LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Castle), A New Local Band, And More!!

For the first time in over a week, we have a news post on the SMS that does not have any concert previews! We're over the Rotaryfest weekend hump, in other words, so what's in this post? Some assorted recent updates, a new cover video, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the fall, but first, here's more info on a new addition to our band links!

We have a new local hard rock band to add to our band links, and they are Gianni Gagoots, who you may have seen debut at The New American Pub on Tuesday night! Finally launching a Facebook page after that night's Cocaine Moustache show, this curiously named quartet features Late Shift guitarist Matt Sibilo and his former Redfined bandmate Josh St. Amour on bass, alongside ex-Rising Tide drummer Frank McCormick, with the guys also listed under comedic Italian nicknames (Reggio Scorregio, Antonio Mattarats, and Gianni Gagoots himself, respectively.) As well, the band lists "Bergio the IceBurg" (a.k.a. Enzo Scanganatts) on "congas and percussion", though I have seen no references otherwise to confirm if "Bergio" is an actual band member. Describing themselves as "a thick funk from the heart of The Great Lakes", earlier public indications had Gianni Gagoots playing improvised jam originals inspired by punk and hard rock.

As of this writing, there's no public media from Gianni Gagoots set or elsewhere, so if you missed the show, their sound (and who sings, if anyone) is still a mystery, but the guys have a talented lineup featuring three familiar veteran faces in the local rock and punk scenes! A joking Italian theme appears to be a theme for Gianni Gagoots on social media, and it seems to be in a good spirit! Stay tuned for more on this new band as it comes in!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as San Francisco doom metal trio Castle will make their Sault Ste. Marie debut on Wednesday, September 28th at the aforementioned New American Pub! One of the final stops on their Canadian tour this fall, Castle (whose lineup is 2/3rds Canadian) may be familiar to local fans as one of the nominated bands for the Juno Award for Best Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year in 2013, which was the year of local favourites Woods of Ypres' posthumous victory. Castle's female-fronted blend of doom metal and 1970s-style rock should be more than welcomed in the Soo in September, so don't miss out then at The New A! Local doom/sludge trio AlgomA will return to the Bay Street venue as openers in their first announced show since last week's Iskra concert, while one more opening band is to be confirmed (and no, the video linked on the Facebook event page to the unannounced band is not of them, let alone any other musical act.)

A production of Six, Two, Oh., this 19+ concert will have $5 advance tickets (door admission is $8), while doors will open at 9:00 PM. Tickets will be available at the venue, The Rad Zone, Case's Music, The Gore Street Cafe, and at Big Guns Barbershop (the East Street salon owned by Danger Cats alum Paula D'Agostino), and presumably through AlgomA band members starting on August 1st, so keep that date in mind! This should be a fun night of doom metal intensity, and it will mean that 3/5ths of the 2013 metal Juno nominees will have played in the Soo (following Woods of Ypres and The Cancer Bats.) Stay tuned for updates on this show as they come in!

Also today, here's the sixth installment of local alternative/hard rock trio The Din's cover of the month series on their YouTube channel from Tuesday! A rendition of Matchbox 20's "Real World", this takes things back to basics, as it's just a performance video with no camera angle switches, solo shots, or major post-production. I'm not a Matchbox 20 fan, but Mike, Tammy, and Brendan do a good job with this well performed & shot cover, which fits their style, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more videos from The Din!



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

• Troubled Mind frontman Mike Vincent has posted a new original song named "Times of the Unforgotten" onto his Bandcamp page, which he plans to be the first song of "part 2" of a full album (not the debut EP with song names starting with "S", that's separate.) The track notably features a guest appearance by his uncle, ex-Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur, which is a nice surprise, he's been missed locally since he moved! Not a bad instrumental, melodic yet heavy at the same time, so check it out above!
• Another new free "album" from local alternative/jam hard rock quartet Sykotyk Rampage was posted onto their Reverbnation page earlier this month! Entitled "Krazy", there are 14 tracks that contain more of their irreverent crash music, so be sure to give this new "album" a listen there, along with many more recent songs!
• Downtown outdoor concert venue The Yard is considering hosting a classic rock show next month, and they cited Styx, Trooper, April Wine, and Loverboy as possible bands (though their Facebook page post from last week wasn't clear regarding if they were considering booking one band or all.) All have played in the area before (Trooper last played at The Canadian in 2002, the rest have rocked Kewadin Casino between 2008 & 2013), so there is a ready-made audience here for all four, so if you're interested in having some or all come to The Yard, make your voice heard on the venue's Facebook page!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our newest poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Iskra Concert Review!!

At last, it's now time for our review of Thursday night's Iskra-headlined concert at The Oddfellows Hall, and apologies again for the delay, this concert weekend was beyond busy! Decent attendance on Thursday night, especially compared to recent all ages shows there, and by the time of Iskra's set, the crowd was very animated, especially when the mosh pits got going! Special kudos as well to AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell's mother, who doled out sloppy Joes & refreshments to attendees, which was well recieved!

Though the show was delayed a half hour, things began with a bang when local doom metal trio AlgomA returned to the local stage as the night's openers, a bit surprisingly so given their stature, but many faces were melted at the hall regardless! AlgomA's no-nonsense, sludgy originals continued at their crushing, glacier-speed rate, and while they didn't announce any song names (and only talked to the crowd once), their presence and intensity was at their live standard! Kevin Campbell and Boyd Rendell were once again a solid compliment on vocals, and the distorted, doomy guitar riffs fit the proceedings just fine, with Jamie Vincent right in his groove on drums throughout! AlgomA could engage the crowd a little more, but their down-trodden, dark, and doom-laden set definitely set the tone for the night, and stay tuned for more on their show in September on the site shortly!

Local goregrind duo Rotopsy hit the Oddfellows stage next for the first time in months, and if you haven't seen them at their recent house party gigs, fans will be happy to know that they were on form from their last Oddfellows sets! Playing a mixture of familiar originals like "Swamp Donkey" and "Non-Profit Vomit Shop" long with newer songs like "Stab Alley", Dylan Taylor and Tyler Gibson kept up their usual minimalist grind intensity for gathered fans, with Dylan continuing to diversify his vocals with more clean and spoken word sections, and Tyler laying down some solid bass throughout! At times though, Rotopsy lacked the bouncy enthusiasm that they often showed last year, and the last third of their set was cut due to time constraints, preventing fans from hearing the crowd favourite "Cops N' Moms". It's good to see Rotopsy back at it, and hopefully we hear more of the grind soon!

Victoria, British Columbia grindcore quintet Iskra hit the stage next as the night's featured band, playing for the first time in the Soo since 2004! With the exception of founding guitarist Nick "Wolf" Edwards, Iskra's entire lineup has changed multiple times over since their local gig 12 years ago, and with songs largely coming from newer releases, this was a whole new beast than their last time here, and they devastated the crowd with an intense set of original death metal! Rocking 8 songs (plus a deserving encore) including "Lawless", "Ruins", and "Kronstadt", Iskra devastated with technical and hard hitting instrumentation, with frontwoman Danielle a constant and ferocious presence up front, and both Wolf and Anatol Anton (who was celebrating his birthday) were a nice match with their brutal riffs and solos! Some intense moshing went down during Iskra's set, and overall, I'd say Iskra made plenty of new fans, hopefully ones who'll see them in town again much sooner than 12 years from now!

Reunited local death/thrash metal trio Pillory were the surprising headliners on Thursday, marking their first Oddfellows Hall appearance in over two years,  and the first time that I've seen them live in longer than that, believe it or not! If you've missed Pillory since their reunion, they're now a trio playing more technical death metal than their speed/thrash beginnings as a quartet, complete with shunning all old originals in their set, and this evolution seems to be working for them, with late fans giving a very positive reception! Robert Sartini's growling vocals have deepened and improved over time, Bret Shuttleworth continues to show his skill level among local metal drummers, and new bassist Jordan Leach (ex-Haggith) is a solid fit, and yes, that did appear to be a lit stick of incense on his bass head! New songs like "Exhaustive Incarnation" & "Abhorred Apprehension" show Pillory's newfound potential well, but their speakers seemed to give off a scratchy feedback, so I'd like to hear them again with that worked out. Overall though, Pillory are firmly back and in control!

Overall, this was a great show, especially for fans of death metal and grindcore, and you could definitely tell that fans enjoyed the action! You can check out our photos from Thursday night at this link or via our Facebook page, and here's our videos, including AlgomA playing their newer song "The Longest Swim", Rotopsy playing their newer track "Groove, Grind, and Gutrot", Iskra playing their song "Priviliged Morality", and Pillory playing their newer original "Wasting"!









And before we close this post, I just wanted to thank AlgomA and Six, Two, Oh. again for holding the door prize draw for the AlgomA/Chronobot vinyl split EP on Thursday (and to Danielle from Iskra for making the pick), as I somehow managed to win! Luck of the draw, but I didn't have it on vinyl previously, and I had an empty frame for a 12'' vinyl record already, so it works out fine! I did play the record on the turntable here, and it sounds great, and looks sharp too thanks to the blue vinyl! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and note soon! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest Stage 2 & Din/Id Iota Concert Previews, Plus More Recent Notes!!

At last, our extended previews of this weekend's stacked concert lineup are coming to an end! Today, we're covering the all-original Second Stage of our local summer festival, and an afterparty concert from two of it's bands, but to round things out, we have some assorted recent news and notes, so here's what you should know!

The eleventh installment of Rotaryfest's Stage 2 (a.k.a. the Second Stage) goes down TOMORROW! Returning to the "redirected" Clergue Park stage beside the Art Gallery for a second straight year (and also remaining as an all-local, one day event since it's 2014 hiatus), this year's original-focused Second Stage lacks an official sponsor, but you can still help the cause via the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to support it's funding, as they still have a ways to go to meet their goal! The show will go on though, so who can you see at Stage 2 this year? Headlining at 7:00 PM tomorrow are VM Radio Battle-winning indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. in their festival debut, and they're a fitting choice, given that last year's battle winners (Gnaeus) headlined last year's Second Stage as well! Boatload Killers frontman Liam Seymour will trade his regular blues rock sound for pop rock in a solo showcase at 6:00 PM, with bandmate Blake Jackson and Gianni Gagoots drummer Frank McCormick that will see them put a rock twist on current pop music, though no word on if they have any planned originals.

Liam's very talented, and it'll be interesting to see how this set goes in his solo Rotaryfest debut! The aforementioned Gnaeus will bring their post-punk sound back to Stage 2 at 5:00 PM for a second straight year as the highest placed hard rock or punk act, while progressive rock quartet Machines Dream will take the Second Stage for the second time tomorrow at 4:00 PM (fourth time if you count The Craig West Band as one & the same.) Alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota will debut at the festival at 3:00 PM, while jazz/prog rock quartet The Wild Iris will play their fourth Rotaryfest set (twice previously on Stage 1, plus last year on Stage 2) with a set at 2:00 PM. The day's events will be opened by alternative hard rock trio The Din in their own Rotaryfest debut, and they'll hit the stage at 1:00 PM. Promoted once again by Chelsie Parayko, this year's Stage 2 action is FREE & ALL AGES as usual, and check the above links for more details on the lineup and festival proper!

It's great to see the Second Stage back for an 11th go-around in 2016, and fans should like the varied lineup of local original talent, with only Gnaeus and The Wild Iris returning from last year! I'm unsure if the Second Stage will ever return to being a two-day event, but I like the continued focus on all-local acts, and more punk and hard rock acts than the event had before being "redirected", so don't miss out on all of the Stage 2 action by the Art Gallery TOMORROW! For a preview, here's Gnaeus live last year!



Lastly for this weekend's previews (barring a super-late notice confirmation), the aforementioned Din & Id Iota will rock LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT at an afterparty concert following the conclusion of this year's Stage 2! This marks the second straight year that LopLops hosts an afterparty featuring two opening bands from the Second Stage lineup, and it's great to see that LopLops (who promoted the Second Stage until the 2014 hiatus and their move to The Emergency Festival) still support the all-original stage and the bands that play it! This will be The Din's last announced concert before their CD release show at The Tech next month, while it will be Id Iota's first non-Rotaryfest set since their own CD release party from April, so if you want to see the guys indoors, at night, or with an adult beverage, be at LopLops tomorrow for the afterparty! There's a $5 cover for this 19+ show, which starts at 9:00 PM. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Din live!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Local pop punk solo project Anthems vs. Oceans (formerly For July) have unveiled their first new song since the name change via their Soundcloud page! Entitled "I Won't Leave You", it's an acoustic folk-influenced piece that showcases a different side of Dave Hunter's musical ability, and it's well done for it's style, so give it (and more) a listen above!
• The third studio track from local hard rock quartet Long Shot's upcoming self-titled debut EP can now be heard at their Bandcamp page! It's for their song "El Camino", and while the EP currently lists an asking price of $4, it's not clear how many more songs will be added to final track listing, if any (perhaps "Long Goodbye"?) Stay tuned for details on the official release when announced, and listen to the current tracks above!
• In a Facebook posting from May that we missed on here at the time, local death/thrash metal trio Pillory revealed that they will apparently begin recording their first full length studio album in the fall with producer Jamie Vincent (AlgomA), presumably at Six, Two, Oh. This would follow their 2013 thrash EP "Cringe At The Cross", though their current material has far more of a death metal influence. Hopefully these plans are maintained, and stay tuned for more from Pillory in due course!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of Thursday's Iskra show next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm & Project 906), Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

In our third of four weekend concert preview posts on this stacked Rotaryfest weekend, we're tackling shows going down in the Sault Michigan area, with a new video from one band and one extra Sault Ontario video to cap things off! Now, I did attend last night's Iskra show at The Oddfellows Hall, and videos and photos are en route to our Facebook page, but with the extensive concert previews, I'm postponing our review to Saturday, but don't worry, it's coming! We'll preview Rotaryfest's Stage 2 and more to close down this weekend's previews later today, but for now, let's head to Michigan, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about the shows earlier this week via Scarkazm's Facebook page, as Kewadin Casino's entertainment page still hasn't been updated to reflect July bookings. Making their first local appearances since rocking Three One Three on Ashmun two months ago, these will be Scarkazm's first stops in St. Ignace in six months, so if you've missed Adam, Dave, and Jeff there this year, be at The Northern Pines Lounge TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY! You can take in their aggressive metal covers & originals at 9:00 PM both nights, you must be 21 or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charges for this weekend. Scarkazm always deliver a good show, so check the aove links for more details, and here they are live!



Moving to previously announced concerts, Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 will return to Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT, and in a new confirmation, will return to that venue for another one-nighter on Saturday, August 13th! Proving to be one of, if not the favourite venue for the Ten Kings successors, Project 906 have made lots of fans since their debut earlier this year, and should have another fun night of hard rocking covers in store for fans tomorrow and on August 13th! Both shows are at 10:00 PM, you must be 21 or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details on these shows, visit the official Facebook event pages (here & here), and for a preview, here's a new video of Project 906! Uploaded to the venue's Facebook page after their Pickles show last month, it's a brief clip from a verse of their cover of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So", albeit with drummer Will Storey wearing the venue's pickle mascot costume, which is an amusing sight!

While it may seem random, remember that the venue heavily plays up their name in branding & promoton (even selling pickle hats, a'la those made by Gedney Pickles and I-Mockery.) The Weezer cover itself sounds good from what little we hear, but the higher impact chorus isn't captured at all. Give this new Project 906 video a look below, and don't miss them at Pickles tomorrow or next month!

Also, let's head north to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to return TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Announced via Banned's Facebook cover photo earlier this year, these will be the Traynors and Wayne's first local concert appearances since rocking The Rapids Lounge last month, though they did play at Manistique's Kewadin branch in the interim. Banned's talented and varied blend of covers (and occasional originals) should get fans moving this weekend at the Soo Kewadin, so don't miss out tonight and/or tomorrow night! Note that Banned have yet to plug this weekend's shows on Facebook beyond their cover photo, and never did for the Manistique show earlier this month, but unless something is stated to the contrary, I wouldn't assume anything's wrong. Like with Scarkazm's St. Ignace shows, there's no cover for these 21+ shows at 9:00 PM. See above for more details, and here's Banned live!



Finally for today, here's a new video of Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover veterans That's Chester, as shared by fan Robin Wierzbicki on their Facebook page on Wednesday! Located while she was going through videos for an upcoming wedding, it's a short & undated clip during an instrumental section of an unidentified song, featuring frontman Greg Simpson and guitarists Gabe Tessaro & the late Eugene Orlando having some fun and playing to the crowd a little bit. Fun clip for what it is, so give it a look below, and don't miss That's Chester's return to the stage THIS SATURDAY at Rotaryfest!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest Stage 2 previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest Stage 1 Concert Previews!!

It's now time for our second concert preview post of the day, but be sure to check out our previews of non-Rotary shows from tonight through Saturday in Sault Ontario in the post below this one! This post is 100% devoted to our extended preview of this year's Rotaryfest Stage 1 lineup at Clergue Park, as there are three days worth of live music in store once again as part of our annual summer festival, and before we dive into the schedules, remember that the music is FREE and ALL AGES as usual! Of course, visit Rotaryfest's website for full details on the extensive non-musical events this weekend. We'll start at the covers-only main stage TONIGHT, whose lineup is themed "A Musical Journey Through The Years", but it remains hard rock free as usual. Today's headliners are 1960s classic rock cover quartet The Peace Vibe at 10:00 PM, with new classic rock quintet Jukebox Deluxe playing at 9:00 PM, 50s-60s classic rock band Flathead Ford at 8:00 PM, country veterans Crossroad at 7:00 PM, and new jazz/blues collective Lise White & The Sault Crew at 6:00 PM.

Though Flathead Ford & Crossroad are each making their third Rotaryfest appearance, tonight's bands are mostly making their Rotaryfest debuts, so if you like classic rock in particular, be at Stage 1 tonight, and remember, it's FREE & ALL AGES, as is to be expected!

TOMORROW'S Stage 1 lineup (which is themed "Rock the Night Away") will remain at just 5 bands for a third straight year, but a solid lineup is on hand, with local hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom rocking the main stage for the second time in three years as the 10:00 PM headliners, and they should be in fine form with their party-inspired covers! R&B cover big band The Reptiles will return to the festival at 9:00 PM in their sixth Stage 1 set since 2009, while classic rock veterans Mustang Heart take the mantle of Rotaryfest's iron men (and woman) by continuing their 12+ year run of main stage sets at 8:00 PM. Newer hard rock quartet The 3 Day Millionaires will make their Rotaryfest debut tomorrow at 7:00 PM (which should pique the interest of fans who ever wanted to see their sister band Havadder on Stage 1), while classic rockers Mid Life Crysis will play their fifth straight Rotaryfest set to open tomorrow's lineup at 6:00 PM.

Though only The 3 Day Millionaires are new to Rotaryfest, just 2 of tomorrow's bands played the festival last year, so there's enough variance from 2015 that skeptical fans should be receptive, especially if you love classic and hard rock! Be there tomorrow for the FREE & ALL AGES action, and here's Stiffler's Mom at Rotaryfest two years ago!

And finally for Stage 1, the covers action concludes on SATURDAY with music all day at Clergue Park for what is called the "Saturday Sound Smorgasbord", and for the third time in four years, two out of town bands are on tap! Pembroke folk/classic rockers The Ghost Town Cryers (featuring veteran local musician Kyle McKey) will headline at 10:15 PM, while his brother Dean and his London-based Beatles/Paul McCartney tribute The McCartney Years are the day's featured band at 8:30 PM. It's great to see the McKey brothers (and former Sailor's Tongue bandmates) back home, so be sure to give them a big welcome back! The highest placed local or hard rock band are classic/hard rock veterans That's Chester at 7:00 PM, in their (at least) seventh Rotaryfest appearance, their first show since the passing of guitarist Eugene Orlando last fall & their preceding stage production of The Who's Tommy, and first traditional concert set since last year's Rotaryfest. I'm sure That's Chester will do Eugene proud in their long awaited return, so rock out with them as well on Saturday!

Note that That's Chester's Facebook page has been strongly hinting that their set will feature guest singers in some fashion, though to what extent (or their identities) have not been publically confirmed. If we hear anything, we'll let you know! Country rock cover favourites Mojo will make their festival debut at 6:00 PM, while hard rock cover quartet Griphook will play Stage 1 for the fourth straight year at 5:00 PM, also marking just their second announced show since last year's main stage. Hopefully the guys have more in the works, they've been missed as of late! Classic rock veterans Obsession will play their eighth Rotaryfest set since 2008 at 4:00 PM, while classic rock quartet RPM (with new bassist Rob Gilmar in tow) will play the main stage for the first time at 3:00 PM. New classic rock/country cover band Indians & Cowboys (not the defunct original indie band Cowboys & Indians) will hit the stage at 2:00 PM, while classic rock veterans Coverfly will open Saturday's lineup at 1:00 PM in their eighth Rotaryfest set in nine years.

Very strong Saturday lineup this year, and while it is familiar from past years, the double whammy of homecoming sets for the McKey brothers, the long awaited return of That's Chester, and three debuting local bands should keep things varied enough! Of course, it's worth noting that recent Rotaryfest regulars like The Bob Jenkins Band, Spyder's Web, Summer Thunder, and Thin Ice are not playing this year, but hopefully they'll be back in the future, as their fans will miss them in 2016! Saturday's Stage 1 lineup is of course FREE & ALL AGES, so check the above links for full details on this year's covers-centric main stage, and here's That's Chester (with Eugene) last year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned next for Sault Michigan concert previews and more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Havadder & Mourning Wood) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Quite possibly the busiest concert weekend of the year is upon us, so let's begin this weekend's concert previews with the first of (at least) three concert preview posts! I plan to tackle Thursday nighters and cover bands in this Sault Ontario-centric post (which includes SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS), while we tentatively plan to cover Rotaryfest's stages in their own post next, followed by Sault Michigan-area shows and The Din & Id Iota's Rotaryfest afterparty together in the third post. Of course, this could all be thrown a loop if more shows are announced for the weekend, but we'll approach that if it comes. Let's begin our previews!

Local classic/hard rock cover trio Havadder will apparently return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about the show via the venue's physical marquee on Tuesday, though note that the band nor venue have plugged the show online as of this writing. A one-nighter due to a previously scheduled karaoke event on Saturday, this show comes just two weeks after Havadder's last Rockstar Bar gig, so it's great to see this talented and hard hitting trio playing a little more regularly after a very sporadic start to the year! And while Havadder have never played Rotaryfest, remember to see Travis & Scott in their side project The 3 Day Millionaires tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM on the main stage, which we'll preview next! TOMORROW'S Havadder show will have no cover charge, a likely 10:30 PM start time, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Havadder live!



Next up, local classic/hard rock quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via their official Facebook event page earlier this week. Fresh off of a private outdoor gig this past weekend (as per members' personal Facebook pages), these will be Mourning Wood's first stops at The Esquire Club in two months, and it's good to see the guys rocking out at this west end venue once again, especially with a little more advance notice than some shows of theirs get! Note that while we won't see Mourning Wood at Rotaryfest this year, drummer Glen Thomas will be playing there TONIGHT with his 1960s-centered classic rock band The Peace Vibe, so keep them in mind if that's up your alley! As for this weekend's Esquire Club shows, they'll be on at 9:30 PM TOMORROW & SATURDAY, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Moving to previously announced concerts, let's first head to The Oddfellows Hall, where Victoria, British Columbia grindcore band Iskra will play Sault Ontario for the first time in twelve years TONIGHT at The Oddfellows Hall! The scene has changed a lot since Iskra's 2004 stop at the former Foggy Notions, but their brutal, fast-paced, and aggressive originals should get some solid pits going once again tonight at 10:45 PM! Despite being the advertised headline act, thrash metal trio Pillory are actually playing last tonight, in their first post-reunion concert appearance outside of a battle of the bands or house party. No word why (maybe Iskra have to hit the road early?), but Pillory should devastate tonight at 11:30 PM, so check them out if you've missed them since their return! Goregrind duo Rotopsy (who also haven't been seen outside of house parties lately) will return to the Oddfellows stage themselves at 10:00 PM, while local doom metal trio AlgomA will curiously open the show at 9:15 PM, despite their own promotional involvement with Six, Two, Oh., though maybe it's so they can focus on running the event?

Relocated from The Moose Lodge to The Oddfellows Hall in May, this ALL AGES show will have door admission for $10, but advance tickets are available for $8 at The Rad Zone and through members of the local bands. Promoters have also teased that drinks and sloppy Joes(?!) will be on hand for attendees, while there will be a contest where ticket holders can win AlgomA's split vinyl EP with Chronobot (or $20 in merchandise if you have/don't want it), so prepare for all of that too! This should be a brutal concert for fans of death metal, if an oddly short show for The Oddfellows Hall, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Iskra live here in 2004!

Finally for this preview post, local acoustic hard rock cover singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Gliss Steak & Seafood for concerts TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! Entering the second week of his return to thrice-weekly bookings at The Quality Inn's restaurant (after a lengthy stretch of not playing Thursdays there), Tym should be in fine form for the next three nights of unplugged cover action, and if you're familiar with him, you'll know that his extensive setlist and clear talents will be in fine form! Remember, Tym has (to my knowledge) never played Rotaryfest as a solo artist, so if you want to enjoy his music this weekend, get to Gliss over the next three nights! As usual for his Gliss gigs (Thursdays included), there are no announced cover charges or age limits in effect, and all start at 6:00 PM, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest previews next, and then Sault Michigan and more! Thanks everyone!

Mid-Week Concert Previews, Plus New Videos From Shaw TV!!

With hard rock or punk concerts taking place TONIGHT & TOMORROW in Sault Ontario, today's post is half devoted to special mid-week concert previews, with the remainder focusing on a pair of recent videos aired on local TV that have a metal relevance! Now, here's what you should know!

Vancouver hard/blues rock quintet Cocaine Moustache will make their local concert debut TONIGHT when they headline at The New American Pub! This "heavy soul" outfit will bring their fun live experience to the Soo for what should be a hopping Tuesday nighter at The New A during their first cross-Canada tour, and their sound should make lots of new fans for "Canada's party band", as they like to say! Though not the other touring band, debuting local "hard and heavy" jam trio Gianni Gagoots will make their debut concert appearance tonight as well, with their lineup uniting former Redefined bandmates Matt Sibilo & Josh St. Amour with veteran local punk drummer Frank McCormick. This interestingly named band will apparently have improvised hard rock and punk songs in store, but how will they sound? Be at The New A to find out! Vancouver grunge/punk trio War Baby will open the show in their own local debut, and their genre-melding "apocalypse rock" should deliver a jolt of energy to kick off the proceedings!

Note that this show was originally scheduled to be the fifth installment of promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s punk rock bingo series, but any bingo references have quietly been removed from the Facebook event page for unannounced reasons (maybe Brent's unavailable?) Hopefully this isn't it for the punk rock bingo events, they have gotten a good reception from attendees! This 19+ show has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time, so check the above links for more on what should be a fun night of hard rock and punk mayhem, and here's Cocaine Moustache live!



Next up, here's one more special mid-week concert preview at The New American Pub, as local grunge/punk solo project Telephone & Address will rock The New A TOMORROW NIGHT as the opening act for Hamilton blues duo Frankie & Jimmy! Marking a rare appearance at the Bay Street bar and concert venue, Chris Shoust's solo project Telephone & Address will be playing their first local concert set since closing The Gore Street Cafe's Fortnight Festival, and Chris should have an entertaining night of acoustic punk originals for fans at The New A tomorrow! Frankie & Jimmy are hitting the Soo in the second stop of their western Canada tour, and their creative and experimental blend of blues originals should get a good following tomorrow, and yes, copies of their vinyl LP will be on sale! Apparently promoted by Chris, this 19+ show has NO COVER CHARGE, and has a listed 8:00 PM start time. This should be an entertaining, if low-key, night of unplugged music for punk and blues fans alike, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Telephone & Address live!

We'll close today with new videos, including something that I apologize for missing when it first aired. In late May, you may have seen references online to local punk/metal favourites Jack Spades having a special broadcast on Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie (channel 10), with the program even showing up in Shaw TV guides, so what exactly was this? Basically, it's an extended version of their previously aired profile piece that aired on Shaw TV in the spring, as filmed by Id Iota frontman Christian Lemay, and uploaded to the local Shaw's YouTube channel on June 1st. This still features the interview clips filmed with the band (sans Jesse Cook) at The Oddfellows Hall in April, but now contains full performance footage from their set at March's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, rather than just clips, complete with some introductions & extended interview segments. Notably, this may be the last professional footage of Jack Spades with the departed Tiffany Stocco to make it's way online, unless SooToday's Go Skate Day footage pops up with audio.

The included songs in the video are "Rise", "Crossroads", "Motorwolf", and "Negative Headspace", so click each link to go directly to the videos. The spacing on the title bugs seems doubled at times, and Jesse's absence is noticeable in the interview, but this is otherwise well put together, and showcases Jack Spades delivering a solid and heavy set at full strength, even if they didn't place at that battle! Give their full Shaw TV piece a look below, and apologies again for missing it at the time, I thought it was the shorter original getting a re-airing!



Lastly, here's one more Shaw TV piece that aired on channel 10 earlier this year, actually getting posted to YouTube one day after the extended Jack Spades feature! This focuses on local artist Darren Emond and his work on the new Iron Maiden comic book, with an unheard Shaw reporter interviewing him at his release & signing event for it at The Rad Zone on May 21st (similarly to SooToday's earlier feature.) The interview features Darren discussing how he got the gig to work with Iron Maiden, reactions from fans, and more, but this video goes beyond to show Darren's process as to how he completes pages of a comic book, as he demonstrates with his own rough sketches, and how the inker completes the colouring and shading, before getting lettered and printed. This is an entertaining look at the work it takes to draw and sketch the art in a comic book, and Darren is definitely a big talent in that regard, so check out the full Shaw TV piece below, and get your copies of the Iron Maiden comic at The Rad Zone for $5!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!