LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Gabba Heys, Re:Born, And Tym Morrison), Plus More Concert Previews!!

Today's post is half devoted to this weekend's remaining hard rock/punk concert previews, but to round things out, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this fall, and one of this weekend's gigs is on SHORT NOTICE as well! Here's what you should know!

The ever-prolific Tym Morrison will have at least one public concert this weekend, as he'll return to Room 21 for consecutive Saturdays TOMORROW NIGHT and next Saturday the 15th! Apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW'S show, that concert was only confirmed via it's official Facebook event page on Wednesday (next week's show was announced with more notice on Sunday.) With the ongoing wait for Tym's regular Gliss run to resume, it's great to see that he's staying busy with regional concerts, and these two Room 21 gigs should provide patrons and fans a solid chance to take in his unplugged hard and classic rock covers! Note that TOMORROW'S concert is a one nighter due to the previously announced Wyld Stallyns concert tonight, but I don't know why Tym's only playing Saturday next week. Both TOMORROW'S and next week's concerts have 10:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Click here and above for more details, and here's Tym live!



Next up, here's some more new concerts with lots of advance notice, starting with the local concert debut of Toronto-based Ramones tribute band The Gabba Heys (fronted by prolific local punk musician Mikey Hawdon) on Saturday, September 22nd at LopLops Lounge! This is nothing new for Mikey, as he fronted the preceding Ramones tribute band The Merves from 2010-2015 (who played here 5 times in that span) before joining The Gabba Heys in 2016. New faces and name, but Mikey's Ramones love and knowledge isn't new to fans, so hopefully their set goes over well in two weeks! Mikey's Surfers & Tide bandmate Dustin Jones will open the proceedings with his active (but online page-less) punk quartet The Cover-Up, while fellow Merves alum Amy "Gabba" Zucchetto will play a selection of Joan Jett covers to kick off this concert, as she did for half of late-period Merves sets. Stacked lineup, which fans can also see the previous day in Sudbury, so click here for details on that Townehouse Tavern event if you're in the area!

This "Punk Rock Blitz-O-Rama Dance Party" is brought to you by Tidal Records, and it has a 19+ age limit, $10 admission fee, and 9:00 PM start time. Advance tickets can be purchased at LopLops' website, The Rad Zone, Case's Music, Thomas Walls School of Music, and presumably at the door. This should be a fun concert for long time followers of Mikey and Dustin's local punk careers, even if you're not a Ramones scholar, so visit the above links for complete details on this intriguing concert later this month!

Lastly for new concerts, local power rock quintet Re:Born and funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will join forces on Saturday, October 6th at The Sault Theatre Workshop as part of the musical entertainment for a benefit concert for prolific stage actor and director Pirie "Bear" Kaufman! A familiar presence in the local theatre community, including via his recent productions with the Chippewa Theatre Guild, Pirie is currently battling cancer, so his family has put together this benefit to help raise funds and support at this difficult time. A buffet, cash bar, and silent auction are all planned for next month, as well as a solid musical lineup, with The Elements' diverse set sure to nicely compliment Re:Born's first public concert appearance in four months! Unspecified acoustic acts are also advertised to open this concert, we will let you know when their identities are publicized. This presumably all ages fundraiser will have $30 tickets and a 6:00 PM start time, and the Sault Theatre Workshop is located at 121 Pittsburgh Avenue in the west end.

I don't know Pirie at all, but those that do have spoken very highly of his impact in local theatre and as a person, and I hope this benefit goes a long way to helping in this fight! Cancer sucks in every way. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, kudos to everyone involved in this concert, and if you'd like to support Team Bear and/or can't make the event next month, send PayPal donations to teambearpkk@gmail.com!

Finally, here's our last currently announced hard rock/punk concert preview of the weekend, as local musicians will hit The Marconi Club on Albert Street West TOMORROW NIGHT as part of Joe's Weekend Warrior Fest! This special event (co-presented by Joe's Sports & Surplus and Sault Ontario radio station Country 104.3) will serve as the kick-off for Northern Superior Brewing Company's new Weekend Warrior Wheat Ale, and for the occasion, fans can partake in a craft beer social, taste testing, and specially paired dinner selections. If you're in this more for the beer than the music, you'll be in good hands with the craft brews on tap, and where else have you seen a new type of beer launched this big? Scheduled performers will include indie/punk quintet Northwest, blues/country notables The Barn Board Trio, and Country 104.3 morning host Jeff McNiece, who is now publically listed on the bill.

The aforementioned Cover-Up & indie rock musician Jesse Merineau were also previously advertised, but have both since dropped out. Jesse cited "a miscommunication & unforeseen changes" on his personal Facebook page, while Cover-Up frontman Dustin Jones is currently in Toronto for concerts with his non-local bands. We'll surely see both back on stage soon! Tomorrow's 19+ concert is at 7:00 PM affair at The Marconi Club, with $25 admission, though remember that the price includes food and drinks. This is a very unique event, but with Northwest adding some punk to the proceedings, don't miss out on the tunes & brews tomorrow! Here's Northwest live!



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

New Facebook Video Postings, Plus More Recent News & Updates!!

After taking the weekend off while seeing family out of town, I'm back with a new news post on this Monday morning, including some assorted recent updates, but first, here's some new Facebook videos, starting with one from local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church! Filmed by an uncredited attendee during their set at Odeno at Sault College for their reunion events on Friday, this video is of their cover of Gary Clark Jr.'s "When My Train Pulls In", and while incomplete and containing no vocals, it captures Spencer, Elijah, and Beau in fine form on this more modern selection! Give their newest video a look below, and stay tuned for more on their upcoming EP!

Next up, here's some interesting "new" videos of local author George Case (Led Zeppelin FAQ, Whole Lotta Zeppelin, etc.) from his Facebook page on Friday, courtesy of the launch party of his book "Arcadia Borealis: Childhood and Youth in Northern Ontario" at LopLops Lounge back in early 2008! That evening, George picked up his guitar to play some songs, including an original named "The Bartender Is My Friend", while he was also joined by future Turner Up guitarist and then-Rad Zone mainstay Len Ward for some covers, like Jimi Hendrix's "Stone Free" and, as embedded below, Kiss' "Hard Luck Woman". These aren't bad, and I like the laid back feel for the book launch, complete with a LopLops stage that's nigh unrecognizable compared to it's state nine years later! It's nice to see Len performing here, and while George's singing voice isn't the rangiest in the world, he makes it work on these performances. Give them a look above & below, and see above for details on his bibliography and how to purchase his books!



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

• After a six month hiatus, local black metal solo project Abhorrent Forest re-emerged with a new single on their Bandcamp page yesterday, entitled "Thorn of Torment". Wyrn says that this won't be on any albums "since I haven't been home in months", and it's been "collecting mildew" while other songs were cut. The song delivers more brutal instrumental death metal action, despite being somewhat repetitive, so give it a listen at the above links!
• I have removed Brian Tremblay Photography from our links of local concert and musician photographers due to the closure of his website, the last remaining substantive link to his work in this field. Brian had indicated prior to December 2016 that he'd left photography to move on to another career, but we left him in our links as he still had an active website at the time. Best of luck to Brian in his current endeavours!
• I've also deleted Joe's Bar & Grill in Rudyard from our listings of Sault Michigan-area concert venues, due to the deletion of it's Facebook (and only online) page at some point earlier this year. As it turns out, Joe's was bought by new owners, and after a period of renovations, it re-opened in June as Huck's Pub & Grill, with concerts booked so far appearing to lean towards country acts. Hopefully Huck's finds continued success, and we'll be sure to cover hard rock and/or metal shows if we hear that they're booked there!
• Former Bear Hunters guitarist & Skull After Betrayl frontman Mike Vincent has revived his solo project (again!) After over a year's hiatus for personal reasons, the Sault Ontario mainstay posted a new instrumental song on his Bandcamp page on Saturday named "Filters of Fire", and while the recording quality isn't perfect, the song isn't bad, and it has a good bite to it, with elements of groove metal with some doomier stretches! Give it a listen above as well, and Mike's back in our active band links!
• Ride For Sight Northern Ontario planning committee chairman Dave Ostrowski-Gallant and his wife Nicole have announced that they are stepping down from organizing the annual blindness motorcycle rally (and related concert), as per the event's Facebook page on Friday. Dave cited their personal lives getting busier and heading "down a different path of good change" for their reasons, but he thanked everyone for helping put on the rally for the past 6 years, and to message him on Facebook if you're interested in taking over as chairman next year. Good luck to Dave & Nicole in their next projects, and hopefully the rally continues on!
• Room 21 co-owner Billy Blackula is looking for artists to play weekends at the new nightclub above Low & Slow on Albert Street West, though he's specifically looking for trios and smaller (possibly due to space concerns or sound limitations.) Best known to our coverage from recent Tym Morrison shows, it'd be nice to see Room 21 expand further with a wide array of artists, but message Billy at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday if you're interested in playing there!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as this week continues! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Garden of Bedlam, As It Stands, And The Darwin Project), And More Concert Updates!!

After a day dedicated to the new metal shows at The Rapids Lounge, it's back to some older stories that are finally getting the press they deserve now that those 40 shows from yesterday are taken care of! That being said, this post is stacked in it's own right, including updates on a pair of upcoming metal concerts, an open call for bands for a couple new shows, and headlining today's post, THREE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! Here's what you need to know!

On Saturday night, two awesome local metal bands will hit the stage for the first annual anniversary party of Foggy Notions' re-opening! Yes, Foggy's only re-opened to the public on December 18th, 2009, and to celebrate the occasion, Garden of Bedlam will headline a metal concert that very night, one year later! Sorry for the short notice, this show wasn't officially announced until yesterday. This will be their first local concert appearance since last month's show at The Rockstar Bar, and the band guarantees that this will be a "night to remember", so take note of that! Expect to hear lots of cuts from their forthcoming full length album as well! Joining them are local hardcore metal quintet WinkStinger, in their first set since last month's Breaking The Fourth Wall show! They're quickly rising in the local scene with their extreme sound, and will be sure to get some pits going on Saturday night! As this is a special event honouring Foggy Notions' anniversary of their re-opening, there will actually be a cover charge at this show, amounting to $5. The projected start time is 10:30 PM on Saturday, and you must be 19 to enter. For full details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should be a great concert, and it's part of a very heavy weekend at Foggy's, including the Palms To The Sky show on Friday and Tym Morrison's acoustic set on Sunday! It would have been nice to see bands from last year's re-opening festivities come back, but Garden of Bedlam and WinkStinger are both fitting! Remember, both bands made their live concert debuts at Foggy Notions, so they're no strangers to this venue, and they'll deliver a great show this weekend! Stay tuned for any updates if I hear them!

Secondly, here's a newly announced concert from local hardcore quintet As It Stands, though there is still much information to be obtained for it. According to a new Facebook event page, As It Stands will be playing at The Speak Easy on December 27th! This will be their first show at the Algoma University bar/concert venue since their reformation, but other than that, we know little else. The band's Facebook page simply says that new shows have been added (including, surprisingly, a show next month in Windsor.) There is nothing stated there about a cover/ticket charge, possible additional bands, whether there's an age limit or not, or if there's a seasonal theme for the concert. A start time of 7:00 AM is listed, but that sounds like a typo, and The Speak Easy's internet pages haven't yielded any help either. If As It Stands are posting their own event page online for a concert, then there must be truth to it, so I am listing it on the SMS. However, there is absolutely more to be said, so if you have more details on As It Stands' concert at The Speak Easy on December 27th, e-mail me at robertfigures@hotmail.com! I'll keep you guys posted, and also note that As It Stands are looking for shows in Southern Ontario to bookend their Windsor show on January 28th, so if you can help, let them know at this location!

Our final new concert is another Sault Michigan area show, and no, it's not at Kewadin Casino. I think we're good for shows there for a while yet! Actually, this concert will be in nearby Rudyard, and will be headlined by Cheboygan hard rockers The Darwin Project! They'll be back at Joe's Bar in Rudyard on February 19th, for what will be their first area concert appearance in three months! Odd that there's no Friday date to go along with it, but we'll take what we can get! The show starts at 9:30 PM on February 19th, you must be 21 to enter, and there is no announced cover charge. For more details or to confirm your attendance, visit the official Facebook event page! It's always good to see The Darwin Project back around these parts, hopefully they deliver a great night of hard rock for their fans! Remember, Rudyard isn't far from Sault Michigan, so if you like The Darwin Project's brand of radio hard rock, then it will definitely be worth the drive. If I hear more, I'll let you guys know!

Fourthly, here's a call-out to local metal bands and musicians, as two upcoming unannounced concerts are in need of local bands! Local guitarist Rich Moreland, who promotes The Roosevelt Hotel's metal nights and assorted other local metal shows, has two concerts in the works for the Christmas season! One's on December 23rd at The Rosie, likely the third metal night there, while the other will be at Foggy Notions, with a date to be determined. Rich is looking for local metal bands to fill the lineups of both concerts, and if you're in a band, you're more than welcome to contact Rich to try to get on one or both shows! Metal is the preference, and I think he'd like to see a bit of a variety of talent, so the door's open for any metal bands and artists to get on either lineup! If you're at all interested in playing one or both of these concerts later this month, contact Rich at this location! Get on this if you can, cause Rich's shows are some of the heaviest concerts we get locally, and the more bands, the better! I'll also note that neither show will have a cover charge, but donations (canned goods or cash) towards The Soup Kitchen would be appreciated at both concerts. Stay tuned for updates when these shows are officially confirmed!

And finally, here's some noteworthy updates on two upcoming local metal concerts! Firstly, it was announced on Wednesday that local death metal quintet Bring The Fallen have been re-added to the Soo Music Mash-Up show on December 18th at The Oddfellows Hall! Though we still don't know why Bring The Fallen dropped out initially, it's awesome to see them back on the lineup! Now the show has EIGHT bands, and how often do we get concerts of that volume? It should be noted that Bring The Fallen have been demoted from third to fifth on the bill, now sandwiched between RedD Monkey and Changing Waves, but you know what? I'll take my Bring The Fallen early than never! For full concert details, click here! The other news is that the official poster for December 27th's Nightmare After Christmas show is now online! It was designed by former Fitswitch guitarist Kevin Powe, who's designed numerous high quality local concert posters and band logos over the past few years! As such, it's excellent looking, and suits the concert very well! A second poster that wasn't as good was also posted, which you can see at this location if you guys want to, but the one pictured here is definitely the best! Fitting that Kevin would do the art for this show, as three of his former Fitswitch bandmates (J.D. Pearce, Rick White, and Andrew McDonald) are playing with one of the bands on the lineup! There's no other new info from this show to report, but stay tuned if something is announced!

That's all for today, but I have more backlogged news to get to very soon, so expect a new post tomorrow at some point! Also, look out for last month's poll results, this month's new poll, and our Defunct Local Band Profile on Life's Eclipse on Saturday! Thanks everyone!