Lopstock III Coverage (Part 5!!)

At long last, let's finally conclude our coverage of SooToday's live-stream from last month's third Lopstock concert at LopLops Lounge! For sake of convenience, you can read our posts on the first eight acts via clicking these links: Hannah Lindsay & Bold Noize, Jupiter Marvelous & Juliana Regan, Sawbé & Stoneburgh and The Hollow Heads, and Far From Fine & Handsome Sandwich. The ninth and penultimate act at Lopstock III was online page-less local indie/drone rock band Pointless, featuring ex-Treble Charger singer/guitarist Bill Priddle, his All The Tired Horses bandmate Robert Sartini (Pillory), Robert's old Id Iota bandmate Dustin Goodall (ex-Pixo Control) on bass, and Robert's old Peach Thieves bandmate David Peredun (ex-Ashes To Dust) on drums. Video footage resumes 6:26:17 into the 8+ hour live-stream, with Lopstock MC/promoter Brendan Garlick introducing their set.

Of note, Brendan said that attendees positively compared this year's Lopstock to the last one in 2015, he announced the winner of a surprise raffle for a Lopstock poster signed by all ten acts, and he kinda plugged Pointless on the basis of Bill's Treble Charger work while trying to be low key about it. Oddly, Brendan said that this is the "first time you can hear them in Sault Ste. Marie", despite Pointless having debuted locally in 2017. Their set started with two original songs not introduced by name (linked here and here), before playing a song named "Alright Already". Next is the Treble Charger deep cut "Forever Knowing" (from "Maybe It's Me"), which was the first cover at Lopstock since Juliana Regan's set four hours prior, Bill co-writing it in the first place acknowledged. The following two songs (linked here and here) were also unannounced by name, but the next one ("If It's All The Same") was.

Pointless must have been an exception to the "one cover per band" rule (this is Bill Priddle's band, after all!), as their last four songs were all covers. Next up was Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine", followed by another Treble Charger deep cut, this time "Drive", which was the last song on their last album (to date), 2002's "Detox". A false ending led to an abbreviated rendition of Guided By Voices' "A Salty Salute", before closing with Bill's signature Treble Charger song, "Red" (from both "nc17" and "Maybe It's Me"). Entertaining set that, while not leaning into punk given Bill's musical preferences, had strong musicianship, and his dry humour was present even if he didn't talk to the audience much between tracks, and I do appreciate that the drone/noise element was toned down from early Pointless gigs! If you like early and Bill-led Treble Charger, you should like Pointless' Lopstock set!

Lopstock III surprisingly ended with young local metal trio The BAG, in what I can only assume was due to scheduling needs for them/earlier acts, if not an intentional effort to put the heaviest scheduled band on last. They clearly had fans out for the long haul though, complete with official BAG t-shirts! Be advised that The BAG did not introduce ANY songs at Lopstock by name, so I apologize in advance for only having two original songs (their released singles) titled here. Their set opened with their debut single "Eccentric Refuge", followed by two more original cuts linked here & here. Fourth was their other single "Our Rock", before playing this fast & hard original, a brief instrumental, and, if you believe guitarist Spencer MacGillivray, "the punkiest song we've got". The BAG next played a brand new song that was written for Lopstock, followed by this slower & longer cut and another new song written by drummer Bradley Nixon.

Spencer, Austin, and Bradley finished up with a somewhat funkier original, and after Brendan offered some closing remarks, The BAG got to play an encore song, which was their cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" (also not introduced by name, but everyone knows it). If you haven't seen The BAG live yet, then you'll get an in-your-face slice of metal here with lots of subgenre influences and a down & dirty intensity, and while I do wish that the guys would talk more between songs (how did they not introduce even ONE song by name?!), having The BAG around is a promising sign for the local metal scene! Overall, huge kudos to Brendan Garlick & Sault Noir for putting on such a huge concert (especially after an eight year hiatus for Lopstock), and while I don't know how the SooToday deal came together for the live-stream, the professional quality of the footage (with very few technical nitpicks) is great for home viewers who missed out!

Whether I knew the song names or not, every single individual song is linked in our five Lopstock recap posts linked above, so if you want to jump to a specific band or song, you'll know how (the bands are similarly timestamped on YouTube, if not the songs). There's obviously a lot to see here, but it's a fun watch for fans of modern original local music, so check out the entire Lopstock III live-stream below,and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Lopstock III Coverage (Part 4!!)

Time to resume our coverage of Lopstock III at LopLops Lounge on July 29th in today's post, as we are now in the second half of the marathon 8+ hour concert with just four bands to go, albeit including three of the four previously acknowledged hard rock/punk-leaning acts among them! Once again, SooToday's multi-camera live-stream will guide the way. We'll pick things back up at the 4:28:34 mark of the lengthy livestream embedded at post's end, with promoter/MC Brendan Garlick relating how he met his old Gnaeus bandmate Matt Fronzi, who is the bassist for act #7 at Lopstock, local punk/hard rock band Far From Fine! This is the first public video of the former Ravencore in concert to surface online, so if you missed them at Toystock last year or Rotaryfest this year, now you can see what the fuss about! Former Suicide Kings bandmates Mike Gaetano (vocals) and Mitch Sirie (guitar) join Matt in this new group.

Id Iota/Free Beer alum Blair St. John (recently seen performing with fellow Lopstock act Juliana Regan) filled in on drums once again in lieu of the departed Austin McCrae. Far From Fine's all-original set began with an unintroduced original song (possibly named "Sunshine"?) followed by "Poison" (née "Poison In My Mind"), "Relapse", "Broken", "Whiskey Dick" (I didn't name it!), their first song written with Matt (which wasn't introduced by name), an upbeat song that also wasn't named, a song named (I think) "Go Away", "This Way Again" , and one more unintroduced song. Don't go into this expecting a revival of The Suicide Kings with a new rhythm section, as Far From Fine lean more into punk and don't resurrect any of that band's originals (I don't think), but styles do vary here and they do dip into ballad, hard rock, and even drinking song territory across their set. Mike also played guitar on a couple of songs.

One thing that hasn't changed from The Suicide Kings' heyday is Mike's brief & minimal banter/song introductions despite his ease on stage, but assuming that their debut album is on track to still come out, then we'll know all of these song names in due course. Assuming that we'll have an album to review on the SMS next year, then I'll hold individual song reviews for now, but the guys have good chemistry and can weave around punk songs well while also dipping into other styles where need be, and I was reminded a bit of how The Inner City Surfers weren't just a full-bore punk act in that way. Strong lyrics as a rule too, so definitely check out Far From Fine above and below to see what you think! Not sure about that "kazoo" section though. In a mild surprise for the running order, local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich were the 8th of 10 bands despite their recent profile, meaning that Mitch Sirie played in consecutive Lopstock sets!

After Brendan plugged his new promotional agency Sault Noir and their second event (a burlesque show at LopLops next month), he gave way to Handsome Sandwich, whose set started with five originals from their debut album "Deconstructed", namely  "Better Off", "Monkey", "Stick Up" (with more of an intro than it had on the CD), "All Or Nothing", and "Bitter". Next, they tacked four songs that are not on the album, but are pegged for their planned follow-up EP, including "Without You", "Party Fuel", "Change A Bit", and "No Idea". Before "Without You", drummer Johnny Belanger noted that "we actually started recording (a demo of it) this week", which is encouraging, and we'll have to see how the EP plans continue to shape up! Their set closed with two more cuts from "Deconstructed", namely "Conquest" and "No Entry". Note that they were the fourth straight Lopstock act to forego their one allowed cover.

Fun set with a lively energy and an encouraging increase in fans on the floor (if to the detriment of live-stream viewers), and the block of new songs will be a nice appetizer for that EP ahead! It would be nice to see singer Taylor Emlaw (who guested with Sawbé & Stoneburgh earlier that night) be a little more vocal between songs though. Note that Handsome Sandwich's pro-shot multi-camera video footage from their album release party at The Loft in May is still not online that I'm aware of, so for the next best thing, check out their 11 song Lopstock set below! Today's covered bands can be seen from 4:28:00-6:10:00.

We are officially just over the 3/4ths mark of Lopstock II with just two bands left, including a surprise choice to cap off the "bohemian conclave", so we should wrap up our coverage this weekend. There's a big normal news post slated for tomorrow, and then we have weekend concert previews, so good things will come to those who wait! That's all for today, but look for more on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Lopstock III Coverage (Part 3!!)

It's been too long already, let's continue our extended look at Lopstock III at LopLops Lounge on July 29th today via the middle two acts who played at the 8+ hour "bohemian conclave! Firstly, just some unfinished business from our coverage of Bold Noize's set in part 1 from last week, as we can now officially title the three new songs from his debut punk album "God Save Me" that he did not introduce by name. In order, they are named "Hopes Up", "New Man", and "The Taurus", and while I will talk more about this album/its punk quota on the site soon, Tristan would perform five of the nine cuts from "God Save Me" at Lopstock. Now that we have more details, give those songs a look/listen above! As for Lopstock III in progress, we pick things back up with the fifth of ten acts from two weeks ago, namely local rappers Mykey "Sawbé" Preston and Ethan Stoneburgh (who typically performs under just his last name).

The two MCs have performed together frequently since at least 2019, and have rapped in joint sets often in 2023, Lopstock among them. They're introduced by promoter Brendan Garlick at 2:44:37 of SooToday's multi-camera live-stream embedded below, during which time Brendan defended the local rap scene as being quite real (I guess there are people who don't think we really have one). Sawbé & Stoneburgh led off with their joint single "NFR Cyphers, Pt. 3", before curiously going in reverse to do "NFR Cyphers, Pt. 2" next (albeit sans Mic Swiff from the studio version). They next perform "We Ready", afterwards doing a brief song that I couldn't identify by name (possibly called "Stages"?), before Stoneburgh traded places with the aforementioned Bold Noize for one of his joint songs with Sawbé, "Sand Castles". Stoneburgh returns for another brief song that wasn't introduced (perhaps these are transitions by design?)

Next, the two MCs are joined by fellow local rapper Grief and (from off stage) Bold Noize again, uniting all four performers on "Rust", which Stoneburgh is the lead rapper on rather than a featured performer. A brand new song (possibly named "Hellbound"?) is performed by Sawbé & Stoneburgh next, before they do another song not introduced by name. Grief returns to the stage next to join in on "All Eyes", whose hook was sung in studio and at Lopstock by Handsome Sandwich frontwoman Taylor "Tea" Emlaw! Nice to see her involved, especially as this is Sawbé's most popular song on Spotify! Taylor trades places with Bold Noize for this set's closing song, with all four No Filter Records MCs joining in for Sawbe's "Burning In Hell". Hip hop isn't something that I am super knowledged about, but Sawbé, Stoneburgh, and crew are talented rappers with good flow and intensity when called on!

Sawbé made use of the LopLops space well, and while Stoneburgh's stage presence was a little stiff, you can see how the two pair well on these songs, with Grief also impressing for his features, and Bold Noize making up for the lack of rap in his set to boot. Rap fans will definitely want to give this set a look below or via the song names linked above! As Lopstock started with acts with shorter sets, the sixth set from young local alternative/indie rock quartet The Hollow Heads' set concluded the first half of the festivities. If you're unfamiliar, you may recognize them from Rotaryfest Stage 2 both this & last year (among other events), and frontwoman Gabrielle Dumas was involved in the Clusterfolk Music Festival last year as a solo artist. Also, Pointless' Bill Priddle & Dustin Goodall helped produce their debut single. Gabrielle is joined here by guitarist Ethan Roode, bassist Liam "Curls" Morassut, and drummer Joseph Rosso.

You may recall seeing this set via The Hollow Heads' own YouTube channel, with the band having re-posted their songs from SooToday's live-stream there as a complete set and via individual uploads, so keep those in mind for the convenience. In order, they played "Rat Race", "I Get It", "Breakup", "Invested", "Rearview", "Gypsy", "Belly",  and "Lucy", before closing with a brand new song named "I Need Time", which featured two guest musicians, namely singer Juliana Regan from two sets previously, as well as The BAG drummer Bradley (credited as Ben) Nixon on rhythm guitar. For the record, The Hollow Heads did not play their aforementioned debut single "Complicated", and like the preceding rap set, they had no covers either. The Hollow Heads' set was nicely varied for subgenres and styles, with "Rat Race" being surprisingly heavy compared to everything after it, and Gabrielle was very much at ease on stage!

She had a knack for storytelling and crowd banter, with vocal ability to match, and this young foursome definitely showed a lot of talent across their nine song set, so don't bypass them! We have now reached the (more or less) halfway point of Lopstock III, and the full hard rock/punk acts will start being touched on next, but to see what all went down between the 2:45:00 and 4:12:00 marks on July 29th, check out the full live-stream below or via individual songs linked above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Lopstock III Coverage (Part 2!!)

Let us resume our coverage of what went down at Lopstock III at LopLops Lounge on July 29th in today's post, courtesy of SooToday's complete multi-camera live-stream of the 8+ hour "bohemian conclave" in action! For general information and details on that day's first two acts, click here. We pick things back up at the 1:15:00 mark for promoter/MC Brendan Garlick introducing the next act, and revealing that unsold copies of his old post punk band Gnaeus' only CD "Meditations" were given out to anyone who bought something from the merchandise table. Nice deal, and a tie-in to Lopstocks of old in that respect! Tying in with the next act (and first band of the evening), Brendan noted that Gnaeus were invited to play in ex-Caroline Divine frontman Anthony Marcello's basement in their first ever live performance back in the day, and Anthony was next up at Lopstock with his current pop rock band Jupiter Marvelous.

While Jupiter Marvelous are not as hard rock-focused as Caroline Divine were, their lineup does have more familiar faces, including Shane Storozuk (ex-Aldous/Vol.) on guitar, Jacob Quarrell (Mike Haggith's solo band/ex-Bad Chug) on bass, and a drummer named Ben who I can't 100% identify off hand. Their set featured this unintroduced original song, "It's Me", two songs from their upcoming album (linked here and here), "Tin Foil Hat", "Cherry Girl" (complete with audience participation), a cover of John Mayer's "I Don't Trust Myself", another unintroduced original, "It's You", and one more new song. Yes, this was a noticeably longer set than those that preceded it, proper bands had an hour or so to play/set up while the three solo performers were blocked for 30-40 minutes each. Nothing too heavy here from Jupiter Marvelous, but they had a nice easy-going rapport and melodies, and Jacob added some levity throughout!

Notably, Anthony's singing voice was very Mike Haggith-esque at points here, so fans of his may want to take an extra look. Good set for pop rock fans, so give it a look in the video embedded below or via the song names linked above! After SooToday covered up the teardown of Jupiter Marvelous' setup and the next act coming on with the Lopstock card from the beginning of the video (not sure why), Brendan introduces folk/indie musician Juliana Regan, who was joined by ex-Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch for her set (no Blair St. John here, but he would perform later that night). Juliana teased that she and Brandon are working on original studio material at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, though whether they are doing so jointly or separately wasn't 100% clear. Her set included this unintroduced original song, a cover of Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks" (with Brandon sharing lead vocals), "Peter Pan Blues",...

..."Lid Off A Daffodil", and an unintroduced-by-name song inspired by recent forest fires. This was the shortest set of Lopstock III, but Juliana has a strong and smooth voice, paired well with mature, often woeful lyrics, and while she and Brandon had only first played together a week before this set, they had a good chemistry! The two of them sitting down for the performance also helped things stand out from the acts arround them. This concludes the first 31% or so of our Lopstock III coverage (the joys of an 8+ hour livestream!), and so far so good for the livestream quality on SooToday's end, but we will address the two middle acts from this marathon concert in a post likely hitting the SMS over the weekend. Give all of Toystock III a watch below, with Jupiter Marvelous and Juliana Regan blocked from 1:15:00-2:39:00, and look for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Lopstock III Coverage (Part 1!!)

As you may recall, ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick resurrected his mid-2010s "bohemian conclave" multi-band concert Lopstock for a belated third installment at LopLops Lounge this past Saturday, which served as the launch event for his new promotional agency Sault Noir. In the lead-up, he teased "one more Lopstock announcement... and it's a pretty exciting one" on social media, but at the time that we previewed Lopstock III on the SMS on July 28th, it hadn't been made 100% public, so what was the announcement? Well, the concert was live-streamed.... all of it. All 8+ hours of it! And this wasn't just a "let's set up one camera in front of the stage and hope things cooperate" situation, as this was in cooperation with SooToday, being live-streamed directly to their YouTube channel and promoted on their website proper, with three high quality (mostly) static camera angles being used for the duration.

Kudos to Brendan for getting this high production quality to log this entire show (with ten scheduled acts, mind you), and it sure blows his already extensive video coverage from the last Lopstock out of the water! This is also a good sign of intent for what he's aiming to do with Sault Noir, even if we don't see video like this all the time. The live-stream runs for over 8 hours and 36 minutes, but is bookended by 7 minute-long static title cards on SooToday's end, and the performance order was heavily changed from the posters, with the three hard rock-leaning acts all pushed into the last four timeslots. The live video begins with Brendan himself introducing the show (he was the evening's MC), and the opening artist was folk/pop singer/guitarist Hannah Lindsay, who played her original songs "The Water Runs Cold", "Speak Your Mind", "The Birds", "Scarred", and "Where I'll Go", a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon", and her own "Your Friend".

Remember, Brendan asks Lopstock acts to keep their sets focused around original material with a one cover limit. Hannah had a strong performance of acoustic pop rock songs here, and while not always too animated on stage, she had a comfortable rapport with the audience, so don't sleep on her opening set! After Brendan offered a quote from Flowers For Algernon and acknowledged his late friend Joonas Kamula, the second act of the evening was local rapper Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow, whose set started with his songs "Set The Tone" and "Danger". Things took a surprising turn next when he acknowledged on stage that he was going to "switch up the vibe a little bit", as "we're putting out a punk album (in) two weeks". Now this is 100% news to me, but as a rapper, Bold Noize isn't a project that I regularly scout. Social media teasers have been minimal as of this writing, but the album will be named "God Save Me", cover art pictured.

The punk portions of Bold Noize's set were still just Tristan alone with a backing track (if he has bandmates, they weren't on stage with him), but he was predominantly singing rather than rapping. The first two songs of this ilk were not introduced by name, but you can see them linked here and here. He gets back to his existing rap output next with "Bring The War", before dipping back to the punk album ahead with the title track "God Save Me", a song named "Dead Inside", and a slower track not introduced by name, before closing with his existing rap song "Talk". Personal Facebook postings suggest that "God Save Me" will be released on major streaming services on Thursday, so keep an eye out then if this interests you. If these are a true indication of how this album will sound, then expect something more like Machine Gun Kelly's rock output than NOFX, but I'm definitely curious to hear how the final product turns out!

Is this just his existing rap structure with predominantly clean vocals, or truly something more rock-based? We'll find out soon! I'll pass judgement on the songs until I hear the studio versions (even the rap songs here were more vocally animated live than in studio), but Tristan can carry a tune as a singer, and while the backing tracks did lean more to his rap output than a fully fledged band (at least as presented here), props to him for expanding his range beyond hip hop! He also made good use of the LopLops venue to rock out in the audience rather than staying on stage, and his rap flow was fast and natural. Check out all of Lopstock III below, with our coverage of the other 88% of it to follow this month!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for much more from Losptock and beyond this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Generations), Our Lopstock III Concert Preview, And More!!

As promised, let's round out this weekend's concert previews (barring anything on really late notice) with two events taking place tomorrow only, one a multi-band affair with lots of advance notice, and the other a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover band Generations will make their Water Tower Pub debut with a one-night-only gig TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, drummer Tony Santoro only announced this show via their Facebook group on Tuesday, and the venue's Facebook page has not confirmed this weekend's musical entertainment at press time. With a permanent replacement for Brandon Ruch not yet obtained, Generations will welcome Flat Stanley/ex-Peace Vibe guitarist Tony Kajnar as a guest TOMORROW, and he's definitely a talented hand who should fit in fine for this one! Notably, this will be Generations' first concert since Rotaryfest, as their announced Reggie's Place show last Friday was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict, with that gig & the planned karaoke night on Saturday replaced by shows from online page-less classic rock band Wheelhouse (featuring Michael Davies & Jon Ferguson from Stiffler's Mom).

Apologies for missing that last week (Wheelhouse were confirmed instead on Thursday after that day's concert preview post went up), but hopefully they had a good weekend! You can enjoy Valerie, Pierre, Tony, and... Tony's classic/hard rock cover selections TOMORROW NIGHT at 8:00 PM, this is a 19+ event, and there is no announced cover chage. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

Next up, let's preview this weekend's final currently known hard rock/punk show of this weekend, and it's a big one, as Lopstock returns TOMORROW NIGHT to LopLops Lounge! Eight years after the second and final Lopstock took place, this "bohemian conclave" of original musicians will resume operations, with ex-Gnaeus/These Magnificent Tentacles drummer Brendan Garlick returning as promoter, this time under the banner of Sault Noir, his debuting concert promotional company. Click here for Chris Belsito's SooToday article on Lopstock's rebirth, featuring interview remarks from Brendan. This year's bill features ten local bands (no out of town groups for the return year), and while none are returnees from 2014 & 2015, there are returning musicians in new projects. Your advertised headliners are Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle's online page-less indie rock trio Pointless, and it's good to see them back on stage!

The latest blocked hard rock act tomorrow is alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich in their post-relaunch debut at LopLops (look for our review of "Deconstructed" this weekend!) Rising young indie rock quartet The Hollow Heads (who joined the Sandwich at Rotaryfest Stage 2 earlier this month) will also perform tomorrow, preceded by two hip-hop acts, including Stoneburgh & Sawbé in a joint set, preceded by Christian rapper Bold Noize. Hard rock fans will get their other block before the rappers take the stage, including metal trio The BAG and punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine, both in their LopLops debuts. It's worth noting that Far From Fine actually parted ways with drummer Austin "Mickey" McCrae before their Rotaryfest Stage 2 set, and he was replaced by Id Iota alum Blair St. John for that set, and who will reportedly also fill in at Lopstock tomorrow.

The band explained in a comment reply on their Facebook page on the 16th that "we're going in a different direction for drums". If I'm being honest, I don't like when "a new/different direction" is given as a reason for any sort of change (not just for local bands), as it's basically a vague non-answer, but Blair was apparently secured on short notice for Rotaryfest. Hopefully things were amicable with Austin, as he is a talented multi-instrumentalist, and hopefully Blair fits in well again tomorrow night! Pop rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous & solo folk/pop rock artists Hannah Lindsay and Juliana Regan (the latter of which often plays live with Blair St. John) will round out the Lopstock III roster. Tomorrow's festivities are 19+ with a 5:00 PM start time, and tickets run for $25 plus processing fees at this link, or presumably at the door. Brendan will MC the show, and Crank Sound Distribution will be on hand to keep everything sounding great as usual!

Note that, on July 7th, Brendan teased "one more Lopstock announcement... and it's a pretty exciting one", but has not publically elaborated (I believe he noted what it was in a post on his personal Facebook page if you're his friend and want to dig there). This should be a great time for local music fans, especially to get so many musicians packed at LopLops as it continues its post-pandemic resurgence, and hopefully this is the perfect launching pad for Sault Noir! Definitely visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more on tomorrow's stacked concert, and here's Handsome Sandwich live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site this weekend, including our review of Handsome Sandwich's debut CD! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Lopstock III) & Darsombra Concert Videos!!

Two topic post on this final day of June, including new videos from a unique outdoor concert from earlier this month, but let's lead off with a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

After an eight year hiatus, Lopstock is back for a third installment at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, July 29th! As you may recall, Lopstock was a Woodstock-inspired "bohemian conclave" that took place in June 2014 & 2015 thanks to then-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick in cooperation with Ears & Eyes (at least in year #1). A third installment in 2016 didn't take place in part due to Brendan moving out of town for a spell, but aiming to help LopLops post-pandemic return to prominence led to him suggesting the return of Lopstock in 2023, which will also serve as the launch event for his new promotion agency Sault Noir. You can read more about Lopstock's rebirth and how the original events came together at this SooToday article by Chris Belsito, and Brendan offers some interesting insights as to the original Lopstock plans in 2014! One note is that Lopstock bands are asked to play all-original sets aside from (if desired) one cover song.

Ten bands are scheduled in the eight hour timeframe for Lopstock III, and while none are returnees from the mid-2010s, there are some returning artists in different bands. The advertised headliners are online page-less indie rock trio Pointless (led by Treble Charger's Bill Priddle), with local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich co-headlining in what may be their post-relaunch debut at LopLops. Fellow Rotaryfest Stage 2 band The Hollow Heads will also play at Lopstock 3 with their indie rock originals, while rappers Ethan Stoneburgh & Sawbé will rock the mic in a joint set next month, and Christian rapper Bold Noize will also add to the hip-hop credentials with a set of his own. As far as bands go, you can also see rising young metal trio The BAG, new-ish local hard rock quartet Far From Fine (in their second show of the year), and pop rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous.

Talented young folk/pop rock solo musicians Hannah Lindsay and Juliana Regan (no word on if Blair St. John will join her again) are the advertised openers. This 19+ event has a 5:00 PM start time on July 29th, and tickets run for $25 (plus processing fees) at this link, though no word on in-person availability or a price hike at the door. Brendan will serve as MC, and Crank Sound Distribution will be on hand. This should be a great time for fans of current original music, including via three hard rock-leaning acts, and I hope this does well for Brendan, LopLops, and Sault Noir, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close today with some recent concert videos from Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, and while he did film at the Josey Scott's Saliva concert, those will get their own upcoming post given the amount of bands on that bill. Instead, let's head back to the Darsombra-headlined outdoor show on June 21st on what promoters Dryer Fire called the "March Street Stage", so where exactly was that? My assumption that it was at the corner of March and Queen Street East was almost accurate, as the naming was kind of a misnomer. The stage was built in the open patio area beside June & Friends Hair Salon at 485 Queen Street East, so it was close to but not actually held on March Street. Musicians faced the patio seating and the OLG building in the distance, with their backs to Queen Street proper. Chris filmed three videos of the headlining Baltimore, Maryland psychedelic hard rock duo, so what can you see here?

Firstly, I'll have no luck titling the songs on offer given Darsombra's progressive jam approach and theatricality coming ahead of playing the songs as heard on studio albums, but click here and here to see the shorter videos (the longest one, embedded below, runs for over 15 minutes). Their set features a projector screen full of creative visuals, what appears to be a fly mask, and lots of impressive (if drone-friendly) trippy jam rock that won't be for everyone, but you have to admire what Darsombra are doing here, and with zest and energy! Hopefully the turnout was decent, but give things a look for yourself above & below, and stay tuned for more from him!

Lastly, Chris got one video of local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore's opening set, and between the daylight, lack of a projector screen backdrop, and Chris' sharper angle of the stage here, you get a better sense of how things were laid out for this unique outdoor concert. Looks like a decent setup that could hopefully be replicated for other shows! In a surprise, Chase actually covered Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" in this video, but he adds his own intense touches and rapid fire guitar flourish along with his distinct vocals, so fans of his folk punk side won't be left out in the lurch! Give Chase's video a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post of some kind tomorrow! Thanks everyone!