The 2nd Annual Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert Review!!

Hey everyone, it's finally time for our review of Wednesday night's second annual Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert! Moving to The Canadian Nightclub this year after rocking The Rockstar Bar last year, I am pleased to report that parking lot renovations aren't as widespread as they were a few months ago, as patrons could get through the normal entrance to the downstairs venue, though actual parking space was still limited. Solid turnout, especially in time for the final 2 or 3 bands, with loads of familiar faces seen for both recent local music fans and veterans alike, and it's great to see that over the holiday season! This is also the first time I've been at The Canadian for a show with Northern Axperts' ax throwing cage open for business concurrently, and while it does eat up floor space, there wasn't any massive distraction from hearing axes hitting their target, so that worked out in and of itself! Live705 were on hand to provide sound, and like last year, Slumshine frontman Brenton Ellis raffled off another original painting for the cause.

Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce even brought an SNES Classic and TV for people to play, which was a nice touch during breaks! And before we get into the bands, just a note that advertised DJs The Dub Selectah and Manskirt solely provided the house music beside the stage and did not have a Seith-esque formal DJ set during the night. I'm not a massive reggae fan, but the jams seemed to go over well in between bands!

Opening Wednesday night's festivities were local punk cover quartet Talk Shit in their first public concert set since last year's Guy memorial, and while I don't know where they've been in 2017, they kicked things into gear with a solid set to start the night off! Covering a range of punk bands like NOFX, SNFU, and Teenage Bottlerocket, this online page-less band seemed as energetic and carefree as they did last year, and despite their recent dormancy, I think they may have been a little tighter than before, with Marc Lafrance and Steve Shaw especially rocking out well on guitar! The biggest difference was that bassist Ian Robinson was back in the Talk Shit fold after missing last year's memorial (Mark Rand filled in that night), and he slid in nicely with some solid grooves! This time around, the guys roughly divided up lead vocal duties between the entire band, and while everyone sounded good, Ian had a welcome ferocious bite that metalheads would appreciate! Solid return for Talk Shit, and hopefully we see them more often in the new year!

Next was local punk trio Stegadeth in their first public concert appearance since Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger took over for the departed Daniel MacDonald, so how did he fit in with his new band?  Well, if you're familiar with his and guitarist Tiffany Stocco's prior (and beyond...) chemistry in Jack Spades, plus his existing skill level, you'll know he fit in nicely! If anything has been added, it's increased backing vocals, as Johnny helped give some extra vocal harmonies that didn't hurt the proceedings at all! Playing originals like "Kingdom of Ashes" and covers of everyone from Bad Religion to The Ramones to GG Allin, Stegadeth were on point from where I saw them last year, and while Tiffany still needs to seem more confident in her vocal delivery, Bill Bennett's snarl and aggression were in full force! Their set was poignantly capped off (post-delay) by a cover of SNFU's "Fate" in Guy's memory, as Stegadeth had done last winter as well, and hopefully we'll see much more from Stegadeth in 2018!

Now, I have to address a shocking incident that took place late in Stegadeth's set, as an attendee abruptly decided to leap into the drumkit during their version of "She Banged The Mayor". As a result, Stegadeth's set was cut short by 3 songs, and there was a 20+ minute delay for repairs to the kit (owned & provided by A Dire Setback's Nick Kainula), while the attendee was removed by security and the police were called down over the incident. I won't go deeper here, but there is a video and lots of discussion on social media if you know where to look. Unfortunate and needless all around, but at least the show was able to go on, and hopefully everything is resolved!

Once Nick's drumkit was operational again, his band A Dire Setback took the stage for their first set since the departure of original singer Larry Babic this fall, so how did the alt-punk band sound in their first outing as a trio? As I surmised at the time, guitarist Chris Nielsen is now A.D.S.' lead singer, and given his prior work as their backing vocalist, he was a fine choice to take over the role! He has a good punk tone to his singing, and while more reserved than his scream-peppered backing vocals may lead you to think, he should grow into the role in the ensuing months! Bassist Matt Quinn took over backing vocals, and while he needs to bump up the energy a little bit, is it off base to note that I was reminded of Serj Tankian when he projected his voice? Aside from their opening song (labelled as "Endless" on their setlist), A Dire Setback stuck to established originals like "Forget This Memory" & "Kicking & Screaming", and the music held up nicely, but there is room to develop the band's new vocal attack when we see them live next!

Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades took the stage next, and as previously teased in Christmas photos on their Facebook page, they had two lineup reversions to reveal on Wednesday, as they have welcomed back Stegadeth's Tiffany Stocco & Johnny Belanger on rhythm guitar & drums, replacing their initial replacements, Anthony Orazietti and Chris Thompson. Reasons for Tony and Chris' departures have not been publically announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and don't miss Chris with Eclipse! This brings Johnny and founding member Tiffany back to the band for the first time since their departures last year, and it's great to see them back in the fold! As for the set proper, it went over very well for fans of any Jack Spades lineup permutation, with originals like "Rise", "Crossroads", and their newest "Cenobites" on full display alongside covers of bands like Turbonegro and The Ripcordz, and everyone held up their end of the bargain!

Daniel Horton shone on lead guitar in particular, bassist Rob Speers (in repurposed Frightlight vest) is coming into his own, and J.D. Pearce remains a commanding presence on vocals, be it on stage or mingling with fans on the floor! In a lineup that's now a hybrid of their classic era and late 2017 manifestation, it'll be interesting to see how Jack Spades does in the coming months! After Jack Spades' set, fans were surprised to see former Bankshot guitarist Christian Pasiak take the stage for an unadvertised solo set. This lined up with some personal Facebook plugs that implied that his Ottawa-based indie/pop rock trio Sleepy & The Noise would be making their local debut on Wednesday, so I presume this mini-set was what was being alluded to. I'm not highly familiar with Sleepy & The Noise, so I don't know if the songs he played were from that band, but he has a good voice for the softer music on display! All I'll add is that I think an acoustic guitar would have meshed with the songs better.

The advertised headline act was next, that being a one-off reunion of Guy Thiffault's old indie punk band Nebraska Arms, though playing a full 7 song set rather than their brief 2 song turn last year! As you may recall, the band played with guest bassist Mark Rand last year while guitarist Wayne Watkins handled lead vocals, but both roles went to Wayne's former Northwest bandmate Clint Wilson (recently of Late Shift) this time around, though Wayne did sing lead on their penultimate track. Clint's bass ability is no secret, but this was the first time that I can recall him fronting a band, and he was more than capable in this guest appearance, even seeming to channel Guy at times vocally! Playing familiar songs like "New Jersey Kneecap" and "Art of Science" plus a Hot Water Music cover, it was great to see Wayne, Dave, and Adam back together again for the occasion, and they hadn't lost the energetic spark that radiated through Nebraska Arms shows circa 2009!

Nebraska Arms' set closed with a rendition of "I Was A Writer" where they were joined by Clint's HTs bandmate (and this concert's promoter) Lucas "Sal Velinus" Schmiedendorf on vocals, foreshadowing their upcoming set together. Lucas was relying on a lyric sheet, so his performance wasn't as loose as it may have otherwise been, but he acquitted himself well to help close out their set, and kudos to him for putting this show on!

Surprisingly, the show closed with Lucas & Clint's new local punk band The HTs in just their second live concert appearance, but before their set proper could begin.... remember how event advertising listed an act named "BS" as special guests? My educated guess going in was that they meant Guy's last major band The Business Suit Trappers, who also played two songs last year, but I should have been thinking over a decade earlier, as "BS" stood for Bankshot, the acclaimed late 1990s local punk band! Yes, we got a partial Bankshot reunion to kick off The HTs set, with Lucas and Clint joined by the aforementioned Christian Pasiak, though unfortunately, neither singer Ron Pelletier or bassist Neil Vallee were able to participate. In their place, Christian took over lead vocals, while HTs bassist Ryan Disano filled in for their songs. Bankshot's run was before my time locally (I was 11 when they disbanded), but you can tell that it was a thrill for fans to see them live again, and for the guys to play their songs again, if only for a few minutes!

Outside of the "Angst For The Memories" CD, I don't have any memories of Bankshot as they were in their heyday, but their performance was fun, and Christian's vocals suited what they played! Ryan was tucked in the back a little too much and didn't seem to show a lot of energy, but as a passive younger observer, it looked like the reunion delivered, and if only Guy could be here to see it! When their mini-set ended, Christian traded places with regular HTs guitarist Andre LeBlanc, so what can be said about The HTs for our first time seeing them in a non-tribute band setting? There's room for some polish, but they are a new band, and they delivered a fun selection of punk classics and local throwbacks to close the night! Alongside renditions of NOFX and Rancid songs, they threw in some renditions of old Hangdowns classics like "Self Bortrait", "Bunch of Jerks", and (of course) "Fire Ban", which is a great gesture to Guy's memory for his family & friends!

Lucas sang lead capably and with attitude during their set, as fans of his old bands will expect, Andre's guitar work was a solid compliment, and Ryan showed more life and enthusiasm for the HTs set proper, and while they can tighten things up a little and engage the crowd a little more, you couldn't ask for a bigger first show (not counting Halloween), and hopefully we hear much more from The HTs in the new year! Overall, while there were some hang-ups during the night (the drumkit incident primary among them), this was a fun show and a great way to remember Guy and help raise funds for the Tracy's Dream charity, and hopefully everyone had a great time! It's interesting to note that every band that played on Wednesday (besides The HTs) was playing with a different lineup than when we last saw them, so for me at least, an intriguing hook was how each band would sound, and everyone delivered in different ways, be it permanent or with guests!

Hopefully plans remain in place to hold a third memorial show for Guy in 2018, and while I didn't know him that well, I hope he'd have enjoyed and been honoured by Wednesday night's entertainment! You can check out our photos and videos from the show at this link or at our Facebook page, but just as a disclaimer, I was forced to film every band after Stegadeth with my tablet's camera due to my normal concert camera having very untimely SD card read errors prior to A Dire Setback's set. Any connection to the drumkit incident is coincidental, I was as shocked as everyone else! This was my first time ever extensively using my tablet for photography or concert videos (I brought it to take notes with), so I apologize if the quality is inferior to our usual work, this will not become a common occurrence. I have already discarded the faulty camera, and have better cameras here to use next time! As for our videos, here's Talk Shit covering Bigwig's "Flavor Ice", Stegadeth playing "The Wire",...

...A Dire Setback playing "Faded", Jack Spades covering The Inner City Surfers' "Ten Commandments", Christian Pasiak playing a song whose name I didn't get (can you help title it?), Nebraska Arms playing "Lighthouses", Bankshot playing "Friendly Foe", and The HTs covering Cat Stevens' "Wild World"! No, Christian's video isn't sideways, that's a thumbnail error.






That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and our 2017 retrospective post soon! Thanks everyone!

Guy Thiffault Memorial & Mike Mikus/Id Iota Concert Previews, Plus More New Notes On Both!!

In what I project to be our last news post before Christmas Day, we're devoting things solely to two big concerts taking place just after Santa's big voyage, with new notes on each to touch on, including a new video find! Now, here's what you should know for your post-Christmas concert plans! (Updated on December 26th)

We'll start our special post-Christmas concert previews with the CD release show for former Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus THIS TUESDAY NIGHT at LopLops Lounge, featuring alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota as one of the opening bands! After an over 5 month hiatus from the local stage since moving to Montreal, Mike came home for the holidays with a well received acoustic show at The Rad Zone this weekend, and will break out the full electric live experience on Boxing Day, so fans of his alt/pop rock-styled solo material should definitely consider a trip to LopLops to see him again and buy his self-titled debut solo album! For reference, prior solo and Pixo Control bandmates Dustin Goodall and Keeghan Rosso will return to back him up alongside guest keyboardist Chloe Moore (as cited at this link.) Also, for fans of The Pixo Control, the new CD includes a pair of songs intended for that band's unreleased second album, which are "Electric Fetus" & "Plastic Veggies", so you'll get a few heavier songs on Boxing Day!

Id Iota (featuring Dustin Goodall again) will themselves be returning to the stage for the first time in 5 months with new material of their own, while indie/pop duo All Us Others (who played with both acts at Rotaryfest Stage 2 this year) will open the show, so come early for their rising sound! This special concert has a 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and $10 admission fee, or $5 if you have student ID (add $5 for a digital download copy of Mike's album!) It's great to have Mike and Id Iota back for the holidays, and hopefully the release party's a blast, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and in lieu of Dustin's sadly-now-deleted video of Mike and company covering The Pixo Control's "Potpourri" at his local farewell show in July, here's an alternate video of that same song from the crowd! Dustin's video was solid, hopefully it returns online down the road!



Next up, here's our other special mid-week concert preview for you hard rock and punk fans, as the second annual Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert goes down THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Moving to The Canadian Nightclub (in spite of parking lot renovations) after holding last year's event at The Rockstar Bar, this concert will again pay tribute to late Hangdowns/Business Suit Trappers frontman Guy Thiffault, whose passing last December paved the way for this hastily booked but overwhelmingly successful tribute show, and it's great to see it back for year #2 with more advance word! This year's installment will be headlined by a one-off reunion of Guy's old indie/punk band Nebraska Arms, who played a brief 2 song set last year, and it'll be interesting to see how Wayne, Dave, and Adam do with more time on Wednesday! Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will also take the stage for a hard hitting set of their own originals, and it's great to see them on this year's bill!

New local punk quartet The HTs (featuring Bankshot, Northwest, Quasar, and Caveman Morrison alumni) will play their first non-Gimme Gimmes tribute set on Wednesday as well, so come on down to hear them for yourself, especially with no public media online yet! Remaining announced bands are all returnees from last year, including punk trio Stegadeth (in their debut appearance with Johnny Belanger on drums), alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (in their first show since the departure of original singer Larry Babic), and in a new confirmation on the Facebook event page on Thursday, online page-less punk quartet Talk Shit! As you may recall, this band reunited last fall after a 7 year breakup, but they'd been very quiet throughout 2017, so how will they look and sound in their first show in a year? Be at The Canadian on Wednesday to find out! Promoter/HTs frontman Lucas "Sal Velinus" Schmiedendorf also revealed that DJs The Dub Selectah and Manskirt will be on hand to spin tunes between bands, so keep them in mind as the music pumps all night long!

Special guests are teased on the poster and event page, though the only one credited beyond the DJs is "B.S." Could this stand for "Business Suit" (Trappers), as in an encore reunion of Guy's last major band? Time will tell! This event will see all proceeds going to Tracy's Dream, a local chariy that helps pay for Sault Area Hospital parking for those with serious medical need, which is a great gesture! Admission for this concert is $5 in advance (which you can buy online at this link) or $10 at the door, this is a 19+ event, and doors open at 8:00 PM. The partnership with Driverseat towards getting a discount on desginated drivers to get you home is still a thing, so visit the event page for details on Wednesday if this interests you, and once again, The Canadian is open during the parking lot renovations. There are signs up noting how you can pull into the property and enter the venue, so don't let things scare you away!

This should be another great show to honour Guy's memory, and hopefully there's a high turnout to rock out with this stacked lineup of local punk talent! Visit the above links for more details, stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next and here's Nebraska Arms live last year! Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays, everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert II & Tym Morrison!!)

Originally, our last post of the month was to have been devoted to weekend concert previews, but with a major LOCAL CONCERT ALERT covering so much ground in this post, I opted to push our Banned previews for this weekend to tomorrow's news post, but don't worry, they are coming! That said, we do have some concert previews today, linked to more new show announcements for next month, so here's what you should know on all of that!

Local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his ongoing weekly concert arrangement at Gliss Steak & Seafood with solo headlining matinee gigs TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY, and as December begins this weekend, we'll add his remaining shows next month to our concert calendar today also! These include Gliss gigs on December 7th-9th, 14th-16th, 21st-23rd, and 28th-30th, so look for more unplugged cover action all month long from the former Caveman Morrison frontman! None of Tym's Gliss shows next month are directly on Christmas or New Year's-related holidays, and while we will let you know if any are put on hold due to personal or venue holiday scheduling, the Facebook event page covering remaining 2017 shows does not indicate anything changing from the above dates. However, before all of that, Tym's rocking The Quality Inn's house restaurant tonight through Saturday, so don't miss him this weekend or next month!

As usual, all of these Gliss shows have 6:00 PM nightly start times with no announced cover charge or age limits, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant, not a typical nightclub venue. See above for more details, and here's Tym Morrison live a few years back!



Next up, here's a surprise new show for next month, as there will be a second annual Guy Thiffault Memorial Concert on Wednesday, December 27th! Moving to The Canadian Nightclub after rocking The Rockstar Bar last year, this event was a massive success over the 2016 holidays in memory of the late Hangdowns/Bondar frontman, and it's really nice to see that an encore installment is being organized, especially with more notice than last year's received! All proceeds for this year's tribute concert will go to Tracy's Dream, a local charity that provides cancer patients and those in medical need with free Sault Area Hospital parking, which is a great gesture on both sides! Five bands are currently advertised to perform on the 27th, and they include a one-off reunion of Guy's old indie/punk band Nebraska Arms, who played a 2 song set last year. Given their headlining status on the Facebook event page, I'd guess they're playing longer this time around, and it's great to see them back for year #2!

I can't confirm how Nebraska Arms will look next month, but for reference, bassist Wayne Watkins took over lead vocals last year, while Guy's Bondar bandmate Mark Rand filled in on guitar. Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades are the next listed band (great to see them this year!), while a band named The HTs are also listed. There are no public online pages for this band yet, but I can confirm that they are one and the same as the tribute band You First & The Passive Aggressives from J.D. Pearce's Halloween Party concerts this year. If you saw that show live, you'll have recognized their lineup as having ex-Bankshot bandmates Lucas Schmiedendorf & Clint Wilson alongside former Quasar guitarist Andre LeBlanc & former Winkstinger bassist Ryan Disano. Solid lineup, it'll be interesting to hear more from them, and thanks to Lucas/Sal for extra confirmation! The other two bands currently confirmed are returnees from last year, including punk trio Stegadeth, whose second live set total was at last year's tribute show.

The listed openers (like last year) are local alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, in what will be their first live appearance after a 3+ month hiatus from local concerts. The band still has not publically confirmed or denied rumours about a major lineup change, so how will they look and sound next month? We may have to wait until the 27th to find out! Unspecified "special guests" will also play this one, so prepare yourself for that also! Promoted by the aforementioned Lucas Schmiedendorf, and with sound by Live705, advance tickets will be $5 for this concert (the price jumps to $10 at the door), and while local in-person availability has not yet been announced, you can buy tickets online at this link. Doors open at 8:00 PM, and I would imagine this is a 19+ event. Also, organizers have partnered up with Driverseat to offer a deal to attendees who'd be interested in paying for a designated driver to get them & their vehicle home, so see above for details on that!

For more details, visit the above links, plus this new Guy Thiffault website featuring concert details and loads of audio tracks from Nebraska Arms, The Hangdowns, and Bondar! Nothing yet from The Business Suit Trappers, but if you love Guy's local band work, this is a huge wealth of material, so enjoy it, and we've added it to our "Other Links" section! This is shaping up to be another huge concert for Guy's memory and for another great cause, so visit the above links for much more on this show, stay tuned for continued updates, and look for our Banned concert previews and more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!