LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! (Peril, Powerslug, Sir Charge, And RamWagon)

Today's post is 100% dedicated to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, as they've  recently added new dates to their entertainment page's schedule through the end of the year! Note that The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino has not added any new dates to their schedule that I have seen, so all of these new shows will require a road trip to St. Ignace, which is 50 minutes south of the Soo. Now, let's look at these new show announcements in rough chronological order!

We'll start this coming weekend, as newer local hard rock quintet RamWagon will make their Kewadin Casino and St. Ignace debut on Friday & Saturday at The Northern Pines Lounge! Fresh off their fourth and fifth shows (on late notice) at The Satisfied Frog, this union of Full Throttle and Analog Deficiency alumni should have an entertaining and proficient slate of hard rock covers for attendees in St. Ignace this weekend, so keep them in mind for this coming weekend's schedule! Admission should be free for these 9:00 PM-ish concerts, and you must be 21 or older to attend. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see RamWagon's bookings picking up steam, and hopefully this is just the next stop in a successful local run, so don't miss this new band's latest concert weekend at The Northern Pines Lounge on Friday and Saturday, and stay tuned for more updates as they roll in!

The rest of the new hard rock show announcements for the St. Ignace Kewadin are in the fall and early winter, starting with two new concert weekends from Monkey's Uncle successors Sir Charge! Though their Facebook page hasn't been updated in two months, sporadic online updates for Henry Switzer-fronted bands are par for the course, sadly, but at least Kewadin Casino keeps us up to date on their next shows at their local branches! The veteran local hard rock cover quartet will return to The Northern Pines Lounge for shows on October 4th-5th & December 6th-7th, so if you're up for some gritty old school hard rock and more recent hits, don't forget about these dates! (Also to note, guitarist Nathan Switzer is also in the aforementioned RamWagon.) 21+ age limits, 9:00 PM start times, and no cover charges are all very likely, so get more at the above links, and don't miss Sir Charge's next shows in St. Ignace in two weeks!

Two weeks after the first of the new Sir Charge shows, The Northern Pines Lounge will welcome Charlevoix classic metal trio Peril back to the region for a pair of shows on October 16th & 17th! Curiously, Peril's Facebook page hasn't seen updates for two months either, but according to frontman Jeff Hudson's concert schedule, they don't have any dates for the rest of the summer, with his other bands Audio Circus and Scarkazm (neither of which are local regulars) playing most weekends. Given the new local bookings (Peril's first St. Ignace shows since February), I'll assume this is just a break unless I hear otherwise, so circle the middle of October on your calendars for some classic metal originals and covers from this talented trio (featuring ex-Bad Side drummer Brooks Elliott!) Also, this will likely be their first local weekend since the departure of bassist James Cvengros, with either Adam Crawford or Steve Gauthier rotating bass duties in his absence. Like the above shows, expect 21+ age limits, 9:00 PM start times, and no cover charges, but check the above links for more details, and hopefully Peril rock the U.P. again come October!

Finally for the new St. Ignace concert announcements, Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Northern Pines Lounge on November 22nd and 23rd! Their first shows in St. Ignace since June, Powerslug's busy (though often online-elusive) schedule sees them play often in the area (as seen this past weekend at The Corner Pub), and their hard rock covers should get the crowd going and lots of mugs chugged for their Northern Pines Lounge return in November! Still wish they had an online page and more shareable media though, it'd help their exposure. Same as the above shows for ground rules, with a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no likely cover charge for both nights, so check the above links for more details! Nice to get some more advance notice gigs of theirs, so keep Powerslug's November Kewadin dates in mind, and (barring a short notice announcement) go see them live next at the Sault Kewadin on August 23rd & 24th!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for an all-video post TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & RamWagon), Powerslug Concert Previews, And More Recent Updates!!

(UPDATED, 12:40 AM) In our first of two posts today, we're mostly focusing on more concert previews for the weekend, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the Sault Michigan area, along with some more shorter news items from recent days and some left over concert previews for this weekend, so here's what you need to know!

Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned aren't just playing at The Sundown Lounge on Saturday, as they've also announced a gig for TONIGHT at The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau, Michigan! I apologize for the short notice, they only just announced this show on their Facebook page last night, and as far as I know, it wasn't previously advertised (also, they don't mean The Cozy Inn in Brimley, as proven at The Cozy Corners Tavern's own website.) Last seen in Barbeau (a half hour south of the Soo, an hour north of St. Ignace) over 5 months ago, it'll be nice to see Banned's ever more diverse blend of hard rock and more general sounds back at The Cozy Corners tonight, so if you can't make the Pickford show tomorrow, you have an earlier alternative! There is a 9:00 PM start time for this 21+ concert, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the above links, and best of luck to Banned on their busy regional weekend! For a preview, here's Banned covering a Carrie Underwood song earlier this year!

Also in late notice Eastern U.P. hard rock shows, Sault Michigan hard rockers RamWagon will return to The Satisfied Frog in the Soo TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, the band only announced the shows on their Facebook page 20 minutes or so ago. Essentially a splinter band from similar local band Full Throttle, RamWagon made their first Frog appearance three weeks ago (after debuting at LemmaFest in June), and their modern-leaning assemblage of covers should go over well in their return to this popular West Portage Avenue bar and concert spot! A 10:00 PM start time has been announced, you must be 21 or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, check the above links! Even though their solo shows have all seen relatively late notice announcements, I like what I'm hearing from RamWagon's lineup, so keep their Frog returns in mind this weekend, and see their only public video at the above links!

Next up, and in a bit of negligence on my part, I forgot to preview this weekend's "Powertoast" shows at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill in Sault Michigan yesterday! I plugged them last month when first announced, but somehow, they never made it to our concert listings, and for that, I profusely apologize! "Powertoast" refers to (I assume) a rare intentional double booking for Sault Michigan cover bands, as local hard rock trio Powerslug and the more general rock cover quartet Toast (both featuring drummer Bob Helsten) will share the stage at The Corner Pub TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, though there is the possibility that this weekend's shows will feature a form of a combined lineup featuring members of each band. Regardless, Powerslug have a lot of great covers to chug your mug to, and Toast are quickly making a name for themselves with their more varied sound, so keep these shows in mind! There's no announced cover charges, you must be 21 to attend, a 9:00 PM start time is advertised, and I do not know if these are outdoor or indoor gigs. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should be an interesting weekend, be it a shared booking or a "two-off" band combo, but keep these shows in mind for some Sault Michigan hard rock action, and for a preview (as Powerslug have no known public videos), here's Toast covering Rev Theory at a recent concert!



Also today, here's three shorter assorted stories from the Ontario side of the border, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• We missed covering this at the time, but local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters were newly working on their debut CD again as of July 16th (as per their Facebook page), with ex-guitarist Josh Stephney completing his tracks in 2 days, Mitch Sirie starting his soon, and a name decision in the works as well. I'm not sure how this flew under the radar, but hopefully these latest sessions finally lead to a release of some kind, and stay tuned for more in tonight's "Where Are The New Albums?" post!
• New local band Jack Spades (featuring T-Rex Manning, Bear Hunters, and Asylum Country members) will apparently be an all-original band, despite playing a Pennywise cover for their preview at The Crusade in May (my source is frontman J.D. Pearce on a comment reply on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday.) This should be good news, especially if the songs turn out like old Fitswitch tracks or "She Banged The Mayor", so don't miss their full debut next month!
• Local indie/punk musician Wayne Watkins (now of The Small Town Rivals) will be joined by former Nebraska Arms bandmate Dave Prendergast for his acoustic opening set at the Catgut/Bad Back concert at The New American Tavern on August 12th, as per his addition to the Facebook event page a couple of days ago. Nice to see them back together, and hopefully they set the tone well for the grunge/punk onslaught to come that night!

Finally for today, here's some more updates to our Battle of the Bands Rewind Profiles! First, I updated our profile of 2009's YMCA Battle again to reflect that winners The Undead Warriors (later Bring The Fallen) finally released their debut EP "Stand Before" last month at their farewell/reunion show, as they won the recording time to record the included tracks at this battle. On our Kiss Battle of the Bands profile from that same year, I replaced the yet-to-debut Crawfather with the aforementioned Small Town Rivals in the section on competing members' later bands, and I noted that Madison's Pub (where winners Garden of Bedlam celebrated for their first post-battle concert) is now The Harp Bar & Grill. Finally, on our profile of the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands in 2012, I noted that winners Late & Loud and tied-fourth place finishers The Valentine's Day Massacre are both now inactive, and I also updated the lineups of Jack Spades & London death metal band D3athcharg3r to note the addition of other performers from this battle (bassist Justin Lam & guitarist Andrew Angelic respectively) in their current lineups in the section on performers' newer bands.

That's all for now, but stay tuned later tonight for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Griphook, The 7 Year Itch, & Powerslug) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

With such a big weekend for concerts upon us, we're gonna break this weekend's metal & hard rock concert previews into three posts: Today's post for the general Friday-Saturday shows in the region, one dedicated to Rotaryfest's music stages tomorrow, and we'll touch on Saturday's Bushplane Musical Madness and Sunday night's Shinedown concert either on Friday. With that all said, let's begin this busy weekend with previews of the non-Rotaryfest/Bushplane/Shinedown hard rock shows this weekend, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on each side of the border!

One day before playing Rotaryfest for the first time, local classic/hard rock quartet Griphook will play their first ever concert at The New American Pub House THIS FRIDAY! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show last night. Coming just days after the announcement of next month's Catgut/Bad Back show at The New A, it's interesting and nice to see some heavier bands playing at this downtown venue, compared to past bands there generally attracting an older clientele with much older covers. It's also been announced (on short notice) that following their Rotaryfest set on Saturday, 3/4ths of Griphook (minus guitarist Brian Oja) will be playing later that night at The Rockstar Bar under the name The 7 Year Itch, though I don't know why Brian will be absent (scheduling conflict?), why they're using a different name, or how different The 7 Year Itch's sound will be compared to Griphook's. I'm thinking it's likely a scenario of the guys not wanting to play under that name if someone's absent (i.e. General Striker or Pools of Booze), but regardless of name, the guys are hoping to attract Rotaryfest attendees after the bands wrap up at Clergue Park, so keep these shows in mind!

9:30 PM start times and 19+ age limits are to be expected for each show, and while The Rockstar Bar should have a cover charge in the $5 range, I have no idea if The New American generally does (remember, we only started hearing finalized hard rock shows there this week.) For more details on both Griphook & The 7 Year Itch's shows this weekend, click here and here, and remember, our Rotaryfest preview is coming TOMORROW! Now knowing that Griphook's sets do lean heavier, they should deliver some good times on Friday in their New A debut, and The 7 Year Itch should sound similar for fans, and don't miss their set either on Saturday if you couldn't get enough of the full Griphook sound at Rotaryfest! For a preview, here's Griphook covering Alice In Chains' "Would?" at The Rockstar Bar last month, and if it's not familiar, don't worry, we have a lot of videos from this channel to share on the site shortly that have never been referenced on here, so stay tuned! (Also, The New American is now in our active Sault Ontario venue links on your left!)



We'll close this post in Sault Michigan (Shinedown's coming in a couple of days), starting with another short notice announcement, and as you may have guessed, it's for local hard rock trio Powerslug! The pageless but talented trio (featurning Clownsack and Blind Baby alumni) will play their next gigs THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill, though no word yet on if these are outdoor parking lot gigs like their last show there or not. Apologies for the short notice, frontman Chris Leask only confirmed the shows last night on his personal Facebook page. Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Powerslug's hard rock covers should find another solid response at The Corner Pub this weekend, so don't miss out if you're up to chug your mug with the guys, and if we ever find media to preview their shows with, we'll let you know!

Finally for today, Monkey's Uncle successors Sir Charge will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on Friday & Saturday as well! Announced in advance via Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, I believe these will be their first shows since playing the St. Ignace Kewadin last month, and it'll be good to see the band featuring Mama's Boys & RamWagon alumni back at it for a weekend of hard and classic rock covers! Both shows will be 21+ affairs with 9:00 PM-ish start times and no announced cover charge, but check the above links for more details! Long time fans of Henry Switzer's bands (regardless of name) should be right at home with Sir Charge's shows this weekend, so head on down to the Soo Kewadin to rock out with Sir Charge this weekend if possible, and if I come across videos of them in action, I'll let you know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned at midnight for last month's poll results and this month's poll, and later tomorrow for our preview of Rotaryfest's stages, featuring 3 hard rock-leaning bands this year! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug & RamWagon) And Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews

We're back with a new Sault Michigan-area post today, which doubles as our first weekend concert preview post for this week (Sault Ontario's coming tomorrow), as there are a bunch of heavier-leaning concerts going down across the river from through Saturday! However, some of these are SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so read on below for what you need to know!

For a second straight week, local hard rock trio Powerslug will play a special Thursday night concert TONIGHT at The Back Door! Apologies for the short notice, the show was announced on Friday via The Back Door's Facebook page, but I only just heard about it yesterday. The guys must have had a successful gig on the Fourth of July to get called back for a second Thursday nighter, and though we still lack online pages or media to plug tonight's show, Chris, Bob, and Chris should have a hard rocking good time to chug your mug with at this popular Ashmun Street venue! (Also, as The Back Door has now hosted multiple hard rock bands, I've added it to our Sault Michigan concert venue links on your right.) No admission cost has been publicized for this 21+ show, and a 9:00 PM-ish start time is likely. Check the above links for more details! Powerslug should deliver once again in their second Back Door appearance, so don't miss it, and keep an eye out in case some new dates, videos, or pages turn up!

Also in late notice concert announcements, new local cover/hard rock quintet RamWagon will play their second & third live gigs TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Satisfied Frog! Apologies for the late notice, they only just announced the shows on their Facebook page last night. These concerts follow their live debut two weeks ago at LemmaFest, and it's great to see them expanding to more venues and shows following their successful launch! Remember, RamWagon are essentially a hybrid of Full Throttle's original lineup and Analog Deficiency (3 members of each are involved, including common guitarist Nathan Switzer), and that alone speaks for what should be a solid mix of modern and classic rock covers, so keep their Frog debuts in mind for this weekend! Admission should be free for these 10:00 PM concerts, and like other bar gigs, these should be 21+ events. Check the above links for more details! It's nice to see a local hard rock band back at The Frog (at least, one that's been announced), and hopefully this propels RamWagon to more successful local dates to come! No embeddable videos yet, but click here for a Facebook-only cover of Cameo's "Word Up"!

Now, here's the previews of this weekend's previously announced heavier shows across the river, starting with the next two live dates from Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned! Though public updates have been slow so far this month, they're scheduled to return to Rudyard for two shows in the next few days, including a set in their outdoor Music In The Park series TONIGHT, which they'll follow up with a return to Dan's Place THIS SATURDAY! While they're very familiar to the Music In The Park shows (having debuted there in 2011 and returned last year), the Saturday gig will be their first ever at Dan's Place, so if you're in the Rudyard area, prepare for a full weekend of Banned's varied and often heavy rock assault! Both shows start in the late evening (tonight at 7:00 PM, Saturday at 8:00 PM), with no announced cover charges at either, while I expect tonight's show to have no age limit, and Saturday's to be 21+. Click here for more details! Banned's expanding repertoire and cumulative skills should work in their favour in their Rudyard returns this weekend, so don't miss the action TONIGHT or Saturday, and for a preview, here's a flashback to Banned's live debut in Rudyard 2 years ago, as they covered a Quiet Riot classic!



Finally for the weekend previews in the Sault Michigan area, local hard rock/metal quartet 415E will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their second concert weekend at The Rapids Lounge since debuting, it's great to see this newer local band (featuring Nixxon Dixxon, Highest of Fives, and Splitshot alumni) back in the Soo following recent St. Ignace gigs, so if you're up for a run to the casino this weekend, 415E will be bringing their Van Halen-inspired originals and covers back for some good times! (I do wonder, why haven't they played outside of Kewadin Casinos yet?) Admission should be free for tomorrow & Saturday's shows, there's a 21+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start times are likely. For more details, visit the above links! 415E are on the rise, so don't miss the action at the Sault Kewadin, and for a preview, here's 415E covering some Van Halen classics in January!



That's all for now, but stay tuned either tonight or early tomorrow for our Sault Ontario weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug & Dirtbag In A Dress), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Our first post of the day is 100% Sault Michigan (and area)-centric, and it includes news on a recent album release across the river, previews of this weekend's known heavier concerts (including one for the Fourth of July), and much more, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for some upcoming dates in the region!

Local hard rock trio Powerslug have been newly confirmed for three upcoming dates in the region with some advance word, and neither are at Kewadin Casino! One will see them make their first ever live appearance (barring a missed late notice gig) at The Back Door TOMORROW NIGHT in a rare hard rock-leaning set for this venue, which will see Powerslug play live after the Fourth of July fireworks conclude, so how's that for a capper to the evening? Apologies for the short notice on that one, I held it a bit longer to avoid redundantly plugging it twice in a short span. The other new shows will be a full weekend at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill on August 2nd & 3rd where they'll share the stage with local rock cover band/Swayze Train successors Toast (drummer Bob Helsten is in both bands), though no word on if these will be outdoor or indoor gigs. It's unique to see local band sharing a weekend engagement like this, but with their own varied and proficient sets, this should be a fun weekend next month!

All three shows (including TOMORROW'S Back Door set) are 21+ with 9:00 PM-ish start times, and I'd bring cash for a cover just in case. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page for next month's "PowerToast" shows! Despite their lack of online pages, Powerslug have a good thing going, and hopefully tomorrow's Fourth of July show starts with a bang, literally! I have no videos to preview it with, but don't miss the action to kick off the holiday weekend, and don't miss their shows next month either!

The other new-ish show is something unique for our Sault Michigan coverage, as it's an outdoor concert (and publically attendable, I'll emphasize) being hosted at someone's house THIS SATURDAY! Think the old F.A.T.I.L. outdoor shows in Thessalon and Laird for a reference, but this one's in Sugar Island, and it will be headlined by recent LemmaFest performers Dirtbag In A Dress! The former Bucksaw (who are apparently looking to change their name once again in the near future) will play their first show that I've ever gotten advance word on for something other than LemmaFest on Saturday at the new home of Brandon McKerchie (a friend of the band) as part of a big outdoor party, though I don't know if there's other causes for the event. On Saturday, Dirtbag In A Dress will be joined by a band named "Bill & The Bare Bottom Boys" (I assume the Bill is D.I.A.D. guitarist Bill Ogston?), though I know nothing else on them at present. Like the F.A.T.I.L. gatherings, attendees are welcome to attend and camp out, and as far as I can tell, there's no admission costs or explicit age limits, but drink responsibly if you do go.

The full event has a 1:00 PM start time, but no explicit band times have been made available. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Also note that I have not posted details about the finite address of the event out of privacy concerns (it is a man's house, after all), but the event page will give you directions for when you get to Sugar Island. This should be a fun and unique weekend for sure, so don't miss the action on Saturday, and for a preview, here's Dirtbag In A Dress covering some heavier songs at LemmaFest last month!



Now to a previously announced show (and our last of the known heavier gigs to preview through Saturday), Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned will return to the region for a one night only show at The Runway Bar in nearby Hessel THIS SATURDAY for their first concert at this venue in almost 5 months! This also follows a quiet June for this generally busy band, during which their only dates (in Blainey Park and Gould City) were all outside of our coverage range, so it's great to have the Traynors and company back within an hour of the Soo for their expanding variety of covers and originals! Saturday's show in Hessel (a half hour northeast of St. Ignace, 50 minutes south of the Soo) will go down at 9:00 PM, with no announced cover charge, and a likely 21+ age limit. For more details, visit the above links! Banned should deliver once again as they return closer to home, so keep this show in mind, and for a preview, here's Banned's current lineup covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" earlier this year!



Finally for today, here's three assorted Sault Michigan-regional stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Memphis hard rock band Devour The Day (featuring ex-members of Egypt Central) have been confirmed as the openers for the Shinedown concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 21st, as per Allstar Promotions' Facebook page last week. They should be a good fit with their high energy hard rock sound, so check them out above, and get your tickets A.S.A.P., as they're going fast!
• In their first bit of public updating since August 2012, Eckerman/Strongs hard rock band Moss have welcomed original bassist Terry Carrick back into the fold, replacing frontman David Mills, who will remain as their singer (making them a quintet.) I'm not familiar with Terry musically, but hopefully he adds well to Moss, and hopefully they'll have more news sooner than it has been coming!
• The first live video of local hard rock quintet RamWagon's live debut at LemmaFest was posted on their Facebook page last week, and it's an incomplete cover of Cameo's "Word Up" (or is it the KoRn cover?) Shot on a cell phone camera from a far distance, the guys do seem to know the song and rock it well, but I'd like to see longer, closer, and more videos of them in action before really judging. Check it out at the above links, but note that as a Facebook video, I can't embed it here.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new Sault Ontario-centric post later tonight! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug & Rotaryfest's Main Stage), Including The Return Of That's Chester!!

A bit of a change of plans for today, as while I'd intended for this post to 100% focus on Rotaryfest's music lineups, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to cover, so I reluctantly decided to postpone the Second Stage info to tomorrow so we could fit these late notice shows in, but I promise, they'll headline our very next post tomorrow! Read on below for what you need to know, and check out our all-Sault Michigan post (featuring a new show, 415E previews, and LemmaFest videos) in the post below this one!

As is often the culprit for our late notice Sault Michigan concert announcements, local hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Corner Pub Bar & Grill's outdoor stage TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, drummer Bob Helsten only just announced these shows a few hours ago on his personal Facebook page. Powerslug should have a pair of fun covers-heavy sets of hard rock songs to chug your mug along with, so keep these shows in mind, especially as they're the first shows that Powerslug have played at The Corner Pub since last year, barring any that I may have missed. There's no announced cover charge for these 9:00 PM-ish shows, and I'd assume a 21+ age limit is in effect. Despite their odd continuing lack of online pages or media to promote shows, Chris, Bob, and Chris should entertain all weekend long outside of The Corner Pub, so keep these shows in mind, and hopefully their next local dates have more advance word!

Now, let's discuss Sault Ontario's annual summer music festival Rotaryfest, as organizers finally confirmed the performer lineups for both the covers-centric main stage at Clergue Park and the original-friendly Tenaris Second Stage outside of Case's Music & The Grand Theatre on Queen Street East earlier today! My sources are SooToday's article on the lineup, and the official schedule on our local summer festival's website, though other local news sources have the schedule online as well. As expected, the music will go down from Thursday, July 18th-Saturday, July 20th, though like past years, there's no bands on the Thursday for the Second Stage, and each stage's first night has an abbreviated length. There's a hard rock leaning band on each full night of the main stage, and one on the Saturday for the second stage, and we'll of course talk about the second stage TOMORROW, so for now, read on below for our rundown of the musical lineup for this year's main stage at Clergue Park in three weeks!

We'll start by mentioning that the Thursday, July 18th lineup at the main stage has just four scheduled acts for 2013, including a local blues band named Goodtime Charlie at 6:00 PM, jazz quartet The Bob Jenkins Band at 7:15 PM, and the classic/oldies rock cover bands Flathead Ford and Coverfly at 8:30 & 9:45 PM each. Note that both The Bob Jenkins Band & Coverfly are returning from last year, while past themes of the Thursday being jazz/blues centric don't appear to be in play this time around.

The Friday, July 19th main stage lineup at Clergue Park features just one hard rock band, that being the previously announced Suicide Kings! The local hard rock quartet will make their Rotaryfest debut as the co-headliners at 9:00 PM that night, despite being a band that plays originals on a stage that doesn't allow them. Whether they got an exception or are playing only covers, it's great to see The Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands winners expanding to larger opportunities, so don't miss their modern hard/alternative rock sound in 3 weeks! The Friday lineup will be headlined by local country quartet Thin Ice, and the bands preceding The Suicide Kings include Full Circle successors K.T., Kyle, and the Pocket at 8:00 PM, country rockers Summer Thunder at 7:00 PM, classic rock quartet Mid Life Crysis at 6:00 PM, dance rockers Obsession at 5:00 PM, a local salsa orchestra band named Orangatango at 4:00 PM, and two Mike Case junior student bands opening the day, including his Junior All Star Band at 2:30 PM and the his Rock School band at 3:10 PM.

Note that all of the Friday bands except The Suicide Kings, Obsession, and Orangatango played at Rotaryfest's main stage last year, adding to a familiar and varied lineup of local talent, so keep Friday's schedule in mind for your Rotaryfest concert planning!

As for the Saturday, July 20th lineup, the featured hard rock-leaning band will be the returning That's Chester, who will take the stage at 6:00 PM this year! The veteran cover band had amicably broken up in October after a successful 8 year run, but they hinted at a couple of new gigs this summer (their first in over a year) on their Facebook page two weeks ago, so it looks like they're back for more than just a one off. I'm very happy to see That's Chester back at it, even if it's a temporary return, and hopefully their hard-edged cover selections bring back some good memories on the 20th! The Saturday lineup will be headlined by Canadian Rolling Stones tribute band The Blushing Brides at 10:15 PM, while unlike past years, two out of town bands will play the main stage, with noted Toronto jam rock band Ground Zero preceding them at 9:00 PM, as they've done at many other recent Blushing Brides gigs. The other bands in front of That's Chester will be classic rock veterans Mustang Heart at 8:00 PM and country rockers Bone Yard at 7:00 PM.

The Saturday lineup is rounded out by classic rock duo Spyder's Web at 5:00 PM, newer local rock cover quartet Griphook at 4:00 PM, local blues rockers Five Below Zero at 3:00 PM, soft/progressive rock quartet The Pesto Shirts at 2:00 PM, and R&B big band veterans The Repitles opening at 1:00 PM. Another familiar lineup, with only That's Chester, Griphook, and the out of town bands not returning from last year, but like on the 19th, there's plenty of diverse sounds for the fans in attendance, so don't miss out! Each night is FREE & ALL AGES, so check the above links for more on the musical and other entertainment, and stay tuned tomorrow for the Second Stage schedule, and more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Powerslug) & Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews, Including LemmaFest!!

Keeping with our recent abundance of Sault Michigan-centric updates, we're focused on Yooper country once again in our first post of the day, which is devoted to two topics: LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year, and previews of this weekend's heavier regional shows, including two dates in St. Ignace, and a nice long look at a returning local music festival, so read on below for what you need to know!

Local hard rock trio Powerslug will return to the stage for shows at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on August 23rd & 24th, and December 6th & 7th! These were the other heavier shows confirmed on Kewadin's entertainment page that I alluded to on Wednesday, but I postponed them on purpose to tie them in with our previews of their shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, so there's your next chances to see Bob and the two Chris' live! Though still without an online page or frequent advance online updates, this talented hard edged local band are definitely live favourites, so don't miss their next Soo Kewadin dates in August and December, and of course, don't miss this weekend's St. Ignace shows either! Plus, even though they won't be at LemmaFest this year, you can still see them tonight or tomorrow! Admission should be free for all dates, you must be 21 to attend, and 10:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and if I ever come across live video of them again, I'll have it here!

Finally for today, the third annual LemmaFest goes down TOMORROW outside of Dondee Lanes, so here's our extended preview! As usual, this event is in memory of the fondly remembered Michael Lemma, who suddenly passed away at this time of year in 2010, and each year since, the fourth Saturday of June has played host to this local music festival. Tomorrow, there will be bands all day along with merchandise sales, food by donation, prize draws, drink specials, and bracelets for the first 100 attendees. As well, this year's LemmaFest will see proceeds going to help local infant Hunter Ross, who was born 15 weeks premature with a chronic lung disease, so keep that in mind, and read more on all of this year's non-musical events at the Facebook event page! The band lineup this year is technically smaller than last year (down to 8 acts from 9), with set times varying depending on the band, but there's still wall to wall music to enjoy, and lots of heavier bands (including some newer faces), so read on below for the complete schedule, including two newly confirmed performers that were only just announced on Sunday!

LemmaFest 2013 will open with a newly confirmed solo artist named Matthew Carl at 12:00 PM tomorrow, though I admit knowing nothing on him, his sound, or if he's even local. If anyone can fill in any blanks, let me know! Following them at 1:15 PM is young local metal quartet Tantrym Tyme in their LemmaFest debut, and their fast improving metal & hard rock covers should be a welcome sight tomorrow afternoon, so don't miss the former Abstract this year! A 90 minute set goes to local metal trio Scofflaw at 2:30 PM, who return to the stage after another hiaturs from publically confirmed shows, and with two past LemmaFest sets under their belts, Jeff and company should have another gritty and fun set of originals in store for the Dondee tomorrow! They're followed by the other new confirmation, Bucksaw alum Mark Bowen and "friends" for a 90 minute set at 4:15 PM, and while I don't know much about Mark's solo work, he's been a favourite regular performer at The Merchant's Bar in recent months, and he and his friends should have a fun and varied cover set tomorrow!

A pair of debuting local hard rock acts will take the stage afterwards, including new trio Plastic (featuring Half Stupid's Zac Crook, Cherubic Red's Nick Moreau, and Bent Rollercoaster's Paul Burns), and while I don't know much else on them yet, their lineup and past band work is promising, so don't miss their set at 6:00 PM tomorrow evening! Following them with a 90 minute set is newer cover hard rock quintet RamWagon (featuring Full Throttle & Analog Deficiency alumni) at 7:15 PM, and they should have a familiar yet new sound in store for LemmaFest attendees (especially if you liked early Full Throttle gigs), so be there to get rammed! This year's headliners are Brimley metal trio Half A Man (in their first live concert since last year's LemmaFest), and hopefully there's no stage rust for their return, which should be full of extreme metal originals and select covers for their 90 minute set at 9:00 PM! Note as well that drummer Mikey Bishop will join his new band Dirtbag In A Dress (formerly Bucksaw from the last 2 LemmaFests) for at least a few songs at the end of their set, so keep an eye out for their debut under this name and lineup at the end of the night!

Admission will be $10 for this ALL AGES event, and everything starts at noon tomorrow, so check the above links for more details! This year's LemmaFest should be another awesome tribute to Mike Lemma, and there's lots of newer and established talent to rock the outdoor stage at the Dondee, and hopefully the Ross family gets some much needed funds to help Hunter through this tough battle! We'll have plenty of fallout as it comes in, but for a preview, here's the first part of Half A Man's slideshow from last year, featuring live audio of their set and lots of slideshow pictures of the bands!



That's all for today, but stay tuned later today for my review of last night's Golers-headlined metal show at The Roosevelt Hotel in Sault Ontario! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Tantrym Tyme) & Most Of The Weekend's Heavier Concert Previews!!

For our 24th straight day of new posts at the SMS, we'll focus on most of the weekend's metal/hard rock concert previews on this Thursday morning! The streak will continue for at least a couple more days, as we have this month's YouTube Channel Profile tomorrow, and then one on Saturday featuring the Sunday metal concert previews, just to break things up and not plug them too early. Among the shows through Saturday, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for newly announced sets, so here's what you need to know on both sides of the border for your weekend concert plans!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison has two concerts planned for this weekend at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road, including shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! The Thursday night setting for tonight's show is apparently due to a customer appreciation night going down this evening, and as a result, Tym will be on earlier at 6:00 PM. As well, the Facebook event page indicates that attendees could get a free meal, but I don't know if there's a catch or limited nature to that. Tomorrow night's show is more normal, with a 10:00 PM start time, and both shows promise a solid mix of metal and rock covers for attendees, as veterans of Tym's solo acoustic shows should come to expect! Both tonight & tomorrow's gigs have no announced cover charges, and I'd expect a 19+ age limit for at least tomorrow's show. For more details, click here & here!

Sounds like a packed weekend, but Tym's got the talent and drive to keep things interesting and varied over both nights, so don't miss his unplugged cover sets tonight & tomorrow at The Roadhouse on Trunk! For a preview, here's Tym covering Heart's "Alone" at The Service Grill in 2011, plus interview clips!

Also in newly announced public concerts is a new set from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tantrym Tyme, as they'll be playing somewhere you might not expect this weekend! According to their Facebook page, the former Abstract will be playing at the Soo Eagles NAHL hockey game on Saturday, which is definitely new for us on here! In case you're unfamiliar with the Eagles, they're a junior hockey team that play the same level of hockey as the Soo Thunderbirds on the Canadian side of the border (they actually both played in the NOJHL until the Eagles transferred to the NAHL last year.) Saturday's game at the Pullar Stadium (which sees them take on the Springfield Junior Blues) is part of the Eagles' military & parents weekend, which includes military discount tickets, a jersey auction, a skate with players, and music from the "Harmony Health Foods Band", who are one & the same as Tantrym Tyme (drummer Ethan Twardy's parents own the store, if I remember correctly, and there's been a lot of cooperation & promotion between the store & band as a result.)

No word on when the band plays on Saturday, but the game begins at 7:30 PM, and an intermission set would make sense. Tickets are $8.50 or $6.50 for seniors & youths, which you can buy at this location or in person at the Pullar Stadium, which is located at 435 East Portage Avenue near the marina & locks. Check the above links for more details! This seems like a big opportunity for Tantrym Tyme, even if it is somewhat untreaded ground for the site, but hopefully they make tons of new fans on Saturday, and the Eagles could clinch the North Division in the game, so keep it in mind! For a preview, here's this talented young band covering Pantera & Iron Maiden last year!

Now to the previously announced concerts on the weekend schedule, starting with our first ever preview of a concert at The Back Door in Sault Michigan! Finally, an SMS connection beyond their ads on Rock 101, as they're continuing with their recent plans for Friday night cover rock bands by bringing in Kinross hard/classic rock quintet Banned TOMORROW NIGHT! At least the fourth Friday night rock band brought in so far (joining Toast, The London Gentlemen, and Bittermoon), Banned are the first verifiable hard rock-leaning one to hit The Back Door (the jury's still out on Toast), and it's great to see the Traynors and company back in the Soo for another night of covers & originals during their busy March schedule! Of course, The Back Door is located at 313 Ashmun Street, just seconds down the road from Grooves Music & Steve's Music, and while I can't confirm a cover charge, bring cash just in case. Banned will be on at 10:00 PM, and a 21+ age limit will be in effect. For more details, visit the above links!

It's great to see The Back Door continuing their rock band experiment, and hopefully we see some more bands from all avenues of "rock" on Fridays there in the coming months, including hopefully some extra heavier acts! Banned should do fine on Saturday, and hopefully they prove The Back Door is a great place for their varied covers & originals! For a preview, here's their current lineup covering a Carrie Underwood song, but hopefully they post some new heavier covers soon!



Finally for the pre-Sunday previews, here's a couple of shows that don't have any extra frills that I know of (unless advance word counts), as Powerslug will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino tomorrow night & Saturday night! The page-less local hard rock band will make their first Sault Kewadin stops of 2013 this weekend, and expect a solid weekend of hard rock covers and possibly originals to chug your mug to both nights! With alumni of Clownsack, Full Throttle, and Kilacel enlisted, how could things turn out bad? As usual for their Kewadin Casino dates, there's no announced cover charge, you must be 21 to attend, and a 10:00 PM-ish start time is likely. For more details, visit Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, the source of our advance word! Hopefully this weekend's gigs go swimmingly for Chris, Bob, and Chris, and keep The Rapids Lounge in mind on your weekend concert plans! If online media ever pops up again to preview their sound/live show, I'll be sure to tell you guys!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, when we look at Sault Michigan concert attendee dfunker76's YouTube channel! Thanks everyone, and also watch out for Sunday concert previews on Saturday, including the Trapt/Hinder show!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Driven, Peril, And Powerslug) & Some SMS Link Updates!!

It's time for another new post in our 15th straight day of updates at the SMS, and we're mostly gonna focus on the local Kewadin Casino branches today, as they've confirmed the upcoming concert schedules for The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan and The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for concerts through June, via each venue's respective entertainment page! Not counting the previously announced shows in April & earlier, the new dates largely don't skew to heavier bands, but via the above links, you can read up on new dates from local solo musicians Jimmie Cowles & Perry Hatch, country rock band Bittermoon (with ex-Monkey's Uncle bassist Jim Belleau), classic rock bands Chump Change (featuring Oddfellow & Bucksaw alumni), Crossorads, and Handsome Sam & The Homewreckers, indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen (with half of Nixxon Dixxon's old lineup), new local rock quartet Toast (featuring Swayze Train & Clownsack alumni; genre confirmation forthcoming), and a yet-unknown band named Sir Charge (let me know if you have any information on them!)

As for the heavier-leaning new concerts, we'll start at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven will return on May 3rd & 4th! I believe these will be their first shows in the region of 2013 (if I missed any, my apologies), and these will also be their first shows since drummer Kurt Beard returned to their lineup, so loyal Driven fans should be sure to welcome him back later this spring! No word yet on any other regional shows (including possible returns to Sault Michigan or Timmy Lee's Pub), but hopefully we hear something on that front soon! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and 10:00 PM-ish start times are to be expected. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see Driven bring their hard rocking cover sets back to the area for two more shows to kick off May, and hopefully their fans are out in full force for their first local show in too long! Stay tuned for more on Driven's next U.P. plans as I hear of it!

Next, we'll travel north for the only new metal shows in May & June at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as Charlevoix classic metal standouts Peril will return to the region for local shows on June 7th & 8th! These will be the band's first Sault Michigan concerts of 2013, and they come over 3 months after their first regional dates of the year at the St. Ignace Kewadin, so either way, we're due for Jeff, James, and Brooks to rock the area with some hard hitting covers! I'd expect 21+ age limits, no cover charge, and 10:00 PM start times to be in effect for Peril's June dates here as well, and like with Driven, check the above links for more information! Peril always deliver a solid weekend of metal classics when they make their way north for some U.P. action, so don't miss their next regional shows in June, and keep an eye out for local-related updates from Peril as they roll in!

Finally for the newly announced Kewadin Casino gigs, we'll head back down to St. Ignace for Powerslug's next Northern Pines Lounge dates, as the Sault Michigan hard rock trio are scheduled to return there on June 21st & 22nd! Their first St. Ignace dates in 5 months, these join the guys' upcoming Sault Kewadin gigs on March 22nd & 23rd, along with whatever shows we hear about in between via personal Facebook pages (they really need online pages to promote their shows.) Still, with members of Toast & Kilacel in their lineup, the talent is there for a solid night of hard rock covers (and perhaps originals?), so don't miss out on Powerslug's St. Ignace Kewadin dates in June, especially with this much advance word! Like the above shows, expect a 21+ age limit, no cover charge, and 10:00 PM-ish start times for both shows. Powerslug have the talent and veteran success to ensure a great show, so circle the June 21st weekend on your calendars, and stay tuned for Powerslug updates as they come in!

Finally for today, here's some assorted updates to links on the site, namely what's been added & replaced. In terms of additions, I've added links to local graphic design company Maxx Graphix (who have done work with and for metal/hard rock bands & shows) and inactive music management agency Escape Into Music into our "Other Sault Ontario Metal Links" section, while I also added The Sault Metal Scene's Twitter account into the new section listing SMS accounts on other music/social media websites. Me and Twitter have a love/hate relationship, and it's not widely used among local metal bands anyway, hence why I've phased out updating it frequently, but feel free to tag and follow, as I still log in to check for occasional Twitter-exclusive news! Finally, I replaced the link for the yet-released Woods of Ypres tribute album "A Heart of Gold", as it's Facebook page was quietly deleted for unknown reasons in the past few months, but it's Facebook group is still alive & well. If we find more links to add, remove, or change, I'll let you guys know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned, Powerslug, And Mama Kin), Plus Details On This Year's Hempfest!!

Fifth post in three days already, this is a good sign for how busy this month will hopefully be in the local metal/hard rock scene! Today's post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including two local hard rock bands' newest March dates (one of which is at a new venue for our coverage), and the return of heavier music to one of our local music festivals, so read on below for what you need to know!

Kinross hard/classic rock quintet Banned have announced two more regional concert dates for this month, including at a venue we've never covered on here before! First, they'll be back at one of their recent favourite venues (Todd's Tavern in Moran) this coming Saturday (March 9th), and after their previously announced Dondee Lanes gigs next weekend, they'll make their first ever appearance at The Back Door in Sault Michigan on Friday, March 22nd! That's right, The Back Door's not just a dance club anymore, as they've recently began booking "high energy" cover rock bands for Friday nights (Saturdays tend to have dance parties there.) This past Friday, they welcomed new local rock band Toast (3/5ths of Swayze Train + Powerslug drummer Bob Helsten, full genre/sound not yet clear), and now Banned will hit The Back Door themselves in two weeks time! For those unsure, it's at 313 Ashmun Street, just seconds down the road from Sault Michigan's music/lessons stores. Cover charges haven't been announced for either show, but there should be 21+ age limits at both Todd's Tavern this Saturday and at The Back Door on the 22nd, and while cover charges haven't been announced, bring cash just in case.

Now, Banned at least one show each weekend this month, so they're definitely keeping busy with their new lineup, and hopefully you guys have even more chances to check out their hard rocking and varied covers & originals all month long! Also, if you or your band are interested in playing on a future Friday night at The Back Door, click here or contact the above links for more information! Let's see Sault Michigan get another long term metal/hard rock concert venue!

Next up, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has been updated to reflect concerts through April, and while most of the shows aren't for metal/hard rock bands (unless St. Ignace Kewadin performers Sir Charge skew that way), there are a few new to those listings, including Banned's previously announced Sault Kewadin debuts at the end of the month. That said, there's only one completely new concert weekend to us on there, as Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin on March 22nd & 23rd for their next Kewadin dates! It's always nice to hear of their shows at any Kewadin branches, as they offer some of the few advance notice gigs of theirs (why can't they launch an online page already?), so plan a trip to the Soo Kewadin in two weeks for some hard rocking covers all weekend long! Admission should be free for these 10:00 PM-ish shows, and you must be 21 to attend.  Check the above links for more details! With Clownsack, Kilacel, and River Witch alums, you know there's talent present, so make cure to chug your mug with Powerslug later this month!

Back in Sault Ontario, this year's Hempfest is scheduled for August 5th to 12th on Poplardale Road in nearby Ophir, Ontario, and it's sure to be another successful event for marijuana culture and awareness in it's 15th annual installment! Now three years into it's local return under current ownership, you may remember that the 2011 installment had a number of heavier bands among it's performer lineup, but last year's event saw a radically smaller lineup of bands, with no metal/hard rock acts in sight. However, this year's Hempfest sees a return to large lineup of bands (the largest since the relaunch), though with a caveat, as none of the full bands are local (maybe the scheduled DJs & rappers are, but I'm out of the loop for that scene.) In fact, of the 15 scheduled non-comedy/speaking performers, 8 are out of town tribute bands, and of the lineup for this year, we do have one heavier-leaning band, that being Toronto-based Aerosmith tribute band Mama Kin! Last seen in the Soo last April at The Canadian, their faithful blend of Aerosmith classics should get fans going this year at Hempfest, as they did last year! Aerosmith fans should be excited for this year's Hempfrst but when can you see Mama Kin this year?

They're actually the headlining band on the last day of performers this year (Saturday, August 11th), as they'll play two one hour sets at 7:30 & 9:00 PM that night! Their set bookends rappers (I think) Radar & J. Frost at 8:30, while Radar performs solo at 5:30 PM. The rest of the Saturday lineup includes (in descending order) a comedy act at 7:00 PM, Hamilton folk/ska quintet Blind Mule for two one hour sets at 6:00 PM & 4:30 PM, the finals of this year's Willy High Games at 4:00 PM, Newmarket punk notables The Salads (remember "Get Loose"?) at 2:15 PM, a speaker of some kind at 1:45 PM, and a Black Crowes tribute band named Remedy opening the day's music at 1:00 PM. The rest of the musical performers (Thursday-Saturday, August 8th-10th) include a widely varied selection of genres, including tributes to Santana, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Bob Marley, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, plus past Hempfest favourites The Killing Time Band, Lo-Fi, and DJ Slim, plus earlier day's sets from Blind Mule, Radar, and J. Frost, and speakers, comedy, and games, so click here for the full lineup for all four nights of music!

Tickets for this year are $100 for the full week package, which drop $10 a day for every missed day (i.e. Thursday-Sunday would be $70, and Saturday-Sunday would be $50), but single day tickets can be bought for $40. Leashed pets can be brought for a flat $10 fee, and there are some advance ticket deals you can check out at this location. Minors MUST have an adult guardian to attend, people with federal marijuana exemptee status get FREE admission, and tickets can be bought online via this link! It's great to see some heavier music back at Hempfest this year, and while I do miss a large amount of local bands (and don't smoke marijuana), I hope this year's event is the biggest yet! Plus, if you love tribute bands, this is a great deal to check them out all in one local place! Check the above links for all current details, and stay tuned for more news and notes shortly at the SMS! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Powerslug), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

News has been slow this week, but luckily, the weekend has a bunch of heavier acts playing live, so that makes up most of today's news post at the SMS! Today, we have 5 metal/hard rock shows in the Twin Saults area to preview, plus lineup notes from a Sault Ontario metal band, so let's begin today's post with a popular Sault Michigan act's weekend plans, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a newly announced show of theirs!

Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug have a busy weekend coming up, including a newly announced show at Dan's Place in Rudyard TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, I only heard about this on frontman Chris Leask's personal Facebook page the other day, and you know how we only tend to hear about their shows on late notice without a band page to promote them. This new show in Rudyard (roughly a half hour between the Soo & St. Ignace on South Tilson Road) joins an already announced date at The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau TOMORROW NIGHT (as the venue promoted with their own event page), and while this is a bit more of a drive than Dan's Place is (40 minutes to an hour from the Soo or St. Ignace), either venue should handle Powerslug's hard rock covers well, and their talents speak for itself, even if there's no preview videos to back that up! Admission should be free for both of these gigs, you must be 21 to attend either, and I'd assume 10:00 PM start times are in order. Check the above links for more details!

It's great to see the guys staying busy this weekend, and hearing about more shows in Rudyard is good too, as Dan's Place hasn't been overly common for metal shows lately that I've seen (though Powerslug were there in December.) Go chug your mug with Powerslug in Rudyard or Barbeau tonight and/or tomorrow, and hopefully we'll hear (& see?) more from them soon!

Now to the rest of this weekend's announced metal/hard rock concerts, starting with Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's latest solo gig TONIGHT at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road! His second solo acoustic concert of 2013, Tym's been making The Roadhouse a favourite live venue of his in recent months, and though it is far in the East End, I'd say it's worth a trip to see him rock out with some proficient and entertaining metal & hard rock covers! Admission should be free for this 19+ concert, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Tym's solo concerts are usually must-see, so don't miss out on his latest solo unplugged this evening, and if you miss out, he'll be back at The Roadhouse two weeks from tonight! For a preview, here's Tym covering Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" in 2011!



Finally for the weekend heavier previews is the next two gigs from Kinross hard rockers Banned, who have a similar itinerary to Powerslug for the weekend, that being Friday & Saturday gigs at two different bars in the Sault Michigan area! TONIGHT, this frequently seen outfit will return to The Runway Bar in Hessel for the first time in almost three months, while they'll hit Todd's Tavern in Moran, Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT for the first time in 2013! Note that these are also Banned's first shows since they (possibly) confirmed lineup changes, as they now feature photos of singer Tara Starr & guitarist Denny Smith on their Facebook page. It would make sense for both to fully be in Banned now, as singer Mike Straw's band status was downgraded to "occasional" last year, and guitarist Alex Schrovenwever has largely been absent due to college out of town since August, so just in case, watch out for Tara and Denny this weekend in case they're indeed new full band members!

Both venues are roughly 50 minutes south of Sault Michigan, but Moran is 20 minutes closer to St. Ignace than Hessel is, so keep that in mind if you live that direction. There's no announced cover charge for either gig, you must be 21 to attend, and the shows start at 8:00 PM tonight and 9:00 PM tomorrow. Check the above links for more details! Banned should rock this weekend no matter where and how their lineup looks, so get ready for some entertaining covers and originals in the Eastern U.P. this weekend! For a preview, here's Banned covering a Guns N' Roses classic last year!

Finally for today, here's a lineup change relating to Tym Morrison's local metal trio Caveman Morrison! The band's early 2012 lineup has apparently been reunited, as they announced the return of Redundant bassist James White to their lineup yesterday, replacing his former Browbeat bandmate Dutch Vanderploeg. The news was broken on the band's Facebook group via edits to the group description, but a reason for Dutch's departure wasn't announced. This is James' second stint with the band, having replaced Jacques Marceau in late 2011 for a few months before initially leaving last year, which led to Dutch's own return to Caveman Morrison following his first run with the band in mid-late 2010. It's disappointing to see Dutch apparently leave the band again, but hopefully he returns to live music soon, as he's got a lot of talent that should be utilized! As for James, his skills on bass are undoubtedly good, and here's hoping he lasts for the long term in his second go-round with Caveman Morrison! Stay tuned for updates on their next shows in the coming weeks!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post hopefully tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Powerslug), New Videos, And More Assorted Updates!!

While we wait for fallout from the April Wine concert to trickle in, let's cover some recent stories in this evening's news post! Today, we have new archive videos from the band we profiled in this morning's Defunct Local Band Profile (in the post below this one), a new video from a newer Sault Michigan band, and more assorted stories, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau this coming Saturday! Normally, I'd only hear about this short notice due to the band's continuing lack of an online page to promote concerts in advance, but thanks to The Cozy Corners' Facebook page recently starting to put up Facebook event pages for their live bands, we know about this one! Fresh off a road trip to the Kewadin Casino in Manistique yesterday, look for Powerslug to tear up the stage on Saturday in this visibly one night only gig with plenty of hard rocking covers, as is usually the case! There's no announced cover charge, a 9:00 PM start time is advertised, and you must be 21 to attend. For more details, visit the above links! While I still wish Powerslug would launch a larger online presence, their talent and frequent local appearances bode well for this weekend, so take the drive down to Barbeau (40 minutes from the Soo, an hour from St. Ignace) on Saturday to chug your mug with Powerslug!

Next up, here's a new video relating to newer Sault Michigan hardcore band The Eleventh Hour! Clean singer Cathy Burgos uploaded this video onto her YouTube channel in November of her playing a short piano composition named "That's Not the Wind Howling, It's the Wolves", which is apparently for an Eleventh Hour original song. Just 80 seconds long, it's nicely done, yet reserved, and it would add well to one of their tracks, even if she was a bit nervous when filming this! Also of note, this video is the first real confirmation that The Eleventh Hour will include keyed instruments in their material, while it also indicates that Cathy hasn't fully left the band (despite her removal from their Facebook page's lineup and her current residence in Indiana), so we'll have to see where this all goes! Check out Cathy's new video below, and keep an eye out for Eleventh Hour updates as the new year rolls on!



Thirdly today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade's recording sessions are actually being done at the Smoke & Oak Room Studio with producer Dave Pihlaja, similarly to Late & Loud's recording sessions towards their EP. The band hasn't formally confirmed this, but the studio's Facebook page has mentioned Crimson Crusade a bit this past weekend. This is bigger than I was expecting, and I can't wait to hear what the guys have in store from this!
• Sault Michigan hardcore band Hoist The Sails quietly broke up late last year. A reason wasn't announced, but the news was confirmed in a comment reply on their Facebook page on December 13th, where they said that they're "not a band anymore." Featuring Analog Deficiency & Highest of Fives alumni, Hoist The Sails had promise early last year with some well recorded demo material, but best of luck to Travis, Luke, Mitch, Nathan, Cody, Joe, and Marcel in the future, and hopefully the guys all stay active in music!
• I can now confirm the full lineup of new Sault Michigan band Toast, as veteran local singer & drummer Bob Helsten is on drums with this band too, reuniting him with former Clownsack/Chord On Bluz bandmate Tony Rogers. The jury's still out on if they're essentially a successor to Swayze Train, or if they take a heavier or lighter slant from that band, but if I hear anything, I'll let you guys know! My source is recent personal Facebook photos from Bob's Powerslug bandmate Chris Leask.

Finally for today, I wanted to share a couple of new archive videos that I recently uploaded to our YouTube channel! As you may remember, we profiled late 2000s Sault Ontario grunge trio No Arrow in this morning's Defunct Local Band Profile, and I like I often do in this series, I wanted to post some new media of theirs on YouTube that wasn't there previously. As these weren't featured on the profile itself, they deserve a spotlight on here, so these are two early clips of No Arrow live at Madison's Pub! The videos are of them covering Nirvana's "Breed" on New Year's Eve 2006 (when they were still known as Murder Playground) and, as embedded below, them playing their original "Colder Side of the Sun" in April 2007 after their name change. I think both feature their "classic" lineup (Dann Pichette, Harley Syrette, and Joe Falco), and both had edits made to the video quality to fix poor lighting. The quality on both is mixed (though the audio is clearer for the original), but it's good to see these videos all the same, especially as clips from Madison's Pub metal/hard rock concerts aren't plentiful from my experience.

Both of these videos were uploaded to the band's MySpace page in early 2007 at this location, and NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for both of these videos go to No Arrow, I'm just trying to share these with a deserving wider audience! No Arrow are on form with their grungy alternative hard rock on both videos (despite patchy video quality), so check out these videos above & below, and our No Arrow defunct profile in the post under this one!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, including hopefully some fallout from this past weekend's April Wine concert! Thanks everyone!