Full Set Videos From Room 206 & The Inner City Surfers' Recent Reunion Concert!!

If you missed the Room 206/The Inner City Surfers reunion concert for Room 206 drummer Allan Watson's stag-and-doe at Soo Blaster on April 5th, then good news, as bassist Brad "Example" Lacell posted full set videos of both bands onto his YouTube channel! This is not unlike when Brad had a camera rolling for The Surfers' reunion in 2023 for drummer Mikey Hawdon's public stag-and-doe concert, but this time, Brad got both bands on film, and from a much better angle than the partially obscured side-stage video last time. No, Brad didn't upload a video of BookcluB's opening set. While Room 206 did reunite to record a song on Tidal Records' "Junk In The Trunk" compilation in 2003, Brad said that they were live here "for the first time in 33 years". I want to say that that is a slight exaggeration, but it's certainly been multiple decades! They closed the night, but with Brad not transcribing the setlist, what all did they play?

The 66 minutes-long video begins a few minutes before Room 206 actually began, with the MC's introduction coming in at the one minute mark, including frontman Mike Yorke's brief rendition of "Happy Birthday, Big Diesel" in honour of attendee Mike Denisch. The proper set begins at the 3:22 mark with "My Trip", "Anyways", a cover of Sebadoh's "S. Soup", "Ride My Rocketship Of Love", covers of The Pixies' "Head On" and The Smashing Pumpkins' "Today", "Pretentious", "I'm Feelin' Fine", and "Garden Of Life", before some surprise covers of Tool's "Opiate" and Rage Against The Machine's "Bullet In The Head". After a shout-out from Inner City Surfers drummer Mikey Hawdon (whose local boutique label re-issued Room 206's 1994 cassette tape on vinyl), the guys played their original "Nature Calls" alongside a young guest guitarist named Skyler (I think), though I don't know his full identity off hand.

The core four members of Room 206 then played "Pretend To Be", before they invited the aforementioned Mikey Hawdon on stage to join in on guitar and backing vocals for "Good Enuff" & "I'll Be Around", the bonus songs from the vinyl re-release that Mikey performed on with guest musicians. The guys and Mikey closed the set with a cover of Fugazi's "Waiting Room", with the last two minutes of the video featuring thank yous and everyone wrapping things up. Strong set with faithfully performed renditions of Room 206's classic songs, and Mike, Dave, Brad, and Al haven't lost a step! The audio quality is better than the video quality though, as the visuals are very soft and kinda blurry, while the video was accidentally shot and uploaded while mirrored (the stage logos give it away). I am a little surprised that Room 206 didn't tackle "Last Stance", but all of "2 Innies & An Outie" made the cut, as well as a lot of unexpected covers.

Whether it takes another three decades or so for Room 206 to play another reunion concert, I can't say, but hopefully we do see them again, as they had a fun and very nostalgic night last month to help celebrate Allan and Audrey's nuptials, and if you missed out on the action at Soo Blaster, then relive their headlining set for yourselves below!

As for The Inner City Surfers, Brad's stationary camera (slowly moved to a central vantage point early on) captured their 57 minutes-long co-headlining set, and it starts with their rendition of "The Mexican Hat Dance", which is a common set opener or interlude of theirs. As it often does, it leads into their own original "Won't Belong", followed by "Screwed", "Pickin' From The Country", "Rollin", "Been Done", "Never Ender Bender", "Get High", and their cover of Stompin' Tom Connors' "Algoma Central No. 69". The Surfers introduced Room 206 drummer (and Mikey & Dustin's BookcluB bandmate) Allan Watson during that cover, after which he joined them behind the kit for a Mikey-sung rendition of The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)". Mikey returned to drums for the rest of the set, which included "Grab My Pen", "Here's To The Days", "Booze N' Doobs", and "The Quest".

The latter was again extended to 9 minutes with 1980s covers from acts like Dire Straits and Corey Hart, so that was another fun way to cap things off! Setlist-wise, this Surfers gig was very similar to their 2023 stag-and-doe set, albeit with a re-arranged order, less cover interludes, and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" & "Commandments" replaced by the Stompin' Tom cover and "Rollin", a very rare instance of the I.C.S. playing a song from their oft-forgotten 2004 CD "Time To Travel On". While still fuzzy and mirrored, this is a quality look at Dustin, Dave, Brad, and Mikey tearing through many of their best loved classics, so local punk fans won't want to miss the latest Surfers reunion set embedded below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Violet Scum), The Room 206/Inner City Surfers Concert Preview, And More!!

The news keeps on rolling, so let's get to a few assorted topics today along with the last (but not least) of this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for readers in Sault Michigan and the E.U.P. next month!

Muskegon "weirdo punk" trio Violet Scum and new local punk trio About:Blank will join forces for a multi-band concert at Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley on Saturday, May 3rd! Announced yesterday via About:Blank frontman Parker Talentino's solo Facebook page, this is the latest event from local promoters Serious Business, whose last concert in February (also at Pickles) was About:Blank's live debut, albeit on an all-local bill. Good to see Parker, Nathan, and Kade back at it, and if you missed them at last month's Shamrock Show, why not drive out to Brimley next month? Violet Scum's mixed-genre lineup delivers a nice grunge-laden sound that will appeal to punk and alt-rock fans, and it will be neat to see them play up here for the first time next month! Grand Rapids experimental/synth project Dick Texas (who have played at two prior Serious Business shows, including at Pickles in November) are your headliners on May 3rd.

The show will be opened (in a mild surprise) by Sault Ontario outsider folk musician Shae Tull, marking a very rare instance of an a non-Touch Of Class artist from this side of the border playing in the E.U.P.. Who knows what the tariffs and trade war may mean for the idea of Shae playing a show across the river, but hopefully things go well, and that this is the start of more cross-border bookings from Serious Business! This 18+ show (presumably in the basement of Pickles once again) has a $10 cover charge, and doors open at 8:00 PM. Nice diverse mix of styles here, and it's good to see more original multi-band shows in Chippewa County, so see above for more details!

Next up, let's wrap up this weekend's concert previews with the arguable main event for Sault Ontario punk fans, as 1990s punk band Room 206 and 2000s punk standouts The Inner City Surfers will join forces for a reunion concert at Soo Blaster TONIGHT!  As you may recall, The Surfers last reunited in November 2023 as a fundraiser stag & doe for drummer Mikey Hawdon's then-upcoming wedding, and similarly, tonight's event will be another stag & doe, this time for the impending nuptials of Room 206/Bookclub drummer Allan Watson and his fiancee Audrey. Congratulations to the happy couple, and a public concert featuring some big band reunions is one hell of a way to celebrate! Inner City Surfers reunions are always big deals for local punk fans, but Room 206 haven't played a (known) public concert since the 2021 vinyl re-release of "2 Innies & An Outie", let alone for over a decade prior, so don't miss this one!

No word on the exact lineup for Room 206 beyond Allan, but he was joined by Mike Yorke and Surfers bassist Brad "Example" Lacell" on the album, and Brad's fellow Surfers bandmate Dave Bahun was also once in Room 206. Local alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub (featuring Allan, Mikey, and Surfers frontman Dustin Jones) will open the proceedings, as they did in 2023, so there will be lots of familiar faces rocking out, especially given the size of Soo Blaster! Tickets run for $25 in advance through the performers, with the price jumping to $30 at the door. This is an ALL AGES concert, and Bookclub leads off at 9:00 PM sharp. This should be a huge night for local punk fans, let alone friends and family of Allan & Audrey, and given the decades since we last saw Room 206 and Brad not living in town anymore, who knows when we'll see them or The Surfers on stage again! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Surfers live!

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

 

• There's a new on-air DJ/host on Classic Rock Sundays on 104.3 The Fox (and Rogers Radio's other rock stations carrying that format), as Adele Newton is now on air from 2:00-5:00 PM, as introduced here. This cuts into the prior 12:00-4:00 and 4:00-8:00 PM timeslots held by "Big" Kris Bawden and Lew MacDonald, but I need to listen to Classic Rock Sundays more fully to capture that day's current DJ rotation. Unlike other DJs and hosts on The Fox, Adele doesn't come from another market's rock station, rather Kitchener adult contemporary station CHYM 96.7. Tune in on Sunday to hear how Adele is doing on the former Q104!
• New local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project revealed on their Facebook page on April 3rd that they are already mixing their second EP, and even shared the track listing for it via a photo of the songs written on a sheet of paper. The EP will be called "The Frustration Sessions" (no relation), and project leader Matt Hicks had earlier noted that he "never stopped writing while I was finishing "Afterthought", which is their debut EP from February. You can sample some of the at-home recording sessions in this Facebook "Reel" featuring heavy riffs and a keyboard line. Hopefully we hear more from T.R.P. soon, and it's good to see Matt keeping busy!
• In their newest video on their Facebook page (sadly also a "Reel"), local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 are seen covering Nickelback's "Rockstar" at The Esquire Club last month, and they were joined on stage for said cover by Fort Creek frontman Justin Grayson! I'm not a Nickelback fan, the blue lighting can overpower the view, and Justin's vocals are somewhat buried behind Jess' vocals, but this is well performed while the "Reel" lasts, so check it out above! Remember, "Reels" can't be embedded on external websites like this, nor played in background tabs, and are in permanently vertical dimensions.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Room 206), Fort Creek Updates, And More!!

We'll take a break from 104.3 FM talk for now (don't worry, there's more to come) so we can look at some other recent news on this Monday night, including a few assorted shorter notes, a defunct local band's social media rebirth, and details on an upcoming video/single release. However, let's lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the spring!

Veteran local punk bands Room 206 and The Inner City Surfers will both reunite on Saturday, April 5th for a special concert at Soo Blaster! Almost a year & a half after the Surfers' last reunion show (a public stag & doe for Surfers drummer Mikey Hawdon's then-upcoming wedding) in November 2023, they'll return to the same venue for a similar purpose, as Room 206/Bookclub drummer Allan Watson is getting married to his partner Audrey, hence the occasion for a big reunion show like this. Any Surfers return is a big deal, but the long awaited return of Room 206 will be very notable for fans around for the local punk scene of the 1990s, and whether you checked out the 2021 re-release of their album "2 Innies & An Outie" or not, it will be neat hearing these songs live again! No word on what lineup of Room 206 is playing in April, but singer/guitarist Mike Yorke and Surfers bassist Brad "Example" Lacell were on said album alongside Allan, and Surfers guitarist Dave Bahun also played with them later.

Mikey & Allan's current alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub will open the proceedings, returning from the November 2023 stag & doe concert, so don't be late for their varied covers! This is absolutely a public event, and tickets will go on sale "shortly" with prices running for $25 in advance or $30 at the door, exactly on par with the last Surfers reunion. Alongside this huge show announcement, Room 206 have launched a posthumous Facebook page, so we can thusly re-add them to our inactive band links! They were previously linked here via their also-posthumous MySpace page, but you know how degraded MySpace has gotten for surviving content. If we got 100% confirmation that they were reuniting beyond this gig, we'd move them to our active links, but this appears to be a one-off. The Facebook page primarily features archival content shared from Mikey's personal Facebook page, as he spearheaded the album's rerelease.

While videos there have mostly been featured on the SMS before, I would have embedded this one here if Facebook hadn't content matched the Room 206 song playing in the background off of Mikey's turntable. The video from December 2021 sees Mikey showing off what comes with the limited vinyl copies of "2 Innies & An Outie", and while the vinyl was limited to 206 copies (fittingly), you can hear it on major streaming services. For the first (only?) vinyl release from Mikey's boutique label Soolebrity Records, it came together really well, so check it out at this link, and visit the Facebook event page for more on the Room 206/Surfers reunion concert!

Next up, here's the latest from local southern hard rock band Fort Creek, who ended a month+ of social media silence last week when they revealed that they will finally release their first studio single and music video for "One For The Road" on Saturday at 8:00 PM! The song will also be available on, if you believe their Facebook post, "all streaming platforms", but we'll see how accurate that claim proves to be this weekend (nothing against Fort Creek, loads of bands say that). They'll also be launching their own website through Wix that night, and the "One For The Road" video will be up on YouTube and shared to Facebook as well. To promote the release, Sault Star reporter Maggie Kirk covered the band for this article on Friday, where it's confirmed that Fort Creek are still working on a full album with 10 songs that will be eventually recorded at Jettison Studios (as in, Red from HeadFirst?). What else is there to learn?

For one, I had no idea that singer Justin Grayson's actual last name is Dimma! I'd never seen him credited otherwise until this article, but I guess it's like with Pierre Vaillancourt usually going by Pierre Anthony in Generations. Justin talks there about working with his bandmates, why they chose the Fort Creek name, and their songwriting process, while also noting that they wanna finish up their studio work before returning to the stage (they haven't played live since their fall 2023 lineup changes). Solid press for Fort Creek as they begin this new year, so read more above, and stay tuned for the single release on Saturday!

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

• While we don't cover jam nights as full "concerts" on the SMS due to their in-built unpredictability, I'd be remiss if I didn't note that The Dive Gastro Pub hosted their own debut jam night tonight, and it was hosted by former Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie, who frequently plays normal shows there! An array of instruments, including some electric ones, were on tap for musicians who wanted to jam with or without Curt. Hopefully this went well for all involved, and that The Dive tries it again soon!
• In their 2024 summary post on their Facebook page, local crossover thrash quartet Hails revealed that the song they recorded for the upcoming compilation CD "Punk Canada 4" will be a cover of Toronto punk legends The Almighty Trigger Happy's song "Meathook". That should come out nice and ferocious, so look for that and more modern punk covers when "Punk Canada 4" is released later this year!
• I have moved local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary to our inactive band links. Mike's output had slowed down in 2023, and despite teasing more original instrumental material and a planned soundtrack for a local author's new novel, little came out before his last Facebook post on January 7th of last year, which was an archival video of him at a Bawating Collegiate concert performance in 2003. Hopefully we hear more from Mike in time, as he's a talented and honest musician who lays out his feelings and life well in his songs, and I was looking forward to his next projects!
  

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

The Inner City Surfers' Black Album Review!!

It's now time for our 186th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and final one of 2024! With our new album backlog finally cleared up, it's time to dip into the archives for the first time since 2022, but as local concerts in general slowed down this month, there's not much to tie in with bands who played live recently. As such, let's go with a prominent album that I have yet to review on here, and a glaring omission on my part is local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers' self-titled fourth (and final?) CD from October 23rd, 2007! Released through Fontana North and Universal Music Canada, this album (commonly nicknamed the "Black Album" to distinguish it from their also-self-titled debut "Blue Album" from 2000) was produced by Simon Head at Insight Recorders in Toronto, and features The Surfers' classic lineup, including singer/guitarist Dustin Jones, singer/bassist Brad "Example" Lacell, guitarist Dave Bahun, and drummer Mikey Hawdon. 

By far the most successful Inner City Surfers album, it's long out of print today and surprisingly elusive to find physical copies of despite its renown among fans (I don't even have a CD copy of it), but the album is readily available on major streaming services. If you want to actually buy it, mp3 copies of the "Black Album" are on sale via Amazon Music for $9.49 and iTunes for $9.99, so consider doing so to support the guys extra! Song names below are linked to their YouTube copies. With 13 tracks (including four re-recordings from 2002's "Laughing On The Outside") running for around 40 minutes, let's begin this long overdue CD review!

2007's "Inner City Surfers" leads off with "All I Know", whose lively bass intro leads into a nice folksy punk number that picks up with some strong punk riffing alternating with casual and laid back vocals and slightly punkier choruses. It changes tempo a lot, but subtly, and it's a good balance to hit the punk beats while also showing their influences and diversity! Dustin's relatable lyrics and melodic vocals fit really well, and everyone does their part musically to start this album on the right foot! Next up is the album's shortest song, "Pickin' From The Country", which is a rollicking cowpunk song that appears to feature bassist Brad Example on lead vocals, as he did on "A Few Drinks" & "If I Leave" on prior albums. I can picture this one being a live favourite with more country-amenable fans, and while I prefer punk, it's certainly a toe tapper! Brad's raspy singing fits well, and Dave's fast picking guitar shows off his range!

Third on the CD is "Getaway", which takes things back to punkier territory with Dustin singing, but this is a mid-tempo number that reminds me of something that could have been pitched as a rock radio single. In that way, it's not super ambitious, but it's a familiar song that's tightly composed and has a catchy melody. If anything, I think it could have been lengthened a bit, perhaps with a guitar solo, but it's a fun song for what it is, and it shows off their ear for good melodies and lyrics right along! That's followed by "Booze 'N Doobs", which is the first of four re-recordings from "Laughing On The Outside" five years prior. Essentially the Surfers' official drinking/smoking song, the 2007 version is played a little faster than on the original version, and obviously has better recording quality with more distinct instruments, but both versions are largely identical. A little too reserved still, but fans of their country sides will still like it!

"Here's To The Days" is up next with a more upbeat & rock based sound that always feels like it has forward momentum. For me, it's a little cheery, but it's another good example of an audience involvement number that goes well with a mug of beer, and we get Dave's best rock guitar solo on the album yet as a result! Brad's bass line is well implemented, and he shares vocal duties with Dustin, with the two alternating vocals on the verses, which is subtle but you catch on after a bit. Good stuff, if not as punk as other cuts! Another drinking-friendly song is next, namely "Never Ender Bender", which has Brad on lead vocals again. This is definitely a more rock-driven song than "Pickin' From The Country", but it surprisingly has a piano bridge to the final chorus. Nice casual sound that would again play well live, and Mikey's drumming suits the pacing of it well, so it's a fun number for fans of their drinking songs!

We hit the midpoint of the "black album" with "What A Life", which was the CD's advance single, and even had its own music video. Lyrically about wasting the best parts of life due to responsibilities, this song leans more into driving folk influences, with Dustin employing some very fast singing on the verses, which help tell the story better, so listen close! It's a little short, but they pack a lot in, and everyone handles this song with ease, though I did find that the acapella layered singing at the end went a tad too long. Fun while it lasts though! Song #8 is "Won't Belong", the second of four "Laughing On The Outside" re-recordings, Like with "Booze 'N Doobs", this doesn't stray far from the original upbeat country number, but it is a little longer, and the difference in vocals from Brad's lead singing and Dustin's portrayal of what "she" said is more distinct. I like my Surfers punkier than this, but the redo is well made!

Ninth up is "Lil' Shy", which has Mikey on lead vocals (no idea if he and Dustin traded roles as sometimes happened live though), so this will appeal to fans of his later work as a punk frontman here and in the GTA! A female singer guests on the bridge, but without access to the original album's liner notes, I don't have credits for her identity at hand. This is definitely one of the punkiest songs on the album so far, with Mikey's vocals fitting the pounding riff nicely, and it's a fun rocker with strong riffs, but the soft bridge with the female singer does kill the mood in its tracks. Then we have "Grab My Pen", which makes use of Brad's raspy lead vocals once again. Another speedy country-influenced number, guitars are really a secondary instrument here, so if you like the rhythm section, Brad and Mikey get lots of time to shine until Dave's solo, when things ramp up a little. Ends a little abruptly, but the last half will please rock fans moreso than the start!

The third "Laughing On The Outside" re-recording is next, namely "Screwed", which is the longest song on the "Black Album", despite the 2007 version being slightly shorter than the 2002 version was. Again, this doesn't reinvent the wheel from the original, with a very similar structure applied with better recording quality, but Dave's guitar solo comes off a lot better and less distorted this time! That alone makes a huge improvement for this folksy number with rocking choruses, so don't bypass it when listening! The last brand new song on this album is "Someone To Lean On", which is a fuller rock song with some southern flourish in the lead guitar. Strong track with a good melody and lots of stuff for everyone in the band to do, and it leans more towards punk than some tracks on offer while still having a rootsy influence, so it's a late highlight for fans, especially if you prefer Dustin on lead vocals!

The "Black Album" ends with one more re-recording from "Laughing On The Outside", that being "The Quest". Compared to the original, the 2007 version of "The Quest" is a little faster, but otherwise sticks close in structure despite the newer and better recording quality (the "Fire!" yells are better layered here also). Fun galloping punk number to close things, and it's well accentuated from the revision, so fans of The Inner City Surfers' punk side will get their fill to close! So, what are my final thoughts on The Inner City Surfers' last and biggest CD? While there are more punk-centric albums out there from the members in other projects, especially their prior self-titled album from 2000, this really showed off their genre hybrid sound to its maximum appeal, and it's a fun listen! Given that four songs are re-recordings, it's easy to write this off as just "Laughing On The Outside 2", especially as its predecessor "Time To Travel On" leaned more into punk than the Surfers albums that surrounded it.

The guys knew what sound they wanted to present, and it's a nicely refined sound that let them naturally play punk, folk, or country without it sounding out of place. Brad definitely got a lot of time to shine on vocals here, and his raspy grit was welcomed even if not generally used on punk songs, while Dustin's melodic singing fit those tracks better and kept things familiar on that level. Dave had some strong solos and lead guitar, and Mikey's drumming was great as always! "Getaway", (most of) "Lil' Shy", and "Someone To Lean On" were among my favourites of the new cuts, and while the re-recordings didn't change a lot, props to Dave for making his guitar solo fit better and more naturally on "Screwed" the second time around! I would have liked more punk than we got, especially as I'm not a big country fan, but the "Black Album" perfectly encapsulates The Surfers' mid-late 2000s peak!

This CD deserved the success, exposure, and accolades that it got at the time, so buy or stream it for yourself at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! For 2025, we'll have another new review to kick off the year in January, and while I don't yet know what album that will be, check next month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post for new possibilities. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site very soon! Thanks everyone!

Big Wreck & Inner City Surfers Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post is devoted to recent concert videos from the ever prolific Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, as I've put off his videos from last month's Big Wreck and Inner City Surfers concerts for far too long! We'll work our way backwards chronologically by starting with the Big Wreck show at The Machine Shop on November 21 (I apologize for the delay), where Chris filmed eight videos, though none were of Daniel Greaves' opening set. Two of the videos were of opening London pop rock quartet Texas King playing "You" and covering Post Malone's "Chemical", and while I wouldn't say Texas King lean heavier, they showed clear talent and energy in their videos, so don't bypass them! As for the headlining Toronto hard rock quartet, Chris shot Big Wreck playing "The Oaf (My Luck Is Wasted)", "Blown Wide Open", "Hey Mama", "Albatross", "That Song", and as embedded below, both "In Fair Light" & "I Digress" to kick off their set. This video in particular has gotten some strong positive reactions!

The sound quality both at The Machine Shop (from Mike Blair's 705Live Sound Co.) and Chris' camera collide nicely on these videos, as filmed at a good vantage point to capture the whole stage plus the sizeable crowd, so Big Wreck and Thornley fans will be right at home with these videos, so be sure to check them out above & below!

The rest of today's videos come from The Inner City Surfers' reunion gig on November 4th at Soo Blaster, where they and three other bands featuring drummer Mikey Hawdon joined forces to support his then-upcoming wedding. Despite taking place back on November 3rd, Christopher only uploaded these videos to YouTube last week, so I'm still relatively timely to cover them here as a result! Like at the Big Wreck show, Chris did not film the first band here, namely the one-off reunion of Toronto-based Ramones/Joan Jett tribute band The Merves, but he got everyone else from this event. Regarding The Surfers, Chris filmed five videos from their first public set in four years, including their opening cover of Stompin' Tom Connors' "Algoma 69" with bassist Brad "Example" Lacell on lead vocals (plus the "William Tell Overture" opening), plus their original songs "Get High" & "Booze N' Doobs".

Chris also captured their cover of The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" with Mikey on vocals and AMY/DC's Dean Glover filling in on drums. Embedded below is their set-closer "The Quest", complete with the late-song integration of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses At Night". After covering Brad's live-stream of their entire set earlier this week, it is good to see video of the band in action from the front (Brad is quite well dressed for the occasion!), and while attendee hands and cameras can get in the road, the quality is solid on these videos overall. Check them out for yourselves above & below!

Chris also filmed four videos of Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band AMY/DC, featuring Mikey on guitar and the aforementioned Dean Glover on drums, plus Mikey's Merves bandmate Amy Zucchetto on vocals. Here, you can see them cover "You Shook Me All Night Long", "Highway To Hell", "Sin City", and as embedded below, "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock N' Roll". I am not 100% positive given the video quality, but is that The Wyld Stallyns' own Josh Norling playing saxophone in lieu of the bagpipe parts? Very strong covers of AC/DC classics by Amy and crew here, if with shakier video on average, so give these a watch above & below as well!

Finally, Chris filmed Mikey fronting his online page-less local alternative rock/punk cover quintet Bookclub playing three songs on this night, namely Vampire Weekend's "A-Punk", Men Without Hats' "Pop Goes The World", and as embedded below, Tom Petty's "You Wreck Me". A little further from the stage than he would be later in the night, but you get a better view of the setup for this special concert, if still a little blurry, and Bookclub have a good handle on these covers that you don't hear many other local bands cover nowadays! Give them a look for yourselves above & below!

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

Full Concert Videos From The Inner City Surfers & Mike Haggith At Soo Blaster!!

Today's post is devoted to shows at the same venue last month that featured videos of a prominent band's full set, so here's what you should know on both on this Sunday morning!

I profusely apologize for the month+ delay in this making the site, but remember how inactive local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers reunited at Soo Blaster on November 3rd to support drummer Mikey Hawdon's wedding? Well, bassist Brad "Example" Lacell live-streamed their whole headlining set for his YouTube channel! Unfortunately, Brad's camera was set up partially behind something (perhaps a speaker?), so about 30% of the view is blocked on the bottom left. The video is also filmed from beside the stage, at an angle where we see more of everyone's back than front, so only guitarist Dave Bahun is visible with any steady regularity. Frontman Dustin Jones is obscured at the other side of the stage when not moving around, and Mikey's drumkit is mostly blocked out, so be advised of the limited view. The 65 minute video begins with the guys covering Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture", before tackling a cover of Stompin' Tom Connors' "Algoma 69" with Brad on lead vocals.

The Surfers' first original on this night was "Screwed", as followed by "Pickin' From The Country", "Get High", "Been Done", and "Never Ender Bender". For the next two songs, Mikey left the drumkit to sing lead on covers of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)", both featuring guest drummers. On the former, Brent Shepherd of the Toronto cover rock band WD50 handled percussion, while Mikey's AMY/DC bandmate Dean Glover (also the webmaster of the Mikey & His Uke website) drummed on the latter. Mikey returned to the kit to begin the second half of their set, starting with this familiar instrumental whose name I couldn't immediately place, We get back to originals next with "Won't Belong", "Grab My Pen" (with Brad singing lead), "Booze N' Doobs", and "Here's To The Days", before a brief Muppet Show theme song interlude.

Extended jams of "Commandments" and "The Quest" ended their set, the latter segueing into a cover of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses At Night", if you can believe it! Despite the visual impairments and some distorted audio, it's great to see a full Surfers concert set like this, and here's hoping that Mikey's late-set teaser that "we'll see you in about 10 years" is a conservative estimate! Fans of their self-titled "black album" will like that eight of the thirteen songs were played here, along with three from earlier albums (nothing from "Time To Travel On" though). Give The Inner City Surfers' reunion set a watch for yourselves below!

Next up, remember how local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith had announced plans to live-stream his complete set at The Soo's Got Talent finals (also at Soo Blaster) on November 4th, only for technical difficulties to scuttle that? Well, we still have a full video of his band's half hour set to check out courtesy of his YouTube channel on December 7th! Two different cameras (one from the floor in front of the stage and a stationary camera off to the side) combined to show off the final product, though be advised that there isn't consistent audio from one source here, so the quality does change from camera to camera (I'd have at least had the videos fade in/out when transitioning). Two TikTok styled videos (vertical, short, and featuring on-screen text) have also been uploaded from this set to Mike's Facebook page from a different filmer, but you know me, longer, clean, and horizontal videos are far more preferable in every way imaginable!

By "complete set", I mean Mike's half hour-long mid-finals set where he, Chris, Jacob, and Brandan did Mike's own material, not the main finals competition where they backed up most of the finalists. In order, their set included "I've Seen It Before", "Hot & Cold", covers of The Din's "Missing" and Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City", "MorningStar" (extended with band introductions), and "The Nature Of The Times". I won't rehash my complete thoughts on Mike's set, as I did review everything in person last month, but it was a solid performance from Mike & crew, and these videos capture that well! Particularly the non-stationary camera, which got the majority of the footage here, with the side-stage camera mainly filling in some between song breaks (just as well, as the tight angle isn't ideal and really does Jacob a disservice). Give Mike's final full-band concert set of 2023 a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations) & The First Half Of This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this first weekend concert preview post on another busy weekend, just a heads up for fans of 705Live Sound Co. on Facebook that local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns reportedly played at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre tonight opening for no less than My Son The Hurricane. From what I have gathered from M.S.T.H.'s social media accounts, this was a private event, hence why I never heard about it, let alone covered it here, but kudos to whoever put this event on to get Danno & crew home for a private booking, and hopefully they and The Stallyns had a blast! Now to the first half of this weekend's concert previews, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage for concerts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on their Facebook group on Saturday. After skipping the Halloween weekend, the Jus' Chillin successors will be take stage at the former Reggie's West for their first shows there in almost a month. Hopefully their old school and varied mix of covers find a strong audience at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Like with their Esquire Club shows two weeks ago, Generations' concert on SATURDAY NIGHT takes place the same day as The Soo's Got Talent (the finals, in this case), but singer Valerie Powley's judging commitments will not conflict with the concert as the finals begin at 6:30 PM and will end with time for Valerie to drive to the west end for the Generations concert once again, so don't worry!

Look for our Soo's Got Talent finals preview on the site tomorrow! As for Generations' Jay's concerts, they take place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Generations live!

Next up, let's move to shows that had advance notice, starting with the arguable main event of this weekend, as local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers will reunite for a special concert at Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT! The impetus for this, their first gig in four years, is that drummer Mikey Hawdon and his fiancee Ali Rainone are getting married, with tomorrow's well-hyped concert serving as a public stag & doe of sorts, with the public welcomed to buy tickets to come see what could be the last Surfers gig for a while (Brad living out of town being a key reason why). A reunion this big deserves a big stage like Soo Blaster, and hopefully The Surfers deliver another knockout blow of their classic punk originals tomorrow at 12:00 AM! All three opening bands will feature Mikey on guitar, including co-headlining Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band AMY/DC in their local debut. Great to see Mikey bring them to town at last, hopefully it won't be the only time!

Preceding AMY/DC's female-fronted high voltage rock n' roll, online page-less local alternative/hard rock cover quintet Bookclub (featuring the three local Surfers in mostly shuffled roles) will take the stage at 9:45 PM, and more on their LopLops show next month soon. The openers tomorrow are the one-off reunion of Mikey & AMY/DC singer Amy Zuccheto's early-mid 2010s Toronto-based Ramones/Joan Jett tribute band The Merves, in their first local gig in over eight years. Also featuring Mikey's old Fairmounts bandmates, it will be very neat to see The Merves' two-pronged cover attack back on a local stage, so be there at 9:00 PM for their show-opening set! This 19+ event has a $30 cover charge at the door unless you bought $25 advance tickets at The Rad Zone, Case's Music, Long & McQuade, Soo Blaster, or through Mikey directly (in-person or via e-transfer.)

If you've been a fan of The Inner City Surfers from their 2000s heyday onward, let alone Mikey's eclectic musical career in the Soo and the GTA, this will be a huge concert, and who knows when we'll see most of these bands on a local stage again, so don't miss out on all of the action tomorrow at Soo Blaster! Visit the above links for more details, congratulations to Mikey & Ali on their upcoming nuptials, and for a preview, here's The Inner City Surfers live at their last show to date in 2019!

We'll close this preview post by heading north to The Water Tower Pub, where newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will take the stage for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at The Water Tower Pub two months ago, this should be a fine opportunity to hear their strongly performed and fan friendly brand of covers, so don't miss Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve at this central venue tomorrow! Remember that The Water Tower Pub traditionally hosts different acts on Fridays and Saturdays, with the acoustic show from Bone Yard there on Saturday night to be previewed on the SMS tomorrow. Silent 9 take the stage there tomorrow at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. For a preview, here's a brand new video from their Halloween party at The Esquire Club on Saturday night, courtesy of their Facebook page, where they covered Michael Jackson's "Thriller"!

The (mercifully horizontal) video features a well done rocked-up cover that makes good use of Jess Amadio's voice, but it is a shame that the video is only 45 seconds long. The description notes that the band was supposed to be dressed like The Addams Family, and while Jess is clearly Wednesday Addams, the rest of the band's characters are more ambiguous, if not with the theme at all. Good close angle too (if sharp), so check out Silent 9 on Saturday below, and don't miss them out of costume tomorrow!

That's all for now on this busy weekend, but we'll resume our hard rock concert previews next by looking at this weekend's Scarkazm and Bone Yard shows, plus the finals of The Soo's Got Talent! Thanks everyone!

Halloween Concert Updates, A New Cover, And Much More!!

I have a new news post for your Sunday afternoon reading, and it covers a lot of recent ground via shorter stories that have came up in recent months, plus a new cover video and leading off, big updates on a multi-band event at month's end. Here's what you should know!

Remember how a Halloween concert was announced for Tuesday, October 31st at The Art Hub at Spring, but the lineup was only partially known? Well, the full lineup is now out via its Facebook event page and this poster! Local metal trio The BAG announced their involvement on their own, and we correctly inferred that new local rock quartet Skinbox were playing based on members being credited as hosting on the event page, but there will be three more acts. Two are solo acts, namely Vanity First/Hails guitarist Mikhal Muto's folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism, as well as local folk/pop singer/guitarist Hannah Lindsay, who you may recall seeing alongside The BAG and eight other acts at Lopstock III in July. The fifth act is a mystery band named The Psychic Spies, who I can't find anything definitive on, but note that "psychic spies" are the first words uttered in The Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Californication", so that could mean something (or nothing.)

Now, despite the event page being public, and The BAG confirming the event publically, why does the poster say "private event"? If it was truly "private", the event page and/or location wouldn't be publically viewable. As best as I can tell, that basically means that if you want to come, you have to RSVP, so message Skinbox members Steve Edwards, William Wardlaw, or Brad Irwin (ex-Gnaeus) if you want to attend! Their drummer is not credited as an event host. Costumes are encouraged as you'd expect, and while you have to RSVP, admission is free with a tip jar available to support the bands. See above for more details on this kinda-private-ish Halloween party at the end of the month!

Next up, here's a new cover song credited to defunct local grunge trio No Arrow! Uploaded to frontman Dann Pichette's YouTube channel, the description does give the year 2023, so if this is brand new, my feeling is that it was recorded to send off for consideration on You Rock! with Thomas Christ, which he has submitted back catalog material for. As such, I won't rush No Arrow back into our active band links, but last I heard, Dann doesn't live in town nowadays anyway. Despite the still image being from the music video for Basement Jaxx's "Where's Your Head At", the song is a cover of "Simian Fever" by the post-hardcore band Six Finger Satellite, complete with jokey intro. Whether this is indicative of a return (even if just in studio as a solo project) or not, I can't say, but this is an intense slice of 1990s noise rock and it's good to hear new material from Dann, so check it out below!

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

• I apologize for only discovering this article after the fact, but Jeffrey Ougler from The Sault Star made up this article to promote the Fall Of Earth show at The Queen Of Hearts Club, featuring interview remarks from Fall Of Earth frontman Alex Lye. In the article, Alex talks about his vocals, the Edmonton hybrid metal band's sound, the overall friendliness of the metal music community, and his stage presence, among other topics. While not hyper-local beyond the fact that they were playing here, it's a good read and hopefully it got some more fans to the show!
  
• In recent posts on their Facebook page, local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek have acknowledged that they've been quiet in recent months, "but don't worry, it will all be worth it". The band is selling new t-shirts with an updated logo, and on September 19th, they strongly hinted that they were working on new studio material via this picture of a song being tracked on a computer, complete with a piece of paper that seems to hint at a 4:32-long new original song named "Battlefield". Is Fort Creek's long gestating debut album back in production, or are they just working on songs? Stay tuned for updates!
  
• As a bit of clarification from our recent coverage of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' upcoming concert slate, remember how they were scheduled to play at The Esquire Club on Friday and yesterday on the venue's fall calendar, but confirmed on their Facebook group that they were instead playing there this coming weekend? The switch does appear to have been a straight trade with The Steeltown Playboys, who The Esquire Club originally blocked for next weekend, but did indeed play there on Friday & yesterday. At least no one lost a booking here, and don't miss Generations at The Esquire Club later this week!
  
• The Inner City Surfers' reunion concert at Soo Blaster on November 3rd was promoted in this SooToday article by Chris Belsito on Wednesday, where drummer/event host Mikey Hawdon talked about the event's inspiration as an alternative to a traditional stag & doe (this is in support of his upcoming wedding). He also talked individually about all four bands playing this concert, all featuring Mikey himself on guitar or drums. Nothing too new to report here beyond the personal remarks, but it's good promotion for what will be a huge reunion concert, so check it out above!
  
• In another new SooToday article from August, Chris Belsito spotlighted online page-less punk/folk solo project Jonesy Land's new single and music video for "Old Man", where project leader Dustin Jones acknowledged the positive (and negative) responses he's heard for its debut album "Zoom - Out", the themes and inspirations behind "Old Man", working on the music video, and plans to play a live support concert for "Zoom - Out" with a full band this fall (I have heard nothing on this plan at press time otherwise). Good article for fans of Dustin's, so check it out also!
• On September 11th, Sault Michigan hard rock/metal band Tarnished announced a musician search to find a new lead guitarist & bassist to replace the departed Nathan Webber & Isaac Royer. Candidates must be determined & flexible, they have gigs lined up, and a new album is planned. It's unclear how tryouts have went so far, but they played in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday with frontman Alex Traynor's dad/ex-Banned bandmate Don filling in on drums (one assumes that Alex and Josh Fair handled guitar and bass or vice versa). Hopefully that gig went well, and if you're interested in trying out, contact Tarnished via their Facebook page!
   

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Inner City Surfers) & Mike McCleary Updates!!

Two topic post on the SMS on this Sunday morning, but we're leading off with a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this fall, and punk fans of the 2000s and beyond will absolutely want to mark this one on their calendars, so here's what you should know!

If you're a fan of veteran local punk musician Mikey Hawdon, then you may want to head to Soo Blaster on Friday, November 3rd, as multiple past/present bands of his will take the stage on this night! This concert is being put on as "a pre-wedding rock n' roll party" in the lead up to his upcoming marriage to his fiance Ali Rainone, and despite the seemingly personal trappings, it is 100% a concert that the public can buy tickets for, not a stag & doe intended for friends/family only. Your headliners on this night are local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers in a one-off reunion, marking their Soo Blaster debut, their first gig in over four years, and just their second concert set in the past decade. The Facebook event page somewhat worryingly says that this may be The Surfers' "last show for quite some time" (remember, Brad lives out of town), but whether this proves true or not, it'll be awesome to welcome these local punk legends back after way too long!

Their set is scheduled to take place at 12:00 AM, so strap yourselves in! Co-headlining this event are Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band AMY/DC, who Mikey himself is a guitarist in, and remains a band member despite his move back home (they just don't play live as often). AMY/DC proper have never played here, but you will recognize frontwoman Amy Zuccheto (a.k.a. Amy Gabba; more on her in a bit) from multiple local concerts in the 2010s, and from this Mikey & His Uke cover of "Shoot To Thrill". Should be fun to see AMY/DC in town, and a female-fronted AC/DC tribute band is definitely unique for the Soo! Before their 10:45 PM set, Mikey's current online page-less alternative/hard rock cover quartet Bookclub will take the stage for a set at 9:45 PM, and it will be interesting to hear how their generally more mainstream setlist goes over with the punk-leaning crowd on November 3rd!

The openers will be a one-off reunion of Mikey & Amy's old Toronto-based Ramones/Joan Jett tribute band The Merves, who were active from 2010-2015, playing local dates five times in that span. Note that this is not the same band as Mikey & Amy's later Ramones/Joan Jett tribute The Gabba Heys, who played here in 2018 (the two bands had different rhythm sections and social media pages). Regardless of name, it's been a minute since Mikey channeled his inner Joey Ramone on a local stage, so be there nice and early for this tribute action! Note that The Merves also featured Mikey's old Fairmounts bandmates, so if you miss that band, keep that angle in mind too. This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time on November 3rd, and tickets will run for $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Advance tickets will be on sale at The Rad Zone, Case's Music, Long & McQuade, and Soo Blaster.

This will be an absolutely massive night for local punk fans, and the Surfers reunion alone would be reason enough for many to come to Soo Blaster, let alone Mikey playing four sets with different bands in one night! Given the Surfers' reputation from their 2000s heyday, who knows what will happen when Dustin, Dave, Brad, and Mikey take the stage, so do not miss this show when it comes around! Visit the above links for more details!

We'll close today with a different local guitarist named Mike, namely hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary, so what's new from his camp? On Thursday, he revealed on his Facebook page that he has decided to indefinitely focus on instrumental music rather than material with him on lead vocals, after realizing that "that's where my true passion is", and he has more freedom & creativity when he focuses on music over lyrics. Mike knows better than any of us what is most comfortable for him, I just hope that his pre-2023 back catalog isn't delisted forever, as he has (had?) good songs with vocals! Mike did also suggest that he'd be willing to do backup vocals in a live band when/if he joins one, though note that he hasn't been in a proper band yet due to anxiety about playing live (he stated this on Facebook in July). In terms of new media of him playing guitar, we do have a new video to check out, so what is there to see here?

Nothing, it's just a black screen, but the 52 seconds-long clip is from an instrumental song he's working on that is inspired by horror movies that he was watching. What we hear is promisingly heavy and has a good melodic base to it, plus some room to show off a bit of soloing, so fans of Mike's heavier material will enjoy the teaser below!

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