Today's post is exclusively devoted to events surrounding some big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this fall over the Halloween weekend! These were announced last month, but I waited to cover them here due to lineup & venue ambiguity that, while not entirely cleared up, has been addressed to a point where we can give it full attention! That said, we're leading off with a new band debuting at this event, unusually so given the propensity for renamed existing or one-off acts, so here's what you should know!
We have a new band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and in a rarity for our area, the band in question is a
tribute band named
The Soo Fighters! Launching via
their Facebook page last month, it should be obvious to readers which band they're paying homage to, so if you're interested in hearing a local band cover Dave Grohl and company, keep tabs on this group! A side project from members of local pop rock cover quartet
Cherry Crush, their lineup features singer/guitarist Jules Cote, guitarist John Amendola, and his son Jonny on drums, with their ranks filled out by
3 Day Millionaires guitarist Jeremey Salatuk. Cherry Crush videos of more rock-based songs would be ideal for readers to check out to see what The Soo Fighters have in store, as they do have the chops to handle Foo Fighters classics! To my knowledge, they're just the second local tribute band in our band links, joining 2007-2008 high school Kiss tribute
Creatures of the Night.
There's no media online yet of The Soo Fighters, but when can you see them live for the (presumed) first time? How does The Algonquin Pub on Friday, October 27th sound? For his lucky 13th year hosting a Halloween party concert in the Soo, Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce is doubling up with not one, but
two Halloween parties on the 27th and Saturday the 28th! Returning to The Algonquin Pub for the fifth time in six years with these events, The Soo Fighters will open the Friday show, which will be headlined by Toronto metal band
Decatur, who local fans will better know as 2015 Halloween party headliners Caym! They changed their name early last year, but will still bring a ferocious brand of original metal to the local stage for their first Soo gig in 2 years! Other local openers will include Spinal Remains (a Misfits tribute that, if not a renamed
Jack Spades, will be fronted by J.D.) and death metal favourites
The Bear Hunters playing an all-Amon Amarth set under the name Mount Doom!
As for the lineup on Saturday, October 28th, there's some more ambiguity on the performers, who appear to be all local. Advertised headliners are local hard rock quartet
Eclipse reprising their turn as "SSM of a Down" from last year (any guesses which band they're covering again?) A tribute to noted punk cover band Me First & The Gimme Gimmes are also scheduled under the name You First & The Passive Aggressives, which may be a renamed re-booking from last year, when a Gimmes tribute under the name Hey, What About Us?! (with J.D. singing) were quietly removed as headliners without public acknowledgement. If this is indeed take 2, hopefully they deliver a fun set in October! I believe the opening band that night, a Sublime tribute named SSMTaria, are
The Elements, also returning from last year when they covered 1990s songs as The Plaid Martens. Remaining bands include a yet-untitled Blink-182 tribute band and the newly confirmed Anavrin (Nirvana in reverse.)
I have absolutely no idea on if these two are separate local bands adopting a temporary name & tribute set for the night, or if they're new/one-off supergroups, but if we get any confirmation, we'll let you know. Sponsored by
the Northern Superior Brewing Company (hence Jack Spades' recent "wolves from the north" teasers), expect costume contests and more seasonal fun for these 19+ concerts, which each have 9:00 PM start times. The admission prices for the shows vary depending on your source, so here's what is currently stated. According to
the Facebook event page, admission will be $7 at the door each night, but other sources give the daily price as $10. For the advance tickets (which appear to be for admission on both nights only), the event page says $10 in the description and implies $14 in a comment by J.D., yet
the online sale page says that the printable advance tickets are $12.50 ($13.93 with service charges), though the description prices them at $15. Hopefully that covers each angle!
Unless otherwise confirmed, I would prepare for $10 nightly fees and $15 for an advance weekend pass just in case. No matter what, this is shaping up to be J.D.'s biggest Halloween party yet in both quality and quantity, so if you're up for some metal and punk rock action to end October with, you know exactly where to be for a scary good time! Stay tuned for updates as they roll in, and check the above links for more on The Halloween Party, The Soo Fighters, and much more! Thanks everyone!
The mid-point of the show belonged to local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, under the guise of "Spinal Remains" for a set of Misfits covers. This seemed like a slam dunk idea given J.D. and Chris Thompson' past work together in Fitswitch and Frightlight (who covered The Misfits often), and we did get familiar songs from the horror punk legends like "Hybrid Moments", "Dig Up Her Bones", and "Last Caress" during the set's first half! However, Spinal Remains soon gave way to a proper Jack Spades half-set, which is honestly just as well, as it was obvious that the guys weren't firing on all cylinders on this set (remember, Jack Spades don't tend to cover The Misfits live.) However, they made up for it with an explosive stretch of their own originals like "Motorwolf" and "To The Left", plus covers already in their back pocket like "All My Friends Are Dead" and "X". The tribute set idea was a great one, if only they'd had more time to prepare and get the songs down!
