To end the month of February, here's our first videos from Sunday night's Pop Evil-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! There are at least two more to share in the coming days, but for now, what should you check out from this well received show? One video comes from YouTube user Annette Chandler (co-organizer of the local hydrocephalus charity walk Troy's Trail), who filmed the headlining North Muskegon hard rock quintet playing their recent hit song and set-closer "Take It All" on Sunday. Filmed at an angle to the left of the stage, the band sounds solid, and singer Leigh Kakaty has good energy, but the strobe flashing can be distracting. Still, the crowd is amped up to wrap up their set, as you'd expect, and you can see for yourself below!
The rest of today's videos come from prolific local concert filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, and he kept up his awesome work by filming 13 videos on Sunday night, and as far as I can tell, is the only YouTube user so far to post videos of the opening bands! We'll get to them in a second, but first, 10 of the 13 are of Pop Evil, as Chris filmed them playing their songs "Torn To Pieces", "Boss' Daughter", "Divide", "Deal With The Devil", "Monster You Made", "If Only For Now", and "Hero", as well as encore songs "Footsteps" & "Take It All", and as embedded below, their opening song "Trenches". Chris' camera can be jittery at times, but he gets a good zoom on the band in action, and the audio's clearer than some of his Kewadin concerts that he's filmed! These are arguably the best videos from the show that I've seen yet, and for sheer amount, you can't ignore these modern hard rock hits, so check them out above & below, and kudos to Chris again for all of his work!
As for the openers, Chris filmed two videos of Los Angeles hard rock
quartet Badflower, including their songs "White Noise" and, as embedded below, "Animal". Not a bad band, an I like the bluesy, classic rock spin that they put on their music without abandoning a modern style, while the camera work is slightly steadier overall. Give Chris' Badlower clips as well!
Finally for today, Chris filmed Detroit modern rockers Kaleido playing their song "Unbreakable", which was seemingly their set opener. Good energy on this performance, which has an upbeat but still edgy sound, and isn't as poppy as some of their other originals, and hopefully they left a good impression on relatively late notice! Give Kaleido a deserved look below, and hopefully more videos turn up of the openers!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more Pop Evil videos, news, concert previews, and more next month! Thanks everyone
Well, this post should have been up way before now, but I had a massive blonde moment. In recent days, you may have seen me reference TONIGHT'S Pop Evil concert as taking place on Tuesday, and that's just absent-minded on my part. I got this show mixed up with May's Alter Bridge show at the Soo Kewadin from the same promoters, as that show is on Tuesday. Huge apologies for the mix-up (and thanks to Chris Paci for alerting me to my error), so here's our delayed (though not late) preview of TONIGHT'S huge Sault Michigan concert, plus some big updates from two Sault Ontario bands!
The long anticipated return of North Muskegon, Michigan hard rock quintet Pop Evil will go down TONIGHT at The Dreammaler's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Apologies again for the lateness of this preview, there's no excuses for the day mix-up. Making their (at least) fourth local concert appearance, and first since August 2013's Jessica Jorgensen benefit show, this hard hitting band has became a staple of rock radio in the past few years, charting #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts four times since with hits like "Trenches" & "Deal With The Devil". This should be Pop Evil's biggest show yet in the Soo, so don't miss out tonight if you're still able to get tickets! Note that this will also be Pop Evil's first local gig with new drummer Hayley Cramer since replacing Joshua Marunde last year. Openers will include Los Angeles hard rock
quartet Badflower, whose old school-flavoured originals should fit right in tonight, while female-fronted Detroit hard rock quintet Kaleido (replacing Ohio rockers Red Sun Rising) will kick the night off.
Kaleido's high energy, pop-infused modern rock will set the tone well to start this show, so don't miss out on them either! Promoted by Allstar Promotions (in their first concert since 2015), there are still a couple dozen tickets available in the outside sections, plus standing room only seating, so you can get hooked up on short notice at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN,
or at the in-person box office, and yes, tickets are still a great deal at just $23.50. This should be a huge show once again, especially given Pop Evil's fast rise in the mid-2010s, so don't miss out TONIGHT, apologies again for the lateness of our preview, stay tuned for fallout, and here's Pop Evil live in the Soo in 2013!
Next up, here's the latest from Sault Ontario classic metal band Project 421, as guitarist Blair Burch posted their first update since the departure of Curtis McKenzie onto their Facebook page
on Wednesday. In the post, he notes that Curt's departure last fall
"was building for months prior", though he still doesn't know everything
that happened that night, and doesn't want to sort out the full details
at this point, Afterwards, the band took the holidays off, started
slowly getting back into place last month, and resumed full jams this
month. For now, Blair will resume lead vocal duties with Project 421 (as
he previously did upon their debut and after Curt's first departure),
but the band does hope to find a new full-time lead singer. Musically,
Project 421 are planning to drop glam and hair metal material and
replace that with thrash and speed metal, in an effort to bring back
"the attitude" and give Blair songs he can sing more effectively, while
some older originals may be reworked to that end.
As
for as return to the stage, a date isn't set yet, but Blair assures us
"that we aren't going anywhere", and will be back with a fresh feel
"before too much longer". It's great to see that Project 421 are pushing
onward, especially after the ugly reports that followed their intended
last show in November and the related dissolution of sister band
Eclipse, and hopefully Project 421 can return in full force later this
year, as they've been missed over the winter! Read Blair's full
statement at the above links!
Finally for today, here's the latest from local alternative/hard rock trio The Din, starting with opener clarification for their Gore Street Cafe/Fishbowl Festival concert on March 10th (one week from Friday), as Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci has been confirmed to kick off this show! Our source is the official Facebook event page in recent days. Though the wait continues for Stereo North's return from hiatus, Andrew is a solid choice to open, and he's developing more & more of a profile for his acoustic solo music, so don't be late on the 10th! Note that Mike Mikus and Jackson Reed were once advertised to open, but they either had to cancel, or moved their Fishbowl Festival involvement to this weekend's garage show. Also, The Din have entered this year's CBC Music Searchlight competition to find the best up & coming Canadian musicians, and if you recall how well Northwest did in Searchlight, then the sky's the limit for them!
You can vote for them at this link, and their chosen song to stream there is "Alleyways & Apartments". The Din are one of 24 Northern Ontario entries this year, and as far as I can tell, the only other local band competing is folk rock outfit Tea With Lincoln, who have since relocated to Southern Ontario, but are competing in their home district for Searchlight, so consider shooting them a vote also! First round voting actually ends tomorrow afternoon, so good luck to both bands in making the regional finals! Lastly, in continuing with their teased abundance of videos from last month's headlining gig at LopLops Lounge, two more videos from that show have been posted their YouTube channel in the past week! These feature Mike, Tammy, and Brandan playing their originals "Alleyways & Apartments", and as embedded below, "Up In The Air".
The quality here is no different from their prior videos from this show, given that these are from the same camera, but the capture The Din in solid form from this recent concert, so give them and more a look above & below, and cast your Searchlight votes before it's too late!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our YouTube Channel Profiles next, and apologies again for the Pop Evil preview delay! Thanks everyone!
(Updated at 5:25 PM) Before we begin today's post, I wanted to send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Kittie bassist Trish Doan, who suddenly passed away earlier this week at the age of 31. Further details on this sad news can be found on Kittie and metal websites. Local fans will recognize Trish best from her appearances with Kittie at both of April 2012's tribute concerts in memory of late Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold, including the Ypres Metal Fest at The Canadian Nightclub, as well as the "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" release party in Toronto, both shortly after she rejoined the band. Kittie fans in general will recognize her from her two stints with the all-female London metal quartet since 2005, including appearances on two of their studio albums. Trish was a key member of Kittie for the better part of a decade, and fit in nicely during their local show five years back (as the packed crowd will attest), and I'm sure fans won't forget her any time soon. R.I.P. Trish!
Now, today's post covers some other recent news updates, including a new "album" posting and more updates, but to lead off, we have some big news on a major upcoming concert in the E.U.P.. Here's what you need to know!
Though we are less than two weeks away from showtime, there has been a surprising lineup change for the Pop Evil-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 26th, as Ohio hard rock quintet Red Sun Rising have dropped out of the remainder of the Rock 'n Roll Now Tour. The reason for their exit is somewhat vague, yet varies depending on the source. Red Sun Rising say they were removed from the remaining dates and it was out of their control, local promoters Allstar Promotions say that they removed themselves but were unsure of the circumstances, and Pop Evil haven't acknowledged R.S.R. at all since, though you can delve into fan-posted rumours there if you want. All I know is that it's definitely disappointing to see Red Sun Rising drop out, especially with their rising profile and two #1 rock radio hits, but hopefully they come back to the Soo at some point in the future! Replacing them for the rest of the tour & on the 26th are female-fronted Detroit hard rock quintet Kaleido, while Los Angeles hard rock quartet Badflower have been promoted to the middle slot.
Kaleido have a fun, pop-influenced modern rock sound that should be a nice addition to this show, so make sure to be there early for their set! Also regarding this huge concert, Kewadin Casino posted this 90 second commercial promoting the show onto their Facebook concerts page last month, which clips together portions of music videos for each band alongside concert-related graphics, including an Allstar Promotions logo that I've never seen elsewhere. Obviously, this is outdated now, given the presence of Red Sun Rising, but it's well done, so give it a look below, and click here to get tickets for just $23.50, which are still available from the seventh row and back on the outside sections!
Also today, Sault Ontario death metal duo Brutally Fatal have finally posted what they're calling their new EP onto the Blood Shed Weekly YouTube channel yesterday! "Blood of the Devil" had been in the works since March but various delays forced it to be cut down to a 15 minute release with 9 songs. As you'd expect from a Blood Shed Productions metal act, these songs tend to be very short, and most of the titles have names I won't repeat here, but it's worth noting that vocals are seemingly used more sparingly than we've seen on past Brutally Fatal recordings, and when we do hear them, they're shouted, not growled. That might appeal to fans of Austin McCrae's old band The Revolution, so keep that in mind! Oddly, the description notes that they "can't remember" who played bass on the tracks, though whether they said that in jest or not is up for debate. Also, keep an ear out for train whistling on the song "Chugga Choo Choo".
No word on when/if this will see a paid and/or physical release, but fans of Brutally Fatal's minimalist metal should be happy, so listen to "Blood of the Devil" if you want below, but keep in mind the provocative song titles!
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:
In news unrelated to this month's Pop Evil show, Allstar Promotions noted on their Facebook page that they confirmed a new show on Friday, which is apparently "one of the biggest shows (they) have done", and Rock 101 will announce the show on Tuesday, with tickets going on sale at Kewadin next Friday. Intriguing, and we'll let you know when it's announced! Also, they are gauging support on Facebook toward potentially bringing British post-grunge quartet Bush (of "Glycerine" & "Machine Head" fame) to Sault Michigan, so if you'd like to see that show, voice up there!
Novelty/clothing retail store chain Spencer's Gifts is coming to The Station Mall, as per their website! Though not directly linked to what we cover at the SMS, I mention it here for two reasons: They sell a large amount of music and band merchandise (metal & punk among them), and there is some speculation on social media that they are taking over HMV's location after they close for good by the end of April. In any event, it's great to have Spencer's opening in Sault Ste. Marie, as it's a fun store full of odd and creative novelty items, so keep watch for it at The Station Mall in the coming months! Also, HMV's liquidation sales are now up to 40% off.
Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night has posted a new instrumental song to their Reverbnation page entitled "The Drowning", and this is a fuller original with a dark & ethereal ambiance, strong guitar work from Steve Giles, and an orchestral bite that long time fans should easily take to! Give it a listen at the above links, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
