Mike Haggith - "Under A Moonlit Sky" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 205th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and as we continue slowly mowing through our new album release backlog, we'll head back to Sault Ontario this month to look at prolific local/Barrie alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith's new live album "Under A Moonlit Sky"! In a brief detour from his studio album catalogue, this is his first solo live album since 2018's acoustic "From The Nickel Stage" and his first full-band live album since The Din's "Technically Live" in 2021. This was recorded during Mike's headlining concert with his Big Finish Band at The Downtown Plaza on September 25th, 2025, which was originally planned as a battle of the bands before being cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances". Now a rare Mike Haggith headlining concert in the Soo, it was recorded for posterity from the soundboard, with Mike Blair's 705Live Sound Co. running things.

Mike Haggith produced and enhanced the raw audio for the album proper, which was released by his own MorningStar Records on November 30th. Mike is on lead vocals and rhythm guitar here, and The Big Finish Band (in their album debut) were represented by their current lineup, including A Dire Setback/With Gunfire guitarist Chris Nielsen, ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi, Mike's old Din bandmate Brandan Glew on drums, and Drifters/ex-Re:Born frontwoman Elly McWatters on backing vocals and tambourine (she didn't play rhythm guitar here due to her then-recovery from rotator cuff surgery). You can stream "Under A Moonlit Sky" on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Deezer, Anghami, and (of course) Boomplay, while you can buy the album in mp3 download format on Bandcamp and iTunes for $10, give or take a cent. You can also watch the whole unedited concert from multiple pro-shot camera angles at this link!

CD copies were teased for "early 2026", but have not arrived at press time. Just to clarify how this review will be formatted... as this is a live album primarily comprised of re-recordings, I will only formally "review" tracks that were never previously included on a (Mike) Haggith or Din album that I have previously looked at. As was the case when I reviewed The Din's three live albums on the SMS, I will compare the performances of established songs to their studio version where possible, but if you want to read my thoughts of the songs in their original form, my reviews of those albums will be linked below. Also note that the full video of this concert is about 6 minutes longer than the album, thanks to closing credits and some minor clean-up of between-song breaks. Unlike on "Technically Live" (which omitted "Of Cars & Criminals"), no full songs from the proper concert were cut from the album.

With 19 tracks running for about 69 minutes, let's begin this review! The opening song for the album and concert was its shortest proper song "Brand New Day", which led off Mike's 2025 mailing list subscriber-exclusive album "Frequent Flyer". Aside from a slightly extended drum intro by Brandan and an adlibbed remark about the nice weather that evening, this is pretty faithful to the original song, retaining its upbeat power pop nature, but I do prefer the backing vocals on the live version, which feel more naturally included. This bleeds right into "Missing", which Mike and Brandan originally recorded for The Din's second and final studio album, 2017's "Suburban Dream". The live concert energy and Mike's improved vocal range give this some some more life and energy while still harbouring a melancholy mid-tempo vibe.

Structurally, some notes are held extra for effect, but the song is basically the same as what The Din recorded originally. I prefer more fully upbeat hard rock-leaning compositions, but it's still a good track! Third up is (technically) the shortest track here, namely "Guitar Adlib", which is literally just 40 seconds of Mike improvising on his acoustic guitar while offering some sung filler vocals and banter with his bandmates. Amusing for what it is, but this really could (and should) have been tacked on to the next proper song, "MorningStar", which was first heard on 2020's "If Ever Comes The Day". I did find that this song felt a little empty as originally presented, so filling it out with a live band,and more electric instrumentation does help it! Otherwise, the song is structured the same, aside from being played a little faster, and it's still a pleasant reflection on a lost love that fans of the original will still enjoy!

After plugging his merchandise table, Mike next plays "Carousel" (from his most recent proper "mainline" studio album, 2023's "All The Best In All You Do"), but here, the addition of a live backing band actually doesn't lead to complimentary backing vocals, which fit prior songs better here. Chris' lead guitar work has more flourish than the studio version had, but this live take is otherwise structurally similar, and it still has a soaring emotional quality that suits Mike's modern catalogue! Mike next introduces Matt on bass, crediting him for helping write their next song, "You Are The Sun" (from "Frequent Flyer"). The live version drastically shortens Matt's opening bass intro, but for the bulk of it, the composition is similar, but with extra jangly percussion. While not Mike's most "rocking" song, the live atmosphere does give it an energy boost, and it remains one of his more upbeat, casual recent songs!

The next two songs are Mike's newest originals (as of 2025), and have yet to make a studio album of any kind, so consider these full reviews. The first is "I Really Hope This Gets To You", which is basically a message to an ex-romantic partner explaining why one had to leave the relationship. A driving rocker with direct yet melodic lyrics, this will definitely appeal to fans of Mike's hard rock-leaning material, and Elly's backing vocals are a nice compliment in this setting! Brandan's drumming is a strong compliment, and while not short, it blows by at a good pace right into the other new song, "No Love", which feels like a sequel to the prior track in which Mike/the narrator gets a letter back from their ex, and stands firm about not having feelings for them anymore despite their implied remorse. Of the two, I prefer "I Really Hope This Gets To You" for its melody and edge, as the main riff on "No Love" is too relentlessly pulsating, and I think they over-harmonized the choruses.

It's not a bad song, and it compliments the preceding cut well for lyrical content and overall tone, but it doesn't feel as loose yet direct all at once. The last song of the first half of the album/concert is "Hot & Cold", as first heard on "All The Best In All You Do". This live version cuts 2 minutes from the studio copy's 6+ minute runtime, primarily extended instrumental sections, while Mike and The Big Finish Band do play it faster. As I noted in the "All The Best..." album review, I was familiar with live versions of this song before that review was written, and at the time, I preferred this song live, as the studio copy felt overproduced with added synths and keys that took away from the rocking edge. Three years later, I still feel the same way, as this live take is one of the highlights of the album, and Mike's knee held up throughout!  Next is the album's title track "Under A Moonlit Sky", which is one of three filler spoken word tracks here.

This just serves as the extended intro to the next two songs, both from "If Ever Comes The Day". Personally, I'd have just rolled this intro into the start of "Back Away Slowly" (whose lyrics contain the album name), but this is hardly the first time that Mike has included spoken word banter or setups as their own track on a live album. "Back Away Slowly" comes across as shorter and tighter than the studio version, with the full band input livening up what was already a solid song (note Chris having extra room to show off on lead guitar). Still an upbeat power pop song with personal lyrics that is complimentary of a full band, keys/synths-devoid setup! That's followed by "The Best You Never Had", which actually opened "If Ever Comes The Day". The live version here is similarly paced and structured to the studio version, but without the piano parts, it does come off more like a rock song, which is to its benefit again.

I prefer songs where Mike uses his voice moreso than the low, affecting, and almost-spoken word verses here, but it's a good song with weighty lyrics in any format! The live version is a little longer thanks to post-song banter to promote their merchandise on sale. Next up is the second of three filler spoken word banter tracks, namely "Moving West", where Mike addresses the ongoing recording of the live album from the 705Live soundboard, and then talks about his move from the Soo to Thompson, Manitoba to further his ambitions of becoming a commercial pilot, and what awaited him when he lived there and to continue striving for his ultimate goal. Again, I'd have just rolled this into the opening of the next song ("An Act Of Strength" from his 2021 studio album "Bridges"), especially as the live track is a minute shorter thanks to the intro being absorbed into "Moving West".

"Bridges" was the most synth-heavy of Mike's post-pandemic solo albums, so stripping that away for the live concert version does give it a more direct focus, but I did find the percussion to be too constant. Not my favourite of the live staples here, as it's more along one or two tracks throughout without ever kicking into a high gear, but it's well performed! The final spoken word track is next, and on "The Power Of Community", Mike explains how this show came together on relatively short notice (Mike does not directly address the planned battle of the bands), and how the community came together to make this special headlining concert come together. Mike also introduces The Big Finish Band here, with Elly doing the honours to introduce Mike (who flew in from Barrie the previous night!). They play another "Bridges" cut next, namely its first single "The Nature Of The Times", which is actually longer than the studio version is.

Despite the intro being absorbed by the prior spoken word intro, The Big Finish Band add an extended outro rather than the fade-out on the studio album. This song comes out similarly otherwise to the original, but with more of the full band oomph and less harmonic elements, but it will still appeal to fans of Mike's more indie rock-inspired material, and the band gets room to show off! Matt's bass is particularly solid here. The last two songs from Mike's solo catalogue on the setlist are played next, both courtesy of "All The Best In All You Do". Of those, first is "All The Best", which is similarly composed but longer thanks to an extended outro to replace the fade-out, and there's no synth here, so the full rock potential of the song is met. I'd still have more varied chorus vocals, but it's a solid track that capped off regular versions of the original CD in style, and it suits a full band approach!

The penultimate song here was "Twist Of Fate", which is played very similarly to the studio version aside from crowd banter & having a definite ending. The backing vocals could be somewhat overdone on the choruses, but as one of Mike's heaviest and fastest original songs of his post-move era, this is a definite highlight that largely translates well to the stage! Mike & crew return for an encore of "75", which began life when his old grunge band Haggith recorded it for "Deuce" in 2013, but The Din's cover on 2016's "Give In To The Din" shares more in common with the 2025 live take. In any form, this is a very punk-inspired track with a power pop influence, and its chorus remains as catchy as ever! The backing vocals are implemented better than they were in 2013, but it's the same song and that's not a bad thing. It's a perfect capper to the set that fans of Mike at his heaviest will enjoy, and Chris shines on the solos!

How do I grade Mike's first solo live album with a full backing band? Overall, it's a strong window into Mike Haggith's modern local concerts with The Big Finish Band, and given as high quality of a recording and post-production as they can muster, and it shows! The soundboard recording (while muting fan levels somewhat) is crystal clear, and while the presence of a backing vocalist and two guitarists does pump up the sound, things do come off bigger and better for recording quality here than on The Din's live albums. Yes, the idea of Mike and the gang playing a headlining concert rather than a short battle of the bands set was short notice, but they made the most of the challenge and opportunity, and I did find that many of the songs (for what I go for in rock) were improved via the immediacy, crowd engagement, and lack of synth backing, so Din fans will like those aspects.

Of course, I go for Mike's hard rock and power pop-tinged stuff like "Twist Of Fate", "Hot & Cold", and "75" the most from what was played live at the Downtown Plaza here, but he picked a good cross-section of his recent solo catalogue, and The Big Finish Band were collectively up to the task (see most of them in the country rock cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters when Mike isn't in town!). I wouldn't have bothered segmenting the spoken word intros and the guitar adlib into their own individual tracks, backing vocals were inconsistently applied, and there are songs of Mike's that I'd be interested to see played live, here or in general (like "If Ever Comes The Day", "Over Indecision", and "Miles & Memories"). This is an ideal way to experience the Mike Haggith live concert experience in the mid-2020s, and don't miss him and The Big Finish Band next month at the next Downtown Street Party and the Northern Vibe Festival!

Buy or stream "Under A Moonlit Sky" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Next month, we'll stay in Sault Ontario for a look at local ska punk band ASDP's debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade" from December, as we continue hollowing out our new album backlog. Look for that by month's end, and stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Our Recap Of Mike Haggith's Community Pulse Video Interview From Last Month!!

Today's single-topic post takes us back to the Scarborough-based independent music webseries The Community Pulse, who interviewed local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith for a second time on December 22nd! You may remember when Mike was interviewed (alongside HeadF1rst frontman Red Jettison) in episode #67 back in June, and he was invited back for another remote interview for episode #94. Now, this is their Christmas episode, and we're obviously almost a month removed from it, so make note of the belated seasonality before watching, but given holiday commitments, the odds that I would have been able to make time to watch and cover this before Boxing Day were slim. The two hour episode begins with audio recordings of "Li'l Miss Blu" playing "We Three Kings" on piano, followed by host Frank Terzo's orchestral version of "This Christmas", so if you want to skip straight to the interview, head to the 8:35 mark.

Frank (who is not from the Soo despite his fitting name) starts by setting up the episode and The Community Pulse's official Christmas playlist, as well as bantering with this episode's co-host, a Racine, Wisconsin indie musician only known as J.J., a.k.a. Mr. Folkpunk. Laurie Pepi Igo (the Massachusetts-based pianist who hosts Laurie's Mishmosh) also pops up 13:45 in for her regular guest spot, this time before Mike joined in the chat. Shout-outs after Laurie entered suggest that former Inner City Surfers bassist Brad Example was watching, which is neat! After addressing why Mike is in this episode, Frank plays two more songs on air, including Laurie's own version of "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" alongside Hugh Caldwell, plus "Joy Throughout The World" by the British pop rock musician P.A.L. (pronounced "Paul"). The hosts and Laurie return on camera at 29:45.

Once credits and comments are made on those two songs, Laurie signs out of the episode (after a brief false start), and Mike first appears on camera at 31:45, sticking around for the remaining 90 minutes, song and video breaks aside. Apologies to Detroit Lions fans reading this over Mike's Green Bay Packers sweater! We get around 20 minutes of unbroken interview time to start, with Mike leading off by addressing the cancelled battle of the bands at the Downtown Plaza in September and how he & his Big Finish Band rushed to turn the 15 minute battle set into an 80 minute headlining performance in just 48 hours, how well the concert went over, the lucky strike that led to this concert getting the high quality recordings needed to release a proper live album, and why Mike opted to release "Under A Moonlit Sky" in conjunction with their Toystock set at the end of November for Christmas Cheer.

Sensing a chance to support a great local cause at the holidays, Mike opted to launch a fundraiser related to buys and streams of both the album and the YouTube video of the concert through the end of December, and he got in contact with Frank and The Community Pulse to get the word out for the charity drive, which he hoped would generate $1,000 in donations. J.J. next asks how much practice time that Mike gets with The Big Finish Band (answer: not a lot, he lives in Barrie), with Mike outlining how much pre-planning goes into their sets. He next gives credit to everyone in the band, and even acknowledges former Din guitarist Tammy Hill here, plus why ex-bassist Jacob Quarrell left in 2024. He also confirmed that Elly McWatters didn't play guitar at all last year due to recovery from rotator cuff surgery, but she may pick the guitar back up in 2026.

In the follow-up discussion on their setlist, Mike confirmed that his newer solo song "No Love" has had a studio demo recording and will be on his next album (presumably alongside "I Really Hope This Gets To You"), and the working title for the album is currently "Was It Just A Dream?". At the 52:30 mark, two consecutive songs from the "Under A Moonlit Sky" video are played on air, specifically "No Love" and "Hot & Cold". While the second half of the episode begins 1:00:15 into the livestream, we don't stay in the proper interview for long, as Frank sets up two more songs by indie musicians in their community next, including Hamilton folk duo Jo & Barrie Glenn playing "In The Bleak Midwinter" and British singer-songwrtier Harriet B. playing "In Time For Christmas". Mike, Frank, and J.J. return at 1:10:25 with some light discussion, and the introduction for Mike & the band's next on-air song.

From "Under A Moonlit Sky", we next see the live performance of "An Act Of Strength", which Mike talks about in regards to how different the live version is from the piano-heavy studio version from "Bridges".  That song is played at 1:16:15 with the interview resuming at 1:20:10, after which Mike addresses a young fan up front of the stage having a blast and the gear he was using that night. We next get two more Christmas songs from community members, including "Incarnation" by New York pop rock duo Mike & Dawn Ginese, and Christian musician DLynn's cover of "A Holly Jolly Christmas", and the guys return to the interview at 1:35:20. When the interview resumes, Mike discusses living in the Soo and his run with The Din here, which lead directly into Mike's last video from The Downtown Plaza show here, namely their cover of The Din's "Missing". That plays at 1:38:30 and ends at 1:42:30.

After plugging that performance and the (as of December 22nd) Christmas Cheer proceeds from streams/buys of the album and video, the last song/video of the episode is played, namely an "adult version" of the novelty song "Nuttin' For Christmas" by Denver rock musician Chris Lane Sr., which is a clear tonal jump (if an amusing one) from some of the earlier, more sincere carols! The interview returns for good at 1:50:40 for its final stretch, with final plugs and thanks, where the saying "All Hail Haggith" came from, Mike's positive perceptions of the music scene in the Soo, and the connectivity and relationships fostered here (Laurie even returns at the very end), before closing with Lou Monte's novelty song "Dominick The Donkey". A lot to pack in here, especially given that it dragged me back into Christmas mode in mid-January, but it's an effective interview that lets Mike expand on his career, good nature, and musicianship to good effect, and it's clear that Frank and J.J. appreciate his work and musical talents!

While the July interview was entertaining as well, it was heavily about HeadF1rst too given Red's involvement, so if you want to focus on Mike & The Big Finish Band, you may want to watch this one first, and depending on your tolerance of Christmas music out of season, navigate those songs as your preferences dictate (or wait until the end of the year). Give episode #97 of The Community Pulse a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Mike as 2026 continues! Thanks everyone! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Pop Evil), A New Christmas Album, And Mike Haggith Updates!!

We're back after a quiet weekend with a stacked post on this Monday night, including a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, a brand new album release, and a new concert video & related updates, so here's what you should know!

Muskegon, Michigan hard rock quintet Pop Evil will return to our area on Sunday, April 12th, but this time, they'll be making their debut in Sault Ontario at The Machine Shop! Yes, it is 100% the local Machine Shop, not the one in Flint. Fans have seen these Rock 101 mainstays seven times in Sault Michigan over the years (all but one at their Kewadin Casino), including their most recent date here in March 2023, but if you Canadian readers were previously unable or unwilling to cross the border, then you'll want to circle this date on your calendar! Like last time, Pop Evil are touring in support of their new album, so expect to hear cuts from "What Remains", plus existing hits like "Skeletons", "Trenches", and "Breathe Again" in the spring! This will also be their first local stop since Blake Allison replaced Hayley Cramer on drums. No word on potential openers yet, but this show will not feature Sabaton, who Pop Evil are opening for on much of their early 2026 tour run.

Tickets for this all ages and 8:00 PM concert run for $40 + additional processing fees at this link at presumably at the door. We've been getting a good run of big new rock concert announcements in Sault Ontario for early 2026 so far, and this will absolutely help in that, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's a new-ish album release from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night! On Friday, they released "Christmas Night 3" to their Reverbnation page for $7.99, and it's not on other paid or subscription streaming services beyond their YouTube channel. If you're not familiar, the original "Christmas Night" came out as an instrumental album in 2011, before they re-recorded and expanded it with then-singer Rachel Mender in 2022 as "Dreams Of Winter" (I assume they're considering that to be "Christmas Night 2"). For this third go-around with a seasonal album, Theatre of Night are collaborating again with German soprano singer Gaby Koss, who was once an official (if remote) band member in the early-mid 2010s, and worked with Craig, Steve, and crew again last year for a free  "Celtic Christmas metal EP", but there were teasers at the time that Gaby would be working on more material with them.

The five songs from last year's batch are included on "Christmas Night 3" along with five new additions, and note that of the 10 songs, "The First Noel", "O Come Emmanuel", "Let All Mortal Flesh", and "Good King Wenceslas" are all brand new to Theatre Of Night's paid studio output and did not feature on the two prior albums. How do these sound, and how do the other six compare to prior versions? I think we'll find out this month, as I'm going to bump our album review queue all up a month so this can be reviewed in a timely fashion! Otherwise, it'll be blocked for mid-2026 at the earliest, nowhere near Christmas (No Arrow will 100% come next month). Stream "Christmas Night 3" for yourselves below!

Finally, let's head back to Sault Ontario for the long awaited full concert video from Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band's outdoor-ish headlining show at the Downtown Plaza in September! Of course, this concert was released as a live album named "Under A Moonlit Sky" late last month, but Mike promised right along that the the full video would be posted to his YouTube channel, and that went live on Thursday. 705Live Sound Co. were on hand to provide sound for the concert and this album, while videography was credited to Big Finish Band backing vocalist Elly McWatters (who must have set up one of the stationary cameras), guitarist Chris Nielsen's A Dire Setback bandmate Matt Quinn, and Celeste Maurer. There's at least three stationary cameras on hand here (one pointing directly at the stage, one at a corner angle, and a drumcam for Brandan Glew's sake), while Matt and/or Celeste was roaming to capture various close-up angles. 

For what it's worth, the last two songs are solely featured via the main stationary camera with no switches to other views. Of note, the stage was tarped on three of four sides with a forest/sky motif, but the material wasn't opaque, so natural lighting is reflected in the skyline, and as the show took place during sunset and dusk, things do darken naturally. It is a neat visual! The concert proper is longer than the album, so more of the between-song banter and gaps are left in, but in tagging each individual song in the YouTube description, Mike opted not to credit the guitar adlib or the separated introductions (aside from "The Power of Community") for the video proper. As you may be aware, Mike pledged proceeds from streams of "Under A Moonlit Sky" to Christmas Cheer this month, and that includes 10¢ from every view of the concert video.

Mike was interviewed by SooToday's Darren Taylor for this article about the live album and charity drive, where Mike talks about getting the idea to support his old hometown (remember, he lives in Barrie now), where he focuses his attention for gigs when he comes back north, and the change of plans from the battle of the bands to the full concert on September 25th, apparently on just two days notice! Solidly informative article, even if The Big Finish Band name wasn't given, so read it above! I'll hold my thoughts on the concert proper for our review of "Under A Moonlit Sky" next year, but it's very well shot and edited with some neat views of the plaza stage, so give it a watch below and support Christmas Cheer in the process!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more on the SMS this week! Thanks everyone!

Mike Haggith's New Live Album Details, Plus New Headrush & Quite Frankly Videos!!

For our first news post of December 2025, we have some new videos and related updates from a selection of talented local bands, so here's what you should know on this snowy night!

To coincide with his second straight solo set at Toystock, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith did indeed release his and The Big Finish Band's new live album "Under A Moonlit Sky" yesterday! According to Mike's Facebook page, the album is available "EVERYWHERE", and by that, he means it's on the three major streaming services linked here as well as on Bandcamp, YouTube Music, and yes, even Boomplay, Qobuz, and Anghami. I'm not seeing Tidal, Napster, et al., so it's not truly "everywhere", but it's making the rounds! The album is on sale via iTunes for $9.99 and on Bandcamp for $10, though note that Mike hasn't updated Bandcamp yet to reflect the release yesterday, so the album is still technically only available for pre-order there, and only has the three advance singles available for free play. Until that's updated, go elsewhere to stream the album unless you're buying it. As a charitable tie-in beyond Toystock, Mike is donating money from streams of the live album to Christmas Cheer!

If you want to show your support for those in need, each Spotify stream will generate 15¢ until year's end, while $5 from purchases of "Under A Moonlit Sky" on Bandcamp will go to Christmas Cheer too, as will 10¢ per view of the full concert video when it goes live on YouTube (more on that in a bit). Recorded at Mike & crew's outdoor headlining concert at the Downtown Plaza on September 25th, the full album has 19 tracks, and in terms of the makeup, it has four songs from "All The Best In All You Do", three songs from "If Ever Comes The Day", two songs each from "Frequent Flyer" & "Bridges", The Din's "Missing", the band Haggith's mainstay "75", and Mike's two newest live songs "I Really Hope This Gets To You" & "No Love" (which aren't on any album yet). The other four tracks are the self explanatory "Guitar Adlib" and, as I suspected, three intro tracks, though all feature the band playing behind Mike's spoken word.

Note that Elly McWatters only provided backing vocals and tambourine for this concert/album (she hasn't been pictured playing guitar with The Big Finish Band all year). I'll hold comment on the album pending our review of "Under A Moonlit Sky" next year (now pencilled in for May, as I forgot about Handsome Sandwich's new album in blocking the album review schedule), but buy or stream it above, and as for the full concert video, Mike has shared a preview clip from that night to his Facebook page last week. High quality multi-camera footage and natural outdoor lighting sure help, but we'll have to see how the full show looks when uploaded. Check out the preview below!

We'll close this post with new live videos from classic/hard rock cover bands on the local bar circuit, starting with our first look at the revived Quite Frankly at a public concert! Uploaded to their Facebook page yesterday, this comes from their Beck's Bar debut on Saturday, and features a montage of clips from their sets that night, including covers of The Old Crow Medicine Show's "Wagon Wheel", Tom Petty's "You Wreck Me", Journey's "Any Way You Want It", Chris Stapleton's "Tennessee Whiskey", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son", and Collective Soul's "Shine". Alas, some of the videos here were shot vertically, and the video editor again put everything into portrait orientation, which means that the horizontal videos are pillarboxed and tiny. Why not make the video in 16:9 and force the vertical videos to be letterboxed so everything is as big and full frame as you can get?

I'd rather see full songs than 13-ish seconds long clips, let alone the vertically framed ones, but Quite Frankly sound good from what we can hear, and they had a solid turnout (look at the dancers during the Chris Stapleton cover!) Note that guitarist Frank LaTassa sings lead on "Wagon Wheel" & "You Wreck Me", while frontwoman Haley Alopaeus is on lead vocals on the other songs. Not a bad first step for Quite Frankly 2.0 after their 15 year hiatus, so check everything out above and below!

Finally for today, here's some new videos from fellow local classic/hard rock cover veterans Headrush's concerts at The Esquire Club this past weekend! These were publically shared to the band's Facebook group over the weekend. Two were Journey covers filmed by attendee Audrey Marshall on Friday night, including the guys playing the opening of "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Stone In Love", while bassist John Amendola posted a video of them covering AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" on Saturday night, which he appears to have shot himself from the stage towards his bandmates and the crowd. Not the first time that we've seen this vantage point at The Esquire Club, but it's still not every day where you get a band's eye view like that! I'm no Journey fan, but everything sounds and looks good, with Headrush playing to a packed house and with good energy, so give all three videos a watch above and below! The AC/DC cover is embedded here because Audrey's aren't allowed to be embedded externally for one reason or another.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone! 

Our Extended Preview Of Toystock XII!!

Today's post is solely devoted to our extended preview of the twelfth annual Toystock, which goes down TOMORROW at The Grand Gardens North! Held annually since 2012 (the 2020-2021 pandemic hiatus aside), this special holiday concert event sees ten bands in ten hours donating their time to support Christmas Cheer, and as usual, donating for the cause is how you enter! Admission is via donating new toys, gently used puzzles, games, and/or books, new gift cards, mitts, scarves, hats, grooming items, or cash (nothing was said this year about non-perishable food). While The Grand Gardens is licensed and the bar will be open, Toystock is absolutely an all ages & family friendly event, and activites like face painting, arts & crafts, temporary tattoos, a play zone, and Christmas ornament decoration will be available along with the live music, and Santa Claus himself will stop by at 3:00 & 6:00 PM tomorrow, so I hope everyone has been good!

Yes, the Stuff-A-Bus will be on site once again. Visit the official website for complete non-musical details! Now, which ten bands will fill Toystock XII's ten hours? As usual, southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 (fronted by promoter Greg Simpson) will headline at 9:00 PM in their record eleventh appearance at the event, and all kudos to them and their colleagues for putting on this wonderful event once again! After playing the past two years in indie rock quartet Skinbox/The Haze, Steve Edwards & Brad Irwin have snagged the 8:00 PM co-headlining slot tomorrow for their new successor band The Reeves, where they are now joined by Long Shot alumni Adam Dawe & Jeremy Ganuelas. Time will tell how The Reeves sound compared to members' prior bands, but you can be the first to find out tomorrow at The Grand Gardens! At 7:00 PM, attendees can check out Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band on what wil be a big day for them!

Playing their second Toystock together and their first local gig since they rocked the Downtown Plaza in September, tomorrow will also be the release date of the alt-hard rock band's brand new live album "Under A Moonlit Sky", which was recorded that night. Mike and crew are donating proceeds from purchases and streams of the album to Christmas Cheer, which is a fantastic idea and well timed, so consider helping out whether you're at Toystock or not! Some of Mike's bandmates will play the prior set, as guitarist/backing vocalist Elly McWatters will front her country cover band The Drifters at 6:00 PM. Local country cover veterans Out & Out Country (featuring former Bone Yard drummer Ric Datson) will take the stage at 5:00 PM, and it is neat seeing Ric back at Toystock after three years away! Also debuting at Toystock tomorrow are indie rock quartet Jupiter Marvelous at 4:00 PM.

Notably, this will be Jupiter Marvelous' first show after the departure of guitarist Jacob Quarrell (formerly of Mike Haggith's band and Bad Chug), whose farewell gig with them is actually tonight at Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s Taproom. Best of luck to Jake in his next endeavours! Hard rock quintet and 2023 Toystock performers HeadF1rst will rock the Great Northern Road events hall at 3:00 PM, as preceded by cover rock quartet Separate Wayz (featuring singer Nicole Thibodeau alongside Soundcheck and Obsession alumni) in their Toystock debut at 2:00 PM. Debuting local blues/classic rock band Sunday & The Broken Hearts (replacing Redundant) will rock Toystock at 1:00 PM, and while not a lot is known about them yet, hopefully Jason Gasparetto & crew deliver a solid cover set for fans in the afternoon! Your openers tomorrow are online page-less blues rock quartet The Associates at 12:00 PM.

The Associates are back from 2024 and are this year's annual music school/store representatives, with Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville bookending tomorrow's band schedule as such. Musically, there's a lot to like this year, including six Toystock newcomer acts and a nice array of sounds for all tastes, so hopefully there's a great turnout with lots of quality Christmas Cheer donations! There's many needy families that will be extremely appreciative. Visit the above links for complete details on Toystock XII, here's Bone Yard 225 live, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Cory Murchison), The Tym Morrison Concert Preview, And Mike Haggith Updates!!

As promised, this latest SMS post features our preview of one more hard rock concert this weekend, but filling things out, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the end of the year and a big new live album release coming out later this month, so here's what you should know!

Bullet Train/ex-Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison will return to the concert stage with an acoustic hard rock set on Saturday, December 27th when he opens for the reunited Odd Man Out at The Water Tower Pub! Cory has sporadically played unplugged gigs over the years when not working on his full bands (no word on when Bullet Train will resurface), and this will be a reprise of when he opened for Odd Man Out at the same venue back in July 2018. Good to see Cory back out there, and his solo sets definitely lean to what he plays in his bands (just acoustic), so keep his set in mind! Of course, Odd Man Out (featuring Cory's old Sense of Truth bandmate Steve Myers) are a very popular but increasingly scarcely seen jam rock band whose reunion next month was presumably aided by it being the holiday season. Not a hard rock act, but their live show speaks for itself, and they have loads of talent!

Note as well that this will be Odd Man Out's first public concert since releasing their new album "Quadranium" last summer, so could you call this the de facto release party?  While a bigger deal than your usual Water Tower Pub concert, this one seems to be standard fare for the venue in terms of attendance, including no cover, a 19+ age limit, and an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, as prolific local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will return to Beck's Bar as their matinee performer on SUNDAY! This show comes eight days after he was replaced by Silver Strings as the Saturday matinee act there last week (despite Tym never confirming that he wasn't playing on the Beck's shows' Facebook event page), but it's good to see that things are A-OK between Tym and Beck's, and hopefully this matinee gig has lots of entertaining classic and hard rock favourites for fans in the west end! His first show at Beck's in three weeks (with three more matinees scheduled in December), Sunday's concert has a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 3:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more on Sunday's action, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Finally, here's the latest from local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, so what has he been up to in recent weeks? While he and The Big Finish Band did not return for The Soo's Got Talent finals again this year (another reason why we didn't cover this installment, beyond the all-karaoke setup), and his planned debut concert appearance in his current Barrie homebase was postponed (click here for details), he hasn't been idle, as he has a live album coming out! Mike has toyed with releasing solo live albums in the past (most recently 2018's "From The Nickel Stage"), but this one is a full band effort, coming out on Sunday, November 30th. The album will be named "Under A Moonlit Sky", and will comprise of their complete set at the Downtown Plaza on September 25th. Mike called it "the concert of our lives", which is high praise when it was a late replacement for a cancelled battle of the bands!

You can pre-order the album (which will have 19 tracks) on Bandcamp at this link, where you can also check out three songs as pre-release teasers, and you can pre-save it via major streaming services on DistroKid at this link. Based on the track listing, it differs from the actual setlist in that it includes an unlisted encore song ("75"), as well as four tracks not listed there: "Guitar Adlib", the album's title track, "Moving West", and "The Power Of Community". The former is self-explanatory, but the other three correspond with scheduled breaks in the set for Mike to talk to the audience, so I don't believe we're looking at brand new songs of his. We'll know for sure in just over a week! To support Christmas Cheer (beyond Mike & crew's set at Toystock, also on November 30th), they'll be pledging cash donations to Christmas Cheer based on Spotify streams and Bandcamp purchases of "Under A Moonlit Sky".

Mike also plans to pledge money based on streams of the full concert video when it goes live on YouTube next month, so we'll keep you posted on that when it's uploaded. Is "Under A Moonlit Sky" in line for a review on the SMS? We have caught up on all of his studio albums released since he first relocated to the Soo, so unless I dipped into his early Windsor era back catalogue or he releases a new studio album first, this has priority. For local relevance and Mike's own musical evolution, I think he would greatly prefer that I reviewed "Under A Moonlit Sky" rather than "Hotel For Transients" anyway! Look for this review in April 2026 given our ongoing backlog, and for more news and notes on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Toystock 2015 Video Showcase!!

Before we get this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post up on the site, here's our first of two posts spotlighting videos from this year's fourth annual Toystock fundraiser concert, which took place this past Sunday at The Grand Gardens! By all accounts so far, it was a hit for music fans, supportive donors, and families alike, with $1,300 raised and numerous items donated, and you get a sense of the success in the videos posted by Sault Online's Mike Caruso over the past couple of days to his YouTube channel, as he filmed every band (and more) during the event. Kudos to him as usual, especially as I couldn't make it this year (fingers crossed for 2016!) He started his uploads with two summative videos featuring abbreviated clips of the full videos he posted afterwards (part 2 is here), but part 1 (which is embedded below) includes an interview with Toystock promoter/performer Greg Simpson and clips of the Bocturoc Academy of Music students that opened the show, though they curiously didn't get a full separate video of their own.

The video begins with the interview, where Mike asks Greg about what keeps bringing everyone back for each year, Toystock's origins, and how it's grown over the years. Nice & casual interview, if short! The second half is of the Bocturoc students' set, and rather than playing as a full band, they played separately in solo showcases. Good developing skills from the first four, but the biggest surprise is that Pixo Control frontman Michael Mikus is filmed last playing the band's original "Land of the Moles"! No word on if he has Bocturoc ties, or if he just happened to be available, but it's nice to see him back at Toystock, so give everything a look below!



The next three bands filmed by Mike were not filmed playing a hard rock or metal song, but there's a lot of talent to be had, and as usual for his videos, the quality is excellent with a nice band setup at The Grand Gardens! Note however though that the audio quality can noticeably jump at times when the camera angles change. In chronological order, these videos include local country trio The Algo Rhythms playing an apparent original song (if it's a cover, the lyrics don't match anything I found online), all-female classic rock quintet Domina covering Pat Benatar's "All Fired Up", and blues rockers Mojo covering Bo Diddley's "Before You Accuse Me", so give all of these a look above! The next hard rock video comes courtesy of classic/hard rock cover trio Mourning Wood, who covered The Black Crowes' "Hard To Handle" to open their second Toystock set, and they sound predictably good, with Terry Eaton handling vocals and lead guitar nicely!

In case you're wondering from the early footage, guitarist Steven Flint is there, he comes on stage 75 seconds in (presumably, he was working on their sound, as his & Terry's company Twin City Sound were covering that for the event.) Well done as usual, so check their video out below!



Mike's next two videos are actually not of advertised performers, with one being of a young child attendee named Keegan McAlister playing a brief drum solo in between bands. Not bad for his age, hopefully he keeps at it! That's followed by a short clip of local beatboxer Robert "Killabeatz" Drolet, who also played unadvertised last year, and among others, he does do a beatboxed version of "Jingle Bells" in his video. As fans of his will come to expect, he's quite good at what he does, it's too bad his video's not longer! Next for the heavier performances is local classic/hard rock quartet Havadder covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "You Wreck Me" in their Toystock debut, and while I prefer some of their more aggressive covers, they make this classic rock favourite look easy with their strong performance! As before, give their Toystock video a look below!



We'll close this post with the debuting local rock trio Under The Influence, featuring Turner Up/Wishbone alum Brent Royer alongside guitarist Mike Muto & bassist Ryan Bell, so what can we say now about them? It's too early to know if they'd fully fit our coverage on the SMS (especially with no online pages yet), but we have a good first sign early, as their Toystock video is a cover of The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary"! There are some rough patches in this video, and I think Under The Influence could use a second guitarist to fill things out, but they definitely have promise, and Brent seems to handle simultaneous vocal & drum duties well! Give their video a look below also!



That's all for now, but we will touch on Bone Yard, Gnaeus, and The Rude-Offs' videos in the near future, so look for them then, plus other Toystock fallout that we come across, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post later today! Thanks everyone!

Toystock IV Concert Preview, Eugene Orlando Services, And New That's Chester Videos!!

For our post on this Saturday morning, we're largely tackling a major returning seasonal concert for a preview, but we also have some new videos from a recent event that feature a recently passed fixture in the local music scene, who leads things with information on his final services. Here's what you should know!

The obituary for late That's Chester guitarist Eugene Orlando has been posted on SooToday at this link, which confirms that his funeral services will be held on Tuesday at 1:30 PM at St. Gregory's Church (71 Estelle Street, near St. Theresa Catholic School) with Father Alex Saurianthadathil presiding. Visitation will be held at The O'Sullivan Funeral Home at 215 St. James Street on Monday at 5:00 PM and Tuesday at 11:00 AM, and interment will follow the services at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Eugene was just 56 years old, and he is survived by his wife Estelle, his three daughters, his grandson, his father, and other extended family members. His family would appreciate donations to the Sault Area Hospital Foundation in his memory, and you can offer online condolences at this link. This is all still very sad for friends, bandmates, and fans of Eugene's, but I do hope everyone remembers the good times he had and brought during next week's functions. Stay tuned at post's end for more from his last live concerts, and R.I.P. Eugene!

Next up, here's our preview of the fourth annual Toystock fundraiser concert, which goes down TOMORROW with 10 bands in 10 hours once again rocking out for a great cause! Moving from The Canadian Nightclub to The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road this year for size concerns & to encourage more families to attend, this annual seasonal concert will still provide loads of quality ALL AGES entertainment from the accumulated bands, with all proceeds going to Christmas Cheer, a great cause as always! Despite the move, expect the Stuff-A-Bus to be on site like before, as well as food & drinks, prize giveaways (including a GoPro camera as the door prize), and yes, appearances from Santa & Mrs. Claus too, so keep all of this in mind if you're planning to attend! Like in past years, Toystock is largely focused around cover bands and scattered younger talent, but only three of this year's bands are back from prior installments, so things will be suitably different for year 4, but who can you expect to see during tomorrow's festivities?

In apparent order from online materials, the headlining band will be country cover quartet Bone Yard (in their record-tying third Toystock set) at 9:00 PM, and they'll be immediately preceded by post-punk quartet Gnaeus, who should have lots of songs from their forthcoming CD "Loomings" in store! A one-off punk cover band named The Rude-Offs (featuring Destroilet's Christian Foisy, Adam Larocque, and Matt Waples, Treble Charger's Greig Nori, Bone Yard's Greg Simpson, and special guests) will take the stage at 7:00 PM for a set of punked-up Christmas carols, which should be an intriguing attraction to say the least, so make sure you stay for their set! The debuting local rock trio Under The Influence (featuring Turner Up/Wishbone alum Brent Royer alongside guitarist Mike Muto & bassist Ryan Bell) will hit the stage at 6:00 PM, but what do they play, and how do they sound? Be the first to find out!

A pair of classic/hard rock cover quartets will take the stage in the preceding blocks, they being Havadder (replacing Nikkfitt) at 5:00 PM and Mourning Wood (in their second straight Toystock set) at 4:00 PM. Blues rockers Mojo will rock the house at 3:00 PM, as preceded by all-female classic rockers Domina (who are also returning from last year) at 2:00 PM, veteran country trio The Algo Rhythms at 1:00 PM, and students from the Bocturoc Academy of Music kicking things off at 12:00 PM. Very solid lineup, so come early for all of the talent on display! It should be noted that Toystock comes just days after the sudden passing of Eugene Orlando, who was a bandmate of Bone Yard's Greg Simpson and Ric Datson in That's Chester, and was a friend and colleague of many of the night's performers. Nothing has been announced regarding a possible tribute as of this writing, but if we hear anything, we'll let you know!

Promoted by Maxx Entertainment as usual, this all day and ALL AGES concert event has admission via a donation of a toy, non-perishable food, or (if you can't donate either) money, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details! Once again, Toystock IV sounds like a great event for a great cause, especially at this time of year, so be sure to consider attending for this all-day lineup of local talent tomorrow (and remember, it's now at The Grand Gardens, out near The Trading Post!) I do wonder why Lucky 13 aren't on the lineup though, this is the first Toystock that they've missed... hopefully all's well with them! See above for more details, and here's Gnaeus live earlier this year!


 

We'll close today with some newly posted videos from local classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester's performances during the live production of The Who's Tommy at The Machine Shop earlier this month, as per drummer Ric Datson's YouTube channel in the last few days. These hold more resonance now given that they were the final live concert performances from guitarist Eugene Orlando, so take note of them on that basis as well, and at least this was quite a high note to go out on! These three newest videos include That's Chester covering The Who's "Captain Walker" & "It's A Boy",, "Underture" (both with cast members providing vocals), and as embedded below, "Amazing Journey", with Greg Simpson singing as the narrator. All preceded once again by lengthy credits, these show That's Chester in fine form as both a band and as the backing musicians for the play at hand, and "Amazing Journey" is a fitting selection to show Eugene's skill at both the guitar and keyboard! 

Vocals are muffled again on these videos, but the multi-camera angles and professionalism come through well, and while it's too soon to speculate on That's Chester's future, Eugene's diverse talents are very much on full display! Our condolences again go out to his family, friends, and bandmates at this difficult time, but give these new Tommy videos a look above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news and updates in due course! Thanks everyone!

Toystock & Pixo Control Concert & Lineup Updates!!

Before we touch on this weekend's concert previews, let's clear out some big recent news on two (well, three) big upcoming concerts, including lineup details for each, and updates on an upcoming CD release! Here's what you should know, and check out this month's poll results below too!

Here's some overdue recent updates concerning the fourth annual Toystock at The Grand Gardens on November 29th, so what should you know now? In terms of the lineup, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Havadder have replaced classic rockers Nikkfitt on the bill, as per the new Facebook event page. A reason for Nikkfitt's withdrawal wasn't announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened in their camp, and it'll be nice to see Havadder in their Toystock debut later this month! Moving to the debuting Under The Influence, personal Facebook postings indicate that their lineup features singer/drummer Brent Royer (ex-Wishbone, Turner Up) alongside guitarist Mike Muto and bassist Ryan Bell, neither of whom are immediately familiar from local bands. No word as of yet on their genre(s) or if they have an online page, but we'll stay on top of it as we approach their debut at Toystock! Our source is Brent's personal Facebook page. As for the one-off seasonal punk band The Rude-Offs, we can now confirm their full lineup, so who all's involved? 

Basically a temporary side project from the members of Destroilet, their Facebook page confirms that Christian Foisy, Adam Larocque, and Matt Waples will reprise their guitar, bass, and drum roles from their main band, but in lieu of Mike and John, some special guests will join them on guitar and vocals on the 29th, they being Toystock promoter Greg Simpson (who's already singing with Bone Yard that night), and no less than Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori (you read that right!) This should be a very interesting set, and hopefully The Rude-Offs add some punk edge to this Christmas Cheer fundraiser at month's end! Finally, if you were wondering why Toystock moved from The Canadian Nightclub to The Grand Gardens this year, Greg noted on the Facebook event page that the move is intended "to attract more children and families", going with their yearly intent to "introduce the next generation to live music" (though Matt Waples also noted in a personal conversation with me that size concerns were a factor for the move too.)

This presumably references the clash of holding a family charity concert at a nightclub, which does make sense, but The Canadian felt like a natural host for the event in past years. Hopefully The Grand Gardens succeeds it well this year though! This concert should be a huge event for Christmas Cheer and fans of local music, especially with 10 bands in 10 hours once again, so visit the above links for all current details!

Next up, here's some updates regarding local alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control's CD release concerts (remember, there's two) at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, December 12th, so what should you know? First off, their lineup will look very different from what fans saw this summer, as they've apparently parted ways with both bassist Steve Edwards & drummer Matthew Thibert. The band itself hasn't publically commented on any lineup changes, but their departures were indicated in a now-deleted thread on the new Facebook event page that had gotten somewhat heated between those that posted. I just hope that things aren't quite as bad as some of the replies indicated! The Pixo Control themselves haven't publically announced their new bassist or drummer yet either, and we'll let you know if we hear anything. Steve was a solid fit on bass, and I heard good things regarding Matthew at The Emergency Festival, so best of luck to both in the future, they're definitely talented!

Posts on the now-deleted thread also seemed to confirm that Steve recorded the bass parts on The Pixo Control's forthcoming debut CD "Probably Not" before leaving, but nothing concretely confirmed whether Matthew or original drummer Keeghan Rosso (or both?) recorded the drum tracks. As for the CD release party itself, the above Facebook event page confirms that local post-punk quartet Gnaeus are playing the 19+ 9:00 PM concert only, and are not playing at the all ages 2:00 PM concert (Caroline Divine are indeed playing both), so if you're 19 or older and want to see Gnaeus, come for the 9:00 PM show! Postings have also confirmed that "Probably Not" will be available for $10 separately from concert admission, and it's not free with paid entry, so make sure you have cash on hand for both next month! Finally, a 41 second teaser video for "Probably Not" was uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on Sunday, featuring text referencing the release next to footage of frontman Michael Mikus appearing to be reflected through a camcorder lens, plus brief clips of studio recordings from the CD.

Though the quiet lineup changes took me by surprise, I'm just glad to see that the CD is finally getting released next month, and I hope fans can look at the accomplishment of the release! I'm also curious to see who Michael enlisted to round out the new lineup, but the reveal might be intentionally being kept secret until next month. We'll know within the month, so check the above links for more from The Pixo Control's CD release parties on December 12th, and here's their teaser video!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next, including a late notice show that Pixo Control fans might want to pay attention to! Thanks everyone!