LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Project 906, HeadF1rst, And Generations) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for missing Tym Morrison's Think It Over Thursday acoustic gig at The Dive Gastro Pub tonight in this weekend's previews. While Tym only announced the show on late notice via his Facebook group yesterday, the show was listed right along in The Dive's July 2025 concert calendar, which completely slipped me by in our recent coverage. My profuse apologies again, but don't miss Tym at The Eagles Club next Saturday, and hopefully tonight's Dive show was a hit! Now, here's what you should know for a reasonably quiet pre-Rotaryfest concert weekend as hard rock in the Twin Saults & area goes, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced their scheduled solo headlining concerts for this month, and after taking this past weekend off, they'll pick things back up TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced one week ago today by drummer Tony Santoro on their Facebook group. Last seen on Canada Day at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows will be their first at this familiar Queen Street East tavern since the end of March, so don't bypass these gigs if you want some hard rock-leaning cover action, especially with some other venues and bands taking a July-August break! After their previously announced Friday headliner at Rotaryfest next weekend, Generations will hit Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday, July 25th & Saturday, July 26th as well, so west end fans will approve!

Yes, Generations (sans Valerie) will also host the weekly Thursday jam night on the 24th as well, but we don't treat jam/open mic nights as "concerts" due to their in-built unpredictability. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S Reggie's concerts and the end-of-July shows at Jay's are all 9:30 PM events with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Generations' Beck's Bar debut last month! Filmed by Monique Chartrand for their Facebook group, this sees Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre covering Linda Ronstadt's "Blue Bayou" Sadly, this was shot vertically, but the cover is soundly done, and you get a good & bright view of the Canada Day-flocked staging at Beck's, so give it a watch below!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quintet Project 906 will make their debut at Les Cheneaux Distillers' Tipper Room in Cedarville on SATURDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this date via their Facebook page yesterday. Last seen in Brimley two weeks ago, this will be Project 906's first stop an hour away in Cedarville since their Government Bay Barge Bash gig last year (I'll have to see if anyone SMS-amenable is playing that this year too). The Tipper Room is Les Cheneaux Distillers' second location at 74 East Hodeck Street that opened in January, and serves as (from my understanding) a less formal bar/venue than their main production facility/tasting room on South Meridian Street. If you're into vodka, rum, gin, and/or whiskey, keep Les Cheneaux Distillers in mind regardless! Project 906's show there on SATURDAY will uniquely be a 4:00-7:00 PM matinee, so note the timing!

Drummer Jason VanLuven will not be on hand on SATURDAY due to his other band Unfortunate Sun's gig in St. Ignace that night (more on that in a bit), but 906 did not announce if they'd be replacing him or not (they have played with just Brian on hand drums before). This is a 21+ concert regardless with no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from their Facebook page of the guys at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino last month covering Styx's "Renegade"! Just a 30 second clip, but it's performed with enthusiasm, and it's a good showcase for Billy's vocal range in particular, so check it out for yourselves below!

Also in late notice announcements, Sault Ontario hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will head to Goulais River on SATURDAY NIGHT to take part in this year's Goulais Community Days! Apologies again for the short notice, the band only announced their involvement in this year's festivities via their Facebook page this past Saturday, though frontman Red Jettison did reference the booking in his interview on The Community Pulse last month. SATURDAY's concert continues in the post-pandemic trend of Goulais Community Days hosting a rock concert, with the now-defunct Soundcheck playing there annually from 2022-2024, so HeadF1rst are picking up where they left off on SATURDAY at  the Captain Tilley Community Centre at 592 ON-552. While HeadF1rst are blocked for a full matinee timeslot of 5:00-8:30 PM, the headline attraction on SATURDAY is actually local country musician Brendan Hodgson, who takes the stage at 9:00PM to cap off the night's events.

Whether you like rock or country, you'll find something to like on SATURDAY! Visit the Captain Tilley Community Centre's Facebook group and this schedule poster for more on what family events are going on just north of the Soo between tomorrow and Sunday. This all ages concert has admission via event bracelets ($5 for a day, $8 for the whole weekend, kids 3 and under free), though if you don't want a bracelet and just want to see the concert, admission is $2. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadF1rst live rocking out!

Lastly for this preview post, we'll head back to the E.U.P., as Sault Michigan hard rock cover quartet Unfortunate Sun will return to the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they debut at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! Surprising how they've never played there yet, though maybe Fake Chow did? Unfortunate Sun are coming back from a two month break from concerts, last playing live as a short notice fill-in band at the Sault Kewadin branch in May, and it will be good to see Skip, Jody, Tony, and Jason rocking out with their proficient covers once again to kick off their summer slate! Yes, this is why Jason will be absent from Project 906's late notice Cedarville concert on SATURDAY. Whether you're placing bets on the band's kickass levels or not, tomorrow and Saturday's concerts are 21+ affairs at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Unfortunate Sun live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone! 

A New Addition To Our Band Links, Molten Imp Updates, And New Videos!!

After our long write-up on Thursdsay's LSSU battle, let's dive back into Sault Ontario to look at recent updates from bands north of the border, including new concert videos, the latest from a metal solo project, and leading off, a newer acoustic band. Here's what you should know!

We have a new local classic/hard rock band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are Dodge This, the new acoustic band from former Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer and former Havadder/Band Camp Rejects guitarist Jamie July! Jamie's brother Jeff also appears at some gigs playing percussion on a cajon. An extension of Jason's return to local acoustic concerts in 2024 (most notably at The Dive Gastro Pub), the Dodge This name first crossed my radar in late August when they co-headlined the ARCH Run outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub, with Jamie launching an official Facebook page for the project in early September, though he & Jason had played shows prior to the ARCH Run without an advertised project name. As well as at The Dive, you may have seen Dodge This at The Water Tower Pub on September 7th and October 5th, as well as at McCauley's Restaurant in Goulais River.

Described on Facebook as "not looking to get rich, just doing what we love", Jamie has posted six videos of Dodge This on their Facebook page, including three from their September date at The Water Tower Pub of them covering The Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy", Collective Soul's "December", and America's "A Horse With No Name". Jeff was present on cajon for this show, and while the covers are sound (if vertically shot), the harsh blue lighting of The Water Tower Pub will impair what you see. It's good mood lighting in person, but not the best for filming videos. The other three come from their gig at McCauley's (sans Jeff), including just Jamie covering Zach Bryan's "Something In The Orange", and two of him and Jay both tackling Chris Cornell songs, namely Soundgarden's "Fell On Black Days" and, as embedded below, Temple Of The Dog's "Hunger Strike". 

While these videos were also filmed vertically, the quality isn't bad, and Jason and Jamie play off of each other well in concert, with Jamie deploying some good melodic singing where needed. Jason can still unleash some impressive heavier vocals too, as heard on the Chris Cornell parts on "Hunger Strike"! If I was running McCauley's though, I'd use the TV monitor behind them to at least display the Dodge This logo for visual effect, though I don't know if they host live music that often. Stay tuned for more from Dodge This when we hear it, and check them out above & below!

Next up, here's the latest from a band we haven't covered on the SMS in way too long, namely local industrial metal solo project Molten Imp! At some point in the past year, project leader/former AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell took down their Facebook page, and as best as I can tell, their primary online presence is via a new Bandcamp page (their old one was taken down too). On the new Bandcamp page, Boyd describes Molten Imp as "the sound that comes from a damp basement near a steel plant" and hopes to "carve out its own niche in the industrial metal/noise scene with a folding pocket knife". Molten Imp's posted content now on Bandcamp include their digital singles collected as the "Bloom Closing"  complilation with bonus tracks in October of last year, as well as their half of the "Pyrolytic Punishment" split with Crucify The Whore. However, Molten Imp did release a new song on Bandcamp in June, so what should you know about that?

Entitled "Diesel On The Steamship I & II" (it is one 9+ minute file), this is an industrial noise instrumental. You have to have an appreciation for noise music to get into this, methinks, but it makes a good use of distorted effects and a mechanical theme across its runtime, and it's good to see that Boyd is still actively making music, if with less of an online presence! Check out more music from Molten Imp above!

Finally, here's a new video from last night's Blood Opera-headlined Steel City Nerdcon afterparty at Soo Blaster! This comes from 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook page, with Mike filming the action from the soundboard. The 40 seconds long clip sees the Toronto "zombie glam/dead metal" band playing their song "Brundlefly", inspired by David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly. Solid turnout (if with very blue lighting) at Soo Blaster, though at this point in the set, their full horror movie/theatrical aesthetic wasn't on display beyond their punk-influenced stage attire. Fun for what we hear, so check it out below, and hopefully more videos surface!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Curtis McKenzie & Soundcheck), Plus Weekend Concert Previews (Part 1!!)

Another busy concert weekend is upon us in the Twin Saults, and with Rotaryfest taking place next week, it's going to get worse before it gets better in that regard! I will actually need three posts to get to everything on the hard rock/punk spectrum this weekend, with today's post devoted to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and some previously announced artists playing on tomorrow. The current plan is to cover this weekend's Master Nate & The Reprobates, Peril, Project 906, and Generations shows in preview post #2, with The Nameless' Saturday nighter in Sault Michigan being in a news post to wrap things up by that morning. Here's what you should know to lead off this busy mid-July concert stretch!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return for this year's Goulais Community Days THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band has not publically confirmed this booking, but they are advertised in festival promotion, and members have mentioned it in personal Facebook posts. This will be the (at least) third straight year that Soundcheck have made their way to the Captain Tilley Community Centre at 592 ON-552 in nearby Goulais River for the community's annual summer festival, which will have loads of family entertainment just north of the Soo, so check out the official poster for this weekend's complete itinerary! While not playing tomorrow night, singer/guitarist Terry Eaton will dust off his DJ hat to fill that role as the baseball tournament begins, while SATURDAY's concert has an 8:00 PM start time (running until midnight) and a 19+ age limit.

To see Soundcheck on Saturday, there will be a special $2 cover charge unless you have a bracelet for your pass to Community Days ($5 for a single day, $8 for everything Friday-Sunday), in which case you'd get in to the concert free. Note that The Hwy 17 Band and The Four For All Band are also playing earlier on SATURDAY, but their sets are all ages matinees and don't directly lead into when Soundcheck would take the stage, so they're not "opening" for them. Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's Goulais Days return on SATURDAY as they warm up for their Rotaryfest Stage 1 return next weekend, and here they are live!

Next up, former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another solo headlining concert THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, Curt did announce this show via his Facebook page last week but I didn't catch advertising for it until this week. This will be Curtis' third show at the former Low & Slow at 648 Queen Street East, all on SATURDAYS during The Dive's "Patio Play" series of outdoor concerts there (he will also be playing an indoor show there on Thursday, August 8th). Since resuming work as a live solo musician this year, Curt has exclusively played at The Dive, and his hard rock covers (you can see full setlists on his Facebook page) have clearly been a hit there, so here's hoping for more of the same on SATURDAY NIGHT! This show has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather on SATURDAY with a high of 27°, so it will be a warm one.

Be advised that they are also projecting a 10% chance of rain that night, and while it's too soon to go off of an hourly forecast, stay tuned to your preferred local weather report if you have any concerns. Also, if you're curious, tonight's "Think It Over Thursday" musician is The Crossed/Deter alum Josh McNally (haven't heard his name in a long time), who plays blues nowadays. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on Curt's patio gig on SATURDAY NIGHT, and here he is live!

Now to shows that we knew about in advance, starting with southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225's return to The Water Tower Pub for another "uncorked" concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at the Great Northern Road nightclub at the end of May, this will be Bone Yard's first acoustic concert since rocking Gateway Casino early last month, and is their only public show this month to not take place at Reggie's Place (remember that they are not playing Rotaryfest next weekend, let alone anywhere else at press time). If you like seeing your local 225 unplugged, consider a run to this high quality central venue tomorrow! According to personal Facebook posts, Headrush (John Amendola's new classic rock band that debuted at last year's Toystock) are playing there on Saturday. Tomorrow's concert has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new lyric video!

We already featured their new single "FAFO" on the site earlier this month, but on their new YouTube channel last week, they also uploaded a lyric video of it, so now you can learn the words and sing along if you so choose! The video proper features a slideshow of pictures of Greg, Alex, and Warren, along with some brief video clips from a gig at The Esquire Club (why they used vertical footage when the video proper is in 16:9, I have no idea). Well put together otherwise, and it lays their view of the world out there, so check it out below, and don't miss Bone Yard 225 tomorrow!

Finally for this first weekend concert preview post, prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his weekly summer arrangements at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT and at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! This weekend sees a return to last month's status quo of the two weekly gigs following Tym not playing at Misty's this past Saturday due to his wedding that same day. Of course, congratulations to the happy couple, and I'm glad things went well! If you're up for acoustic classic and hard rock covers at The Trading Post's outdoor stage tomorrow or want to welcome Tym back to Misty's on Second Line West for Saturday's matinee, you know where to go for all of this weekend's action! Both shows have no cover charge, the Mike Case Stage gig is all ages at 7:00 PM, and the Misty's show is a 4:00 matinee as usual for these ongoing weekly series.

Weather-wise, tomorrow's outdoor Trading Post show is forecasted by 9&10 News to have sunny weather in the 22-25° range, so summer lovers who don't mind the warmer recent temperatures will be right at home tomorrow evening! Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here and here for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but look for part 2 of this weekend's concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The BAG & The Apocalypse Afterparty), Plus New Videos!!

We have made it to October, and if today's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS are any indication, local hard rock fans may finally have some big Halloween weekend shows to check out beyond single cover band gigs for the first time post-pandemic! Those lead off today, as well as new videos from an artist playing one of these events, so here's what you should know!

Eight local music acts will join forces for a special Halloween weekend concert on Saturday, October 28th at... Triple H Cabins in Goulais River? Yes, a cabin/outdoor gear rental business at 317 B Harmony Beach Road is actually hosting a concert of this scale, and yes, it is publically attendable (admission is by donation), with the poster circulating on Facebook pages over the past week, some publically. I am unsure if the poster's order of acts is accurate, but given that many acts share performers, I'll jump around a bit. The apparent headliners are party/rap metal duo (trio?) The Apocalypse Afterparty, and while I don't know if Mikhal Muto will be playing bass with them again on the 28th, he will be playing here with his online page-less folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism as well, if early in the evening given the poster. Highly placed there is a band named The Floor Between Us who we've never mentioned here before, so who are they?

They're an newer outsider folk/comedy band fronted by 2022 Soo's Got Talent finalist Colin Gasparelli, who you may have seen at the Fringe North Festival in August and at an array of private gigs, often ones featuring Agnosticism. There's some humour to be had from their original material, and a comedy band like this is certainly distinct in this market! Colin is also slated to play a solo set on this night. The other four acts playing in four weeks are rising young metal trio The BAG, prolific extreme metal/folk punk solo musician Chase James Wigmore, a rare non-Fringe North set from acoustic punk solo project Slumshine (led by Mikhal's Ha!ls bandmate Brenton Ellis), and DJ Seith's online page-less hip hop duo Planet Rock. Quite a stacked lineup of (mostly) rising younger talent, and it's been four years since we've seen a heavier, multi-band Halloween concert like this here, so keep that in mind!

This all ages event takes place at 5:00 PM at Triple H Cabins, refreshments will be available, and costumes are encouraged (no word on a contest). Again, admission is by donation. A half hour drive north of the Soo may not be ideal for some, but it's certainly a unique event with a very intriguing array of performers, and weather permitting, being up on Harmony Beach may be nice for you nature lovers! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, you know how I said that we hadn't really had a multi-band Halloween concert like this in the Soo area in four years? Yeah, well we're not done, as another one is taking place on Halloween night proper (Tuesday, October 31st) at The Art Hub at Spring! This one will have no cover charge but a tip jar for musicians will be on hand, and it'll be a B.Y.O.B. event if you are so inclined. The full lineup is not yet out, but The BAG confirmed on a post on their Facebook group last week that they will be playing this event too, so expect more metal mayhem for Halloween before the month is out! The rest of the lineup is to be announced, but the show is being promoted by Skinbox bandmates Steve Edwards (ex-Pixo Control) and William Wardlaw (ex-Stoned To Deaf), strongly implying that this new local rock band will be playing on the 31st. Despite already debuting live, their full lineup and sound is still not publically posted, we'll keep you posted when more is known.

Stay tuned for updates on the full lineup as well! This show takes place at 504 Queen Street East on Halloween night at 8:30 PM, there is no stated age limit, and again, it's free but tipping the artists is encouraged. Halloween or not, a Tuesday nighter isn't ideal for many, but hopefully a solid turnout comes out to rock out on Halloween night itself downtown! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close today with new songs from the aforementioned Chase Wigmore, who has posted two new original songs onto his YouTube channel over the past three weeks! Both have attached music videos featuring that choppy and possibly AI-generated style that he has recently been using. The first of the new songs/videos is for "The Speciesist", which Chase noted on his Facebook page was about "our impending extinction and coming to terms with the fact that we probably deserve it". The video realizes this message by showing various demonic aliens laying waste to the planet, so now you know how the doomsday will occur! I don't know if this will be on his long-gestating "Chaotic Rite" album or not, so I'll hold comment for now, but it is definitely a metal song but with drone-style clean vocals. Embedded below is his newest song from September 23rd, entitled "A Song For The Apocalypse", which feels like a direct sequel to "The Speciesist".

The visuals here show destruction of Earth, wastelands, and people observing the state of the planet, so yeah, not the most optimistic video out there, but the visuals are cool looking! This is more of a progressive metal song with more ominous overtones and screaming, plus an acoustic interlude, so you get a wide breadth of his styles here, but again, I'll hold comment in case this song is on "The Chaotic Rite". Give Chase's entertaining new videos a watch above & below!

 

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down, Soundcheck, And Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

We're still a week out from Rotaryfest, but this weekend is proving to be quite a busy one itself, so this weekend's hard rock concert previews are being broken up into two posts. As such, the Go North Music Festival, Handsome Sandwich, and Project 906 (all previously announced as taking place on Saturday) will be covered in our next post, while the late notice and Friday gigs are in this one. Let's lead off with a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (some on SHORT NOTICE), as well as some new live videos of two bands playing this weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover solo musician Tym Morrison will pick up his acoustic guitar and return to The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT and every Friday of this and next month! Apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW'S show, it was only announced via the Facebook event page for all eight Trading Post gigs. Of course, long-time followers of Tym's solo career will know that weekly arrangements at a non-typical concert venue are nothing new for him, and he has done this at the Mike Case Memorial Stage a few times now, most recently via a (more or less) weekly series last year that took place on Wednesday evenings from June to September (when The Trading Post closes for the season). Having 2023's on Fridays will be better for most schedule-wise, and hopefully there's a decent turnout and weather for Tym TOMORROW, next Friday, and on the 21st, 28th, and beyond!

Like in past instances of a regular weekly series, I'll wait to add Tym's August dates until closer to, and be advised that his September dates last year got short notice announcements at best. You can see the Nostalgia frontman TOMORROW and on the other dates at 7:00 PM with no age limits or cover charges. As the Mike Case Stage is outdoors, 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy weather at 22°, which is a good start for this summer series! Visit the above links for more on all eight of Tym's trading post gigs this summer (so far?), and here he is live!

Next up, newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their Facebook page on Monday. One week out from their Rotaryfest Stage 1 debut, this new supergroup of That's Chester, Mojo, Mustang Heart, and 100 Gran alumni will play their first shows at the former Reggie's West since their first gigs there last month. With a talented lineup at their disposal, hopefully the guys deliver a strong weekend of hard rocking classics TOMORROW & SATURDAY! These are 19+ events with 9:30 PM start times and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's two new videos of Double Down live at Jay's their last time out on June 10th! Bassist Brad Stephen uploaded these to his YouTube channel last month, his first videos there in 3+ years.

An uncredited attendee filmed them (horizontally!) covering Mack Rice's "Mustang Sally" (with guitarist Adam King on vocals) and, as embedded below, Sugarloaf's "Green-Eyed Lady" with frontman Joel Syrette singing lead. Both of these songs are 6+ minutes long, so you get a nice sense of Double Down's range and talent as they jam through these, and the dark lighting is actually accentuated rather well once things come on for the songs themselves. Good stuff, so check these out above & below, and don't miss Double Down back at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Also this weekend, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will headline this year's 45th annual Goulais River Community Days on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, Soundcheck only confirmed their involvement on their Facebook page earlier today, but "Sound Check" were advertised in festival promotions beforehand. This is nothing new for Soundcheck, having played at Community Days last year as well, but unlike last year's 19+ "adult dance" at 9:00 PM, this is advertised as a "family dance" at 6:00 PM on SATURDAY. It was confirmed that organizers do not have a liquor license for this year's festival, hence the change for Soundcheck's set, and you can read more about what is and isn't occurring on SATURDAY at the Goulais River Area Recreation & Events Facebook group. Music was also cut back, with only the returning 17 North (at noon) also playing that day.

I rarely promote concerts on the SMS on the basis of "you can drink beer!", as that shouldn't the point over the musicians at most gigs, but this may be a concern for some who are used to alcohol being available at Community Days, so keep that in mind. The music will still be rocking, of course! As best as I can gather, Soundcheck's set/the dance will occur at the Captain Tilley Community Centre at 592 ON-552 once again, though no word on if singer/guitarist Terry Eaton will resume his DJ duties from last year. Admission is $5 for most, $4 for seniors 65+, and free for kids 4 and under all weekend, but SATURDAY is the only day with advertised bands. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

We'll close this preview post with a show that did get advance notice, namely local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard's return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! While not newly promoted by the band this week, this will be Bone Yard's first Shooters gig since playing there for a full weekend just two weeks ago. Like Soundcheck, Bone Yard are not playing at Rotaryfest this year, and with their Sudbury road trip in two weeks, this may be as close as you get to seeing them again this month in the Soo, so consider heading down to the Dennis Street nightclub for all of the action tomorrow! A one-nighter due to or resulting in a video dance party at Shooters on Saturday, tomorrow's Bone Yard concert has a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's some of Bone Yard's new live concert videos from their concerts this past weekend!

An attendee had cameras rolling for live-streamed videos at both their Jay's Piston Broke Pub show on Friday and Poutine Feast on Saturday (nothing at Jay's on Saturday though), with three videos at the former and four at the latter. I'll save the Poutine Feast ones for an upcoming post, but at Jay's, Bone Yard were filmed covering Van Halen's "Eruption" & The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" back to back, The Foo Fighters' "Monkey Wrench", and as embedded below, Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music". Vertical camera angle aside, these are well shot videos with good close views of Greg, Alex, and Warren playing some covers not filmed often at their gigs, and they sound good overall, so check these out for yourself!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Vanity First), New Videos, And More!!

Before we finish off this weekend's concert previews, I wanted to note that Soo Blaster's website advertises a show from Ottawa indie rock band No Hits on Sunday night that local alt-punk quintet These Magnificent Tentacles were allegedly opening. As best as I can tell, that is an outdated listing, as the Tentacles have never plugged the show on social media, physical posters at Soo Blaster only mention Distich as opening, and their own Facebook page says their next show will be The Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir next month. A reason for T.M.T.'s withdrawal from this show has not been announced, but note that frontman Brenton Ellis indicated in a personal Facebook post that drummer Brendan Garlick was unavailable for their recent outdoor festival gigs, so that could be related. No Hits aren't a hard rock/punk band, but they are talented for genre fans, so look into this minimally advertised show if you're at all curious, as I am pretty sure it is still on!

Now, today's post otherwise features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (mostly on SHORT NOTICE), plus a new videos from a performer playing this weekend, so here's what you should know!

Local punk trio Vanity First will play a special matinee gig THIS SUNDAY at... Harmony Beach Lakeview Resort in Goulais River?! Apologies for the short notice, the show was announced via this concert poster on July 10th, but between last weekend's concert preview slate and the generally busy times for the SMS this month, it got pushed back and back. SUNDAY's show will see Andrew, Mikhal, and Keegan playing at Harmony Beach's annual beach clean-up, which takes place at 11:00 AM at the resort, with the free-by-registration event seeing attendees helping clean up the beach. Nice idea, if somewhat sad that they have to make a point to giving the conceit an annual event, but hopefully everyone does their part to keep Harmony Beach beautiful! Organizers didn't go into great detail about the format of Vanity First's concert, but they will have an opening band (Sylo, who I know nothing about, stay tuned in case anything pertinent comes out).

Note that Vanity First will also be playing a house party event tomorrow at a cottage in Goulais River, and as I'm wary about advertising events at private residences, I won't cover it here due to the nature of the location, but be advised that the address is on the poster linked above. Hopefully it goes over well! SUNDAY'S beach clean-up is an all ages event, lunch and refreshments will be provided, and the resort is at 128 Harmony Beach Road. Assuming they're playing outdoors, be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 35-40% chance of scattered thunderstorms with temperatures of 19°. See above for more details, and here's Vanity First live!

Next up, local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play matinee concerts THIS SUNDAY and next Sunday the 31st, but not at Reggie's Place, at Shooters Downstairs Lounge! Again, apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced these shows via their Facebook event page on Monday, with Shooters posting their own yesterday on their Facebook page. Clearly, Shooters' deep dive into live concert bookings in 2022 is going well, as they're now trying their hand at the Sunday matinee like the downtown Reggie's has hosted for years, and Tym's up first there THIS SUNDAY and next Sunday! Despite playing there two straight weeks, this isn't the start of a new weekly arrangement for Tym, as the Dennis Street nightclub will be hosting multiple artists for their Sunday matinees, including country singer/guitarist Leslie Cook on the first two Sundays of August.

Shooters' Sunday matinees have 3:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Tym's acoustic classic and hard rock covers should find a receptive audience further down Queen Street THIS SUNDAY and next Sunday, so definitely keep these shows in mind for some dinner-time music! See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Let's close today with some new videos from Vanity First guitarist Mikhal Muto before these get pushed back any further in our backlog! In between sporadic full band-related updates on their Facebook page, two videos were posted there of Mikhal solo on June 27th & July 8th, with the first being a 32 second clip of him playing the guitar solo from their song "White Ghosts". Very well done, any punk band in the Soo would be lucky to have Mikhal on board playing like that!. Embedded below is the slightly longer second video, which sees him playing a section of a new original (and partially eponymous) song named "Habitual Vanity", which they're reportedly debuting the house party in Goulais River tomorrow. The video is not as high quality (and it's clearly mirrored), but it's still a solid showcase of Mikhal's skill, and as a new song, it was worth sharing here! Check out both videos, and don't miss Vanity First at Harmony Beach on SUNDAY!

That's all for today, but our Rotaryfest concert video coverage will continue on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck) & Most Of This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Given recent trends for hard rock and punk concerts in the area, this is a quiet-ish weekend, with only one known and announced heavier concert (Sandman at Soo Blaster on Saturday) having to be pushed to tomorrow's post! Quiet before the Rotaryfest storm, in other words, but that preview is coming! Now, here's what you should know for hard rock concert previews, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will head out to nearby Goulais River on SATURDAY NIGHT as the featured headliner at this year's Goulais River Community Days festival! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced their involvement via their Facebook event page on Monday, but they had been isted as appearing last month in festival advertising. As best as I can gather, Soundcheck will be performing at the Captain Tilley Community Centre at 592 ON-552 as part of the "adult dance", which immediately follows performances on SATURDAY by advertised acts like Radio (4:00 PM), TB & LC (2:00 PM), and 17 North (12:00 PM). However, Soundcheck's show is being treated separately as it will be a 19+ affair, unlike the prior sets, which take place during the family activities at Goulais Days. This poster lists all of the varied entertainment at the festival tomorrow through Sunday, and yes, Soundcheck singer/guitarist Terry Eaton will be pulling double duty as a DJ tomorrow night, so keep that in mind if you're attending tomorrow!

Soundcheck's accessible but often heavy range of covers should provide a fun closer to the non-baseball portion of Goulais Days, so keep an eye on this if you're in the area on SATURDAY! Soundcheck's show begins at 9:00 PM, and admission to Goulais Days is $5 for adults & $4 for seniors (kids are free, but again, they can't attend the 19+ adult dance). Visit the Goulais River Area Recreation & Events Facebook page and the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, let's take a quick detour to Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will be rocking The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in Barbeau this past weekend, these will be Rhythm & Brews' first St. Ignace shows since February, and if you believe their newest Facebook page posting, these could be their last gigs "for a month or two" (they are not advertised for the St. Ignace or Soo Kewadin lounges through August). Hopefully this supergroup's brand of up tempo hard and classic rock covers go over swimmingly at The Northern Pines Lounge this weekend, especially if we don't see them again until the fall! As usual for Kewadin lounges, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and we'll let you know when preview videos surface!

Finally, the fourth annual Go North Music Festival in nearby Richards Landing, Ontario (on St. Joseph Island) goes down this weekend, and two hard rock bands are on the main musical bill on SATURDAY! After a pandemic-induced two year hiatus, the Go North Festival returns to Centennial Grounds at 1511 Richards Street (the old Cornfest site) for a full weekend of live music, family entertainment, camping, vendors, and much more, so definitely visit their Facebook page and/or website for full details on what to expect beyond the musicians! The lineup that was first announced in March remains mostly intact, aside from two big changes. One is that Guelph garage rock trio The Royal Castles have dropped out of the festival due to apparent isolation due to COVID-19 exposure overseas, as per the Go North Facebook page yesterday. Disappointing to be sure, but hopefully The Royal Castles come back to Northern Ontario in due course!

They would have played third-to-last on Saturday, and were not replaced, so while the lineup order is otherwise unchanged, start times have been altered. The other big update is that there will be two stages on Saturday, with a Family Zone Stage also being held separately on Centennial Grounds featuring three acts pulling double duty in a smaller, up close setting that is more amenable to kids & families. Interesting idea, and if there's a band you like on the Family Zone Stage, you could theoretically see them twice on Saturday! Timeslots ahead for the Family Zone Stage will be in (brackets). The headliners on the main stage at 9:45 PM are Oshawa progressive rock duo Crown Lands, with Thunder Bay folk rock band The Honest Heart Collective co-headlining at 8:15 PM (4:30 on the Family Stage). With The Royal Castles out, Toronto folk musician Charlotte Cornfield is bumped up to the 7:00 PM timeslot.

Ottawa hard rock quintet Taming Sari will hit the stage at 6:00 PM, and their rootsy brand of old school hard rock should attract an audience in Richards Landing on Saturday evening! Before their trip to Ophir for the Northern Vibe Festival next month, Toronto pop rock band Goodnight Sunrise will hit the stage a little further west at 4:45 PM (3:30 PM as the Family Zone Stage openers), while the local bands kick off things on the main stage, including rising young psychedelic hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley at 3:45 PM (headlining the Family Stage at 5:45 PM). This should be a prime opportunity to enjoy The Uncanny Valley's skilled originals and covers, so don't be late! The openers at 3:00 PM are Central Algoma Secondary School student band CASS FM (think like Mustang Sally or The Pine Tones). Friday's reduced lineup features Hamilton folk musician Jay Pollmann and local folk artist Hannah Lindsay & her backing band, so you'll still get music that night!

Discounted advance ticket sales close tonight at midnight, so get yours at this link while there's still limited time! General admission tickets at the gate run for $20 (Friday only), $55 (Saturday only), and $70 (full weekend), while 13-18 year old admission is $15 Friday, $25 Saturday, and $40 for the whole weekend, and kids 12 and under are FREE! Camping is permitted overnight on Friday too. The weather forecast is calling for sunny weather from 19-25°, so it should be great conditions for attendees! Go North looks like a fun time for fans of folk music & family fun, with a dash of hard rock, so keep the action 45 minutes east of the Soo in mind this weekend! See above for more details, and here's Taming Sari live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rotaryfest Second Stage), Plus The Latest From The Suicide Kings & Haggith!!

As promised, today's post is headlined by a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this year's Tenaris Second Stage at the Sault Ontario summer music festival Rotaryfest, where as usual, local original musicians and select out of town bands will grace the outdoor Queen Street East stage (outside of The Grand Theater) in three weeks time on Friday, July 19th & Saturday, July 20th! Now, the amount of hard rock-leaning bands has fallen from two last year to only one this year, but it's still more than the Second Stage had in 2011, so read on below for full lineup details, and check out our coverage of the Main Stage lineup in yesterday's second post!

As usual, the Friday lineup on the 19th is smaller, and it will feature out of town headlining band Jaill, an indie/pop rock trio from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (interesting to see an American band at Rotaryfest!) They'll be on at 9:30 PM, and they'll be preceded by four local acts, including blues rock standouts Blues Harvest at 8:30 PM, local/North Bay folk trio The Faraway Neighbours at 7:30 PM, solo folk artist M.D. Dunn at 6:30 PM, and folk/country rockers The Porter Band opening at 5:30 PM. Talented lineup overall, so if you like the above genres, be there on Friday!

As for the main Saturday lineup on July 20th, that's where you'll find this year's only heavier band on the Second Stage, that being local hard rock quartet Sailor's Tongue, in their first live show since last year's Rotaryfest! Though this isn't technically a one off reunion (they've even recorded original material in the interim), it's great to see the McKey brothers & company finally back for another live show, and hopefully their classic-influenced and varied hard rock originals will be welcomed back for another Second Stage go-round! This year, they're the highest slotted local band on Saturday night at 8:00 PM, with two out of town bands (Toronto reggae collective The House of David Gang & Guelph "indie-afrobeat" band The Minotaurs) taking the headlining slots at 10:00 & 9:00 PM respectively. Local news media credits a "surprise guest" in the 7:00 PM slot, but Rotaryfest's own official schedule credits Sault Ontario native & prolific Sudbury blues artist Sean Poluk as playing at that time (no word on why there's partial secrecy, or if something's changed in that slot.)

The remaining Saturday bands in descending order include local folk musician Guy Smith at 6:00 PM, jazz/blues artist Rusty McCarthy at 5:00 PM, progressive rock quartet Machines Dream at 4:00 PM, folk quintet The Mulch & The Mire at 3:00 PM, and returning indie rock trio Cowboys & Indians opening the stage at 2:00 PM. This is a very different lineup than last year's Second Stage, with only 3 bands (Sailor's Tongue, The Faraway Neighbours, and The Porter Band) returning for this year, so the diversity & newer names are appreciated, but metalheads are bound to be disappointed with the decrease of heavier acts. Nonetheless, there's a wide array of talented sounds to be had, so check the above links for more details on the FREE & ALL AGES action going down in three weeks!

Next up, here's some big upcoming news from Rotaryfest main stage performers The Suicide Kings, as they're looking to add a new bassist to their lineup! The news has been plugged on their Facebook page, the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, and members' personal Facebook pages in the past week, but I will stress that they are NOT replacing any existing members. Instead, current bassist Mitch Sirie is planning to move to second guitar full time with the band, as part of an impending expansion to a quintet, which should be interesting in itself! Personal Facebook posts indicate that there are already some interested musicians, but the Rockstar Bar Battle winners won't begin formal auditions until after Rotaryfest in three weeks, so if you're a bassist, there's still time to let the guys know that you'd like to try out! Knowing how fast The Suicide Kings have rose locally in under a year, this could be a huge opportunity, so message the guys on Facebook and at the above links, and stay tuned for more on The Suicide Kings' bassist search!

Finally for today, you may have read on Facebook that local grunge/alternative rock band Haggith's next shows will be part of a private Canada Day bash up in Goulais Mission from yesterday through tomorrow, mirroring their live debut last year, but things will be on a larger scale this time around. Not only will Haggith play, but this will also see the live debuts of Haggith side projects Mike Haggith & The Din and Sound X, as well as a number of newer acts on the band's independent label PaperClip Productions, including Haggith guitarist Daniel Horton & recent backing singer Kristi-Lee Marshall in a joint set, a performer named Frank McGillivray that PaperClip Productions has listed as a signed act in recent months, and two newer acts that I know nothing on named Purple Core and The Nirvanabees (my source for the full lineup is Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie's solo Facebook page.) Even though this bash is not publically attendable, PaperClip Productions will be recording full sets from the performing acts, and have plans to release live albums from the show at some point down the road, so stay tuned for more on these intriguing plans & new acts!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news either tonight or tomorrow as we continue to clear out backlogged news stories! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (That's Chester & Tym Morrison) & New Videos!!

Well guys, here's one more post before we unveil our next monthly poll at the SMS tomorrow, and today, we'll profile this weekend's known slate of metal and hard rock concerts! For the record, I have not heard anything definitive about a Roosevelt Hotel metal night taking place tonight, despite the buzz behind the series' relaunch last week. Whether it's just very secretive, no longer weekly, extremely short notice, or otherwise, I don't know if there will be a metal night tonight, but if I hear anything on them or any future developments relating to them, you'll hear them here (same for if any Sault Michigan metal shows are announced!) Now, to the previews, starting with some short notice LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! (Edited on Friday at 9:30 AM)

Local classic hard rock quintet That's Chester are returning to the local stage TOMORROW NIGHT & SATURDAY NIGHT! After a month away from the local stage, this talented veteran outfit will return to one of their favourite stomping grounds, Docks Riverfront Grill, for two high impact sets of classic hard rockers over the next two nights! Note that the Facebook event page for this show only lists a Friday date, but the band confirmed on their Facebook page that they ARE playing Saturday too. The event page has the tagline "The Show Must Go On", which could allude to the band still playing despite a rather painful looking foot injury sustained by drummer Ric Datson. Still, it's good to see the band marching on, and you know they'll still deliver quality stuff at Docks this weekend! I'd expect there to be a cover charge of around $4, you must be 19 to attend, and they'll be on at 11:00 PM both nights. Check the above links for more details! These should be fun concerts from That's Chester, so head to Docks for some quality classic hard rock from this standout local band! For a preview, here's That's Chester covering Deep Purple's "Highway Star" at Docks a few years back!



Also for new (and imminent) concerts are the next two acoustic solo dates from Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison! One week out from Caveman Morrison's long waited return, Tym will break out the unplugged show all weekend, starting with his return to The Zone Roadhouse in Goulais River TOMORROW NIGHT! Fans and revelers in Goulais River will be happy to see Tym back at The Zone after two months away from there, so head to the Highway 17 North bar/restaurant tomorrow to enjoy the music! And yes, Saultites, Tym will again return to The Service Grill on Korah Road on Saturday night, which will be sure to go over well! This breaks the recent bi-weekly trend of his shows there, but with the Caveman bookings next weekend, I figured we'd hear about a show this weekend, so don't miss it! He'll be on at 9:00 PM tomorrow and an hour earlier on Saturday, there's no announced cover charge for either show, and I expect you'll have to be 19 or older for at least the Zone show. Click here and here for each concert's Facebook event pages! With Caveman Morrison's return, who knows when you could see Tym's entertaining acoustic shows next, so just in case, make a point to see him somewhere this weekend! For a preview, here's Tym & former Half Past singer Luke LeBlanc covering Extreme's "More Than Words" in Heyden a few years back!



Let's close this post with new videos, and first, here's yet another new solo performance video from End of Existence, Theater of Night, and Dust N' Bones keyboardist Craig Harrison! The prolific and talented Sault Michigan artist has posted another video of some solo synth riffs onto his YouTube channel earlier today, where he shows off 6 minutes of Amon Amarth-inspired synth riffs that don't sound bad at all! Maybe repetitive, but this is all rough, and with some refinement and extra attention, these would fit nicely on some End of Existence material! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Craig and his solo projects as it comes in!



And finally, here's this week's classic video! With their return to the stage this weekend, I figured That's Chester would be a good band to connect a classic video with, so this week, we'll focus on frontman Greg Simpson's old party rock trio Stiffler's Mom! Videos of theirs are hard to come by online, but as you may remember, they covered the members' old metal band Sin Stereo's songs live frequently, and one such performance was filmed by SooToday in 2007 at one of their biggest shows. On July 15th, 2007, Stiffler's Mom were called on short notice to replace Washington, D.C. solo artist Hayley Sales as openers for Australian rock legends INXS at the then-Steelback Center in what must have been an amazing experience for them! I'm not high on INXS, but this was a huge opportunity, and I heard they did great! SooToday's Donna Hopper was there to review the show (you can check her review out at this location) and she got footage of Stiffler's Mom covering Sin Stereo's "Enjoy The Show" from their set! Only 30 seconds worth (it's all press were allowed for some reason), but it's better than no footage at all!

Featuring their classic lineup (including Greg on vocals/drums, Michael Davies on guitar, and Jon Ferguson on bass), the video was stretched out with the addition of a dramatic intro and some pop-up facts on Stiffler's Mom, which do add to the clip! It's well shot, and Stiffler's Mom play the song close to the studio original, but it's a shame it couldn't be longer. You can see the original video at http://sootoday.com/uploads/common/concerts/stifflers_mom_inxs.wmv and NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Stiffler's Mom and Donna Hopper, they did the hard work, I'm just sharing this video with a wider audience like it deserves! That said, check out Stiffler's Mom breaking out "Enjoy The Show" as openers for INXS below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results & this month's new poll TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!