LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dos Amigos, Stones & Crows, And Riverside Stasis), Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this weekend's concert previews, I wanted to apologize for missing Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson's solo gig at The Dive Gastro Pub this past Thursday for coverage on here. Alas, the venue never confirmed the show publically on their Facebook page, and while "the ranting rockstar" did plug it on short notice on his personal Facebook page, he doesn't have a public social media page to promote solo gigs with. Hopefully the concert was a hit, and we'll let you know when we hear more from him and/or Bone Yard! Now, let's dive into most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, with the Wheelhouse and T.N.T. shows coming in our next news post!

New local alt-hard rock quintet Riverside Stasis will be among TOMORROW'S music lineup at the Poutine Feast at the Downtown Plaza! Apologies for the short notice, frontwoman Tea Emlaw first announced that they'd be playing via her solo Facebook page on Sunday, and You Belong SSM has yet to reveal the full schedule for TOMORROW (they only revealed today's all solo acoustic lineup this morning). Fresh off of their debut set at Blaster Powerhouse this past weekend, this will be your second chance to see this new band live and your first at an outdoor event. Day #3 is expected to have live music from 4:15 PM onward, and Riverside Stasis are expected to hit the stage at around 6:00 PM, and the only other confirmed act that I'm aware of is country musician Jeffrey Wright at 7:15 PM. Apologies for erroneously plugging TOMORROW's program as the Kids Day when this post initially went live, that is actually the Saturday, July 4th theme.

This is FREE & ALL AGES as usual, and 9&10 News is calling for 22-28° temperatures TOMORROW with clouds receding into the afternoon (please be prepared for the hot & humid conditions). Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from Riverside Stasis' Facebook page of them covering Kings Of Leon's "Sex On Fire" at the former Soo Blaster on Saturday! Filmed by Drifters frontwoman Elly McWatters from the front row, she got some really nice close-up visuals of the band, harmed only by being just 90 seconds long and vertical (though she does focus on everyone individually). Not my favourite song in the world (at least it's not "Dance Monkey"), but it's well performed, so check it out below!

Next up, local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to The Whisky Barrel for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the venue only announced this show on their Facebook page on Monday, and the band only publically acknowledged the booking in an Instagram "Story", as far as I can tell. Fresh off of their own Poutine Feast gig on Canada Day, it's good to see Mikey & Dustin bringing their unplugged cover project to the stage a little more frequently this summer, and hopefully there's a good turnout at the Gore Street pub TOMORROW for their fan favourite punk covers! Yes, I am aware of their sister band Bookclub's gig next week during the downtown Summer Concert Series, stay tuned for a preview of that in a news post by Monday. TOMORROW'S Whisky Barrel show (their first there in almost three months) is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Dos Amigos live!

Also this weekend, new local blues/hard rock trio Stones & Crows will play their second public concert TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's Bar! Apologies again for the short notice, the venue only announced this show on their Facebook page on Monday as part of their usual weekly entertainment schedule reveal there (though be advised that Stones & Crows haven't posted on their Facebook page in any way in over two weeks). Originally, Beck's was supposed to have DJ Dark Mark spinning tunes TOMORROW, but a "communication breakdown" led them to look elsewhere for Friday entertainment, and they opted to bring back Stones & Crows just one week after Spencer, Nicholas, and Anthony (er, Bukky, Nikki, and Tony) made their live debut at the same locale. Hopefully things go well for their Beck's encore, and seeing as Anthony is drumming with Riverside Stasis TOMORROW at Poutine Feast as well, he's definitely got a long night ahead!

Like last week, TOMORROW'S Stones & Crows show is at 9:00 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's our first public video of the Electric Church successors live, as per Beck's Facebook page! The video sees the guys covering Eric Clapton's "Cocaine", and while something sounds a little out of tune, the guys have a good sound going so far, as you'd hope with this lineup! Alas, the video is vertical, only 44 seconds long, and has the band's name slapped on top in post-production, so while you can see them without those restrictions TOMORROW NIGHT at Beck's, give their first video a watch below! 

Finally for today, here's a show that did get advance notice, as former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to the aforementioned Dive Gastro Pub for one night only on SATURDAY! Originally announced back in May on his Facebook page, this will be Curt's first gig at the former Low & Slow since a "Think It Over Thursday" date in April, with an interim gig there on June 13th being called off after The Dive double booked Curtis with another artist. While The Dive has not corroborated this booking on their Facebook page either (I have no idea why they've been so inconsistent for advertising live musicians lately), hopefully Curt has a strong turnout downtown for his alternative and hard rock covers! Saturday concerts this summer at The Dive are "Patio Play" gigs where possible, and 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies that night with temperatures in the 20° range, and rain is unlikely.

The show is at 9:30 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and while the heat wave is still ongoing, it looks to be more comfortable than some nights have been on Saturday, so consider stopping by The Dive if you want some live unplugged rock! See the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Curtis live a few years back!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Wheelhouse and T.N.T. previews (and more?) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Dos Amigos), The Viscera/PonyWorm Concert Preview, And An Inactive Band Note!!

Before we begin this post, just a note that I have seen a personal Facebook post implying that local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck are returning to Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s Tap Room tomorrow night, but I have not seen any public confirmation from the band or brewery to corroborate that posting. We have time to make mention of it if it's 100% verifiably announced, but just in case, I thought I'd lead off by acknowledging what I saw. Otherwise, this post has the rest of this weekend's hard rock/punk previews and an inactive band note, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to The Whisky Barrel for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday, and while Dos Amigos' six+ month moratorium on Facebook page updates continues, singer/guitarist Mikey Hawdon did confirm the booking on his personal Facebook page. While we have seen Mikey & Dustin since at The Kiln with their band BookcluB, TONIGHT's show will be their first advertised unplugged gig as Dos Amigos since their last Whiskey Barrel stop in late February. If you're up for some acoustic punk covers from two of the Soo's finest, head down to Gore Street TONIGHT! Possibly due to St. Patrick's Day being on a Tuesday this year (let alone The Whisky Barrel being a Scottish pub), there are no overt seasonal ties TONIGHT, though drinks will be on tap, as you'd assume.

The Whisky Barrel rarely doubles up bands on weekends, and as such, indie rock veterans All The Tired Horses are playing there tomorrow. TONIGHT'S concert goes down at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on TONIGHT'S Dos Amigos action, and here they are live at The Tap Room last year!

Next up, let's wrap up(?) this weekend's concert previews by heading across to Sault Michigan, where new local hardcore punk duo Viscera will play their first ever local gig TOMORROW NIGHT at Three One Three On Ashmun! While Blind Bob & Mitchell debuted this project in Marquette in January, tomorrow's show will be E.U.P. fans' first chance to hear Viscera's brutal minimalist sound, including cuts from their debut EP "From Feast To Famine" (as this is the first local show since, would this be the de facto release party?). As Sault Michigan goes, a sound this visceral (descriptor intended) doesn't come around every day, so if you like things brutal, come down to the former Back Door tomorrow! Marquette doom/stoner metal duo PonyWorm will make their apparent local debut tomorrow as openers, returning the favour after Viscera opened for them in Marquette in January, and they'll sludge things up well in their first trip here, so don't miss out tomorrow if you can help it!

Opening tomorrow's action is local punk/hard rock band About:Blank (last seen rocking The Savoy in an unadvertised gig last month), and while they have yet to publically replace Nathan Webber in their lineup, Parker & Kade might not have to worry about it immediately, as if they play this show as a duo again, then all three bands tomorrow will be two-man-bands, which will be neat! Tickets run for $10 in advance via the QR code on the poster above or through members of the two local bands, and admission will jump to $15 at the door. This appears to be a 21+ event, and doors open at 7:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on this unique and heavy mix of bands at Three One Three, and for a preview, here's our first look at Viscera on camera! Since I first discovered Viscera last month, I realized that they do have a Facebook page, albeit one that is set up as a personal account, so you'd have to add them as a friend rather than like/follow them. 

On said page is their first public video (shared from attendee/former Insipid Brutality guitarist Tyler Dettloff's personal Facebook page), which actually comes from their Marquette show in January at Superior Culture, and it features Viscera playing "Disassociate", the opening song from their EP. Yes, the video is vertical, but Tyler got Bob & Mitchell both in frame, and he was close enough to the action where there's not empty space, so that much works out! Percussion's a little clangy, but this is an intense and grimy performance that suits how their EP is formatted, so give it a watch below, and look for much more tomorrow night!

Finally for today, I have moved Sault Ontario indie/punk quintet The Northwest to our inactive band links. The band has not issued a public update since they opened for Our Lady Peace at GFL Memorial Gardens on March 2nd of last year, which has been their only concert appearance of any kind since the 2023 Go North Music Festival. Originally named North West and Northwest before adding the "The", The Northwest featured a stacked lineup of 2000s veterans of the local indie and punk scenes upon their debut in the fall of 2013, and they would release two EPs in 2014 and 2018. The Northwest finished in second place at November 2013's Viva La Battle, played at Rotaryfest Stage 2 thrice from 2017-2022, opened for The Sheepdogs at the Rock On The River festival in Timmins, opened for Marianas Trench & The Trews at the Gardens in 2022, and even got played on CBC Radio One and NHL telecasts that year.

While they did drift somewhat from punk in later material, their brand of "3-guitar heartland rock" was always adaptable to varying kinds of concerts, and The Northwest displayed a lot of talent and camaraderie in their shows & EPs! An 11+ year run is nothing to shake a stick at for an originals-focused local band either, but they have not announced anything regarding their future, so hopefully we do see the guys back at it down the road. Best of luck to Wayne, Greg, Yak, Mike, Marc, and Clint in the future, and don't miss Greg (and sometimes Yak) in acoustic sets around town! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more on the SMS this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Dos Amigos), A New Local Band, And More Recent Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I have to apologize for another missed concert in our weekend concert previews, this time local alt-punk cover band BookcluB at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort on Saturday, January 31st. The band only announced last week's show (their first of 2026) on their Facebook page that Tuesday, which completely slipped me by until getting links for a related show that we didn't miss later in this post. I apologize again, I hope to catch their next show for the SMS, but hopefully this one was a blast all around! Now, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, new videos and related updates, and leading off, a new band with some notable faces!

We have a new band to add to our active Sault Ontario links, and they are Even Flow, the Pearl Jam tribute band that debuted at Beck's Bar on Halloween last year! There was easily the chance that this was a one-off band given the occasion, but their new Facebook page confirms that they're an ongoing project. In their only posting so far, they curiously note that they are "hailing from Northern Ontario", possibly to leave the door open for a wider range of shows beyond Sault Ste. Marie. They promise "a high-voltage, nostalgic experience that proves (that) the spirit of grunge is alive, well, and shivering up north". At the time of their debut, I knew from Facebook shares that the band included new local guitarist Cameron Brock and former Garden of Bedlam drummer Derek Turner, but who else is involved? Derek's old Papa Fogals Chair bandmate Mike Bird is on bass, while Odd Man Out/ex-Sense of Truth guitarist Steve Myers is also in the fold.

Jokey nicknames aside, the band only gave their singer/guitarist's name as "Rob", but the most logical name here would be Barbarians/ex-Elements frontman Rob Speers, who was a bandmate of Mike & Derek's in the 2013-2014 hard rock band The Side FX, and also briefly worked with Derek in The Wyld Stallyns a decade later. Certainly a talented batch of musicians who will be familiar to many readers (maybe excepting Cameron), and it will be interesting to see what Even Flow have in store for Pearl Jam and alternative fans this year! Visit the above links for more on them!

Next up, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, as local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to The Whisky Barrel for one night only on Friday, February 20th! The band scarcely updates their own social media, so kudos to the Gore Street nightclub for announcing the show on their Facebook page on Wednesday, allowing us to hear and get the word out about it. Fans last saw the Inner City Surfers side project live last month at Northern Superior Brewing Co. (assuming you saw the minimal online advertising for it), and hopefully their unplugged punk covers go over well downtown in just under two weeks! It's worth noting that Mikey and Dustin remotely joined their old Surfers bandmate Brad Example for his YouTube series The Afterparty tonight at 9:00 PM, which I do plan on covering & recapping here on the SMS in a dedicated post, so stay tuned for that next week!

As for Dos Amigos at The Whisky Barrel, that show is at 8:00 PM as usual there, this is a 19+ event, and there is no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and stay tuned for our recap of the Afterparty episode!

Also today, here's some of the latest from local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will return to Beck's Bar next week for their first ever "stoplight party" on Valentine's Day, but they're staying busy otherwise! On Thursday, "the dirty three" shared this vertical video to their Facebook page featuring a sneak peek of a new original song in progress (heavily implied to be named "Shit Show"), and you even hear vocals in the short 15 second snippet! Alex is seen on guitar with Warren at the computer, while Greg notes that it's "pretty bad when we actually have to rehearse our own song". The caption also hinted that a new cover song is also in the works, and while they didn't 100% tie everything to their album-in-progress, note that they did confirm that their "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" cover will be on the final product and not just live gigs. Hopefully we hear more soon, but if you want to hear a full original song on video, we have you covered!

I'm surprised that I didn't get to this last month, but Beck's owner Becky Sawyer filmed your local 225 during their electric gig there on Saturday, January 3rd, and in the (thankfully) horizontal video, you can see the guys playing their original song "The F Word" (alternately, if not formerly, known as "Fuck!"). No major angle or zoom changes here, but Becky had a good central angle of the guys rocking out on this energetic and fast paced rocker, and expect more of the same there next week! Remember, wear clothing based on traffic light colours to signify your relationship status (i.e. green = single). Get more from Bone Yard above & below!

Finally, here's a brief new video posted on The Machine Shop's Facebook page yesterday featuring Nova Scotia alt-hard rock quartet The Trews promoting their local date there on February 25th! In the 13 second clip, frontman Colin MacDonald says that "we are making our long awaited return to The Machine Shop", even though they have never played a local date there. Regardless, it is always good to see major touring bands give local shoutouts like this in advance of their shows here, even if the videos are brief, so give it a watch below, and buy tickets for the concert later this month at this link!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Quite Frankly & Dos Amigos) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this final concert weekend of the month, and arguably the true start of the Christmas season, we have too many hard rock shows for one post once again, and that's not even counting Toystock on Sunday! That will obviously get an extended preview soon, but we'll also hold Saturday's Robbie G/Apocalypse Afterparty and Tym Morrison shows for tomorrow's post. Now, here's what you should know re: bands playing tomorrow in some description, plus SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Whisky Barrel! Apologies for the short notice, the venue first announced this show via their Facebook page on Sunday, and Dos Amigos haven't updated their Facebook page in over three months. While their lack of public social media updates this fall doesn't mean they haven't played shows that just slipped past our radar, this will be Mikey & Dustin's first publically promoted concert as this project since late August, when they opened for The Golden Scoundrels at the same venue. If you like the idea of unplugged punk covers from the former Inner City Surfers and Rising Tide bandmates, then come down to Gore Street and beat the weather while enjoying some tunes! This is a 19+ show with no cover and an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Dos Amigos live!

Next up, reunited local classic/hard rock cover band Quite Frankly will finally play their first show since their reunion earlier this year on SATURDAY NIGHT at Beck's Bar! Again, apologies for the short notice, this concert was only announced via Beck's Facebook page on Tuesday when they made their weekly announcement of that week's entertainment lineup. As you may recall, Quite Frankly (a prominent if short lived local presence from 2009-2010) announced their surprise reunion in July, with guitarist Frank LaTassa, bassist Harley Syrette, and guitarist-turned-drummer Joe DelBasso now joined by singer Haley Alopaeus. While they have played at least one private gig since coming back, this will be your first chance to see Quite Frankly 2.0 on a public stage, following their cancellation of a Bruce Mines gig last month due to an unspecified band member illness. It will be interesting to see how Quite Frankly go over in their grand return after 15 years!

For reference, the SATURDAY matinee performer this week is acoustic singer/guitarist Nigel Cormier (also in his Beck's debut), but as always, he isn't "opening" for Quite Frankly. Nigel has his own full timeslot from 3:00-7:00 PM, ending 2 hours prior to the band's start time of 9:00 PM. Expect a 19+ age limit and no cover charge as usual. See above for more on Quite Frankly's return on SATURDAY, and here they are at a private event post-reunion!

Now let's move to shows that did have advance notice, starting with fellow local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush, who will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This weekend's shows come just over a month after the Johns, Wes, Gino, and Frank's most recent gigs at the same venue, though they did play at least one private gig (a stag & doe) in the interim. According to the official Facebook event page, Headrush have "new tunes on the roster (that are) guaranteed to keep you dancing", so if you want to see what's new in their sets, and if you will indeed keep dancing throughout, head to this west end favourite this weekend! As usual for bands at The Esquire Club, tomorrow and Saturday's shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Headrush live!

Finally for this preview post, let's head to Sault Michigan, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror, these will surprisingly be Scarkazm's first shows in Sault Ste. Marie since April, partially aided by the band taking the summer off from gigs in any locale. It's always good to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff delivering their hard hitting original and cover attack north of the Mackinac Bridge, and hopefully there's a great turnout both nights to send out November 2025 on a high note! As usual for Kewadin Casino lounge bookings, tomorrow & Saturday's shows are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges, and if you can't make it, they'll return to the St. Ignace Kewadin the weekend before Christmas. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here for more details, and here's Scarkazm live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Hot Girls), Plus The Mike Haggith & Napoleon Concert Previews!!

A busy weekend is upon us to end September 2025 with, so we'll have to break things up into three posts once again! As such, our previews of Wolf Fest, Outspoken Brewing's Oktoberfest, and Bone Yard 225  & Tym Morrison's next shows are slated for our next post, with Double Down's Saturday nighter coming after that. Look for all of those shortly, but let's lead off our previews with some downtown shows tonight and tomorrow, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Grand Rapids punk/power pop trio The Hot Girls will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at The Whisky Barrel! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced with time to spare on September 16th via the venue's Facebook page, but between The Whisky Barrel not being an SMS staple and the band not seeming amenable to our coverage on sight, I didn't jump the gun at the time. A well travelled touring band with a clear sense of humour, The Hot Girls' upbeat brand of original rock should find a willing audience TONIGHT, so don't miss out on what should be a fun concert with riffs and laughs at the Gore Street-based Scottish pub! Unusually for a show with a touring band, TONIGHT'S concert is FREE, but it is definitely a 19+ booking with an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details on TONIGHT's show, and for a preview, check them out on Bandcamp! I honestly can't find a live concert video of theirs to embed here.

Next up, remember how there was supposed to be a battle of the bands TOMORROW at the Downtown Plaza featuring Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band? Well, the battle has been turned into a normal concert, with Mike & crew now headlining! The plaza nor 705 Live Sound Co. have elaborated on the reason for the changes, but I can only assume that band signups weren't terribly high (remember, there hasn't been a battle on this side of the border in eight years), so organizers are turning lemons into lemonade by hosting a normal concert with who signed up. As such, this will be The Big Finish Band's first concert since the Dragonfly Run, and perhaps their last outdoor gig of the year given that it's now the fall, so consider coming out to the Downtown Plaza for all of the action! Online page-less space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will (fittingly) be opening tomorrow, so don't miss Andrew and Ralph to lead things off this evening!

No word on if The Spaceship Opening had signed up for the battle too, though I wonder if the promised $200 voucher will be given to one/both bands? Tomorrow's concert will be a FREE event at 7:00 PM and it is definitely ALL AGES. With the outdoor locale at the Downtown Plaza (covered stage acknowledged), 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies with a temperature hovering around 16°. While it is a shame that the battle proper isn't taking place, kudos to everyone involved for keeping the show going, even on a work/school night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more on tomorrow's special concert, and for a preview, here's some brand new videos of Mike & The Big Finish Band live! They had cameras rolling at the Dragonfly Run in spite of the rainy forecast on August 24th, and while they had protection from the elements, it looks like the weather held up enough!

At the annual ARCH Hospice motorcycle rally outside of The Grand Gardens North, Mike had multiple cameras set up to film their sets (click here to check out their full setlist from that day), and while I don't know if we'll be seeing more from the Dragonfly Run, two videos were shared to Mike's Facebook page of him and the band playing "Carousel" and, as embedded below, "An Act Of Strength".  Strong performances as you'd expect from Mike, Chris, Elly, Matt, and Brandan, so look for more of the same (and with better weather) tonight at the Downtown Plaza!

Finally for this preview post, we'll head to Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT for the local concert debut of Toronto post-hardcore quartet Napoleon! Headlining the fourth show from local promoters Heavy North Entertainment since their relaunch last year, Napoleon bring an in-your-face blend of punk, screamo, and metal to the table in their intense live attack, so come on down tomorrow to jump in the pit! The opener lineup has drastically changed since this show was first announced in July, with the original roster of four local bands dropping to three, with only one band (online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad) surviving throughout. Originally, the openers were also to include promoter Tyler St. Amour's dormant death metal band Bardo, progressive metal quartet Convergence, and Instagram-only hard rock quartet Maynard Hayes, but all three have quietly dropped out for unannounced reasons. Hopefully all is well with all three bands!

In their place, fans will get to see veteran hard rock quartet Half Past in their first show since May (and a rare turn for them opening for a touring band), as well as party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty in their first of two Soo Blaster gigs in an eight day span. Still a solid and diverse lineup, so don't be late tomorrow! The aforementioned 705 Live Sound Co. will be at the controls for this ALL AGES show, which has an early runtime of 5:00-10:00 PM, and tickets run for $12.75 in advance at this link or $20 at the door. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Napoleon live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (BookcluB, Curtis McKenzie, And Tym Morrison) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

For this final concert weekend of August (also the Labour Day long weekend), we have an eventful but not overly busy weekend in store for hard rock fans in Sault Ontario, mostly including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, plus a quiet cancellation. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison's acoustic solo act will set up shop once again at The Dive Gastro Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via Tym's Facebook event page on Sunday, with the venue following suit on their Facebook page not too long ago today. The Dive hosting live music on Fridays is not common based on prior months with a calendar, but Friday nighters have happened once in a while, and TOMORROW'S show is likely so booked given that it's the long weekend and the arguable final weekend of the summer season. After we missed Tym's Think It Over Thursday show there last week, good thing we didn't miss TOMORROW's return! Note that, while his Facebook event page still says that he is playing a matinee show there on Saturday, we can confirm that Tym is not performing at Misty's Fifties that day.

Country veteran Allan Mooney has confirmed that he is playing there instead, as per this new plug for the booking, and note that Tym was also once scheduled to play at Misty's last week but that show wasn't even covered on the SMS (he was playing at The Eagles Club that night and there was never fresh promotion for Misty's). A reason for the cancellation of tomorrow's (and last week's) Misty's gigs was never announced, but hopefully his show there next Saturday is still on!  TOMORROW'S 19+ and free show at The Dive is on the patio once again rather than "the naughty corner", with 9&10 News calling for clear skies and cool temperatures hovering around 13°. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, local alternative/punk cover sextet BookcluB and their unplugged sister duo Dos Amigos will take part in BookcluB guitarist Brandon Ruch's local farewell concert at The Whisky Barrel TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via its Facebook event page on Monday. Dubbed "Branstock: A Ruch & Roll Event And Moving Away Party", TOMORROW'S concert is the final one for Brandon before his impending move to Barrie, following a prolific three year run in active live bands after graduating from Algoma University's music program. The former Generations & Handsome Sandwich guitarist will pull double duty TOMORROW, as he will be headlining with his folk/country band The Golden Scoundrels, while the lineup will be rounded out by indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (formerly The Hollow Heads), so there's a little something for many tastes at Branstock!

While this will presumably be Brandon's farewell with Bookclub after over a year & half with them, he is not leaving The Golden Scoundrels, who have been ramping up their touring schedule as of late anyway. This 19+ concert has no cover charge and an 8:00 PM start time. Brandon will be missed locally for his prolific multi-genre talents, so help send him off the right way TOMORROW, especially given how this package of bands will be rocking an unusually small and acoustic-leaning venue for the occasion! Visit the above links for details on Branstock, best of luck to Brandon in Barrie, and for a preview, here's BookcluB live!

Next up, former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will bring his solo acoustic show back to Beck's Bar for one night only on SATURDAY! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Wednesday when they announced this weekend's live music schedule. In his last post on Facebook before this week, he thanked fans for going to see him at Beck's on August 2nd before noting that he wouldn't be able to perform live for 4-6 weeks due to recovery from dental surgery. SATURDAY is exactly four weeks since, to the timeline lines up, and hopefully he is fully healed to sing his hard and alternative rock covers in the west end once again! On SATURDAY, Curtis is in the 3:00 PM matinee timeslot, and the band playing the 9:00 PM nightcap there are new local country cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters.

Remember, Curt isn't "opening" for Elly, he and her band both have four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart, but there's no cover charge if you want to hang out to see both on SATURDAY! Regardless, there's a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Curt live!

Finally for this weekend's known heavier shows, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end their summer slate with regular concerts at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at the Dragonfly Run this past weekend, these will be their first traditional nightclub concerts in three weeks, and cap off a busy month of shows on the road and at charitable motorcycle events. With Greg, Alex, and Warren also working on their long gestating debut album this month, they should be in fine spirits to rock Reggie's for fans looking for live rock and roll over the long weekend! Note that a live-streamed video from the Dragonfly Run was shared to the band's Facebook page, but new 30 day time limit or not, the video just features attendees and riders before the bike rally proper began, and does not feature any live music performances. Tomorrow & Saturday's concerts have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges.

Also, your local 225 will have fresh stock of official band merchandise on sale this weekend, and they are now taking pre-orders for official band hoodies, so if all of that interests you, have cash on hand at Reggie's! Visit the above links for more details, and here's "the dirty three" live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dos Amigos, Tarnished, And One Shot) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's almost the Civic Holiday long weekend (well, for most) in Sault Ontario, and there's a lot of hard rock-leaning concerts going down for the occasion, so much so that it will take three posts to get through everything! Alas, most of the shows this weekend were only announced on short notice, including all of the Saturday-only gigs in the post after this one, but today's focuses on bands playing shows tomorrow night in some form or fashion. Here's what you should know to lead off this busy weekend!

Let's bookend things in Sault Michigan and the E.U.P., and we'll start with local classic metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished's return to The Merchants Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this booking on their Facebook page yesterday (The Merch still only rarely promotes bands playing there on their own social media). Last seen in St. Ignace two weeks ago, TOMORROW'S one-night-only gig will be Tarnished's first in Sault Ste. Marie proper since they rocked The Savoy Bar on Independence Day, though Alex & Josh did indeed compete in (and win) the Superior Whitefish Festival battle of the bands in Brimley this past Saturday in their new side band Crush. We'll have more on that project soon, but hopefully they ride that momentum well with Chris & Ron TOMORROW as they shift back to cover mode with Tarnished at The Merch!

TOMORROW'S concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge as usual. Hopefully Tarnished deliver some fun hard rocking covers for fans at The Merch despite the late notice, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for some more late notice gigs, starting with acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos, who will return to The Whiskey Barrel on Gore Street for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page last week, as part of their weekend music schedule for the rest of the summer, though note that the band has not posted on their Facebook page at all in over three months. TOMORROW'S show will be the BookcluB side project's first publically advertised gig anywhere since rocking the same venue in late June. While we are still lacking public videos of Mikey & Dustin unplugged, fans of their long collective work in the Inner City Surfers and more will enjoy their more reserved take on punk classics TOMORROW! This a one nighter due to The Whisky Barrel's weekly Saturday jazz night.

As usual for local gigs at this acoustic-leaning Irish pub, TOMORROW'S concert has no cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and an 8:00 PM start time. Should be a fun one for punk fans looking for a lighter evening, so visit the above links for more on Dos Amigos' Whisky Barrel return!

Also this weekend, new local rock/metal sextet One Shot will debut at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, we first learned about these dates (let alone the band) when Reggie's posted about them on their Facebook page on Monday. I don't have a lot of specifics on One Shot (not to be confused with the defunct Long Shot), but they appear to mostly be high school aged, if not entirely, and this reminds me of when Reggie's booked Sylo not long after their name change. Kudos to them for booking rising young hard rock talent on occasion like this! One Shot's lineup features singer Ashton Sommers (who you may recognize from local stage musicals), guitarists Tucker Lidstone (who has played solo folk sets at The Distraction) and Aiden Snider, ...

...bassist Alex Fournier (who also has stage musical experience), drummer Edan St. Amour, and backing(?) vocalist Kate Bird. I have yet to find a social media or band page for One Shot, let alone media of them or hints towards their sound, but young local talent is always welcomed, and hopefully they have a strong debut weekend TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are 9:30 PM shows with 19+ age limits and no cover as usual, See above for what is publically known so far about One Shot!

We'll close preview post #1 with a rarity for this weekend: previously announced shows that were first advertised before this week! These take us back to Michigan, specifically The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where local hard rock band Exit 808 will set up shop TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After seeing their Merch show in the Soo three weeks ago cancelled due to day job conflicts with multiple band members, this weekend's gigs will be Exit 808's first truly local shows since they rocked The Northern Pines Lounge in early June, with just one E.U.P. weekend left afterwards before the summer season is over. Based on tags on their Facebook page for this weekend's shows, former Exit 808 Double Jack guitarist Nathan Webber will again guest with his old band this weekend, with their ranks otherwise full re: the current lineup. We'll have more from Exit 808's non-local dates since late June in upcoming posts.

Tomorrow & Saturday's St. Ignace shows have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. This talented, dual vocalist-led hard rock band should have two more solid nights of lively covers, so as Exit 88 said, bring your friends & a positive attitude! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live last month!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for late notice Saturday-only concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

More Weekend Concert Previews, A New Local Punk Band, And An Archive Interview!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran local journalist and concert videographer Mike Caruso, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 77. You can read his self-penned obituary at this link, which confirms that he is survived by his son Chris, sister Rose, a niece and multiple nephews, and their extended family. There will be no funeral services, but arrangements are entrusted to the O'Sullivan Funeral Home, and donations to the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie in his name would be appreciated. Mike was a mainstay of Sault Ontario news via his association with Craig Huckerby's local news websites (LTVNews, SooNews, Local2, SaultOnline, and FirstLocalNews) over the years, with his camera frequently rolling for articles and features. Mike was an ardent supporter of local music, and he filmed countless bands at nightclubs, charity events, and festivals over the years.

While videos uploaded directly to the news sites are obviously long gone, Mike uploaded dozens of concert videos to his YouTube channel from 2010 to 2020, capturing a wide swath of local musicians in their element, often focusing on veteran cover acts, and he remained supportive even amidst his more recent health issues. Mike also acted in the first six seasons of the local Rogers TV soap opera Tami. My interactions with Mike were largely just brief pleasantries at concerts, but he was a good man who did so much to promote local musicians and the Soo at large, and he will be missed. R.I.P. Mike!

Today's post otherwise wraps up this weekend's concert previews, plus a surprise interview find, and to start, here's our preview of a show from a debuting local band and new addition to our links, namely Dos Amigos! A spinoff/sister band to both The Inner City Surfers and Bookclub, Dos Amigos (whose name and branding is inspired by the movie Three Amigos) feature singer/guitarists Dustin Jones and Mikey Hawdon in another collaborative project. If you're familiar with their other band work (let alone Mikey's acoustic exploits on his uke), you should be right at home here, and they will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at The Whisky Barrel! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced this week alongside the band's public launch. This new project doesn't have public videos yet, but two "Reels" are circulating on personal Facebook pages, and you can see Mikey & Dustin covering Blink-182 and Bad Religion in them.

What I heard sounds good, and definitely would seem to indicate a lean more into punk than Bookclub tend to play, so definitely track those "Reels" down for a preview of TOMORROW'S unplugged action on Gore Street! Two more shows were announced on personal postings, but I'll wait for public advertising of them before covering them here, unless none is forthcoming, then they'll get the short notice treatment. TOMORROW's debut of Dos Amigos goes down at 8:00 PM at The Whisky Barrel with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Dos Amigos!

Next up, here's the last known local hard rock concert for this weekend, which will see former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie make his debut at Beck's Bar TOMORROW! While best known for playing at The Dive since resurrecting his solo project, this will be a prime opportunity for Curt to unleash his hard and alternative rock covers on a new audience and locale, so head to the former Vibe Lounge on Goulais Avenue (near Millie's Mini-Mart) tomorrow to hear some solid covers in a familiar but still new locale! Tomorrow's show is in Beck's 3:00-7:00 PM matinee timeslot, and precedes that night's separate concert from Tex Riviera & The Ride (Curtis isn't "opening" for The Ride, these are separate concerts on the same day, but you can stick around to see both if you choose). Early start aside, this has a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Curt live!

Finally for today, here's a surprise YouTube discovery, namely a video upload of a text interview, and it was with late Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold! This dates back to November 27th, 2004, shortly after the release of their second CD "Pursuit Of The Sun & Allure Of The Earth", and was conducted by "Lockeed" of the old online metal magazine Lunar Hypnosis. Almost two decades later, 'zine founder Joe Mlodik re-published it in video form for his his YouTube channel Joe's Metal Mancave this past September, with music supplied by his Wisconsin-based ambient solo project Noctilucant. The interview is literally screenshotted in from Lunar Hypnosis, and the contrast isn't ideal to read the text even at full screen, but you'll see David discuss the early response to "Woods II", how he described their sound at the time ("summer black metal" is what he called it), the inspiration behind their name, ...

...then-recent band member departures, the launch of his own label Krankenhaus Records, and their 2005 plans, including their unreleased cover of Bathory's "Lake Of Fire", early teasers of "Woods III", and their next lineup additions. As a bonus, three Lunar Hypnosis reviews of Woods' first two CDs are screenshotted at the end, with "Greg B" giving their first two CDs a 7/10 and 8/10 each, and "Steak Eyes" giving "Pursuit..." a 7/10. Not the easiest interview to read visually, but it's great to see someone republish an old 'zine interview like this, let alone on Woods of Ypres, and it's interesting to see how things were going early in Woods' Toronto era with two decades of hindsight! Check it out for yourselves below, and R.I.P. David!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Victoria Day Long Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Victoria Day (a.k.a. May 2-4) long weekend is upon us, but in a bit of a surprise, this is a pretty quiet weekend for hard rock and punk concerts. Nothing on short notice (yet) either, but here's who to look for this weekend, including two shows with touring headline acts!

We'll start at The Distraction TONIGHT, where Nanaimo, British Columbia pop punk quartet Danger Box will set up shop in the basement for a headlining concert! The work/school-night scheduling won't be ideal for many, but fans of modern punk rock with hardcore and alternative influences will take to Danger Box's original attack, and hopefully their local debut goes down well with fans on East Street tonight! Fresh off of opening for The Dayglo Abortions last week, local crossover thrash quartet Hails (featuring concert promoter Mikhal Muto on guitar) will be the local support in their second gig of the year, and they should slot in well with their blast of original thrash and punk songs! Tonight's stop on Danger Box's Reality Tour across Canada has a 7:00 PM start time, it is absolutely all ages (the venue is not licensed), and admission is $20 or "pay what you can". Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Danger Box live!

Next up, let's head further downtown to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will take the stage for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen "uncorked" at The Water Tower Pub this past Saturday, this is the fourth weekend in the past seven that "The Dirty 3" have played at Reggie's, with a return also scheduled for the last weekend of May. Bone Yard have been definitely making themselves at home at Reggie's this spring, and hopefully sizeable crowds turn up to witness Greg, Alex, and Warren's latest "sermons" over the May 2-4 long weekend! If you can't make it this weekend, their next show will be at the Dragonfly Run pre-party at the Downtown Plaza one week from Saturday. This weekend's shows from your local 225 have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! This weekend's shows will end their month+ break, having last seen Generations at The Water Tower Pub at the beginning of April, and last at Jay's two months ago. If you've missed this skilled veteran outfit on a local stage, head west for their classic covers! As usual for Generations' stops at Jay's, the band (minus singer Valerie Powley) are hosting tonight's weekly jam night before their full band concerts go down, so if seeing the guys perform with/without guest musicians (or yourself?) is of note, head to the former Reggie's West tonight! We don't cover jam/open mic nights as "concerts" due to their unpredictability. Generations' long weekend shows have 19+ age limits, 9:30 PM start times, and no cover. See above for more details, and here are Generations live!

Finally for this surprisingly quiet long weekend on the hard rock/punk front, we'll end things at The Whisky Barrel, where Edmonton psychobilly/punk veterans The Raygun Cowboys will play their first local concert (on record?) THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! A longstanding presence among genre fans out west, The Raygun Cowboys' genre hybrid sound will appeal to many readers with their horn section, upbeat energy, rough-edged vocals, and punk attitude all colliding into a fun live experience that fans won't want to miss, let alone at an intimate venue like The Whisky Barrel on Gore Street, who only sparingly host touring bands. Many of you have Monday off anyway, so why not rock out with The Raygun Cowboys in three days' time? This concert is promoted by Piecing It Together Shows (the former Dryer Fire) and does not have a local opener. An 8:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ show.

Despite the touring headliner, this show has no cover charge, but P.I.T.S. encourage everyone to buy merchandise and/or drinks to help support The Raygun Cowboys on their current tour. Should be a blast for fans of punk, rockabilly, ska, and everything in between, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Raygun Cowboys live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!