Anyone out there want some local metal news and updates? I've got you covered! Today, we mostly clear out my old backlogged news stories, along with sharing some big news from a pair of bigger upcoming concerts, and more! But first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!
For the first time since the summer, Cheboygan hard rockers
The Darwin Project are coming to Sault Michigan for three area concerts later this month! Firstly they'll be at Joe's Bar in nearby Rudyard for a pair of weekend dates on November 19th and 20th, followed by a show at The Savoy Bar in Sault Michigan on Wednesday, November 24th! Rudyard is in our "local" range, so if you wanna make the drive out there to see The Darwin Project, then make note of that! I'm trying to get better in tune with shows at bars in our range but not in town, hopefully I'll have more soon! And the Sault show is slightly different in location and in time, being in the middle of the week, but there's no wrong day to rock! No cover charge is listed for any of the above, but there's a listed start time of 10:00 PM on
the band's MySpace page. Expect a 21+ age limit at all three shows. Expect solid nights of accessible but heavy hard rock from these guys, who seem to have developed a good following in the area! Check out the above links for more details, and to check out some samples of their originals!
Now, to some big updates on a pair of upcoming shows featuring metal bands, and we'll first discuss this month's anticipated
Total Chaos punk show at The Oddfellows Hall featuring local metal acts as openers! The first headline is that this show has been bumped up from November 25th to November 21st. No reason for the date adjustment was publicized, but according to
Total Chaos' MySpace page, they're actually playing a show in Ottawa on November 25th, so it looks like a simple tour itinerary adjustment to me. Secondly, the poster for the show is now out, and you can see it on your left! Looks good, nice punk feel! Promoter Aisha Day is also looking for people interested in putting up posters for this show or handing them out, so if you would like to help get the word out, message Aisha at
this location! The poster also confirms there that the show will have an $8 cover charge, with doors opening at 6:00 PM on the 21st. Sounds about right, hopefully there's a good turnout!
My last point is that local death metal band
Bring The Fallen are back on the bill, as per the poster and the Facebook statuses of various band members. But wait, didn't they drop off of this show following the departure of lead guitarist Andrew Chiarello? Well, there hasn't been any official updates on their pages since he left, but bassist
Nolan Rainville's Facebook page does feature a wall conversation from Monday with some band members where Andrew does refer to taking part in an upcoming BTF jam session. So what's the situation here? Is Andrew back already? Is he playing the Total Chaos show only and leaving again? Or is there something else we don't know? I'll keep you guys posted if I hear more! Check out the above links for all of the current updates on this concert!
While we're on the subject of concert updates, here's some news concerning
Grady's long awaited return to Sault Ontario on November 16th at
The Grand Theater! Firstly, an opening band has been announced for this show, and they are
The Motorleague, a punk rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick! I wouldn't call them metal, but they have a nice energy level and some entertaining hard hitting tracks to boot, so definitely give them a spin! Also,
SooToday have jumped on the promotional bandwagon for this show by posting
their own event page for it! It seems like their event pages for upcoming shows are fewer and farther between lately, so it's nice to see this one get some exposure! This was actually my source for The Motorleague's involvement, and
their MySpace page backed that up, in case someone doubts that. Seriously consider hitting this show, guys, cause the promoters have had some setbacks when it comes to getting the word out on this concert, and there's some great quality music in store! Grady will bring a ton of great stuff to the table thanks to their "country metal" stylings that definitely have a unique coolness to them! Remember, this show starts at 8:30 PM on the 16th at The Grand Theater, tickets are $15 at
LopLops Lounge or at
this location, and I assume it's 19+. For more details, visit
the official Facebook event page!
And finally for today, remember last week when I talked about the
Sault Star article on
CD Plus' closure that never came? Well, an article on the closure is finally online... just not from them. As it turns out,
Glen Thomas of
The Barking Eye posted his own retrospective article where he discussed what CD Plus meant to him and to music lovers in the community. He included some remarks about what we'll have to resort to now for music, and some notes on another fondly remembered music store, Mr. Disc. Things definitely are changing locally for music stores, as now we've lost CD Plus, Mr. Disc, and Music World, along with New Moon Records in Sault Michigan, and I could be missing others too. I did notice that Glen didn't refer to HMV or The Rad Zone in his piece, which some could see as alternatives on varying levels. But I have to say, I'm surprised he didn't mention that CD Plus was great for recognizing local musicians and selling their albums, instead mostly focusing on it as an outlet for underground and obscure titles. Still, it's a nice read, and hopefully a new similar music store, CD Plus or not, comes to town down the road! Read Glen's article, and more, at
this location!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, along with my review of Sunday's Crash Karma/Desperate Union show on Monday! Thanks everyone!
First off, it was great to be back at The Grand Theater for a concert! I've been back there for events like the Anvil! movie screening and the Soo Zombie Walk, but I missed seeing live bands there, so I welcomed the return of something heavy! I was glad to see that the tables were moved to allow a standing concert atmosphere inside, further amped up with the presence of nice lighting and the services of Crank Sound Distribution! Lots of merchandise for both bands were on sale too, though the merch table was set up in the lobby, oddly enough. I do want to complain about the concert's start time, which was 10:00 PM, 90 minutes after the door opening time of 8:30 PM. Call me crazy, but that's too long to wait. The opening band was Moncton punk rock group The Motorleague, who delivered a high energy set packed to the brim with original songs! Their set was pretty no frills, with the on-stage banter mostly limited to scattered and mostly shouted words from frontman Don Levandier. As a result, we got more music, and it felt like we got a lot more than the 45 minutes they played! Good stuff, they have some catchy riffs and a nice enthusiasm, with effective higher pitched singing, and the crowd responded well, even if they didn't populate the floor! Not metal, but entertaining nonetheless!
After them, Grady hit the stage for the headlining set, and I have to say something before I forget. You know how their concert rider says that "this show is loud"? Well, they weren't kidding! My ears actually STUNG a bit when I was standing too close to the speakers! And just like at their concert last October at The Canadian Nightclub, I had trouble hearing Gordie Johnson's singing over the music, which is a shame considering his singing abilities and entertaining crowd banter! The music came through clearly despite the loudness, but I don't like excess volume when it's a detriment to individual portions of a song, like the vocals. Now with that out of the way, I can say that Grady were awesome! It may seem unlike me to like anything with a hint of country, but Grady are definitely more metal than country, and comparisons to Big Sugar shouldn't be used. They're their own animal, and it works! Gordie was great on guitar, the singing I could make out was solid, and he luckily brought back his trademarks from last year! The double guitar, the steel finger sliders, the smoking cow skull, you could tell it was a Grady concert!
Big Ben Richardson's bass work was solid and very clear, and his backing singing added more of a country flair to the proceedings, fitting well with their theme! Nina Singh was great on drums as well, though she seemed to be hidden behind the cow skull and the large drumkit for much of the set, when her abilities deserved some more attention! Grady have great chemistry, and it shown on their collection of southern fried metal tracks like "Good As Dead", "Whiskey River", "When The Boots Come Off", and many others! The band looked to thoroughly enjoy being on stage, and the crowd (luckily much larger than last year) responded very well! I wish more people had stayed up at the front of the stage, which is why I ended up leaving the floor, cause it slowly grew bare as the night went on. But if you could handle the volume and leave your country perceptions at the door, you'll have found a great concert from a very talented trio of musicians!
Overall, this was a fun concert only hampered by the loudness, but even if it can affect the songs negatively, it's a Grady trademark, and it works for them! Kudos to Beyond Borders at LopLops for putting on something heavy for a change, and hopefully they give it another shot down the road! It was fun, and I hope Grady come back soon, cause they're definitely a solid metal band with a nice Southern flavour and some very well written and sang material! Watch out for a possible review of this concert (with photos) from SooToday's Donna Hopper in the near future, check out my photos at this location (or at our Facebook page), and I did get a video! Check it out below, Grady's performance of their song "Good As Dead"!
Finally for today, I wanted to share a video that I found on YouTube the other day that has a slight local metal connection. Last Thursday, Kewadin Casino uploaded a short documentary film onto their YouTube channel that celebrates their 25th anniversary. It's mostly about Kewadin Casino's economic and social impact on Northern Michigan through the casino end of things, featuring a historical timeline and interviews with major figures in Sault Michigan and Kewadin Casino. It's cool to see Kewadin's development and the impact it has, but I know, you want the local metal connection, right? Well, at 4:35 of the video, the narrator discusses how Kewadin Casino brings top entertainers to the Dreammaker's Theater and their outdoor venues. Kiss are namedropped as one of the acts they've brought in, while high quality clips from this year's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival are shown, including a couple seconds of Bret Michaels' set. The segment only lasts 27 seconds, but it's nice to see the concerts included in the video, and I wonder if we'll see this concert footage in full in some fashion later on? Check out this documentary short below, and see Kewadin's impact for yourself!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news in the coming days, including this weekend's concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
