LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Lycanthro & Whoop-Szo), Plus New Solo Videos!!

The last week of the month is upon us, so let's kick things off with a new news post on the SMS, and it includes some new videos from familiar solo musicians, but first, we have two interesting LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for two months from now, so here's what you should know!

London sludge/post-metal quintet Whoop-Szo will rock Sault Ste. Marie for the third time on Thursday, April 16th when they play at.... The Sault Ste. Marie Museum!? Not too long ago, this would have been even more surprising, but just last week, the 690 Queen Street East museum opened it's doors to a concert from Brantford folk musician Benjamin Dakota Rogers that was well received, so click here for more on the museum's debut as a live music venue and how things may look for their second go-around. Of course, our city's museum has a lot of historic and cultural importance that adds to the appeal, and don't forget, Bone Yard/ex-That's Chester drummer Ric Datson is their assistant curator. Regarding Whoop-Szo proper, fans may recall seeing them at LopLops in 2018 and at the Dryer Fire pop-up venue in September. Known for their hybrid of everything from metal & grunge to folk & pop, Whoop-Szo should leave another big impression in April!

No opening acts are advertised, though both of Whoop-Szo's prior local dates had extra touring bands. Promoted by the aforementioned Dryer Fire's regular concert arm, this concert will take place inside the Museum's Discovery Gallery, and an early 6:00 PM start time is advertised for this presumably all ages concert. Like last week, local vendors will be on hand, and while an admission fee wasn't advertised, Benjamin's concert there ran for $15, and paid attendees will be able to actually tour the museum with their admission. Very intriguing show in all facets, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, a more traditional metal concert will hit The Rockstar Bar five days later, as Ottawa power/thrash metal quartet Lycanthro will make their local concert debut on Tuesday, April 21st! Delivering a decidedly old school brand of NWOBHM-influenced speed metal, this late stop on their Tour of the Wolf should provide a hard hitting metal blast for fans in two months time, so if you can swing coming out on a school/work night, Lycanthro should deliver the goods! Local openers will include an increasingly rare set from local death metal veterans The Bear Hunters, in their first concert of 2020, just their third in the past two years, and their first Rockstar Bar appearance since their Amon Amarth tribute set on Halloween weekend in 2017. Bear Hunters sets are getting rarer and rarer, but they have survived into a new decade and still have a new CD in the pipeline, so don't miss their latest long-awaited return in April to see what they have in store!

Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades are also advertised to open in their own first concert set of the year, and first of two announced dates for the spring after laying low through the winter. It'll be great to see Jack Spades back themselves, so don't be late! Seemingly self promoted through The Bear Hunters, this 19+ concert has an early-ish 8:00 PM start time advertised (given the date, hopefully that sticks), and an admission fee has not yet been announced. This should be a brutal night for metal fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details as they roll in!

We'll close today with some new videos, starting with the latest original song from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel, as posted there earlier this month. Entitled "Breaking Free", Cory says that this is about "breaking out of old habits and freeing ourselves from society's hold", and if you missed his heavier regular sound after his surprise "Love Yourself" cover, you'll be more at home here! Very bass-heavy, but it's a solid hard rocker that would have fit in one of his local bands, and watch for liberal usage of Facebook or Snapchat video filters while he sings to the camera. Unique touch, so give everything a look below!

Lastly, here's some new acoustic cover videos from local/Elliot Lake punk solo project Ashoka At The Show, as uploaded to project leader Darren MacDonald's YouTube channel last week! After a four month hiatus from new music (partially due to his wife's surgery), Darren has resumed uploading new videos on YouTube, largely reflecting his own gameplay of NHL 20 and his create-a-team, the Halifax Buccaneers, so if that interests you, he's got a lot of that to see! Musically, the two covers are a sped up rendition of Rachel Platten's "Fight Song" (a favourite of his daughter's), and as embedded below, John Denver's "Leavin' On A Jet Plane". These are far removed from his original punk base, especially if you recall the band's live era locally, but Darren's a good singer with clear guitar ability, and he adds a frank honesty on these covers! Give them a look above and below!



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

Last Month's Poll Results, A New Video, And Rudyard Musicians Festival Updates!!

Today's SMS post features the results of last month's poll and updates on a returning concert festival, but we'll start today with another new concert video from Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie's revived solo project, this time from his set opening for his old band The Din at LopLops Lounge yesterday!  Another cover of Seether's "Broken" (also filmed for his Facebook page at The Vape Escape on Friday), the rendition is solid, though the camera work can be a little shaky. And yes, that is an old CRT TV on stage, The Din have brought it back as an on-stage element. Give Curt's newest solo video below, and don't miss him with Eclipse TONIGHT at The Canadian!



Next up, here's some early details for the second annual Rudyard Musicians Festival in Rudyard, Michigan on Saturday, August 19th at Rudyard Township Park have been announced, so what do we know so far? There will be a dozen separate acts this year (including bands and solo artists), all proceeds will again go to music programs at Rudyard Area Schools, the festival will be held rain or shine, attendees can camp on site on Friday the 18th, and there will be concessions and a pig roast on the Saturday, so things sound like they're shaping up well. Unfortunately, in the sentence about music genres this year, this event poster expressly says "(NO HEAVY METAL)", despite last year's event featuring masked metal quartet Stoned Ape Evolution. Did their set have a poor response, or were they just too much of an outlier last year? It's hard to say, but hopefully there's still some hard rock mixed in this year to give genre fans something. Check the above links for more details, and if there is hard rock on the lineup, we'll let you know!

Finally for today, here's the final results of last month's final poll on the year of 2016, as we posed this question to you guys: "What was your favourite metal, hard rock, or punk concert of 2016?" Only 13 votes, sadly low again, so I'll be taking the rest of the year off from polls on the SMS due to the turnout save for next month's poll on your favourite early 2017 concerts as usual, and I will maintain yearly polls on here. That said, there is a clear winner, so here are the final results!

Guy Thiffault Benefit at The Rockstar Bar on December 27th (4 votes, 31%)

The Ripcordz at The Canadian Nightclub on August 13th (3 votes, 23%)

The Din & Gnaeus at The Tech on August 12th (2 votes, 15%)

Cocaine Moustache at The New American Pub on July 12th (1 vote, 7¾%)

Hedley & The Rising Tide at The Yard on July 1st (1 vote, 7¾%)

Redneck Rock Bash II at Rednecks on June 4th (1 vote, 7¾%)

Project 421 & Eclipse at The Rockstar Bar on May 13th (1 vote, 7¾%)

The Din & Stereo North at The Gore Street Cafe on March 4th (0 votes)

Gorod & Bookakee at The Oddfellows Hall on April 15th (0 votes)

Id Iota & The Pixo Control at LopLops Lounge on April 21st (0 votes)

Go Skateboarding Day at Queen Elizabeth Park on June 21st (0 votes)

Iskra, Pillory, and Rotopsy at The Oddfellows Hall on July 14th (0 votes)

Live705 Show at The Oddfellows Hall on November 19th (0 votes)

Other (0 votes)

What do you guys think? Well, in ascending order, I will say that it is disappointing to see six shows receive zero votes, especially as all choices in this poll received at least one vote in our half year polls. Recency may have won the day here, as only 2 voters chose a show from June or earlier, while only two shows from the second half of the year received no votes (including Live705's debut, which came in second in the half-year poll.) Of the four shows to get a single vote this time around, Cocaine Moustache surprises me the most given the stature of the other shows and Redneck Rock Bash II winning the early 2016 poll, but it's all in who votes! The second and third place shows (which conveniently took place on consecutive days) finished strong in the poll, proving how well recieved The Ripcordz' return and The Din's CD release were, but the winner of both the second half and full year polls was December's Guy Thiffault tribute concert. An emotional yet entertaining night of local punk and metal veterans playing in honour of a fallen comrade, this was a very deserving winner to cap off our 2016 polls!

Thanks to everyone for voting, and again, we will be taking a month off from polls due to low turnout before trying again with our poll on your favourite concerts in early 2017 next month, then likely laying low again until tackling the whole year in early 2018. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates soon! Thanks everyone!