LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Late Shift & Tym Morrison), Plus More Concert Previews!!

We're back on this Saturday afternoon with some more weekend concert previews for the next couple of days, but leading off, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next few weeks, so here's what you should know!

Prolific local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will be back on stage next weekend, so with that in mind, we've added his August concert dates to our listings! After taking this weekend off for a scheduled vacation (according to his personal Facebook page), his dual weekly concert arrangements will continue at both Gliss Steak & Seafood and The Harp Bar & Grill for the rest of the month as per his website's calendar! As such, expect Tym to be back at Gliss by the Station Mall for suppertime matinees on the rest of August's Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, including NEXT WEEK (the 13th-15th), plus the 20th-22nd & 27th-29th, while his longer-running nighttime shows at The Harp on Pine Street will continue from the 14th-15th, 21st-22nd, and 28th-29th once again, as he doesn't play at the former Madison's Pub on Thursdays (also, there's no UFC PPVs for the rest of the month, so don't worry about Saturday nighters!)

And remember, given the unusually lengthy show listings on his website, we take Tym's bookings a month at a time for our listings, so we'll get to September when it comes. As usual for Tym's concerts, the Gliss shows are 6:00 PM matinees and the Harp shows are at 10:00 PM, neither has an announced cover charge (but remember that Gliss is a restaurant), and as it's a bar, you must be 19 to attend the Harp dates. Great to see Tym's successful runs at both venues continuing, and hopefully he enjoys his vacation, so for more details, visit the above links!

Also in new concerts, local funk/hard rock quartet Late Shift will return to the stage when they open for Ottawa alt-rock trio The Red Rails in their third local concert appearance on Saturday, August 29th at The Rockstar Bar! Last seen at Algoma Ride For Autism (barring an unannounced concert in the interim), this popular yet online pageless band should deliver a solid set of hard rocking covers in their return to The Rockstar Bar at month's end! If you're not familiar, The Red Rails (last seen last August at the same venue) are the current band from Sault native and former Turner Up drummer Steve Brogno, who notably played with Late Shift's John Barber and Matt Sibilo in the defunct local hard rock band Driving Dave Home in the late 2000s. Might we get a mini-reunion of sorts on the 29th? Find out then! A higher cover charge of $7 is in effect, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:00 PM start time in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Also, I don't believe Late Shift have starting using the definite article in their name, but we would list them as The Late Shift on the SMS if that was ever confirmed by the band themselves. This should be a fun show, and it's nice to see Steve bring his talented, blues-tinged power trio back home to the Soo on the 29th, so keep this show in mind!

We'll close today with two concert previews for shows taking place over the next couple of days, including the return of Vancouver crossover thrash metal quartet The Golers to Sault Ontario TOMORROW NIGHT at The New American Pub! Last seen over two years ago during their dual Roosevelt Hotel Thursday night sets in mid-2013, their brutal originals should be welcomed back to the stage in their New A debut tomorrow, including even heavier and thrashier new material from their latest album "In 'n Out Outlaws"! The local openers will include doom metal trio AlgomA (who opened for The Golers in June 2013) in their first local show since the end of their first tour run, while local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters will open the day with their brutal originals in their own New A debut, and both should be fine choices for tomorrow's intensity! A Six Two Oh production, this 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Also, a personal Facebook posting by Bear Hunters frontman Nik Deubel implied that their set would have a couple of surprises, so keep that in mind too!

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a brutal time with three explosive and varied types of metal bands on display, so if you're up for some Sunday night brutality, head down to The New American Pub for the return of The Golers! Here they are live in Alberta!



Finally, it'll be a "Heavy Monday" in two nights time, as Edmonton "future space groove" trio Eternal Prophecy and Calgary hardcore metal sextet Lie Among Us will make their local concert debuts THIS MONDAY NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub! Solid double bill of Alberta metal action, with Eternal Prophecy's creative hybrid sound and Lie Among Us' extreme intensity (with new EP in tow) a nice compliment, so don't miss them if you can help it on Monday night! Originally planned to have the now-defunct Haggith & The Revolution as openers, Haggith alumni Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton will still open the proceedings with their local classic metal quintet Project 421, in the third show with their new lineup, though they are now the only local opening act. Their classic metal sound and the boost of Curtis' returning vocals should kick things off nicely on Monday, so don't miss their second show in four days then! Note that this show is not a Gonqshow event, it's being promoted by Project 421's own label PaperClip Productions.

A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert, which starts Monday night at 9:30 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a solid time for metalheads, and with two varied nights of local and out of town metal in a row downtown coming up, you guys have some solid options to check out! See above for more details, and here's Eternal Prophecy live last year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Golers, Ballot Burner, And Long Shot), And Haggith's Second Breakup!!

Before we touch on a busy concert weekend in the Twin Saults, here's a stacked post for your Wednesday afternoon, largely focused on LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from next week through next month, but we'll close with a show that doesn't have a venue yet, but will see a familiar local band saying what will likely be their final farewell, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet Long Shot have two upcoming shows to add to their concert schedule, both next weekend, including a return to The Rockstar Bar on Friday, July 17th, which they'll follow with a stop at the Fraternal Order of Eagles' clubhouse on Friday, July 24th! Both were announced on the band's Facebook page on Monday in a post outlining their upcoming dates. The Friday show will see Long Shot join forces with local punk quartet Stereo North (who also played with Long Shot at The Rockstar Bar's Summer Bash last month), and if you were curious, the other two bands from the Summer Bash are playing a short notice show there this weekend that we'll cover in tomorrow's concert preview post. This concert is a day out from Long Shot and Stereo North's own debut Rotaryfest sets, so keep both in mind if you want some entertaining live music! As for the solo Heyden show, this may be an unfamiliar venue for many, but Long Shot played at least two shows there last year, and Tym Morrison used to frequent the Eagles Club, so don't bypass this show if you're in that area!

Also, it's likely that next Friday's show will mark drummer Jeremy Ganuelas' return from his European vacation, but this hasn't been firmly stated by the band yet. The Rockstar Bar show with Stereo North has a 19+ age limit and a likely 10:00 PM start time, while if last fall's Eagle Club show is anything to go by, the July 24th show will have an earlier 7:00 PM start time & no announced age limits, and bring cash just in case either has a cover. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Long Shot and Stereo North as it comes in!

Next up, two intriguing metal shows from Six Two Oh have been announced for The New American Pub next month, with the first featuring the return of Vancouver thrash metal quartet The Golers on Sunday, August 9th! Making their third appearance in Sault Ontario, The Golers were last seen here over two years ago when they made two Thursday night appearances at The Roosevelt Hotel in the summer of 2013, and their new material from this year's "In 'n Out Outlaws" only seems to be getting heavier and thrashier, so fans shouldn't want to miss their New A debut next month! Local doom metal trio AlgomA (who opened for The Golers in June 2013) will play their first announced local show since their recent tour as the announced co-headliners, and they'll presumably have their new band t-shirts in tow, so keep that in mind as well! Local death metal veterans The Bear Hunters will open the show in what might be their first ever set at The New A, so make sure to come early for their set, as it's not often that The Bear Hunters open a show nowadays!

A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert, whose doors will open at 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This show has a bit of a throwback vibe to The Rosie's heyday, especially given that The Golers are one of the few out-of-town bands to headline a Thursday metal night twice, so don't bypass this show next month!

The other New American show next month from Six Two Oh will come just over a week later on Monday, August 17th, and it will be headlined by Regina crust punk trio Ballot Burner in their own local debut! With a new album forthcoming, Ballot Burner's blistering and attitude-fueled crust punk originals should get a solid response from the attending Saultites next month, so if you want so grimy and fast-paced punk, give Ballot Burner a listen! Local grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back will open in the first show since their quiet album recording sessions wrapped up, but will we get any hints or reveals to that end on August 17th? A third local opener is to be confirmed, and while promoters are targeting local alternative hard rock duo Infinity Grinder for the last slot, they're awaiting confirmation from the band themselves (if confirmed, this would be Infinity Grinder's third concert and their debut at The New A.) Like the Golers shows, this is a 19+ show with a $5 cover and doors opening at 9:00 PM. For more, visit the official Facebook event page!

With AlgomA's tour in the books, it's great to see the guys put their local promoter caps back on for some August dates that are sure to melt some faces, so whether you're into brutal metal or alternative and punk rock, keep both of these New American Pub concerts in mind for next month! Stay tuned when/if updates roll in for either concert!

Lastly, local grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith will headline what the guys are calling their "final farewell show" on Wednesday, August 19th at a venue to be confirmed. You read that right, Haggith are disbanding for a second & presumably final time, which they revealed on this show's Facebook event page earlier today. Other than to say that they're moving on to other projects, a reason for the breakup wasn't announced, but like their first breakup in December 2013, they will headline the aforementioned farewell concert to formally close their run. It should be noted that Haggith only played two shows with their current lineup, both over the May 10th weekend, and with members Mike Haggith & Curtis McKenzie playing more & more dates with their band Mike Haggith & The Din, that could be a contributing factor to this recent news. Details on a venue and additional bands are to be confirmed for the August 19th farewell show, but for reference, Haggith's first final show in 2013 was at The Algonquin Pub, and featured four opening bands.

I imagine there will be some references made to this being deja vu, but Haggith got a lot done in the last year & a half since their initial reunion, and with multiple albums, battle of the bands success, and many big shows under their belts, they've done about all they can do within local confines. There's a lot to be announced regarding the farewell show, but wouldn't it be neat if Daniel Horton came back for the show, giving fans a one-off quintet lineup for the farewell? We won't list this in our concert listings until there's venue confirmation, but check the above links for more details, and keep what will likely be Haggith's last show in mind for next month!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the first of this weekend's concert previews TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

Shinedown Concert Preview, Cancer Fundraising For Luke LeBlanc, And A New Video!!

Finally, here's our fourth and last post covering this very busy weekend in hard rock and metal concerts, as arguably the biggest of the weekend is going down tomorrow night! Our extended look at that leads off today's post, but we also have news on a local musician's major cancer fight, and a recent live concert video, so read on below for what you need to know!

In the second of two major concerts from Allstar Promotions this weekend at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino (following TONIGHT'S Daughtry concert), multi-platinum Jacksonville hard rock quartet Shinedown will make their Sault-area debut TOMORROW NIGHT! Touring in support of their new CD "Amaryllis", Shinedown have been one of the most successful modern hard rock bands of recent years, with hits like "Second Chance", "Save Me", and "Bully" keeping them as staples of rock radio, and they have a lot of popular and memorable songs that are sure to strike a nerve tomorrow night! They'll be joined by Memphis hard rock band Devour The Day (featuring two members of Egypt Central) as openers for tomorrow's show, and their energetic and upbeat hard rock sound should suit them well as they hit the Soo themselves! Note however that Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way (featuring Rudyard native Zak Stelmaszek on guitar) will NOT be opening this show anymore, as per their Facebook page last week. A reason was not announced, but note that Allstar Promotions never publically confirmed that they were playing.

Disappointing news to be sure, especially knowing Fifth Way's local familiarity and talents, but no matter why they're out, they WILL still be opening for Tesla on July 27th (one week from today), so keep that in mind! The Shinedown concert (which is ALL AGES) will go down at 7:00 PM TOMORROW, and as of this writing, only a handful of center section tickets (mostly in the fourth row) were available, so this is a near-sell out. If you want to try for tickets, click here, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or visit the Kewadin box office! Also, I have no idea on the protocol for a potential meet & greet, so call ahead just in case. Check the above links for more details! This should be a very successful concert, especially knowing Shinedown's popularity and success in recent years, so if you have tickets, have a great time! Myself, I don't mind a few of their songs (like their "Simple Man" cover), though I admittedly find a few of their songs overplayed, but they have a lot of talent, so don't miss their local debut TOMORROW! For a preview, here's Shinedown's video for their newest single "Unity"!



Next up, another fundraising campaign has been launched to help raise money for former Half Past frontman Luke LeBlanc's battle with cancer. Launched by Denise Armstrong on May 21st on the website GoFundMe, the links above explain that Luke and his family need financial assistance to help him at this time of need, along with noting that the cancer has spread to his stomach, spine, kidney, and one eye. The main goal is to raise $20,000 for his fight and related expenses, though as of this writing, only $120 had been donated. Luke's a very nice guy, and I commend him 100% for his brave battle with cancer in the past year, as well as keeping his trademark sense of humour through every up and down! He's also a talented singer, as Half Past fans and his old bandmates should attest to, but right now, his health is what's most important. If you can even donate a few dollars, that would mean a lot to Luke and his family right now, so keep this fundraising campaign in mind, click here for information, and help out if you can! Get well soon, Luke!

Finally for today, here's a new video from the second Golers concert at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 4th! Filmed by AlgomA singer/bassist Kevin "Marty Chase" Campbell & posted on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, this is of the Vancouver crossover/thrash band playing their original song "This Is Not A Test", as filmed on a stationary camera on one of the long tables near the stage. Good angle of this short original track, and the audio quality's solid, but the video is fairly dark. Still very solid, so check out this new Golers concert video below!



That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for Bushplane Musical Madness II, and if weather and timing permits, you might spot me at the Tenaris Second Stage in the evening before or during Sailor's Tongue's set, especially with their hyped CD availability! Thanks everyone!

Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews, Plus A New AlgomA Video!!

As promised, here is our second post of the day, and it's 100% Sault Ontario-centric, so what's on tap? Along with a new videos from  a recent concert, we're mainly focusing on  previews of three very different concerts taking place between tomorrow & Saturday, so read on below for what you need to know, and check out the post below this one for new Sault Michigan concerts (some of which are this weekend), concert previews, and more!

For the second time in two weeks, Vancouver crossover/thrash quartet The Golers will rock The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT! After a well received set of hardcore punk & metal originals last month, it'll be great to see them back in Sault Ontario for another go-round, headlining local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's seventh Thursday night show at The Rosie! There will be differences from two weeks ago though, starting with new opening bands, those being local alternative/grunge rockers Haggith (in their first Rosie concert of 2013) and local punk trio The Northern Tragedy (in their Rosie debut & their first show since the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands), but will they impress in taking over for Destroilet & AlgomA as the openers tomorrow night? Note that the Facebook event page lists "more tba" for the lineup, but J.D. has confirmed that there are no other opening bands. Another difference is that the admission price will be $7 (which is lower than the last Golers show), though a 19+ age limit and 9:00 PM door opening time is still in effect. For more details, check the above links!

The Golers were ultra impressive and brutal the first time around, so if you missed the concert two weeks ago, or just want another dose of crossover thrash brutality, be at The Rosie TOMORROW for all of the action, including two local opening bands who aren't frequent sights there! For a preview, here's The Golers playing their song "Hoe" and a cover of Poison Idea's "A.A." in the Soo last month!



Next in concerts going down in Sault Ontario this weekend (barring a late notice confirmation), we'll see Uxbridge, Ontario industrial thrash/rock septet The Promonium Jesters finally hitting the area THIS SATURDAY, three years after first looking for a local date! Honestly hard to describe, their sound blends techno influences, industrial rock, and heavy metal into a sound that fans of Nine Inch Nails and similar bands should enjoy, and compared to other recent local shows, they'll definitely stand out! They'll be joined by Southern Ontario electronic outfit Defense Mechanism on Saturday, and while they're not metal, their sound blends dark & goth imagery and synth/techno sounds into quite an interesting package, and they should fit this type of show well! The local openers include sporadically seen local progressive rock band Machines Dream (featuring ex-Gates of Winter keyboardist Brian Holmes) and As It Stands drummer John Mignacca's electronic instrumental solo project Johnny Dillinger (in his first live concert of any kind since August), so prepare for a diverse and unique lineup of bands sounds on Saturday!

Briefly advertised to take place at The Rockstar Bar, this show will instead be held at it's downstairs neighbour The Algonquin Pub, which will mark all 4 bands' debut there. There will be a $5 cover charge on Saturday, you must be 19 to attend, and there's an announced 9:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! You won't see another show like this in the area all year, so if you like techno and electronic rock, be at The Algonquin Pub on Saturday for all of the action! For a preview, here's a live compilation video set to The Promonium Jesters' song "Strange"!

Finally for the known Sault Ontario weekend schedule, we have popular local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison's first ever gig at The Water Tower Pub at 360 Great Northern Road THIS SATURDAY! Obviously located at The Water Tower Inn (which locals will know is easy to spot), this local venue frequently hosts live cover bands on Saturdays (Fridays are jazz nights), and while metal hasn't been a past sight, it's great to see some heavier music return to Great Northern Road, and Caveman Morrison should deliver a fun night of classic and metal hits in their first gig here! A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for what I assume is a 19+ event, while I don't know if The Water Tower Pub has a cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Caveman Morrison picking up their local bookings and expanding their horizons all at once, and hopefully if Saturday's a success, more heavier bands will play at The Water Tower Pub down the road, so keep it in mind! For a preview, here's Tym & company covering Foreigner's "Blue Morning Blue Day" at The Rosie!



We'll close this post a throwback to the first Golers show in the Soo from two weeks ago, as local openers AlgomA posted a new video of their soundcheck song that night onto their YouTube channel on Monday! Featuring some faded in effects to introduce the clip, this was filmed on a stationary camera center to the stage, and despite fans somewhat being in the way, this turned out really well, and the audio's better than I think some people at the show would have said! No word on if more footage shot last month will make it online, but check out AlgomA's "best soundcheck ever" below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for... something tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Golers & The Bear Hunters) & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

Keeping with our busy recent news, today's all-Sault Ontario news post is divided into two halves: previews of this weekend's metal/hard rock concerts (Sault Michigan previews will be tomorrow to spread them out a bit), and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for two big and differently notable metal shows in Sault Ontario next month, so here's what you need to know! (Updated at 1:45 PM)

Less than a week after rocking The Roosevelt Hotel, Vancouver crossover/thrash quartet The Golers will return there on the Fourth of July for their second local show in two weeks! Their show last Thursday was a hit to be sure, and their hardcore & punk hybrid sound should definitely be welcomed back in open arms next Thursday for local promoter J.D. Pearce's 7th Thursday night concert at The Rosie since last spring! Two local opening bands have been signed, including local grunge/alternative rockers Haggith (in their first Rosie appearance since last year), which comes just days after their private Goulais Mission concert for Canada Day, which I'll touch on a bit in an upcoming post. The other confirmed local opening band is local punk trio The Northern Tragedy in what (I think) is their Rosie debut and their first announced show since the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, so it'll be good to see more of a punk angle for The Golers' next show! Also, I swear I saw Sykotyk Rampage briefly advertised as an opening band, but if I'm right, they've since been removed, so that may have been a premature addition. At least one more band is to be announced though!

Admission will be a lower $7 for this 19+ concert, and doors open at 9:00 PM once again, so check the Facebook event page for more details! This is shaping up to be another can't miss show, especially for another hit of The Golers and some different local openers who aren't frequent Rosie sights, so if you missed The Golers last week, you have a makeup date! Stay tuned for more as it comes in!

Also in new concerts, local metal singer/guitarist Josh Stephney will say goodbye to Sault Ste. Marie with Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mashup, a special ALL AGES concert headlined by his local bands The Bear Hunters & Giwakwa that will take place at The Oddfellows Hall on Friday, July 26th at 6:00 PM! As announced at the Striker concert on Thursday, Josh is moving out of town later this summer to pursue other ventures, and he's throwing this party next month to repay his friends, colleagues, and fans for their support in recent years, though he stressed on the Facebook event page that both The Bear Hunters & Giwakwa will continue on without him. As part of the gratitude, Josh is providing FREE ADMISSION if you wear local band merchandise to the show (any band works), though a $5 admission charge will be in effect you can't wear/don't have any. Local death metal notables Crimson Crusade & Shit Liver are among the local openers, with one more band to be announced, and we'll of course let you guys know when they're confirmed. For all current details on the Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mashup, check the above links!

This is sure to be a bittersweet day, as while the metal will surely be awesome, it will be sad to see Josh go, especially with how prominent and successful he's been in the local scene in the past 4 years with his current bands, plus Bring The Fallen & March Into Regression. I'm sure he's making the best choice for him right now by moving, and of course, we wish him the best of luck no matter what happens, and hopefully he stays active in music! Note that The Bear Hunters are playing the night after this event at The Algonquin Pub with Frightlight, but I don't know yet if Josh will play that show too or not. Stay tuned for updates as I hear them!

We'll close today's post with previews of this weekend's metal concerts in Sault Ontario, starting with what was gonna be quite the unique all ages concert TONIGHT at The Oddfellows Hall, as it would have featured no less than three two-man bands, including Vancouver experimental grind/crust duo Ahna and Montreal grindcore project Powercup, but both have cancelled for unannounced reasons, as per promoter Jamie Vincent on Facebook this morning. A replacement local band was sought, but none has been signed, so instead, the show will be headlined by an open jam session, so if you wanna play, bring your gear! I assume the previously announced acts are still on, including a new local project named Bad Back (no online pages yet), whose only sound description is that they're "grungy". Their lineup features the aforementioned Jamie Vincent and a musician named Nathan (possibly Lion Ride alum Nathan Sauve?), but I know very little else. I'll let you guys know when I hear more!

The show's opening band is the aforementioned Crimson Crusade in their Oddfellows Hall debut, so be there to hear their exciting Death-inspired sound, and pick up their EP as well if it's on sale! Admission will be $5 for this ALL AGES concert, which starts at or after 7:00 PM tonight. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I normally wouldn't post this without full info given the band dropouts, but this is already later than I'd have liked, so I'll edit this when/if band details come in relating to a replacement act. There should be some good all ages noise going down no matter what, so keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's Crimson Crusade playing their song "Here We Lay" earlier this month!

Lastly for today, local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison will make their first Roosevelt Hotel appearances in almost two months TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so let's preview those as well! Coming off of their successful Soup Kitchen Gala set at Mill Square, it'll be great to see Tym, James, and Johnny back at it for another weekend of hard hitting and varied metal & hard rock renditions, so don't miss the Caveman onslaught this weekend! As usual, these shows have 10:00 PM start times and 19+ age limits, while like their past shows at The Rosie, there is no cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Caveman Morrison's lengthy and always entertaining cover sets are sure to draw a crowd, so don't miss their Rosie return this weekend as you make your plans, and for a preview, here's the guys covering Judas Priest's "The Ripper" at The Rosie a couple of years back!



That's all for now, but keep an eye out for details on what band (if any) will replace Ahna & Powercup at The Oddfellows Hall tonight, and for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Caste of Shadows tonight as well! Thanks everyone!

Golers/Destroilet/Algoma Concert Review!!

For the first time in 4 months, we have a review of a Roosevelt Hotel metal concert tonight, as local promoter J.D. Pearce brought three bands to The Rosie last night that have never played there before, let alone on a Thursday! Medium attendance at best though, peaking during Destroilet's set, but there was some pit action and a good response to the bands, despite some audio twinges later in the night. Now, let's talk about each band's set, and check out our all-Sault Michigan post featuring new concert announcements and our LemmaFest preview in the post below this one!

This concert opened with just the second live concert (and first in three months) from newer local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA, and I'm pleased to say they had a better set last night than at their debut! Aside from being longer, they seemed to have less of an obvious disconnect from the crowd than in March, and I liked that Kevin Campbell (a.k.a. Marty Chase) talked to the crowd a bit more and introduced some songs. As well, they had the least issues with the audio, and their locally unique blend of metal sounded clearer and heavier! Kevin's vocals seemed stronger too (though I'd have liked to have heard Boyd Rendell sing more), and on songs like "Reclaimed By The Forest", their aggressive (yet very slow and deliberate) sound left a good impression, definitely unlike other modern day local metal bands. I would like to hear some more solos, or maybe a faster stretch occasionally, but AlgomA have a good thing going, and hopefully they'll play somewhere again this summer, as they're a band to watch!

Next up was old school local hardcore/punk quintet Destroilet in just their second show since early 2011, and despite early issues with the microphones being inaudible, they had a fun and chaotic mix of originals and covers for the peak crowd of the night! Destroilet packed 18 generally short songs into their set, including every song from their newest album (except "Mile 58") and 7 non-album covers, and they tended to rock them with the same reckless fury from their other concerts (though on a smaller stage, they were a bit restricted in movement.) Musically, the guys were on form, though I think Mike Hull's vocals needed to be brought up louder in the mix, as even when the microphone worked, he was hard to hear. Other than that, the guitar work was solid and fast paced, Adam Larocque's bass work was low and heavy, and Matt Waples' drumming was really good overall! Things seem to be going good in the Destroilet camp, and hopefully their next shows this summer keep up the good vibes!

And finally, your headliners last night were Vancouver crossover thrash/hardcore punk quartet The Golers in their first local stop, and they definitely tore it up with their extreme hybrid original sound! Similarly to Destroilet, they had plenty of very quick but intense originals and select covers that reminded me of bands like Superjoint Ritual at times, and on tracks like "Lemon Eyed Devil", "Disconnect", and "Behind The Sun", their extreme sound and often amusing lyrics were definitely well received by the remaining fans!  This was despite some audio twinges that frontman Chainsaw Charlie Goler noted in between a few early songs, but to fans, they weren't overly noticeable. His vocals are very diverse in what extreme yells he can pull off, and both his and Henry Goler's guitar riffs were very brutal and fitting of their style! Punk and thrash fans had a lot to like, and they fed off the energy of the crowd well, so overall, The Golers put in a very solid set, but hopefully they'll get a bigger turnout if they come back!

Overall, this was a very fun concert full of metal subgenres you don't see every day in town, and despite some patchy audio, Dirk Becker and the Sykotyk Sound Company did a solid job, especially for AlgomA's set! I did get a bunch of photos of each band, so click here to check them out or visit our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's AlgomA's set opening new song "Bedsores", Destroilet covering Fistmagnet's "Evil God Hater" and Nirvana's "Tourettes", and The Golers playing their song "Hoe" and a cover of Poison Idea's "A.A."!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for two posts tomorrow, including this month's YouTube Channel Profile, and a new news post featuring a late notice concert for this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (For Those About To Rock & Tym Morrison), Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Things have been quite busy for me lately in terms of site updates (blame MySpace, I'll go into details this weekend), but the news keeps plugging on, as we have short notice LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for tomorrow night, previews of two metal-leaning concerts going down TONIGHT & , and a new video from a local metal project, so read on below for what you need to know! (Updated at 5:00 PM)

Have you AC/DC fans missed a local tribute concert to the hard rock legends? Well, the wait ends TOMORROW, as Toronto's own For Those About To Rock will make their first ever local stop for a night of high voltage rock n' roll at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, this was announced last week but slipped me by for coverage until the other day. The first AC/DC tribute show in the area since Who Made Who rocked The Canadian in February of last year, F.T.A.T.R. have their own unique and proficient take on the AC/DC sound, and they have an authentic look & setlist to go along with it, so fans will wanna check this show out on the weekend schedule! Admission will be $8 for tomorrow's show, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:30 PM start time. For more details (including a contest tomorrow to win tickets to a Weezer concert in Toronto), visit the official Facebook event page!

I dig For Those About To Rock from what I've heard, and they have a close sound to the real thing, so don't miss tomorrow's show for a night full of AC/DC hits, and for a preview, here's a 2007 promo video featuring F.T.A.T.R. playing the song they're named after!

The other new show goes down TOMORROW NIGHT, as Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to his favourite recent concert spot (The Roadhouse Bar & Grill) on short notice! This was just announced on his solo project's Facebook group this afternoon, and it more or less replaces both his planned Docks Riverfront Grill debut (which was called off due to weather today as well, likely meaning it would have been an outdoor set), and the Roadhouse customer appreciation night set that was called off to fit the Docks show in. His acoustic metal/hard rock covers should still sound awesome, so don't miss tomorrow's late notice return to The Roadhouse on Trunk Road! This 19+ show has a likely 9:00 PM-ish start time, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, check the above links! Hopefully Tym will make his Docks debut soon, but for now, a trip to the East End for some hard rocking unplugged covers wouldn't bad, so keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's he and ex-Half Past frontman Luke LeBlanc covering Extreme's "More Than Words" a few years back!

Next up, here's a concert preview for an already scheduled show, as TONIGHT marks local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's sixth Thursday night metal/punk show at The Roosevelt Hotel, which will be headlined by Vancouver crossover/thrash quartet The Golers! Well known from their hard touring and dark humour-infused studio material, their extreme hybrid sound should be more than welcomed to The Rosie tonight, so don't miss out on their local debut! There will be two local opening bands tomorrow as well, both of which are also making their respective Roosevelt Hotel debuts, including local old school hardcore/punk quintet Destroilet (in just their second show since 2011) and newer sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA (in their second ever live concert set), and both should be fitting openers, and fun to see live again! Admission will be $10 at the door tonight for this 9:00 PM concert, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! With plenty of diverse extreme metal/punk sounds to be had, and from three bands that aren't everyday sights locally, this will be a can't miss concert, and it's great to see all three rocking The Rosie tonight!

I hope to see you guys there, as I'm overdue for a Thursday nighter at The Roosevelt Hotel, and a review will follow tomorrow if all goes well! For a preview, here's over 6 minutes of The Golers tearing it up in Vancouver in 2010!



Finally for today, here's the latest from Bear Hunters guitarist/Suicide Kings bassist Mitch Sirie's solo project The Sorrow Fields! Though their Facebook page was curiously deleted for unknown reasons in the last few months, the project is ongoing, and Mitch revealed on their YouTube channel on Monday that he's working on a Sorrow Fields album name "Godlessness", which will be a "monument of bleakness & despair". To that end, he posted this 1:45 sample of the proposed album's title track onto YouTube, and while there's not a ton to say on it yet, it has a dark progressive/black metal feel to it, but it ends before anything too heavy is revealed early (and there's some arbitrary dead air at the end too.) Promising preview regardless, and I definitely wanna hear more, so give this sample of "Godlessness" by The Sorrow Fields a listen below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for our LemmaFest preview, and if all goes well, our review of TONIGHT'S Golers concert! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Golers, SNFU, And The Dayglo Abortions), And More!!

Well guys, we have a stacked post for huge new LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, as local concert promoter/singer J.D. Pearce (a.k.a. Johnny Pints) officially announced four huge metal/punk concerts taking place this summer & fall (one of which is awaiting venue confirmation) on Thursday via separate Facebook event pages, and these include some major returning hardcore punk bands from out of town, a few band debuts, at least one venue you may not expect, and some familiar local opening faces! Just to note before we get into these: Most have been mentioned, but not confirmed, through certain opening bands' online pages, but they hadn't been confirmed otherwise until Thursday. Also, I don't know which of these (if any) is/are the show(s) that the winners of Wednesday's Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands Finals will get an opening slot at, but I believe J.D. does have at least one more major concert for this year to announce, so it might not be any of these.

When I hear more, I'll let you guys know, but with that said, here's what you currently need to know on each gig (in chronological order), and check out our profile of last year's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands in the post below this one!

We start at The Roosevelt Hotel on June 20th for J.D.'s sixth Thursday night show at The Rosie since last year, but all three bands will be playing there for the first time, including headliners The Golers! This crossover thrash quartet from Vancouver have made a big name for themselves in the past decade with dark humour, aggressive metal originals, and plenty of tour runs with major bands throughout North America & Europe, and they should fit right in for this concert on June 20th! The local opening bands include local hardcore/punk quintet Destroilet (in likely their first gig since opening for The Ripcordz last week) and new sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA, in just their second ever public concert! It's great to see Destroilet playing more frequently following the end of their 2 year concert hiatus, and AlgomA should impress in what should be a higher profile setting, as they have the talent and sound to go along with it! This show starts at 10:00 PM on June 20th, admission will be $10 (with advance ticket details forthcoming), and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should be a very brutal metal-leaning concert, and with it's familiar placement on the old Rosie metal nights' stronghold, things will be familiar despite the newer and less frequently seen bands, so don't miss The Golers and two furious local opening acts on June 20th, and stay tuned for updates!

The biggest of all of J.D.'s newly announced shows is next on Monday, July 8th, and it involves the return of three prominent out of town bands, including no less than Vancouver hardcore punk legends SNFU and Los Angeles hardcore quintet Death By Stereo! Both were last seen here at separate major local concerts in the spring of 2009 (SNFU headlined at The Grand Theater that April, and Death By Stereo opened for Strung Out at The Canadian the next month), and this show melds the past and present of hardcore punk by their presences on the lineup! SNFU are of course legends in the Canadian punk/hardcore scene, while Death By Stereo are quite popular and prominent partly thanks to their own energetic recent concerts, so don't miss all of this action come July! The other out of town band is The Fairmounts, the Toronto punk band led by veteran local musician Mikey Hawdon, in their first local concert since the Halloween party at The Algonquin Pub, and it'll be Mikey's second stab at opening for Death By Stereo locally, as he played the May 2009 show as well with The Inner City Surfers.

Picture a full on punk version of Lion Ride, and you have The Fairmounts, who should put in a fun set of originals and covers in their local return this summer! There are slots for two local opening bands, one of which is Jack Spades, a new local band fronted by this show's promoter J.D. Pearce, though it's unclear what their genre is, who else is in the band, and anything else really beyond this almost-barren Facebook page. Will they be similar to Frightlight, T-Rex Manning, or Fitswitch, or something brand new? Hopefully we'll find out soon-ish! The other opening slot is reserved for (hopefully) a younger band, with at least three members hoped to be in high school still. This makes sense, as it's an ALL AGES concert, and I know getting underagers playing at and attending concerts will breathe some new air into the scene, so if you're in a young punk/metal band, message J.D. at this location if you want in on this show! Speaking of which, where is this massive gig being held? How's The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center sound?

The first metal/punk concert to take place at the Pim Street museum since November's Bushplane Musical Madness show, I imagine there's a huge space for a show of this size to go down in, and hopefully this is just the second of many heavier concerts to take place at the Bushplane Museum! Start times & ticket availability details haven't been announced yet, but tickets for this ALL AGES show are $30 in advance ($40 at the door), which is steep, but worth it with this high profile lineup! Check the official Facebook event page for more details, and be sure to check the above links for more on what could be the biggest hardcore punk show of 2013!

The other confirmed concert will take place on Monday, September 9th at The Roosevelt Hotel, and it will see the return of Victoria, British Columbia hardcore punk legends The Dayglo Abortions! Over two years after their most recent local date (at The Rosie in June 2011), the often controversial but highly revered Canadian punk veterans will be sure to attract another massive crowd this fall for their local return, and I know many local fans have been clamoring for their return since their 2011 date here! There will be three opening bands, including the aforementioned Jack Spades (in their likely Rosie debut) and Destroilet, but the other announced opening act will be Cross Dog, the new project from veteran local musician Mark Rand! Aside from scattered online mentions, I know nothing on them (i.e. full lineup, genre, or if they're locally based), but I'll note that Mark has lived in Southern Ontario in recent years, and he only rarely uses Facebook, so I have no idea when/if we'll hear more on the project.

Myself, I wouldn't be surprised if they're similar to his hardcore punk projects like Detroit or Kidshit, but as soon as I get any confirmation on them (and Jack Spades), I'll let you guys know! Advance tickets will go on sale in August for $10 (with $15 charges at the door), you must be 19 to attend, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! J.D.'s done it again, and this should be another huge concert for punk and metal fans, so stay tuned for updates, including confirmation on Jack Spades & Cross Dog's lineup & genre! Now, there was one more concert announcement concerning Toronto hardcore punk band The Bunchofuckingoofs playing here in August with local opening acts, but I'm waiting for venue confirmation before announcing it on here. It's official and public, but I try not to plug announced shows on here until there's a host venue secured, hence the delay. Click here for current details on that front, and when a venue's confirmed, we'll start the SMS push, as it should be a good one as well!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes tomorrow (including Woods of Ypres/Juno Awards fallout), and this month's YouTube Channel Profiles on Monday, as our posting streak pushes into it's 56th straight day! Thanks everyone!