LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (T.N.T. & Tarnished), The Wheelhouse Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we get into today's post, just two updates regarding this weekend's concert previews. First, while I'm not covering the shows here because the band never really crossed our genre radar, classic rock cover band Jus' Chillin are reuniting to play at Reggie's Place this weekend, as per members' personal Facebook postings. Jus' Chillin folded in the spring of 2023 so they could form Generations alongside ex-Obsession singer Valerie Powley, so this would imply that Valerie is unavailable this weekend, hence Pierre and Tony bringing the old band back for a couple of nights. Hopefully the shows go well! As for TONIGHT'S Poutine Feast lineup at the Downtown Plaza, the previously advertised Riverside Stasis and Jeffrey Wright were joined by classic rock cover veterans Encore and Riverside Stasis bassist Rob Speers, who has played live often as an acoustic solo singer/guitarist since The Wyld Stallyns disbanded in mid-2024.

Our source for the full lineup is You Belong SSM's Facebook page, and it remains to be seen if their will be an advertised live music program during Kids Day tomorrow (Canada/Morocco World Cup game acknowledged), but Sunday's final day seems unlikely given that there will be a marathon of Disney/Pixar movies on the big screen. Whether you're going for poutine, live music, or both, have fun downtown this weekend, and stay cool and hydrated! Now, here's the rest of this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for Fourth Of July weekend concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows have been advertised on Kewadin's entertainment page in recent weeks, and while I've got to get better at covering shows listed there, the band only acknowledged the shows on their Facebook page earlier today. TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows are kinda sorta makeup dates for Tarnished in terms of St. Ignace at large, as they dropped out of their planned outdoor car show gig this past Saturday for unannounced reasons. It's good to see the full band back in action a week later, and if you're one to dodge summer heat & humidity, you won't mind TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows being indoors! You may want to duck out to see fireworks TOMORROW though.

Note that Tarnished will make the 2 hour drive west to Manistique on Sunday to play at the grand opening of The Hive Commons there, and while this AI-generated poster only directly reflects on the tour date, note that the Manistique show will be 1980s themed and will feature a set mostly (if not entirely) themed around 1980s rock covers, so will that focus bleed into the St. Ignace shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW? The local dates are 21+ affairs with no cover and 9:00 PM start times. Stay tuned for more from Tarnished next week, and here they are live!

Next up, newer Sault Ontario acoustic classic/hard rock duo T.N.T. (Travis Sharpe & Terry Eaton) will return to Beck's Bar for a matinee concert on SUNDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via the venue's weekly Monday entertainment schedule drop on their Facebook page, and I don't believe Trav(is) or Terry have launched a social media or band page yet to reflect their duo outings. Fans last saw the Soundcheck side project at Beck's in late May, and while I don't see this always promoted as taking place during SUNDAY matinees there, Beck's hosts weekly euchre tournaments on that day of the week, so if you play euchre, you'll get some live hard and classic rock covers with your card gaming! Terry & Travis will rock the stage on SUNDAY at 3:00 PM (karaoke is the nightcap there as usual), with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and we will let you know if any public videos of T.N.T. surface online!

Lastly for known hard rock concert previews this weekend, here's a show that had lots of advance notice, as revived local classic/hard rock cover trio Wheelhouse will play their second show since coming back TOMORROW NIGHT at the aforementioned Beck's Bar! The group from former Stiffler's Mom bandmates Michael Davies & Jon Ferguson (now plus Eden Plague/Golden Scoundrels drummer Johnny Belanger) made their relaunch at Beck's on May 15th, and they quickly announced plans to play a Fourth of July gig at the former Vibe Lounge. As revealed on Johnny's personal Facebook page at the time, this poster for the concert was lovingly drawn with pencil crayons rather than using generative AI, which I appreciate! The band's own prior usage of AI to make their initial Facebook photos though, I'll let you assess that at your leisure. Videos and "Stories" of Wheelhouse so far point to a fun live band with heavy covers, so don't miss out!

The matinee performer tomorrow is former Thin Ice frontman Nathan Albidone with a solo country set, though remember, he has a full 4 hour block from 3:00-7:00 PM and isn't "opening" for Wheelhouse, who take the stage tomorrow night at 9:00 PM. This is also a 19+ event and it has no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on Wheelhouse's second show of the year, and here they are live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Wheelhouse) A New Local Band, And More!!

Today's post turned into more of a weekend concert preview motif than I imagined, thanks to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), clarification on a kinda-sorta new band, and a missed concert from last night, so here's what you should know as the Canadian long weekend continues!

We have a new-ish band to add to our band links, and as hinted at at the top of Thursday's post, that band is classic/hard rock cover trio Wheelhouse! Now, those familiar with the weekend cover band circuit may recognize Wheelhouse from playing sporadic regional dates since 2023 (their earliest publically documented gig was at Reggie's that June), and they either were successors to or a renaming of the 2022 band Buzzsaw Jaw, but they only launched their own Facebook page this month. Wheelhouse are notable for reuniting guitarist Michael Davies and bassist/ex-Foggy Notions co-owner Jon Ferguson in a new band, following their successful 1996-2017 run with Stiffler's Mom, and they are newly joined by Golden Scoundrels/Eden Plague drummer Johnny Belanger on lead vocals and drums! I don't know who drummed for Wheelhouse previously (let us know if you can confirm), but Cliff Alloy at least drummed for Buzzsaw Jaw.

On their Facebook page, Wheelhouse claim to cover "hits from the 80's, 90's, and today's music" (people realize that "today" in that context covers a 26 year span, right?), and while there are band logos in their Facebook photos, I refuse to take AI-generated artwork at face value for setlist hints. What I can tell you is that Beck's Bar (where they played last night) did film at least two videos, though sadly, they were only uploaded to Facebook as "Story" videos, which means that if they show up in the "Stories" strip on your news feed, they will vanish forever after one or two viewings. I do not like "Stories", but alas, there's only so much I can do about them. If you weren't at Beck's last night, you'll have to take my word for it that the videos showed them covering AC/DC's "TNT" and Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself". If you remember pre-pandemic Handsome Sandwich from 2017-2020, it is good to see Johnny on lead vocals while drumming again!

In one of today's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, Wheelhouse will return to Beck's on Saturday, July 4th, That show will again be at 9:00 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit, so if you miss Stiffler's Mom or Handsome Sandwich 1.0, their return may just be in your "wheelhouse"! There is one actual permanently uploaded video on the band's Facebook page that I can embed here (it's horizontal, too!), and it features 75 seconds of John, Mike, and Jon covering (no joke) The Village People's "YMCA". The dark lighting and side-stage angle don't help the view, but it's a lively rocked-up cover with a solid and animated crowd, so give Wheelhouse's first fully public video a watch below!

Next up, here's that SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place TONIGHT after previously playing there last night. My profuse apologies for both the short notice on TONIGHT's show and missing yesterday's outright, I only heard about the gigs this morning via the venue's Facebook page, and the band has not announced the bookings on their own Facebook page. Alas, this isn't the first time that Soundcheck and related bands have forgone social media promotion for one reason or another. TONIGHT's (and yesterday's) shows mark Soundcheck's first since at the Queen Street staple since early April, and unlike their Esquire Club shows two weeks ago, this is not an "epic crossover" weekend with their sister band Separate Wayz, at least not according to current promotional materials.

As was also the case last night, TONIGHT'S show is at 9:30 PM with no cover & a 19+ age limit, and if you believe the AI promotional image, "good music (and) good times" are to be had. Despite the lack of press from Soundcheck proper, it will be good to see Travis, Terry, Jim, and Johnny rocking out with their hard rocking blend of covers again downtown, so apologies again for missing last night's show, and I hope TONIGHT'S goes over just as well, if not better! See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Lastly, let's talk about prolific local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison, whose run of frequent Saturday matinee concerts at Misty's Fifties continues TODAY (as in, RIGHT NOW), and I do apologize for not being timely enough to cover it before it started. I'm out of town this weekend and was on the road for much of yesterday. Today's Victoria Day long weekend concert marks Tym's penultimate advertised gig from his batch Facebook event page for shows at the Second Line West nightclub, with a return scheduled in two weeks on Saturday, May 30th, but we await likely show announcements there in the short term. There is still time for Saultites to head down to Misty's to check out Tym's smooth and talented mix of rock covers today, and you know his solo shows give a production quality beyond the usual trappings of the acoustic singer/songwriter, so you'll get your money's worth (free admission acknowledged!)

This is a 19+ event that started at 4:00 PM and runs until 8:00 PM. Stay tuned for more from Tym in due course, here he is live, and apologies again for not previewing this show until after it began! He'll be back in two weeks!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS tomorrow! Thanks everyone!