Today's post is devoted to Kewadin Casino concert videos, new and old alike, and we'll start with the Skid Row-headlined concert at The Dreammakers Theater in Sault Ste. Marie on March 23rd, which took on new significance when frontman Erik Gronwall left the New Jersey glam metal band just four days later to focus on his health (Erik is a leukemia survivor & bone marrow transplant recipient with a compromised immune system). In fact, the Sault Ste. Marie show was the final one with Erik, so how's that for timing? Our first post with videos from the show went up on the day his departure was announced! Of course, our best thoughts go out to Erik, whose health actually caused this show/tour to be postponed from the fall as it was, and for my money, he was the best singer Skid Row had brought on since Sebastian Bach left! Halestorm's Lzzy Hale will fill in temporarily with Skid Row in their upcoming festival dates.
As for the Soo show, the ever prolific Christopher Paci was in attendance to film all three bands on the 23rd for his YouTube channel, filming Skid Row in eight videos! He shot them playing "Big Guns", "18 & Life", "Psycho Therapy", "Time Bomb", "I Remember You", "The Gang's All Here", "Youth Gone Wild", and as embedded below, their set-opener "Slave To The Grind". Chris was further away from the stage than in prior local videos that we've seen, but we do see more of the stage at once here, and it was an honest sell out based on the audience! The sound here is a little soft but you hear everything you need to, and Erik was nailing these songs even on his final date, so check them out above & below!
Next up, Chris also filmed six videos from co-headlining Los Angeles hard rock quintet Buckcherry's set, including "Say Fuck It" (they titled it, not me), "Hellbound", "Sorry", "Gluttony", their extended & covers-infused "Crazy Bitch" medley, and as embedded below, their opening song "Lit Up". I've never been a huge fan of theirs, and Josh's voice is inconsistent across these videos, especially later in the set, but they put in an energetic performance for fans, and they've always been good to the Twin Saults, so give Buckcherry's newest local concert videos a watch above & below!
As for opening Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox, Chris filmed them playing "Plenty Of Love", "Girlschool", and as embedded below, "Dream On". Even with a mostly different lineup than when fans last saw Britny Fox in town, they sound good for glam metal fans on these videos, and for better or worse, less fans had cameras rolling so you get a clearer view of the band than you do with the later acts. Check these out for yourselves above & below as well!
Finally, let's wind back to 2014 for a video that I didn't feature on the site in the first place. Back in November 2014, Staind frontman Aaron Lewis came to Sault Ste. Marie for the first time since launching his solo career as a country musician, and while that obviously doesn't fit our genre range, he did and still does cover Staind ballads in his solo sets. At the time, I covered videos filmed by attendee Dana Howland on here, as she filmed Aaron playing Staind's "It's Been Awhile" and covering Pearl Jam's "Black" (which was a solo radio hit for him years before he acutally went solo). Either due to my own omission or due to that post being written before she uploaded it (it's been nine years, I don't remember), I never acknowledged that she also filmed Aaron playing the Staind hit "Right Here Waiting" at Kewadin on this night, so it is embedded below! This came to my attention because it was re-uploaded as a "Shorts" video.
As such, her Staind videos from 2014, this one included, turned up in their own special section when searching for recent Kewadin videos. "Shorts" are not as restrictive as Facebook "Reels", and her videos were vertical and focused on a solo musician right along, so I won't complain about the formatting here (no comment on Aaron's political views either, but this show was before a lot of that became more prominent). The stage lighting is VERY over-exposed here, but Aaron's performance is on point for Staind fans, so give this belated local concert video a watch below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
For today's post, let's take our first gander at videos from Saturday night's sold out Skid Row/Buckcherry concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! What I have heard from the concert has been largely positive, but you can see for yourself here, as at least two attendees so far have posted videos from Saturday's festivities, and more is absolutely to come. Just a heads up, both of the channels mentioned here don't appear to be locally based, and moreso are Skid Row fans who travel to film them at multiple gigs, so the majority of the videos on their channels are not local. We'll start with the headlining New Jersey glam metal veterans, who were the only band filmed for attendee theheidis' channel. She shot Skid Row playing "Youth Gone Wild", and while I would normally embed that one here as it's much longer, I'm instead embedding the video of them playing their new album's title track "The Gang's All Here".
Why that video? Because it's multi-camera, but not in the way you're thinking. While one half of the video is shot by theheidis, the other was shot on her friend's camera by Skid Row singer Erik Gronwall! It looks like he filmed vertically and theheidis opted to crop her horizontal video to fit both in frame within a 16:9 aspect ratio. Not ideal for her copy, but we get a very unique split view for over a minute, with Erik filming the audience and himself in "selfie mode" (as it were) while synced up with theheidis' video. Very neat, and the song is solid for fans, who shouldn't have much to worry about with Erik behind the mic! Check out theheidis' videos above & below!
Today's other videos come from YouTube user Diana, a.k.a. yuthgonwild (sic), who did film all three bands on Saturday. Diana filmed eight videos at Kewadin, with five being of Skid Row's set, including "The Gang's All Here", "Resurrected" (abbreviated when her phone cut out), and "Monkey Business", albeit in two chunks, again due to her phone cutting out during the song. The longer first part is embedded below, but you can watch part 2 here, and a forcibly vertical/abbreviated version can also be seen there in "Shorts" format. Diana had a similar vantage point to theheidis, with a close seat near the stage's far right corner, but her video quality is a little rougher by comparison. Fans will still very much enjoy her videos, especially "Monkey Business" (one of my favourite Skid Row songs), and the guys sound really good across all three songs filmed for this channel, so definitely give these a watch above & below!
Diana filmed two videos of Los Angeles hard rock quintet Buckcherry's co-headlining set, including of their song "Gluttony", but embedded below is their set closing hit "Crazy Bitch!" Now, the video is 11+ minutes long because, as is common for this song in recent years, they extended it by making it a medley with a bunch of covers and incomplete songs, along with band introductions and crowd banter (they definitely did this at their Sault Ontario show in 2021). Filmed at more of a low side-stage vantage point here, the performances are lively and well received, but Josh's vocals are definitely tired by this late stage of the night, and he can be heard to hear. Check everything out above & below!
Finally for now, Diana filmed opening Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox playing their hit song "Long Way To Love" on Saturday! Now, 15 years have passed since their last show here, during which time the band went on hiatus, with bassist Billy Childs relaunching them in 2022 with no other classic members, so any preconceptions from 2009 should be avoided. Still, this lineup seems to have a good handle on things and they have a good ear for melodies, not to mention strong vocals from new frontman Ronnie Rogers, so give their performance a watch below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Another concert weekend is upon us, so let's preview known hard rock/punk concerts taking place over the next couple of days! As heavier shows go, this is a quieter weekend, perhaps the hangover after St. Patrick's Day, but there is a big concert in the E.U.P. to note, and first, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for Sault Ontario, so here's what you should know!
Online page-less local alternative/punk cover band Bookclub will play their first publically advertised concert of 2024 when they return to Searchmont Resort TOMORROW for their Spring Bash! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about this event via this poster on Searchmont's Facebook page this past Saturday, and Bookclub still do not have social media pages to promote their concerts with. While this Inner City Surfers alum-laden supergroup have played Searchmont before inside at The Kiln, TOMORROW'S concert will be outdoors on Searchmont's patio, marking out first concert preview of 2024 where a weather forecast will be optimal! Along with the music, skiiers and snowboarders can expect a terrain park party TOMORROW with drink discounts, fun & games, prizes, and more, so visit Searchmont's post linked above for more details on what to expect!
Prices for skiing and such aside, TOMORROW'S show has no cover charge or age limit, and Bookclub are playing a 3:00-5:00 PM matinee, with the bash proper beginning at noon and running into the evening. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny weather at -5°, so the recent winter resurgence will likely not have new precipitation TOMORROW, but the cold temperatures will be a plus or minus depending on what you personally like if not hitting the slopes. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Bookclub live last fall!
Next up, here's some previously announced concerts, stating with local southern hard rock veterans Bone Yard 225, who will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT for an unplugged (uncorked, if you prefer) concert at Gateway Casino!
Last seen in their acoustic format at The Water Tower Pub four weeks
ago, this will be Bone Yard's first unplugged show since tacking "225"
to their name late last month. If you like/prefer their stripped down
"uncorked" set, and/or miss The Bearded Lounge, don't miss out on all of
the action tomorrow, with lots of classic and hard rock hits to go
around! A one-nighter as is standard for the venue, Bone Yard 225 take
the stage at Gateway Casino tomorrow at 9:00 PM, and expect a 19+ age
limit. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's two brand new videos from Bone Yard 225's jam night-hosting duties at Reggie's Place last night!
Originally filmed by attendee Marcy Catherine before being shared to their Facebook page, the videos are not standard fare in any sense. Reggie's was in the part of town hit by a raccoon-induced power outage last night (click here for details), so Bone Yard 225 made the most of it by getting uncorked a day early! Marcy filmed them (with Greg on vocals, Alex on guitar, and Warren providing hand clap percussion) covering Van Halen's "Ice Cream Man" and, as embedded below, Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls". Lighting is much worse on the latter, but again, they were literally blacked out at Reggie's. Fun, if vertically shot, covers that show Bone Yard 225 turning lemons into lemonade, so check them out above & below!
Finally, here's the big one for known & announced hard rock shows this weekend, as New Jersey glam metal icons Skid Row and Anaheim hard rock band Buckcherry will both return to The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW NIGHT! This sold out concert will be Skid Row's first here since October 2005 (the cancelled 2008 show at Runway Park in Sault Ontario acknowledged), but they've had momentum on their side in recent years since their lead singer carousel stopped on Erik Gronwall, whose energy and Sebastian-esque voice have won very positive reviews as of late, so hopefully classics like "Youth Gone Wild" and "Monkey Business" go over strongly tomorrow! Buckcherry have been more prominent on local stages since we last saw Skid Row, with this being their fifth show in the Twin Saults since 2011, and third in under five years!
Readers will have last seen Josh Todd and crew in October 2021 when Buckcherry were the first major touring hard rock headliners in Sault Ontario following the pandemic lockdowns, but they last played at Kewadin during their outdoor show with Pop Evil in 2019. While I'm admittedly not a fan of theirs, Buckcherry have been good to the area in the past 13 years, and hopefully their hits like "Crazy Bitch" and "Lit Up" draw a solid response once again! Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox will open the proceedings in their first local concert since opening for Great White at the Soo Kewadin fifteen years ago, though only bassist Billy Childs remains in the band from that 2009 set. He's found a solid lineup to bring hits like "Long Way To
Love" & "Dream On" to the stage, so don't be late for their set! This concert (and its tour leg) was postponed from October 28th to tomorrow due to Skid Row singer Erik Gronwall's health concerns.
Presented by Rock 101 and The Hair Scare, this all ages concert begins at 8:00 PM tomorrow night, and it is legitimately sold out (hair metal's a proven draw up here!). If you want to be notified on late ticket availability, click here, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or check the in person box office, and for reference, anything that opens up will start at $45 USD. Non-refunded tickets from the original October date will be honoured tomorrow. This will be a huge night for hair and glam metal fans, and the new Skid Row lineup definitely deliver the goods for old and new fans alike, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Skid Row live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
On this Friday afternoon, today's post takes us entirely to Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula, courtesy of some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, a major show postponement, and an apology for missing a festival featuring one of the bands in question. Here's what you should know!
Local hard rock band The Nameless will return to the stage with their apparent headlining debut on Friday, September 22nd at The Merchants Bar! This very sporadically seen quintet have only played two publically acknowledged concerts to date, most recently at the Scotty Austin show at The Savoy Bar in March, and while I'm not sure why they've been so publically quiet since debuting last year, hopefully their cover-centric set and on-stage chemistry have developed to the point where they can comfortably headline a solo concert! Be advised that The Merch's Facebook page has not publically acknowledged this show at press time, which shouldn't be all that shocking, as the venue rarely promotes artists playing there online. Next week's show has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and 21+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more!
Before we move on, note above that I said "publically acknowledged concerts", as The Nameless actually played at this year's Sugar Island Music Festival on Friday & Saturday, August 11th-12th. Their sets were advertised on the festival's website, but the band did not promote their involvement in advance online. The Sugar Island Festival (45 minutes east of the Soo by road/ferry) came back after a pandemic hiatus in 2021, but hadn't booked known hard rock bands again until this year, after usually having a token hard rock act in the past (often Banned or Tarnished). I profusely apologize for missing out on the Sugar Island Fest for coverage here, but hopefully The Nameless made a strong impression!
Next up, Kewadin Casino have announced their band schedules for this and next month on their website's entertainment pages! As noted in yesterday's post, two will see Traverse City classic
metal trio Peril back at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on October 13th & 14th (following tonight & tomorrow's Rapids Lounge concerts), while we already knew about Manistique hard rock duo Fyrbird's shows in St. Ignace next weekend. Two of the upcoming weekends were not known to us prior to yesterday, and are now listed in our calendar, starting with the aforementioned Fyrbird, who Kewadin has returning to The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on Friday, October 6th & Saturday, October 7th! These shows are not listed on the schedule posted on their Facebook group in June, which says that they're playing a show in Stephenson in the western Upper Peninsula on that Saturday.
Given that Kewadin's schedule is newer than the aforementioned schedule on the band's end, I'm inclined to believe that the Stephenson booking was cancelled, but we'll let you know if Kewadin erred on the schedule in some form. You can enjoy Fyrbird's hard rocking minimalist covers back in the E.U.P. in three weeks at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges as usual, but again, they'll definitely be in St. Ignace next weekend first, plus in Gould City (in Mackinac County but beyond our one hour's drive-time coverage range) at month's end. See above for more details!
The other new Kewadin dates ahead for hard rock fans will see local hard rock cover quartet Rhythm & Brews return to The Rapids Lounge on Friday, October 27th & Saturday, October 28th! Yes, this talented union of Nixxon Dixxon & Highway 63 alumni drew the Halloween weekend at the Sault Ste. Marie branch, so you can expect lots of entertaining hard rock tunes from Brandon, the Chris', and Ron in a month & a half's time! No word on a costume contest or specific spooky frills for the occasion, but one imagines that costumes will be encouraged, especially on that Saturday. Of course, remember that Rhythm & Brews rarely update their Facebook page, so they may not plug these shows there. Once again, these are 21+ events with 19+ age limits and no announced cover, Halloween weekend timing acknowledged. See above for more details, and stay tuned for more from Rhythm & Brews if it comes in!
To close this all-Sault Michigan post, we have a major concert postponement to note on here, as the Skid Row/Buckcherry concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino will no longer take place on Saturday, October 28th. On Wednesday, the headlining New Jersey hair metal legends announced that the third leg of their The Gang's All Here tour with Buckcherry was being postponed to next spring due to health concerns with singer Erik Gronwall. Skid Row's camp did not go into complete details about what's wrong, but Erik is a leukemia survivor, and he noted in the press release that he still has a compromised immune system following a stem cell transplant two years ago, which can make it harder for him to beat infections. Given Erik's vocal abilities and how well he's been received after their carousel of vocalists in the 2010s, it speaks to their faith in him that they'd postpone the tour while he heals up!
The tour run will now end in the Soo on Saturday, March 23rd, a postponement of exactly 21 weeks. Tickets bought for the October date will be honoured next year, but refunds are available at point of purchase, so inquire with Kewadin Casino if you don't think you can make the new date. With the date change, there has been a band removal, as while Buckcherry will still return to our area as co-headliners, the new tour poster no longer lists Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox. Disappointing to see them apparently drop out, presumably due to scheduling, but hopefully they come back up here down the road! Note that the poster does credit an opening set on this leg from Waterloo, Ontario hard rock quartet Sierra Pilot (featuring Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin, and as seen at The Northern Vibe Festival last month), but as best as I can gather, Sierra Pilot's own advertising only has them playing the Canadian dates next March.
Sierra Pilot aren't a new addition to the tour, for the record, as they were scheduled to open north of the border next month as it was. If they do happen to be able to play in Sault Michigan (or if another bands it tapped to open then instead), we'll let you know, but keep the new date circled for your hair metal and hard rock fix in March, and hopefully Erik gets well soon! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site over the weekend! Thanks everyone!
As promised, today's post is stacked, courtesy of three big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS across both sides of the border, so here's what you should know!
Local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich & indie/punk quartet The Northwest will hit up The Sault Community Theatre Centre for the first time each as part of a four band event on Saturday, June 10th! Entitled Soo Soundcheck (no known relation), this is one of two multi-band events taking place in June at the former Kiwanis Theatre that share very similar branding & support from the Canadian Heritage Fund & Case's Music (if these aren't promoted internally, I don't know who's putting them on). This will be Handsome Sandwich's first announced concert since their album release show at The Loft next Saturday, while The Northwest have yet to play on a local stage in 2023. This event will see them & indie rock quartet Man Feelings (Handsome Sandwich's openers next week) opening for sporadically seen progressive rock band Machines Dream.
Be advised that the image on the ticket sale page does not include The Northwest, and while Occam's Razor says it's an old listing, we'll let you know if they actually dropped out (the image above was from Machines Dream's Facebook page on Monday). An all ages event with doors opening at 6:00 PM, tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for students, seniors, and kids 12 and under, and you can buy them at this link (use the code s@undcheck2023 by Sunday to get $4 off of an adult ticket). Very intriguing idea, especially to use such a large theatre for an all-locals concert like this, talented as they all may be, so visit the above links for more details, but we're not done with the S.C.T.C. yet!
The other June show at White Pines' on-site theatre will see local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns and online page-less alternative/punk quintet Bookclub join forces again on Sunday, June 25th, this time in a concert dubbed Northern Echoes! Making their fourth joint appearance since Bookclub debuted last fall (with the Festival of Beer coming next for them next Saturday), Northern Echoes is suggested on the ticket sale page to be tribute band-centric, though if Bookclub and The Stallyns are taking on one-off tribute themes for the day or not, I couldn't tell you with certainty yet. This does call to mind J.D. Pearce's old Halloween parties, which leaned into one-off and temporarily renamed cover bands by the late 2010s, but again, I know nothing. At least one more band is teased to join this bill though, and we'll let you know when they are revealed, tribute/cover band-themed or not.
Ticket prices and start times are the same for Northern Echoes and Soo Soundcheck, but be advised that Northern Echoes has $8 admission for kids 12 and under, not $12 (no word on why there's a distinction). Click here to buy Northern Echoes tickets! Presumably, the S.C.T.C. box office at Station Mall can also hook you up for both. Something about these events leaves me thinking that there's more going on with them/the venue than current promotion is letting on, so stay tuned in that regard, but hopefully The Wyld Stallyns and Bookclub make use of the huge stage in mid-June, despite being a work/school night for many. Visit the above links for continuing updates on both concerts as they roll in!
Finally, here's that big new concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as New Jersey glam metal quintet Skid Row and Anaheim hard rock quintet Buckcherry will join forces there on Saturday, October 28th! Both bands are no stranger to the Soo area, with headliners Skid Row last playing here in October of 2005, back when the late Johnny Solinger and Dave Gara were on vocals and drums. This time, Erik Gronwall and Rob Hammersmith have the honours, and Skid Row have been getting lots of positive renewed attention since Erik took the mic thanks to their new album "The Gang's All Here", so expect cuts from that disc and hit songs like "18 & Life", "I Remember You", and "Monkey Business" in their set this fall! Yes, Skid Row were also supposed to play at Runway Park in Sault Ontario in June 2008, in a cancelled show more famous now for the linked battle of the bands won by Sense of Truth (imagine if they reunited to open for this!)
Meanwhile, Buckcherry have played in our area at least four times since 2011, most recently at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario in October 2021, at the Soo Kewadin in an outdoor gig with Pop Evil in 2019, and in The Dreammakers Theatre proper in 2012. While not a hair/glam band, Buckcherry have multiple songs with lyrics and themes that fit right in with Skid Row, and the contrast in sounds will appeal to a wide array of local rock fans! Expect Buckcherry hits like "Lit Up", "Sorry", and "Crazy Bitch" in their return set this fall, of course. Support will come by way of Philadelphia hair metal quartet Britny Fox, who Hair Scare fans may recall seeing at The Dreammakers Theatre way back in January 2009 when they opened for Great White. In the 14+ years since, only bassist Billy Childs remains, but hits like "Long Way To Love" & "Dream On" are to be expected!
Presented by Rock 101, tickets go on sale to the public on May 12th at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office. Tickets will start at $45, but the full price range is not out yet. Pre-sale codes will be available if you sign up at this link, and the pre-sale tickets become available on May 10th. This is an all ages event with an 8:00 PM start time. This should be a huge concert for hard rock and hair metal fans, and with this being the Halloween weekend, who knows what horrors await in six months! There's plenty of time to get amped up for this one, so visit the above links for complete details, and stay tuned for this month's CD review and more news and notes on the site very soon! Thanks everyone!
Hey guys, it's time to launch a new mini-series at the SMS, as for the next seven Fridays, we're flashing back to some of the notable battles of the bands in Sault Ontario between 2008 and 2010! What's the background of them? What was at stake? Who competed, and where are they now? I hope to answer those questions for at least 7 weeks leading up to the April 20th Humane Society Battle, and though I know this isn't comprehensive, e-mail me at robertfigures@hotmail.com if you can fill in any blanks for any missing battles in either of the Twin Saults, or if you have any corrections or additions! I'm formatting the posts in this series differently then how our monthly features tend to look, including more videos and less personal reflections (out of fairness, as I wasn't at all of these events), and it took a bit of tinkering to look right, but hopefully you guys enjoy this first entry! Let's flash back almost 4 years to kick off this mini-series, so here's what you need to know/remember! (Updated on February 8th, 2016)
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The Skid Row Battle of the Bands (April 26th, 2008)
Background: The Algoma University Student Union & The Superior Community Skatepark Association joined forces to host a battle of the bands at The Speak Easy at Algoma University on April 26th, 2008. All proceeds from the battle went to construction of Sault Ontario's permanent skate park at The John Rhodes Community Center. Each band would get to perform 3 songs, with judges picking three bands to play in the final round, where each act played two more songs before the prizes were handed out. Musical ability, stage presence, originality, and crowd reaction were among the criteria being voted on by the judges, and Crank Sound Distribution handled sound at the event.
Prizes:Originally, just cash, with $500 going to first place, $250 to second place, and $125 for third place. However, an added prize for the first place band was added two weeks before the battle, that being an opening slot at a major headlining concert at Runway Park on June 28th of that year, which was to have been headlined by Skid Row, the Tracii Guns-led version of L.A. Guns, and Enuff Z'Nuff. That added prize was thanks to Hitman Productions, who were promoting the Skid Row concert.
Competitors: The lineup included 7 bands playing a wide array of styles. Punk was the most prominent style of music at this battle, including indie punk quartet The Blockade (in their only show under this name that I can confirm), hard hitting punk rockers The Scary Uncles, and popular ska punk outfit Free Beer. Only two metal/hard rock bands were on the lineup, including debuting hard rock quartet Sense of Truth and extreme metal duo Sue Inside. The lineup for this battle was rounded out by indie rock quartet Terminal and Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band Sikamikanico.
Results:Four bands (rather than three) were picked for the final round, those being The Blockade, Free Beer, The Scary Uncles, and Sense of Truth. In the end, Sense of Truth made the most of their local concert debut, claiming the $500 first place purse and an opening slot at the Skid Row concert. The Scary Uncles took home $250 for second place, with Free Beer winning $125 for third place, and The Blockade finishing in fourth place. Rankings for the remaining three bands were not publicized.
Aftermath:The Skid Row concert was cancelled on June 25th (just three days before it was to take place) after sponsors dropped out. Despite this, Sense of Truth rode the momentum of their victory to numerous high profile concerts over the following years, including opening for bands like Econoline Crush & The Trews, and recording material towards an unreleased debut EP in 2010, though they broke up after a lengthy inactive period in the fall of 2011. The Scary Uncles & Free Beer also maintained their successes through the late 2000s, playing numerous notable punk concerts in the area, and recording their own original material. Free Beer changed their name to M.O.B. in 2010 before going inactive (save for one-off sets) before briefly returning in full under the name Sarah's Valley in mid-2013, while The Scary Uncles' increasingly sporadic concerts continued until they disbanded in December 2010. Sikamikanico & Terminal continued to play a number of headlining gigs in the Sault area through the summer of 2008, after which both bands quietly went inactive. The Blockade do not appear to have played any other gigs under that name following this battle, though 3/4ths of the band rocked local venues as Talk Shit through 2009, and the bands may have been connected. Finally, Sue Inside relocated to Oil Springs, Ontario the following summer, and remained sporadically active in that area with varied material through the spring of 2012.
Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Metal or punk bands in italics): Id Iota (Christian Lemay & Dustin Goodall from Free Beer) Jack Spades (Jesse Cook from Sikamikanico) Northwest (Wayne Watkins from The Blockade and Mike Yakasovich & Greg Callaghan from Terminal) Redundant (Justin Langlois from The Scary Uncles) Skeyes of Seven (Cory Murchison from Sense of Truth) The Small Town Rivals (Wayne Watkins from The Blockade) Talk Shit (Marc Lafrance, Ian Robinson, and Adam Sauve from The Blockade) The Thrill Junkies (Justin Langlois from The Scary Uncles) The Wild Iris (Steve Myers from Sense of Truth) Winkstinger (Jesse Cook from Sikamikanico)
Trivia:
The judges for this battle were veteran local guitarist Keith Conway, Hitman Productions owner Stephane Guindon, and Speak Easy manager Tony Boniferro. Keith himself saw some battle of the bands success as a performer the following year, when his band Blues Harvest made the finals of the Kiss Battle of the Bands in December 2009.
Around 220 fans were in attendance for this battle, with over $1,600 raised towards the Sault Ontario skate park, which was successfully opened to the public the following summer.
Despite not being able to open for Skid Row like was hoped, Sense of Truth made the most of it by playing a concert on June 28th anyway at The Canadian Nightclub with fellow local hard rock band Driving Dave Home, who were to have played the Skid Row concert as well. Driving Dave Home guitarist Ron Baxter joined Sense of Truth himself the following year.
Sense of Truth followed up their win at this battle with a run to the Kiss Battle of the Bands Finals on December 2nd, 2009, where they lost to Garden of Bedlam. Their lineup was noticeably different than during their Skid Row Battle win, with frontman Cory Murchison now on vocals only, the aforementioned Ron Baxter on rhythm guitar, and Curtis Beauchamp (ex-Fitswitch) on bass in place of Patric Belanger, who left Sense of Truth in late 2008.
Two other bands from this battle competed in similar later events. Sue Inside competed in another 7 band battle held by the YMCA in March 2009 at The Grand Theater, but results repeated themselves, as Sue Inside did not make the top 4. Also, the relaunched Free Beer (then named Sarah's Valley) competed at the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands in April 2013, but they finished third in their semifinal match, and did not make the finals.
Despite their fourth place finish, The Blockade's Wayne Watkins & Adam Sauve would see greater battle success in the coming years in their later band Nebraska Arms, who finished 2nd at the Sault College/Scotties Tournament Battle in February 2010, as well as making the Kiss Battle finals in December 2009
The Scary Uncles almost got a chance to build on their success at this battle the following year, when they were slated to be a part of the Algoma University Battle of the Bands in December 2010, which was also held at The Speak Easy, but they had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts. Despite that, they were later chosen to open for The Inner City Surfers at their show there on December 22nd, 2010, which was one of the first place prizes at that battle already.
Sikamikanico drummer Jesse Cook had far greater battle success as a lead guitarist with his later metal bands Operation: Killdozer and Winkstinger, who finished fourth at the 2009 YMCA Battle and in first place the 2012 Battle For The Blood respectively. These join earlier successes that he had with Soldiers of Misfortune, who he won at least one battle with.
Sikamikanico bassist Alex White almost returned to a local battle of the bands at the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands on April 20th with his later indie rock trio Cowboys & Indians, but they dropped out after he couldn't make the event.
Sense of Truth guitarist Steve Myers returned to a local battle of the bands at The Rockstar Bar in April 2013 with his current indie/jazz rock quartet The Pesto Shirts (now named The Wild Iris), who rode a wild card berth to a third place finish in the final round.
Three performers at this battle (The Blockade's Wayne Watkins and Terminal's Mike Yakasovich & Greg Callaghan) saw greater collective success at Viva La Battle at The Canadian Nightclub on November 13th, 2013, where they finished in second place with their new indie/punk quintet Northwest.
Battle of the bands action returned to The Speak Easy on March 5th, 2015 when the venue hosted their own battle event. Like the Skid Row Battle, this event featured 7 acts and cash prizes for winners, but 2015's Speak Easy Battle was a fan voted affair, and no one that competed in 2008 was on the lineup seven years later.
Sources/More Information: Pre-battle coverage by SooToday SooToday review & photos by Donna Hopper Superior Community Skatepark Association post-battle coverage Battle photos by Curt O'Neil
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I hope you guys liked this first entry in our new SMS mini-series! Our next entry in the series will be next Friday (March 9th), when we look at the 2008 Case's Music Battle of the Bands from May 2008, which wasn't the only battle held by this popular local music store, but it's the only one well documented online that we can cover equally in this series at the moment. Stay tuned for that next week, and much more news over the weekend! Thanks everyone!
Anyone in the mood for some more local metal news? I have it today, including some concert statuses, a bunch of Frightlight news, this week's classic video, and another classic album upload to share with you guys, so let's get cracking with the news!
Over the past week or so, you may have been aware of a potential return show in Sault Ontario for Victoria hardcore/punk legends The Dayglo Abortions, who memorably headlined a huge Thursday metal night at The Roosevelt Hotel in June. The possible return concert was to take place at an undetermined venue tomorrow night at 9:00 PM, and reportedly would have featured local old school hardcore quintet Destroilet as openers in their Dismembertainment debut. There were two reasons why I never plugged it on here: A venue wasn't confirmed, and there was a chance that the show might not take place, as The Dayglo Abortions may have had to fly home early. So is it happening? It doesn't look like it. Promoter Rich Moreland commented on this show's Facebook event page on Wednesday that he would say it's not happening. Shame to see the concert not go down, as you know how great The Dayglo Abortions were in June, but hopefully Dismembertainment brings them back down the road! After all, you saw the crowd thew last time, imagine how insane it would be for a second round?
Also in terms of concert news, I have heard that the Skid Row concert that Dismembertainment was trying to book for The Rosie in November is no longer happening either. I won't go into details, but the whole tour was called off, so nothing bad happened locally. That's super disappointing too, and I know fans have been looking forward to seeing them here since the Runway Park cancellation from 2008, but hopefully they'll play Sault Ontario themselves down the road as well!
Next up, here's some Frightlight news (good & bad.) First, it looks like the previously announced concert that Frightlight was to play at Bossy's Pub N' Grub on October 28th (as per this press release) is now cancelled. Guitarist Rick "Styles" White confirmed the news on his personal Facebook page last night. A reason for the cancellation was not announced, but no worries, you'll still get to see Frightlight's new lineup make their local debut the very next night at this year's Coch's Corner Halloween Party! Speaking of their new lineup, the band's Facebook & CBC Radio 3 pages have quietly been updated to reflect the addition of Half Past/ex-Fitswitch drummer Chris Thompson to the band, though why Jeff De Rose left is still unannounced. Nice to get more confirmation on the switch, and Chris should do great with Frightlight! The other new Frightlight item is that all members of Frightlight have tickets for sale for their gig opening for The Misfits in Toronto on October 26th! If you wanna see this horrorific pairing at The Phoenix Theater on the 26th, click here to contact band members to get hooked up (or go to The Rad Zone!) This will be a huge show for them, so hopefully a huge local contingent makes the road trip to Toronto for The Misfits and Frightlight on stage together!
Continuing with the Frightlight news, they're the subject of this week's classic video, as I'm tying it in with guitarist Rick White's show with Redundant last night! In July, you may remember when I uploaded a classic video of Frightlight covering a Headstones song at their debut concert in October 2009. Well, here's one more from that night, and it's of Frightlight playing their song "She Screams" from that same show! Again featuring the band's original quartet lineup (including ex-drummer Larry Mousseau), this comes from the Frightlight-headlined Coch's Corner Halloween Party on Halloween night in 2009, and it's similar to other early performances of this song by the more reserved chorus singing. Good performance all around though! Like the Headstones cover, this was filmed by a concert attendee and later uploaded to Facebook by Rick White the next day. The original video can be seen at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=192479931302 and NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to the original filmer and Frightlight, they put in the hard work, I'm just showing this off to a wider audience like it deserves! That all said, check out Frightlight playing "She Screams" at their debut concert below!
And finally, remember when I uploaded Detroit's first EP "Let The Hammers Fly" onto the SMS' YouTube channel on Tuesday? Well, there's more where that came from, as I also uploaded the inactive hardcore quartet's second and last EP "Brace For Impact" onto YouTube that same day! Released in December 2009 at the band's CD release show at Coch's Corner, "Brace For Impact" was recorded earlier that year at BWC Studios in Toronto with producer Greg Dawson (Lion Ride are working with Greg at BWC on their new album too.) The EP features 9 songs, mostly re-recordings of songs from "Let The Hammers Fly", though it includes four new tracks ("Fortress", "Darth Vader", "Pyre Driver", and "Bloodlet"), and despite less songs, it's actually a slightly longer disc due to the length of the newer songs. For audio quality, "Brace For Impact" is the superior Detroit CD, but both are well worth checking out for some old school hardcore/punk fury! This CD is also out of print, and with our Defunct Local Band Profile on Detroit coming up on Monday, it made perfect sense to upload "Brace For Impact" onto YouTube as well to ensure that their whole discography is available to check out!
Click here and scroll below the first Detroit EP to give their last album a listen, or click here for the handy playlist I made for it! The first track, "Fortress" is embedded below, but give the whole album a listen at the above links, and stay tuned for our Defunct Profile on Detroit on Monday!
That's all for today, but there should be some more news over the weekend, and if not, our Defunct Local Band Profile on Detroit is on Monday, so keep an eye out! Thanks everyone!
Well guys, I have some big news to share today, as we have two HUGE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to let you guys know about, one for each side of the Twin Saults! We'll cap things with some new songs and videos, but let's dive straight into these major new shows, going (as usual) in chronological order!
Hard rock legend Joan Jett is making her way to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan this fall! The female rock pioneer known for hits like "I Love Rock N' Roll", "Bad Reputation", and "I Hate Myself For Loving You" will hit The Dreammakers Theater at Kewadin Casino on October 21st with her band The Blackhearts for a night of her well known hard rock classics! I think this is her first ever trip to the Sault area for a concert, but I may be wrong. No word yet on possible opening bands yet, but the show has an advertised 7:00 PM start time, and should be all ages. Tickets are $44.50 American, and they go on sale THIS MORNING at 8:00 AM! If you want your tickets, head to this location at 8:00 AM or later (go earlier just in case) and follow the links after clicking "Buy Tickets". Tickets should also be available by phone at 1-800-KEWADIN or through the actual box office at the casino itself. Check the above links for more details, along with SooToday's article on the show! It's awesome seeing Joan Jett come here for a show, she's one of the best rock guitarists of all time and she has a lot of hard rocking numbers in her lengthy repetoire, so she'll be a must see act this fall at Kewadin! Stay tuned for updates on this show as they come in!
Also for big new shows, this is an early scoop that I can now officially confirm after getting confirmation from promoters last night. New Jersey heavy metal legends Skid Row are coming back to the Sault area themselves, this time in Sault Ontario! Dismembertainment are bringing the multi-platinum selling band behind such classics as "18 & Life", "Youth Gone Wild", and "I Remember You" back to the Twin Saults for the first time in over two and a half years for a concert at The Roosevelt Hotel on November 9th! No strangers to the area, they've played at Kewadin Casino multiple times in the past, most recently in March 2009, but this will be Skid Row's first local concert (to my knowledge) on the Ontario side of the border. It'll also be their first local show with new drummer Rob Hammersmith, who replaced Dave Gara last year. Crank Sound Distribution will be on hand to handle the sound at the show, and tickets (limited to just 200 on sale) will likely be $40, which is worth it considering that you're gonna be seeing Skid Row right here in the Soo! Original lineup or not, their instantly recognizable classics and great reputation will be evident on the local stage, so definitely consider getting tickets when they officially go on sale, as they'll go fast!
Other details, like age limits, ticket availability, opening bands, and so forth are not out yet. Stay tuned to the SMS for more details as I hear them! I'm all for seeing Skid Row on November 9th, and I know that Dismembertainment will pull out all the stops to make this show and ticket sales go smoothly! I will say that, in terms of openers, it'd be cool if Sense of Truth returned from their hiatus to open at this show, seeing as they won the Battle of the Bands in 2008 to open for the aborted Skid Row concert at Runway Park that June. That's just personal speculation, but it would be fitting. When more word comes out on this concert, I'll let you guys know!
Now to some more news from a pair of solo guitarists named Mike in the Sault area, starting with Swayze Train guitarist Mike Libertoski's tech/death metal project Galactic Alignment! Mke has uploaded a song named "Hypernova" onto the band's Reverbnation page which will be deleted on Sunday, so it's a limited time offer! Check it out before it leaves, cause it's an awesome instrumental piece with a lot of extremely fast technical metal action! I hope Mike expands this project, cause Galactic Alignment are extremely promising! Wish I knew more about Swayze Train too, are they basically Electric Motor Fish with electric instruments, or something different? The membership mostly implies metal, but I'm not 100% positive. I'll find out at some point! The other new song is from Sault Ontario solo artist Mike Cliffe, who's uploaded a heavier new original song named "Hanging From The Earth" onto his online pages! Nice heavier riffs but with some nice guitar melodies that add some extra flavour. Not crushing, but the song has some heavy groove and bite to it, and Mike's talent is as visible as ever! Good stuff, check out that (and many more) songs at the above links, and here's "Hanging From The Earth" from his YouTube channel, accompanied by a slideshow which incorporates some of the computer screenshots from his music tracking program used with this song!
And finally, here is this week's classic video! With local punk trio Redundant rocking a couple different stages this weekend, I decided to tie in this week's video with drummer Rick White, who's better known locally as a guitarist, most recently in Frightlight! This video comes from their first ever live concert appearance, at the Coch's Corner Halloween Party on Halloween night in 2009, which was also their only concert with former Fitswitch drummer Larry Mousseau. The video in question is of Frightlight covering The Headstones' song "Cemetery", a track which no longer appears in their live setlists, and though the video wasn't great in quality, it has good audio! Rick handles most of the lead vocals here, and does a nice job too! The band sound pretty good, though the future addition of St. Mayhem would likely add to the guitar parts. Filmed by a concert attendee, Rick would upload the video onto his personal Facebook page the next day, and you can view the original video at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=192784251302.
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! This is one of the few Frightlight videos not on YouTube, and it deserves a wider audience and recognition! With that said, check out Frightlight covering "Cemetery" from Halloween 2009 below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news, our Alcoholic White Trash concert preview, and much more very soon! Thanks everyone!
Good afternoon, metalheads! Lots to get to today, including a quite packed concert schedule for tomorrow night, so let us begin with that! Here are your local concert previews for this weekend! (Stay tuned after for news on a concert cancellation, plus Woods of Ypres and Kiss ticket updates!)
First of all, we'll head across the river, where FINALLY, we have a hard rock/metal concert in Sault Michigan in December! And it comes courtesy of rising young stars Free Refill, who will be among the performers at a talent show at Sault Area High School! Not sure on when during the day this is, but knowing past talent shows and assemblies I experienced, I'd put my money on it being during school hours. This (I think) is Free Refill's first concert as a four piece, as guitarist Tyler Wall left the band a while back. Well, it's great seeing Free Refill back playing shows, even if it is something that might not completely count as a "concert". But hey, I bet there's readers who are Sault Area High students, so keep this in mind, there will be some good music! Talented young band, hopefully they'll put in a good performace tomorrow night! I'd link you guys with a video for a preview, but the band has deleted the clips they had on their MySpace page. Trust me though, they play some good covers!
Next we'll head downtown for two concerts, the first of which is in...Station Mall?! That's right, the center of it all will play host to a metal show of sorts tomorrow evening, when Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will perform an acoustic solo set outside of Zoo Zoo, which for you non-mall goers, is near Scotiabank and 4 Seasons Collectibles! Very interesting, I've never heard of any act that's remotely hard rock playing at the mall! Admission is obviously free, just go to the mall. Tym will be performing from 6:00-8:00 PM, so if you're in a shopping mood tomorrow, you'll get some live music too! And if you miss that set, no worries, the Tym Morrison solo experience will be back that same night when he returns to The Big Cheese in Heyden, which is just outside of town! Tym will be playing there from 10:00 PM on through the night!
So if you're in the mood for some great acoustic covers of your favourite metal (and some non-metal) songs, you know where to go! For more information, confirm your attendance at this location for the Station Mall show, or click here for the Big Cheese show! No videos to show, but click here to visit Tym's official website and check out clips from his solo album and some old Caveman Morrison shows!
Next, The Rockstar Bar will play host to a unique concert event called "Rock of Ages" tomorrow night, where the music from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s will take center stage! Playing the 1950s are The Money Shots, and The Suspects will play 1960s and 1970s music, so if you wanna hear covers of classic songs from those eras, they should do the trick! But the reason I'm mentioning this on the SMS is for the 1980s band, Skid Crue, who just happen to be a hair metal cover band! The band features Inner City Surfers frontman Dustin Jones, guitarist Dave Bahun, and bassist Brad "Example" Lacell! Curiously, drummer Mikey Hawdon (also from Lion Ride and Detroit) isn't part of Skid Crue, but from some searching, I learned that Money Shots drummer Francis McCormick will be behind the drumkit for this performance! They don't have a page, but if you love 80s hair metal, this should be right up your alley! Tickets are $5 in advance from The Algonquin Hotel, CD Plus, or The Rad Zone, or they're $7 at the door! It's an 8:00 concert, so make sure you're there early for a good night of music of all types from all eras! Click here to visit the official Facebook event page!
And finally, the metal concert I believe will be getting the most press, partly because it's the grand re-opening of Foggy Notions! That's right, 21 long months after the famous local bar shut it's doors, it's came under new ownership, been renovated (yes, the bathrooms were too), and went through months of hype, anticipation, and false starts, but now it's officially back for real! And headlining it's return are local hard rockers Sense of Truth! This will be their first live appearance since their Kiss Battle of the Bands finals performance, and their first full concert since Halloween at Top Hat Billiards! Joining them: Local punk rockers The Scary Uncles (featuring former SIGHdEFECT frontman Justin Langlois & ex-Fitswitch bassist Andrew McDonald), who always put on a great show! One of my favourite non-metal bands in town! The given start time is 7:00 PM, so make sure you're there early to drink in Foggies' return! Admission is just $5 for what should be a great first chapter in the return of Foggy Notions to the local scene!
Aside from the excitement of the re-opening, this should be a good concert too! Sense of Truth always impress, and should deliver their same brand of catchy hard rock and some solid covers tomorrow night! Check out their Facebook group for more stuff from the band! For a preview, check out this clip of the band covering the Tool song "Stinkfist"!
Sadly, I'll be in Detroit tomorrow, so I'll miss the concerts. If I was in town, I'd definitely go check out Tym Morrison at the mall, then head to the Foggy Notions re-opening (I haven't seen a full Sense of Truth concert in forever!) I wish I could be in town, but I'll get more opportunities to be at Foggies for a show, Boxing Day with Garden of Bedlam seems likely!
Speaking of Boxing Day, we have a cancellation. Due to circumstances beyond their control, Half Past have postponed their planned concert for December 26th at The Rockstar Bar. No word on the specific reason, but it's still disappointing! And yes, the band confirmed it on their Facebook page, so there's my source. Hopefully they'll be back for a show in early 2010! I haven't seen them live since 2008 when they were still called Fingerbone! However, if you still need something to do on Boxing Day, Garden of Bedlam at Foggy Notions is likely on that night too, so you're not completely out of luck for a concert!
And now, Kiss concert cancellation news! You knew this wouldn't be gone for good, did you? The Sault Star has two new articles up concerning it, the first of which is a general article discussing the cancellation and ticket refund info. Nothing new to speak of there. The second is an editorial piece by Frank Rupnik, who gives his take on the postponement. He recommends that the band and The Essar Center keep fans up to date sooner rather than later about when the rescheduled show will take place, and keep us informed to make everything fair. He also expresses that a summer date is better than a winter show because there's more likelihood that it will be a bigger event. Check out the two Sault Star articles by clicking the links in this paragraph! I completely agree with Frank, we have to know these things, and the sooner we find out, the sooner we can make plans! As for ticket refunds, remember, your old December tickets WILL BE HONOURED AT THE MAKEUP DATE! So if you don't want to resell, you can hang on to the seats you have! It's what I'm doing!
And finally for today, a few Woods of Ypres updates! First of all, "Woods IV: The Green Album" is officially available on iTunes! I'm not an iTunes user, so I don't know the exact details on how to purchase it, but searching for Woods of Ypres with it's search function should locate it easily! And if you want a physical copy, it is NOW IN STORES, so head to CD Plus today to pick it up! My source for this is a topic on the band's official forum. Also, the band announced that the new CD is the #2 best seller of this past week on The End Records' website, which is awesome! And, this should be exciting: The band have begun the budgeting process for "Woods V", which frontman David Gold hints will be the band's second CD based on the summer season (after "Pursuit of the Sun/Allure of the Earth") and will be "another exciting shift in Woods of Ypres theme and sound"! Source for this info: Another forum topic, and the band's Facebook page! All sounds awesome, can't wait to hear what Woods of Ypres has in store for us next!
That's all for today! But I should add, today is the LAST DAY TO VOTE IN THIS MONTH'S POLL! I will replace it with a new poll after midnight, and I will update everyone on the results, and what the new question is, so stay tuned for that! Thanks everyone, have fun at tomorrow's concerts, I wish I could be there too!
So yeah, Kiss have postponed their Sault Ste. Marie concert scheduled for tomorrow night until the summer due to weather conditions. That's been all over the news lately, and there's more to come! I gave my opinions and a recap of what we knew so far last night, but there's more to discuss, so here's what's new in the latest Kiss saga! (Stay tuned afterwards for updates on some upcoming local concerts and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TOMORROW NIGHT!)
Brian Kelly and Jeffrey Ougler from The Sault Star have wrote up an article on the Kiss situation for today's paper, and you can check it out online at this location! It recaps what we knew yesterday, but it goes into some extra detail about the weather situation that prevented Kiss from coming here, including extremely icy driving conditions in the Pittsburgh area (Kiss were there for their most recent show.) It also includes comments from local Kiss fan Shaun Brown, who was eagerly anticipating the concert (as many of us were), where he expresses anger and disappointment for the cancellation, but hope that they will stick to their word and play here in the summer. Speaking of people being mad about it being cancelled, SooToday has a poll up on their front page asking how people felt about the show being postponed. Much to my surprise, over 56% of people are OK with it! I would have assumed people would be pissed, but honestly, we know how weather can impair plans and engagements, we put up with it every winter, and I'm sure many of you guys would rather see them in the summer over the winter if you had a choice anyway! See the full poll results by clicking here!
Now since the postponement, I've seen a lot of people feeling sorry and offering condolences to Garden of Bedlam, who as you know, won last week's Battle of the Bands to back up Kiss at tomorrow's concert. Some were drawing comparisons to how Sense of Truth won the right to back up Skid Row last year, only to see that show cancelled, even though the reasons for both were completely different. Well, I've gotta say, the band are handling this exactly the right way. Frontman Buzz said on the band's Facebook group that this is just a "bump in the road", they've just got to wait a little longer for the show, and in the meantime, they'll have time to finish their first full length album! He also announced that tonight's interview with MCTV is still on, so make sure to watch the news tonight at 6:00 (Shaw channel 11) to check it out! Buzz also mentioned they might have a Christmas show in the works too, so keep an eye out for that!
EDIT (3:18 PM): Ticket refund information has officially been announced for the Kiss concert! The Essar Center released a press release apologizing for the postponement of the concert, and have gave full ticket refund info. Refunds will be made available TOMORROW MORNING AT 10:00 AM! The original ticket purchaser has to be there to claim the refund, with the original ticket in hand. If you bought your tickets online or by phone, you can also get your refund by calling 1-866-775-9422. If you got your tickets through the Kiss Army fan-club, or got a V.I.P. ticket package, you'll get e-mailed with info. If you got a ticket through Rock 101 or Eventful presales, or through a Rock 101 giveaway, I have no idea, best to ask people from both for info. Any tickets purchased through the Kiss army or through a presale won't be refunded by the arena. Check out the full Essar Center press release at this location! And remember, THEY WILL HONOUR TICKETS FOR TOMORROW'S SHOW AT THE RESCHEDULED DATE!!!!So, now you're probably wondering, what am I going to do Tuesday night now? Kiss aren't coming, I need my hard rock fix! Well, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that could do the trick! Caveman Morrison have announced a very short notice concert for tomorrow night at The Rockstar Bar, a venue they just played at this past weekend! The Rockstar Bar was originally going to host one of many Kiss afterparties planned for tomorrow, but now, a different band will rock n' roll all night, and they'll definitely bring the goods! The band, and frontman Tym Morrison, have a nice long slate of shows lined up through January so far, but why not see them tomorrow? You were going to see Kiss anyway, don't deprive yourself of great live music! They hit the stage at 10:00 PM until 2:00 AM, there is no cover charge, get full details at the official Facebook event page! You could call this a preview for the concert too, but I still don't have an embeddable video to share. Soon though, hopefully! I won't be at the show tomorrow (I have to study for a history exam. Fun.) They're a great band though, check them out at their official website!
Speaking of The Rockstar Bar, I have some updates on two upcoming shows there! First, you remember the Lion Ride show announced for December 27th? Well, more details have came out for it! Joining them for the concert will be local indie rock band Nebraska Arms, who also backed up Lion Ride at their August show at Coch's Corner, and competed against them in the Kiss battle too! It will be a 10:00-2:00 deal as well, and there is no announced cover charge! They're also hyping this as an alternative for you guys disappointed in the Kiss postponement! For more details, visit the Facebook event page! I'll be there, will you? Meanwhile, I've also learned more information on this Friday's Rock of Ages concert at The Rockstar Bar! Unlike other recent Rockstar Bar shows, there will be a cover of $7, with advance tickets going for $5 at CD Plus, The Rad Zone, and The Algonquin Hotel! It's also a 10:00 concert, and that 80s hair metal band Skid Crue? I can confirm that the three members of The Inner City Surfers in the band are Dustin Jones, Brad "Example" Lacell, and Dave Bahun! Interesting to see them handle some heavy metal, I wish I could check them out! There's also an official Facebook event page for the Rock of Ages show, check it out at this location!
And finally, here's two more quick updates:
TOMORROW is the official in-store release date for Woods of Ypres' newest release, "Woods IV: The Green Album"! I know CD Plus will likely have it, not sure on HMV or The Rad Zone, but make sure you head to stores soon and pick it up! It's well worth it, trust me, it's a great album! And the sooner you get it, the more likely you'll get the bonus Necramyth CD! My source is here.
The new banner image and logo on our Facebook page is for the 22nd Sykotyk Rampage album, entitled "22"! Thanks to the Three Days Grace show and Kiss concert (before the postponing), I had to wait to put the Sykotyk Rampage ones up until yesterday. It's a fun album, listen or buy it at their official SoundClick page!
That's all for now, more news to come very soon, including my preview of the Caveman Morrison-headlined V.I.P. party Wednesday at Foggy Notions, and hopefully lots more! Thanks everyone!
