A Collection Of Assorted News Stories

Another day, another collection of news! Today though, there's no "major" announcements, like a concert or a band formation or anything, just a lot of things I've either bypassed or found over the last couple days! And we'll begin with a concert cancellation.

Earlier this month, you may remember that I reported that Lion Ride would be back at The Rockstar Bar on February 6th. It was on their MySpace page, so it looked legit. However, the announcement was either premature or incorrect, as the band have pulled it from their concert listings. No word as to what the specific reason was, but hopefully they'll be back home for a concert sooner rather than later! Despite that, Lion Ride have booked one more out of town concert, which will be on March 17th in Montreal! I don't know if Lion Ride have ever been to Quebec for a concert, but it should be cool! They'll be playing at Cafe Chaos in Montreal, along with Montreal hard rockers Reckless Ride and other bands! Should be a good show, but as always, our fingers are crossed for their local return!

Next up, a new Facebook group has been launched in order for Sault-area bands of all genres to discuss the local scene, interact, promote their bands, and such. Named "Sault Ste Marie Local Bands - Support And Discussion Group", it was formed by Stillbroke frontman Jesse Frigault yesterday, and the idea behind it is very good! The bands in the Sault should be closer, maybe this will help! Click here to check it out, there's very positive intent in this group! Jesse would love members of all local bands to join, and he promises that a member of each band who joins will be made an administrator, which is a nice gesture! He also made me an admin, but rest assured, the group is not an SMS offshoot, it's Jesse's idea, so don't give me credit for it. Besides, it's for all genres, not just metal! Spread it to your friends, get band members to join! Remember, any good Facebook group/page needs members and activity to ensure success, so let's see this succeed where other have failed!

And to close this short news update post, four local metal-related stories, in order by band name!

• Though an event page has yet to be launched for it, a poster for the Garden of Bedlam/Papa Fogals Chair on February 27th at Foggy Notions has been made, and you can check it out to the right! It was made by Papa Fogals Chair percussionist Adam Chillman, who actually has done most of the artwork and posters used by Garden of Bedlam! Stay tuned for more details on this concert!
• According to their MySpace page, the Pop Evil concert on February 27th at Kewadin Casino is ALL AGES! Most shows at The Dreammakers Theater are, but being that it is a casino, extra proof sometimes helps. Still need word on the local openers, and when I find out definite details on what the proceeds are going to, I will let you guys know!
• Thanks to Laurie Frigault for this information: The Stillbroke concert at The Speakeasy on January 28th will have a cover charge of $3, which isn't bad! Sadly, it is NOT all ages. Hopefully a good crowd turns out for this show, it's been a while since Stillbroke last played a full set here!
  
• Another review of Woods of Ypres' latest release, "Woods IV: The Green Album" has been posted online! It was reviewed by Carl Begai on his blog yesterday, check it out by clicking here! Very positive review, he calls it a "lush and epic soundtrack to personal demise", among many other observations!

So there, I think we're back up to date...for now! Tomorrow, we'll close down the current SMS poll about the biggest news story of 2009, and we'll go over the results and launch the new poll! It will be about the best "something" in 2009, but what? Stay tuned to find out!

FIVE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gunz N' FN' Rosez, Stillbroke, Monkey's Uncle, And Pop Evil)

Hey guys, it's time for not one, not two, but FIVE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!! Some are slightly short notice (my apologies), but all will be good concerts! Here's what you need to know!

We'll go in order by when the show takes place, and the first is in ONE WEEK! Toronto's own Gunz N' FN' Rosez, who plug themselves as "North America's Ultimate Guns n' Roses Tribute Show", are coming to Sault Ontario! They will be at The Speakeasy at Algoma University on January 22nd for a night full of great renditions of Guns N' Roses classics! Tickets are now on sale for $8 if at The Speakeasy if you're an Algoma student, and $10 if you are not. The price jumps $2 for both ticket categories if you buy at the door. The doors open at 9:00 PM, show starts at 10:00, you must have your Algoma student card or proper 19+ ID to get in. For full details on this concert, visit the official Facebook event page! Oddly for a Guns N' Roses tribute band, they're portraying the classic lineup with Buckethead in place of Izzy Stradlin! Remains to be seen if I can make it out for this, but Gunz N' FN' Roses aren't bad at what they do, sounds enough like Axl and company to please GNR fans! Check out more from Gunz N' FN' Rosez at their official website and their official MySpace page!

Then, just six days later, The Speakeasy brings you another concert, which will be headlined by Stillbroke! Yes, the local hard rockers are back for their first full local concert in over 8 months on January 28rd! This will also be their first full concert since the release of their debut EP, "Never Enough", so expect to hear the songs from their very solid first album! Joining Stillbroke are fellow locals The Fury (featuring Out Of The Mouth Of Babes frontman Josh McNally on bass, and former DOTH drummer Joe Bumbacco), who'll deliver their very unique brand of music to the masses once again! This will be a 10:00 PM concert at The Speakeasy, with The Fury opening. No word on admission prices or age restrictions, if there are any, I'll keep you posted! There is no event page yet, but the concert is official, and was announced on a Stillbroke fan page, so there's my source. Great to see Stillbroke back, I'll hopefully be able to make this concert! Stay tuned for more updates as they come in!

Now we head to Sault Michigan, as a local band appear to be back on the local concert scene! Remember Jager, the hard rock band fronted by Mama's Boys singer/guitarist Henry Switzer? Well, they took a long hiatus in 2009, cancelling their tour dates, changing their lineup, and changing their name to Bad Monkey, and then to their current name, Monkey's Uncle! Well, even if their MySpace page hasn't listed new shows, it appears that they are back playing concerts! Kewadin Casino's concert calendar lists that Monkey's Uncle will be playing at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino on January 29th and January 30th! Both shows have no cover charge and are at 9:00 PM-ish! Great to see Monkey's Uncle back, I've always been a fan, too bad I'm not drinking age to get in yet! Click on the links above to check out their original material and some live videos! Hope both concerts go well!

And finally, I heard about this show on Rock 101 this morning. Muskegon hard rockers Pop Evil are returning to The Dreammakers Theater at Kewadin Casino! You may remember them last summer when they supported Saving Abel, and then, I honestly didn't see Pop Evil as "metal", so I didn't mention it much. Well, looking back on it, Pop Evil have a lot of hard rock songs (most notably "100 in a 55"), and they were heavy enough to support bands like Judas Priest on tour, so yeah, they're SMS-worthy! They will be joined by Toronto hard rockers Evans Blue, best known for their song "Cold (But I'm Still Here)"! Also on the lineup are two local bands, but I'm not sure which ones they are, Rock 101 didn't give names this morning, and I'm not seeing mention of them anywhere. I know Peril are playing at The Rapids Lounge that night too, but they're not local. If I find more, I'll keep you guys posted!

Click on the above links to check out each band! But here's the best part about this show that sets it apart from typical Kewadin Casino fare: It's a benefit show, though I didn't get a chance to write down the details of what the proceeds are towards, I'll update with more info once I hear it. Tickets are very affordable too, just $15! You almost never see shows this inexpensive at The Dreammakers Theater, and it's for a good cause too! They're on sale RIGHT NOW, so buy them at this location! As I hear more about this concert, you'll be sure to find info here on the SMS!

That has to be the most new local concerts I've had in one post in months! That's all I have for tonight, other news will be soon, so stay tuned!

EDIT: Social Play have cancelled their concert tonight at Foggy's, no word why. I'd seen someone asking if it was still on on the event page, and what they heard was correct. I'm bummed, I miss seeing Browbeat/Social Play live, but hopefully they'll be back! I assume the Saturday concert is cancelled too, but there's been no official word either way. I'll keep you posted!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (40 Sons), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!

Hey guys, back to news today, though hopefully you enjoyed the first monthly profile post of bands from elsewhere that have Saultites in their lineup! But now, we get back to the SMS' primary focus: Updating all of you on local bands and concerts as I hear them! And we'll start with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

If you read our Facebook page yesterday, you would have gotten first word of this concert, and now I'll give you everything I know about it (admittedly, it's not much though.) According to an ad in the Hot Spots section of Sault This Week, Hamilton hard rockers 40 Sons are returning to Sault Ontario! They will apparently be playing at Coch's Corner on January 23rd, exactly three months after they last played there! I wouldn't expect a cover charge, and yes, it is 19+. Seeing as this show was mentioned in a dated and posted ad in a reputable newspaper, the show looks like a go, but 40 Sons' MySpace page only lists two concert dates, one of which has already happened, the other is not for here. So I'll list this concert for now, if 40 Sons list the show or Sault This Week pulls the concert from the paper, I'll let you guys know! As for the band themselves, 40 Sons are an award winning rock band that notably won last year's Bodog Battle Championship! I remember liking what I heard from there guys last year, especially Mike Repic's slightly unique voice! Check them out on MySpace, I'll keep you guys posted on their concert!

And now, it's time to preview this weekend's slate of local metal concerts! Two shows each in Sault Ontario and Sault Michigan, let us start in Sault Michigan!

Local rising hard rockers Nixxon Dixxon are back this weekend, when they hit Dondee Lanes! Their MySpace page says they'll be on tomorrow and Saturday night at around 8:00 PM, which seems earlier than normal. But hey, it's all good! Nice to see Dondee Lanes booking shows, you don't hear a lot from there like you used to (I wish they'd update their site though.) Of course, if you need a concert to hit this weekend in Sault Michigan, going to see Nixxon Dixxon should fit nicely! They're, as I've said dozens of times, an extremely talented young band, and they prove it each time they play! Making the finals of the Kiss Battle is obvious proof, but you should see a full concert of theirs as well! Hope the concerts go well! For a preview, check out their MySpace page and this clip of Nixxon Dixxon performing their original "High Life" from the Kiss Battle finals last month!



The other concerts this weekend are a double shot from a new/returning local hard rock band! Social Play (formerly known as Browbeat) are finally back on the local concert scene, and will play at Foggy Notions tomorrow and Saturday night! Both concerts are pegged to start at around 10:00 PM, I'd expect a cover charge of about $2. Seeing as this is a bar, you have to be 19 to get in. I believe the last time we saw the former Browbeat together on stage was when they took part in the Rock 2 Roll skatepark fundraiser in August 2008, so it's a long time coming! As a refresher, the band features Dutch Vanderploeg on vocals and guitar, Tiffany Emmerson on bass, and Wishbone bassist Chris Smith on drums. They used to be a frequent sight at local concert venues in the mid 2000s, and notably supported Econoline Crush at their March 2008 show at The Canadian Nightclub. Now as Social Play, they are back, and will hopefully deliver in their return! They had a good sound, hard rock that anyone can get into, hopefully things are similar this weekend! They don't have a MySpace page now, but trust me, they have the talent! Confirm your attendance at the Facebook event page!

Will I be at any shows this weekend? Yes I will! It's been too long since I last saw the band now known as Social Play live, I believe I'll be there for the Friday show! Better not be anything that stops me from going like when I was prevented from seeing Ultraviolence and Sense of Truth on Tuesday....I'm still bitter over that. Review, photos, and a video will come on Saturday!

Next up, when we talk about local bands on here, I tend to link to their MySpace pages. Why? Because that seems to be the standard for band pages, most bands have one. Only a scattered few have actual websites with paid domain names, and one of the few is Woods of Ypres. I didn't find myself visiting their actual website much because it was often badly outdated, but David Gold has finally updated the site to add lots of more relevant material! The news page lists info on "Woods IV: The Green Album" now, as well as other relevant links! Among other updates: "Woods IV" is now in the discography, and album lyrics are posted as well. Overall, there's no sweeping changes, just making things more current, which works! The site always had a nice design, it just needed some attention, and it got it! Check out Woods of Ypres' official website at http://www.woodsofypres.ca!

Two more tiny updates to close today's post. First, if you visit the SooNet forums often, you may have noticed that they've underwent a facelift! Looks nice, makes it look a bit more professional (that's not to say it wasn't before, I just like the improvement.) No posts are deleted, luckily, though the links have changed, so if you want to discuss local music there, click here. That's the new link. The other new update is that The Sault Metal Scene's Facebook page now has a custom user name! I completely forgot that you could add one to it, and last night, I finally gave us one! So the new URL for the SMS Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/saultmetalscene!

Thanks everyone, more news to come, including my Social Play concert review, the next SMS poll (it will be the best "something" in 2009) and more! Stay tuned!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Phatstick & Will Of The Ancients

Hey guys, it's the beginning of our new monthly feature on The Sault Metal Scene! Due to interest from readers and my respect for our local talent, I plan to profile two metal bands each month that, though never based out of the Sault Ste. Marie area, feature (currently or in the past) a Saultite in their lineup! I have a bunch lined up, and this weekend, we'll start with one that I've heard a lot of requests for, and another from David Gold's extensive body of work! So, here are the profiles! And of course, if there's something incorrect, missing, or lacking info/details, please tell me! (UPDATED: November 24, 2014)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phatstick (St. Catharines, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; members not in their last full lineup in italics)

Jason Taillefer (vocals/guitar)
Marco Bresette (guitar)
Keith Gillam (bass)
Joe LaVergne (drums)

Russ Herstek (guitar)
Julian Tomarin (guitar)
Jesse Turton (bass)
Kenny Corke (bass)
Jesse Aubertin (temporary live bass)

Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/pages/phatstick/364411715619

Local Info: Jason Taillefer and Joe LaVergne grew up together in Sault Ste. Marie. Jason fronted local metal bands in the 1980s and early '90s like Alyster & Scrooge (among others), and worked with Tym Morrison on some sort of album release in high school, which I'd love to track down! Not sure what Joe LaVergne was up to locally in the past, though he was likely in some of Jason's bands. Both eventually moved to Southern Ontario in the early 1990s to pursue their musical dreams. Jason & Joe would later become members of Port Colborne groove metal band Human Disorder, who released two albums and enjoyed some success before breaking up in 1999.

Band Bio: Jason and Joe would form Phatstick in 1999 after leaving Human Disorder. During their run, Phatstick released a demo CD and a full self-titled debut album in 2003. They also toured extensively through Canada and the United States, as well as placing high in numerous band search and talent contests, and supporting Default and Theory of a Deadman at the Rock The Border concert in 2003. Despite entertaining alternative hard rock originals, the band abandoned their past original songs from their live setlists in favour of a more varied mix of cover songs in recent years, during which they occasionally played live in Sault Ontario through 2011. After parting ways for unannounced reasons in July 2012, Phatstick reunited the following year with new rhythm guitarist Marco Bresette, finally returning to the stage in Brantford on October 10th, 2013, but updates never followed, and the band presumably dissolved again in 2014.

If you like radio-friendly hard rock with a heavy metal edge to it, Phatstick were a great band to check out, as they were very solid with some great musicmanship! Jason Taillefer's vocals were excellent, and the whole band showed a very professional sound and style on their original material! That being said, I'm disappointed that their later concerts didn't feature their original material, but their covers still retained their abilities and live charisma, even if they played more varied and light material by the late 2000s. Their breakups were disappointing, but hopefully Phatstick reunite at some point again! No originals of their exist on YouTube at present, but here's a video clip of Phatstick covering "Master of Puppets" by Metallica from a show in 2008!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will of the Ancients (Toronto, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)

Tristan "Tristram" Biggar (vocals/guitar/ex-keyboard)
Peter Weinrauch (bass)
Dave Black (drums)
Colin "Maelgad" Attlesey (vocals/keyboard)

Andrew "Albanack" Alush (vocals)
Jordy "Rex Lupis" Steinberg (vocals)
Stephen "Arrakis" Walton (vocals/ex-bass)
Yura "Melekhai" Ukraman (guitar)
Tom "The Griminal" Gendron (guitar)
Ryan Sequeira (guitar)
Dean Arnold (guitar/vocals)
"Gog" (bass)
"Pyrus Infernus" (bass)
Jeff Kurkowski (bass)
"Macros" (keyboard)
"Conan" (keyboard)
Chino "Heborym" Deville (drums)
David "Veillko" Gold (drums)
Jason "Sayduke" Longo (drums)

Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/willoftheancients
Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/willoftheancients
Official YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/user/willoftheancients
Official Twitter page: http://twitter.com/wotametal
Official forum: http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/will-ancients-425/
Official BandCamp page: http://willoftheancients.bandcamp.com/

Local Info: The lone Saultite ever in Will of the Ancients was David Gold, who was frontman and ex-drummer of local doom/black metal band Woods of Ypres! Though formed in Windsor in 2002 and later moved to Toronto, David brought Woods of Ypres back home in 2008, where it remained until David's death and the band's breakup in December 2011. As well, David briefly replaced Jonathan Harvey as drummer of fellow locals Gates of Winter before their 2009 hiatus. Woods played here frequently, along with making the Soo the basis for their song "Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground" during their run, while David also drummed for bands like Necramyth & Thrawsunblat, among others concurrently with his Woods of Ypres work!

Band Bio: David Gold joined Toronto black metal band Will of the Ancients in 2004, replacing Chino Deville behind the drumkit, and taking on the stage-name "Veillko". The lineup of WOTA during David's tenure included Jordy Steinberg on vocals, Tristan Biggar & Tom Gendron on guitar, Stephen Walton on bass, and "Conan" on keyboards, later replaced by Colin Attlesey. David left the band in 2005 to focus on Woods of Ypres, and was replaced by Jason Longo. Will of the Ancients formed in 2002, and released their first EP "Cold Grim Times" in 2004. They've underwent numerous lineup changes before & since, with guitarist Tristan Biggar as the only remaining original member. They released their self-titled full length disc in 2006, and have played with notable bands including Woods of Ypres, Behemoth, Quo Vadis, and Wolven Ancestry. WOTA play a very aggressive and heavy style of epic black/death metal, fans of which should find a lot to like here! The band released their new album "To Our Glorious Dead" in February 2014, and recently toured Eastern Canada in support of Psychotic Gardening, with more shows to come in 2015 and beyond!

During his tenure with Will of the Ancients, David didn't drum on any of their albums, although he did play at live shows in 2004 and 2005. I can't recall if they ever came here for a concert, but it'd be awesome if they did! I admittedly don't listen to much black metal, but these guys are very solid at what they do, and have the talent to back it up! Very fast and heavy where they need to be, some death and thrash metal influences are thrown in here and there too! Hopefully the current lineup are just as good as on their past releases, and the what I have heard of "To The Glorious Dead" is brutal! Here's a clip from a Will of the Ancients show in 2005 around the time of David's departure, but click here for samples from their new album, and check the above links for plenty of audio & video clips!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope you guys enjoyed the first installment of our new monthly feature! Remember, even if you take a metalhead out of the Soo, you still can't take the Soo out of the metalhead! Plus, it never hurts to give these bands some exposure! Next month, to coincide with local shows involving members of these bands, we'll profile London Ontario's Papa Fogals Chair (with Garden of Bedlam drummer Derek Turner) and Toronto's The Sexual Vigilantes, featuring Lion Ride bassist Brenton Ellis! Stay tuned for that!

Thanks everyone, a full news post including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT should be coming tomorrow (in case you didn't hear the news on Facebook), so be on the lookout! And, I hope the Ultraviolence/Sense of Truth show was awesome, I'm still pissed that I couldn't make it!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Social Play), A New Battle of the Bands, And Garden Of Bedlam's New Video!

You know something? News really has been piling on the last couple days, and it's not even Gene Simmons' fault this time! I didn't anticipate having enough for a new post until tomorrow, but there's some stuff here that can't wait until tomorrow, lest it be too short of notice! Let's start with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! (Check my post from earlier today for news on Garden of Bedlam's next show, the metalcore openers for Billy Talent, how you can contribute to Duane Roy's book about Sault Memorial Gardens, and more!)

One nice thing about Foggy Notions is that they post Facebook event pages for every gig booked there! However, they don't describe the bands in them. Such was the case for a pair of shows THIS WEEKEND at Foggy's, where a band called "Social Play" were booked for two nights there (Friday and Saturday). I had no idea who they were at first, but I can now confirm that this band was formerly known as Browbeat! Looks like they're back after all, just with a new name! Very solid hard rock, you may remember them from concerts in 2008 and prior, notably at the Rock 2 Roll skate park fundraiser! You may also recognize drummer Chris Smith as the bassist of local rock band Wishbone! The concerts are FRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHT, and are likely to start at around 10:00 PM! I'd expect a cover charge of around $2. 19+ only, so bring your ID! With no band pages at the moment (Browbeat's was deleted), I can't show you guys any video of them, but rest assured, they're very talented! I just hope the Social Play sound isn't a huge deviation from what I saw out of Browbeat! Confirm your attendance for either night's set at the Facebook event page!

Next up, over a month after the Kiss Battle of the Bands ruled the Sault, another battle is on the horizon! I apologize for the short notice of this, but it seems to have been primarily promoted through Sault College. ONE WEEK FROM THURSDAY, there will be a Battle of the Bands audition at Sault College! Bands will gather at The Outback behind Sault College on January 21st for PRIVATE AUDITIONS. This is NOT open to the public, no matter how many metal bands are playing, so I won't call this part of the battle as a "concert". No band limit has been announced, but the top four will be chosen to perform at the public finals on February 3rd at...The Soo Curlers Association Curling Rink on Anita Boulevard! The finals will be at the rink's HeartsStop Lounge. This battle appears to be a part of the festivities for this year's Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which is being held in Sault Ste. Marie, so the placement for the finals makes more sense. First place in the battle wins $750, second place gets $500, and third wins $150!

So, are you or your band interested in auditioning next Thursday? Well, here's what you need to know! Your band must have at least one Sault College student in the lineup, with your own equipment ready for the audition. You can't play more than three songs, with 10 minute setup time. Any genre's invited (hint hint metal bands!), and there is NO ADMISSION FEE TO AUDITION! Rules are subject to change, and you must be there at 6:00 PM regardless of when you perform. You have until Friday to sign your band up at The Outback or the Sault College Student Administrative Council office, so act NOW if you want to audition! For more info, contact Amanda Holmberg at amanda.holmberg@saultcollege.ca, by phone at 759-2554 (ext. 2708), or contacting her on Facebook! Get full details at the official Facebook event page! I know there's local metal bands with members attending Sault College, hopefully one or more audition! Remember, it's NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so don't head to The Outback expecting a concert, you won't be able to get in. When and if metal bands make it to the finals, I'll let you know then!

And finally for tonight, Garden of Bedlam have posted two new videos online, one likely to get your attention more than the other! The first is a picture slideshow on a new band YouTube account set to their song "Stand Your Ground"! The audio sounds slightly muffled, but it's a nice slideshow, check it out by clicking here! (Oh, and thanks for using some pics I took!) But that's not all, for the best is yet to come! Remember how I mentioned that Rick Dellavedova from Amethyst was filming Garden of Bedlam during their Boxing Day show at Foggy Notions? Well, the fruits of that are now online, as an official music video for their song "The Truth Shall Set You Free" has been unveiled! Well edited, nice use of black and white only in the video, and you may notice some familiar faces in the crowd! Nice sync job with the original track and the live performance too! Nice work overall, check it out below! It's not often you find real music videos from local bands, so make sure to see this one! Thanks to ChristopherMLance for the upload!



Alright, I think that's all for now! Remember to go see Ultraviolence and Sense of Truth concert at Coch's Corner, this might be your last chance to see both bands locally for a while, so at least consider it! See all you guys real soon!

EDIT: I won't be at the Ultraviolence show due to reasons out of my control. I really wanted to go, I haven't seen Sense of Truth in full since July...goddamnit. Have fun for me!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Garden of Bedlam & The Cancer Bats), Duane Roy's Next Book, And More!

Well everyone, I wasn't anticipating that I'd have another post so quickly, but the news just seemed to pile on after I posted yesterday, so here we go with plenty more updates! And there's two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to kick things off!

Our first one is a Sault Metal Scene EXCLUSIVE (fancy, huh?) We're bringing this to you guys first, so here's what you need to know! Despite speculation that their Boxing Day show at Foggy Notions was their last before hitting the studio, Garden of Bedlam are back at Foggy's on February 27th! Frontman Buzz gave me the details in a Facebook chat today, so if you don't believe the story, ask him! And they won't be alone either, for Garden of Bedlam are bringing an inactive metal band back as openers, who are no strangers to the Sault area! London's own Papa Fogals Chair (featuring Garden of Bedlam drummer Derek Turner) will be the openers! Though not locally based, they've played here more than once, including notable shows like in August 2006 with Gates of Winter, and Garden of Bedlam's first ever concert from February 2008! And if you're not aware of the sound Papa Fogals Chair will bring, check out their MySpace page! Very heavy and very easy to headbang with, should go over well!

Doors are likely to open at 9:00 PM, with Papa Fogals Chair kicking things off at 11:00 PM! A cover charge is currently not known. Of course, when more details are announced, you'll find them here! Nice of Buzz to give me the first notice of it and break the news! And now you guys know too, hopefully we can all make it to Foggy's on February 27th for a night of heavy metal mayhem! If I'm in town (I may not be), I will be there myself! Stay tuned for more details!

The other new concert to alert you guys to isn't newly announced by any stretch, but the addition of a metal band qualifies it for SMS attention! A new band has been added to the Billy Talent concert at The Essar Center on March 22nd, and it's none other than Toronto metalcore band The Cancer Bats! (Source is from this post on SooToday's entertainment page.) Signed to Metal Blade Records, The Cancer Bats have acquired a loyal following in recent years, and even graced the cover of Kerrang! Magazine in 2008! This will not be their first time in Sault Ontario either, having came to The Speakeasy way back in June 2006! They will join the previously announced Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, and Against Me! on the lineup for this concert. Now, aside from The Cancer Bats, it's not a metal show (more of a punk/screamo mix), but I know a number of you are punk/screamo fans, so you should have a good time if you're planning on going!

If you're interested in attending, tickets are $42.50 for general admission and $72.50 for reserved stands. Head to The Essar Center box office, call 1-866-775-9422, or order online at LiveNation or The Essar Center's website to get your tickets! The Cancer Bats open the concert at 6:45 PM on March 22nd, doors open at 5:45 PM that day!

Next up, some more stuff relating to the book "Castle Stories: A Rock N' Roll Scrapbook" that I've been mentioning on here lately! It's now on sale at Hole In The Wall Books at The Wellington Square Mall, which is the bookstore connected to The Rad Zone! The local connections don't stop there, as I've been reading the book, and though I'm not finished yet, there is references to the Sault dotted throughout! Three "Castle stories" featured come from Saultites, including a story about John Mellencamp's show at Castle Farms in Charlevoix from Suzanne Fillion, photos taken by Susan Just Jakomit from shows featuring Foreigner and The Cars, and even some from Rock 101 DJ Scott Cook, who looks back on seeing Whitesnake, AC/DC, and Def Leppard there! I love the book, and when I'm completely finished reading, I'll likely post a review of it!

A bit of foreshadowing in it too, as author Duane Roy recalls the New Years Day show at Sault Memorial Gardens from 1990 featuring Alice Cooper and Great White. Remember when I mentioned that he was contemplating writing a book about the concerts and stories of them from the Gardens? Well, he's officially launching the process into making that book a reality! Just like with "Castle Stories", he's looking for any concert stories, memories, photos, ticket stubs, memorabilia, news articles, and anything else of note from concerts of any type at Sault Memorial Gardens. I never hit any major ones there (too young), but some big name metal and hard rock bands played there, like the afromentioned Alice Cooper & Great White, as well as acts like Ted Nugent, Helix, and Rush (who rocked the Gardens 35 years ago), among likely many others! If YOU have a story, photos, or any memorabilia that you'd like to submit to Duane for inclusion in his next book, message him on Facebook, or e-mail him at duane@duaneroy.com or duanemroy@yahoo.ca! Help Duane out, this will be a fun read too!

And finally for tonight, a quick update on Tesla's show at Kewadin Casino on June 26th: Tickets will be $38.50 for the concert, but still don't go on sale for another week. Thanks to SooToday for mentioning that in a post they made about the current Kewadin concert schedule today, link here! More on the Tesla show to come!

That's all for tonight, your next post will (unless something major happens in between) feature my review of tonight's Ultraviolence/Sense of Truth concert! Also be on the lookout soon for my first entry in my profiles of out of town bands with local members (I'm thinking about Phatstick and Will of the Ancients to start, though that's subject to change), and a new poll will be posted on Monday that will also talk about the best of "something" in 2009. Stay tuned for more!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Who Made Who) And The Ultraviolence Concert Preview!!

Shorter post today, but it's important! We have a concert tomorrow night to preview, and a new local concert venue to talk about, but first, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

Nine months after they last played locally, Ontario's own Who Made Who: The Ultimate Tribute To AC/DC are coming back here for another concert! However, unlike their May 2009 show at The Canadian Nightclub, they'll instead be at Nite-Life Dance & Comedy Club! They'll hit the stage for their Sault return on Saturday, February 13th, with 9:00 PM as the estimated start time. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door, which is higher than their concert last year, but hey, it's not an obscene amount! This should be a good show, I've never been to Nite-Life since it "opened", and Who Made Who were really good last year! Bit of an older-skewing crowd, but hey, it was fun! Confirm your attendance at the official Facebook event page! As I hear more about this concert, you'll be sure to find it here!

While I'm at it, now that it's finally hosting a metal/hard rock concert, let's talk about Nite-Life! It's located at 119 Gore Street, and in case you're wondering, yes, this is the same spot that The Other Place and GLOW used to call home. Currently, Nite-Life is primarily known for comedians, karaoke, and dance parties, but they've also gotten into booking bands, and now they've got Who Made Who coming! Hopefully this opens the floodgates to even more metal bands, and of course, it's great seeing the former GLOW back in the concert game! Call 945-6483 for more details and to book your band too, and visit their official Facebook group to see what's coming up there!

And finally, it's time to preview a big concert tomorrow night! Here's what you need to know!

Toronto "drunk n' rollers" Ultraviolence are returning to Coch's Corner! Last seen there on September 3rd, they will bring their AC/DC-like style of hard rock to Sault Ontario once again! Very solid band, but this concert may be even better than their last one! Why? Because this time, they have locals Sense of Truth as openers! This will be Sense of Truth's first full local show since the Foggy Notions grand opening last month, and their last concert before they hit the studio to record their debut album! They're promising to debut a new original, and will likely play a mix of their very solid originals and some covers! Also to note: Guitarist Steve Myers won't be present at the show because he's currently on vacation in Cuba, so they'll be a four piece tomorrow night (no word on if frontman Cory Murchison will be on rhythm guitar and vocals like in their older concerts.) The concert is likely going to start at around 10:30 PM tomorrow, with NO COVER! Just make sure you bring drink money and your ID!

Should be an awesome concert, I've missed Sense of Truth way too much in the second half of 2009, it'll be nice to see a full set of theirs for a change! Great band, I know their CD will be awesome when it comes out, check out more from Sense of Truth at their official Facebook group! As for Ultraviolence, also a very entertaining group, any AC/DC fan will find something to like from these guys! Great drinking band too, if you want some high energy Canadian hard rock, these guys should fit the bell very nicely! Check out more of their original material at their official MySpace page, and for a preview of what to expect, here's a live clip of Ultraviolence performing the songs "Jump Motherfucker Jump" and "Trouble Tonight" from a concert last year in (I think) Thunder Bay (Thanks to YouTube user cvaillan for the upload!)



As I said, this is a short post, so that's all I have for now, my next post will either have my review of the Ultraviolence concert, more news and updates, or both! Stay tuned for more!