Before we finally cap off this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews, just a friendly tip that Wyld Stallyns/ex-Elements frontman Rob Speers will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another acoustic show on their patio tomorrow night. I'm still not 100% sure if his solo dates are similar to his bands in set/sound or not, hence why I'm not covering it as normal here, but keep it in mind if you want some downtown unplugged music! Now, let's wrap up this weekend's previews by looking at a big festival an hour or so outside of town, plus two Sunday events, so here's what you should know!
We'll start at Robbie Adamson's old church in nearby Leeburn, where local concert promoters Piecing It Together Shows (née Dryer Fire) will host their biggest ever concert TOMORROW, namely the It's The Pits! Yes, live music returns to the site of the late 2010s Oh!No fesitvals and last year's private Bear Hunters reunion event, and P.I.T.S. (peach pit motif fully intact) will be bringing a wide array of styles to the church tomorrow, and while the former Dryer Fire have never been known as a metal/punk-first promotion agency, two of the ten acts tomorrow are SMS-amenable! Half of the bill is comprised of touring artists, and while it's not clear if the poster gives away the performance order (we don't know set times anyway), Toronto electronica duo LAL are definitely the headliners tomorrow night. Also making their way here are Toronto skate punk trio The Mendozaz, who genre fans will definitely take to with their melodic sound!
Other touring acts tomorrow are Ottawa indie rock singer/guitarist Catriona Sturton (who played in the Soo in October), Toronto "deep Earth folk" project Twintwa, and Grand Rapids, Michigan "dark folk" duo Rabbit Fur. The local contingent tomorrow includes crossover thrash/punk band Hails (who will be back in Leeburn for Crucifest next month), DJ Seith (who joined Ha!ls at the private Leeburn event last July), Chris West's local/Quebec indie solo project Tampa, lo-fi "anti-folk" singer/guitarist Shae Tull, and the cryptic regional Americana project Tye Lawless Co.. Note that ex-Shit Liver bassist Mike Kyle's folk project Sibling dropped out of It's The Pits last month after deciding to step away from music, and they were not replaced on the bill. Sam Emerson from local quilting/product repair company Muel Goods is tomorrow's host, and numerous arts and culture vendors will be selling their wares on site.
It's The Pits (which has no stated age limit) takes place tomorrow at 2:00 PM into the night at 5756 Highway 638 outside of Bruce Mines, and attendees are welcome & encouraged to camp out on site and leave on Sunday if they so choose. Just respect the space, and mind tomorrow's rainy weather forecast (though the concert proper is indoors). Tickets cost $45 in advance at this link or via P.I.T.S. staff, and the price jumps to $50 at the gate. Hopefully It's The Pits is a huge hit for Nicole and crew, so that they make this an annual event, and punk fans will enjoy The Mendozaz and Hails in particular among this talented lineup! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Mendozaz live!
Next up, let's head back into Sault Ste. Marie city limits for two concerts taking place on SUNDAY, starting with a matinee performance by online page-less local alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub as the headliners during that day's teddy bear picnic at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery! Last crossing our radar when Tym Morrison had a weekly run there in late 2019, the 4057 Third Line West mill/winery will host their first ever teddy bear picnic on Sunday afternoon, where families and their kids are encouraged to come down (with picnic blankets and plush toys in tow) to enjoy refreshments, family entertainment, games, prize draws, local vendors, and of course, music! BookcluB will be headlining at 1:00 PM (running for three hours), while veteran R&B/soul sextet The Hustle Brothers will open the picnic with a few sets starting at 10:00 AM. What's unclear is if they'll be playing inside at the Wine Barn or fully outdoors.
Regardless of age, tickets run for $10 at this link or presumably upon entry, though if you have a baby 2 years or younger, they'll get in free. The Weather Channel is currently projecting partly cloudy weather in the 22° range on Sunday afternoon, but showers do bookend the 10 AM-4 PM timeframe, so if you are at all concerned about the rain messing with the picnic, keep tabs on your preferred local weather reports closer to Sunday. It'll be interesting to see how things go at Thomson Farms, both for the atypical concert setting, the potential weather impairment, and just how the teddy bear picnic goes, but BookcluB should get a good response! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here they are live!
Finally for this very busy slate of weekend concert previews, let's head to The Distraction, where Detroit pop punk solo project Inconsistent Me will headline on SUNDAY NIGHT! One of a surprising number of Michigan-based touring bands to play in Sault Ontario in recent months (if only Sault Michigan bands were similarly crossing over), Inconsistent Me's brand of up tempo & nostalgic pop punk should draw a good response from fans at the old barbership on East Street, so don't miss out if you can swing coming on a work night! No word on if Brendan will be playing solo with a backing track or if he has a band with him (both have happened in the past). Local support will come by way of punk trio Vanity First, capping off a busy weekend for Mikhal and Keeghan (and Carmen?) following their sister band Hails' sets at Go Skateboarding Day tonight and at It's The Pits yesterday! Also, this is their first show since releasing "Identity Crisis" in April.
Oddly, Vanity haven't been promoting this show much in recent weeks, but it does appear to be on for Sunday as scheduled, and as usual, this is an all ages concert. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and admission is via a "$10 or pay-what-you-can" model. If the rain scared you off of Go Skate Day, and if Leeburn is a little too remote for tomorrow, punk fans may find that Inconsistent Me is what the doctor ordered, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Inconsistent Me live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin, just an apology for missing a pair of shows in last weekend's concert previews, namely Highway 63's St. Ignace Kewadin shows last Friday and Saturday. We did cover them on the site in May, but they completely slipped us by last week. That's on me, I profusely apologize, but hopefully the shows went well! They will be back there in early December. Now, let's dive into this weekend's Halloween/early November concert previews, aside from Saturday's Who Made Who show (coming tomorrow), and we'll start with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE!
With a new month almost upon us, let's roll Tym Morrison's November concert slate into our concert listings today! First up, his long-term weekly concert arrangement at Gliss Restaurant on Spring Street marches on with matinee gigs TOMORROW & SATURDAY, and then on November 8th-9th, 15th-16th, 22nd-23rd, and 29th-30th! As well, he will return to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road TOMORROW NIGHT and then again on Friday, November 29th as part of his slate of occasional Friday nighters there through at least March. Finally, his seasonal run of Thursday matinees at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery on Third Line West will conclude with concerts next Thursday and on November 14th, joining his previously listed Halloween gig TODAY, so keep all of these dates in mind for the 30 days ahead! Apologies for the short notice on this weekend's Gliss and Roadhouse shows, I should have rolled them in last week to preclude that. The veteran hard rock musician's busy schedule should be welcomed by his fans, so don't miss out on seeing him!
The Gliss and Thomson Farms shows are all ages events with early start times of 5:00 PM at the mill's on-site Wine Barn, and 6:00 PM at Gliss, while the Roadhouse shows are 10:00 PM affairs with 19+ age limits, and none of these concerts have announced cover charges. Also, I cannot confirm if Thomson Farms will have any special Halloween events today, but they have had no shortage of seasonal frills in the lead-up. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here, here, and here for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, local classic hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will apparently be returning to The Water Tower Pub for headlining concerts TOMORROW AND SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, we only learned of these shows via the venue's November concert calendar on your left, as shared on the Sault Music Newsletter Facebook page on Tuesday. These were not listed on Soundcheck's 2019 concert calendar, but more shockingly, these are consecutive gigs at The Water Tower Pub, a venue that historically books different acts nightly, festivals aside. I presume Soundcheck are a late replacement on one night, hence the change in format, but in any event, fans of Terry, Travis, Paul, and Glen's old school covers should be right at home at this familiar central venue TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY! As usual for The Water Tower Pub, these are 9:30 PM & 19+ gigs with no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live in concert earlier this year!
Moving to previously announced concerts, Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished will return to Biggby Coffee for the latest show of their "every Thursday" matinee run there TODAY! We'll wait to cover November shows there until the band or venue confirms them publically, just in case there are any changes to this still-relatively new arrangement. No word on possible Halloween frills for the concert proper, but Biggby Coffee will have free kids drinks for any children who stop by in costume, so parents might want to keep that in mind! Of course, Alex & Josh should have another entertaining afternoon of hard and classic rock covers in store for fans and patrons alike, so keep this show in mind if you want some live music before you head out trick or treating! As recently the case, today's show is at 12:00 PM with no age limits or cover charges, but mind the locale, as this is a coffee shop & restaurant, not a nightclub. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Finally for today's previews, let's head back to Sault Ontario, where local promoter J.D. Pearce's 15th annual Halloween party goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Yes, this is taking place (slightly) after Halloween, though after a two year run of having this event on two consecutive nights, this year's installment returns to a one-night-only format upstairs. However, the post-2013 focus on cover bands will continue this year, as three local tributes will take the stage, including the revival of Foo Fighters tribute The Soo Fighters, who we last saw at this venue and event in 2017. Only frontman Jules Cote is back from their first run, so how will new members Wes Greco, Max Ambeault and Jonas Gasperas sound? We'll know tomorrow! New local Volbeat tribute band The Guitar Gangsters (featuring Garden of Bedlam's Buzz & Derek Turner and Jack Spades alumni Jesse Cook & Tiffany Stocco) will also make their own local concert debut here, which already has a lot of people's attention.
It'll be very interesting to see Buzz & Derek back together after a 4 year absence, and we should be in good hands from this talented foursome! The third band is a Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute (replacing a planned Rob Zombie tribute), and while their identity is not public, I'd put my money on this being Jack Spades doing Me First-style punk covers of non-punk songs, given that J.D. fronts them. Should be interesting to find out, either way! Expect a costume contest as usual for this 19+ event, which has a $10 cover charge and a 9:30 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, I will see you there, and here's The Soo Fighters live two years ago!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Who Made Who preview and more on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
A quiet weekend of hard rock concerts is in store for the last weekend before Halloween, so to round out this weekend concert preview post, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to tackle for next month for you tribute band fans! That said, let's start with the previews, which both have very SHORT NOTICE add-on shows to note on here!
Reports of the end of Tym Morrison's Thomson Farms Cider & Winery run are premature, as the prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist will return to the Third Line West mill's on-site Wine Barn for matinee concerts TONIGHT and next Thursday! Apologies for the short notice on TONIGHT's show, Tym only confirmed that his Thomson Farms arrangement was extended via the new gigs' Facebook event page on Sunday. It looks like Thomson Farms either now close for the season in mid-November, or always did and I didn't know, but either way, Tym didn't advertise these last(?) four gigs until this week. These should be a prime chance to see Tym's unplugged hard rock covers at a familiar local establishment once again, so keep TONIGHT and Halloween's gigs in mind! We'll add his November shows here and at Gliss to our concert listings next week. And yes, Tym will continue his long-term arrangement at Gliss Restaurant on Spring Street TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT as well at his regular place and time!
Fans of Tym's skilled and vast setlist should be in good hands as he rocks Gliss this weekend, so don't miss out either! Also, I apologize for missing a late notice venue change for Tym' show this past Saturday, as his Gliss gig apparently did not take place, so he was able to play at Thomson Farms instead for a rare non-Thursday show there. Hopefully that went over well! TONIGHT'S Thomson Farms show is at 5:00 PM, he's at Gliss at 6:00 PM, and these gigs do not have announced age limits or cover charges. Click here and above for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished's ongoing "every Thursday" run of matinee gigs at Biggby Coffee will continue TODAY, but that's not all, as they'll be making their Lake Superior State University debut TONIGHT with a full band concert at The Galley in The Cisler Center! Again, apologies for the short notice on the latter event, it was only announced via this Facebook event page on Monday. You don't hear of hard rock bands playing on campus at LSSU very often, let alone in The Galley (a restaurant/lounge), so it will be interesting to hear how this advertised 90 minute set goes TONIGHT! It will also be a chance for fans to see the rarer electric version of Tarnished with drummer Tommy Korcal, which plays less frequently than the 2 man acoustic variant.
These shows do not have advertised cover charges or age limits, with Tarnished's regular unplugged Biggby concert taking place at the new 12:00 PM start time, and their trip to The Galley is at 8:00 PM TONIGHT. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Also, here's some more new concert announcements for next month as part of The Canadian Nightclub's wave of live tribute bands this fall, starting with the return of Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who for one night only on Saturday, November 2nd! No, I did not put this concert off on purpose, it really only got two weeks notice online. By far the most familiar AC/DC tribute among local audiences in the 2010s, this will be Who Made Who's first local concert appearance since rocking The Rockstar Bar in April of last year, though they are no strangers to The Canadian, having played there most recently in 2012. It's great to see Who Made Who bring their brand of high voltage rock & roll back to the Soo next month, and hopefully there's a great turnout for their faithful sounding and looking stage show once again! Tickets for this 19+ & 9:00 PM event are $15 in advance at The Canadian Motor Hotel's front desk, or $20 at the door. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details as they roll in!
Finally, the other new tribute band concert at The Canadian Nightclub next month will see Sudbury-based Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard make their local debut on Saturday, November 9th! Unlike Who Made Who, this band is very new to the live circuit, only having debuted in August, and this is just their second announced concert, if you can believe that. As such, this will be an interesting opportunity to see how Just Leppard compare to the real thing, and luckily, they do have this promotional video if you want to see what they bring to the table. Myself, I'm not a big fan of Def Leppard, but if you're a loyal Hair Scare listener, you'll want to circle this date on your calendar! Identically to Who Made Who's show the previous week (and the CCR tribute concert on November 16th), this is a 19+ concert at 9:00 PM with tickets running for $15 in advance and $20 at the door.) Head to the official Facebook event page for more details!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
With an unusual number of Wednesday and Thursday shows this week, I am starting our weekend concert previews early to tackle the bands playing the concerts in question in a timely fashion, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (some on SHORT NOTICE) therein. As such, look for our Michale Graves, Scarkazm, Soundcheck, and Wyld Stallyns previews next, with Soo's Got Talent coverage to get it's own separate post either tomorrow night or Friday morning. Now, here's what you should know!
New Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished will return to the Sault Ste. Marie Farmers Market at the corner of Portage and Ashmun Street TONIGHT, with returns planned for next Wednesday and on October 9th as well! Apologies for the short notice for TONIGHT'S show, the band only announced their involvement via this Facebook event page on Sunday. Last seen at this weekly downtown market three weeks ago, TONIGHT'S concert should be another fine opportunity for Tarnished (in two man unplugged mode) to entertain market patrons and fans alike, so don't miss out then or in the next two Wednesdays! Note that the Farmers Market proper closes for the season at the end of October, as far as I know, so there's a maximum of three more there that they could play for 2019. These are all 6:00 PM matinee concerts with no cover charges or age limits, so visit the above links for more on these sets and everything at the Farmers Market proper!
Of course, this isn't all for Alex & Josh this weekend, as Tarnished will also continue their "every Thursday" run of matinee concerts at Biggby Coffee TOMORROW, and this time, they did advertise it in advance via a Facebook event page, which is helpful for fans! What's new to us is confirmation of a return to the Ashmun Street coffeeshop on Thursday, October 3rd, though they did not list dates beyond on the event page. Is this the series finale, or will more Thursday shows there be announced in due course? We'll let you know! You can see Alex & Josh rock out for tips and coffee tomorrow (and next Thursday) at 10:30 AM with no cover charges or age limits, and see above for more details! Finally for this weekend, Tarnished (again in acoustic form) will rock out THIS SATURDAY at this year's Fall Festival in Sault Ste. Marie on the Crooked Music Sound Stage outside of the store! This will be Tarnished's debut at the former Oktoberfest, and be sure to click here for all of the non-musical & family friendly event details on Saturday.
Tarnished will be playing at 1:00 PM alongside acoustic rock duo The Tavern Stool Townies at 4:00 PM, and alternative/folk solo musicians Kathleen Connelly and Magnet Moslov at 3:00 & 2:00 PM respectively, while Academy of Performing Arts student dancers will open at 12:00 PM. If you're ip for some Sidewalk Sales-esque outdoor live music with your Fall Fest entertainment, head to Crooked Music for all of the action! Again, this is FREE & ALL AGES. Click here and see above for more details, and for a preview of Tarnished's busy concert weekend, here's one more new video of them live, in this case at their post-race set at Kinross Speedpark earlier this month! This was filmed by attendee Malissa Prevost and shared to the band's Facebook page, and marks a rare live video of Tarnished plugged in with drummer Tommy Korcal, who doesn't play their more frequent acoustic gigs. The 27 second video features Tarnished covering Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", so how does it sound?
Not bad, the guys have a good handle on this 1980s rock classic, but everyone is a little stiff, and between the vertical camera angle and the multicoloured stage lighting, this isn't an optimal look at Tarnished's full electric form. Still great to see some more footage out there, so give it a look below, and don't miss their varied gigs in the Soo over the coming days!
Finally for today's bonus preview post, let's address another frequently seen local hard rock cover act who tends to play non-traditional venues, namely Sault Ontario singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, who has his own triple header of shows this weekend, including a return to the wine barn at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery TOMORROW NIGHT, before continuing his ongoing long-term matinee arrangement at Gliss Restaurant THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY! While we're on the subject, let's roll his October gigs at both venues into our concert calendar today, as Tym will maintain his run at Gliss with more unplugged shows at the Spring Street restaurant on October 4th-5th, 11th-12th, 18th-19th, and 25th-26th, so keep all of these in mind for dinner-time hard & classic rock cover action! Meanwhile, his seasonal weekly run at Thomson Farms will wrap up with Thursday matinees on October 3rd, 10th, and 17th, with no more gigs advertised there before they close for the season after Halloween (we'll let you know if more are added.)
Clearly, his run of shows at the wine barn are doing well, so don't miss out tomorrow and next month, and enjoy the mill and winery while you're there! The Thomson Farms shows are at 5:00 PM, Gliss gigs are at 6:00 PM, and none have cover charges or age limits. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video livestreamed from Thomson Farms' Facebook page last week of Tym covering Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama"! Solid, if short cover that fans will definitely appreciate, but Tym's higher register singing may need some adjusting for some viewers. Give it a look below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for regularly scheduled weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow!
It's now time to dive into this weekend's hard rock concert previews, and things are definitely quieter this week, but we have enough concerts to fill two posts thanks to the immense write-up on The Soo's Got Talent's second round and prior fallout, so look for all of that later today. In the interim, here's what you should know re: traditional concerts, starting with a handful of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!
Local hard rock solo singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his weekly Gliss Restaurant matinee run TOMORROW
& SATURDAY, but his seasonal run of Thomson Farms Cider & Winery concerts will also continue TODAY and for the next few weeks! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only confirmed these gigs via their Facebook event page yesterday. After two prior weekly gigs inside the Third Line West mill's wine barn, Tym has confirmed that he will playing there each Thursday evening through October 17th, including TODAY and next Thursday, September 26th, though we will wait to list his October shows there until we roll his Gliss gigs next month into our concert calendar. With a triple-header of matinees both at this new-ish west end venue and at the Spring Street restaurant, fans of his hard rocking covers have lots of chances to see Tym live this weekend!
TODAY'S Wine Barn show has a 5:00 PM start time, the Gliss gigs are at 6:00 PM, and none have age limits or cover charges. Visit the Gliss engagement's Facebook event page and above for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, local classic/hard rock cover band Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only just announced via their Facebook event page yesterday, and they were not listed on the band's 2019 concert calendar from February. Just two weeks removed from their last shows at this popular west end venue, this will be the second weekend out of three that Soundcheck are playing here in just under a month's time, so fans and patrons alike will have lots of solid tunes to check out TOMORROW & SATURDAY, especially with Catch the Ace ongoing! Note that the event page says that "Soundcheck 3.0" are playing this weekend, and while that may imply that this is the third version of the band playing this weekend, that actually refers to their shorthanded nature.
This time out, Travis Sharpe will trade his usual guitar for a bass to cover for Paul Belair, who the band cited as being "busy" this weekend, hence his latest absence. Usually, Soundcheck cover for Paul by enlisting a special guest, so is this a case of no one being available, just trying things with Travis on the four string, or were these shows late notice in general? In any event, don't miss 75% of Soundcheck TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY at The Esquire Club! Expect 10:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits, as usual. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!
Moving to previously announced concerts, starting with the expected continuation of Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished's morning matinee run at Biggby Coffee TODAY! Though not newly plugged by band or venue at press time, "every Thursday" means what it means unless otherwise stated, so look for Alex & Josh to deliver more hard rocking covers at the Ashmun Street coffee shop today at 10:30 AM! Note that we regrettably missed two acoustic Tarnished shows for coverage on the site in the past week, both only publically announced by the band the day of the concert. One was the Foodies United Fundraiser at The United Way on Friday (organizers never confirmed musical performers online), and the other was a special Wednesday nighter at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino. I profusely apologize for missing them for coverage on the site, but alas, if Tarnished don't give them more than a few hours notice, I can't guarantee I can cover them. I will keep better tabs, at least!
In any event, I hope they were great times for band and fans alike, but don't miss them at Biggby today for tips & coffee! As usual, this is an all ages show with no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Tarnished covering Bob Seger's "Turn The Page" at The Signatures Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino two weeks ago! Live-streamed by fan Ted Brosco and shared by the band on their Facebook page, this is a solid cover, but muffled audio is an issue at times, and Alex often covers up Josh at this angle. Give it a look below!
Finally for this weekend, let's head to the aforementioned Northern Pines Lounge, where fellow Sault Ste. Marie classic/hard rockers Highway 63 are advertised to return to the St. Ignace Kewadin for headlining concerts of their own TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen here at the end of June, these shows have not been newly plugged by the band at press time, but are still advertised at this link by the venue. This should be another fine chance for fans to see Henry, Nathan, George, Russell, and Brian rock out with more fan favourite covers at a familiar locale, so don't miss out on all of the action this weekend in St. Ignace! As usual for regular weekend shows here, expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Highway 63 live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Soo's Got Talent second round preview later today! Thanks everyone!
Usually, the local hard rock concert calendar slows down in the autumn (Halloween aside), but that is not the case this weekend, as we have enough concert previews for two full posts, with at least one needing to be in a third post! As such, here's the schedule. This post has two SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and our Cancer Bats preview (as that show is tonight), while we'll tackle the Whoop-Szo, Chase Wigmore, Soundcheck, and Wyld Stallyns concerts later today, with Peril's St. Ignace dates to follow tomorrow morning along with other recent stories. Hopefully that covers everything, so here's what you should know to start the weekend!
Joining his regular Gliss Restaurant matinees TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, local acoustic solo musician Tym Morrison will reportedly play at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery on Third Line West for a third straight week TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, a Facebook event page has not visibly been created to plug this show at press time, but the mill advertised Tym as performing on their Facebook page, and the show is also listed on SooToday's events calendar. Whether this is an extended weekly arrangement for the fall season or not, the third time may be the charm for fans of Tym's unplugged hard and classic rock covers, so look for him in the wine barn TONIGHT! For what it's worth, Thomson Farms will have pumpkin spice cider on sale starting today, but if you're not into that, their selection is large. Of course, Tym's ongoing Gliss shows should provide more entertaining unplugged music for your dinner-time entertainment tomorrow and Saturday, so don't miss out!
As was the case in the past two weeks, all three of these shows are age limit-devoid and have no stated cover charges (though mind the locales), and while the Gliss shows are at 6:00 PM as usual, the Thomson Farms show TONIGHT is at 5:00 PM. Visit the Gliss concerts' Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, The Soo's Got Talent officially kicks off it's sophomore installment TOMORROW NIGHT at The Grand Gardens Verdi Ballroom (p.k.a. The Verdi Hall), and there will be one metal band/performer on the preliminary competitor roster, namely the returning Apocalypse Afterparty! Again, apologies for the short notice, their involvement only broke this week when organizers unveiled the first round lineup, and the band proper didn't publicize their Wacky Wings audition last month for us to get an advance teaser. This will be X and z's first public concert since their run of pop-up gigs in mid-2017, so can they shake off the stage rust in time for TOMORROW's talent competition? For what it's worth, their Facebook page teases a new setlist and band member, though of course, remember that they were infamous for wearing masks on stage. However, do not expect a long performance, as twenty-three acts are playing TOMORROW. I won't attempt to list all 23 here, especially as many are unfamiliar to me, but a few other familiar faces are competing!
Regarding returnees from last year, the only finalist that I can discern as playing year #2 is singer Bethany Pelletier (LeBeouf), while L!me's Madi Schomogyi is also advertised as returning. Some other familiar names may include Colin Gasparelli (from this year's Fringe North/Up The Arts music stage), 2017 Soo Youth Songwriters Contest winner Juliana Regan, and local beatboxer Killabeatz, among others. Of course, with a lineup this big, it's hard to predict who will advance, but remember that The Apocalypse Afterparty did mount a surprise finals run in 2015's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, and "songwriter" Paul Stanghetta did place in earlier battles with The Fury. However, remember that this is not a battle of the bands, and expect to see non-musicians TOMORROW NIGHT, including The Dancing Divas. Moving to The Verdi Hall after the closure of The Tech, this event is a fundraiser to support the ARCH Hospice.
Bands selected to advance at night's end will compete again next Friday, September 20th, with semifinals on September 27th, and the finals taking place on October 11th, so be sure to visit the Facebook event page for continuing updates on the competition as it progresses. The show starts TOMORROW NIGHT at 8:00 PM, with a $10 cover charge for adults, $5 for kids 16 and under, and those prices and times also apply for later rounds too. Things sound bigger and better for The Soo's Go Talent II, but who will move on to next week, and what do The A.A. have up their sleeves? See above for more details, and stay tuned for updates!
Finally, here's a big concert taking place TONIGHT at Soo Blaster, as Toronto hardcore punk/sludge metal quartet The Cancer Bats will make their long awaited return to the city for what should be a brutal time! Many fans may recall seeing these four time Juno nominees open for Billy Talent at the Gardens 9½ years ago, but this will be their first headlining show here since 2006. After too long of a wait, The Cancer Bats' hard hitting modern metal attack should melt many faces again tonight! Note that Alexisonfire's Wade MacNeil will be filling in for new dad Scott Middleton on guitar for this tour. Support will come from London post-hardcore quintet The Single Mothers and Baltimore hardcore punk band Sharptooth, who each bring proficient sounds and direct lyrics to the table for sub-genre fans, while Thunder Bay female-fronted punk quintet Forever Dead were quietly added to the bill themselves late last month. Apparently playing here last ca. 2008, Forever Dead have became a very
prominent band in Thunder Bay with their fast-paced and energetic sound, and it'll be great to see them back!
Local support will come from punk trio Redundant in their first public show of 2019, where they will reportedly unveil their new bassist, so who's handling the low end now? Find out TONIGHT! Presented by Thunder Bay's Loffredo & Associates (who brought Monster Truck here this summer), this 19+ & 8:00 PM concert has $20 tickets available at this link and presumably at the door. With this huge lineup and The Cancer Bats' positive reputation, I'm hopeful this will be a big hit at the gate and with fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Cancer Bats live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Whoop-Szo, Chase Wigmore, Soundcheck, and Wyld Stallyns previews next! Thanks everyone!
It's now time to kick off another weekend of concert previews! Due to both the amount of shows this weekend and the massive scope of that festival, our previews of Oh!No in Leeburn will come in a second post making the site later today. Don't worry, it is coming! Now, here's what you should know regarding other hard rock shows this weekend, including new videos from two acts, a missed concert apology, and a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Joining his regular matinee gigs at Gliss Restaurant TOMORROW & SATURDAY, local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play a second straight Thursday evening gig TONIGHT at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery on Third Line West! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via his Facebook event page earlier this week. Clearly, his show last week did well, as Tym's back for an encore at this popular west end winery & cider mill TONIGHT, so if you're up for some live acoustic hard and classic rock while partaking in locally made & grown wine, cider, and produce, you know where to be! At this juncture, I have no idea if Thursday matinees here will become a regular thing or not, though note that Thomson Farms closes for the season after Halloween, as best as I can tell. Of course, look for Tym's regular downtown acoustic shows tomorrow & Saturday as well at Gliss, as per usual in his long-term run there, so regular fans are in good hands!
The Gliss shows are at 6:00 PM, TONIGHT'S Thomson Farms show is at 5:00 PM, and none have announced cover charges or age limits. Click here and above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Tym live inside of Thomson Farms' wine barn last week, as per their Facebook page on Monday! A cover of Tom Petty's "Free Falling", this 22 second clip doesn't even last long enough to get to the chorus, but Tym sounds good as far as it goes, so check it out below, and don't miss him there TONIGHT!
Next up, let's take a detour to the Eastern Upper Peninsula, where Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished will play at the acoustic-centric Signatures Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino branch TONIGHT, before the (presumably) full band rocks Kinross Speedpark TOMORROW NIGHT! These are the middle shows in a busy stretch for Alex & Josh (and Tommy tomorrow), following a short notice set at yesterday's Sault Ste. Marie Farmers Market, and preceding their road trip to Toledo, Ohio on Saturday. I profusely apologize for missing their matinee gig at the Farmers Market yesterday, it's brief advertising on their Facebook page on Monday slipped right by us. Hopefully it was a hit though, we'd have covered it had we known about it! Originally announced as an Alex Traynor solo show and a Banned concert respectively, tonight's Signatures Lounge date and tomorrow's post-Four Cylinder Friday set should deliver solid crowds each for this new band!
Note that Tarnished did not mention a Biggby Coffee matinee in their Facebook advertising from Monday, which would seemingly signal the end of their shows "every Thursday" there, but we'll let you know if that proves to be incorrect. Tonight's Signatures Lounge gig has an early 6:00 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and no cover, while tomorrow's Kinross Speedpark show begins after the races end. I can't verify if you can get in free after the races just to see Tarnished or not, but the races proper have a 7:30 PM start time, and $5 admission fees ($6 Canadian), with kids 11 and under FREE. Click here and visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Tarnished live-ish at the Soo Farmers Market on Wednesday! Shared onto the Farmers Market's Facebook page yesterday during business hours, this 9 second clip is primarily about the market proper, but in the upper left, if you look really close, you can see Alex & Josh covering Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Blue on Black"!
This is not an ideal video for angle or length if you want to see Tarnished in action, but they sound good while it lasts, and the video shows the scope of the Farmers Market well enough. Check it out if you want below, and see much more from Tarnished's unplugged hard rock cover attack TONIGHT in the Soo and in Kinross TOMORROW with electric gear and drums in tow!
Finally for this weekend's non-Oh!No concert previews, let's head back to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! As advdertised on their 2019 concert calendar, this will be Soundcheck's second concert weekend at this popular west end venue in a three week span, and first shows anywhere since their Roberta Bondar Pavilion matinee late last month. This should be another prime opportunity for fans to see Soundcheck's often heavy blend of covers, so don't miss them at The Esquire Club once again this weekend! As usual for shows there, expect a 10:00 PM-ish start time, no cover charges, and a 19+ age limit tomorrow and/or Saturday. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Oh!No III previews next, plus more news shortly! Thanks everyone!
Before we get to our Labour Day weekend concert previews, just a heads up that the Bobaflex concert at Soo Blaster on September 10th has been cancelled, as have eight other dates they were to play in Canada and the Northeastern U.S.A. next month. The band cited "several unforeseen circumstances in Canada coming together at once" for the cancellations, but did not elaborate further. Disappointing, but hopefully they come back north down the road if this doesn't prove to be their last tour! Now, here's what you should know on this quiet weekend for hard rock concerts locally, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, two on SHORT NOTICE!
Prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his long-term run at Gliss Restaurant with matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY, but that's not all to add to our concert listings today! First off, Tym will be playing a special matinee concert TONIGHT at... Thomson Farms Cider & Winery?! Well, that's a new one for us! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only confirmed this event via his Facebook event page earlier this week. This show at Thomson Farms (at 4057 Third Line West) will take place as part of their "Sweet Corn Thursday" festivities to kick off the sweet corn sale period there, hence why this is a bigger deal warranting live music, and if you are so inclined, corn on the cob is all you can eat TODAY for $5! Moving to more familiar confines, Tym will also wrap up his seasonal run at La Terrazza Franzisi in nearby Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island with three more Sunday matinees there in September, including THIS SUNDAY and on the 8th & 15th!
Again, apologies for the short notice on SUNDAY'S concert, remember that we take Tym's abundant local bookings a month at a time on purpose. If you're in St. Joseph Island and want some wharf-front live entertainment, keep these shows in mind before they close for the season in a couple of weeks! Lastly for new shows from Tym, expect his Gliss Restaurant arrangement to continue unabated in September, with more acoustic matinees scheduled there on September 6th-7th, 13th-14th, 20th-21st, and 27th-28th! With Tym's skilled, fan favourite blend of hard and classic rock covers, fans at restaurants and farms alike will have a lot of music to like in the next month+! TONIGHT'S Thomson Farms gig is FREE & ALL AGES at 5:00 PM, and while admission details are similar for the other gigs, mind the locale, as these are restaurants, not nightclubs. The Gliss shows are at 6:00 PM as usual, while the La Terrazza Franzisi gigs are at 1:00 PM. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here, here, and above for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, we'll move to a show that had advance notice (more or less), as new Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished's "every Thursday" run of morning matinee concerts is presumed to continue at Biggby Coffee TODAY! Prior advertising of this arrangement has fallen off in the last couple of weeks, with August 15th's show not receiving any Facebook advertising, and Biggby Coffee only plugging last week's that same morning, but of course, "every Thursday" means what it means, in theory. Given Alex Traynor's continued Mount Pleasant residency(?) and the impending fall season, I'll hold on listing more Thursday gigs here until the venue or band confirms them. In any event, all of Tarnished's currently advertised concerts on their Facebook page are out of our coverage range after September 6th, but we'll keep you posted with updates. Alex & Josh should be up to their usual hard rocking tricks for tips and coffee today, so don't miss the unplugged action then!
As usual for this summer run at Biggby Coffee, this is a 10:30 AM matinee show with no cover or age limit, and if they're playing Ashmun Alive tonight, it hasn't been publically advertised by Tarnished at press time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, let's head to the aforementioned Soo Blaster, where Worcester, Massachusettsspeed metal quintet Seax will make their local concert debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Bringing a meld of thrash and NWOBHM-inspired material to their Soo Lounge stage, Seax's fast, old school-inspired sound should get lots of fans' interest, and expect strong material from their new album "Fallout Rituals" as well! Co-headlining on Sunday are Montreal thrash metal trio Warsenal, marking their first local concert appearance since headlining Swampstravaganza III at The Oddfellows Hall six years ago. Fans who saw Warsenal here in 2013 can expect more of their hard hitting and rough & tumble speed metal attack on Sunday night, so don't miss out! Lastly, local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters (who opened for Warsenal last time out) will open the proceedings in their Soo Blaster debut and first public concert since last fall, which is a huge pull in & of itself!
Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny don't play live all that much anymore, so dont' bypass The Bear Hunters' brutal return set on Sunday either! Note that Vancouver speed metal band Road Rash are only playing on this tour for 7 dates next month, and will not be on the local bill. This 19+, 8:00 PM show has a $10 advance ticket charge that apparently jumps to $17 at the door, which is a massive jump compared to other local concerts we've covered of this scale, so this is all the more reason to get to Soo Blaster before Sunday to snag a ticket! Thrash and speed metal fans should be in great hands for this one, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Seax live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next, if all goes according to plan! Thanks everyone!
