Hempfest, BFGs, And Catgut Concert Previews!!

In our second post of the day, we're focused on more concert previews in an unusually drawn out stretch of shows, this time focusing on metal/hard rock concerts going down tomorrow and on Monday night! Yes, our Pop Evil preview is coming too, likely on Tuesday. Read on below for these previews (including a festival's return and two punk/metal gigs on Monday), and of course, check out this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on Infrastrate in the post below this one!

Regional marijuana culture festival Hempfest returned for it's 15th installment (and third under it's current ownership) on Monday, and TOMORROW'S last day will see the return of hard rock! Sure, there hasn't been a sizeable contingent of local or metal bands since 2011, but the lineup's much larger than last year, and there's a mix of both regular Hempfest performers and tribute bands to take in, including headliners Mama Kin! This Toronto-based Aerosmith tribute band are a popular local sight (last seen here in April 2012), and they have a faithful and entertaining take on the original songs and look of Aerosmith, so they're worth checking out for sure! Mama Kin will actually have two sets tomorrow night at 7:30 & 9:00 PM, bookending a set by rappers Radar & J. Frost at 8:30 PM. The rest of the lineup in descending order includes a comedian of some kind at 7:00 PM, Hamilton folk/ska quintet Blind Mule at 6:00 PM, Radar & Blind Mule again at 5:30 & 4:30 PM, the finals of this year's Willy High Games at 4:00 PM, Newmarket punk band The Salads at 2:15 PM, a live speaker of some kind at 1:45 PM, and Remedy, a Southern Ontario-based Black Crowes tribute opening at 12:00 PM.

As usual, Hempfest is in it's usual home of Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir, Ontario (an hour east of the Soo), and tickets are $40 at the door and $50 if you're going today too (click here for today's schedule, but there's no heavier bands), while attendees with federal marijuana exemptions get in free (if you show your paperwork on arrival.) This year's Hempfest is generally 18+, but minors can attend with a guardian. For all details for this year's remaining events, check the above links! While I'd love to see more local talent, the expanded lineup is great to see, and tribute bands have a lot of success, so hopefully this year's Hempfest is another hit, and don't miss the last days! For a preview, here's Mama Kin playing "Dream On" last year!



Now to a surprisingly busy Monday for original metal/punk concerts, starting with another new show at The New American Pub courtesy of local concert promoter & musician Jamie Vincent! While not all ages like his other concerts, an entertaining mix of grunge and punk will hit this Bay Street venue on Monday night, including headlining Edmonton grunge rockers Catgut! Featuring Jamie's old Flint bandmate Jesse Silkie on drums, Catgut's alternative sound and punk sensibility give them a solid 1990s-esque sound that fans should like, even if it's not the most aggressive sound! Jamie's own grunge project Bad Back (featuring him on vocals & guitar and his Fuller bandmate Nathan Sauve on drums) will open for Catgut in their second live concert set, while the show itself will begin with a half-Nebraska Arms reunion courtesy of an unplugged set from Wayne Watkins & Dave Prendergast (expect acoustic punk songs.) Admission will be $5 on Monday night for this 19+ show, and doors open at 8:00 PM, which is somewhat early. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Though the 19+ nature is odd given the promoter, fans of punk and alternative hard rock should find a lot to like, and the success of this show could be telling for future original hard rock/metal concerts at The New A, so don't bypass it if you're not going to see the BFGs! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Catgut live in Edmonton last year!



Finally for the regional metal/hard rock concerts through Monday, Toronto hardcore punk legends The Bunchofuckingoofs will hit The Roosevelt Hotel that night for a well anticipated concert in itself! Thirty years into their run, their aggressive, reckless, and heavy originals should get some great mosh pits going at The Rosie, and it will be awesome to see Crazy Steve Goof and company laying down their classic material in the Soo on Monday! Victoria garage punk trio The Last of the V8 Interceptors will join them for their first of two local concerts this year (they're opening for The Dayglo Abortions next month too), and while I don't know a lot on their sound, their Mad Max themes and punk talents should fit in well! Local support will come courtesy of hardcore punk quintet Destroilet (in their third show of the year) and the Rosie return of local grindcore/death metal trio Shit Liver, and both should fit in very well for this feast of hardcore punk and metal! Originally scheduled to be held at The Algonquin Pub before being relocated, this show is a 19+ event with a 9:00 PM start time and a $10 entry fee. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

I won't recommend hitting either Catgut ot The BFGs preferably, as they're different kinds of shows, but The BFGs will appeal to the hardcore punk angle more, so if you prefer that, be at The Rosie, and keep in mind The BFGs notoriety and success over their lengthy run! Both should be great shows, so go occupy a venue, and for a preview, here's The Bunchofuckingoofs playing "Go Get Screwed" live a couple months ago!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Swampstravaganza review either tomorrow or early Monday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned, Powerslug, And Mama Kin), Plus Details On This Year's Hempfest!!

Fifth post in three days already, this is a good sign for how busy this month will hopefully be in the local metal/hard rock scene! Today's post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including two local hard rock bands' newest March dates (one of which is at a new venue for our coverage), and the return of heavier music to one of our local music festivals, so read on below for what you need to know!

Kinross hard/classic rock quintet Banned have announced two more regional concert dates for this month, including at a venue we've never covered on here before! First, they'll be back at one of their recent favourite venues (Todd's Tavern in Moran) this coming Saturday (March 9th), and after their previously announced Dondee Lanes gigs next weekend, they'll make their first ever appearance at The Back Door in Sault Michigan on Friday, March 22nd! That's right, The Back Door's not just a dance club anymore, as they've recently began booking "high energy" cover rock bands for Friday nights (Saturdays tend to have dance parties there.) This past Friday, they welcomed new local rock band Toast (3/5ths of Swayze Train + Powerslug drummer Bob Helsten, full genre/sound not yet clear), and now Banned will hit The Back Door themselves in two weeks time! For those unsure, it's at 313 Ashmun Street, just seconds down the road from Sault Michigan's music/lessons stores. Cover charges haven't been announced for either show, but there should be 21+ age limits at both Todd's Tavern this Saturday and at The Back Door on the 22nd, and while cover charges haven't been announced, bring cash just in case.

Now, Banned at least one show each weekend this month, so they're definitely keeping busy with their new lineup, and hopefully you guys have even more chances to check out their hard rocking and varied covers & originals all month long! Also, if you or your band are interested in playing on a future Friday night at The Back Door, click here or contact the above links for more information! Let's see Sault Michigan get another long term metal/hard rock concert venue!

Next up, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has been updated to reflect concerts through April, and while most of the shows aren't for metal/hard rock bands (unless St. Ignace Kewadin performers Sir Charge skew that way), there are a few new to those listings, including Banned's previously announced Sault Kewadin debuts at the end of the month. That said, there's only one completely new concert weekend to us on there, as Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin on March 22nd & 23rd for their next Kewadin dates! It's always nice to hear of their shows at any Kewadin branches, as they offer some of the few advance notice gigs of theirs (why can't they launch an online page already?), so plan a trip to the Soo Kewadin in two weeks for some hard rocking covers all weekend long! Admission should be free for these 10:00 PM-ish shows, and you must be 21 to attend.  Check the above links for more details! With Clownsack, Kilacel, and River Witch alums, you know there's talent present, so make cure to chug your mug with Powerslug later this month!

Back in Sault Ontario, this year's Hempfest is scheduled for August 5th to 12th on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir, Ontario, and it's sure to be another successful event for marijuana culture and awareness in it's 15th annual installment! Now three years into it's local return under current ownership, you may remember that the 2011 installment had a number of heavier bands among it's performer lineup, but last year's event saw a radically smaller lineup of bands, with no metal/hard rock acts in sight. However, this year's Hempfest sees a return to large lineup of bands (the largest since the relaunch), though with a caveat, as none of the full bands are local (maybe the scheduled DJs & rappers are, but I'm out of the loop for that scene.) In fact, of the 15 scheduled non-comedy/speaking performers, 8 are out of town tribute bands, and of the lineup for this year, we do have one heavier-leaning band, that being Toronto-based Aerosmith tribute band Mama Kin! Last seen in the Soo last April at The Canadian, their faithful blend of Aerosmith classics should get fans going this year at Hempfest, as they did last year! Aerosmith fans should be excited for this year's Hempfrst but when can you see Mama Kin this year?

They're actually the headlining band on the last day of performers this year (Saturday, August 11th), as they'll play two one hour sets at 7:30 & 9:00 PM that night! Their set bookends rappers (I think) Radar & J. Frost at 8:30, while Radar performs solo at 5:30 PM. The rest of the Saturday lineup includes (in descending order) a comedy act at 7:00 PM, Hamilton folk/ska quintet Blind Mule for two one hour sets at 6:00 PM & 4:30 PM, the finals of this year's Willy High Games at 4:00 PM, Newmarket punk notables The Salads (remember "Get Loose"?) at 2:15 PM, a speaker of some kind at 1:45 PM, and a Black Crowes tribute band named Remedy opening the day's music at 1:00 PM. The rest of the musical performers (Thursday-Saturday, August 8th-10th) include a widely varied selection of genres, including tributes to Santana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Bob Marley, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, plus past Hempfest favourites The Killing Time Band, Lo-Fi, and DJ Slim, plus earlier day's sets from Blind Mule, Radar, and J. Frost, and speakers, comedy, and games, so click here for the full lineup for all four nights of music!

Tickets for this year are $100 for the full week package, which drop $10 a day for every missed day (i.e. Thursday-Sunday would be $70, and Saturday-Sunday would be $50), but single day tickets can be bought for $40. Leashed pets can be brought for a flat $10 fee, and there are some advance ticket deals you can check out at this location. Minors MUST have an adult guardian to attend, people with federal marijuana exemptee status get FREE admission, and tickets can be bought online via this link! It's great to see some heavier music back at Hempfest this year, and while I do miss a large amount of local bands (and don't smoke marijuana), I hope this year's event is the biggest yet! Plus, if you love tribute bands, this is a great deal to check them out all in one local place! Check the above links for all current details, and stay tuned for more news and notes shortly at the SMS! Thanks everyone!

Weekend Concert Previews And Some Concert Cancellations!!

Today's first post was originally supposed to be 100% dedicated to concert previews, but some cancellations have came my way, including one of this weekend's shows, so I'll start with them before we get into the concerts still on. One of the cancellations is sadly for TONIGHT's Music Mayhem all ages concert at The Oddfellows Hall, which promoter Jeremy Hannah confirmed was off due to scheduling conflicts with some of the scheduled performers. The Facebook event page was deleted yesterday afternoon, though he did say to look out for new shows & events he'd be promoting. Shame that the Friday the 13th bad luck hit this show, especially with all of the notable debuts and returns among the lineup (i.e. Borderline Divine's first concert in 2 years, Changing Waves' first show in 3 months, and F.A.T.I.L.'s Oddfellows Hall debut), but hopefully we see all the scheduled bands back soon! The other cancellations were for Brimley metallers Half A Man's scheduled Sault Michigan concerts with Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way over the April 27th weekend, as per the deletion of the shows' Facebook event page yesterday. A reason for the cancellation has not been announced, though note that venues were never publically announced for the dates, so that could be related.

Disappointing news for sure, but you can still see Fifth Way that weekend at Kewadin Casino as openers for The Gin Blossoms, and Half A Man are scheduled to return from their year-long stage hiatus by LemmaFest, so keep an eye out! Now, we have previews for six concerts from three metal/hard rock bands in the twin Saults for this much lighter weekend, so here's what you need to know for the heavier concerts of the weekend that are on as scheduled!

First, we'll head to The Canadian Nightclub this weekend for some tribute band action, as Toronto-based Aerosmith tribute act Mama Kin are coming back to Sault Ontario TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen in the area about two years ago, this talented quintet deliver an authentic looking and sounding experience that Aerosmith fans are sure to eat up, and hopefully there's a big crowd all weekend at The Canadian for Mama Kin! Hopefully the advance advertising at the venue and on the radio is helping get awareness up, but no matter what, head down to The Canadian this weekend if you love Aerosmith! Both of these shows are 19+ events, I'd assume a 10:00 PM start time is in order for both nights, and a cover charge of around $5 seems likely, so don't come with empty pockets. Check the above links for more details! The Canadian Nightclub has always been good for booking talented tribute bands, and though I'm not a huge Aerosmith fan, Mama Kin have the chops, so don't miss them tonight or tomorrow! Vocals aren't an exact match, but fans shouldn't be disappointed, so consider making it out this weekend, and for a preview, here's Mama Kin playing "Dude Looks Like A Lady" at a 2010 concert!



Also for heavier concerts this weekend is another pair of dates from local metal trio Caveman Morrison! Two weeks after their current lineup debuted at The Nicolet Tavern, the popular cover act will make their first appearances at The Roosevelt Hotel since re-adding drummer Johnny Belanger to their lineup TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT in what should be another solid weekend of metal and hard rock hits! Nothing seems to be too different from Caveman Morrison's other concerts of late, but if you've missed them in the West End in recent months, you should definitely take notice of their Rosie returns this weekend! Admission should be free, both shows have 9:30 PM start times, and you must be 19 to attend either tonight or tomorrow's festivities. For more information, visit the official Facebook event page! With their new lineup settled in and a return to The Nic already lined up for next weekend, Caveman Morrison appear to be back in full force, so don't sleep on their new lineup, and consider a trip to the Rosie to check them out this weekend! For a preview, here's Caveman Morrison covering Judas Priest's "The Ripper" at The Rosie late last year!



Finally for this weekend, there's at least a couple of heavier concerts going down, courtesy of Sault Michigan hard rock notables Monkey's Uncle! According to Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, this talented local band are scheduled to at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT in their first appearances there since November! Their absence has been noticeable, and though I assume they've played elsewhere locally in the interim, their pages aren't updated enough for me to know about any other possible gigs, so if I missed something, my apologies. That said, Monkey's Uncle have not officially confirmed these shows, but the venue has, and Kewadin's entertainment page has always proved to be a reliable source of concert dates, so I assume these are on as scheduled. Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend either tonight or tomorrow's shows, and 10:00 PM start times seem standard. Check the above links for more details! Monkey's Uncle are a talented band with lots of solid covers and originals in the classic and hard rock genres, so don't miss them at Kewadin Casino this weekend, especially with the rarity of online advance word of their shows! For a preview, here's Monkey's Uncle covering Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" in 2008!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for some bigger news stories later tonight! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mama Kin), Cavo Concert Updates, And Much More!!

I know news has been a little more spread out lately, but things will be a bit busier at the end of the week, so don't worry! Today, we've got a new solo performance clip, some assorted news stories, and some updates on a major upcoming concert's media coverage, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this spring! (UPDATED, 1:30 AM)

Toronto-based Aerosmith tribute band Mama Kin are coming back to Sault Ontario for the first time in at least two years in April! As currently being advertised on the marquee board outside of the venue, this talented tribute act will hit The Canadian Nightclub for a full weekend of Aerosmith classics on April 13th and 14th, so if you love Aerosmith, circle those dates on your calendar! The shows are listed on Mama Kin's website (so there's an online source), but they're credited as playing at The Knights Inn, which hasn't been the name of the hotel on The Canadian's site in quite a while. Minor error, no worries! I'd assume both of these shows would be 19+ affairs, a 10:30 PM start time would seem likely, and I'd expect a cover charge of around $5. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see Mama Kin back in the area after such a long wait for their return, and though I'm admittedly not the biggest Aerosmith fan going, there'll be lots of demand and fanfare for the next best thing to Steven Tyler and company! Keep an eye out for more on this and the rest of what is shaping up to be a huge month for the local metal scene as we get closer to this April!

Next up, here's the latest on April 6th's Cavo/My Darkest Days/Veer Union concert at The Dreammakers Theater at Kewadin Casino! Allstar Promotions (who are holding this concert) announced on their Facebook page on Thursday that they've joined forces with Cheboygan rock radio station Real Rock 105.1 to promote & hold contests for this show. This would include giveaways for tickets & meet and greets, along with a package including front row tickets and a night's stay at Kewadin's hotel. I've heard little directly referencing this arrangement from Real Rock yet, but if you listen in, things should pop up soon for advertising & contests! Remember, though Real Rock 105.1 is based out of the Traverse City area, they have a simulcast in Cheboygan, which is why better FM radios on clearer days can pick the station up in the Twin Saults. Plus, despite leaving the U.P. in 2010, stations owned by Northern Star Broadcasting in Northern Michigan still occasionally advertise & promote bigger shows up here, so it's not unheard of. If you're interested in tuning in to try and win some tickets, or you just want an alternative rock radio station in the area, tune your dials to 105.1 FM or listen online at this location!

Now, the post above also implies that the reason the radio promotions for the Cavo/MDD show aren't local is because of local stations' desires to only promote & advertise out of town shows, likely a reference to Rock 101 and their "Concert Track", which usually only mentions big rock shows in Southern Michigan and Southern Ontario. I'm not going to pass judgement on anyone for why the local deals aren't happening, as we only have one side of the story here, but there's reasons for everything, and things will work themselves out. Stay tuned for more news on this major concert as it comes in!

Thirdly today, local guitarist Neno Jovanovic has posted another solo guitar cover onto his YouTube channel! Uploaded yesterday, this is his cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" (typo aside), and like his other covers, he plays the guitar track along with the remaining parts of the song, and he adds to it well! He could have mixed it in a bit better, or boosted it's heaviness a tad, but Neno knows the original song well, and give his take on "Ace of Spades" a listen below!



And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Sault Ontario death metal quintet The Bear Hunters have begun recording of "colossal" bass tracks towards their debut full length demo! The news was broken yesterday on their Facebook page. Good to hear, I can't wait to check out the finished product when all is said and done, so stay tuned for more!
  
• Newer Sault Michigan quartet Elements of Madness have quietly added Landon Mattson (guitarist Cody Rosebohm's cousin) as their new drummer, replacing Kyle Hummelgard. A reason for the switch wasn't announced. Landon does have experience as a former drummer in the local indie/ska band The Pick-Me-Ups, so he does have talent! Stay tuned for more band updates, and best of luck to Kyle in the future!
• Sykotyk Rampage have posted a "new" song onto their Reverbnation page! Entitled "Roll a Doobie", it's an interpretation of The Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" in their own crash style, with more off-colour lyrics related to the song title. It's an interesting mix, so check it out above, and stay tuned for full details on this & more new songs as we get closer to the release of their next albums!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news over the next few days, along with weekend concert previews, this week's classic video, and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on Friday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), Weekend Concert Previews, And Two Cancellations!!

Good day, metalheads! I was hoping to have more updates on the SMS this week, but I got saddled with too much homework and studying, so I'm a bit behind. There's a bunch of concerts this weekend to preview, more than we typically see, so today's post is mostly dedicated to previewing them, with some notes about two cancellations. But first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison has scheduled another acoustic solo concert for this fall! Once again, Tym will be playing a set of acoustic rock hits at The Bottoms Up Lounge on November 6th, so if you wanna enjoy some unplugged metal classics, and more, in a more intimate setting, you know where to be in November! Like his past shows there, there will be no cover charge, a start time of 10:00 PM, and a 19+ age limit. This is Tym's only public solo show currently on the horizon, so make note of this concert and head on out! Tym's a great guitarist and is ever improving vocally, and who said metal always has to be plugged in? Click the above links for more news and updates on this show and info on Tym Morrison's solo project!

Now, on to this weekend's local metal and hard rock concert previews, and firstly, I should note that there are two concert cancellations from previously announced dates. Luckily, they intertwine, and you'll see why they do in a second. Firstly, it appears that tomorrow's scheduled Mama Kin show at The Canadian Nightclub has been cancelled. No reason as to why was announced, but it was confirmed that they were replaced on The Canadian's Facebook group. And to be completely fair, Mama Kin never announced this show on band pages, so who knows how far this show got before it was cancelled. Coincidentally, the planned Turner Up show at The Vibe Lounge for tomorrow night has been called off as well, due to circumstances beyond their control. This was confirmed on it's Facebook event page. So we have a local venue without a band and a local band without a venue for tomorrow night... see where this is heading?

That's right, Turner Up are the replacement band at The Canadian Nightclub tomorrow night! I believe this booking came up after losing the gig at The Vibe Lounge, as they said on the Facebook event page that they couldn't let their fans down. Nice to see them back there, it seems like they've only been rotating through Vibe, The Nicolet Tavern, and Foggy Notions lately. Never fear though, if you were hoping to see them at The Vibe Lounge this weekend, they've booked a new date there for THIS SATURDAY, so in a sense, this is a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT because it's technically a new show. So if you wanna hear some classic hard rock hits, you know where to be this weekend! Their show at The Canadian tomorrow night starts at 10:00 PM, the Saturday show at The Vibe Lounge has a 10:30 PM start time. Tomorrow's show should have a cover charge, likely around $3, while the Saturday show has no cover charge announced. For more details, the above link has info on their show tomorrow night, while Saturday's Vibe concert's event page is at this location. Should be fun shows, nice to see them playing more this weekend, and they'll do fine filling in for Mama Kin! Click the above links for more, and here for the first video footage of Turner Up's current lineup!

Meanwhile, at Foggy Notions, the metal will be brought, as Caveman Morrison make their way there for a pair of concerts this weekend! They'll be there tomorrow night and Saturday night for their first ever shows at Foggy's with their new lineup, including Browbeat's Dutch Vanderploeg on bass and The Bear Hunters' Johnny Belanger on drums! Both shows will start at 10:00 PM, you must be 19 to enter, and expect a cover charge of around $3. Expect a night full of heavy metal and hard rock covers that will be sure to get your horns in the air! Get more details at the Facebook event page! These should be fun, and I already have plans to be there one of the two nights to see the new lineup in action! Probably Saturday, but regardless, I'll have a review, photos, and video up on our various pages this weekend! It's been too long since I last saw Caveman Morrison, so this'll be fun! Click the above links for more, and as a preview, here's a short video of their live renditon of Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" from a show at Foggy's in January!



The other double weekend dates from a hard rock band this weekend are in Sault Michigan, in a pair of shows that we've listed here for around six months! Lots of advance warning, so here's what you should know! Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven will be playing at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino tomorrow night and Saturday night! They've played up north a few times in the past, and should deliver this weekend! Now I can't tell you much about Driven's sound, just that they play "anything with a groove thats gets people off there ass and party." No audio or video samples, but I'm almost positive they play a form of hard rock. Regardless, check out their MySpace page for more band info! Like past Rapids Lounge shows, this has a 9:00 PM start time and no cover charge. Check the above links for more, and if you go see them this weekend, let us know more about Driven!

Two more shows this weekend, both taking place on Saturday night in Sault Ontario, and we'll head back to The Canadian Nightclub to start, as the other scheduled tribute show is definitely on! Mama Kin may not be here this weekend, but Crush: The Best of Bon Jovi will be! The Toronto based Bon Jovi tribute band will make their first ever stop in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday night in what amounts to the third Bon Jovi tribute concert at The Canadian in the past seven months, following two shows earlier in the year from Keep The Faith. Crush are a very good tribute to Bon Jovi with a nice grasp of their sound and look, so if you're a fan, head to The Canadian on Saturday night! There will be a cover charge of $5, the show starts at 10:00 PM, and you must be 19 to enter. Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details on this show! I'm not a huge Bon Jovi fan, but if you are, you'll enjoy this show, so consider going on Saturday! For a video preview, here's a live video of Crush playing the Bon Jovi classic "Bad Medicine" at a show last November in Toronto!



And finally, a new local metal band will return to the stage, as Sativa Rose will rock the newly re-renamed GLOW Nightclub on Saturday night! This is not only Sativa Rose's first set outside of Foggy Notions, but the first metal show at what used to be Nite-Life Dance Club in a few months! And of course, it's the first metal show at GLOW following tomorrow's grand re-opening party, which you can get more details about at this location! So really, you have two reasons to go see Sativa Rose on Saturday: The newly refurbished venue, and great heavy metal covers from a rising young band! These guys are very good, and will have lots of metal covers in store on Saturday, some of which you can check out at YouTube user MrJohnveale's channel! There will be a $3 cover, a 10:00 PM start time, and a 19+ age limit. Should be a fun concert, Sativa Rose have lots of promise and should deliver well at GLOW on Saturday! Check the above links or the Facebook event page for more, and for a preview, here's a clip of Sativa Rose covering Iron Maiden's "Two Minutes To Midnight" from a Foggy Notions jam night in July!



That's all for today, but stay tuned over the next while for our new poll, updates from Garden of Bedlam, Riverin, and much more!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mama Kin & Crush), Plus More Assorted News!!

Hey guys, I have more local metal news and notes today, including more word on what will happen to The Eastgate Hotel, the latest news on Mike Cliffe's solo projects, and whatever happened to a notable local musician, but first, here's two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!!

I apologize for the short notice of these shows, I only first heard about them today in a Facebook e-mail from The Canadian Nightclub's Mary Lou Johnston, which alerted group members to these concerts. In the e-mail, Mary Lou hyped this weekend as a "tribute weekend" featuring two hard rock tribute bands, and it kicks off on Friday night with Toronto-based Aerosmith tribute band Mama Kin! You'll likely recognize them as one of the featured bands at last year's Hempfest, and if memory serves me correctly, they've played in town at least one other time before that. They have a very nice sound that sounds enough like Aerosmith to get fans excited, and they should do good on Friday! I should note that this show is NOT listed on their official website or on any other band pages that I've seen, and this isn't the first time that The Canadian Nightclub has announced a band that didn't personally mention coming, but there must be some truth to this if it's plugged in the e-mail! So take it with a grain of salt just in case, but until I hear otherwise, it's on and listed here! This concert will have a $5 cover, a 10:00 PM start time, and a 19+ age limit. Get more details at the links above, and Aerosmith fans won't wanna miss a thing on Friday!

The other new show mentioned in Mary Lou's e-mail is one I can 100% confirm, and if you're a fan of Bon Jovi, pay attention! Three months after Keep The Faith's last show here, another Toronto-based Bon Jovi tribute band will make their way to Sault Ontario on Saturday night. This time, the tribute band will be Crush: The Best of Bon Jovi, in their first ever show in the Soo, and if you wanna hear some authentic Bon Jovi hits, these guys will do the job well! They hold their own compared to Keep The Faith, and cover enough of their 1980s output to keep you hair metal fans happy! Unlike Mama Kin, Crush DO plug this show on their official Facebook group, and even launched an event page to hype the show! They're not on MySpace, so that likely explains why I never came across this show until today, so my apologies! This concert will take place on Saturday night, and the same house rules apply here as they will on Friday: $5 cover, 10:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit. Check all of the above links for more information! This should be fun also, and though I'm not a huge Bon Jovi fan, these guys will deliver the goods! So there you go, a weekend full of tribute bands at The Canadian, consider hitting one or both!

Next up, it's official: The Eastgate Hotel will be demolished. All remaining offers to purchase the former local metal concert venue have either been voluntarily withdrawn or not accepted by City Council at yesterday's council meeting, and there are now just two options left. Either Algoma Insurance buys the property, demolishes the building, and uses the space for parking (their building's across the road), or the city itself will buy the property, demolish the building, and sell the vacant lot afterwards. City Council did accept Algoma Insurance's offer yesterday, but nothing is 100% final. I imagine this will probably give many of you guys some disappointing emotions, given The Eastgate's history as a concert venue through the mid 2000s. It hosted numerous metal concerts in it's heyday, and it's a shame that I wasn't around to enjoy it then. I never assumed that a buyer would magically pop up to bring it back to it's old state, but it'd have been nice to see it saved in some fashion. When info comes online about the next steps, I'll try and have it for you guys, but for now, check out SooToday's Carol Martin's coverage of this story by clicking here, and here for The Sault Star's article from Elaine Della-Mattia.

Fourth today is some interesting news and updates from two local musicians, those being local solo guitarist Mike Cliffe and noted local drummer Glen Thomas, a veteran of a few metal bands from the scene's past. You may remember checking out "Bad Regime", an original song that Mike and Glen recorded with Swedish singer Karin Beckerus that was released onto Mike's Reverbnation page. Well, Mike and Glen are continuing with their collaborative work, and a new instrumental song by them is now online! Entitled "Dog's Breakfast", it has a nice bouncy progressive feel to it, with some nice liberal use of varying time signatures and tempos! Good stuff, Mike's really shining on guitar here, and Glen's as good as ever on drums! Definitely check it out at the above link to Mike's page on Reverbnation!

Also note that Glen profiled his recent collaborations with Mike on his music blog, The Barking Eye, where he shared some insight into how they got together in this project, and what it takes to make these songs! Despite their local residences and long history in the scene, they've amazingly never met, and the recordings took place from their respective homes through track exchanges! Glen also clarifies that this is a fun project for people to check out only if they want to, but I think it deserves a bit more credit than that! Check out Glen's article on the Mike Cliffe/Glen Thomas project (and more) at this location!

Finally for today, I want you guys to check out this photo on your right. That's Ron Pyette, an amateur scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins, hoisting The Stanley Cup that the Penguins won in 2009. Now I know many of you like hockey, but why am I mentioning an NHL scout on The Sault Metal Scene? Well, maybe it's because Ron was the original bassist for local hard rock quartet Foothill Road! That's right, a notable local hard rock musician went on to work for an NHL team! I never clued in until the other day, when Ron e-mailed me to thank me for posting the Foothill Road albums on YouTube and for covering the band, and I noticed that his e-mail address ended in "@pittsburghpenguins.com". A bit of internet searching later, and yep, it's the same guy! Ron played on all three of Foothill Road's albums, and remained with the band through their 1996 break-up, later being replaced by Nancy Henrech in the successor band Cousin It. It's cool to see how far Ron's went in his career, even if it's not in music! Kudos to him and for the Cup win, and make sure to check out his work with Foothill Road at their MySpace page and at The Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more very soon, including our next poll, weekend concert previews, and much more! Thanks everyone!

Short Notice LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, Lion Ride News, And Lots More!

Happy Tuesday everyone! This weekend was already shaping up to be a pretty good weekend concert wise, but some recent concert announcements have added to that! As such, we have three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today! Stay tuned afterwards for lots of updates from the Lion Ride camp, new videos from a major show in 2009, and what may be another hard rock tribute band making their way here!

Firstly, Sault Ontario hard rockers Turner Up have scheduled a pair of new concerts for this weekend! This time, they'll be back at The Nicolet Tavern, the same spot that they rocked on Bon Soo weekend! Jam nights aside, these will be Turner Up's first shows since February 26th at Foggy Notions, and their first featuring new guitarist Jeff Gray (you may recognize him from Johnny Lunchbox, among other bands!) They'll be at The Nicolet Tavern THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY! I have not seen an announced cover charge, a start time of 9:30 PM is given both nights. Should be good shows, if you want some live hard rock covers, Turner Up will deliver the goods! Also, I should add that it's great to see The Nicolet Tavern booking heavier acts more regularly lately, and for you Americans, it's not far from the bridge, so that's convenient! Confirm your attendance by clicking here, and of course, sorry for the short notice, I just heard about this show today.

Speaking of shows I just recently head about, Sault Michigan's own Riot! By Night are also playing locally this Friday and Saturday! They'll be back at a familiar stomping ground, The Satisfied Frog, on both of those nights with a posted start time of 10:00 PM! The band's newest MySpace status update says "...guess they can't keep us down for long!", and good thing "they" can't! The more Riot! By Night, the better! They've been one of the most active Sault Michigan metal bands locally so far in 2010, and from what I've heard, they have the talent to back it up! I wonder when they'll finally post audio or video online? Hopefully they will soon, I bet they're good! So there you go Sault Michiganders, two more shows this weekend, and once again, I apologize for the short notice!

Now to some assorted news stories, and here's a proposal for you guys: How would you like to see Lion Ride play on this year's Vans Warped Tour? Maybe we couldn't help get Bad Side supporting Bon Jovi (sadly), but here's something very cool that we can try and build the support to vote for as well! Lion Ride have entered the 14th Annual Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands! Essentially, this will give dozens of unsigned bands the chance to play LIVE on the Ernie Ball stage at their hometown's Warped Tour in a huge Battle of the Bands! In Lion Ride's case, if they make the cut, they'd be playing the Warped Tour stop on July 9th in Toronto at Arrow Hall. Tons of prizes are up for grabs including a $15,000 shopping spree, recording a 3 song EP with producer Matt Squire, tons of skate gear and apparel, and much more from various name sponsors! But before any of that can happen, Lion Ride must hit the top 100 bands in the voting for the Toronto stop on this huge Battle of the Bands. Bands will be selected to play live based on musicianship, song writing originality, and crowd drawing ability, among others. (Yeah, I know this is generally seen as a "punk" festival, but Lion Ride have a punk mentality, they'll fit!)

Wouldn't it be cool to see Lion Ride play at The Warped Tour? They wouldn't be the first locals on this year's lineup (Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide already are confirmed, congrats to them!), but this would be huge exposure, especially if they do well in the battle aspect! But they can't do this alone, they need YOUR HELP! If you want to vote for Lion Ride to play in the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands in Toronto on July 9th at The Warped Tour, CLICK HERE!!!!!! You must register for a free account, and you may only vote once a day, but let's show Lion Ride our support! I notice that a lot of bands are trading votes, which is a nice gesture, but let's see the fans show up to support Lion Ride too! I've already voted (and left a comment in the comment board), you all should too! CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR LION RIDE!!!! Let's see them in the top 100, and hopefully The Warped Tour will choose the right band to move on! VOTE TODAY!!

But maybe you're asking yourself how Lion Ride can do all this when they apparently have no bassist? Well, frontman Mikey Lion did indeed confirm to me that Diamond Brent Panther left the bass position in Lion Ride in an e-mail today, but they do have a temporary replacement! The band have tapped Carmine Romano to fill in for the band's next run of Southern Ontario shows! You may recognize Carmine as the singer/bassist of the Kitchener hard rock band The Saigon Hookers, who are good friends and frequent tourmates of Lion Ride's! It looks like he's just a temporary member, but for what it's worth, Mike Indovina only drummed with Lion Ride at first on a temporary basis, and now he's a full member! So Lion Ride are hitting the road for a four show mini-tour with The Saigon Hookers next Wednesday, when they play shows in Burlington, Kitchener, Waterloo, and London over a four day span! You'll notice that their planned show in Montreal next Wednesday has been cancelled too. Best of luck to Lion Ride on their upcoming tour, hopefully they'll be back home real soon for a show! Oh yeah, VOTE FOR THEM TOO!

I actually have MORE Lion Ride news, but let's not go overboard yet, I'll have the rest in my next regular post! Now you notice how we've got hit with a bunch of tribute bands this year? Well, another one may be on the way, according to The Canadian Nightclub, and I stress may. In a recent Facebook e-mail, Mary Lou Johnston from The Canadian told members of it's Facebook group about upcoming tribute band performances in March, including Keep The Faith (the Bon Jovi tribute band) and "Mamakin" on March 26th and 27th. Now you may recognize "Mama Kin" as an Aerosmith classic, and fans of the former Hempfest will remember a Toronto tribute band named Mama Kin as one of the headlining bands last year. Now this makes the most sense out of any bands named Mama Kin that I've seen (and there are a few), but this band have conflicting dates on the 26th and 27th in Guelph and New York. Those two shows may very well have been cancelled, but I don't know for sure. If I hear any updates, I'll have them for you guys, but for the time being, I'll leave it off the concert listings.

And finally, over four months after the show took place, more video from November's Papa Roach concert is FINALLY online! YouTube user Rockinroll15 (a huge Kiss and Papa Roach fan) had uploaded five clips of the band's local show, including performances of the songs "Change or Die", "Last Resort", "I Almost Told You That I Love You", "Between Angels & Insects", and a double clip of "Getting Away With Murder" & "Scars"! The videos are from far back in the crowd, but the audio isn't terrible, and the video is clear of what it shows, it's just not close enough to the band to get them clear. Nice to see more video from the concert online, click on the above links to check out the videos! And I'll show you guys one of the clips, one of my personal favourite Papa Roach songs, "Between Angels & Insects"!



So what's on the horizon for the SMS this week? Tomorrow, it's our newest previews of out of town bands with local members (This month: Feral Noise ft. Tym Morrison, and Sadomasochism ft. Mikey Bishop!), and on Thursday, we'll preview all TEN concerts taking place on this busy weekend of local metal concerts! And somewhere in there, maybe after, the rest of the Lion Ride news too, and much more! Stay tuned everyone!