LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Return For Refund), More March Mash-Up Videos, And More!!

Before we tackle this weekend's concert previews, here's a new news post for you guys to check out, if you are so inclined! This post contains some new videos from a recent concert, and some assorted recent updates, but let's kick things off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Toronto hard rock quartet Return For Refund will make their local concert debut on Thursday, April 6th when they headline at The New American Pub! Harbouring a 1990s-feeling blend of genres like grunge and alternative, with even some bluesy touches, Return For Refund are touring in support of their new CD "Lift You Up", and they should prove to be a well-recieved and entertaining attraction at The New A in three weeks! Local support will come via newer local pop punk quartet A Dire Setback and former Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus (in his solo debut at this venue), and while neither are a "hard rock" act, their talents speak for themselves, and they should prove a nice compliment on the 6th! Note that I'm unclear who's promoting this show, as Live705 nor Mike are claiming it, so it may have been through the venue. In any event, this is a 19+ show with a $5 cover charge and 9:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more on this intriguing concert!

Next up, here's a pair of new videos posted to the aforementioned Live705's Facebook page during this past Saturday's March Mash-Up at The Canadian Nightclub, showcasing two bands from that day's events. One is of local death/thrash metal trio Pillory, as uploaded during their set, albeit posted twice when promoters weren't sure if the first copy went through. This was one of the band's first songs during their set, though I'm not 100% certain of the title, partly as this is is just 41 seconds long and doesn't feature a part with vocals. Still, this is some quality side-stage devastation from Robert, Jordan, and Bret, so give it a look below!



Live705's other video is of new local alternative hard rock quartet Bizotic playing a song during soundcheck before the concert proper actually began, though given my still light knowledge of their songs by name, I can't title this one. Given that this is from soundcheck, Bizotic are lacking the spontaneity and atmosphere of their actual set (not to mention, their plasma clock), but they sound good here, and the trumpet is largely audible! Check it out below!

 

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical orer by artist or venue name:

• Project 421 frontman Blair Burch is "looking for an outlet" where he can play guitar in a hard rock or metal setting, though he doesn't want to play in a band with death metal growling vocals, and he has lots of available time and a jam space. What this posting means for the future of Project 421 (who indicated that "we aren't going anywhere" on their Facebook page three weeks ago) isn't clear, but he's a talented guitarist, so message Blair at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Sunday if you're interested in jamming with him!
• I have deleted former Gore Street concert venue GLOW (a.k.a. The Other Place, Nite-Life Dance Club, etc.) from our inactive concert venue links due to the deletion of it's last known surviving Facebook group at some point in recent years. Also, it's old FreeWebs page has since been "frozen" itself too, and I doubt Mike would revive it at this point, so there goes the backup plan. The GLOW location always felt like a quality locale for concerts prior to it's ultimate closure in 2010, and hopefully it finds a new long-term purpose!
• It's official: Sunrise Records is taking over HMV's spot in Station Mall later this year! The Soo location was among the first 29 new branches announced for the Ancaster-based record store chain's takeover of at least 70 HMV stores, and this has since been confirmed via local news media. I hope Sunrise Records does well in the Soo, and can at least match the decade-long runs that Music World and HMV had in this location of the mall, so stay tuned for when they open hopefully later in the spring! For reference, HMV liquidation sales are now at least 40-60% off everything in store, and they must close by the end of next month.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Soundcheck), Plus More Recent Updates

February 2017 is now in the rear view mirror, so let's tackle March with a new news/concert preview post! Barring the potential rush of late notice shows, this is a quiet weekend for hard rock fans, and for the record, we'll be covering Sunday's K-Man & The 45s post on Saturday in all likelihood, with this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post coming in between, either tonight or tomorrow. Now, let's kick things off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!

With March now commenced, we'll add local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's next slate of Gliss Steak & Seafood concerts to our band links, including matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY, plus an extra nighttime show at The Barrelhouse Wine & Whiskey THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on those three, we waited for Facebook confirmation of the shows as usual, which came a couple of days ago. SATURDAY'S Barrelhouse show will mark Tym's third show at the downtown tapas restaurant since debuting there last month, but his Gliss shows will march unabated into the spring, with this weekend's gigs also joining presumed & likely concerts at The Quality Inn's house restaurant on March 10th & 11th, 17th & 18th, and 24th & 25th, as well as March 31st & April 1st, as the two months straddle that weekend. Sounds like a solid and busy month of gigs, so don't miss Tym's unplugged cover favourites on the above dates!

All of this month's Gliss shows (including TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S) have no announced cover charges or age limits, though keep in mind their host venue, and they're all 6:00 PM events, while his Barrelhouse show on SATURDAY is presumably 19+, takes place at 10:00 PM, and also has no cover. For more details on this weekend's shows, click here & here or visit the above links, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, local 1980s-themed cover hard rock band Soundcheck will return to The Rednecks Saloon for their St. Patrick's Day party on Friday, March 17th! Announced on unusually early notice for one of Terry & Steven's bands, this will mark their first show for the former Nameus since rocking The Rockstar Bar last month, and to fit the holiday theme, expect drink specials, green beer, and even hot dogs for the occasion! The Facebook event page (from members' promotional company Twin City Sound) also notes that Soundcheck have "a new addition to our band", implying that they're expanding to a quartet, but unless the band launches a Facebook page or indicates their identity on a personal Facebook page, we may have to wait two weeks for the reveal. Given Steven Flint's multi-instrumental talents and ease of moving to them, the implied new member isn't necessarily a second guitarist, but we'll let you know if we hear anything!

No word yet on a potential Saturday the 18th booking at Rednecks, but as for Soundcheck, expect a 10:00 PM start time and 19+ age limit, and while there isn't an announced cover charge, bring cash in case there's special holiday admission fees and/or to partake in the refreshments. Check the above links for current details on this St. Patrick's Day bash, and stay tuned for possible updates on Soundcheck's teased "new addition"!

Also today, here's a very delayed new video from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, courtesy of their Facebook page from two weeks ago! Apologies for the wait in getting this on here, especially as it commemorates a milestone for The Din, as they surpassed 500 fans on Facebook last month! The video features drummer Brandan Glew noting to Mike and Tammy that he watched a Star Trek episode about alternate dimensions where there are slightly different copies of everyone, as they wonder how things would be different in the band if they were in such a dimension. This leads to two different clips of The Din with members swapping (Brandon on vocals, Mike on guitar, and Tammy on drums, then Tammy on vocals, Brandan on guitar, and Mike on drums), plus the real band's reactions. Without giving anything away as to how the alternate Dins sound, this is a cute video that showcases everyone outside of their usual roles, and one variant comes across better than the other!

Just as an aside, did they miss the boat by not showcasing an evil alternate version of The Din where everyone's wearing goatees? Now 535 likes strong, The Din are showing no signs of slowing down, so check out their newest Facebook video below, and stay tuned for much more from them!

Finally for today, I wanted to acknowledge on there that Ancaster-based record store chain Sunrise Records have announced that they are moving into at least 70 current HMV locations once they close by the end of next month, which has led to speculation that Sunrise is taking over the local HMV's place at Station Mall. In articles from both The Sault Star & SooToday, mall officials would neither confirm nor deny that Sunrise Records are opening up there, but if you ask me, they'd have denied it if they weren't at least talking. This would make sense if it happens, as that location at the Sears end of the mall has had a music store since Music World moved there in the late 1990s, so we'll have to see what happens! For what it's worth, write-ups on Sunrise Records indicate that they sell albums from local musicians, plus a fair amount of vinyl records, and they encourage HMV employees to apply to work at new Sunrise branches. In the meantime, what is known is that HMV's liquidation sales are now 30-50% off, as per their website, so keep the increasing deals in mind!

In one last somewhat related note, novelty gift store chain Spencer's Gifts (which is opening at Station Mall in the coming months) is obviously not taking over the HMV location. Spencer's is actually opening in the corridor between Sportchek and Roots, and if it's not opening in the former Bluenotes location, it's opening near it. They do sell band merchandise though, so keep them in mind when Spencer's finally opens! That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's"Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Who Made Who, Peril, And Scarkazm), And More Recent News!!

On this Super Bowl Sunday, let's get a new news post up early so that everyone can focus on the game! Below, you'll find some assorted shorter stories, but mostly LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on each side of the border, so here's what you need to know!

Let's begin with the remainder of the new hard rock concert announcements from Kewadin Casino's newly updated entertainment pages (linked here & here), let's start with Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril, who have a reasonably busy slate of shows planned for 2017 at both of the regional concert-hosting Kewadin branches! Jeff, Adam, and Brooks will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace on April 7th & 8th, May 26th & 27th, August 11th & 12th, and October 13th & 14th, while they'll also return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 14th & 15th, September 15th & 16th, and November 17th & 18th. These shows don't include previously advertised gigs on March & June, which we'll elaborate on in a bit, while the Soo shows this summer will mark their first at The Rapids Lounge since September.

Peril's entertaining hard rock and metal covers should continue to find an audience all year at the Soo & St. Ignace's Kewadin lounges, and it's great to see them playing a little more frequently in the new year, so don't miss out on these new shows, or their already announced June gigs! All are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no announced cover charges. See the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more details!

Next up, let's take a detour to Sault Ontario for the long awaited return of Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who to The Rockstar Bar on Friday, April 7th! Just for clarification, this is not the same AC/DC tribute band that were forced to drop out or postpone Rockstar Bar shows twice last year, that was Hells Bells, so if you're feeling wary about buying tickets after last year, don't worry, it's not the same band (though hopefully Hells Bells can finally come back to the Soo at some point!) Who Made Who have played here a bunch of times in the past, but not since November 2014, so it'll be nice to get Who Made Who's faithful sounding and looking blend of high voltage rock & roll back on a local stage again in April! This 19+ concert will have doors opening at 9:00 PM on April 7th, and advance tickets are on sale for $10 at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, though no word on if the price will jump at the door (2014's show here had a $14 door charge.) Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and if you love AC/DC or missed this tribute, don't miss Who Made Who this spring!

Also, let's wrap up the new Kewadin Casino concerts with Peril's sister band, Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm, who also have a number of shows scheduled for this year at both branches! In terms of The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan, the casino's entertainment pages have Scarkazm (misspelled there as Scarcasm) returning there on April 21st & 22nd, August 25th & 26th, and October 20th & 21st, while they're scheduled to rock The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on May 5th & 6th, July 28th & 29th, September 29th & 30th, and December 15th & 16th! However, there are some inconsistencies between Kewadin's schedules and Peril/Scarkazm's own advertising. As per this photo's comment reply, Scarkazm noted Soo gigs on May 21st & 22nd in the Soo, which are actually on a Sunday & Monday, so it looks like the band mistakenly credited their April gigs as being a month later. Also, that picture and their early 2017 concert calendar lists the March 10th-11th St. Ignace and June 16th-17th Sault weekends as being Peril gigs, where Kewadin's entertainment page says those are Scarkazm gigs.

Who's right here? I believe the latter are now Scarkazm shows, as Peril didn't appear 100% certain about the date for them when they gave it, but given that the March weekend is on an official Peril concert calendar, I'll leave that weekend alone unless they/Scarkazm confirm otherwise. In any event, Scarkazm will be welcomed back to the E.U.P. this year, and it's encouraging to see them playing in Sault Ste. Marie much more than recently usual! Again, these are 9:00 PM shows with no announced cover charges and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for potential clarification on those March and June weekends!

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

• Last month, in their first Facebook page posting since April, Sault Ontario experimental hard rock solo project The Coyote Speedfreaks (led by The Autumn Roots' Chase Wigmore) noted  that while he considered the project "a series of albums under a unifying name" moreso than a band, "recent developments" may lead to him making a live band that plays some of their material. That would be cool to see, Chase has been missed in the metal and hard rock scene, so stay tuned in case there are updates!
• This is somewhat old news now, but music/video retail chain HMV is going out of business, with all locations (including the store at The Station Mall) liquidating stock, and all must be closed by the end of April, while extant gift cards can be used until the end of this month. You can read about the receivership and overall chain struggles leading to this news on major news outlets, but this is very disappointing for music fans, as this was always a prime stop at the mall to get new CDs, movies, and gifts, and it was the same when the spot was Music World prior. HMV will be missed, but take in the sales while you can, which are currently up to 30% off!
• We have moved Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie's Sorrow Fields solo project to our inactive band links, as that project hasn't posted a public update in well over a year (not helped by the deletion of their most recent Facebook page prior to that.) Previously known as Animas, April Eyes, and By the Gods, The Sorrow Fields had long been working on a pair of different studio albums, but what was posted was later taken down, and the albums haven't had any form of recent follow-through. Hopefully Mitch revisits his solo work again down the road, there was a lot of promise there!

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