The Triumph/April Wine Concert Preview, Plus Fallout From The BAG's Album Release Party!!

I have a packed news post for the SMS on this Tuesday morning, which includes a big preview for a mid-week concert tomorrow night, and some notes on what went down at another downtown venue this past weekend, including an album release and videos of an opening band, so without any further ado, here's what you should know!

We'll lead off with a major concert preview for TOMORROW NIGHT, as reunited Mississauga, Ontario hard rock legends Triumph will kick off their 50th anniversary reunion tour here at GFL Memorial Gardens! Alongside a touring lineup including Bon Jovi guitarist Phil X and members of Slash's solo band The Conspirators, original Triumph members Rik Emmett, Mike Levine, and Gil Moore will join forces for this milestone tour, with tomorrow's local stop being Triumph's first here since they rocked the old Sault Memorial Gardens in 1985. As this is the first show on the tour, we will be among the first to see and hear how Triumph sound in 2026, let alone how involved Rik, Mike, and Gil are throughout, so look for classic hits like "Hold On", "Magic Power", and "Say Goodbye" during their set! Opening tomorrow are Halifax hard rock veterans April Wine in their first local gig since rocking Sault Michigan in 2013 and their first in Sault Ontario since 1999.

Since we last saw April Wine in the area, Marc Parent has succeeded the late Myles Goodwyn on vocals, and he has the right voice and presence to handle "You Could Have Been A Lady", "Roller", and "Enough Is Enough"! This all ages concert goes down tomorrow at 8:00 PM, and there are limited tickets available at this link and at the arena box office for the floor and in sections 108-109 and 117 from $60.50, with VIP passes also available. This should be a great time for fans of vintage Canadian hard rock, so see above for more details, and here's Triumph live in their pre-tour kick-off in Orlando!

Next up, here's some fallout from Saturday night's album release party from local metal trio The BAG, so let's talk about their debut album "Sacculus", which did indeed drop on major streaming platforms that night! CD copies were on sale at the concert at Soo Blaster, but they did not specify what those cost on social media, or if they will be available at any brick-and-mortar stores. You can stream "Sacculus" on YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and Qobuz, though Google searches don't list other platforms, so poke around elsewhere if you're curious. No, it is not on Bandcamp, but you can buy the album on iTunes for $8.91. "Sacculus" features nine songs, all with titles capitalized except "6", which (confusingly) is track #5. The album does not feature their 2022-2023 singles "Roadkill", "Get Out", "Our Rock", and "Eccentric Refuge" for unannounced reasons.

It's not unheard of for some local bands to exclude prior standalone singles on their eventual full album (ask Jonesy Land and Heavy Lies The Crown for proof), but I'd have included them, if only to lengthen the album and get those songs on CD! The producer of the album is credited solely as "Gene" on streaming services. Two songs have a guest performer, including A.S.D.P./Agnosticism singer/guitarist Mikhal Muto (who promoted the release concert) on "Emergency Room Mayhem (Break Through The Gates)", and Jordan Alexander (who I'm not familiar with musically) on the "gurd version" of "Dream Machine". Did they intentionally misspell "good"? Regardless, that and the original version are on the full album if you want to compare the two. With all of the above said, and some blanks still left to fill, when can you expect our review of the full album? Believe it or not, it's currently scheduled for a review on the SMS in January.

This is our current queue for new album releases for the rest of the year (by release date order): The Realignment Project, Pillory, Viscera, Mike Haggith, A.S.D.P., Heavy Lies The Crown, The Realignment Project again, X's & Y's, and finally, The Sole Aggressors. We've been blessed with new albums in recent months, and you can see the conundrum that has developed! It is coming, I promise, but congratulations to Spencer, Austin, and Bradley/Ben on finally getting "Sacculus" out! Listen to track #1 ("Braindead") below!

To close today's post, I wanted to share some videos from the release party, and while The BAG and most openers have not done so publically that I'm aware of, Pillory have, courtesy of drummer Bret Shuttleworth's personal YouTube channel! Bret posted six videos from the show there, including four videos from an attendee of the back half of their set, but I'll embed the full 33+ minutes long drumcam video that Bret uploaded here today. In performance order, the death metal trio played started with their usual intro ("End Of Small Sanctuary" from Silent Hill 3) before playing their originals "Specimen Of Egotism", "Abhorred Apprehension", "Curse Of Eternal Sickness", "The Angst Of Existence", "The Passing", and "A Drop Of Shame In An Ocean Of Guilt". Of note, the latter song (which is not on Pillory's new full-length album "Old Soul") was separately uploaded as a cropped & vertical video on Bret's channel.

Pillory next headed back to their thrash metal roots to play an original intro named "The Stalker" that was the last piece of music that they wrote with original second guitarist Andres Duchesne before his passing (nice of the guys to pay tribute to him!). That segued right into a cover of Death's "Pull The Plug" to close the set. The drumcam angle isn't ideal to capture the whole view (as such, you never see Robert), but it's a ferocious half hour, and Robert's stage presence and banter is slowly improving! You've gotta love Devon's Crimson Crusade shirt too, they were a solid band, and their Death influences were always present. Check the set out below, and we'll have more of Bret's videos from this show soon!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS shortly! Thanks everyone!

The BAG & Tym Morrison Concert Previews, Plus The Last Of Crush's Live-Streams!!

Before we begin today's post, we have one more concert cancellation to take note of this weekend, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 are not playing at The Water Tower Pub tonight, as per the venue's Facebook page yesterday. The band never confirmed the gig on their own social media, and aside from last month's "uncorked" gig at Smitty's, they haven't played live in two months. I'm not sure if their recent break is directly related, but I do want to offer our deepest condolences to guitarist Alex D'Ettore and his family following the recent passing of his daughter Ally. I can't imagine the pain and heartbreak that Alex, Marcy, and everyone who knew and loved Ally are going through, and hopefully things proceed as naturally and respectfully as possible in her honour! Newer local blues rock band The Low Light Company are filling in at The Water Tower Pub tonight.

Today's post otherwise concludes this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, as well as wrapping up our coverage of a recent live-streamed concert, so let's start with the return of local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison to Misty's Fifties TOMORROW! It's been an unusually long 2+ month wait for Tym to play another matinee gig at the Second Line West nightclub, as he was laid up for much of that time healing a broken pinky finger, having last played at Misty's on February 7th before dropping out of that night's Reggie's show due to the injury. Tym returned to the stage on March 26th at The Dive, but he ended up cancelling his next two scheduled Misty's shows for other reasons, so if you have missed his prolific setlist of classic and hard rock cover favourites at this west end staple, head there tomorrow! As usual for Misty's Fifties, this is a matinee concert taking place from 4:00-8:00 PM.

This is a 19+ event with no announced cover charge, and while it is Tym's only scheduled show at Misty's this month, he gets back to a more typical schedule with three shows there in May. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on tomorrow's return to one of Tym's favourite recent stomping grounds, and here he is live!

Lastly for known hard rock concerts this weekend, we'll head to Soo Blaster, where local metal trio The BAG will play their first show of the year TOMORROW NIGHT by headlining their long awaited album release party! While the band has been very cagey on particulars for their debut album "Sacculus" in the lead-up, fans will get their first chance to buy physical copies tomorrow, and assuming it drops on streaming as well, I'll let you know about that when specifics go live! This will be Spencer, Austin, and Bradley's first concert in nine months, and hopefully the anticipation builds to make tomorrow's concert one to remember! Openers will include local death/thrash metal trio Pillory, newer local ska punk trio A.S.D.P. (fronted by this show's promoter Mikhal Muto), and Winnipeg folk punk musician Greg Rekus, who fronted The Inside Job here twice in the mid-2020s and is hopping on this bill mid-tour.

Remember, Mikhal is a huge fan of folk punk, so the shoe fits for the early portion of this concert! As seen in this (AI-animated?) poster from The BAG's Facebook page, tickets cost $15 in advance (via the local bands, promoters Underground Events SSM, and The Rad Zone), but admission fees jump to $25 at the door. This is an all ages show, the concert starts at 7:30 PM, and again, I don't know further details on "Sacculus" (i.e. formats, price, track listing, production details, etc.), so you may be the first to know tomorrow night. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, stay tuned for more from The BAG and the new album, and here they are live!

Finally for today, let's wrap up our coverage of Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush's live-streamed concert at The Merchants Bar while these videos are still viewable! Remember, as per Facebook's current live-stream video regulations, these will only be left online until around May 11th unless the band converts or re-uploads them to their Facebook page, and click here for our recap of the first two sets' videos. This live-stream abruptly stopped 21:26 into its presumed half hour runtime, but it at least stopped in between songs. From what we can see from The Merch last week, you'll see the guys covering Eric Clapton's "Cocaine", Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", and Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll", before playing an apparent original comedy rock song named "My Cheese" that some attendees were requesting. Kudos for answering the call from their fans when they weren't originally planning to play this one! The last song here is "Fire", an original that ended their Superior Whitefish Battle Of The Bands-winning set in Brimley last year.

Bassist Isaac "Iggy" Royer sings lead on the first two covers, singer/drummer Alex Traynor handled "Rock & Roll" and "Fire", and guitarist Josh Tyler sang "My Cheese". The stage lighting at The Merch was a little too vibrant for my liking, and like with the prior live-streams, this was shot vertically, but the performances are strong with good energy and a sense of humour, and the guys have a good grasp of their covers (you'd hope so given the obvious Tarnished links) while still showing strong original songwriting, so give Crush's third set a watch below (until May 11th?)

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The BAG), New Song Uploads, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to make a couple of acknowledgements regarding shows this past weekend that we didn't cover in our latest round of previews, both of which were only promoted on Facebook via "Stories" (the strip of posts on your news feed that vanish after being seen once or twice). First, I profusely apologize for missing local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos' first public show of the year, which was on Saturday night at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room, something that the band & venue didn't announce on Facebook otherwise (I caught Mikey's "Story", albeit too late). I hope the show went well, and I'd have happily promoted it here had someone said something more public and permanent! Meanwhile, you may have seen a "Story" suggesting that classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 were playing at the Boots & Saddles Roadhouse on Saturday, so did I miss something else?

Not really, as this was one of the private events listed on the band's website's calendar. and they won't return to the public stage for another two weeks. The Boots & Saddles Roadhouse (located deep in the west end at 2667 Second Line West) has never crossed our radar before as a public host of a hard rock concert anyway, but hopefully the private booking went well!

Today's post otherwise features new videos, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local metal trio The BAG will headline their album release party at Soo Blaster on Saturday, April 18th! While we have seen Spencer with his other band With Gunfire since, The BAG have largely been publically silent since last summer, though their debut album "Sacculus" was finished mixing and mastering as of October, and it finally goes on sale in three months. It's great to see Spencer, Austin, and Bradley back with the fruits of their recent labour ready to release, and we'll let you know when more comes out on "Sacculus" proper! Openers will include death/thrash metal trio Pillory (less than a month removed from opening for Demon King at the same venue) and in their first true public gig, ska punk trio A.S.D.P.! Of course, Adam Smith Death Parade are no stranger to private events and house parties since last they launched last summer, but they have yet to play a formal event at a proper venue.

It will be good to see this promising new band finally on a public stage, and if they don't play elsewhere beforehand, you could say that this is the de facto release party for their debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade" too! The second booking from A.S.D.P. frontman Mikhal "Châ" Muto's new agency Underground Events SSM, this show has an 8:00 PM start time, no age limit, and tickets running for $15 ($25 at the door), though availability is to be announced. No word yet on how much CD copies of "Sacculus" will run for, let alone if there will be any other physical formats. Metal and ska punk fans will want to circle April 18th on your calendars, so visit the above links and the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close with some new song uploads on YouTube, starting with a brand new original song from local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison's YouTube channel! Lately, most of his original songs have been influenced by his take on current events and/or his faith, complete with a proper video, but this is just an instrumental named "Nebuchadnezzar's Dream", which references the second chapter of the Book of Daniel from the Bible. If I was going to title the song after a specific story from the good book, I'd have included lyrics, but that's just me. Fans of Tym's metal work from his solo album and past local bands will appreciate his return to those roots with this song, and he shreds nicely with a quality guitar solo to boot! The programmed drums are a little obvious, but give Tym's new song below, even if you likely won't hear it when he goes unplugged for his next Misty's Fifties matinee next Saturday!

Finally for today... how late into January is considered too late to wish someone a Happy New Year, let alone to sing "Auld Lang Syne"? For SMS readers' sake, I hope four weeks isn't too long, as Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night posted their rendition of the Scottish folk standard & January 1st staple onto their YouTube channel on New Year's Eve! This was not included on last month's "Christmas Night 3", but I have seen multiple Christmas albums include "Auld Lang Syne", so there is precedent. Honestly, this is more fitting for the inaugural "Christmas Night" from 2011, given that this is an instrumental without any vocalist. If you're familiar with Craig, Steve, and crew's orchestral take on heavy metal, you'll appreciate how "Auld Lang Syne" translates here, and the folksier guitar outro fits in context! Good stuff, and a fitting local cut for January 1st, 2027, so give it a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre Of Night!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Quit It!), Upcoming Album Teasers, And New Videos!!

 Here's a new news post for this Sunday morning, which includes some varied new videos, upcoming album details on both sides of the border, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that completely slipped me by until now, so here's what you should know!

Calgary "socio-political anthemic punk" band Quit It! will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at The Speak Easy at Algoma University! I profusely apologize for the short notice, I only heard about this show this morning via this SooToday article which went live on October 9th, though the Facebook event page went live late last month. I'm assuming this fell through the cracks because the SooToday article was "sponsored content", let alone that TONIGHT's show appears to have no local openers (the poster saying "bands" acknowledged), but remember that The Speak Easy only infrequently hosts SMS-amenable bands, with this being the first such punk/hard rock event since Mean Bikini played there in 2023. Touring in support of their new album "Through The Debris", Quit It! have an explosive and politically charged sound that left-leaning punk fans will appreciate, and their DIY approach and clear talents and energy will definitely lend themselves well to drawing a good response from fans at Algoma University TONIGHT!

If there is an opening band, they are uncredited in public press. A 7:00 PM start time is in effect for TONIGHT'S concert, which has admission at the door of $15 for general audiences and $10 for Algoma students with valid student ID. As best as I can tell, this is an all ages event. Being on a work/school night for most may not be ideal, but Quit It! are worth checking out for sure, and if this goes well, it might not be two years before The Speak Easy brings another touring punk band here! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Quit It! live last month!

Next up, here's the latest from local metal trio The BAG, who had been radio silent for the past three months, so what have they been up to? Well, on Thursday, they revealed on their new Facebook page that they have finished mixing and mastering their debut album! To my recollection, they hadn't even announced that they were entering the studio (despite having multiple originals in their live sets), so this is a welcome surprise! I was worried that Spencer joining the Sault Side Squad was a bad omen for The BAG's future, but no cause for alarm there! The album will be named "Sacculus", which is a sensory cell in the inner ear and some some insects' antenna, and the painted cover artwork by Elly Grawbarger depicts a battle between a cthulhu and a lava monster (possibly a cherufe?) near a volcano, with the band rocking out at the foot of it. Further details on the track listing, release formats, and more lie ahead, but check out more updates from The BAG above!

Also, let's start playing catch up on what new Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush have been up to beyond what we have covered of theirs on the site already! Since launching, this band has picked up both the original music responsibilities and the jokey/parody social media promotion angle that Alex, Josh, and Isaac's other/old band Tarnished have largely shelved since they shifted to a covers-only focus last summer, and that is very clear if you follow Crush's Facebook page. On August 6th, they shared this video of the guys going to Dunham's Sports at the Cascade Crossings strip mall, where guitarist Josh Fair bought his first gun, followed by the guys taking it to a field to do some practice shooting. The visual content here isn't really SMS-relevant beyond who's starring, but there is humour to be had! And remember, this is Michigan, everything with the rifle was done legally and safely. However, the music will be of note regardless!

Added in post are demos of Crush's original songs "No Way", "Intoxicated", and "Too Close", and the end-of-video caption notes that they have an "album coming soon". I had my suspicions watching this video that they were in studio in some form, so it's nice to get some public clarification, and it will be interesting to hear how things are coming along! Give Crush's day of gun fun (and the new demos, albeit as background music) a look below!

Finally, here's a new video from Sault Ontario classic rock cover duo Frankly Speaking's concert at Beck's Bar on Wednesday! This special mid-week show was one of their "Rock On To The Sound Of Change" events that generally isn't billed to the Frankly Speaking name (rather "Frank & Frank" or "Frankeeproductions"), and in this format, they pay homage to rock classics in a historical context and how those songs/bands inspired social change. Generally, the Franks don't lean heavier as far as the SMS goes but they certainly have hard rock covers in their back pocket that we have featured here in prior posts. This video was shared to 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook page from singer/guitarist Frank Gioia's personal Facebook page, and it features him and keyboardist Frank Greco covering the opening ballad verses of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", with a silent video of Queen playing behind them.

What we get here looks and sounds good, even with the hyper-narrow widescreen orientation, and it is interesting seeing a themed special concert set like this from a local band that gets treated as a bigger deal! Some readers may recall "Rock On To The Sound Of Change" being performed at Rotaryfest Stage 1 last year, albeit without a video screen. Give Frankly Speaking's partial Queen cover a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!