Gutter Creek & Killer Dwarfs Concert Video Showcase!!

Before we get into today's post, just a heads up that the Kim Mitchell/54-40 concert at GFL Memorial Gardens on Tuesday has indeed been cancelled, as per this SooToday article yesterday. Promoters F7 Entertainment cited "unforeseen scheduling issues" for the cancellation but did not elaborate further (note that the Paul Brandt show on Wednesday, also part of the Mocha Concert Series, was cancelled last month for the same stated reason). Ticket refunds will be offered at point of purchase. Very disappointing for both the Shriners and fans alike, but hopefully Kim and/or 54-40 try again to play in the Soo down the road!

Now, today's post is devoted to new concert videos from the ever-prolific Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, as he was in attendance for two recent metal concerts at Soo Blaster and got videos of all four acts across both concerts! In between these shows and Rotaryfest, Chris also shot videos at the Cole Swindell concert in Sault Michigan, so if you like modern country music, visit his channel to see those. We'll go in reverse chronological order with these so as to lead off with the bigger of the two shows, namely the return of Oshawa classic/glam metal quartet The Killer Dwarfs last night! He filmed them playing "Doesn't Matter" (albeit padded out with mid-song crowd banter) and, as embedded below, two songs in one video, including "Comin' Through" & "Hard Luck Town". While not especially close to the stage, Chris made good use of zoom to capture the band in action on these songs, and the audio quality holds up!

Depending on the lighting, the video can sometimes be a little hazy, but The Dwarfs sound good and melodic on these three classic tracks, so fans won't wanna miss them above & below! Here's hoping they come back!

The opener for this show was local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison in a rare opening slot for a touring act, at least as far as his unplugged modern solo show goes. Unusually, Chris filmed more songs of the local opener, getting four covers from Tym's set, namely Aerosmith's "Dream On", Toto's "Africa", Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", and as embedded below, Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters". Clearly Tym didn't expressly tailor his set for the hair metal onslaught ahead, but his acoustic covers came through well here, despite some occasionally grainy visuals. Give these a look above and below, and no word on if his Trading Post series ended last week or if he was back today (if the latter, my apologies!)

Now let's backtrack to the Gutter Creek show at Soo Blaster on September 1st, albeit only posted onto YouTube yesterday, as Chris filmed the multi-national groove metal band (featuring the Soo's own Matt Hanchuck of Wreck-Defy fame) playing four original songs from their album! Specifically, those are "Hellryder", "Mesmerized", "No Slave Religion", and as embedded below, "Slipping Through The Scars". Unlike at the Killer Dwarfs show last night, Chris got onto the floor to film Gutter Creek's set, which definitely helps the view, despite some still hazy lighting. Nice & heavy attack from this stacked foursome, and good to see Matt on home soil, so give their Soo Blaster videos a look above & below!

Finally for tonight, the openers at the Gutter Creek concert were local punk trio Vanity First, which is a bit of a genre leap but still good to see Andrew, Mikhal, and Keegan get a big support slot like this! They were filmed thrice, including (most of) their covers of NOFX's "Stickin' In My Eye" and Streetlight Manifesto's "Giving Up, Giving In", but embedded below is the former Vanity playing their own song "White Ghosts". Strong and energetic performances from this rising young group, who seem to be adapting well to their reduced lineup, and hopefully they left a solid impression on the 1st! Give their videos a look above & below as well!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Kim Mitchell & Marianas Trench) And Details On The Mocha Concert Series!!

A special five day concert series will take place at GFL Memorial Gardens in September featuring major Canadian headlining acts for five consecutive nights! Named The Mocha Concert Series, these shows are fundraisers for The Mocha Fall Ceremonial, an annual convention for the Mocha Shriners Masonic society, who are based out of London but are affiliated with the Sault Shrine Club on Albert Street East. I'm not well versed in the Shriners outside of their fez hats and tiny cars, but they do great community work for local charities, children's hospital care, and sponsoring youth sports teams, and it is neat that the Mocha Shriners are holding their Ceremonial six hours north! If you're curious as to non-musical events at the convention, the program and the above links will fill you in, but of course, many of the events are primarily geared at Shriners members rather than the general public (there will be a parade though).

The Mocha Shriners clearly have the right connections to make a big deal out of the Ceremonial, partnering with national concert promoters F7 Entertainment to make all five of these shows happen, though be advised that the Facebook event page for the concert series says this is an "online event" despite tickets going on sale at the Memorial Gardens' box office tomorrow. If there is an online streaming component, I can't say, but these are in-person concerts. Of the five concerts, two have hard rock performers, the first truly heavier shows at the Gardens since the Offspring/Sum 41 show in late 2019, so these have been a long time coming! The three non-hard rock shows include Burlington indie pop band Walk Off The Earth & indie rock trio The Monowhales on Monday, September 19th, Calgary country singer Paul Brandt & Toronto country artist Owen Barney on Wednesday, September 21st,...

... and former Guess Who frontman Burton Cummings closing the concert series on Friday, September 23rd. Huge names for three very different genre ranges, and Owen aside, all have won Juno Awards, so definitely keep all three in mind if they interest you! That said, what about those two hard rock-featured concerts? Here's what you should know on them!

On Tuesday, September 20th, prepare for a wild party from a wild party, as former Max Webster frontman Kim Mitchell will return to the Soo for the first time in over fourteen years when he headlines at GFL Memorial Gardens! Well known domestically for hit singles like "Go For Soda", "Lager & Ale", and "Patio Lanterns", Kim has been a staple of Canadian rock radio for decades, and with his fun live show and excellent guitar work, fans won't wanna miss out in three months! Hard to believe he last played here at the Bell Border Jam at Runway Park in 2008. British Columbia alternative rock quintet 54-40 (of "Since When", "Casual Viewin'", and "Lies To Me" fame) will open in their first local concert appearance in recent memory, and while not as heavy, their own familiar and accessible range of hits should appeal to a wide array of fans this fall! Shame that all of these shows (Burton Cummings aside) are work/school nights.

The other concert during the Mocha Concert Series will see Vancouver pop punk quartet Marianas Trench return to the Soo for the fourth time when they headline at the Gardens on Thursday, September 22nd! You could call this the long delayed rescheduling of their planned November 2016 show there before an in-band illness forced it to to be cancelled (as such, this will be their first show here since playing at the then-Essar Centre in April 2013). I admit that my punk tastes lie elsewhere, but Marianas Trench have netted lots of familiar hit songs in Canada like "Shake Tramp", "All To Myself", and "Haven't Had Enough", so long-time fans will be chomping at the bit to see Josh & crew's pop rock stylings in town again! Nova Scotia hard rock quintet The Trews will open on September 22nd in their first local concert appearance since an acoustic gig at The Grand Theatre in 2009!

However, Trews fans have been waiting since their May 2008 gig at The Canadian to see them in their plugged-in splendor (Kim Mitchell fans can relate!) Well known from hit songs like "So She's Leaving", "Hold Me In Your Arms", and "Highway of Heroes", The Trews' rootsy and melodic brand of hard rock has been making fans for 20 years, and as someone who got into them relatively late, I'm glad to see them finally coming back to the Soo, even as openers! All shows in the Mocha Concert Series are all ages with announced start times of 8:00 PM, and while individual ticket prices are not out yet, this Sault Star article announcing the shows says that they will be in the $60-$80 range apiece. Written by Brian Kelly, the article features remarks by Shriners representative Dylan McLay, and it notes that concerts have replaced circuses in their event strategies, which seems like a good move.

Brian did incorrectly say that Marianas Trench did play the cancelled 2016 show here, but its a good article that paints an optimistic picture for this unusually stacked week of concerts this fall, and I hope these shows do well for the local concert scene and the Shriners alike! Any reason to encourage major touring headliners to stop here and play shows rather than drive straight on through to Thunder Bay or Sudbury! Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM at this link & at the in-person box office, and note that Shriners members will not get priority ticket availability. Visit the above links for much more on The Mocha Concert Series, and stay tuned for more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Rock & Roll Heaven On The Borderline's Episodes On Sault Memorial Gardens Concerts!!

With news remaining very slow for the local metal, hard rock, and punk scenes, today seemed like a good day to dive back into local internet radio station The Borderline, so what else is available to hear there that would fit our coverage range? Let's start with veteran local musician/photographer Brian Tremblay's series Rock & Roll Heaven, which focuses on musical acts that have played in Sault Ste. Marie in the past, either through personal and guest recollections, or interviews with musicians who have came here on tour, and there are a lot of episodes you can hear on demand now on The Borderline's website. Last month, episodes of Rock & Roll Heaven were posted that explore the history of live concerts at the former Sault Memorial Gardens, which was our major concert venue and hockey arena from 1949-2006. While Brian's musical tastes can stray from our usual coverage, hard rock concerts there do come up, so what can you find within?

The initial Memorial Gardens episode runs for 63 minutes, and it is entitled "A Garden of Music", which primarily explores classic rock-leaning musical acts that played there through the early 1980s, and Brian does play DJ by airing select studio tracks from bands discussed during the show (a full playlist can be seen at this link.) At the 17:24 mark, Brian talks about being in attendance progressive hard rock legends Rush's third and final Sault Ste. Marie concert from 1977, which he fondly recalled, despite being poorly attended. In this segment, Brian played the live version of "Closer To The Heart" from their live album "Exit Stage Left", followed by "(Make Me Do) Anything You Want" by Toronto hard rock band A Foot In Coldwater, who opened for Rush on this tour. Fun 10 minute segment overall, and it's nice to hear some first-hand context about Rush's last local date from someone who was there!

The second episode (entitled "A Musical Hockey Barn") can be heard at this link or above in the second (lower) file. It's formatted very similarly to part 1, and runs for almost as long, but it does creep later into the 1980s in the second half, and thusly talks about more hard rock acts. There's also more recommendations from friends and listeners than in "A Garden of Music", for what that's worth. Hard rock fans will be most interested in segments from 18:02 on, starting with Brian's recollections of Vancouver hard rock icons Prism's local stop, including their songs "Spaceship Superstar" & "Flyin'". At 29:08, Brian looks back on Canadian guitar icon Kim Mitchell, who played the Gardens solo and with Max Webster, and he played his classic song "Lager & Ale" in this segment. Next, at 34:13 in, Brian talked about Alannah Myles, who opened for Kim locally at the show Brian attended.

Rather than go the obvious route by playing "Black Velvet", Brian chose her track "Still Got This Thing For You" to play on air. The last show Brian talked about in this episode was a triple bill from Canadian hard rock legends Moxy (not Moxy Fruvous), Goddo, and Trooper that he saw at the Gardens in the late 1970s. Moxy's segment begins at 40:04, and he plays their song "Ridin' High" here, before switching to Goddo at 45:01, from whom he plays "Walk On", and gives some extra detailed information on meeting and helping frontman Greg Godovitz much later on. Fitting of the headliners, he covered Vancouver hard rock favourites Trooper last at 52:52, and he plays their two first singles to close, "Baby Woncha Please Come Home" & "General Hand Grenade". A third episode was teased, perhaps diving into Gardens concerts in the 1990s, but it sounds like it's dependent on listener recollections and requests, so contact Brian if you can help.

I enjoyed listening to these episodes, especially when Brian had unique thoughts on specific concerts to share beyond just if he liked the bands in question, and his biography details in between were also welcomed! Re: a third episode, I wonder if getting a hold of Duane Roy (author of the Soo Stories book about Memorial Gardens concerts) would be worth considering? He definitely had strong recollections of shows there. Even if a part 3 isn't imminent, there is more to discuss from Rock & Roll Heaven (now linked on the SMS), so give both of Brian's Memorial Gardens episodes a listen above, and stay tuned for a new post of some kind by Saturday! Thanks everyone!