reunion show that was teased for June.

Like most of J.D.'s Gonqshow events, this concert has a $5 cover charge unless later stated otherwise, a 19+ age limit, and a 10:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the above links! Hardcore punk fans will want to sit up and take notice of this event, especially if you loved Hardcore Homecoming, so stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

Next up in the Gonqshow is a concert on Saturday, August 1st that will be headlined by Elements! No, not local funk rock quartet The Elements, I mean Edmonton hardcore metal quintet Elements, who will make their local concert debut this summer. Their hard hitting progressive-tinged originals should be welcomed by metalheads to kick off August, so be sure to check them out! Another touring band will join them in the Soo, that being Guelph progressive metal quintet Becomes Astral, and their own relentless brand of extreme metal has earned them a solid following that will hopefully grow even more in the Soo come showtime! One more (presumably local) band is to be announced, so contact J.D. A.S.A.P. if you want in, but imagine if the local Elements opened this one? Again, this is a 19+ show with a likely $5 cover and a 10:00 PM start time, so see above for more details, and give the out of town bands a listen!

Less than a week afterwards, The Algonquin Pub will also welcome a Gonqshow event on Friday, August 7th, and the headliners appear to be Montreal folk/punk quartet Hard Up! Also making their local concert debut, I believe, Hard Up mix punk and bluegrass together with stand-up bass and banjo thrown in for good measure, and if you like bands like The Rising Tide or The Brains, you'll find a lot to like with Hard Up! Local rap/metal quartet The Apocalypse Afterparty will open in their first announced concert apearance at The Algonquin Pub, and hopefully they add well with their diverse and creative sound for what may end up being as diverse a show as the AxMinister Gonqshow event! At least one more local band is being sought, so get on that if you want in. Like above, this will presumably have a $5 cover, a 10:00 PM start time, and a 19+ age limit, so see above for more details, and keep this show in mind!

Finally for today, here's one of at least two Gonqshow events at The Algonquin Pub in September, as Mexican blackened death metal trio Evilheart will make their local concert debut on Monday, September 21st (and yes, I meant the country Mexico!) Evilheart's brutal brand of death metal has alot of technicality and ferocity going for it, so metalheads should not miss this show, especially as how often do we see bands from Mexico play this far north? Fittingly, local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters will open the proceedings this fall, while the aforementioned Apocalypse Afterparty are also scheduled to open in a slightly surprising addition, but their entertaining stage show should find it's audience to kick things off! Unless later stated otherwise, expect a 19+ age limit, $5 cover, and 10:00 PM start time, but 5 months from showtime, a lot could change. Check the above links for more details, and don't forget about this show for your fall concert schedule!

There is one more September concert to announce here, plus some assorted updates for previously announced Gonqshow events, so look for those and more in the coming days, plus more news and notes! Thanks everyone!

Hardcore Homecoming Review!!

It's now about time for our review of last night's Hardcore Homecoming concert at The Rockstar Bar! If you missed out, you'll have missed a packed house, quite possibly the biggest I've seen at this venue this year, but crowd levels on the floor did fluctuate, especially early on. Also, in case you weren't as familiar with Random Killing going in, the banner of Mr. Magoo with a mohawk was theirs, and it's a logo they've used for some time, As a classic cartoon fan, I always get a kick out if it! Now, here's a recap of all 5 bands! (Updated on Monday at 11:51 AM)

Opening last night's concert with an abbreviated set was local funk/alternative quartet The Elements in their first local concert appearance in 4 months (Hempfest in Moonbeam notwithstanding), and they had a solid set after a quiet summer! Bookending covers of Volbeat and Metallica with ska and funk rock renditions, the guys do seem to be gaining more chemistry and confidence as a whole, with Jesse Cook impressing as usual on guitar, though Rob Speers' singing was sometimes hard to hear volume-wise over the band. Their "Master of Puppets" cover was a pleasant surprise, and while it did have some rough patches (Rob mentioned this was the second time they've played it), it was still very well done! It'd have been nice to see The Elements play longer, and honestly, I think the metal songs were a bit out of place given the setting, but it was nice to see them back, and hopefully they play again sooner or later!

Despite being one of two out of town bands, London hardcore punk rockers Gatgas played second last night, but friends of bassist Bob Bromley Jr. (ex-Harsh Heads) and Garry Ingram (ex-Fistmagnet) didn't mind, as they were able to welcome these former Saultites back home with a rousing reception to their hard hitting set! For reference sake, note that while Gatgas are listed as a quintet on their Facebook page, guitarist Corey Shipp was not at the show last night, though I'm not sure whether he couldn't make the trip or isn't in the band anymore. Regardless, Gatgas delivered a brutal set of covers and originals for fans in their local debut, with a solid aggression level coupled with an increased presence of people on the floor to take everything in! Jack Gibbons' vocals are actually improved in a live setting and have more force behind them, and his brother Brian laid down some entertaining punk riffs on songs like "Call In Drunk" & "Out of Time". Very fun set for the old school punk fans in attendance, and hopefully Bob & Garry bring Gatgas back home at some point!

Third at Hardcore Homecoming was local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet in their first local concert appearance in nine months, and despite the wait, they were up to their usual tricks with an explosive set of their own originals and covers! Though the guys did have some rough stretches and flubbed notes, the attitude and intensity of their 2012-2013 concert was back in full force on originals like Truly Infected" & "End Me" and on covers like "Let's Drink Some Beer", so long time fans were in good hands! Mike Hull could be hard to hear vocally, but his chaotic stage presence helped a lot, and everyone kept up well through their fast and furious set, including steady rhythm from drummer Matt Waples, so the vibe of an old school 1990s hardcore punk show was kept alive for sure! Backing that up, Mike handed over the mic to Gatgas' Garry Ingram mid-set so he could rejoin some of his old Fistmagnet bandmates for a rousing cover of "Evil God Hater", surely a highlight of the night, and encouraging some of the best moshing too!

Co-headlining was local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in their first local concert set since their EP release show in May, though due to delays and time constraints, their set was limited to just the songs on said EP, plus "Frederick" & "Crossorads". Even still, fans were in for a good time, and guitarist Jesse Cook even got into the spirit of things by breaking out an old school prisoner costume!  Despite the rushed nature, everyone was on form from past gigs, with J.D. Pearce's singing as strong as ever, Justin Lam killing it on bass, and Johnny Belanger performing up to their breakneck speed on drums, so fans had nothing to worry about! Of course, seeing a longer set (and their SNFU and Misfits covers) would have been nice, but we'll get other chances to see them, and I'd say the stage was effectively jacked last night!

And of course, your headlining band was Toronto punk quartet Random Killing in their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie for the first time in at least a decade, and like with Gatgas, we had a homecoming here too, as frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley also returned home for this concert, but did they deliver? Yes! Of course, I can't speak for the good times and events of the 1990s (such as their Club Princess events), but Andrew and company knocked out classic songs like "Powerplay", "Thoughts of Aggression", and "Patios & Beer" with aggression and intensity, though I could argue that Andrew had more energy than the rest of the band, stage presence-wise. Bassist Jim "Mudd" Moore kept the low end in good form throughout though, and John "Robber" Moore kept the rhythm up too, amidst an intense set that had many fans flashing back to the good old days! Solid set, and I can definitely see what all the fuss was about, so hopefully Random Killing come back soon!

Excellent show, and kudos to J.D. for putting everything on once again! Of course, I can't compare to shows that took place when I was a kid, but from seeing Destroilet over the years, and from seeing last night's out of town bands, I definitely have more of a sense of some of the good times this scene saw in the 1990s, and hopefully things are built on from here on the punk end!  Check out our photos from the show at this link or via our Facebook page, and I hear SooToday/Local2 AND the Sault This Week were on hand, so we eagerly await their coverage too! And yes, I did get videos, so here's The Elements covering Sublime's "Same In The End", Gatgas playing "Back To The Asylum", Destroilet covering Fistmagnet's "Evil God Hater" (with Garry Ingram) and then playing "Over 'N Over", Jack Spades playing "Breakneck Speed", and Random Killing playing "Situation Normal"!











That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, featuring at least one new concert to announce at The Rockstar Bar! Thanks everyone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Gatgas

After a day's delay due to the extra and late notice weekend concert previews, here's this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! As usual, this is our monthly feature series where we profile a band that's based from outside of the Sault Ste. Marie area, but has had at least one local resident in their past or present lineups, so that local readers can get more information on them and possibly become new fans as a result! This month's band was picked in advance of their local debut at a well anticipated show this fall, and they actually feature two familiar names, so read on below for this month's out-of-town profile! (Updated on November 27th)
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Gatgas (London, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED)

Jack "D-Ass" Gibbons (vocals)
Brian Gibbons (guitar)
Bob Bromley Jr. (bass)
Garry Ingram (drums)
Corey Shipp (guitar)

Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/pages/Gatgas/147926505234133
Official Reverbnation page: http://www.reverbnation.com/gatgas
Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/gatgas 

Local Info: Two Sault area natives and former local musicians handle the rhythm with Gatgas, those being bassist Bob Bromley and drummer Garry Ingram! While there isn't a lot of widespread details on their local music work before relocating to London, Bob was notable as the bassist for the early-mid 1990s hardcore band The Harsh Heads, and Garry produced the 1994 studio sessions at Dysentery Studios that led to their posthumous CD "First Hated Then Forgotten". By the 2000s, both had moved from the area, but Bob & Garry are still more than active musically!

Band Bio: Gatgas are a hardcore punk band that launched online pages in August 2010, after previously jamming together since at least 2008. Quickly building a solid reputation in Southern Ontario, Gatgas have shared the stage with the likes of The Ripcordz, Alcoholic White Trash, and fellow Sautlite-infused bands like Repetitions, Maximum RNR, and Violet Fuse. The band began recording a debut album in February 2012, and though I can't verify if it came out as planned, Gatgas have made appearances on regional split releases and compilations, such as this album from It's Trash! Records. Still playing frequently in Southern Ontario, Gatgas made their local debut on September 13th when they opened for Random Killing at Hardcore Homecoming concert at The Rockstar Bar, garnering a strong reception in the process! Fans of bands like The Dayglo Abortions or locals Destroilet should take to their hardcore punk intensity, and they have the requisite punk attitude to go along with it!

I'll admit that Jack Gibbons' vocal style (which reminds me of Tom Waits at times) can be somewhat of an acquired taste, but everything fits well after further listening, and their songs have a familiar groove that should appeal to punk and hardcore fans equally! Bob and Garry also handle their roles well, and Gatgas' battle-tested sound delivers the goods, so don't miss them in September! You can check out Gatgas media (mostly original songs) at the above links, though there sadly isn't much in the way of online videos of theirs. Here's the guys playing their song "Back To The Asylum" at Hardcore Homecoming earlier this year!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be taking a look at Toronto classic hard rock quartet Public Animal, who I just recently learned features former Rhythm Rats and Kite Eating Maples drummer Ryan Gassi in their current lineup! Thank this SooToday article for connecting the dots that I couldn't, and we'll mention this article more in-depth in an upcoming news post (and go see them live TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar!) That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post either tonight or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Archive Album Discovery, New Media Finds, And Much More!!

Before we touch on this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile, we have some news of the old and new varieties today, including some recent shorter notes, new media from a local band, a neat concert video from 23 years ago, and leading off, information on a 16 year old CD that I recently bought for collecting and SMS purposes, so here's what you need to know!

Local music fans from the late 1990s might be interested in this find, as I now have a physical copy of the 1998 compilation album "Local Steel"! Found on the "Various Rock" CD shelf on the left hand wall at The Rad Zone for $10 yesterday, this is an album I've been looking hard for since learning that you can't check it out of the library's "local archive" section, so what should you know about it? This CD compiled 17 different local acts to contribute original material, and though all are long since defunct, there's plenty of familiar faces! For example, members of Lion Ride are featured with The Bombed Squad, and future Stiffler's Mom bandmates appear with Alexis Machine, while more recently familiar artists like Tripod the Dog, Troy Isaac, and The Gully Yodellers perform original songs, among many others. Most of the CD is focused around alternative & hard rock, but there's some full metal, blues, and punk tracks as well, with the somewhat cryptic Porn Fairies even diving into an industrial/techno sound! While mostly separate performers on each song, 4 artists play on multiple tracks, with bassist Steve Batenchuk featuring on 3.

Co-produced by future Gsis Murphy bandmates Tony Marcello and Keith Davis at Full Scale Audio Productions, the booklet hints that there would be a second annual "Local Steel" disc, but I can't prove if that occurred. This was an awesome find, and given that the album has a high amount of hard rock songs, I do want to review it on the site in a month with no new CDs waiting! In the meantime, I've uploaded the whole thing to YouTube at this link, so check it out if you want, and here's one of the early heavier tracks, local metal quintet Hollow playing their song "Flesh & Bones"!

Leading from "Local Steel", my research on some of the performers led me to this even older concert video featuring 3 future bandmates in Your Mother (the aforementioned Tony Marcello, Keith Davis, and Steve Batenchuk) from an older band in 1991! Joined by guitarist(?) Rob Struk and drummer Mark Webster, the band in question was Midpoint, who were a familiar metal band around the turn of the 1990s, so much so that they even toured! This video (courtesy of Tony's YouTube channel in March) comes from a performance in Thompson, Manitoba, which was filmed for a local TV show there called "The Pit", and it's of their cover of Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley", so how does it sound? Despite not beginning at the start of the song, it's well performed, and the presence of a keytar is of interest, but the vocals aren't quite at the right range for this song. Very cool to see this video though, and hopefully more local musicians post some old archive material like this at some point, so check out Midpoint live in Thompson, Manitoba below!

Next up, have you been curious to hear more material from local grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back? Well, this might be as good a source as any, as drummer Nathan Sauve has posted 26 recordings of them onto his personal Soundcloud page over the past year! I'm not sure how this slipped us by for so long, but Nathan has been posting material there since May 2013, and it's definitely publically accessible. While mostly originals (including most, if not all of their live setlist contents), there are select covers and even a few songs with guest performers. The recording quality has steadily improved since last spring, and given that these were likely recorded at jam sessions, there's a fun energy and spirit present in most! It's nice to hear nice quality versions of "Togna Sharogna" and "Lung Bucket", among others, and hopefully Nathan keeps adding to this page, or expands Bad Back's social media presence beyond Twitter! Check everything out above, and stay tuned for more on Nathan and Jamie's next shows!

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

• The local contingent has grown for this year's Touch of Death Metal & Punk Fest in Cochrane, Ontario, as local sludge metal trio AlgomA, the aforementioned Bad Back, and local goregrind project Crucify The Whore have all been confirmed for the late June lineup, as per the event's Facebook page! They all join Shit Liver and Steve & Andrew from D3athcharg3r among the Saultite performers. Awesome news, hopefully they tear up Cochrane next month!
• After a 9 month hiatus, Sault Michigan concert promoters Allstar Promotions re-emerged on their Facebook page on Friday to ask for opinions on booking British hard rock legends The Cult for a show this year, presumably at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino. It'd be cool to see, but if you want to show your support, like or comment the status at the above links!
• Add some more Saultites to the well anticipated Hardcore Homecoming show at The Rockstar Bar on September 13th, as London hardcore punk quintet Gatgas (featuring Harsh Heads alum Bob Bromley Jr. and fellow Soo native Garry Ingram) have been added to the lineup, joining Random Killing and their local frontman Andrew Kiteley for this long awaited return home! Awesome news, hopefully Gatgas deliver a solid set of crust punk this fall! My source is promoter J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page on Wednesday.

That's all for now, but stay tuned either tonight or tomorrow for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Alpha Trion! Thanks everyone!