LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Destroyer & Handsome Sandwich), Show Postponements, And Much More!!

To kick off this post, we have two late clarifications for shows this weekend, including a postponement and an apology. For the former, it came out this morning that Kinross, Michiagn classic/hard rock trio Banned have postponed their Runway Bar concert in Hessel from last night to TONIGHT, as per their Facebook page. A reason for the postponement wasn't announced, but the venue had advertised the show being on Saturday previously, so the band must have gotten mixed up. We went with Banned's advertising for recency's sake, but they have since corrected the date, so keep their Hessel return in mind for TONIGHT! Also, I want to apologize for missing the late notice return of Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck to The Rednecks Saloon last night, as that show was only publically announced online yesterday evening with an hour's notice, way too late for us to rush a post to cover it.

The show started at an unusually early 7:00 PM as a continuation of efforts by Soundcheck to retain patrons during Rednecks' Friday chicken wing nights, having debuted the concept with an 8:00 PM show earlier this month. I have no idea if the matinee timing is helping with attendance moreso than at The Park Grille's live band experiment, but hopefully it was a great show, and profuse apologies again for missing this show on the site! We'd have covered it in our weekend concert previews had it received more notice!

Now, here's a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, starting with a trifecta of hard rock and punk music at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, June 10th as part of their kick-off to the summer season! The bands playing in two weeks are new genre-less (albeit alt/punk sounding) trio Handsome Sandwich in their Rockstar Bar debut, alternative hard rock trio The Din, and reunited hard rock quartet Eclipse, so prepare for a solid night of musical entertainment from these three acts! Notably, this show will also help re-open the venue's outdoor patio for the season, so keep that angle in mind if you've missed it lately! Visibly a co-promotion of Paperclip Productions and The Din, there is a $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert, which has a 10:00 PM start time, and a merchandise table for all three bands is also being hyped. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss this intriguing union of rising bands in two weeks time!

Also newly confirmed is the return of Windsor-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer, who will make their (at least) fourth local concert appearance when they rock The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, July 29th! Continuing their recent trend of biennial concert appearances, in the Soo, this will be Destroyer's first appearance here in 2 years, last rocking the same venue in late May 2015. As fans will have seen in their prior local gigs, Destroyer bring a faithful looking and sounding tribute to Kiss at every show, so if you want the best, here's the next best thing! As of this writing, there is no advertised opening band, which would be typical, but remember that the now-dormant Griphook opened for Destroyer locally in 2015. Unusually, The Rockstar Bar has yet to acknowledge this show publically on their own Facebook group, but expect an announcement in the coming weeks, I would assume.

This 19+ concert should have a 10:30PM-ish start time, and while tickets don't appear to be on sale yet, note that the 2015 Destroyer show here had $12 advance tickets at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, while door admission jumped to $16. Again, tickets are NOT on sale yet, and may not even be that price. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Local doom metal trio AlgomA's third split album has been announced, and it will see them sharing a cassette tape with local/St. Catharine's goregrind trio Shit Liver! The split was first announced via this image on AlgomA's Facebook page on Monday, and it will come out via AlgomA's old label Dead Beat Media, who have put out all AlgomA releases sans the Hooded Menace split. A "summer/fall" release date is currently listed, so stay tuned for this unique retro split as more details roll in! No word though on if this is the teased second album from Shit Liver, or if they are still working on a solo follow-up CD, but stay tuned for updates!
• Local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters and death metal duo Twistory have both been added as openers for the Ruptured Birth concert at The Oddfellows Hall on June 4th (one week from tomorrow), as per promoters Heavy North Entertainment on the official Facebook event page last week! This will be both bands' first shows of 2017, with The Bear Hunters last seen opening for Norilsk in the fall, and Josh & Robert last advertised publically opening for Foam last June. Very solid additions, so visit the above links for full details on this brutal all ages concert!
• June 17th's planned Oddzfest II event at The Oddfellows Hall has been postponed until "later this summer" due to "some minor booking issues", as per promoter Josh Stephney on the Facebook event page yesterday. Josh didn't elaborate further, but with he & the headliners coming from out of town, either of them may have had a scheduling hang-up. Very disappointing to hear, but stay tuned for word on Oddzfest II's new date!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Oddzfest II), Windigo/Id Iota Concert Preview, And More!!

Here's one more SMS post before Easter Sunday, so what's in store for today? A few assorted news updates, our preview of a special Easter Monday concert, and to kick things off, a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this summer, so here's what you should know!

Remember Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up, the all ages Oddfellows Hall metal concert that helped send off Bring The Fallen's Josh Stephney & Nolan Rainville prior to their moves out of town that July? Well, after a nearly four year wait, Josh is promoting a sequel, as Oddzfest II goes down on Saturday, June 17th! Headlining this show are Toronto death/groove metal quintet Sludgehammer in their local concert debut, and their brutal and fast paced aggression combined with diverse vocals should helped them pick up where West of Hell left off four years ago, so definitely give them a listen! Local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver will return to the local stage for the first time since last April as co-headliners, while local death metal veterans The Bear Hunters will return to the stage themselves for their first concert appearance of 2017, and first set with Josh on rhythm guitar since May of last year. We've definitely missed both bands on the local stage in recent months, and it just feels right to see them sharing the stage at Oddzfest again, so don't miss out in June!

Local death metal quartet Exploring Detritus are also scheduled to play at Oddzfest II in their first concert appearance in about a year, and their first since parting ways with guitarist Daeson Lesage & changing their name from Kaepora Gaebora. No idea where they've been, but it's great to have the guys back, especially with the tie of having Josh's former Bring the Fallen bandmate Dan Souliere on guitar! Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger's new punk/alternative trio Handsome Sandwich will open in their Oddfellows Hall debut, so come early to see what they hype is all about! This is an ALL AGES concert, and while a start time of 4:00 PM is currently advertised, I'd honestly be surprised if that held up, as 2013's Oddzfest I had one more band and started 2 hours later. No word on admission prices yet, but 4 years ago, entry was $5 (though wearing band merchandise got you in free.) I'd also be surprised if that deal recurred, but stay tuned for confirmation on admission in any event!

This sounds like a fun concert for death metal fans, and it's a nice throwback lineup to boot, especially with Shit Liver and Josh Stephney having moved out of town and The Bear Hunters not performing as often as they used to (did you know that they only played live twice in 2016?) Visit the official Facebook event page for more on Oddzfest II, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in, including on recent queries on if this should become a 2 day event?!

Next up, here's that preview of a special concert THIS MONDAY NIGHT, as local alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota will return to The New American Pub when they open for Calgary psychedelic pop band Windigo & New Jersey surf rock group Dentist in both bands' local debuts! This show will be a nice capper for a busy weekend for Id Iota, who stepped out from the studio on Friday to open for K.I.C.K., and they should have another fun set of new and old originals ready for their first New A stop of 2017! The headliners don't largely fall into our typical genre ranges on the SMS, but Windigo's often trippy and creative pop rock sound should find an audience on Easter Monday, and Dentist do have some punk-influenced material in their sets that will appeal to fans, even if you're not high on surf rock! Apparently self-promoted by Id Iota (though Six, Two, Oh. & Ears and Eyes are given special thanks), this 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and 9:00 PM start time.

Though officially called an "indie Easter show", there's enough hard rock and punk-tinged material on display to keep SMS readers happy on Monday at The New A, so keep this show in mind to end the season with! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Id Iota live!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last few days, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

• In their belated first reveal of a new band member on their Facebook page, local punk/metal favourites Jack Spades have announced the addition of Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton to their new lineup, replacing the already-departed Jesse Cook. Daniel's a solid choice that should add a lot to the band, so don't miss his debut with Jack Spades at the CKY concert in June! No word though on if his addition means anything for the active status of Project 421, who have not issued a public update since February, or played live since October.
• Pillory bassist Jordan Leach (going under his full last name Leach-Berube) is now offering his services as a session bassist for live concerts and recording projects, and he does have his own gear. Jordan is a talented artist in different rock genres, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last month if you're interested in working with him in some form!
• New private concert venue Mellow D's Underground will host an "Easter Eafterparty" (sic) TONIGHT after Live705's Easter Bash! This is a private event with the the address obtained by personal request at The Rockstar Bar after the show, but it will be a concert with live bands, including The Noochin' Lanterns and mystery guests, plus an open mic component. This is a licensed event, but it is also all ages. Invite-only as it may be, keep it in mind if you want to extend the bash into the wee hours of the morning!

That's all for today, but I hope to see you guys at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for Live705's Easter Bash! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Aggressive Acoustic & Glitch) And More Recent News!!

We're packing this post with updates and news (no videos in sight) to help clear out some recent stuff, so what's on tap? Assorted recent short items, news on new and old members of Chronic Demonic, and leading things off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this coming weekend and next month, including a venue's return to concert booking, so read on below for what you need to know!

Former Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan will return to the local stage for the first time in over a year & a half when he headlines this year's Soo Zombie Walk afterparty at Coch's Corner THIS SATURDAY with his Sudbury-based unplugged hard rock act Aggressive Acoustic! Coincidentally, this will also be the first heavier concert at Coch's Corner since it's move to the former Foggy Notions location last spring, partly due to Coch's current focus on mostly/all acoustic bands. That said, Brian's bringing some "aggressive" acoustic to the afterparty this year for his first appearance at the annual event, which returns to 708 Queen Street East for the first time since Foggy Notions hosted the first afterparty in 2010, though additional acts have yet to be confirmed. As best as I can tell, Aggressive Acoustic features Brian and collaborator Sean Trottier doing acoustic hard rock covers, which will be a bit of a shift from the last 3 years, but as previously reported, the scheduling of full plugged-in bands is now in the afternoon at the Bushplane Museum prior to the Zombie Walk itself, so click here for details on that front.

Admission is FREE with a wristband from the Zombie Walk (cover charges may apply if you don't have one), doors open at 9:00 PM on Saturday, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit this Facebook event page! The downscaling of the afterparty is still somewhat of an adjustment, but Brian's a talented musician who should put on a great show in his local return this weekend, and maybe he'll rejoin Sykotyk Rampage for some songs in their afternoon set that day before the walk? Time will tell, and stay tuned for updates!

Also in new concerts, new local classic hard rock cover quartet Glitch will play their second public concert when they return to The Rockstar Bar for another gig on Friday, November 22nd! After taking October off (barring any interim announcements), it'll be great to see the new band featuring Sneaky Pete, Lion Ride, and Tripod the Dog alumni back at it with their diverse but often heavy blend of covers! Admission should be in the $5 range for this 19+ show, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised, so click here for more details! In the same Facebook group posting to announce this concert, guitarist Marco Pedalino revealed that Glitch will also be among the performers for the second annual Toystock event, which will take place this year on Sunday, December 1st, but a venue has not been confirmed as of this writing. Toystock was the Maxx Entertainment-promoted Christmas Cheer fundraiser concert featuring 10 local bands (mostly cover acts) at The Canadian last November, and it's great to hear that it's coming back for another year, but I'll wait for venue confirmation & such before going much further. Stay tuned, and don't miss Glitch next month!

Next up, the new singer & drummer of local metal band Chronic Demonic have finally been announced, as The Bear Hunters' Nik Deubel and their former guitarist Mike Vincent (most recently of Skull After Betrayl) have been confirmed to replace the departed Sabrina Lavoie and Rick White respectively. The news was revealed on their Facebook page on Friday, and it's especially nice to see Mike back in a local band project! Though I'm not very familiar with him as a drummer, he has a lot of talent that's nice to see put back to use in this new band, and I wonder if Nik will have any new styles up his sleeves vocally himself? Remember, Chronic Demonic had previously identified as a "punk/metal/rock" band (and had a female singer), which is a big change, but will the band adapt to Nik's vocals, and/or will he adapt to their genres? I'm curious to find out! It's interesting to note as well that all 4 current members of The Bear Hunters are now in other bands (joining Caveman Morrison, Jack Spades, and The Suicide Kings), but hopefully this doesn't mean anything bad for their ongoing status and album plans. Keep an eye out for news on Chronic Demonic's next plans!

Speaking of Chronic Demonic, here's the latest from their original singer, also known as Sabrina Strange! Since leaving Chronic Demonic, you may know that she's been hard at work in the local music scene via her upstart company Sabrina Strange Productions and with her turns as an interviewer, but she's also back into new bands, one of which just making their surprise debut last night! Named Project Legion, they're still lacking online pages or any detailed public info (i.e. are they heavier, who's in the band), but they replaced Vancouver "power slop" band The Screaming Queens at an Oh! Right Arm!/Jamie Vincent-promoted punk/alternative concert at 180 Projects last night. I didn't mention it on here due to a combination of no verifiable hard rock acts & no time to slide it into a post, but hopefully Project Legion had a successful debut! Sabrina is also looking for a band to regularly play live with (Project Legion are apparently a "musical discovery project"), and she'd prefer playing old metal & rock covers in it. If you're interested, contact her at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from yesterday, and stay tuned for updates!

We'll close today's post with some more assorted shorter news items, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, event, or company name:

• Local concert promoter J.D. Pearce is offering a deal for Zombie Walk attendees to get a discount at his eighth annual Halloween Party THIS SATURDAY at The Roosevelt Hotel, where if you show your wristband at the door, you'll only have to pay $13 to get in! I don't believe this applies if you bought an advance ticket though. If you're up to see The Ripcordz, Jack Spades, and Destroilet after the Zombie Walk, keep this deal in mind!
• An aspiring local singer named Michelle Anderson is currently looking to join a local band, as per her post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Friday. She has no genre preference in mind, but in case any singer-less hard rock/metal bands are interested, give her a shout at this link or above!
• Former local metal musician Josh Stephney (Bring the Fallen, Bear Hunters, etc.) is exploring the possibility of returning home to host a second annual Oddzfest Metal Mash-Up concert at The Oddfellows Hall next year, via a status post on the original edition's Facebook event page on Thursday. If it happens, any details are still a ways off, but the original show in July was awesome (despite the rainstorm), so comment above if you want Oddzfest back in 2014!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week and as we creep closer to Halloween! Thanks everyone!

Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up Concert Review!!

Apologies for the delay, but here's our review of Friday night's Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up concert at The Oddfellows Hall! First off, I should address the rainstorm and flooding that happened in town that night, so how did it impact the concert? Not as much as you'd expect. Only one band had to drop out (openers Haggith, due to flooding where they were), and every other band was there in full to rock out, albeit with a slight delay for the start time. Disappointing that Haggith couldn't make it, but I can understand why they didn't risk anything, and go catch their Oddfellows Hall debut at next month's Sewer Swampstravaganza! The rain kept coming down very hard through the first three acts on Friday (it looked like a Woods of Ypres song was pouring on us), and while there was noticeable uncertainty from fans about whether the show would go on, there was nothing to fear! Myself, I left during a power outage in my area, so I gambled on metal overpowering the rain, and we all lucked out! Great attendance too, all things considered, and the strip lighting was a nice touch! As for notes not relating to the band's sets, the reunited Bring The Fallen finally released their 2009 debut EP at the show last night on a pay-by-donation model, and we'll cover that in full probably tomorrow, as this review is already gonna run long.

With Haggith dropping out, the opening band at Oddzfest was local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade in their first live set since their brief breakup concluded! No reference was made to that on Friday night (though they alluded to it on their Facebook page yesterday), so their timeslot was dedicated to rocking out with their usual technical fury, and if there was lingering strife and differences, they weren't visible! Crimson Crusade played all 5 songs from their "Upon The Eve Of War" EP, along with originals "Reality" & "Lost Memories", and a cover of Death's "Bite The Pain", and they were on form from past gigs with lots of brutality and solid skills, though the guys did seem to be a bit stiff in terms of stage presence. Devon Lucier's Death-esque growl cut through the metal well, Robert Sartini continues to impress on guitar, and fans seemed to enjoy everything! It's great to see Crimson Crusade are alive & well, and hopefully they sound even better at the Swampstravaganza next month!

Next up was local sludge/death metal quartet Giwakwa, in their last concert before members Josh Stephney & Nolan Rainville move out of town, and perhaps their last show ever? Like Crimson Crusade, Giwakwa didn't address their active status during their set, but given that members are leaving the Soo, I found that they put in a more determined and focused set that definitely throttled attendees! The only big negative I have is that it was basically the same as their last few shows: An instrumental jam followed by their four original songs, so if you've seen them at other shows, their set will essentially have been the same (but with half the band moving, why add new songs?) Musically, they sounded really good, especially with Chris Thompson's solid drumming and Nolan's excellent bass work, but guitarist Chris Page seemed a bit distant and unemotive at times, and he could have been a bit more energetic. Whether this was Giwakwa's last show or just a farewell for Josh & Nolan, they delivered the goods once again, and no matter what, thanks for three great months of stoner metal brutality!

Former Blackwater bassist James Watterworth turned up for his second all ages multi-band concert in a week's span as Oddzfest's third act, and he definitely improved on his Bushplane Musical Madness set! A better crowd and reception, electric guitars rather than acoustic, more slap bass originals, and some guest drumming from The Bear Hunters' Johnny Belanger helped amp up the atmosphere, and I can definitely tell that his cheerful nature and considerable bass talents wowed many fans! I think James' solo material and Delusionares covers have an audience and can fill a good niche, as the reception on Friday would indicate (how can you pass up local slap bass?) Like before, if there's a flaw, it's that this is still very much a solo project, and some of James' songs are just begging for a full band to back him up, so the minimalist nature might not be universal in appeal. James has a lot of talent, and a fun unique spirit and enthusiasm, so if he keeps this up, he'll surely make larger waves!

The middle band of the night was crust/grime death metal trio Shit Liver in their first show in 2 months, and you know they're taking the stage when they can fit 16 songs into an hour without rushing! With the stage fully decked out in Shit Liver style (including the return of Matt Baic's toilet drumstool), the guys tore through originals like "Survival of the Shittest", "Fabricated Nonsence", and their newest song "Liverated" (plus an encore cover of "Greedy Bastards"), and if you've seen Shit Liver at their peak, they'll have similarly delivered on Friday! Granted, their sound is as much of an acquired taste as ever, but Matt, Josh Penno, and Mike Kyle erupted in a furious blend of grindcore and death metal that definitely started some pits and appealed to many death metal fans in attendance! They sounded as good as they ever have, their riffs were crushing, and the metal hit us right in the liver for sure! Now, I have to ask, when's that EP coming out?

Fifth on the bill was local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters in their last set with the aforementioned Josh Stephney on rhythm guitar, and to mark the occasion, they played pretty much every original song in their repertoire (from "Bloodthirst" to "Servitude"), including covers of Amon Amarth's "Guardians of Asgaard" and Mitch Sirie's solo original "Squirrel Buddy", which all seemed to go over swimmingly! Like with Giwakwa, The Bear Hunters put in a brutal and very focused last set with Josh, leaving it all on the stage and unloading their full talent range on the audience, with Mitch's guitar even sounding a bit louder than it has at recent shows! Nik Deubel's newly trimmed beard didn't affect his growling abilities, Justin Lam's bass skills were as excellent as ever, and Josh's rhythm guitar work flowed well for his last set with the guys! Complaints are minor, and relate only to individual songs (like bringing back clean vocals and cutting down the end of "Render This Void", but this was a great way for The Bear Hunters to say farewell to Josh after a solid 2 year tenure!

The co-headliners on Friday were resurrected local death metal quintet Bring The Fallen, in both their first show since the spring of 2011 and their final live concert set, and they lived up to the hype with a brutal and very entertaining run of their classic original songs! Compared to the last few gigs of their active run (which were of mixed quality), they came into Oddzfest like they were gonna win a 4th battle of the bands, and we responded in kind! Most of their finally-released EP (save for "Kill Your Life") was played, along with "Nostalgia" and a mostly-instrumental closing number, and the best mosh pits of the night so far came during their set, which was melodic, brutal, thrashy, and just like it was at their late-2009 peak! Josh's growling was on point, it was great seeing Andrew Chiarello's guitar talents on stage again, and Travis St. Amour's drumming kept pace as well as ever, proving their chemistry hadn't lost a step! I just wish their set ran a bit longer (they didn't have enough practiced songs to do an encore either.)

Still, this finally gave B.T.F. fans proper closure (following the extended breakup rumours and abrupt end 2 years ago), and this was a fitting & brutal farewell to the band that arguably helped kick off our current wave of death metal groups! I know that no matter what, the guys bring the metal wherever life takes them!

The night closed with an awesome set from late-notice headliners West of Hell, in the second local concert appearance from the Vancouver classic metal outfit! Before we get into some of the stranger events of their set, let's cover the music, as it was brutal, fast paced, and melodic as you've come to expect! Much of that comes from the always charismatic Chris "The Heathen" Valagao, whose heavy and soaring metal voice roped us in for the long haul on tracks like "Spiral Empire", "Soultaker", and "To War", and the rest of the band shown their skills as well, with Jordan Kemp's bass and Andrew Hulme's drums keeping up and impressing on their own! Classic metal bands like Striker & Skull Fist are a safe bet around here, and West of Hell are in that mold for entertainment and talent alike, but their stage show is also well worth mentioning. The Heathen's war helmet was back, as was the power grinding sparks and the new foam/snow machine, but the smoke machine's return proved problematic, as it actually triggered The Oddfellows Hall's fire alarm.

Conveniently occurring during a break where the guitar stopped working, the false alarm actually had a fire truck called down to the hall, though the show wasn't cancelled, and once everything was plugged back in, the show went on as scheduled (just, with no more smoke machine.) There was some panic about cops maybe coming down, but for what it's worth, I didn't see any. That strange episode aside, West of Hell delivered in full for their local return, and hopefully they'll come back with some more notice for a third go-round with their local fans! Awesome concert, and it was a great and very brutal way to help send off Josh, Nolan, and Bring The Fallen before the big move! Every band was on fire, the metal overcame the weather, and if there was any sadness or bittersweet feelings, we were too busy rocking out to notice! Thanks again to Josh and Nolan for the great memories and music that they've given since Bring The Fallen's live debut 4 years ago, and I know they'll do what's right for them in the future, no matter what! As for Bring The Fallen's EP (cover pictured), we'll give that some deserved attention on the site tomorrow!

I did get photos, so click here to check them out or visit our Facebook page, and for videos, here's Crimson Crusade playing "Pillage", Giwakwa playing "Iron Lung", James Watterworth playing "I'm Gonna Love You", Shit Liver playing the "You Suffer"-esque "Livin' In Shit" and "Shift Liver", The Bear Hunters playing "Karma", Bring The Fallen playing "Exposed Embankment", and West of Hell playing "Water of Sorcery"!















That's all for now, but stay tuned for an all-video post relating to a recent local concert event later tonight! Thanks everyone!

Most Of This Weekend's Metal/Hard Rock Concert Previews, Including Oddzfest's New Headiners!!

Today's post touches on most of this weekend's known metal/hard rock concerts, and while it's a quiet weekend on the Sault Ontario side, a HUGE metal show is going down tomorrow that will be both sad and brutal all at once! On the Sault Michigan side of the border, there's more going on, but I'm bumping our Tesla/Fifth Way preview to tomorrow to give it proper emphasis (and if we've missed any late notice hard rock shows, they'll go along with it!) With that said, let's begin out first weekend concert preview post!

TOMORROW NIGHT at The Oddfellows Hall, metal will reign in a stacked (yet very bittersweet) concert event named Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up! Promoted by Bear Hunters guitarist/Giwakwa frontman Josh Stephney, this show is half a local metal concert and half a farewell for both him and his Giwakwa bandmate Nolan Rainville, who are both coincidentally moving out of town next month, making this their last local concert beforehand. This is absolutely disappointing news, as Josh and Nolan have been among the most prominent and successful local death metal artists of the last 4 years, and hopefully they succeed in their future endeavours and bring their metal talents with them to their new homes! Oddzfest will feature 8 metal/hard rock acts rocking out to send off Josh & Nolan in the heaviest way possible, including late notice out of town headliners, as Vancouver heavy metal quintet West of Hell will hit the Soo for the second time on Friday night in the midst of their Demon Sent Tour! Last seen headlining one of Dismembertainment's last shows at The Canadian last May, their extreme and high energy classic metal sound is sure to be welcomed back after their show-stealing set last year, so don't miss The Heathen and company in their local return, and kudos to Josh for bringing them in on late notice!

West Of Hell will headline at 12:15 AM, with the bands preceding them including a one-off reunion set from 3 time battle of the bands-winning death metal quintet Bring The Fallen at 11:15 PM! Over 2 years after their breakup, this will be a fitting farewell for both B.T.F. and their two moving members, so don't miss tomorrow's show to stand before with Bring The Fallen one more time!

Note as well that this will likely be lead guitarist Andrew Chiarello's first live concert appearance since B.T.F.'s original breakup, so it'll be great to see him back on it's own! The other local performers with hour long sets include melodic death metal quintet The Bear Hunters (in their last set with Josh on guitar) at 10:00 PM, and grindcore/death metal trio Shit Liver (in their first live concert since May) at 8:45 PM. The other performers have half hour sets each, and in descending order, they include local solo musician James Watterworth at 8:00 PM, Josh & Nolan's last concert with their stoner/death metal quartet Giwakwa at 7:30 PM, local death metal band Crimson Crusade's first set since their brief breakup at 6:45 PM, and local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith's Oddfellows Hall debut to open the night at 6:00 PM. Note as well that Giwakwa's Facebook page yesterday asked fans to "come share one last sludgy night with us" tomorrow night, but it remains to be seen whether that refers to Josh & Nolan only, or if the band are dissolving afterwards. We should know by tomorrow!

As a thank you to fans and friends for their support during his local music career, Josh is offering FREE ADMISSION to anyone who wears local band merchandise to the show (anyone from As It Stands to Woods of Ypres works), while admission will be $5 if you don't. Doors open at 5:30 PM, and as you'd expect, this is ALL AGES! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome (yet disappointing) evening, but the metal will come fast & furious, and there's no heavier way to send off Josh, Nolan, and Bring The Fallen (and maybe Giwakwa?), so do NOT miss Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up tomorrow night! For a preview, here's new headliners West of Hell letting sparks fly (literally) in the Soo two years ago!

Now to most of the known Sault Michigan concerts this weekend (Tesla's coming tomorrow), starting with young local metal quartet Tantrym Tyme's latest gigs outside of Harmony Health Foods at 217 Ashmun Street TOMORROW & SATURDAY as part of this weekend's live entertainment during Downtown Days! Also known as the Sidewalk Sales, this yearly community event features outdoor sales from local merchants, kids games, and live music across town, so there should be a little something for everyone this year! Not the most obvious event for metal/hard rock acts, but bands like Free Refill have played Downtown Days in the past, so this isn't unheard of. As you may also know, Tantyrm Tyme and Harmony Health Foods have a long relationship thanks to drummer Ethan Twardy's parents owning this popular natural grocery store, and they've played, been sponsored by, and sold shirts there in the past, so it's a fitting location for them! These are outdoor gigs (like so many of their other live appearances), and as a result, are obviously ALL AGES, but I'm not able to pin down an exact time for their sets. Check the above links for more details!

Tantrym Tyme are improving fast with age with their entertaining metal sound, and they've impressed at many recent live sets, so if you're in the region (Harmony Health Foods is just seconds from The Corner Pub), then go check them out tomorrow or Saturday, likely in the daytime! For a preview, here's Tantrym Tyme covering Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me" last year, and stay tuned soon for a new video from their old Abstract days!

Finally for this post, Sault Michigan hard rock/metal quartet 415E will return to the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT for shows at their Northern Pines Lounge! Increasingly getting more prominent at local concerts, the band featuring Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, 7/47, and Free Refill alumni are making a big local impression with their Van Halen-inspired originals and covers, so keep their latest regional dates in mind for this weekend! Still curious to see when they'll play outside of Kewadin Casino branches, but they fit well there! Both of this weekend's shows are 21+ affairs with likely 9:00 PM start times, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! These should be some solid concerts from this talented local quartet, so don't miss them, and for a preview, check out 415E playing their self-titled original below, and click here to see guitarist Chris Hubbard playing a 4 minute+ guitar solo in St. Ignace on June 28th! As a Facebook video, I can't embed it here, but his skills are clear as day!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for our Tesla concert preview and more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Side FX), A New Local Band, And Huge Upcoming Concert Updates!!

As we clear out most of our remaining extant Sault Ontario metal/hard rock news items, we have some big stuff to get to today, including big updates relating to a couple of multi-band shows later this month (including quite a major band reunion), some assorted recent notes, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, but first, there's a new band to touch on, so here's what you need to know!

We have a new local band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are The Side FX! Described as a "hard rock, alternative and metal-ish band", their Facebook page was just launched on Tuesday, though they've been jamming together for a year or so. Their lineup features a reunion of former Papa Fogals Chair & Sulfur bassist Mike Bird and drummer Derek Turner (also of Garden of Bedlam), alongside Rob Speers on vocals and Alex Walls on guitar (neither of which I'm familiar with musically, though Rob & Derek are co-workers.) Their Facebook page says that they play "high energy tunes for a high energy crowd", which will feature covers of everyone from Alice In Chains and Volbeat to Sublime and The Black Keys. Interestingly diverse selection of bands (though I admit hoping that the overplayed "Lonely Boy" doesn't turn up live too often), and while half of the lineup isn't familiar yet, it's great to see Mike and Derek back together in a new band, and if you're familiar with their past work, you know they've got chemistry! And no, this means nothing bad for Garden of Bedlam, you'll see them next opening for Airbourne next month!

Speaking of shows involving Australian bands, when can you see The Side FX in their live debut? On July 23rd (one week from Tuesday), as they're one of two local opening bands for Australian "psychoska" punk septet The Resignators that night at The Roosevelt Hotel! One of three out-of-continent bands that local promoter J.D. Pearce is bringing to the Soo this summer (joining Airbourne and Brazil's Sanitarium), I wouldn't classify The Resignators as metal, but ska-punk fans should get a big kick out of them, especially with their horn section and fun attitude, so check them out if you like the genre! The local openers are the aforementioned Side FX and local punk trio The Northern Tragedy (in their second show in four days, more on that in a bit), so there should be a solid and entertaining mix of punk and rock for attendees! Admission will be $10 at the door for this 19+ concert, with an announced start time of 9:00 PM in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an interesting concerts, and I know you ska-punk fans will love it, but the debut of the Soo's newest hard rock band is of note also, so check the above links for more, and The Side FX are now in our active Sault Ontario band links!

Next up, here's the latest updates on a few upcoming multi-band concerts this month, starting with local musician Josh Stephney's farewell concert, the Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up two weeks from today! The lineup has been finalized and expanded, starting with the return of... Bring The Fallen?! Well over two years after their breakup, the popular local death metal quintet (and three-time battle of the bands winners) will return for what I assume is one final gig to help send Josh off in style before he moves to Brampton next month, and this has to be big news for local metalheads! If you missed them since their last shows in 2011, be at The Oddfellows Hall on July 26th to mosh out with Bring The Fallen one last time! Also in returns, newer local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade are back on the lineup, just days after suddenly breaking up, with the news coming via Josh on the Facebook event page last night! It's great to see that they're not done (albeit, they haven't officially confirmed this), but if they've worked through the things that caused them to break up, then that works for me, and I hope this is just the first of many more shows!

The remaining new band additions are local alternative/grunge rockers Haggith (who took Crimson Crusade's slot on the lineup during their brief breakup), and they should deliver an entertaining set in what's now their Oddfellows Hall debut! The other new act is ex-Blackwater bassist James Watterworth in a solo set, and while I have yet to find a page for his solo material, his sound is described as "slap bass solos" on the event page linked above. Now on two multi-band shows this summer, I'm definitely curious to hear what James has in store, so stay tuned in case we hear anything! With the lineup now complete with an expanded 7 acts, the full order for the Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mashup will see Bring The Fallen fittingly headline at 11:15 PM, and they'll be preceded by local death metal bands The Bear Hunters & Shit Liver 10:00 PM & 8:45 PM respectively. The other bands will only play for a half hour each, with James Watterworth playing at 8:00 PM, preceded by local stoner death metal band Giwakwa at 7:30 PM, Crimson Crusade at 6:45 PM, and Haggith opening the festivities at 6:00 PM.

Remember, this ALL AGES show is FREE for fans with local band merchandise (and $5 otherwise), so check the above links for current details! This sounds like the perfect way to send Josh off before his move, especially as all of his live local bands (March Into Regression aside) will be playing, and with such a talented lineup for (potentially) free, you won't wanna miss it! Stay tuned for possible updates!

Finally, here's the latest updates on a sooner multi-band concert, that being  Bushplane Musical Madness II one week from Saturday! The lineup has been finalized with one new act and one changed band, so what's different? Well, the aforementioned Northern Tragedy replaced fellow local punk band Redundant on the lineup on Wednesday due to "circumstances beyond their control", and while it is disappointing to see Redundant out, The Northern Tragedy's busier local schedule is good to see for punk fans! The new addition will see the public and Sault Ontario debut of Mike Haggith & The Din, the jam/hard rock band featuring 3/4ths of event hosts Haggith in swapped roles, and they should deliver a fun set as well, which you can preview at this link! The full performance order was also announced via the Facebook event page, and like last year, Sykotyk Rampage will headline this July 20th event at 11:00 PM, to be preceded by Haggith at 9:45 PM, The Suicide Kings at 8:00 PM, The Northern Tragedy at 7:15 PM, Mike Haggith & The Din at 6:15 PM, and the aforementioned James Watterworth opening at 5:00 PM.

Tickets are now available for just $5 at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center (obviously the host venue), The Rad Zone, Case's Music, and Northland Music, while the door price remains the same. This should be a great event, and a nice alternative to the covers and indie/roots-heavy Rotaryfest stages that day, so click here for more details, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this weekend, including some new Sault Michigan videos! Thanks everyone!