Night Ranger Concert Video Showcase!!

Before our two post Thursday (featuring this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile and this weekend's concert previews), we have videos to touch on from the most recent major hard rock concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as San Francisco's own Night Ranger rocked the Soo this past Sunday! At least four different attendees filmed videos that were uploaded to YouTube in the last few days, so let's dedicate this post to them, starting with two videos from Wawa author and frequent Kewadin concert attendee Duane Roy! Uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday, he filmed Night Ranger covering The Damn Yankees' "High Enough" and (as embedded below) playing "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", and he got a good central angle of the band! There are people's heads in the way somewhat, and there isn't much in the way of zooming, but the audio quality's solid, and if you missed the show, this is a nice way to hear some of their classic material! Give Duane's video of "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" a look below, and see more above!



YouTube user Sharon SanAngelo was also on hand on Sunday, filming no less than 15 videos of both Night Ranger and opener John Waite at the concert (and uploading them to her YouTube channel yesterday), though I'll note that all but one come in at 1:33 or shorter in length for unknown reasons. We'll touch on the John Waite videos in an upcoming post (especially considering one of the covers), but as for Sharon's Night Ranger videos? She got 9 in total, though one is just of guitarist Jack Blades introducing their cover of The Damn Yankees' "Coming of Age". The other 8 are evenly split between originals & covers, including the aforementioned covers of "Coming of Age" & "High Enough", and renditions of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" and Don Henley's "Boys of Summer", along with their originals "Goodbye", "When You Close Your Eyes", "Sister Christian" (which is the only one to be shot in full), and the video embedded below, "Sentimental Street"!

Sharon had a further angle from the action, and these videos are generally too short, but she got a good sound quality on her camera, and Kelly Keagy's voice has held up nicely! I'm also a bit surprised by the amount of covers (even if Jack was in The Damn Yankees), but she got a solid sampling of the night, and be sure to check out her Night Ranger videos above! Stay tuned for the John Waite clips, give her channel a look for more general rock videos from past Kewadin concerts, and here's "Sentimental Street"!



Now, why didn't I share her "Sister Christian" video when it was by far the longest? Because the other two channels with Night Ranger videos only filmed that classic song, so I wouldn't want to weigh this post heavily on just one track! Attendee Loris Rugolo (who previously uploaded videos from the Sebastian Bach show at Kewadin Casino in January) uploaded a video of "Sister Christian" onto his YouTube channel yesterday, and it's really solid! After catching the band member introductions, he got solid video of their biggest hit (complete with nice crowd sing-along moments), though I think he put that auto-stability filter on the video, so it has an odd floaty feeling to it. Nice angle too, with minimal intrusive crowd member heads, so check out Loris' "Sister Christian" video below!



The last video I have is also of "Sister Christian", this time from YouTube user Dale Bowerman, as uploaded to his YouTube channel the night of the show. More of a side-stage angle this time, it's the closest yet to Night Ranger (particularly of Kelly's drumkit), but it has the worst quality, coming through very staticy with somewhat fuzzy video as well. It's still worth checking out for the angle, but there are higher quality videos of this song from Sunday, so keep note of that. Give Dale's video of "Sister Christian" a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile tomorrow morning, with weekend concert previews following! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Danger Cats), Haggith Concert Preview, And Much More!!

Keeping the news coming on this Tuesday afternoon, we have a special mid-week concert preview, a new solo performance video find, and more assorted news items to touch on, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so read on below for more details! (Updated at 9:04 PM)

New all-female punk/hard rockers The Danger Cats will make their Roosevelt Hotel debut on Monday, October 7th when they open for Montreal ska-punk quintet K-Man and the 45s! Though not a metal band, K-Man & the 45s are well known for their party atmosphere and energetic live shows, along with last year's Ramones tribute album, so where else will you hear ska covers of those legends in the Soo? Interesting contrast having The Danger Cats open, but their debut last weekend was well received, and they have a unique sound (plus some new songs) that should find a solid audience, so don't miss out! This show (which is promoted by J.D. Pearce) has a $7 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time, while nothing has been said about possible additional openers. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! There's definitely an interesting mix of styles for this show on the 7th, but The Danger Cats will bring some harder edged stuff, so keep this one in mind for next month, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's a special preview for a concert TOMORROW NIGHT, as local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith will kick off a run of one show a month through the fall season at The New American Pub House on Bay Street! This recently renovated downtown venue has really started opening things up to heavier bands in recent months, and though it remains to be seen how successful this run of shows will be, Haggith's fun and edgy original material & covers should be welcomed tomorrow! Local punk trio The Northern Tragedy and local solo alternative bassist James Watterworth (replacing  the newly reunited Havadder) will also make their New A debut (and first live appearances of the fall) tomorrow as the openers, and they should fit in well themselves, so don't show up late! Admission tomorrow night will be $4, you must be 19 to attend, and there is a 9:00 PM start time. For more details, check the above links!

Hopefully this is the start of a solid relationship for Haggith at The New A, so if you can't make their shows next month, you should make a point to be at this one! Stay tuned for updates (including confirmation of their rumoured return to the Soo Zombie Walk afterparty), and for a preview, here's Haggith at The Oddfellows Hall earlier this summer!



Speaking of Haggith at The New A, here's a recent video discovery from a member of their openers on October 20th, as Nikkfitt guitarist Robert Ross has a YouTube channel with some SMS-fitting videos from his past music work! Two of the videos are of live band performances that we'll touch on in an upcoming post, but this first video (from May 2012) is of him playing an improvised guitar piece in G minor, and it's really good! Very clear talent and ability, and this is a good sign for Nikkfitt's live show, though we're still waiting to find out what exactly they play. Check out Robert's solo guitar video below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or company name

• Remember CML Productions, the film production company ran by Christopher Lance that helped produce Garden of Bedlam's early music videos? They appear to be back in operation (as per this Facebook page), albeit with a completely new focus, now generally doing only wedding cinematography. Interesting shift, but their new work is well done in it's area, so if you're getting married, keep CML Productions in mind!
• I've renamed inactive Central Algoma hard rock sextet Durera to their older name The Diego Experience in our local band links, as they were more successful and active longer under that name. In the cases of defunct/inactive bands with name changes in our links, I try to list them under the name they'd be best known for, such as for Stillbroke, who did not attain the same successes or longevity under their last name Borderline Divine. So in case anything looks different, now you know!
• Asylum Country guitarist & local metal band alum Terry Eaton is looking for a rock singer "with a good set of pipes", as per the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Friday. I assume this is for a new rock band he's starting (perhaps heavier), but few details are known beyond that. Message Terry at this link or above if you're interested in trying out!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more updates this week! Thanks everyone!

Glitch Debut Recap, Haggith Concert Updates, And Much More!!

We're back with some news and updates on this Monday afternoon, so what's on tap? We have a new song upload, band additions for a bunch of upcoming fall concerts, and our recap of a concert I caught a portion of on Friday night, but first, something a little more serious that we should acknowledge that you may have heard about this weekend.

I thought I should start by offering our best wishes to Frightlight guitarist and prolific local drummer Rick "Styles" White, who was hospitalized following an incident at The Thrill Junkies' show at The Roosevelt Hotel on Friday night. Details are murky on what happened, but from what I've read on Facebook, there was some type of altercation that required an ambulance be called to The Rosie. Last I heard, he was still in the hospital, but he is in good spirits, and that's definitely great to hear! However, his injuries appear to be bad enough to knock him out of concerts through at least late next month, as Frightlight have been forced to drop out of frontman Johnny Pints' annual Halloween Party at The Roosevelt Hotel on October 26th, which would have been their fifth straight set at this annual Halloween weekend event since their 2009 debut. Replacing them will be Johnny's newest local band Jack Spades (featuring T-Rex Manning's Tiffany Stocco & The Bear Hunters' Justin Lam & Johnny Belanger), and they'll have a set tailored to Halloween to fit the evening, so don't miss them!

I assume this will also take Rick out of next week's Ray Brown benefit show at The Verdi Hall (which he is scheduled to play with Redundant), but this has yet to be officially confirmed. Out of respect to Rick & his family, I'm in no position to say anything further, and for new info that doesn't affect his bands or shows, we won't cover it here for that reason, including any possible criminal/legal fallout. After all, we're a site about local metal/hard rock news, not TMZ. Get well soon Rick, we're pulling for you!

Next up, here's what I caught from Friday night's debut performance by new local rock cover band Glitch! After The Hydra's Teeth wrapped up downstairs, I bolted upstairs to The Rockstar Bar to catch the last chunk of Glitch's second set, so what'd I see? From what I was there for, Glitch covered U2, Beatles, and Rolling Stones songs, and all were sung by guitarist Mark Oliverio, who has a solid voice! Still, those songs may not scream "hard rock", but Glitch did cover Godsmack, Pearl Jam, and Aerosmith earlier in that set, and there was roughly an even split between harder covers and more general stuff, but as I wasn't there for the bookending sets, I can't speak to their other material. I will note that drummer Mike Oakley had his headset mic on, so he does appear to sing at least some songs with this new band (a'la Sneaky Pete.) The crowd was fun and large for their set, and the members talents were strong, but there could be more energy as a whole, with Marco Pedalino often appearing to be very reserved & quiet on stage.

I like what I heard, but I'll definitely have to see more of Glitch's live show to get a fuller sense of their set and sound, especially to hear how they handle heavier songs, but all 4 members have histories in such bands, so that shouldn't be a problem. I did get some photos while there, so click here or visit our Facebook page to check them out, and I also uploaded a video from the show onto Facebook, so here's their cover of The Rolling Stones' "Doom & Gloom"!



Also today, here's some updates on opening bands for local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith's announced slate of fall concerts! Despite earlier hints of fellow PaperClip Productions bands opening for them in their series of upcoming New American Pub gigs, two of the three will be opened by unaffiliated bands, including local punk trio The Northern Tragedy THIS WEDNESDAY (our preview of that is coming tomorrow) and new local rock band Nikkfitt (pictured) on Friday, October 20th! Though their genre and setlist is still unknown, their lineup includes singer/band namesake Nikki Bryant, guitarists Jacques Marceau (ex-Caveman Morrison) and Robert Ross (who I believe replaced Dutch Vanderploeg in the band), bassist Andrew MacDonald (ex-Fitswitch/Scary Uncles), and drummer Glenn Lavoie. The lineup has a lot of promise based on what I know of them, but we'll have to see how they sound, so stay tuned for updates! They have also joined Haggith among the performers for the Jack Bryant benefit show at The Rockstar Bar on Thursday, October 3rd, where they'll play alongside two more new confirmations, those being The 7 Year Itch (a.k.a. Griphook minus Brian Oja, as last seen at The Rockstar Bar in July), and local country band Thin Ice in an acoustic set.

No word on why this won't be a full Griphook set, but there's now a nice diverse lineup for the Jack Bryant benefit, and I believe Nikki Bryant was his daughter in law, so they fit extra well for that event! Keep an eye out for updates on these shows as they come in (including a possible opener for Haggith's show at The New A on November 22nd), and stay tuned tomorrow for our preview of Wednesday's Haggith/Northern Tragedy show there!

Finally for today, here's the latest song from local solo grind/gore project Malignant Neoplasm, as uploaded to their label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel on Sunday! Entitled "Retinoblastoma" (a type of eye cancer), this IS planned to be on "Blood Shed's Bloody 3 Way" demo with fellow label artists Brutaly Fatal & Rotopsy (formerly Spitneck.) A short 45 second track, it has no discernable vocals, but a lot of programmed blast beats and is clearly heavy, it's just not something I can accurately comment on given it's length. Check it out below though!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Haggith concert preview and more tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: biro753's Channel

It's now time for our latest YouTube Channel Profile at the SMS! This is, of course, our monthly look at 1-3 YouTube channels featuring at least a 50% concentration of local metal-relevant videos, and like past installments, the following channel was randomly chosen. This month, we're looking at a regional high school's Dunnplugged-esque concert series mainly via a channel that filmed a lot of videos there, so read on below for videos, info, and more on this month's profiled YouTube channel!
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biro753's channel (http://www.youtube.com/biro753)

Owner: Former Diego Experience/Vendetta guitarist & CASS Cafe regular performer A.J. Biron

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 19th, 2007; Videos posted from February 2008 through December 2010

Channel Summary: One of the largest sources for YouTube videos from the CASS Cafe live music series at Central Algoma Secondary School in nearby Desbarats, Ontario, 2/3rds of A.J.'s 21 videos came from CASS Cafe sets by various performers (himself included) between the spring of 2008 and the spring of 2010. Most are of unnamed bands playing covers (generally metal songs), but 5 come from A.J.'s then-hard rock band The Diego Experience, one video is of an early Crimson Crusade lineup, and another is a drum solo by then-student Mike Christie. A.J.'s other videos (including his last 4) are mostly of outdoor activities like fishing, but two of his early uploads were solo guitar performances.

Why Should You Watch: Fans of the CASS Cafe series would be well served to check out A.J.'s channel, as there's some quality performances and solid early glimpses at future prominent metal musicians there, including later members of For All That Is Lost and Late & Loud! A.J. also shown talent in his solo videos, but keep in mind that the quality varies across the music clips on this channel (these were still high school students, after all.) Note as well that A.J. hasn't used this channel in over a year, or posted any videos in almost three years, in case that changes your mind on subscribing.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Seek and destroy by our band lol at CASS CAFE: A.J.'s last concert video on his channel, this April 2010 cover of Metallica's "Seek & Destroy" at CASS features current Crimson Crusade bandmates Devon Lucier (on vocals & guitar) and Robert Crossley (on drums) alongside A.J. on guitar and ex-Column Ruins bassist Travis Garside. Well filmed by a concert attendee, this is a solid cover that shows their musical growth well, with a nice guitar solo from A.J. and fitting vocals by a then-long haired Devon (I wonder why he doesn't sing straight thrash anymore?) As a precursor to later music work, this is a good video to check out, and hopefully we hear more from these guys in music soon! (For more from Devon & Robert, click here for their early Crimson Crusade cover of Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight".)



Alex, Andy, Benn, Mike and Tom all playin Bed Of RaZoRs CASS: The most viewed of A.J.'s music uploads is this instrumental cover of Children of Bodom's "Bed of Razors" from a CASS Cafe practice session in May 2008. Featuring guitarists Alex Pierce & Andy Turbin, bassist Tom Leindecker, drummer Mike Christie, and keyboardist Benn Garside (now The Hydra's Teeth's bassist), this cover (his first from a CASS performance) is well performed and suitably brutal, especially from Alex, but comments indicate that the full version from the actual event was better. Uniquely, this was also shot on multiple camera angles, but the cuts can be jarring (especially concerning the audio), and Benn is barely visible. Still, this is a quality cover that brings the metal even without vocals!



crazy train and other metal riffs: Among A.J.'s early uploads to his channel in 2008 were two solo cover videos, one being an audio-only take of Ozzy Osbourne's "Diary of a Madman". The other (embedded below) features him playing various metal riffs (mainly Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train") in what appears to be his room. Though he admits playing them too fast, they sound pretty good, but it'd be nice to hear more solos and get more distinction between the covers (plus, the "One" cover broke the flow somewhat.) Solid riffing and guitar work even still, and it's be nice to see A.J. playing live music again (also, nice lights in the guitar!)


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! So, what channel's next in this series for October? For the first time in 8 months, we'll be looking at 3 different YouTube channels, as the first one we randomly selected only had 3 very similar videos, and the second only had one entirely. With that said, our next profiles will look at the channels of Toast/Galactic Alignment guitarist Mike Libertoski (his most recent one, with three solo guitar covers), YouTube user canadianchic29 (featuring a live Caveman Morrison video), and former T.E.N. mainman Tyler Gibson (featuring three of their original demos), so watch out for all of that on or around October 22nd! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

Hydra's Teeth/Haggith/Danger Cats Concert Review!!

Now, here's our review of last night's Hydra's Teeth-headlined concert at The Algonquin Pub! Solid turnout (especially given that two of the bands were debuting), and everything was in good order yesterday, with setu-up and tear-down done very efficiently & fast, but did I manage to make it upstairs to see Glitch's debut? I'll have more on that probably by Monday, but for now, check out our review below, and check out a late notice concert alert for TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar and more recent updates in the post below this one!

Opening the show was new local all-female rockers The Danger Cats, so what should you know on their set? It definitely leaned towards hard rock sounds, with covers of Runways, Joan Jett, and Misfits songs joining Go-Gos and Ramones renditions, and they had the rocker look down (complete with cat ears for most of them.) Musically, they clearly improved as the night went on, and the fans dancing during their last two songs was a neat sight! They do have talent as musicians, and I'm impressed with how fast Jamie Jaguar and Kate Kougar have gotten the hang of their current instruments, but the band's overall stage presence needs to be looser, and Summer Snow-Leopard was often hard to hear when singing. Also, I don't know if the Beatles songs they did are the best fit for their genre and look, they should look at later Beatles songs that have more of a bite to them. Solid first outing for The Danger Cats though, and it's great to see Sault Ontario getting some added girl power compared to Sault Michigan! (And yes, they're now in our active Sault Ontario band links!)

Second last night was the only non-debuting band of the night, grunge/alternative quartet Haggith, and they pumped out another entertaining mix of covers and originals for fans last night! Setlist-wise, they debuted a new original song named "Metal Cage", and also played a new cover of Led Zeppelin's "Fool In The Rain", but the rest of the set (including originals like "Leon the Janitor" and "75", and covers of Jimi Hendrix & Cheap Trick songs) will be familiar to Haggith concert regulars. Aside from a guitar hiccup during "Clifton Hill", the guys were on fire, and it was nice seeing Curtis McKenzie break out the keyboard on a few songs to shake things up (though the amount of lyric sheets present is still a bit odd.) Daniel Horton's guitar work was solid as ever, and Mike Haggith continues to express vibrant energy and enthusiasm when drumming, and it all added up well for their set! If anything, I was disappointed by the lack of fans up front compared to the bands bookending them, but by the end, we were all hailing Haggith, and with good reason!

Headlining last night was new local classic metal quartet The Hydra's Teeth, so how did they sound? The obvious comparison to make is with Late & Loud, but the new band has more of a power metal and Iron Maiden influence, and was overall more melodic, but whether that's better or not is for you to decide. I enjoyed them flat out, and the fact that they covered no L&L songs is a sign that they're their own animal! In fact, all but their last song (a cover of "Hallowed Be Thy Name") were originals, including tracks like "The Circle", "Army of Bones", and "Siren's Call", and the guys nailed them with a lot of enthusiasm and attitude! Brendan Christie has a better singing range than Jon Tiberi did in Late & Loud, and he put it to good use last night, making the most of it with some good falsettos in the process, but the Iron Maiden cover wasn't a good fit for his vocals. His and Anthony Orazietti's guitar work was great though, and Roy Kreutzberger's tested drum talents came in handy, including during a drum solo! Great first set from The Hydra's Teeth, and hopefully we'll hear more from them soon!

Overall, this was an entertaining and well-recieved concert that hopefully left a good first impression for the debuting bands! I did get photos and videos of each band, so visit this link to see the photos or our Facebook page, but the videos, I'm trying something a little different. As Facebook now allows external embedding of uploaded videos (this was quietly enabled last month), and because of YouTube's copyright rules, I'm gonna try splitting videos between YouTube and Facebook and see how it goes. Basically, if I film a show with or upload material with covers, I'll put them on Facebook, and if it's all original, it'll go on YouTube. Plus, this way, we'll hopefully get more hits and views of our Facebook page, so we'll see how it goes, and if it doesn't fly, I can always post said videos on YouTube later! With that said, here's my videos from last night, of The Danger Cats covering Hole's "Celebrity Skin", Haggith playing "Metal Cage", and The Hydra's Teeth playing "Live By The Axe Or You'll Die By The Sword"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, and either tomorrow night or Monday for stuff on Glitch's debut and more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Riding Shotgun & Banned), The Highest Of Fives Updates, And Much More!!

One more post before we review last night's Hydra's Teeth-headlined concert at The Algonquin Pub, so what's in store? We've got a new video from a Sault Michigan band, a handful of other recent news and notes, and first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month and TONIGHT!

Toronto hard rock quartet Riding Shotgun will return to Sault Ontario TONIGHT for a show at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, I only just heard about this show via advertising at the venue when I was there last night, but it's been public through band sources since last month. You may remember Riding Shotgun from their headlining gig at The Canadian Nightclub last August (ironically, one I also learned about first through physical posters), but they have a solid and radio friendly hard rock sound and great guitar work that should carry them to another popular set tonight! Fellow Toronto hard rockers Last Bullet will open tonight's show with their own attitude fueled blend of originals, and I like the groove in their videos, so don't miss out on their set either! Tonight's show should have a 10:00 PM-ish start time and a 19+ age limit, while I've heard nothing about a special entry fee, so bring around $5. For more details, click here! Even though this concert completely slipped me by until last night, I won't pass judgement as to why, I'm just glad to see more out of town hard rock action in the Soo!

If you've got nothing else planned for this Saturday, be at The Rockstar Bar for the return of Riding Shotgun (plus Last Bullet), as this should be a great show! For a preview, here's Riding Shotgun live earlier this spring!



Next up, Kinross hard rockers Banned will return to Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan for a full weekend on October 4th & 5th! Announced on their Facebook page last night, these are currently their only announced regional "jobs" prior to November, and they'll also be their first live appearances inside this local bowling alley & concert venue in almost 7 months. Banned's prolific stage show and mix of hard rock covers and originals should be another fun sight at the Dondee in two weeks, so don't miss these shows if you can help it! Both nights have earlier start times of 8:00 PM, 21+ age limits, and no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the above links! With their Grand Rapids show coming next weekend, it'll be nice to have the Traynors and company back on regional turf for their Dondee return next month, so keep those shows in mind for next month, and stay tuned for more from Banned!

Also today, here's the latest video from Sault Michigan hard rock band The Highest of Fives! This is a new trailer for their long gestating independent short film "Bang!" (also the name of their planned debut album), and it was uploaded to their YouTube channel on Wednesday. This gives us our best glimpse yet as to the plot and tone of the film, which seems to center around guitarist Marcel "Crusty Puck" Grengs being kicked out of home and moving in with drummer Mike Pascoe, and havoc occurs in the process. It's definitely still a comedy, and there's a likability present, so we'll have to see what comes of this when it finally get released in full! At least one song of theirs is sampled in the video, but we still don't have a major glimpse at their music independent of the film (though all members but Jack Slater have recently been playing more general rock with local solo musician Travis Theel, which you can check out at this link.) For now, give The Highest of Fives' newest trailer a look below, and keep an eye out for more updates!



Finally, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

• If you were curious on a timeframe for The Canadian Nightclub's planned re-opening from the flood damages, it looks like it'll take longer than the 2011 renovations did. On Tuesday, Canadian DJ Jay Perron said in response to a query on their Facebook group about where fans should go now, "Give it a few months.. We'll keep ya's posted." That would imply it will be closed through at least mid-November, but nothing more specific is out publically. Stay tuned in case we hear anything!
• Even though they just debuted last night at The Algonquin Pub, new all female rock quartet The Danger Cats are already exploring adding a new drummer, with Kate Kougar moving to guitar and/or vocals if they secured one. To fit the band's theme, they would prefer female candidates, and if you're interested in trying out, message the band at this link! Thanks to Jamie Jaguar (via my mom) for the heads-up!
• In their first major updates since the Airbourne concert, local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that they're self-recording some songs & are hoping to have enough to release a full debut CD rather than one of EP length, and while they've been busy in studio lately, they hope to have more to reveal soon, while also sharing a Facebook-only video of them (and guest bassist Brandon Uhl) covering Rev Theory's "Hell Yeah" at Rotaryfest. Solid video, and it's great to hear they're hard at work, so stay tuned for updates!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of last night's Hydra's Teeth/Haggith/Danger Cats show later today! Thanks everyone!

The Rest Of This Weekend's Local Hard Rock Concert Previews, Including Night Ranger!!

Before we get into this post, I wanted to apologize for missing a late band addition for last weekend's Walk To Rock Against Bullying in Sault Michigan, as local hard rock trio Power Slug were added to the lineup the day before, as per frontman Chris Leask's personal Facebook page. As they don't have online pages, this was easy to miss, but still I apologize for missing the announcement! No word though on if they replaced an announced act. Now, here's our second weekend concert preview post for this weekend, covering Sault Michigan concerts (and the Sault Ontario shows we couldn't fit in yesterday), including a major show on Sunday across the river, so read on below for the previews!

In our last of the weekend's Sault Ontario hard rock concert previews, newer local quintet The Thrill Junkies will play their second & third local dates TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT in their Roosevelt Hotel debuts! Coming off of their successful local launch at The Nicolet Tavern last week (and their Spanish gigs), the band featuring 4 members each of Turner Up's last & Havadder's 2012 lineups should have a great weekend of hard rock covers in store for their fans at The Rosie this weekend, so if you missed their Spanish dates or last weekend's show, keep this weekend's events in mind! Both shows have 10:00 PM start times, you must be 19 to attend either night, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Things seem to be going well for this new band, so don't miss their Rosie debuts this weekend, and when postable and embeddable media comes out of them in action, we'll have it here!

Now to our Sault Michigan hard rock concert previews, starting with the return of Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen in St. Ignace (or any Eastern U.P. venue) in early May, this talented veteran band will be playing just their third & fourth regional dates since drummer Kurt Beard returned to their lineup, and if you're familiar with their past trips north, you'll know the fun covers that they'll bring to the table this weekend, so keep them in mind! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend either show, and there's a 9:00 PM start time. For more details, visit their Facebook page! It's nice to see Driven back in our territory after their summer away from the U.P., and hopefully there's a solid crowd in the St. Ignace Kewadin tonight and tomorrow for Driven! If we come across video of their live show, you know we'll have it here!

Back in the Soo, Kinross hard/classic rockers Banned will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen there six months ago, Alex, Don, and company remain one of the most frequent live concert sights in the Eastern U.P., but these will be their last "jobs" in the Sault area before taking a road trip down to Grand Rapids for their furthest away show yet next weekend, so just in case, don't miss this weekend's action! Admission should also be free for this weekend's dates, you also must be 21 to attend, and 9:00 PM start times are likely. For more details, visit the above links! It's always good to see Banned rocking the Soo, and hopefully they rock The Rapids Lounge hard this weekend, so keep it in mind for your weekend plans, and for a preview, here's Banned playing their song "Deadbeat Dog" in Charlevoix last month!

Finally for the weekend schedule, it's the latest major headlining concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the aforementioned Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as San Francisco hard rock notables Night Ranger will make their local debut (I believe) THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Best known for hit songs like "Sentimental Street", "Goodbye", and (of course) "Sister Christian", this multi-platinum selling quintet should have plenty of hard edged classics and catchy ballads in store for their local fans, and it'll be good to have them in the area on Sunday! Former Bad English frontman John Waite will open this show with a solo set, and while most of his music has leaned to rock & AOR sounds, you may best know his own work from his hit song "Missing You", but don't let that scare you off, as he can rock with the best of them! Tickets are still available from the second row and back for $48.50 (seated) or $38.50 (general), and you can buy them at this location, by phone at 1-800-KEWADIN, or in person at the Kewadin box office. Check the above links for more details!

Note that there's no hard rock shows for The Dreammaker's Theater that are currently announced for the rest of the year, so this could be your last chance to see a big ticket hard rock show there until 2014, and Night Ranger should appeal to hair metal and classic rock fans on Sunday! We'll have fallout from the show when/if it comes in, and for a preview, here's Night Ranger playing "Sentimental Street" live earlier this year!



That's all for today, but in case there's no new updates later tonight, I'll see you guys at The Algonquin Pub TONIGHT for The Hydra's Teeth, Haggith, and The Danger Cats, and if all goes well, upstairs at The Rockstar Bar for Glitch too for at least a spell! Thanks everyone!