LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (BookcluB), Without Compromise Updates, And Much More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family & friends of veteran local musician Paul Leclair, who passed away yesterday of complications from cancer at the age of 74, as per numerous personal Facebook postings. While not a hard rock or metal musician, Paul will be familiar to many from his work as singer/guitarist in local bands like Midway, Moonshadow, and (most recently) Dorian Grey, who played classic rock at local venues for over a decade and were gigging as recently as last summer. For many years, Paul was the secretary-treasurer and vice president of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 276, and was a key asset in helping local musicians of many stripes to work through business, contract, and insurance dealings, as well as to get work visas put together to be able to perform/tour in the United States. He was occasionally referenced in SMS posts via his union work.

While I never had the honour of meeting Paul, we were briefly slated to judge a battle of the bands together alongside Soundcheck's Terry Eaton at the former Rednecks Saloon (Nicolet Tavern) way back in February 2015, but it was cancelled when the larger VM Radio Battle of the Bands was scheduled to begin less than two weeks later. He was a good and very knowledgeable person who helped so many local artists over the years through the union, and he will definitely be missed. R.I.P. Paul!

Today's post otherwise catches us up on some recent news, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local alternative/punk cover band BookcluB will rock The Machine Shop TOMORROW NIGHT when they open for online page-less local Tragically Hip cover band The Luxury as part of the Bon Soo Winter Carnival! Apologies for the short notice, we first learned of this show late last week via Bon Soo social media advertising. Modern day concerts outside of the opening ceremonies at Bon Soo rarely cross our radar, but this is an exception, and this special mid-week concert is reportedly being held "to show our appreciation" to Bon Soo supporters. This will be BookcluB's second publically advertised gig of 2026 (last seen at The Kiln last month), but you may have seen frontman Mikey Hawdon and bassist Dustin Jones playing outside of The Machine Shop as Dos Amigos this past weekend!

Alas, I only heard about this outdoor gig via a Facebook "story" (one of the posts that vanish from that strip on your news feed after being viewed once or twice), so here we are. I wish bands wouldn't rely on "Stories" (a couple have been posting new videos as "Stories" that are impossible for me to link to in posts), but I do apologize for missing that here. You can see the full BookcluB experience with their fan friendly and unique range of covers TOMORROW NIGHT! Note that the picture attached to the band's Facebook post plugging TOMORROW'S show includes guitarist Brandon Ruch, who moved out of town last fall, so I don't 100% know if they just used an old band photo or if he is actually returning to the Soo for this gig. As for The Luxury (featuring Tripod The Dog, Billy Bastards, Redefined, Sidekicks, and Late Shift alumni) they deliver a faithful and talented take on Hip classics from the 1980s and 1990s, so don't bypass them!

While tickets were reportedly briefly on sale early, TOMORROW'S indoor show will be FREE with a Bon Soo button ($12) or jacket tag ($8), and if you don't have one yet, they will be on sale at Mill Square if you come out. This is an all ages show at 8:00 PM. Should be a fun mix of covers (especially for Tragically Hip fans) TOMORROW at Bon Soo, so visit the above links for more details, and here's BookcluB live!

Finally for today, here's a band we haven't talked about in way too long on here, namely local rap metal project Without Compromise! I admittedly slacked in covering them for months on end, and I apologize for that, but it didn't help that project leader (and former Winkstinger guitarist) Jason Ladouceur quietly left Facebook last year. However, Jason is still working on Without Compromise, and has continued uploading music for the former Less Than Zero to its Bandlab page and YouTube channel! A lot of his newer music and art has been along the lines of the evolution of intelligence and consciousness, and he has seemed to embrace AI as tech, so keep that in mind. In listening to Jason's newest material, the music is getting more varied, with metal songs mixed in symphonic and electronic elements, and while his vocals are still a work in progress (and sometimes buried in production), he is applying them in different roles and methods of singing.

 

I won't pretend to understand the artistic ethos of Without Compromise in the past year, but there is definitely talent on display, and Jason can still shred when the song calls for it! He has seemed to play down the rap aspect (at least for his own vocals) in his newest songs, but note that his song "Todayz" seems to include an AI model of Eminem rapping. There's promising music to check out here, so dig through their Bandlab and YouTube content above to see what he's been up to, and here's one of Without Compromise's newer uploaded songs, "In The Darkness"!

 

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for much more on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Cavo), Tym Morrison Concert Preview, And Much More!!

Today's news post is full of news and notes from the last little whole, so here's what's on tap on this Friday evening! Below, we've got this week's classic video, the latest updates from Hammerspace, and a concert preview for this relatively quiet concert weekend, but leading things off today, here's a major LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this spring!

Allstar Promotions are back in the mix for major local concerts at Kewadin Casino, and they have a package of high profile rock acts coming to The Dreammaker's Theater on Friday, April 6th! Headlining this concert will be St. Louis hard rock quartet Cavo, who are best known for #1 mainstream rock single "Champagne", but they have lots of other newer songs to go around for fans from their forthcoming new album "Thick As Thieves"! I think "Champagne" is extremely overplayed, but Cavo's other songs are good and catchy for the most part, and they should pull in a solid crowd on April 6th! Joining them will be Norwood, Ontario post grunge rockers My Darkest Days, who were originally slated open for Buckcherry & Papa Roach at Kewadin last March before frontman Matt Walst fell ill. You're bound to remember My Darkest Days for recent hits like "Pornstar Dancing" and "Casual Sex", and it's nice to finally see them play locally after missing their last opportunity! I'm personally not a fan of theirs, but I know many of you enjoy their stuff, so hopefully they put on a good show! Opening this concert will be Vancouver hard rockers The Veer Union, who are slowly making waves in the North American rock scene with tracks like "Seasons", which made the top 10 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, so keep an eye on them at this concert!

This concert goes down on April 6th at 7:00 PM, it appears to be all ages, and tickets are NOW ON SALE for just $22.50, which is quite a bargain for this package of bands! You can buy tickets online at this location, in person at the Kewadin box office, or by calling 1-800-KEWADIN. As of right now, the first four rows are sold out, but plenty of tickets are still available, so get them A.S.AP.! It's nice to see some more big rock acts hitting the area, and it's also awesome to see Allstar Promotions bringing a big show back to Kewadin Casino after almost a year's absence, but hopefully the contract issues and whatever else are all worked out, so they can bring us more quality concerts! Stay tuned for updates on this show as they come in, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!

Now to a weekend concert preview, and in an otherwise quiet weekend on the local metal scene, there is some hard rocking to be had, specifically on Saturday afternoon, as Tym Morrison returns to Bossy's Pub N' Grub! This will be the Caveman Morrison frontman's fourth straight Saturday matinee show at the Pim Street bar & restaurant, and you know he'll have a nice long set's worth of acoustic hard rock covers in store for attendees tomorrow afternoon! Besides, until Caveman Morrison's next show, this will fill the gap nicely! Admission is completely free (buy something just in case though), Tym will be on at 2:00 PM, and I believe this is all ages. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's good to see Tym's new weekly concert arrangement succeeding, and hopefully a good crowd turns up tomorrow to see his proficient and entertaining unplugged covers! For a preview, here's Tym covering Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" at Bossy's last weekend!



Third today, here's the latest from Sault Michigan metal band Hammerspace! Firstly, the band has re-added guitarist Denny Breslin to their lineup, making them a quintet once again, as confirmed on the band's Facebook page on Sunday. As a result, frontman John Bergeron will trade his guitar for a keyboard full time, while also remaining their lead singer. Denny was briefly a member of Hammerspace in their 2010 infancy, but you're more likely to remember him locally from his runs in Half A Man & Bent Rollercoaster. Its good to see him back in a local band, and hopefully his skills help Hammerspace as they continue their resurgence this year! The other band news mostly relates to their recent jamming in Rudyard, but nothing too prevalent about onstage return or anything similar has came in a while. Notably, there was brief fears about a breakup due to the fact that they removed their name from their Facebook page earlier this week, but the band confirmed that it was just to be mysterious, and their name & status are unchanged. Hopefully we hear much more from Hammerspace shortly, so check them out at the above links for all current updates!

And finally, here's this week's classic video! With a largely quiet weekend for concerts, I thought I'd dip into the archives for a band to post a video from, and who better than Woods of Ypres? Despite the unfortunate passing of David Gold last month, there's still plenty of videos of Woods of Ypres from their heyday that deserve a wider audience, and none made more sense to start with than the music video for their 2007 song "The Northern Cold"! Released on April 1st of that year, it was filmed in a Northern Ontario forest that February, but it hasn't been seen on YouTube in a few years following David's deletion of it from his YouTube channel. I don't know whether it was due to his dissatisfaction with the video/song, to promote newer material, or something else, but it's a nice video that instantly evokes feelings of a cold northern winter, and "The Northern Cold" is a solid black metal song that should have been in their later setlists more often! This features the band's 2007 lineup, including David on vocals, guitar, and studio drums, Woods of Ypres' then-producer Dan Hulse on bass, and Jessica Rose on the keyboard, with live guitarist Shawn Stoneman and live drummer Chris Mezzabotta filling out their lineup for the video.

I ripped this video from http://rocktube.us/SYt1VWCj0Tx/WOODS_OF_YPRES__The_Northern_Cold.html where it was originally uploaded by RockTube user knjaz_abbadon on September 10th, 2008, though I cropped it to it's original HD dimensions & boosted the colour a bit after downloading it. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Woods of Ypres & knjaz_abbadon, I'm just trying to share this music video with a wider audience like it deserves! This is a nice video that should be seen, so give Woods of Ypres' video for "The Northern Cold" a look below, stay tuned for more from Woods of Ypres as it comes in, and R.I.P. David!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, as well as this month's CD review (likely of Foothill Road's second EP!) Thanks everyone!

Crash Karma/Desperate Union Concert Review, Plus More News!!

As promised, it's time for my review from last night's Crash Karma/Desperate Union show! That's the main story today, but I have some extra shorter news to include at the end, so stay tuned for that! But now, here's my review!

Firstly, I want to thank Jay Perron for the complimentary tickets for the show! Very nice of him! Despite doors opening at 9:30 PM last night at The Canadian Nightclub, nothing got started until an hour later, and while I waited for some friends that I promised tickets to, I believe I overheard some troubling things about the show's status from some staffers near the tour buses. I don't know specifics, but nothing bad happened, except maybe a bit of a delay. Your openers were Desperate Union, and they weren't bad at all! For kids this young, they show a lot of talent and are sure to grow into something special as time goes on! Their sound reminds me of a lot of radio hard rock bands, but they put their own melodic spin on things, and it works out well for them! Singer/guitarist Alen Worsoff has a nice voice that works well in heavy and soft ways, though I imagine he'll get better and deeper with age! Good stage presence too, and he seemed very grateful and happy to be there, along with the rest of the band! Drummer Jason Pierce, despite an odd stage placement on the far left, really impressed me with his movements and energy on the drums, while guitarist Adam Spears and bassist Kyle Teixeira both performed well on their respective instruments!

I especially liked their songs "Don't Forget Me (Angel)" and "Black & White Lies", but I do think they could stand to ramp up their heaviness and include some guitar solos. Even still, they performed a solid concise set, and they show tons of promise! Big things are likely to come to these guys, and their radio hard rock style will find lots of fans, including hopefully lots of people at last night's show!

Your headliners were Crash Karma, the Toronto pop rock supergroup featuring a number of 1990s Canadian rock veterans! Former I Mother Earth singer Edwin, ex-Our Lady Peace guitarist Mike Turner, and Tea Party drummer Jeff Burrows joined together with bassist Amir Epstein of Zygote to form this supergroup, and they delivered a good set, though I do have reservations. Their set included ten songs from their self-titled debut album, along with four classics from the members' past bands, and you know something? I honestly enjoyed their covers more than their originals. This is NOT a case of me liking what's familiar, but the Crash Karma material seems a bit too light and standard compared to what I was hoping. But when they busted out "Superman's Dead" and "Temptation", I was right at home, and they delivered on all accounts! But the new songs didn't do as much for me, though they were all very well played. I admit I was more into the Brian Byrne era of I Mother Earth, but Edwin's voice was in top form last night, as was the rest of the band! Amir Epstein deserves credit as well, his bass work was really good, and his playing style (high on his chest) was unique too!

Good stuff all around, but I wouldn't really call them "hard rock" on the basis of the Crash Karma material. But these guys are very talented, and this truly is a supergroup, so they are worth checking out! Good solid alternative pop rock, and you'd have missed a good show if you weren't there! My metal tastes did lean slightly towards Desperate Union though, but it was fun! Yes, I got photos, so click here to check out my Desperate Union shots, or visit the SMS' official Facebook page! Note that the Crash Karma picture above was NOT taken by me, I'll replace it with one I took tonight when I get home. And yes, I have a Desperate Union video, so here's the band playing their song "Black & White Lies"!



To cap off today's post, here's three smaller news stories that I've missed over the last while! As always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Garden of Bedlam have launched a brand new Facebook page! This is separate from their Facebook group, and is pretty sparse for updates so far, but it does feature a cool lengthy biography on the band and a full resolution copy of the poster for their concert on FRIDAY at The Rockstar Bar! Become a fan today by clicking here!
• When going through band links on the SMS the other day, I discovered that the website for defunct local metal band Renderware has been closed. This doesn't appear to be the band's doing, as it was hosted on Geocities, which has been shut down. The same thing happened to The White Knights' old page. Never fear, as I've replaced the link with their MySpace page, so they won't be deleted from our listings! Make note though if you notice it's gone.
• I received an e-mail recently from Riverin singer/drummer Matt Hicks. Apparently, the call for live backing musicians for their upcoming debut concert has not produced a whole lot of interest, so he was wondering if I could help get the word out again. If any of you guys play bass, drums, or keyboard, or you know someone who does, contact Riverin's members at this location for details and song previews! They deserve some great musicians, and the sooner they get them, the better!
  

That's all for today, but I have more assorted news to come very soon, so be on the lookout! Thanks everyone!

This Weekend's Local Metal/Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

It's time to preview this weekend's slate of local metal and hard rock concerts! Decent amount this weekend on the heavier end of things, including two weekend sets in Sault Michigan and a pair of single shows in Sault Ontario to get hyped for, including a major out of town show featuring a rising hard rock band! So let's begin this weekend's previews in Sault Michigan!

First off for the weekend, we'll head to The Satisfied Frog, where Marquette hard rockers Nudge return to the area for a weekend of great covers! I should note that now, they're only playing shows as Nudge tonight and tomorrow night, as the band have removed their past "Nudge-coustic" sets from their MySpace page's concert listings. As it turns out, their past acoustic sets appear to have been pared down to just frontman Danzo McCracken playing a solo set on those nights, but without a clear idea of his solo genre, I haven't plugged them on here. But they are definitely on for Friday and Saturday concerts this weekend, with the full band in tow! Both shows start at 10:00 PM at The Frog, with no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 to enter. These should be fun shows, as Nudge are a very talented band with loads of great metal and hard rock covers in store! For more information, visit the above links and the official Facebook event page! And for a video preview, here's a clip of Nudge covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Mama I'm Coming Home"!



Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock quintet River Witch will be playing at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino this weekend! Though not confirmed on their Facebook page, which is sporadically updated at best, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page has them playing, so there's my source! It's actually even more up to date and current now, because they updated the listing at some point last month to reflect the fact that River Witch had taken over the bookings previously made for Blind Baby, who River Witch basically evolved from this summer. That being said, River Witch will be playing at The Rapids Lounge tonight and tomorrow night for two shows presumably around 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit. I still don't know a ton about River Witch-sound wise, but featuring members of Blind Baby, Kilacel, and Scofflaw can't be a bad sign! So if you wanna hear some modern and classic rock covers across the river, here's an option! Check the above links for more, visit Blind Baby's page linked above to get a possible glimpse of River Witch's sound!

Thirdly, we'll head back to Sault Ontario, and starting things on that front is another acoustic solo show from Tym Morrison! Yes, Caveman Morrison's frontman returns to the stage for his first public solo concert in two months when he makes his way back to The Bottoms Up Lounge tomorrow night! If you want to hear some intimate acoustic covers of your favourite metal and rock classics, among other genres, then seriously consider going to see Tym tomorrow! This is his only scheduled acoustic date on the horizon, so who knows when he'll be back? The fun starts at 10:00 PM tomorrow, with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit. This should be a good show to enjoy a few drinks to, and who doesn't love hearing great covers? Who needs an amplifier to rock anyway? For more details, check out the above links and the Facebook event page! Though I haven't came across any live videos of Tym's solo work, head to his official website for solo and Caveman audio clips!

Finally, a rising hard rock band are coming through town on Sunday night as support for a band full of big names from Canadian rock! Toronto's own Desperate Union will be playing an opening set tomorrow night at The Canadian Nightclub as direct support for alternative rock supergroup Crash Karma! Crash Karma are a very talented band with ex-members of I Mother Earth, Our Lady Peace, and The Tea Party in their lineup, and you may have seen them on MuchMusic in the past for hits like "Awake" and "Fight"! Not metal, but worth checking out, especially with the pedigree of their lineup! As for Desperate Union, they're a very talented and promising trio that have accomplished a great deal given their young ages! They have videos on MuchMusic, they opened for Soulfly recently, and are showing much promise with their brand of alternative-tinged hard rock! Check out the above links for more on both bands! This show will take place on Sunday night with doors opening at 9:30 PM. You must be 19 to enter, and tickets are $10 in advance at the Knights Inn front desk above The Canadian. The door price is $15. For more details, check out the official Facebook event page!

I'll be at this show, and it should provide some solid rock for a Sunday night! I'm digging Desperate Union especially, but prepare for some good stuff all around if you go! For a preview, here's Desperate Union's music video for their song "Don't Forget Me (Angel)"!



That's all for now, but stay tuned later tonight for another news post, and more very soon, including a Crash Karma/Desperate Union review on Monday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Desperate Union & Turner Up), Plus This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Back to business as usual tonight after a lengthy review session for our 2 CD live recording of the Kiss concert from August (review below.) And today, we'll get you in the loop on this weekend's known local metal and hard rock concerts, but first, here are TWO LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one of which is short notice!

Toronto hard rock trio Desperate Union will make their way to Sault Ontario next month as the supporting band for a Canadian rock supergroup on their current touring cycle! The main attraction for this concert, which takes place on November 7th, will be Toronto alternative rockers Crash Karma, who feature ex-members of I Mother Earth, Our Lady Peace, and The Tea Party among their ranks! Not metal, but they're a talented high profile band who'll be sure to deliver at this show! Desperate Union, though not headlining, have some solid tunes going for them, and have seen a bit of play on MuchMusic in the last few years in their own right. Good radio hard rock sound, these guys have potential, and hopefully they put in a good performance! This show will be on November 7th at The Canadian Nightclub at 9:30 PM, with tickets on sale at The Knights Inn front desk above The Canadian. They cost $10, but the price jumps to $15 if you buy at the door. You must be 19 to attend this concert. For more details, check the above links and visit the official Facebook event page! I'll keep you posted as I hear more!

The other new concert is part of this weekend's local concert previews, given that it's very short notice, so here's what you should know on that front!

Sault Ontario classic hard rockers Turner Up return to the stage this weekend for two shows, one more than we had previously heard about. Going into the week, we knew that they'd be at The Rockstar Bar tomorrow night for a one night performance, but there was nothing planned for Saturday. Well, that has changed, as the band are now scheduled to play on Saturday night at The Roosevelt Hotel, in their first concert ever at The Rosie! Amazing that it took this long! I apologize for the short notice about the Saturday show, it was only just announced on Wednesday. Both shows will be at around 10:00 PM on their respective nights, with no announced cover charge for either, and 19+ age limits for both. So if you want to hear some great classic hard rock covers from a talented band of local music veterans, you know where to be: The Rockstar Bar tomorrow night, and The Rosie on Saturday night! Click here and here for the respective event pages for both concerts, check out all of the above links for more, and for a preview, click here to see video footage of their current lineup covering a Gavin DeGraw hit!

Meanwhile, local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison return to The Vibe Lounge tomorrow night for a concert full of metal and hard rock hits! This show was originally scheduled for last Friday, but was postponed a week by recommendation of The Vibe Lounge's staff, so the show will be on for sure tomorrow! As usual, expect a night full of great renditions of many of your favourite metal and rock classics from Tym, Dutch, and Johnny, who have great chemistry on-stage to boot! As usual, this show will be at 10:00 PM tomorrow night, with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Should be a good show, with lots of great music to go around, so if you're in the area, head to The Vibe Lounge! For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page, and for a video preview, here's Caveman Morrison covering Living Colour's "Cult Of Personality" from their set this past weekend at Foggy Notions!



Finally for this weekend, Northern Michigan metal band Peril return to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino for a pair of hard rocking shows this weekend in Sault Michigan! Jeff Hudson and company are back there this weekend to deliver their own old school take on metal, including some covers and originals, and should put in some great stuff to rock the Sault with! As is typical for Peril, the shows will be at 9:00 PM tomorrow and Saturday night, with no cover charge and a 21+ age limit. So whether you wanna stop by and say "Hey" or rock out with some great metal, Kewadin has the metal this weekend for you Sault Michigan metalheads! For more, visit the above links, and for a video preview, here's a live clip of Peril covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" from a show in January!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes very soon, including our next poll on Monday and the results from our current poll that day too! Thanks everyone, and go see some shows this weekend!