LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sparrow Blue & Tym Morrison), New Videos, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for missing Sault Michigan hard rock cover quartet Rhythm & Brews' return to The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino branch this past Friday & Saturday in our weekend concert previews. Three weeks removed from their last shows at The Rapids Lounge, these were not announced on the band's Facebook page, and I only heard about them via members' personal Facebook pages after the fact. I am 100% positive that they were not advertised for this past weekend on Kewadin's entertainment page, so they may truly have been short notice, but apologies regardless! I'd have covered them had they gotten any public advance notice, but hopefully they were hits!

Now, let's pause our Rotaryfest fallout briefly to look at some other recent news updates, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE, as Sault Ontario hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will bring his acoustic solo act to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for the first time THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the venue only announced that Tym was playing on WEDNESDAY via their Facebook page earlier today. Starting on July 5th, the former Reggie's West began hosting "matinee" concerts at 6:00 PM on both Mondays & Wednesdays to coincide with chicken wing nights, with a different acoustic-leaning performer playing on these evenings to coincide with the promotion (if you are so inclined, wings at Jay's are 85¢ each). In fact, this series started on Wednesday the 5th with Bone Yard frontman Greg Simpson in his first unplugged solo gig since the pandemic began!

I do apologize for missing that on here too, which would have been fun for Bone Yard fans, but this conceit of mid-week evening concerts during Jay's wing nights is very new to me. Country veteran Leslie Cook has owned Mondays so far, while last Wednesday had Soundcheck's Cameron Oliver in a joint country set with Matt Tarantini. THIS WEDNESDAY will see Tym rock out on a familiar night if you recall his Mike Case Stage shows last summer. Hopefully this is a good, if late notice, primer for The Nostalgic Band's debut there next weekend! Expect a 19+ age limit and no cover charge for this 6:00 PM affair. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's a new show with plenty of advance notice, as St. Albert, Alberta hard rock sextet Sparrow Blue will make their local concert debut on Tuesday, September 12th when they rock Soo Blaster! Sparrow Blue's classic rock-inspired brand of "real thick rock 'n roll" has helped them cross genre lines and attract some strong notices to date, and with their obvious talents, they should turn heads in a couple of months! Local support will come by way of two bands who are certainly no strangers to each other in 2023, namely indie rock quartet Man Feelings and hard/alternative rock quintet Handsome Sandwich, and their devoted fanbases should hopefully come out for this one despite the somewhat unfortunate Tuesday night scheduling! This stop on Sparrow Blue's Outta The Nest Tour has $10 advance tickets at this link and a $15 door charge, while a 7:00 PM start time is advertised, and expect a 19+ age limit. See above for more details!

Let's leap back to Sault Michigan now for some new videos from local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906's show at Snow's Bar & Grill in nearby Cedarville from this past Saturday! These were filmed by a venue staffer and live-streamed to the bar's Facebook page, and while they did the same for Tarnished on Friday night, we're saving those for this weekend's concert previews. The videos confirm that Brian Duford (who guested with 906 when they last played in Cedarville) was back behind the drumkit on Saturday, though if it was due to another conflicting Fake Chow gig for Jason VanLuven, then that band did not publically plug it on their Facebook page. The videos feature Project 906 & Brian covering Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's "Pride & Joy" and, as embedded below, The Allman Brothers Band's "Soulshine". Sadly, these are both vertically shot, but at least everyone is in frame for the duration!

Everyone sounds good on these covers that do more justice to the blues rock side of Project 906's cover range (at least neither of these is "What If" again!), and vertical aspect ratio aside, the quality is really strong for the video proper. Check these out above & below, and stay tuned for more concert videos from Snow's later this week!

We'll close today with a Sault Ontario video that has slipped us by in our recent coverage of local concert videos shot for Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, mainly because it was uploaded as a "Shorts" video and therefore wasn't lumped with the rest. This comes from the Dayglo Abortions/Random Killing concert at Soo Blaster in May, with Chris posting this brief vertical clip of attendees moshing during Random Killing's co-headlining set. Mosh pits are best experienced in widescreen, but it is fun seeing so many punk fans making noise in the pit for such a big show, and hopefully everyone survived intact! Check it out for yourselves below!

That's all for now, but we'll resume our fallout from Rotaryfest on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Dayglo Abortions/Random Killing Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post is devoted to recent concert videos shot for Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, and I do apologize for the delay in these making the site! The concert in question is the Dayglo Abortions-headlined show at Soo Blaster last month, and yes, I am well aware of his Queen: It's A Kinda Magic videos, which will hit the site soon also! Chris filmed 15 videos at the Dayglos concert, with all four bands that night getting at least three videos, so what can you see there? In terms of the headlining Victoria, British Columbia hardcore punk band, Chris filmed The Dayglow Abortions playing "Proud To Be A Canadian", "Bedtime Story", "Stupid Songs", and as embedded below, their opening two songs "Your Facebook Can Kiss My Assbook" and "Sick Of The Lies". Fast, intense, and rough around the edges, just what you hope for from The Cretin and crew, so fans will definitely like these!

Chris had a good angle of The Dayglos from the floor, and while vocals weren't always audible depending on how hard the song was going, these tracks came through well on this big stage. Crowd was definitely receptive to their long awaited return, so give their videos a look above & below!

Interestingly, Chris actually shot more videos of an opening band here compared to the headliners, perhaps because the openers in question are Toronto hardcore punk icons Random Killing, whose frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley is from Sault Ste. Marie! Chris' five videos of Random Killing include performances of "Genocide", "Patios & Beer", and (as embedded below) "Twelve", but Chris didn't title the other two, and I have had no luck trying to identify them, despite both having vocals. Click here and here to give those videos a watch, in any event. Filmed at a similar vantage point, these performances are solid, and Andrew is more audible than Murray was, so fans will enjoy Random Killing's videos below!

Chris also filmed three videos of Vancouver garage/noise trio Motorama's set on May 19th, and again, I was having trouble titling songs despite these not being instrumentals. Despite cross-referencing with their Bandcamp discography, I couldn't find a 100% verifiable name for any of these songs, which says more negative about me than it does about Motorama, I assure you. The longest of the three videos is embedded below, but click here and here to watch the others. While not as hardcore punk-based as their tourmates, Motorama's hard hitting, more lo-fi brand of noise rock drew a good reception, and Chris' more central placement on the floor was fitting here, so give these a look above and below!

Finally, the openers (and promoters via Live705) were local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback in a rare post-pandemic set in Sault Ste. Marie proper, and Chris' videos of their set include their self-titled original, "Drop Dead" (née "Wasting Away"), and as embedded below, what I believe to be a new song. At least here, me not knowing the title would be more natural! A.D.S. have teased recording new material a bit in the past year, and while still a punk song, it does let bassist Matt Quinn really let loose for his on-stage presence and his rangy backing vocals! Good stuff, so check their videos out above & below, and stay tuned for more!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on the site in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Victoria Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Victoria Day (a.k.a. May 2-4) long weekend is drawing near, so let's preview most of this weekend's hard rock and punk concerts, though due to the amount, Sunday's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic concert will be previewed in our next news post. Here's what you should know, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for traditional concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows on their Facebook page this afternoon, with the venue only following suit after Soundcheck first announced them. Yes, these shows follow their usual Thursday night hosting duties at the former Reggie's West tonight, but those are typically sans-Cameron and we've never treated them as concerts for our purposes due to their unpredictability by design. Fresh off of Esquire Club gigs last week, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will be Soundcheck's first standard concerts at Jay's since the Bring Back Summer party three weeks ago, and will be their first gigs since Jay's underwent a renovation of some type to the stage area, so it'll be interesting to see what's different compared to the old Rosie days!

For the record, no holiday/long weekend-related themes are suggested for TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY. These shows have no cover charges, 9:30 PM start times, and 19+ age limits as usual, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, we'll move to shows with advance notice, like the highly anticipated return of two legendary hardcore punk bands, as Victoria, British Columbia's own The Dayglo Abortions and Toronto mainstays Random Killing will make their respective Soo Blaster debuts TOMORROW NIGHT! Local fans have been waiting nearly a decade since the last Dayglo set in Sault Ste. Marie (September 2013 at what's now Jay's), so if you're up for another blast of old school punk from The Cretin and company, including cuts from their new album "Upside Down World", head downtown tomorrow! As for Random Killing and their Saultite frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley, we last saw them at The Rockstar Bar in July 2019, and it will be great to have them back for another hardcore homecoming of sorts tomorrow, with their own new album "Bring Out Your Dead" also fresh to deliver songs from to the Soo Blaster faithful! Vancouver garage/noise trio Motorama will make their local debut tomorrow as well.

Not a hardcore punk band, but they will help get things on the right foot with their hybrid sound! Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will play their first local date of 2023 as the openers in a rare Sault Ste. Marie set post-pandemic, and with usual Dayglo/Random Killing promoter J.D. Pearce moved out of town, their promotion company Live705 have reemerged to put this show on. Great to see A Dire Setback & Live705 back, and this should do well for them! This 19+ concert has an 8:00 PM start time and $20 tickets that you can buy at this link and at the door while available. Hopefully this is a huge show for all involved, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here are The Dayglo Abortions live!

Also, let's head a little further downtown to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where local punk trio Vanity First will make their first appearances TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Following a one-off test of the conceit at Reggie's last month, these will be solo headlining dates akin to cover-centric bands who play on the weekend nightclub circuit, so expect lots of covers along with Andrew, Mikhal, and Keeghan's established originals this weekend! Nothing else too shocking to report for these gigs, but whether you're going to the Dayglos' concert or to see Vanity First tomorrow, punk fans will have a lot to like this weekend! These concerts have 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details on Vanity's Shooters debuts this weekend, and here they are live!

Finally, we'll head back up Queen Street East, let's next preview new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' gigs at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This union of the final Jus' Chillin lineup and ex-Obsession singer Valerie Powley last took to the stage at The Esquire Club late last month, and they have gotten a good reception for their initial gigs this spring, so hopefully they set things off on the right foot on this holiday long weekend! If you can't make this weekend's shows, or would prefer to see them in the west end, Generations will be back at The Esquire Club next week. Tomorrow & Saturday's Generations concerts have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. With the talent and skill level on display from Generations, classic and hard rock fans should find something to like here, so don't miss out at Reggie's this weekend, and here they are live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes (and the Queen tribute preview) on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Dayglo Abortions & Soundcheck), Plus More Recent Updates!!

Third post in two days, as there are LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to take note of on this busy St. Patrick's Day weekend, two on SHORT NOTICE! Rounding things out are some shorter items, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will reportedly return to The Esquire Club for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! I profusely apologize for the short notice, the band has not promoted these shows on their Facebook page (sadly not that unexpected), with the venue's Facebook page only first announcing them last night. That said, these dates were originally advertised to be featuring bassist Jim Michaud's old band Obsession by them and the venue alike, so the possibility that Soundcheck took on Obsession's announced 2023 bookings (schedules permitting) is noted, and if so, keep an eye on March 31st & April 1st at Shooters next. TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S concerts are definitely St. Patrick's Day themed, with The Esquire Club revealing that there will be free pool TONIGHT, drink and wings specials, green-dyed beer, and porketta TOMORROW before Soundcheck's nighttime concert.

Also, the Gael Force pipe & drum band will bring some Irish music flair to both porketta and, in a downscaled form, as rare openers for Soundcheck TONIGHT, so keep that in mind for your seasonal entertainment despite the late notice! Expect a 9:00 PM start time TONIGHT (9:30 PM TOMORROW), no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details on Soundcheck's newest entertaining classic & hard rock cover-filled weekend, and here they are live at The Esquire Club!

Next up, a big hardcore punk show was announced last night, as Victoria, British Columbia hardcore punk legends The Dayglo Abortions and Toronto hardcore punk veterans Random Killing will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Friday, May 19th at Soo Blaster! While a mid-2010s return was once teased, this show will mark the first Dayglo Abortions show here since they headlined at the former Roosevelt Hotel back in September of 2013, so if you've missed the Cretin and crew's intense, well travelled brand of old school punk rock, this will be more than well waited by genre fans! As for Random Killing (fronted by Saultite Andrew Kiteley), we've seen them twice since then via gigs at The Rockstar Bar, most recently in July 2019, so while they're fresher in fans' minds, it's still been too long to see Mr. Magoo in a mohawk dotted around a concert venue, and their explosive hardcore punk originals should be well received in two months as well in this hardcore homecoming!

Vancouver garage/noise trio Motorama will also come along for this tour in their local debut, and while Motorama take more of a genre hybrid approach, they have more than enough punk attitude and aggression to fit in on this tour, so don't bypass them on May 19th! Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will open this one in a rare pandemic-era live set within city limits,  and this should be a good chance to see what Chris, Matt, and Nick have been up to in studio if you missed their festival and benefit gigs in the last two years! With 2010s Dayglo/Random Killing promoter J.D. Pearce moved out of town, promotional duties have fallen to A Dire Setback's own company Live705 in their first announced booking since the pandemic began, and hopefully this is just the first of many more shows to come from them, so make this one a success to encourage more bookings!

No word on the potential Tangents concert that Live705 floated earlier this year though. This stop on The Dayglo Abortions' Upside Down Tour is a 19+ event with an 8:00 PM start time, and admission will be $20 in advance at this link or $30 at the door (for reference, the 2019 Random Killing show was $15 in advance or $20 at the door, so add in The Dayglos and the value is more than justified). Many a local punk fan has been waiting for a touring concert like this, so do not miss out on all of the action at Soo Blaster in two months, and visit the above links for more details!

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:

• Local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's second advance single for their debut album "Deconstructed" was released to "all streaming services" (if by "all", you mean Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, and Tidal) on Wednesday, so head to any of the four to hear "Better Off" in all of its studio splendor! A planned music video for the song has been delayed due to "complications", as per a comment reply on their post on their Facebook page about the single release. I'll hold comment on the song pending our album review this summer, but give "Better Off" a listen, and stay tuned for the video release!
• New-ish local noise punk duo No Funeral's self-titled debut album got a surprise review by Jeff Sorley of the indie/punk music website That's Good Enough For Me last week, which is as much about telling us who they aren't (as in, not other bands named No Funeral) as it is about the album contents. No rating, he just says "it's pretty good", but hey, I'm sure Jamie & Connor will take that! Give it a read above!
• Local indie/punk quintet The Northwest will play their first ever Southern Ontario gig on Tuesday, April 4th when they headline at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto! This concert is part of the venue's Nu-Music Night series, where rising bands take the stage on a Tuesday night for a free show, with The Northwest being joined here by Napanee ska punk band Master Nate & The Reprobates, Windsor rock quartet Two Years Apart, and Niagara Falls indie rock band Real Kevin. Keep this in mind if you're near the GTA, click here for details, and best of luck on the road!
   

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

Random Killing & Life Like Fire Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post is devoted to videos from a pair of recent concerts downtown featuring touring headliners, so let's begin with the Random Killing concert at The Rockstar Bar earlier this month! The all-too-generous Christopher Paci was in attendance for this one, filming 14 videos of the day's three bands, which were posted to his YouTube channel this past Wednesday. Kudos to Chris as usual, he has went above and beyond the call of duty once again! A full 10 of his videos are of the headlining Toronto hardcore punk legends, and while not all are titled, I don't blame Chris at all, as it looks like songs ran into each other to an extent, so a bunch of his begin shortly after the song did. In any event, his videos include their closer "Welcome", "Patios & Beer", "Johnny Was A Punk", "Big Rock Star", the Sesame Street favourite "Twelve", and as embedded below, a 6 minute video with multiple tracks. While not as packed as Hardcore Homecoming was in 2014, the crowd is lively and into each song, which is a definite plus here!

The guys are in their usual chaotic punk form, and Chris has a good angle when fans' heads aren't in the way, but singer/Saultite Andrew "Drool" Kiteley's vocals are somewhat muffled on these recordings. Still, it's great to see so much footage of Random Killing's return after an almost 5 year wait, so give their videos a look above & below!



Next up, Chris filmed a single video of opening punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, who are seen here playing "Breakneck Speed" in the kickoff to their now-complete Ontario tour supporting Random Killing. Similar quality and angle on this performance, aside from a fan's head covering up most of Daniel from this angle, and fans of Jack Spades' hard hitting attack will want to see this performance below as well!

Lastly from this concert, Chris filmed three videos of debuting local punk quartet The Sick Sons, so what can be said about them? Well, Lucas "Dr. Sal Velinus" Schmiedendorf is indeed their singer & guitarist, but I cannot immediately identify the other band members, though they have solid beards and look familiar. The second guitarist does sing lead on the 2:47 video, and while the muffled vocals don't help in identifying the tracks, the shortest video is a cover of The Dayglo Abortions' "Stupid Songs". Time will tell if The Sick Sons have a longer shelf life (and more prominent presence online) than Lucas' last band The HTs, but if you liked Lucas' fondly remembered local band Bankshot, you'll like The Sick Sons! Solid, in-your-face, old school punk rock is always worth a listen, though the guys could stand to loosen up their stage presence. Give their longest video a look below, see more above, and hopefully we hear more information from The Sick Sons sooner or later!



Finally for today, here's a new 30 second video of Calgary hard rock quartet Life Like Fire's headlining set at The New American Pub last Wednesday! This was filmed by Amanda Rosemarie from Ego & Pessimism Records (who helped put on openers The Long Nines' converging tour), and shared onto the Sault Ste. Marie Music Scene Facebook group during their set. Just for disclosure, that group has no relation to this website beyond some common content.  Life Like Fire sound good in this video while it lasts, though the vertical camera angle isn't optimal. That doll(?) sure looks like it had a blast, at the very least! Give Amanda's video a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews (Rotaryfest included) and our latest poll next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we get into things, I just wanted to acknowledge that today is our 12th anniversary at The Sault Metal Scene! No self-aggrandizing here, just a humble "thank you" to all of our readers for the support, encouragement, and usually positive feedback! I couldn't do it withoyt you guys, and here's to our lucky 13th anniversary next year! Now, today's post covers this weekend's remaining hard rock concert previews, and remember that we covered Tym Morrison's shows this weekend in yesterday's post due to his late notice gig this morning at the Duty Free Shop. Here's what you should know, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Joining their previously announced Reggie's West concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will reportedly be playing there TONIGHT as well! Apologies for the short notice, the Thursday nighter was only confirmed via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page in recent days, though the band has not followed suit publically at press time. Thursday nighters are par for the course at Reggie's Place downtown, but TONIGHT'S late notice show at the Reggievelt is actually a fill-in gig, as blues rock veterans Mojo reportedly had to cancel their Thursday jam night for this week. Nice of them to step in, and hopefully Soundcheck's hard rocking covers go over all TONIGHT as well as tomorrow and Saturday at this popular west end venue! Glen's personal Facebook page also hinted at a guest bassist from out of town filling in for Paul Belair tomorrow and Saturday night, but a name was not given there.

TONIGHT'S, tomorrow's, and Saturday's Soundcheck concerts are likely 10:00 PM bookings, there are no announced cover charges, and you must be 19 or older to attend. Fans of Soundcheck's tried and tested cover attack should be more than ready for their west end return this weekend, so don't miss them TONIGHT and beyond, and here's Soundcheck live!



Next up, we'll move to shows with entirely advance notice, starting with a huge punk show TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, as Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing will make their long awaited return to the Soo! Many readers will fondly recall Random Killing's last local concert appearance, when they headlined the Hardcore Homecoming concert at the same venue in September 2014 to a packed house. Almost five years later, the band (alongside local native Andrew "Drool" Kiteley on lead vocals) are ready to do it again, and hopefully their fan favourite originals and intense live show come across just as well tomorrow as they did before! Notably, this is the kick-off date for Random Killing's 35th anniversary tour, which will take them across Ontario until Spiderfest in Meyersburg on July 13th. Joining them locally & on tour is local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, as they did here in 2014, though note that Toronto hardcore punk band Armed & Hammered are not playing the Soo or Sudbury dates.

Also advertised tomorrow are The Sick Sons (formerly known as The Filthy Dadicals), who are a debuting local punk band of some kind. Public details aren't forthcoming yet, but Bankshot/12 Gauge Ready alum Lucas "Sal Velinus" Schmiedendorf (last seen with The HTs) will reportedly be involved. When public details come out on The Sick Sons, we'll let you know! Early advertising for this concert (including the Facebook event page's cover photo) also included local hardcore punk veterans Destroilet on the bill, which would have been a reprise of their own Hardcore Homecoming set, but they have been left off of the most recent posters geared to just the Soo concert (like this one), with no replacement group advertised. A reason for their apparent withdrawal has not been announced, but remember that Destroilet have played just one public concert in the past 2½ years. Hopefully we see them back at it sooner rather than later, they'd have been a perfect fit tomorrow night!

And just as a reminder: Sudbury groove metal quintet Archelon were only briefly advertised for this show back in April, and are definitely not playing tomorrow. Tickets are $15 in advance at this link, Case's Music, Planetary Pride, and/or The Rad Zone, while the admission at the door will apparently jump to $20. This is absolutely a 19+ show, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. Hardcore punk fans would be well advised to head to The Rockstar Bar for all of this old school action tomorrow night, as who knows when we'll see Random Killing locally again? Visit the above links for more updates, and for a preview, here's Random Killing live here in 2014!



Finally for this weekend's currently announced hard rock/punk concert previews, we'll head across to St. Ignace, Michigan, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino! In the past few months, Peril have exclusively played at Kewadin Casino branches, with this being their first concert weekend in St. Ignace since April, and their first in the E.U.P. since the May 31st weekend. With the Fourth of July soon to be in the rear view mirror, area fans can welcome Jeff, Adam, and Brooks back up north with another double header of fan favourite covers from back in the day and more recently, so don't miss out on all of the action in St. Ignace if you can help it! These are 9:00 PM, 21+ concerts with no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Peril live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for some long overdue new concert announcements tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Random Killing) & West Of Hell Concert Videos!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Monday night, which is divided between two topics: New videos from a recent death metal concert, and a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this summer that should get punk fans very excited, so here's what you should know!

Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing will return to Sault Ste. Marie when they hit The Rockstar Bar on Friday, July 5th! Fans packed the same venue back in September 2014 when Random Killing (led by Sault native Andrew "Drool" Kiteley) headlined the Hardcore Homecoming concert, and another huge night of fan favourite originals should be in store for this opening stop on their 35th anniversary tour. After an almost 5 year wait, it's awesome to welcome Random Killing back to town, and this should be another can't miss concert for punk fans of any stripe! Local support will include two bands who opened Hardcore Homecoming, including punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, who are joining Random Killing for the entire tour in July, including their annual stop in Spiderfest in Meyersburg, so keep that in mind if you attend that festival! As well, hardcore punk veterans Destroilet will play their second show of the year, and they're a perfect fit at a show of this magnitude, so don't miss them either!

A local band named "The Filthy Dadicals" are also advertised as opening, who will reportedly feature Bankshot alum Lucas "Sal Velinus" Schmiedendorf in their lineup, but is this a new (one-off?) band, or are they a reworking of his late 2017 punk supergroup The HTs? We'll let you know if anything comes out! Note that the above poster credits reunited Toronto hardcore punk rockers Armed & Hammered as also playing on this tour, but they are not part of the Northern Ontario leg. Also, the Facebook event page did briefly list Sudbury groove metal quintet Archelon as opening earlier today in their local return, but they have quietly been removed since then. Admission for this 19+ concert is $15 via advance tickets which go on sale this Friday, while admission at the door jumps to $20, and one would assume that a 9:00 PM start time is in effect. This should be one of the summer concert season highlights locally in the punk scene, so visit the above links for much more details!

We'll close tonight's post with some videos from Wednesday's West of Hell-headlined concert at The New American Pub, courtesy of live streams from promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s Facebook page that same night! There's more videos to come from this show, including of the local openers, so stay tuned for them this week. Surprisingly the first Facebook videos from Six, Two, Oh. since their live in-studio series from 2016, the guys filmed five videos of the touring Vancouver death metal bands, albeit all on the vertical cell phone camera angle, and only one exceeding a minute in length. I'm not having a lot of luck of identifying these songs from the fragments filmed, but Six, Two, Oh. filmed two of West of Hell's songs, one embedded below, and one linked here. Showcasing some nice dramatic clean singing throughout, the mosh pit looks active and lively on the former, and the overall audio quality holds up! Give these West of Hell snippets a look above & below!



Finally, Six, Two, Oh. also filmed three videos of thrash metal quintet Expain's supporting set, including clips linked here & here, and the 1:45-long video embedded below. Capturing a faster and more ferocious portion of the night on these uploads, Expain look like they won over lots of fans, even if the pit wasn't as active yet, and hopefully their technical intensity will resurface out here! Give their videos a look, and stay tuned for more video footage from this concert in the coming days!



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

An Archive Album Posting, New Drum Covers, And More Assorted News & Updates!!

Before we get into today's post, we have an apology for a missed concert, as local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements played a special acoustic set at The Sault Theater Workshop this past Friday as part of a fundraiser to help get the cast & crew of the live stage play Frozen (featuring frontman Rob Speers' wife Christina in a lead role) to the annual Quonta Drama Festival in Sudbury later this week. Though promoted publically in advance, Rob only confirmed The Elements' involvement in a personal Facebook posting on Wednesday that we regrettably missed. Our apologies, we'd have plugged it had we known, and good luck in Sudbury! Now, we have lots of assorted notes and new videos today, so here's what you should know!

Remember how defunct local horror punk/metal band Frightlight released their only CD "It's A...Live!" in October 2010? Well, the whole thing is now on YouTube to stream for free! Bassist Mike Gingras (a.k.a. Eddie Fright) posted it on his YouTube channel in May of last year, and it compiles all 6 songs from the live EP, which was recorded at Coch's Corner that July and produced by Nick Jackson at Spacehouse Studios in England. Featuring their then-quartet lineup of Mike/Eddie alongside current Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce (or Johnny Pints), guitarist/current Redundant drummer Rick "Styles" White, and ex-Caveman Morrison drummer Jeff "Shrek Ogre" Richards, the EP features the songs "Fright Night", "Rust Angel" (a re-appropriated Fitswitch song), "She Screams", "Dead Town Anywhere", "They All Float", and "C.H.U.D." Frightlight's only album still holds up for fans of their horror punk hybrid, with crisp production and familiar fan favourites!

Also, Mike added some band logos and post-effects to give the songs some visual pop (though curiously, no photos of the band themselves.) Frightlight had a good 5 year run, so relive that by streaming "It's A...Live!" in full below, and apologies for the delay in getting this on the site!



Next up, prolific local drummer Glen Thomas (Mourning Wood, Flat Stanley, The Peace Vibe) posted two metal cover videos onto his YouTube channel last week! Presumably learning these songs for Mourning Wood concerts (though he didn't specifically confirm that), his new covers are of System of a Down's "Chop Suey" and, as embedded below, Metallica's "My Friend of Misery". Glen noted that both aren't perfect, which does show (especially on the S.O.A.D. cover), but it's nice to see him tackle some heavier songs than we tend to see from his solo performance postings, and he's having fun and tackling these with clear skill, so give them a look above & below!



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

• Local death metal duo Brutally Fatal have released the cover art and track listing for their newest planned demo CD, and second with the current lineup, to their Facebook page last month! It will be called "Blood of the Devil", and will feature 18 songs, but due to potentially offensive artwork and song titles, we won't embed either here (though some song names include "Belly of the Beast", "Offensive Track", and "Luck of the Irish".) Good to hear they're still active, so see above for more info if you want!
• We have moved local grindcore duo Das Skalpell Kampf to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, not having made a band-related posting on their Facebook page since March 2nd of last year. The mysterious union of Fonzy and Chachi Grozny notably appeared on Blood Shed Productons' 11-way split CD from early last year, but that marked the former Scalpel Fight's only major public activity. Hopefully they turn up again down the road, their songs were solid for the genre!
• Just as a clarification, we can now confirm the full identity of local modern hard rock quartet Eclipse's bassist, as new Facebook postings confirm that his full name is Fred Dunn. The Speak Easy Battle 3rd place finishers had previously credited him as just Fred or Freddy, though either way, I can't find finite info on any past band work. Don't miss Eclipse at the VM Radio Battle of the Bands semifinal on Wednesday!
• Prolific local rock/punk bassist James White (Redundant, The Elements, Nikkfitt) is looking for drummers willing to jam with a musical project of his, and to private message him for further details. No word on if this relates to a replacement in one of his active bands, or something new entirely, but message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from March 4th for more info!
• We have also moved local post-punk/rockabilly duo Orange to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, as they haven't posted a public update since a status on their Facebook page on March 9th of last year. The revived project from Telephone & Address' Chris Shoust had planned to release a split album with his other band The Red & Black last year, but aside from song postings on Soundcloud, the band didn't unveil a lot publically otherwise. Chris is talented, and hopefully he and Matt bring Orange back again in the future!
• Would you be interested in seeing an all ages Random Killing concert in the Soo this summer? Frontman/Saultite Andrew Kiteley (Dutch Angus on Facebook) was weighing interest in the idea on this local concert Facebook group on Monday, and while there have been affirmative replies since, weigh in above if you want the Toronto hardcore punk veterans to roll back north for another Hardcore Homecoming this summer!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes as this week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Random Killing

It's now time for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile, and given a major recent concert in Sault Ontario, this month's selected band was a no-brainer! As usual, this monthly feature series takes a look at a metal, hard rock, or punk band that's not based within an hour of the Twin Saults, but has featured a local resident in their lineup at some point in the past or present, and therefore, deserve some attention and notice on the SMS! We recently welcomed this band back to the local stage after the better part of 2 decades away, so let's take a look at them once again!
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Random Killing (Toronto, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics; Note that band pages credit some drummers under nicknames like "Ted" and "Deadbeat", but it's not explicitly clear whose real names they had. If you can help, message us at robertfigures@outlook.com!)

Andrew "Drool" Kiteley (vocals)
John "Rusty Talent" Hadju (guitar)
Jim "Mudd" Moore (bass)
John "Robber" Nielson (drums)

Kevin "Rodney Wastelands" Low (vocals)
Victor "V. Dumpster" Farkas (vocals)
Mark Watts (guitar)
Tony Mastromatteo (drums)
Mike Rosenthal (drums)
Tim Monahan (drums)
Sean Dignan (drums)

Official website: http://www.randomkilling.com
Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/randomkilling
Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/therandomkilling
Official CBC Music page: http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/random-killing
Official YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/sandorthegreatful
Official Bandcamp page: http://randomkilling.bandcamp.com

Local Info: The frontman of Random Killing for 25 years now, Sault Ontario native Drew Kiteley discovered punk when he found a Wendy O. Williams album, and became a lifelong fan after that. Moving to Toronto for school, he ended up being recommended by Bunchofuckingoofs singer Steve Goof to try out for Random Killing's vacant singer position, and he's been there ever since, fronting the band at a number of well received local dates through the mid-1990s. Recently working in stage design and rigging for theatrical and entertainment events, Drew comes back home frequently to visit family. Read more on his local past and band work via this Sault Star article!

Band Bio: Launched under the name Roy's Comrades as a joke in 1984, Random Killing soon became a full band, releasing their debut album "Take Our Flag" the following year, and following it with "This Whole World" in 1989, each sung by their original singers. After Drew Kiteley replaced Victor Farkas, Random Killing grew to become a favourite in the hardcore punk underground, while never signing with a major label in the process. Sharing the stages with the likes of The Dead Kennedys, The Dayglo Abortions, and Agnostic Front, their song "12" memorably became a recurring segment on both Sesame Street for many years, while the band played live on Open Mic with Mike Bullard in 1998 as well. Random Killing have released 5 albums with Drew on vocals, most recently 1997's "Stranded", and though the band's touring and album releases have quieted since, they still play a handful of shows each year, including this month's Hardcore Homecoming at The Rockstar Bar, and hopefully they'll be back soon!

Random Killing have definitely earned their place among Canada's notable hardcore punk bands, and their 1990s work speaks for itself! Actually, all of their albums are good, and all three of their singers are up to the task on studio material, but as the increasingly got heavier and more polished, they found more of their groove to me, especially on their last album "Stranded". Rusty Talent has always proved to be a solid guitarist with edgy riffs, and Mudd's bass is well done and flows nicely too on their various albums, though the drumming is a bit inconsistent given that position's many changes. Drool shows a nice ability to flip from punk signing to more aggressive tones too, and his stage presence only adds to their live experience, and it'd be nice to see the guys launch another large national tour and record another album! We had to wait 17 years for this month's return show in the Soo, and hopefully they're back home long before 2031!

All of Random Killing's albums can be bought at their Bandcamp page linked . above, as well as on iTunes, while eBay and Amazon have copies of their albums too. There's a solid amount of videos online as well, including concert videos and music videos alike, so be sure to check YouTube for them, and here's one of their music videos for their song "Undertaker"!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month in this series, we'll stay punk with a look at The Labour Of..., the Toronto indie punk band featuring Saultites and future Maximum RNR & Detroit bandmates Brenton Ellis and Curtis Faux! Look for that on or around October 26th, and stay tuned for more news and notes (plus this month's CD review) soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (IDNS), Tuned With Random Killing, And More!!

Before we get into this post, I wanted to acknowledge a recently cancelled concert that we actually hadn't plugged on the site before it was called off, that being a planned show by local hard rock cover quartet Griphook at The Speak Easy at Algoma University that would have taken place tomorrow night. The show (which would have been their Speak Easy debut and first gig since Rotaryfest) was cancelled due to "unknown circumstances" this weekend, as per their Facebook page, but they indicated that they have future gigs to announce. Hopefully all's well from the band and venue, and stay tuned for more! Now, today's post has recent assorted notes, the new Tuned episode, and an archive video, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

First, here's a special preview/LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as the recently advertised IDNS concert at "Das Bunker" in Garden River TONIGHT finally has a public address! AlgomA frontman Darby Wigwaus is putting on what you could call a sequel to August's Das Bunkerfest tonight, which will feature the return of recent Oddfellows Hall-headlining Toronto crust punk band IDNS, and it will be nice to see them here again! The other previously scheduled bands include the aforementioned AlgomA, local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters (in their likely last gig before their CD release party), and local punk/metal standouts Jack Spades (in a rare appearance at a non-Johnny Pints Presents show), but there are teased and tentative additions. The lineup points to a reunion of the Soo Band Roulette-winning Cat Sass (featuring 2/3rds of AlgomA) and "a possible special attraction" to start the night. I have seen a personal Facebook posting hinting that a recently inactive metal band might be said attraction, but we'll hold further comment unless something more official is stated.

This all ages event will be held at 1472 Highway 17 E in Garden River (this address is publically posted there), it will have $5 admission, and snacks, band merchandise, and VHS tapes will be on sale, but it will be a dry event too. 8:00 PM start time as well, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details! This should be another interesting event, so be sure to check it out if you're up for some metal & punk action in Garden River TONIGHT, and hopefully I can make it out too! For a preview, here's IDNS live in Toronto!



Next up, the new episode of Local2's music profile video series Tuned with Donna Hopper is finally online, and if you loved Hardcore Homecoming at The Rockstar Bar, you'll definitely want to check this out! The first ever Tuned episode with a parental advisory warning due to explicit language, the 15 minute episode starts with 5 minutes of Random Killing's headlining set that night (and a snippet of Destroilet before the intro) before transitioning to Donna interviewing Random Killing's Drew Kiteley on the Rockstar Bar patio, where they discuss why it's taken them 17 years to come back home, why they still play certain concerts where they don't get paid much, how Drew first got into punk rock, and even an aside from filmer (and Elements frontman) Rob Speers' memories of being at a classic Random Killing show at the Club Princess. Solid light-hearted interview for sure, though it'd have been nice if it was a bit longer. Donna follows that with a concert calendar update that includes the Gob show on October 29th (albeit still listing Seaway as opening instead of Northwest.)

The episode closes with video footage of the opening bands, including the aforementioned Elements, London punk rockers Gatgas, Destroilet (with Garry Ingram), and Jack Spades, and as usual, all are well filmed with nice audio quality, with bloopers again during the credits. Another great Tuned episode that will be great for fans to relive Hardcore Homecoming with (or catch up on what you missed), so check everything out at this link! Remember, Local2's video host doesn't allow external embedding.

Also today, here's another archive video of local hard rock cover band Havadder, also from YouTube user Danabelle39's channel! Like the recent Havadder videos that we've shared on here, this is of their 2012 Turner Up-hybrid lineup, specifically one of their first gigs together at the former Nicolet Tavern that January, where they covered The Travelling Wilburys' "Tweeter & The Monkey Man". The video quality isn't as good as in Dana's February videos of Havadder, with the colours seeming very warm and limited, and the camera angle cuts off then-guitarist Robert Brown often, but it's a well done cover, and Jason Roy's vocals seem to fit the original song! Check it out below!



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:

• Just as a note of clarification, local/Toronto celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide enlisted Northwest drummer Clint Wilson to fill in for Mikey Hawdon for their local and Thessalon shows last month, as per their Facebook page at the time. Presumably due to external commitments, Mikey has missed some of The Rising Tide's recent concerts, but as far as I know, he hasn't left the band. Hopefully Clint fit in well last month!
• Though not announced on their Facebook page, Sault Michigan hard rock trio Power Slug took a road trip to play at the Kewadin Casino in Manistique this past weekend. Out of our coverage range, but hopefully the show went well! Our source is frontman Chris Leask's personal Facebook page.
• A local guitarist named Shane Bromfield is looking for other people to jam with, and his influences include everyone from Dimebag Darrell to Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Solid range, but if you're interested in playing with Shane, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Saturday!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new archive punk video showcase tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Hardcore Homecoming Fallout, Concert Lineup Additions, And Haggith Updates!!

Let's keep the news rolling on this Saturday morning, so what's in store today? Recent updates from a popular local band, new additions to two big upcoming shows, and first, some initial fallout from a major recent punk concert, so here's what you need to know!

At last, let's delve into the first of the fallout from last week's Hardcore Homecoming concert at The Rockstar Bar, including SooToday's coverage of the event! Donna Hopper was on hand to cover everything and snap some great photos (all in black and white again), and in her recap, she mentioned that she and Random Killing frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley deduced that this was the Toronto punk legends' first Soo show in 17 years (circa 1997, in other words.) Far too long, if you ask most people on Saturday! Bar sales even came close to breaking the venue's record, which is a neat accomplishment in itself! Solid write-up as usual, and as for her photos, 31 of Donna's shots made the article, sixteen of which coming from Random Killing's set and fans, but there's also 4 from Jack Spades' set, 6 from Destroilet's set (including one of guest singer Garry Ingram), three from London punk quartet Gatgas' set, and two from The Elements' opening set, so click here to see all of Donna's great pictures!

In case you're wondering, Local2 video cameras were on hand for an episode of Tuned with Donna Hopper, so I'd look for that in the coming days as well! As for more press coverage, an unexpected local news source was in attendance last week too, that being... the Sault This Week?! Yes, our free weekly newspaper was there, as Ali Pearson's interview with Andrew (credited as Drew throughout) is available to read both online at this location and in page 14 of this week's paper in the "Faces of the Sault" section. The article mentions that Drew travels home often to visit family, and features his remarks on how he got into punk rock, his move to Toronto and eventual addition to Random Killing, how they got a song on Sesame Street, his recent day jobs outside of the band, and information on his personal life. It's a nice in-depth article that could also serve as a crash course into his life for those unfamiliar with him or Random Killing, so check it out at the above links or your most recent issue of Sault This Week! Stay tuned for more Hardcore Homecoming fallout as we hear it!

Also today, here's notes on two recent band additions for two of local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's Halloween season shows! One is for the Gob concert at The Rockstar Bar on Wednesday, October 29th, as he confirmed yesterday on the Facebook event page that local indie/punk quintet Northwest have been added to the lineup, apparently in place of Oakville punk band Seaway for unannounced reasons (though their Facebook page implies that their tour dates with Gob end the previous day.) As far as I can tell, this will be Northwest's first public concert set since the release of their self-titled digital EP, though I have no idea whether there will be physical copies at the Gob show. Solid addition though, so don't miss them along with Gob and fellow locals Jack Spades & Redundant on October 29th! The other band addition comes two days later and one floor down for J.D.'s annual Halloween party at The Algonquin Pub on the 31st, as local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet will play this event for a second straight year, in just their second gig of 2014!

Quietly confirmed in recent days on this show's event page, this will mark the first non-Coch's Corner installment of J.D.'s Halloween shows to feature an all-local lineup (alongside Frightlight's farewell set and Sykotyk Rampage), and Destroilet should compliment things well with their old school sound, so prepare yourself for quite a Halloween season of punk and metal action! Stay tuned for updates on these and J.D.'s other shows as we hear more!

Finally for today, here's the latest news, good and bad, from local alternative/grunge quartet Haggith! On the positive side, the band revealed on their Facebook page last week that their upcoming concept album "Apocalypse II" is making great progress in studio, and it may be their last album released exclusively through their label Paperclip Productions, likely thanks to new bassist James White and the combined availability of his White Wreckords recording studio, which "XIV" is partially being recorded at (though no word yet on if James will be the sole bassist on it or not.) However, drummer Mike Haggith revealed on his solo Facebook page on Wednesday that he'll "be stepping away from music for a little while" due to "unfortunate developments" in his personal life so he can work to better himself. Mike elaborated that this will likely delay both of Haggith's upcoming albums and his planned re-release of his first "Neighbourhood Watch" solo CD (and presumably his teased best of release) for an indefinite time.

That said, Mike clarified that this won't affect the band's concert schedule, as Haggith aren't booked to play again until The Soo Zombie Walk on October 25th, though we'll keep you guys posted if anything changes in regard to that set. I do know the personal reasons behind Mike's break, and though I won't publicize them here unless he does, I hope he can power through this and be back in form before we know it! When all is back to normal, look for some big updates from Haggith, and best of luck!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes hopefully soon! Thanks everyone!

Hardcore Homecoming Review!!

It's now about time for our review of last night's Hardcore Homecoming concert at The Rockstar Bar! If you missed out, you'll have missed a packed house, quite possibly the biggest I've seen at this venue this year, but crowd levels on the floor did fluctuate, especially early on. Also, in case you weren't as familiar with Random Killing going in, the banner of Mr. Magoo with a mohawk was theirs, and it's a logo they've used for some time, As a classic cartoon fan, I always get a kick out if it! Now, here's a recap of all 5 bands! (Updated on Monday at 11:51 AM)

Opening last night's concert with an abbreviated set was local funk/alternative quartet The Elements in their first local concert appearance in 4 months (Hempfest in Moonbeam notwithstanding), and they had a solid set after a quiet summer! Bookending covers of Volbeat and Metallica with ska and funk rock renditions, the guys do seem to be gaining more chemistry and confidence as a whole, with Jesse Cook impressing as usual on guitar, though Rob Speers' singing was sometimes hard to hear volume-wise over the band. Their "Master of Puppets" cover was a pleasant surprise, and while it did have some rough patches (Rob mentioned this was the second time they've played it), it was still very well done! It'd have been nice to see The Elements play longer, and honestly, I think the metal songs were a bit out of place given the setting, but it was nice to see them back, and hopefully they play again sooner or later!

Despite being one of two out of town bands, London hardcore punk rockers Gatgas played second last night, but friends of bassist Bob Bromley Jr. (ex-Harsh Heads) and Garry Ingram (ex-Fistmagnet) didn't mind, as they were able to welcome these former Saultites back home with a rousing reception to their hard hitting set! For reference sake, note that while Gatgas are listed as a quintet on their Facebook page, guitarist Corey Shipp was not at the show last night, though I'm not sure whether he couldn't make the trip or isn't in the band anymore. Regardless, Gatgas delivered a brutal set of covers and originals for fans in their local debut, with a solid aggression level coupled with an increased presence of people on the floor to take everything in! Jack Gibbons' vocals are actually improved in a live setting and have more force behind them, and his brother Brian laid down some entertaining punk riffs on songs like "Call In Drunk" & "Out of Time". Very fun set for the old school punk fans in attendance, and hopefully Bob & Garry bring Gatgas back home at some point!

Third at Hardcore Homecoming was local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet in their first local concert appearance in nine months, and despite the wait, they were up to their usual tricks with an explosive set of their own originals and covers! Though the guys did have some rough stretches and flubbed notes, the attitude and intensity of their 2012-2013 concert was back in full force on originals like Truly Infected" & "End Me" and on covers like "Let's Drink Some Beer", so long time fans were in good hands! Mike Hull could be hard to hear vocally, but his chaotic stage presence helped a lot, and everyone kept up well through their fast and furious set, including steady rhythm from drummer Matt Waples, so the vibe of an old school 1990s hardcore punk show was kept alive for sure! Backing that up, Mike handed over the mic to Gatgas' Garry Ingram mid-set so he could rejoin some of his old Fistmagnet bandmates for a rousing cover of "Evil God Hater", surely a highlight of the night, and encouraging some of the best moshing too!

Co-headlining was local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in their first local concert set since their EP release show in May, though due to delays and time constraints, their set was limited to just the songs on said EP, plus "Frederick" & "Crossorads". Even still, fans were in for a good time, and guitarist Jesse Cook even got into the spirit of things by breaking out an old school prisoner costume!  Despite the rushed nature, everyone was on form from past gigs, with J.D. Pearce's singing as strong as ever, Justin Lam killing it on bass, and Johnny Belanger performing up to their breakneck speed on drums, so fans had nothing to worry about! Of course, seeing a longer set (and their SNFU and Misfits covers) would have been nice, but we'll get other chances to see them, and I'd say the stage was effectively jacked last night!

And of course, your headlining band was Toronto punk quartet Random Killing in their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie for the first time in at least a decade, and like with Gatgas, we had a homecoming here too, as frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley also returned home for this concert, but did they deliver? Yes! Of course, I can't speak for the good times and events of the 1990s (such as their Club Princess events), but Andrew and company knocked out classic songs like "Powerplay", "Thoughts of Aggression", and "Patios & Beer" with aggression and intensity, though I could argue that Andrew had more energy than the rest of the band, stage presence-wise. Bassist Jim "Mudd" Moore kept the low end in good form throughout though, and John "Robber" Moore kept the rhythm up too, amidst an intense set that had many fans flashing back to the good old days! Solid set, and I can definitely see what all the fuss was about, so hopefully Random Killing come back soon!

Excellent show, and kudos to J.D. for putting everything on once again! Of course, I can't compare to shows that took place when I was a kid, but from seeing Destroilet over the years, and from seeing last night's out of town bands, I definitely have more of a sense of some of the good times this scene saw in the 1990s, and hopefully things are built on from here on the punk end!  Check out our photos from the show at this link or via our Facebook page, and I hear SooToday/Local2 AND the Sault This Week were on hand, so we eagerly await their coverage too! And yes, I did get videos, so here's The Elements covering Sublime's "Same In The End", Gatgas playing "Back To The Asylum", Destroilet covering Fistmagnet's "Evil God Hater" (with Garry Ingram) and then playing "Over 'N Over", Jack Spades playing "Breakneck Speed", and Random Killing playing "Situation Normal"!











That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, featuring at least one new concert to announce at The Rockstar Bar! Thanks everyone!