LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tesla & Bookclub) And Recent Sault Ontario Concert Videos!!

Today's post came together in part due to a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that slipped my notice earlier this week, but a big show in the E.U.P. and some new videos of local cover hard rock acts are rounding things out, so here's what you should know!

Local alt-hard rock cover sextet Bookclub will return to the stage when they headline the fourth annual Illuminate The Season fundraiser for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice TONIGHT at The Machine Shop! Apologies for the short notice, Bookclub only announced their involvement in TONIGHT'S event via their Facebook page this past Sunday, and ARCH's website does not reference bands as taking part at all. Illuminate The Season is a multi-day event featuring auctions for Christmas decor and gifts from local merchants, plus Santa Claus' workshop, ice skating with Santa himself,  refreshments, and other family friendly activites at the Mill Square venue, and it is great to see so many groups and supporters coming together to celebrate Christmas early while supporting ARCH! Bookclub's concert TONIGHT marks their first publically advertised performance since their summer concert series gig at The Roberta Bondar Pavillion gig three months ago.

No word on where Mikey, Brandon, Dustin, Allan, Erin, and Josh have been since the summer, but hopefully their varied and fan-friendly, horn-laced covers draw a solid reception from attendees TONIGHT! While day #3 of Illuminate The Season began at 10:00 AM, Bookclub's concert sets proper begin TONIGHT at 7:00 PM to cap off the program (if there's musicians playing tomorrow, I haven't seen public reference to them, but its the last day running from 10:00-4:00). This is absolutely an ALL AGES event and there is no cover charge, but ARCH donations would absolutely be appreciated. See above for more details, and here's Bookclub live!

Next up, here's a big new concert announcement for 2025, as Sacramento glam metal/hard rock quintet Tesla will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for a headlining date on Friday, February 28th! While Tesla are no strangers to playing here (they've been to the Soo at least four times), they have not performed up here since July 2013, so it'll be almost 12 years since Hair Scare fans heard them & their classic hits like "Love Song", "What You Give", and their "Signs" cover on local soil, let alone potential songs from their last two albums! This will also be their first local gig since Steve Brown replaced Troy Luccketa on drums. Tesla still sound good live today, and hopefully they draw a solid crowd later this winter! No word on a possible opening band at press time, but 2013's show here was opened by inactive Detroit hard rock band Fifth Way (featuring former local guitarist Zak Stelmaszek).

Presented by Rock 101, tickets go on sale on Friday at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office, with tickets running for $65-$85 USD depending on location of seats. This is definitely higher than Tesla's 2013 concert here, but again, that was almost twelve years ago. Hair/glam metal is a reliable seller up here, so Tesla should get a strong turnout in three months, but visit the above links for more on the first major hard rock show in the Twin Saults for 2025!

Also today, let's return north by looking at some brand new videos of Sault Ontario acoustic classic/hard rock cover act Dodge This' late notice gig at The Water Tower Pub on Friday! Jeff July was there to provide hand drum percussion on Friday, with four videos from the night being shared to the band's Facebook page on Monday in a batch post. The videos include mostly-solo renditions of Kings of Leon's "Sex On Fire" and Zach Bryan's "Something In The Orange" by Jamie July and two full band performances, including Collective Soul's "December", and as embedded below, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Night Moves". While not a heavier song, that's the only one with Jason Taillefer on lead vocals, and he injects some good heavier vocals and passion into this ballad that Phatstick fans will appreciate! Good work all around, especially for fans of Jamie-led material, so check out Dodge This above & below!

Finally for today, here's a new promotional clip for newer local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush's shows at The Esquire Club this weekend, tonight included! Bassist John Amendola shared it to the band's Facebook page last night (less than two hours before showtime for night #1, granted), and it features 46 seconds of very brief clips of them in concert at public and private events. Notably, the video does include some snippets that have not publically been uploaded in a longer form, let alone a horizontal one. While I can't identify all of them given the audio quality of the original cameras and the brevity of the clips, a late and new-to-me snippet is from Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me", focusing on guitarist Wes Greco during the solo. Actually, the video ends with Wes-focused clips, so if you know his skill level and like solos, wait til the end. Good teaser while it lasts, so check it out below, and don't miss Headrush tonight in the west end!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thsnk

Late & Loud - "Late & Legends Season 2 (Podcast Soundtrack)" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 183rd monthly CD review, and in a slight change of plans, we're looking at inactive local classic metal quartet Late & Loud's third album (fourth if counting reissues), namely "Late & Legends Season 2 (Podcast Soundtrack)"! This is their second album/score of songs from the Dungeons & Dragons podcast Late & Legends that the guys have been working on remotely since 2020, with instrumental music recorded by band members at their home studios. This second soundtrack release from September 17th covers songs included in season 2 episodes of Late & Legends from 2021, and features current Convergence guitarist Brendan Christie as the primary songwriter this time out. Guitarist Jonathan Tiberi returns in a reduced role compared to "Late & Legends 1", and bassist Benn Garside gets credited for contributing on a song here where he did not last time. Drummer/game master & audio editor Josh Hatherley is again not credited as a performer for this soundtrack album.

You can buy "Late & Legends 2" on Bandcamp for $8.99, and it is streamable for free there as well, but consider buying it to support the guys and the podcast! Like when I reviewed the first soundtrack, just a reminder that I don't play physical RPGs like D&D, and I am cognizant of the fact that D&D players (and listeners of the podcast) will have far more context into how these songs slot into the storyline as Giovanni, Val, and Mordechai continued their adventures in Renlan. Also, don't go into this expecting "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal 2". If you want to hear the podcast so far, click here or listen in on your preferred podcasting host services. With 12 songs running for only 20 minutes, let's begin this review!

This soundtrack leads off with "Late And Legends Theme", which is exactly what you think it is. This is a short 62 seconds-long metal instrumental with galloping guitar and an ominous overtone befitting a fantasy story, though given how the song ends with some guitar squeals that seem to hint at a longer composition (if not a solo), it ends before it really gets going. A good theme song, but an unfinished Late & Loud song, if that makes sense. "Bombastic" follows with a more grandiose, orchestral composition that feels much more like something from a video game rather than a metal band, The title is apt as a result, and while it has the epic qualities that would would assume Renlan to harbour, there's not a lot of guitar here, so adjust expectations accordingly. Third is "Battle Ready", which is the only song on the soundtrack that specifically credits Benn on it's Bandcamp link.

Despite that, this is way closer in spirit to "Bombastic" as a composition, but with dramatic percussion and themes that definitely evoke that an important battle is incoming. It's a cooler piece of music for me, but at the same time, did the last 50 seconds of 98 seconds-long piece need to just be the drumming? I'd have cut that down a lot, but the song is well done while it lasts! Track #4 is "The Rising Tide" (no apparent relation to inactive local band Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide), which is one of just three songs on offer to exceed 2 minutes in length. A slower number with some striking keyboard work and good clapping percussion early, the relatively longer composition has lots of room to breathe and show off different tempos and instrumentation, and for lack of a better word, it feels the most "epic" of the songs so far! A far cry from Late & Loud's original band run, but very solid! Note that this song ends with 18 seconds of silence.

That's followed by "The Darkness Is Here", which is a shorter and suitably dark orchestral piece that gets in and out without dragging on for too long, and basically sums up a low point in the storyline well. Not a ton to say here compared to prior tracks, but if you like how Brendan has been composing these numbers, you'll take to how big this feels in scale despite its short length! Speaking of short length, song #6 is "Run For Cover", which runs just 60 seconds total. Given the title and the stakes in the podcast, you'd assume for a song faster in tempo than this, let alone not as heavily structured around percussion and spare piano playing. Not bad at all, but based on my assumptions for a fantasy story, this is not what I would assumed a song about running for cover would sound like. The second half of "Late & Legends 2" begins with "The Storm", which reminds me a bit of the Lower Brinstar theme from Super Metroid.

Isolated piano key strokes and background thunderstorm effects combine for one of the most unique songs on offer, but it ends kind of abruptly and it really felt like there was more of a song here had it ran for more than 74 seconds. A cool piece while it lasts though! The next two songs do not have any individual writing/performance credits at all, but the first of them ("Back At It Again") is arguably the first song since the opener to really feel like something that a band worked on. Not a metal band, mind you, as it has more of a Renaissance fair/campfire vibe (I was reminded of both), but it works for how the story was progressing, and the percussion is well contrasted with the isolated guitar playing! This song also ends with a long silent stretch (well, seven seconds). Ninth is "No Time To Wait", which is the only song on offer to exceed 3 minutes in length, and not by much. The keys lead the way on this composition throughout its runtime.

Not a dramatically opposed song compared to most of its soundtrack-mates, it shares the ambiance and vibes of most of the other compositions here, but doesn't hit as many epic heights despite its length, possibly because the piano leads the way instrumentally. Still a good song when considering the concept! Next up is "The Trap Is Lit", which is both the shortest song on the soundtrack (53 seconds) and the only one to directly credit Jon as a composer. If you recall his work on the first Late & Legends album, he handled half of the songs there, and stuck way closer to metal band territory than on Brendan's songs. That bears out here too, with this brief song being just a metal guitar showcase, and one that ends way too soon. Like on the opener, this feels like the start of a full song rather than a standalone track, but it is nice to hear Jonathan take the lead on a new "Late & Loud" song again, even one this short!

Brendan gets control back for the last two songs, starting with "Mystery", an ominous 2+ minute piece that definitely evokes the feeling of an uncertain future, and given that this was near the end of the podcast's second season, that seems apt! There is more of an intentional unease in how this song proceeds, and it works in the context of the story, but for these compositions, I prefer the grander stuff. The soundtrack closes with "A Farewell To Brothers", which ends the album and season 2 with a mournful and very melancholy composition that definitely feels like the end of a chapter as the characters go their separate ways (for the time being), and while it's not what I musically prefer, it fits in context for how Late & Legends progressed in 2021, and of course, the story didn't end there, so we'll have to see if they release an album for season 3 at some point!

So, what are my final thoughts on "Late & Legends Season 2 (Podcast Soundtrack)"? Based purely on a musical level, I do prefer their season 1 score, but if you preferred Brendan's orchestral compositions on his half of that album, you will be right at home with the sequel! I don't know if Jonathan's decreased involvement in the season 2 score was an artistic choice or a scheduling one, but aside from the theme song and "The Trap Is Lit", there's not much here that would suggest that Late & Loud put this out if you heard the songs blind. Note that Jon hasn't lived in town for over a decade and currently plays in the Hamilton stoner metal band Astral Witch. With Brendan taking the lead, and possibly saving his metal ideas all the while for Convergence, this is mostly a pure score, and certainly a strong one that evokes a fantasy world from a movie or video game, so he definitely shows what he is capable of as a songwriter!

Contextually, this album is best served for Late & Legends listeners, and I do prefer earlier, more optimistic pieces to the darker and sparer later ones, but if you like fantasy soundtracks and scores, you'll have fun with "Late & Legends 2"! That said, if you're expecting anything remotely like Late & Loud, you'd be best served starting with their season 1 soundtrack given that Jonathan's songs for Late & Legends are closer in style, and he was more involved then. Strong work for what this is, so buy or stream it above, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Now, my original plan for this month was to review Sykotyk Rampage's new album  "Waerlogas Saga 1: Konfysion Of Fyck", but I was hoping to have the comic book arrive by now to help in covering the lengthy album. As such, I have delayed the review to next month. In any event, look for Sykotyk Rampage's new concept album as our review next month, and for more news & notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations), A New Local Album, And Much More!!

Today's post touches on some assorted recent stories, including a big loss for local news media, a new song from a local metal project, and a new album from a reunited local band of sorts, but we're leading off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced two upcoming dates for next month, both Saturday nighters, as they'll rock Shooters Downstairs Lounge on October 19th and then Gateway Casino on October 26th! Fresh off of their set at this past Friday's Band Together To Rock Cancer benefit (more on that on the site soon), these two dates will be Generations' first at either venue since last month. The shows will also presumably see guitarist Tony Kajnar back after he missed the benefit gig on Friday (Muckrakers frontman Mike McDonald filled in for the night, and if you want a teaser of our upcoming coverage, click here). No word yet on if the October 26th gig at the casino will be Halloween themed or not, but remember that Halloween is a Thursday this year, allowing venues the opportunity to host their party a day late on November 1st rather than five days early.

You can enjoy Generations' classic and hard rock cover array on these Saturdays next month with no announced cover charges and 19+ age limits, and while they'll take the stage at 9:30 PM at Shooters, the Gateway Casino concert is at 8:00 PM. No word on if we'll see Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre anywhere else before mid-October, but keep this talented veteran group's next announced shows in mind, and see above for more details! 

Next up, here's a mild surprise, as defunct local classic metal quartet Late & Loud kinda sorta reunited to release the second score/soundtrack album to their Dungeons & Dragons podcast Late & Legends last week! As you may recall, Late & Legends sees Jonathan Tiberi, Brendan Christie, and Benn Garside (with Josh Hatherley as game master and audio editor) play D&D with their own storylines and characters as they explore/save the city of Renlan, and they released their first score album of songs used in the podcast back in April 2021. It is still available to buy/stream at this link, but has brand new artwork and a slightly amended title. Now, Late & Legends began season 4 in May of last year and hasn't posted a new episode since that month, but "Season Two (Podcast Soundtrack)" reflects the episodes that aired in February-October 2021, and if you want to catch up on the action, click here or visit your favourite podcasting host service.

Unlike with "Late & Legends 1", it seems like Brendan Christie had a much stronger hand in recording this material, with Jon and Benn only getting limited credits, and Josh is not listed as writing or performing at all once again. You can buy the 12 song score album for $8.99 on Bandcamp or stream the whole thing for free there, and it may just get reviewed on the SMS in the coming week! Plans to review Sykotyk Rampage's new album may get delayed, as I was hoping to have the accompanying comic book for full context by now, so it may get bumped to October in lieu of "Late & Legends 2". Stay tuned, but give it a listen above! As this is three+ year old music, Late & Loud are not back in our active band links. 

Speaking of projects featuring Brendan Christie, here's the latest from his active progressive/djent metal band Convergence, who posted the first full song from their upcoming EP "Gemini" onto their YouTube channel on Friday! The song in question is "You Are Not Flesh" (obviously a new/altered title from prior track listing reveals), and it was uploaded there in two copies: an instrumental version and, as embedded below, one with vocals (it's a lyric video, to boot!). You can also buy (for $1) or stream it on their Bandcamp page, complete with altered cover artwork. As best as I can tell, Brendan himself provided the harsh vocals here, as also heard on their non-EP original song "Cancer" from last year, something I surprisingly never clarified on here at the time. I got kind of a Phil Labonte vibe from his vocals, which is neat! I'll hold comment on the song otherwise pending our eventual "Gemini" review, but check out "You Are Not Flesh" below!

Finally for today, I wanted to note the abrupt closure of a long running local news website that, in its various iterations, has crossed the SMS' radar multiple times. On August 30th, FirstLocalNews (née SaultOnline) shut down after just 15 months in operation following their change in ownership and branding. Producer and local news veteran Craig Huckerby revealed in this SooToday article by Alex Flood that the closure was due to low advertising revenue following the relaunch as FirstLocalNews, prompted when Rock 101/et al. parent company Sovereign Communications bought SaultOnline from Superior Media, starting fresh with a brand new site and name. FirstLocalNews had its roots dating back to Craig leaving the former MCTV News in 2003 to launch LTVNews (later SooNews and Local2), before SooToday bought it in 2014. Craig and Superior Media launched SaultOnline in Local2's wake, with ownership also producing local news television content via ONNtv, which also appears to have closed.

As SMS coverage goes, we always got more relevant material from SooToday and their offshoots than from the sites that Craig produced, but I always appreciated having different viewpoints for major concert events when Local2 or SaultOnline sent their own reporters to attend, and they had some good exclusive content that you can (partially) read about on the SMS where dead links allow. Truth be told, them starting completely anew as FirstLocal did them no favours, even if necessitated by the need to rebrand and launch a new website, but hopefully staff lands on their feet with new ventures, as local journalism is important! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Last Month's Poll Results & This Month's New Poll!!

Let's take care of the results of last month's poll and this month's newest poll on the site today, as it is the 18th of another month! As you may remember, we posed this question to you guys for a fourth straight year last month: Which of these defunct or recently inactive bands would you most want to see hit the stage again? We got a solid 30 votes that produced an interesting spread of results, so thanks to everyone for voting, and now, here are your final results!

Other (4 votes, 13.125%)
Late & Loud (3 votes, 10%)

Gates of Winter (3 votes, 10%)

Lion Ride (3 votes, 10%)

As It Stands (2 votes, 7%)

Crimson Crusade (2 votes, 7%)

Giwakwa (2 votes, 7%)

Nixxon Dixxon (2 votes, 7%)

T-Rex Manning (2 votes, 7%)

The Billy Bastards (1 vote, 3.125%)

Bring The Fallen (1 vote, 3.125%)

Caveman Morrison (1 vote, 3.125%)

The Fury (1 vote, 3.125%)

Half A Man (1 vote, 3.125%)

RedD Monkey (1 vote, 3.125%)

Treble Charger (1 vote, 3.125%)

For All That Is Lost (0 votes)

Free Beer (0 votes)

Garden of Bedlam (0 votes)

The Inner City Surfers (0 votes)

Nebraska Arms (0 votes)

Sailor's Tongue (0 votes)

The Scary Uncles (0 votes)

State of Misery (0 votes)

The Valentine's Day Massacre (0 votes)

Winkstinger (0 votes)

What do you guys think? Well, I am glad that a wide array of bands got votes, and very evenly spread (all things considered), but I'm most shocked that The Inner City Surfers and the recently-dormant Garden of Bedlam didn't get a single vote. Their reputations speak for themselves, but it's all in who votes! Similarly, I was a little surprised that only one person voted for Treble Charger, but admittedly, their national success may remove them from the same sort of "local" attention. Overall, I'm happy to see 15 different bands in the poll get some love, though with "Other" narrowly winning, it's clear that some readers had a preferred inactive band that wasn't listed. I can't speak for them, but maybe they were aiming for older bands like Fitswitch or Fistmagnet, or perhaps ones of a different genre completely? If you disregard "Other", the three highest scoring bands were Gates of Winter, Late & Loud, and Lion Ride with 3 votes and 10% of the total each. All are great and missed local bands, but who "won" between them?

As is the case when ties in similar polls occur, the newest band will take said tiebreaker, as they had less time to garner the same number of votes, so we'll narrowly award Late & Loud a second straight "win" in this annual poll! They're the most recent of the three bands by both formation and their last show's date, and though their one-off reunion this summer was called their "last show ever", I know Loudmouths are hoping that will prove false once Brendan comes home. Hopefully we see them, Gates of Winter, and Lion Ride back down the road!

Thanks to everyone for voting! As for this month's poll, I wanted to touch on a specific part of the year where concerts seem to explode in prominence and number (at least, on the metal and punk side of things), so we're posing this question to you guys this month: What's your opinion on the large amount of metal, hard rock, and punk shows during the Halloween season each year? As long as I've been running the SMS, late October (and, where weekends line up, early November) has been arguably the busiest and most active part of the fall season for local concerts, with costumes, themed events, and shows both seasonal and general alike to take in, Between October 23rd and November 2nd, we have concerts headlined by Gob, The Rebel Spell, The Brains, Archelon, Frightlight, Havadder, and Tym Morrison to take in, plus the Zombie Walk bands to be announced, Peril, 415E, and Banned in Sault Michigan, and perhaps more to be announced on shorter notice, so fans have no shortage of live hard rock and punk to hit in "Punkrocktober"!

With that said, do you like, dislike, or have another opinion of the Halloween season's influx of concerts each year? I've picked six different choices that will hopefully cover all ranges of opinions on this topic, as even if there seems to be wide acceptance and anticipation for these shows, expecting a uniform opinion wouldn't be realistic. Now, here are your choices!

I love it, Halloween's a great season!: Do you just outright love Halloween and the trappings that come with it? Were you a devoted trick or treater (or maybe a parent of one?) that still watches the TV specials, hands out the candy, and dresses up in your best costume? Are Halloween season concerts absolute musts for the season? If Halloween is high on your list for the year, vote here!

It depends on the bands/themes: Of course, everyone has their own opinions on bands or the types of events that they like to attend, regardless of year. For example, fans of Gob aren't necessarily going to be fans of Archelon, and might not be expected to see both bands live this year. Maybe you just don't like going to the events that go too far into Halloween themes, or not far enough. In either case, vote here if your Halloween show participation varies!

Can't they line up with a paid holiday, like Thanksgiving?: As great as Halloween is, it's not generally considered a paid holiday by many employers, nor do students get time off for it if it falls on a weekday. Maybe you tend to not be able to attend Halloween parties and shows because of your work schedule, and wish that a paid fall holiday (such as Thanksgiving or Labour Day) was instead the destination weekend for concerts. If you'd prefer another holiday to get the same focus, here you go!

I don't pay attention to the time of year for concerts: Simply put, do you go to concerts because of the bands playing, not for the timeframe that they occur in? Do you rock out with the band, and see the Halloween accouterments optional or just a cherry on top? If you don't factor the time of year into your concert planning, this is the choice for you!

I prefer other seasonal events to metal/punk concerts: It'd be ignorant to say that there weren't other seasonal events going on in the Twin Saults that didn't involve bands. If you know where to look, there will be dance parties and club nights, house parties, and maybe a haunted house or corn maze to take in as well, not to mention just watching specials or scary movies at home. If concerts aren't high on your list for the Halloween season, give this option a vote!

I don't like or celebrate Halloween: Yes, there are people in the area who don't like Halloween for any number of reasons. Some don't like the commercial nature or it's deviance from it's original intent, some just aren't fans of the horror/spooky motifs & themes, or having to hand out candy, while others yet may have religious beliefs that call for them to not celebrate or acknowledge the season. If Halloween is not among your holidays for personal or religious concerns, we have you covered!

VOTE TODAY!! You have until November 18th to make your voices heard, so vote A.S.A.P., as I'm curious to see if most readers do really love Halloween, or if we just have a very vocal minority that makes the season so much fun (myself, I love Halloween, and plan to be at a few concerts for the occasion!) That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and so forth in the coming days! Thanks everyone!