As we end one of busiest ever months at the SMS, we're heading full speed into August with this weekend's metal/hard rock concert previews! It's a quieter weekend with just two known shows so far, barring late notice heavier concert announcements, and while I have read at least one reference to a Tym Morrison show tomorrow, a more concrete confirmation has yet to come out that I've seen. We'll cover any late notice shows tomorrow if possible, but I've filled out this post with a couple new video discoveries from each side of the border, so read on below for what you need to know! (Updated at 4:53 PM)
Local concert promoter Johnny Pints' eighth Thursday night concert at The Roosevelt Hotel goes down TONIGHT when his local horror punk/metal band Frightlight plays their second show of the year to help fundraise for an upcoming short film! Returning bassist Mike "Eddie Fright" Gingras has been taking filmmaking courses out of town in recent months, and money raised tonight will go towards funding his short film "The Kid Who Made The Face", and as added incentive, all paid attendees will get a credit in the film, so how's that for a different bonus? Originally scheduled for The Algonquin Hotel on July 27th before being moved & postponed, Frightlight and their entertaining Misfits-inspired punk/metal hybrid sound will be joined by local death metal notables The Bear Hunters tonight in what will actually be their last show with rhythm guitarist Josh Stephney, who has not yet moved out of town! My source is lead guitarist Mitch Sirie's personal Facebook page, and if you missed Oddzfest, you have a second chance to send Josh off with their brutal death metal originals! Tonight's other band is local punk trio Redundant, who should put in an entertaining set of their own full of originals and covers, so don't miss them!
Remember, Brazilian metal band Sanitarium are NOT headlining this show anymore, having dropped out around the time of the show's postponement. Admission will be $5 for this 19+ concert with a 9:00 PM start time, and for more details, visit the official Facebook event page and the newly updated concert's commercial to reflect the date & venue change! It'll be great to see Mike/Eddie back with Frightlight (I assume) after a 9 month absence, and hopefully lots of money is raised for his movie with this talented lineup of metal & punk bands! For a preview, here's Frightlight playing "They All Float" last year!
Also this weekend, Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned will return to the local stage with a show on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Sundown Lounge in nearby Pickford, Michigan! Last seen playing in the Lower Peninsula at a battle of the bands at the Charlevoix Venetial Festival on July 22nd, they'll play their first Pickford concert in three months on Saturday, for what should be an entertaining blend of hard rock and classic rock covers, so keep it in mind this weekend! There's no announced cover charge, you must be 21 to attend, and a start time of 9:00 PM is likely. For more details, check the above links (though note that this show was announced way back in March if you're looking for a direct source.) This should be another solid show from Banned, so don't miss it for some diverse hard rock originals and covers, and for a preview, here's Banned covering The Black Keys earlier this year!
We'll close today's post with some new video discoveries, including a newly found cover of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Sault Ontario classic rock cover quintet Mustang Heart! Uploaded to Local2's Mike Caruso's personal YouTube channel on July 6th, 2010, this came from a set that Mustang Heart played downtown at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion for Canada Day that year, and the video combines audio of the song with slideshow photos of their set and video of the July 1st fireworks. It's a good cover with an interesting trade off between male & female vocals, but the fireworks audio does compromise the quality a bit. Check out the full video below, and stay tuned in case more non-metal bands' hard rock covers pop up!
Finally for today, here's another online-streamable copy of a Kewadin Casino commercial for an upcoming hard rock show, this time to promote the Night Ranger/John Waite concert at The Dreammaker's Theater on September 22nd! It is what it is, showing band photos and text effects with a solid voice over, though there's no video footage of the band or John, and the text movements can get in the way a bit. Check out the ad below, and get your tickets at this link, the Soo Kewadin box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN, as there's still plenty of tickets remaining from the second row and back!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Where Are The New Albums? post TOMORROW, and for more news on the site as it rolls in, including possible late notice concerts! Thanks everyone!
Now into day #46 of our posting streak at the SMS, today's post is almost completely dedicated to previews of this weekend's metal/hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults & area tonight & tomorrow, including a Eastern U.P. band's return after an off weekend (plus new videos of theirs), and a major upcoming punk/metal concert, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT, so here's what you need to know for this weekend!
Sault Ontario alternative/hard rock cover quartet Lucky 13 will return to the stage TONIGHT at The Nicolet Tavern! Apologies for the short notice, but the show was only just announced on Wednesday, so I saved it for tonight's concert preview-centric post. Almost a month removed from their St. Patrick's Day Weekend gig at The Rockstar Bar, this talented veteran quartet featuring Route 69, Bangers & Mash, and Gully Yodelers are sure to be amped up for their second Nicolet gig, and they're promising rock n' roll good times, so why not come out to see Lucky 13 live tonight? Most of the action's tomorrow, but this could suit your Friday hard rock needs! Admission is likely free for TONIGHT'S one night only gig, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:30 PM-ish start time. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an entertaining night of 1990s-leaning alternative & hard rock covers, so don't miss this quality newer local band later this evening at The Nic! For a preview, here's Lucky 13 covering The Stone Temple Pilots' "Interestate Love Song" last fall!
Now to the previews of previously announced Saturday hard rock shows, starting with the hugely anticipated return of Montreal punk legends The Ripcordz to Sault Ste. Marie TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at The Speak Easy in August 2007, this hard touring veteran trio are certainly no strangers to the region dating back many years, and I know there's many local punk fans that are extremely eager for another chance to see these true Canadian punk icons in the Soo! Like the 2007 show, there will be local metal opening bands, including another long awaited local stage return courtesy of local old school hardcore quintet Destroilet! After over two years away from local shows (for reasons still not publically clear), this band of local hardcore, metal, and punk mainstays should have a chaotic set of originals and covers in store for their return, including many cuts from their new full length album! The other opening band is local punk/metal quartet T-Rex Manning (in their first show under their usual name since November), and their covers & originals should entertain fans as the set the tone for this show tomorrow night! Note that their inclusion is extra fitting, given that frontman/show promoter J.D. Pearce & drummer Rick White previously opened for The Ripcordz with a late-era Fitswitch lineup at the 2007 show.
This concert WILL be taking place downstairs at The Algonquin Pub & Sports Bar, after being briefly moved upstairs to The Rockstar Bar, but as far as I know, scheduling conflicts forced the move back downstairs, so the advertising is all still correct! Tickets can be purchased for $10 in advance at The Algonquin Hotel, The Rad Zone, and Case's Music, along with from select opening band members, and the show has a 9:00 PM door opening time & a 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a huge concert for both punk & metal fans, and hopefully The Ripcordz tear up the Soo once again tomorrow! I'll 100% see you guys there, and for a preview, here's Destroilet playing two covers at the old Coch's Corner in 2010!
Finally for heavier weekend concerts, Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned are scheduled to return to The Sundown Lounge in Pickford, Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT as they return to their recently torrid pace of weekend concerts following a weekend off! This one night only gig will be Banned's first show in Pickford (a half hour south of the Soo) in 8 months, unless I missed one there in the interim, and their evolving mix of covers and originals should be fun to hear as they play their first Sundown Lounge gig with their current lineup! There's no announced cover charge for this 21+ concert, and there's a 9:00 PM start time. For more details, visit Banned's Facebook page! This should be an another entertainingly diverse night of music from Banned, so make the trip down to Pickford TOMORROW if you can, and if it doesn't work out, they'll be back in Moran next weekend! For a preview, we have some brand new videos of Banned to share on here, so what should you know on them?
Uploaded to their official YouTube channel over the past week, these are from their first ever show at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on March 30th, and both capture very different songs. One is a cover of Sugarland's "Stay" featuring just new singer Tara Starr & guitarist Alex Traynor, and it's a fairly intimate and reserved cover, which continues to show the increased country elements of their set since introducing a permanent singer. The video embedded below though is of the full band covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy", and Alex handles lead vocals with Tara & most other members on backing chorus vocals, which does indicate that Alex haven't completely given up singing lead at Banned shows. It's definitely a fuller and more rock-leaning song, but I find "Lonely Boy" to be badly overplayed, and I'm curious to hear their new lineup tackling a bit heavier songs like they did at earlier concerts. Check out their "Stay" cover above (and more), give their Black Keys cover a look below, and don't miss Banned at The Sundown Lounge in Pickford tomorrow night!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news tomorrow including updates on a major benefit for a recently passed local musician! Thanks everyone!
As we approach the holiday weekend, there's no end in sight for the recent influx of news, so what's on the docket for this Thursday evening? Along with a cool archive metal album discovery, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for a prolific U.P. band's next regional gigs, and previews of that same band's Easter weekend gigs, but first, here's a new band discovery to eventually add to our band links, so here's what you need to know!
We have a "new" band to add to our inactive Sault Ontario band links, and they're the mid-2000s local metal quartet Batteries Not Included! Active primarily from 2003-2004, we've alluded to them on the SMS in the past, but I just discovered their Angelfire website yesterday, so only now are we adding them to our links. Their lineup included a few notable musicians from more recent local bands, including future Free Beer/M.O.B. & Creatures of the Night bandmates Keith Gagnon & Ryan Gray, and current Asylum Country drummer T.J. Case, alongside guitarist Ian Connell, who I don't believe has had any major later band roles. Though their website says that they played "a lot of vintage rock and older music", they were definitely heavier skewing, as David Helwig's SooToday article on them from August 2004 mentioned that they covered Metallica, AC/DC, and Ozzy Osbourne songs. Visibly active during the members' youths, their live shows appeared to primarily take place in mid-2004 at outdoor venues like The Roberta Bondar Pavilion & The Bellevue Park Bandshell, before likely disbanding by early 2005.
I can't add a whole lot on Batteries Not Included, as their website is full of dead and unfinished links, and I can't find any media of theirs, but the members are talented judging by their later work! In a way, they remind me of Garage Inc., in that they're a young metal band who played notable outdoor gigs and later dispersed into more successful non-metal acts, but that's likely just coincidental. Check out Batteries Not Included at the above links, and when Blogger's link add-on issues get fixed, they'll be listed on the site!
Next up, here are some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as Kinross classic hard rock quintet Banned have announced a bunch of new regional concert dates through the summer via their most recent Facebook statuses! Among the new shows, they'll return to The Sundown Lounge in Pickford (a half hour south of the Soo) for concerts on April 13th & August 3rd, while they've booked more dates at one of their favourite recent venues, Todd's Tavern in Moran (a half hour northwest of St. Ignace) on April 20th, May 4th, and May 25th! While no strangers to Todd's Tavern in recent months, the April 13th Pickford date will be their first at that venue in 8 months, and as a result, their first with their current lineup. All likely have 21+ age limits and no announced cover charges, and while the Sundown Lounge dates have 9:00 PM start times, the Moran shows will start at 8:00 PM, as is usually the case. Check the above links for more details!
It's nice to see a whack of new Banned show announcements, and I'm most surprised to see a confirmation this far ahead for August! It is sorta weird though that none of the
dates are for full two night weekend engagements, but they've never been
as exclusive to that concept as some other recent hard rock bands
across the river. However, they do have a full weekend of music planned
TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so here's our only hard rock/metal
concert previews for the Easter weekend! The aforementioned Banned will
make their first ever appearances (I think) at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino tomorrow & Saturday, which will cap off a busy month of concerts from this prolific band, and hopefully their current lineup brings some great and varied metal/hard rock covers to the table at the Sault Kewadin! These shows have 9:00 PM start times, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Again, check the above links for more details!
These should be some good shows, so keep Banned's Kewadin Casino debuts in mind this weekend, and for a preview, here's Banned covering a Carrie Underwood song recently, but click here for heavier covers with older lineups!
Finally for today, here's a neat find that you don't see enough of: A local metal band's cassette tape in full on YouTube! Back in the day, cassette tape albums were more common than
CDs, but even some of the more obvious or notable ones (like Proposition
86's cassette or the Amethyst release with "Waste of Time") are
extremely difficult to find nowadays. However, at least one metal
cassette-only album has been posted on YouTube, and it's "Self Murder",
the 1997 release by the defunct crossover/hardcore band Facedown! If I
remember correctly, there were two local bands with this name, but I don't think it's the one that former Motion Carried drummer Jamie Whalen was in. I
actually received this whole album in mp3 format a couple years ago from
current Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy, but I never did anything with the songs for SMS purposes because I didn't have a label scan to compliment the album for public uploading. No matter though, as YouTube user Richard Dryfist took care of that when he uploaded the album last month, but what do we know about it?
Uploaded as part of a playlist at this link, the 8 songs are "Self Murder", "Facedown", "Beat Up", "Facelift", "Dismemories", "World of Hate", "Emotionless", and "Loaded", so click each link to check them out! I'm unsure of their full lineup, but this is a great find, and whoever Richard Dryfist is, kudos to him! (He also uploaded a Canadian punk compilation featuring a Spigots track too.) As this is a full local metal album that I have access to, I do wanna review it on the SMS (hopefully after I learn a bit more on them), but there's some quality hardcore punk and crossover sounds in these 8 tracks to enjoy, so check everything out at the above links, and here's the cassette's title track!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news & notes likely tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
With a typically stacked Halloween weekend for concerts, I've been left no choice but to separate this weekend's concert previews by city, and because I'm waiting for additional confirmation on a pair of dates in Sault Ontario, we'll start the previews with the Sault Michigan metal and hard rock shows over the next two nights! If you want to know where the heaviest Halloween shows are across the river, this should tell you, though a couple of the shows are kinda iffy on their statuses. That said, here's what you need to know for the announced Halloween weekend shows across the river!
First for Halloween weekend metal concerts in Sault Michigan is the return of local hard rock quintet NoXcape to the concert stage tomorrow night and Saturday night! These are the first scheduled concerts for the band featuring the classic Absolute lineup and Krosswalk guitarist Joey Beairl in over a month, but they're listed on band pages to return to The Satisfied Frog for two hard hitting Halloween weekend shows over the next couple nights! I'm slightly concerned though, as band pages have not been updated since September, and there's been no advance promotion for these concerts in recent weeks, so part of me is worried that these bookings are or were in jeopardy. Unless I hear otherwise though, I'll treat these shows as still on, but I'll keep tabs on them! That all said, there's no announced cover charge for either night, you must be 21 to attend, and I imagine they'll be on at 10:00 PM or later for both shows. For more details, check the above links!
Saying that these shows go down as scheduled, I'd expect NoXcape to rock The Frog with some awesome covers and (maybe?) originals, so keep these shows in mind for your Halloween weekend plans! Though there's no videos of NoXcape to my knowledge, get a preview of their sound by clicking here to see old Absolute videos from their heyday!
Next on the weekend schedule across the river, it's two metal bands for the price of one at The Merchant's Bar for their Halloween bash, as local hard rock acts Scofflaw and Powerslug will join forces for two consecutive nights! The two bands, who both share drummer Ivan Schliska, will play their first joint gigs since LemmaFest (when Powerslug was still River Witch) this weekend, and look out for some different but always entertaining varieties of hard rock from both bands over the next two nights! The Merch has Halloween plans for the weekend as well, including a Halloween costume contest for $100 on Saturday and Halloween-themed drink specials, so keep those in mind for if you head there this weekend! There's no announced cover charge, you must be 21 to attend, and though the announced start time is 7:00 PM, I expect the bands wouldn't actually take stage until after 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see Scofflaw back, and it gave us more and fuller concerts for the holiday weekend to boot, so hopefully their grungier hard rock style and Powerslug's newer covers mesh well this weekend! Go see the two bands rock The Merch if you can, and for a preview, here's Scofflaw playing their song "Love Destroyer"!
The other metal/hard rock Halloween weekend shows that I know of across the river take place just outside of town, but they're certainly not far from Sault Michigan, so keep these shows in mind! Firstly, local hard rock quintet Splitshot will rock The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau, Michigan tomorrow night & Saturday night! The band featuring Nixxon Dixxon alumni Chris Hubbard, Kyle Beaumont, and Jake LaLonde (along with Dave Menard and Kyle's dad(?) Gary) will play for what could be the first time at the Barbeau restaurant & concert spot this weekend, and yes, there'll be lots of Halloween stuff going on this weekend as well, including a costume contest on Saturday night as part of The Cozy Corners' own Halloween party! And yes, Splitshot are sure to have lots of hard rock covers in store for you hard rockers, so don't forget about the music! There will be a 9:30 PM start time both nights, there's no cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! Though I still can't tell you much about Splitshot's sound, they'll be sure to rock you guys all weekend long, especially for the Halloween party on Saturday night, so keep these shows in mind as well for your weekend plans!
And finally, Kinross hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to return to The Sundown Lounge in Pickford, Michigan on Saturday night only for that bar's own Halloween festivities! This show was originally scheduled for tomorrow night, but the band confirmed it was moved to Saturday last month, so don't get thrown off! Now, I'm slightly wary of this concert's status too, for a couple of reasons. Banned still haven't announced a replacement for bassist Alex Schrovenwever, who left the group a few weeks ago, and the status that confirmed this show was deleted from their Facebook page. However, other statuses there still reference it, as does the promo video that guitarist Alex Traynor's sister Ashley uploaded two weeks ago, which is still online without changes. Are they playing on Saturday, and if so, who'll be playing bass? I can't say for the latter (former live guest bassists Steve Jacobus or Eric Cairns are good guesses), but with no official retraction of the date, I'll treat this show as on unless I hear otherwise. If they're on, they'll hit the stage at around 10:00 PM, a Halloween costume contest with prizes is planned, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details!
If Banned are indeed rocking The Sundown Lounge this weekend, they'll deliver some great hard rock covers for sure, so head to Pickford on Saturday night if you know they're playing and wanna rock out for the Halloween season! For a preview, here's Banned covering Led Zeppelin's "Rock N' Roll" in Pickford last month!
That's all for now, but our next post should have Sault Ontario weekend concert previews, so stay tuned for all that! Thanks everyone, and have a spooky good weekend of Halloween concerts!
It's time for some more news today, but first, I want to apologize for a missed show. Apparently, Sault Michigan quartet Powerslug played a short notice concert at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill on September 17th, though without venue or band confirmation, I didn't hear about it until I saw gutiarist Chris Gurnoe mention it on his personal Facebook page. I apologize for missing this show, though I wish Powerslug shows were easier to source! Now, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS today, new videos from a young local band, and the identity of our next CD review, so let's begin (and check out this morning's Saultites in Out of Town Bands Profile on Paricide in the post below this one!)
The first metal concert for the next incarnation of Foggy Notions has been announced, and it's the Green Christmas Bash on Christmas Day! Looks like the return of what was Foggy's will come before Christmas, so a show's been announced for then, which is good news! For the concert itself, this will be the second straight year of a "green" Christmas show at this location, and like last year's concert, local punk/classical trio RedD Monkey are headlining! Gotta love their fast and furious blend of punk, a cello, and even some scattered rap and metal covers, so don't miss them! However, metal will grace the stage along with them, including classic metal quintet Sativa Rose and crash quartet Sykotyk Rampage! This is currently the first announced concert for Sativa Rose since they added singer Marisa Valois to their lineup in August, but I imagine we'll see them before then. Still, nice to see Sativa Rose back for another Christmas show at what was Foggy's! As for Sykotyk Rampage, it'll be nice to see them back on the local stage after a few months away from it, and in case no concerts are announced for them in the interim, it will probably be our first chance to hear songs from their six newest albums live!
More bands are likely to be announced, and if your band's interested in playing, message promoter/RedD Monkey frontman Steve Mozarowski at this location! For reference, last year's Green Christmas show featured RedD Monkey & Sativa Rose with the recently-inactive bands The Fury, SBD, and Whiskey Skidoo, so you know bands of any genre could make the lineup this year! Like the last Christmas' concert, it will be a 19+ event with a 9:00 PM start time, but this time, there will be a cover charge of "a Christmas toonie", which is more than affordable! Click here for more details! Sounds like fun, hopefully lots of people show up to send Christmas out with a bang! Stay tuned for more details on this show and Foggy Notions' return as they come in!
Also new on the concert schedule, Kinross hard rock trio Banned have announced their next concert appearance! Last seen at that minimally advertised battle of the bands in Rudyard on August 20th, the newer and rising trio will return to The Sundown Lounge in Pickford on Friday, October 28th for a Halloween weekend concert! Halloween weekend is always stacked with concerts, and this will be a nice addition! According to Banned's Facebook page, there will be a Halloween costume contest and prizes concurrent with the night's festivities, so if you go see Banned, get dressed up in your best costume! I assume this concert will have a 10:00 PM start time, you'll likely have to be 21 to attend the show, and there's no advertised cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Should be a good show in it's own right, especially with the longer than expected wait for a new Banned concert, so definitely keep their Halloween weekend concert in mind for next month, and stay tuned for more Banned news as I hear it!
Thirdly today, here's the latest from young Sault Michigan hard rockers Abstract! Their shows still tend to be announced on short notice, with few details about their locations or possible fees given, but they're still plugging away and frequently seen locally, so click here to keep up to date! In recent Abstract news, they won a fan-voted battle of the bands at the Chippewa County Fair, they're working on an original song, and the band may have parted ways with guitarist Kyle Burton, who's not listed in their members on their Facebook page (though he's credited elsewhere still.) If true, it's definitely disappointing, as he's a promising young guitarist, but we'll have to see what happens next! Also, two new YouTube videos of Abstract are now online courtesy of YouTube user Glen Baumgart, who posted two videos of the band from a performance in Mackinac Crossings on Mackinac Island on September 3rd onto his YouTube channel earlier this month! The videos are of Abstract covering AC/DC's "Back In Black" and The Scorpions' "Rock You Like A Hurricane", and for their ages, they do a good job!
Jacob Hotlen's singing doesn't really mesh with AC/DC, but they're showing more promise, and I'm as curious as ever to hear how they develop as they get older! I've embedded their Scorpions cover below, but check out much more from Abstract at the above links, and stay tuned for more from this promising young band as I hear it!
And finally, I'd like to talk about this month's local metal CD review. I've been quiet about it this month mainly because I was waiting to see if any new albums would come out (and I'd heard rumours to that effect from a couple of bands), but what will we review this month? Barring a flash new release by Thursday, I've decided to dip back into the archives this month, but with a shortage of gigging artists who released albums I have access to, I'll pick one of the bigger general metal albums I haven't reviewed yet. So this month, we'll very likely be looking at Woods of Ypres' second album & first full length release, 2004's "Pursuit Of The Sun & Allure Of The Earth"! It's been six months since I last reviewed an album of theirs, so we're past my six month buffer to avoid biases, and we're still behind on Woods of Ypres reviews as it is, so why not? Keep an eye out for our review of "Woods II" later this week (probably on Friday), again, barring a possible new release before then. No matter what though, I've got reviewing to do this week, so stay tuned for this final feature post of September 2011 in a few days!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news this week, plus weekend concert previews and the aforementioned CD review as well! Thanks everyone!
As promised, here are the previews of this weekend's hard rock concerts in Sault Michigan! With such a high amount of concerts on both sides of the border this weekend in such a short span, I had to do it like this to keep things even and give the bands across the river the proper amount of attention. At the end, we have a housecleaning note concerning our band links as it amounts to the "active statuses" of bands we cover. Now, to the previews!!
Marquette hard rockers Nudge are returning to The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan this weekend! They'll be there tomorrow night & Saturday night in their first local concert stops since their two consecutive weekends at The Frog in June to deliver two great nights of hard rock and metal covers! The band haven't been promoting these shows as vigorously as their last few local shows, but they're definitely on, so take note of them (as well as frontman Danzo McCracken's acoustic solo set TONIGHT!) Both Nudge shows will start at 10:00 PM, you must be 21 to enter, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Nudge should deliver some great tunes this weekend, as they are a very talented and hard rocking quartet who always leave an impression locally! Head to The Frog this weekend for the shows, and for a preview, here's Nudge covering System of a Down's "Violent Pornography" circa November 2008!
Also this weekend in Sault Michigan is the live debut of new local hard rockers NoXcape! The quintet featuring former Absolute bandmates Ben Huyck on guitar, bassist Bill Spence, and drummer Justin Lawless, plus singer Nick Landreville and Krosswalk guitarist Joey Beairl will head down to Dan's Place in nearby Rudyard for their debut show on Saturday night! I've heard promising things about the full lineup, and judging by their past bands, they should do great in their first concert! It looks to have a 10:00 PM-ish start time and a 21+ age limit, with no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! Always good to see a new band pop up, and hopefully NoXcape can go as far as possible! For a preview, check out some original demos featuring just Nick and Ben from their MK-Ultra days at this location! Very late 1990s vibe with this stuff, hopefully they keep this vibe going with NoXcape! Check them out in Rudyard on Saturday!
And finally for the weekend concert previews, Kinross hard rock trio Banned will make their first ever 21+ concert appearance this Saturday at The Sundown Lounge in Pickford! I'm not familiar with this bar in any way, but their address is 18664 S M 129, and I heard it's a nice establishment, so remember that if you go see Banned this weekend! The new and diverse group will have a solid slate of classic and hard rock covers for their fans at this show, and they proved to be entertaining and talented at their debut last month, so don't miss them! The show has a 9:30 PM start time, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above link for more details! Should be fun, hopefully they do great in Pickford this weekend! For a preview, here's Banned covering Bad Company and The Red Hot Chili Peppers in Rudyard last month!
And finally, here's a note concerning our band links on the SMS. As part of our page redesign last month, we started segmenting bands in the twin Saults by whether they're active or inactive/defunct by placing them in separate sections. In case you weren't sure, my criteria for if a band is "inactive" is if they either officially declare they've broken up (i.e. State of Misery), most of the band forms a new band in lieu of the older group (i.e. Out Of The Mouth Of Babes), or if a band goes one complete year without a visible sign of activity (i.e. Detroit.) As such, our band links have been basically accurate since the re-sorting, but this month, we're going to start moving a few bands to the inactive band links due to, well, inactivity. Three bands (by my count) will have been inactive for a whole year this month, and the first one we'll likely move to the inactive links will be The Issues, the punk/metal project from a few current members of Winkstinger. The last sign of activity from them that I can verify is a song upload to their Facebook page on August 5th of last year, and with nothing since, we'll likely classify them as "inactive" starting tomorrow. They're a very entertaining band though, give them a listen at this location!
The other two bands I have on "inactivity watch" for this month are from Sault Michigan, but we'll approach them as they come. I'm doing this to keep our band links relevant to the current state of the scene, so you guys know exactly which bands are active & alive and which bands are not, but are still worth checking out. That's all for today, but stay tuned tonight or early tomorrow for a HUGE post featuring an awesome LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, big news concerning a local band's next albums (how does SIX new albums sound?), and much more! Thanks everyone!
Alright, I wasn't expecting to have another post so soon (I was gonna wait until tonight or early tomorrow), but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT has came to my attention, so I'm gonna get a new news post in this afternoon so we can properly preview it. We also have some more new shows (including the first details from an annual festival), a new band on an upcoming all ages concert, and an interesting note I wanted to make leading from a battle of the bands that took place a few years ago. So here's what you need to know for today (and check out my news post from this morning featuring some HUGE new shows and some new videos in the post below!)
One night after rocking The Roosevelt Hotel, local hardcore quintet As It Stands will play a solo concert TONIGHT at Foggy Notions! Apologies for the short notice, this was only just announced earlier today. As It Stands are helping out to replace a previously scheduled band who cancelled tonight, though I admit not knowing who was originally scheduled. Nice of them to fill in, cause their metalcore sounds are awesome no matter how much advance word you get! They'll be on at 10:00 PM tonight, there will be a 19+ age limit, and though no cover charge is announced, bring cash just in case. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Should be a good concert, and you know As It Stands bring it every time they take the stage, so definitely consider hitting this show TONIGHT! For a preview, here's many clips of As It Stands' set at the Dead & Divine concert at The Oddfellows Hall in April!
Meanwhile, Kinross hard rock trio Banned have announced their next two local concerts, fresh off a successful debut in Rudyard last weekend! The Sault Michigan-area rockers will first hit The Sundown Lounge in nearby Pickford on August 6th (one week from tomorrow) for a solo concert at 9:30 PM! Should be interesting to see how they do in a bar environment, though I'm largely unfamiliar with The Sundown Lounge as a concert venue. For reference sake, it's address is 18664 S M 129 (yes, that is it.) There's no announced cover charge, and it's a 21+ event, so keep all of this in mind! Then, the band announced that they'll be among the lineup at this year's Sugar Island Music Festival, which celebrates it's 10th anniversary this year! They announced they'd be playing at 6:00 PM on August 12th (two weeks from today), but a full lineup has not been announced yet. Some bands are confirmed as per this link, the vast majority of which fall into non-metal categories, but local hard rock quartet Free Refill are confirmed once again for this year! (Banned are not listed officially yet though.) Nice to see Free Refill back for this year, I was wondering when they'd come back!
Now judging by last year's schedule, the heavier bands will all likely play on the Friday, with the folksier softer bands taking up the weekend lineups, but who knows if that will stick this year. Admission will be $10 for a 3 day pass or $6 for a single day, with kids entering free. Click here for more information! Nice to see the Sugar Island Festival back, hopefully the 10th anniversary is a huge success! Stay tuned to the SMS for further festival details as I hear them, along with Banned's show next week in Pickford!
Next up, here's the latest lineup updates concerning the Smeltzer reunion concert at August 12th at The Oddfellows Hall (which also features metal openers!) It looks like the show will have 6 bands in total, as promoters have added one more and are looking for a final band to round things out. The newly added band is local grimecore trio Shit Liver, in their first local show since their summer break began in late June! A booking could pop up before then, but currently, this will be their return to the local stage. Fans of crusty and grimy death metal should take note, as Shit Liver will soon be back to melt your faces! The other remaining band slot is still open, so contact the promoters linked on the Facebook event page if you're interested in possibly playing. I can say that the page briefly listed Winkstinger as the openers via a now deleted event poster (I'm 100% positive I saw that), but they appear to be out. I assumed that we might see a Fury reunion due to their own Smeltzer connection, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards either. Stay tuned for updates on the lineup for this ALL AGES show, also featuring The Bear Hunters, RedD Monkey, and The Tenagens!
And finally, with news of Skid Row's local return in November, it got me wondering about a Skid Row-related event that took place here 3 years ago. You may remember that on April 26th, 2008, seven local bands gathered at The Speak Easy at Algoma University for the chance to win $500 and open for Skid Row that June! I won't reference that aborted concert here, I don't wanna dredge up bad memories, but what got me thinking was the local bands that competed for the right to open for Skid Row. Over three years later, what happened to them? Shockingly enough, only two of them are still together right now, and neither have played a local concert in over a year! Ironically, the two active bands are metal, those being battle winners Sense of Truth (who actually made their live debut at this show) and extreme metal duo Sue Inside. Sense of Truth were last seen on stage last May, having been busy with personal commitments & EP artwork issues since then, but hopefully they'll return soon! Sue Inside frontman Shane Lipsit-Fraser moved to Oil Springs, Ontario in mid-2009, taking the band with him, and they haven't played a local show since, though he still posts new material on band pages. The other five bands, believe it or not, are either broken up or long since inactive.
Runners-up The Scary Uncles disbanded in December, third place band Free Beer have been mostly inactive since the summer of 2009 (they did have a one-off reunion earlier this year though), and I've heard nothing from fourth place band The Blockade, indie rockers Terminal, or Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band Sikamikanico since 2008, though only Terminal seemed to confirm that they actually broke up. I just found it interesting that of the 7 bands competing to open for Skid Row in 2008, only 2 seem to be alive, and none are active and gigging locally right now. Still, I was there for this battle (it was all ages) and it was fun seeing these bands (many of which I was unfamiliar with at the time) rocking out for a big prize! After the show, SooToday posted an article featuring photos and videos from the battle courtesy of Donna Hopper and Tyler Simpson, and you can see it all at this location! I embedded the video with parts of each band's sets below for you guys to check out, and for metal's sake, Sue Inside are at 3:24 of the video with Sense of Truth immediately following. Solid stuff, so take a trip down memory lane below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned tomorrow (hopefully) for a new news post featuring some more local metal and hard rock news and updates! Thanks everyone!
