Apocalypse: The Musical Review!!

Tonight, we have our fourth post in two days, and it's my review of last night's Apocalypse: The Musical at The Canadian Nightclub! Of course, check out this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post from this morning below this review. Last night was devoted to just tribute bands, none of which are complete regular bands in the local scene in the forms we saw last night, so things were fairly unique for this medium-attended show, but at least there was a good contingent of fans on the floor for the bands! That said, how'd the bands do last night?

After a bit of a delay, the opening band was the one-off Motley Crue tribute band Loud Lazer (replacing Late & Loud and the Metallica-covering Pillory), who were essentially the full lineup of Lazer Queen, just with Benn Garside trading the keyboard for the bass, hence the direct link to Late & Loud. Their set saw them cover 8 Motley Crue classics from their heyday (including "Dr. Feelgood", "Looks That Kill", and "Kickstart My Heart"), and though there were some self-deprecating jabs at how they sounded, the guys did alright! It was a good move having Kate Drew handle lead vocals, as she has a good voice that fits Vince Neil material much closer than the guys in Late & Loud would have had they played. They all generally looked the part and showed some good energy and enthusiasm, with guitarist Jonathan Tiberi even hitting the floor for some guitar action with the crowd! The members and music fit well and gave a good Crue vibe, but Jon and Benn's backing vocals were hit and miss, only fully fitting the songs when they did gang shouting.

Overall, solid set from Loud Lazer, and if you like what you heard, go see Lazer Queen in full for a more varied night of rock covers! I'm a bit surprised that the full Lazer Queen didn't play, as normal bassist Josh Hatherley was in attendance, but given that Motley Crue don't generally use keyboards, I don't know how it'd gel if Benn played them last night rather than bass.

The middle band last night was Misfits tribute quartet The Fiend Brigade (a.k.a. T-Rex Manning with Rick White on drums in lieu of Daniel MacDonald), and they pushed out 11 Misfits covers for a nicely receptive audience! Including covers of Frightlight/T-Rex Manning favourites like "Helena" & "Halloween", they also covered songs like "Hybrid Moments" & "She", and even capped off with the T-Rex Manning original "She Banged The Mayor" for good measure! Though frontman/promoter J.D. Pearce took many shots at how they didn't practice the songs, they still sounded pretty good (with all the past covers and inspirations from them, how could they sound bad?), and his vocals held up well along with the other members' musical contributions! Tiffany Stocco shone on guitar, and Bill Bennett's bass work also help up nicely! The guys even welcomed a few guest performers on some songs, including Frightlight alums Kevin Powe & Jeff DeRose on guitar & drums, and a guest singer whose name I didn't place.

The Fiend Brigade put in a fun set of Misfits classics, and it was good to see the Frightlight body parts on stage again, especially with Frightlight's recent absence!  These guys know their Misfits and do justice to them each time out, and hopefully we'll see J.D. and company back soon, no matter what name they're under!

Headlining last night were Welland doom metal trio Xanadu in their first ever local appearance (though we're very familiar with frontman Jon Tiberi), and they covered early Black Sabbath classics for their set last night! Just the first four albums got attention, including Sabbath hits like "N.I.B.", "Children of the Grave", and "Iron Man", and despite the occasional tick (and a microphone issue at one point), they got the crowd's attention with these early metal classics! The big problem with their set was Jon's singing, as his voice was very hoarse and scratchy, which made him almost inaudible during much of their set, and when covering Ozzy Osbourne, singing clearly would help a lot. Musically though, the guys put in a very energetic and fun effort, with Mike Agostini in constant motion with some very solid riffs, and Scott Brady's drumming was on form and technical when need be! Jon's dark wizard-esque costume was cool as well, it helped set a good introductory mood, and by nid-set, the fans were very vocal and active!

I'd like to see Xanadu play locally again, as they have the talent and spark dating back to the old Welland days, so hopefully they'll come together next year in the Soo! If they do, hopefully Jon's voice will be back to normal, and maybe we'll get some Sabbath covers from the 1980s? It'd be cool to see a band cover "Zero The Hero" here, but that's just me.

Great concert overall, and while there were some hit & miss elements, there was a little something for everyone musically, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the performers! I did get plenty of photos, so click here to check them out (or visit our Facebook page), and for videos, here's Loud Lazer covering Motley Crue's "Shout At The Devil", The Fiend Brigade covering The Misfits' "Angelfuck", and Xanadu covering Black Sabbath's "Snowblind"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news shortly! Thanks everyone!

This Weekend's Sault Ontario Metal/Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

Let's wind down this relatively slow month of February with one last post, as we have a busy weekend of metal and hard rock shows in the Twin Saults to preview today! I'm gonna move the lone Sault Michigan previews (Nudge's latest local concert weekend) to tomorrow's news post to spread everything out better, so as a result, we'll focus on three notable concerts from today through Saturday in Sault Ontario. Without any further adieu, here's what you need to know for your weekend concert plans as we close up one month and enter another! (Updated at 5:47 PM)

We start TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, where Hamilton hard rock quartet 40 Sons will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario! Last seen here at the old Coch's Corner in late 2009 & early 2010, this band is sure to be familiar from both their first local stops and from a long successful run in Southern Ontario, opening for numerous major artists, and even seeing their song "Hurricane" used at the UFC 152 pre-show! It'll be good to see their unique blend of modern hard rock back in the Soo after a 3 year absence, and thank local concert promoter J.D. Pearce for bringing them back! Uniquely for The Rockstar Bar, there will be NO COVER tonight, but there is still a 19+ age limit for this 9:00 PM event. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a solidly entertaining concert for you hard rock fans, so don't miss out! The vocals are unique for the genre, but the music is reliable, often heavy, and very catchy, so head to The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for 40 Sons! For a preview, here's the video for their single "Hurricane"!



Keeping in the vein of J.D.-promoted concerts, a somewhat unique show hits The Canadian Nightclub tomorrow night to help kick off March, as Apocalypse: The Musical brings 3 tribute bands to the local concert stage! Similar in theme to last January's Merves/Frightlight gig at The Canadian, all three bands tonight feature local musicians playing tribute sets of one major artist's material, including a headlining out of town band featuring a local frontman, and this time around, the headliners are Welland doom metal trio Xanadu! Playing their first gig in over 4 years (I think), Xanadu features prolific local metal musician Jonathan Tiberi on vocals & bass alongside his old bandmates Mike D'Agostini on guitar & Scott Brady on drums, and for the occasion, they'll cover a set full of Black Sabbath classics for their Sault Ste. Marie debut! The Facebook videos that I've seen of Xanadu show a promising metal sound, but who knows how they'll do tomorrow after such a long break? I'm very curious to find out though! Also on board for tomorrow night is Misfits tribute band The Fiend Brigade, who are essentially T-Rex Manning (J.D. Pearce, Tiffany Stocco, and Bill Bennett) alongside J.D.'s Frightlight bandmate Rick White (not the previously announced Frank McCormick) on drums in place of the relocated Daniel MacDonald.

Whether this is officially the new T-Rex Manning lineup or just a one-off tribute set is yet to be determined, but the guys (and girl) do have the chops to do justice to The Misfits, and I'd expect another fun set of covers from them tomorrow night! The opening band was originally slated to be local thrash band Pillory (covering Metallica), and then the returning Late & Loud, but with both dropping out for various reasons, we instead get the one-off tribute band Loud Lazer, who will be covering Motley Crue classics as Late & Loud had intended! The name implies a combination of Late & Loud (via guitarist Jon Tiberi & bassist Benn Garside) and local rock quintet Lazer Queen (via frontwoman Kate Drew & Pillory drummer Bret Shuttleworth), but the complete band is almost a full Lazer Queen lineup, just with Benn on bass instead of the absent Josh Hatherley. This lineup has a lot of chemistry already, and the four members are all quite talented, so I'd expect them to knock out some solid Crue classics tomorrow night!

Apocalypse: The Musical has a $5 cover charge and a 19+ age limit, and everything starts at 10:00 PM tomorrow night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I'll definitely be there for this local tribute metal/punk extravaganza, and hopefully many of you guys will roll in for all of the action! For a preview, as Xanadu have no embeddable YouTube videos, here's The Fiend Brigade (more or less) covering The Misfits' "Bullet" at the Humane Society Battle of the Bands last year!

Finally for the Sault Ontario metal/hard rock shows this weekend, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to The Road House Bar & Grill on Trunk Road tomorrow night, in his latest of many recent gigs at the East End venue! As always, these shows will see Tym covering tons of unplugged version of metal, hard rock, and classic rock hits, and he knows tons of them, so there's a little something for everyone at every Tym Morrison solo gig! This latest solo date will of course be tomorrow at 10:00 PM, with a likely 19+ age limit in place, and no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! If you're up for something a little more reserved and intimate than the norm, why not take a trip to The Road House on Trunk for some unplugged metal covers tomorrow night? For a preview, here's Tym covering Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" at Bossy's!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for the Nudge concert previews, a new local band and label, and more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Banned), Apocalypse: The Musical Updates, And Much More!!

We're back with more news on this Tuesday morning, so what's on tap? Today, we have updates to one of our monthly feature series, the latest Bear Hunters updates, and various updates relating to an upcoming tribute concert, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month (along with possible lineup notes), so here's what you need to know!

Kinross hard rockers Banned will make their Kewadin Casino debut on March 29th & 30th at The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie! Hard to believe that this frequently seen local band haven't played at any of the regional Kewadin branches before (unless they had some that weren't announced), but hopefully these shows will add to Banned's growing local reputation well! These have 9:00 PM start times and 21+ age limits, while cover charges are unlikely. Check the above links for more details! Also to note, while the band hasn't confirmed any lineup changes, a photo album on their Facebook page was updated yesterday with individual photos of members Alex & Don Traynor and Jim Pentland along with two other musicians (a singer named Tara Starr & a guitarist named Denny Smith.) Their Facebook lineup was removed around the same time, so I don't know whether Tara & Denny are replacements for Mike Straw & Alex Schrovenwever, or just documented guest performers. I'll let you guys know if anything's confirmed, but keep that all that in mind next month & this weekend when Banned rock Hessel & Moran!

Next up, there's a big lineup change for the Apocalypse: The Musical tribute band concert on March 1st at The Canadian Nightclub, as planned openers Pillory have dropped out. The local thrash band, who were slated to play a Metallica cover set at what would have been their second concert, pulled out to focus on recording sessions for their planned debut EP "Cringe At The Cross", as per a post by bassist Jonathan Tiberi on the Facebook event page. For potential attendees, this has to be disappointing given their promise from their first gig last year, but hopefully this EP lives up to the early hype and sees a release! That said, the replacement band will be very familiar, as one of Jon's other bands is returning to replace Pillory, that being local classic metal quartet Late & Loud! Slated to be their first show since their EP release gig at The Rockstar Bar in November (and just their third since winning the Humane Society Battle of the Bands in April), they'll be playing a set of Motley Crue covers on March 1st, which should be quite interesting!

It's great to see Late & Loud back together, and hopefully this won't just be a one-off return from their recent sporadic activity! (No word yet on if they'll have EPs on sale on the 1st.) While we're on the subject of this concert, here's a few more notes relating to Jon Tiberi's music projects. First, from what I can tell, his band Xanadu (who are headlining on the 1st) are indeed a reunion of his old metal band from his hometown of Welland, not a new local version, and to that end, guitarist Mike Agostino & drummer Scott Brady from their old lineup are listed as attendees on Facebook. Friends of Jon's should be a bit familiar with Xanadu from personal Facebook photo & video postings, and hopefully they rock the Soo with their Black Sabbath covers for their return in just under 2 weeks! Finally, Jon's solo metal project The Soviet Space Program posted a new song named "Want You Back" onto their Reverbnation page within the past week, and how does it sound? Good, but it does sorta feel unfinished, and the chorus doesn't have the punch I'd expect given it's structure. Check it out though at the above links, and stay tuned for more from Jon's various projects!

Also, here's some assorted recent updates from two prominent heavier Sault Ontario bands! First, local death metal band The Bear Hunters revealed in a Facebook page posting last week that they're "in the process of becoming super active again", which includes guitar recording sessions for their debut album beginning last week, shows being locked in for the next two months, and new songs in the works, possibly to debut next Thursday when they play their first local concert since August at The Roosevelt Hotel! Sounds good to me, as I know local Bear Hunters fans (barring ones who took the trip to Sudbury in December) are starved for substantive updates & news from them! As for the references to shows in March, that at least partly alludes to their next out of town concert date, as they'll return to Sudbury on March 16th for another huge black/death metal show there! As per it's Facebook event page, they'll be among the openers for Norwegian folk metal band Einherjer, along with notable bands like recent local concert favourites Empyrean Plague & Before The Black Gates, and Woods of Ypres tribute show/album performers Panzerfaust.

Sounds like Bear Hunters updates are ramping up, so hopefully this is just the start of a big year for them, and check the above links for more updates, including on how you can attend the Sudbury show on March 16th!

Finally for today, here's the recent updates to our Sault Michigan-based profiles in our YouTube Channel Profile Series! I updated the profile on Cami Hubbard's YouTube channel to reflect her son Chris' new band 415E and the new videos of theirs that she filmed and uploaded there, while also replacing one featured video on the profile (Nixxon Dixxon's cover of "No More Tears") with the video of 415E playing their self-titled original and the Van Halen song "Unchained" at the Soo Kewadin Casino last month. In our profile of Joey Beairl's YouTube channel, I restored the photo of Guitar Studio rock camp alums Unleashed, and updated their info there to reflect guitarist Jack Slater's current bass role in the aforementioned 415E. Finally, on the profile of Banned videographer Ash Traynor's YouTube channel, I restored a photo, referenced sometime filmer Eric Cairns, and noted the privatization of two videos (a Johnny Cash cover and their first live video of their original "Plaid Girl"), the latter of which I had to replace with the newest video of that song.

That's all for new updates to that series, but keep an eye out for more edits and freshening of our other monthly feature series in the coming weeks! We have more news coming this week, so keep an eye out, and thanks again for your continued support!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Apocalypse: The Musical), Queensryche Concert Preview, And This Week's Classic Video!!

Before getting to the meat of this post, I just wanted to note that TONIGHT'S multi-band concert at The Speak Easy is actually a "United For Equity" event, which sounds like a nice cause for sure, so click here for more details, and hopefully tonight's event goes awesome! Today, we have this week's classic video, a preview of a huge metal show TOMORROW NIGHT, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

A three for all of metal & punk tribute bands named "Apocalypse: The Musical" is hitting The Canadian Nightclub on March 1st, including some local talent, so let's run down what we know on the three bands! The first listed band is Xanadu, and I believe they're either a revived or new version of the ever prolific Jonathan Tiberi's old metal band from his hometown of Welland! They used to cover Black Sabbath a lot, and their set in March will be entirely Black Sabbath covers to fit with the show's theme. There's a lot of unknowns right now in terms of Xanadu's return (i.e. if other former band members will be back, if this is a one-off gig, etc.), but the videos Jon has on his personal Facebook page show promise and pay tribute to Sabbath well, so this should be a fun set! Also scheduled are a Misfits tribute band named The Fiend Brigade (renamed from The Angelfucks) that I personally have no information on. If they're local, it's possible that they could share Frightlight members, especially as they're well known for covering & being influenced by The Misfits (plus, frontman J.D. Pearce is promoting this show), but I am not certain on much else yet, or if they're even a local band.

The third band are local thrash rockers Pillory in just their second ever concert & their first since the passing of guitarist Andres Duchesne last month, and they'll be covering all Metallica songs for this show, which sounds cool in & of itself! That said, we still don't know who will be their new second guitarist come March (if anyone), but hopefully we hear something on that front soon, and hopefully Andres will be there somehow! This 19+ show will have a $5 cover charge, and it begins at 10:00 PM on March 1st. Check the above links for more details! This should be an entertaining concert, and a welcome shake-up for a multi-band show like this, so hopefully there's a huge turnout at The Canadian to kick off March, and if you have any additional information on the lingering questions for these three bands, let me know! (Also, Pillory revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they're apparently hitting the studio to record their debut EP this weekend! Seems fairly sudden, especially with no new guitarist yet, but their originals would sound awesome in studio, so stay tuned for updates!)

Next up, here's our first major metal concert preview of 2013, as The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino welcomes Bellevue, Washington progressive metal quintet Queensryche TOMORROW NIGHT! Note that this is the original version of Queensryche featuring 3 original members, not ex-singer Geoff Tate's new version of the band that he formed last year. Queensryche are among the most influential metal bands of the 1980s and early 1990s, selling over 6 million CDs and producing such hits as "Silent Lucidity", "Real World", and "Jet City Woman", and their technical yet catchy brand of metal should ensure an amazing show tomorrow night, and don't disregard them just because Geoff's not in this version anymore, as Todd La Torre has an amazing range and suits the classics very well! Just as a reminder, Brimley metal trio Half A Man will NOT be opening this concert following some miscommunication earlier this week, but all is amicable now, and hopefully we'll see them back on the stage in the area soon!

Tickets are still available for $28.50 from the fourth row and back at this location, by phone at 1-800-KEWADIN, and in person at the Kewadin box office, while I'd call ahead in case there's any meet & greets, as these never seem to be well promoted online in advance. This is an all ages show, and it starts at 7:00 PM tomorrow night. Check the above links for more details! Queensryche should put in an awesome show to cap off the first weekend of metal shows in the area of 2013, so get your tickets A.S.A.P. if you haven't already, and stay tuned for fallout of this show next week! For a preview, here's Queensryche playing "Queen of the Reich" live in June!



Finally for today, here's our first classic video upload of 2013! Because it's getting harder to find older local metal videos from non-YouTube sources, I'm going to retract this weekly series to bi-weekly (at least for now) to spread the videos I have access to out. That said, for our first classic video of the year, to tie in with Tym Morrison's show at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill tonight, I've uploaded a jam session video of Tym and other local musicians covering Metallica's "Master of Puppets" on Halloween 2009! Featuring Tym on vocals & guitar alongside former local concert promoter/Time of Ruin guitarist Rich Moreland on an upside down bass and Adam Turcotte on drums, this isn't the cleanest cover that's ever existed, but the guys visibly had fun in this performance, and Rich is nicely dressed for the Halloween season! This video was filmed by attendee Shelley McKie and was uploaded to Facebook by Rich the next day, with the original video viewable at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=164033612695. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!

All credit for this video goes to Shelley and the performers, I'm just trying to share it with a wider audience! Though this does suffer compared to a proper full band performance, it's a fun cover nonetheless, so give Tym, Rich, and Adam's jam session Metallica cover a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!