Victoria Day Weekend Concert Previews, Plus More News!!

It's now time to tackle another weekend of hard rock concert previews in the Soo! Possibly due to the Victoria Day/May 2-4 holiday weekend, the concert calendar is relatively quiet today, so to fill things out, we have some shorter news and notes from the past week at post's end. For reference, our preview of Monday night's Dopethrone concert at The New A will be coming in a separate news post this weekend to give it a timelier preview. Now, here's what you should know in rough chronological order!

We'll start with prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's busy slate of acoustic concerts this weekend, as the former Caveman Morrison frontman will play his usual weekly matinees at Gliss Restaurant on Spring Street TOMORROW & SATURDAY, sandwiching a nighttime return to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road TOMORROW NIGHT! Tym's schedule this weekend is effectively a reprise of his three bookings last week, which were at the same venues in the same timeslots, and while that's nothing new for his long-term Gliss arrangement, it's great to see east end fans get an encore this soon! His prolific setlist and long-established skill level should prove to be steady assets this weekend once again, so don't miss Tym's hard rocking covers at either venue! As usual, the Gliss shows are 6:00 PM events, the Roadhouse show is at 10:00 PM, and none have a cover charge. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return home for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's West! After a road trip for private gig in Wawa last week, this veteran group will rock this popular Korah Road venue for their first shows there in three weeks (and thankfully, these were on their 2019 concert calendar.) It's great to see Terry, Travis, Paul, and Glen secure another weekend of hard rocking classic hits at a familiar locale, and expect more fan-friendly tunes tomorrow and/or Saturday there! As usual for Soundcheck's Reggievelt concert weekends, these are 10:00 PM bookings with no announced cover charges and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Lastly for currently known hard rock concert previews this weekend (Dopethrone on Monday excepted), we'll head to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to the E.U.P. for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! It's been a 3 month+ wait for Saultite fans to check out Scarkazm's hard rocking attack on a local stage (not counting Peril's shows here in March), but Dave, Adam, and Jeff should be up to their usual tricks this weekend, so don't miss out if you can help it! For what it's worth, we will have more Kewadin Casino concert announcements at the Soo and St. Ignace branch lounges in the coming days, though Scarkazm are already known to be coming back to Sault Ste. Marie next month. As usual for their Kewadin concert weekends, both tomorrow's & Saturday's shows are 21+ events with no announced cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and here's Scarkazm live!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, thesea re in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

• Sault Ontario alt-punk trio A Dire Setback announced on their Facebook page on Friday that recording sessions for their debut album were complete, and they're now waiting on the final mix before they send it off to be mastered. Very cool to hear, especially given their relative quietness in recent months, so stay tuned for more updates on it as they roll in!
• Former Band Camp Rejects bassist Ryan Bell is looking for a drummer for his current band project, who are apparently comprised of "established players" playing "a wide range of music" from the 1960s-2000s, and would aspire to play live once every couple of months. I cannot confirm if this is related to the band he was searching for members for in 2017, or a new act entirely, but if you're interested in details, message Ryan at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week!
• The second annual Soo's Got Talent competition will take place at The Verdi Hall (or the Grand Gardens Verdi Ballroom) on Queen Street West this fall, moving from the now-closed Tech, as per their Facebook page. The event proper will be held on Fridays from September 13th-27th, with the finals on October 11th, and audition dates & criteria to be announced. It's great to see The Soo's Got Talent back for a second year, and it'll be interesting to see who all competes this time around, so stay tuned for updates!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days, including the Dopethrone preview! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns), Long & McQuade In Sault Ste. Marie, And Much More!!

Let's tackle a new news post on this Tuesday evening, which mostly reflects some big news regarding two of Sault Ontario's three music stores, but we also have some assorted shorter news and notes, and leading off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will return to The Whiskey Barrel on Gore Street for another night of "funktastic rock" on May 24th, a.k.a. next Friday!  After last playing there a couple of Fridays ago (apologies for erroneous plugs of a Tuesday nighter), the Elements side project will return to the former Konoba Tapas location for another night full of fan friendly, crowd participation-encouraged rock covers, with heavy stuff sure to be on offer within! It's great to see that Christina, Rob, and Jesse's unplugged show is going over well at this new downtown venue, and hopefully this is another hit for them next weekend! As was also the case at their last two Whiskey Barrel stops, next Friday's show has a 7:00 PM start time and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more show announcements from The Wyld Stallyns when they roll in!

Next up, here's some big news concerning Sault Ontario's music instrument/gear stores, starting with the big announcement yesterday that Northland Music will become the local branch of the Long & McQuade music store chain this fall! As per a news release on their Facebook page, Northland has entered into an agreement with Long & McQuade (Canada's largest musical instrument retailer), after 35 years as a locally owned and operated music store, though owner Mark Mizzi will remain as the local manager, and long-time staffer Bob Croteau will stay on as well. Northland will continue operations under that name through September before officially switching over to the Long & McQuade branding, but over the summer, more stock than ever will arrive at their 312 Queen Street East location, and they will have full access to the parent company's lines, rentals, and financing. More hiring of staff will take place as operations grow, and they are currently accepting resumes.

While things are vague on the topic, it sounds like Northland/Long & McQuade will open up in a larger location this fall, but if I read those allusions correctly, I don't know the new spot. I did notice that the old Blockbuster Video location on Pim Street was undergoing renovations, but that's purely speculation, I have no inside knowledge. Meanwhile, this news will affect one of the Soo's other active music instrument/lesson shops, as the Thomas Walls School of Music at 505 Albert Street East will apparently be merging operations with Northland into the new Long & McQuade location, after almost 60 years of independent operation locally. Thomas Walls himself will be retiring later this year, with instructor & veteran local musician Lindsay Pugh heading up the renamed Long & McQuade Music School. Like Northland, Thomas Walls will remain open in their current home through the summer, and student/lesson programs will remain intact with existing staff.

This is absolutely huge news for local musicians, as Long & McQuade will ensure a much larger selection and wider range of options than Northland or Thomas Walls could offer (as visitors of their Sudbury location may attest), and with hirings expected later this year, this should be a boon to job-seekers as well! None of this affects Case's Music directly, but if their rivals do indeed move, that could help them attract customers who prefer to shop downtown. Stay tuned for much more on the Long & McQuade transition as it comes in, and visit the above links and SooToday for more on this story!

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

• Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and (surprisingly) Shit Liver drummer Matt Baic have quietly been announced as the openers for Calgary punk quintet The River Jacks' headlining concert at The New American Pub on June 3rd! A rare New A set by Jack Spades, this will be the second time that guitarist Tiffany Stocco has opened for The River Jacks, after doing so with Stegadeth in 2017. No word on what form Matt's solo set will take on though, but will it bear more similarities to Shit Liver or his St. Catharine's bluegrass band Dirtfight? Time will tell, but visit the Facebook event page for more!
• The third single from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock artist Mike Haggith's upcoming CD "Bridges" was released to major music streaming/download platforms on Friday! Entitled "Come On Home", the song is a softer, more downbeat ballad, but I'll hold further comment until our likely review of "Bridges" later this year.  Give "Bridges" a listen or buy on services like Spotify, Amazon Music, and iTunes in the meantime!
• In a quiet lineup change for the Music 4 Kayge benefit show at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion next Saturday, new local rock band The Tilrays have replaced blues rockers Johnny & The Revelators in the 3:00 PM opening slot, as per this new poster last week. A reason for The Revelators' withdrawal wasn't announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened! I don't know much on The Tilrays sound beyond their decade range for covers, but their lineup includes ex-Stiffler's Mom bandmates Michael Davies & Jon Ferguson, which should get a number of readers' attention! See above for more details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site later this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Parabol & Tripod The Dog), An Inactive Band Note, And New Videos!!

Let's tackle some more big news items on this Sunday evening, including some new live concert videos, a band being moved to our inactive links, and leading off, here's a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming weeks!

Reunited ska-punk/alternative veterans Tripod The Dog will play their second show of the year on Saturday, May 25th at The Rockstar Bar! This show hasn't been publically announced online that I know of, but I first heard about it via the venue's physical marquee board last week, and remember that an updated online page controlled by current band members has not been launched yet. After successfully returning to the stage after a decade+ hiatus as a full-time band ended last month at the same venue, Tripod The Dog will bring their fan favourite blend of genres back for another go-around, and it will be great to see Mark Oliverio and company rock out once again! Hopefully more comes out on the new lineup online, especially if things are different compared to their Rotaryfest one-off last year. Expect a 10:00 PM-ish start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge on May 25th. See above for details when & if they roll in on this show and Tripod the Dog version 4.0!

Next up, a few familiar faces will hit The Grand Gardens North (the site of Toystock) on Thursday, June 6th for a special benefit concert in honour of Shelby Kerns, a local realtor, loving mother, and the partner of Skeyes of Seven/ex-Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison. Shelby was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and will be receiving specialized treatments out of town, so this fundraiser will help cover related costs for her and her family. The event proper will include a pasta dinner, raffles and prizes, and yes, live music, including local Tool tribute band Parabol in a rare non-Rockstar Bar set. It's great to see Parabol throwing their support behind Shelby at this diffcult time, and they should deliver a solid set of Tool hits for the occasion! Parabol frontman John Barber will also front a (one-off?) group known as The John Barber Band on this night, though no word as of yet regarding their lineup, sound, or similarities to his old bands like Redefined, Late Shift, and Fingerbone.

Also, no word on if Cory will guest with either band, but given that his relationship with Shelby, it'd definitely be a fitting sight! Tickets for this presumably all-ages benefit (at 5:00 PM) are $30 at Exit Realty Lake Superior at 207 Northern Avenue or through employees there, while you can also show your support and still be entered for the door prize if you can't make it by donating a $20 minimum. I don't know Shelby, but everything I've heard points to a friendly, generous, and caring woman, and I hope this benefit does everything it sets out to for the Kerns/Murchison clan!! Visit the official Facebook event page for details as they roll in!

Also today, I have moved local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church to our inactive band links due to a year's public inactivity. The band was last seen on stage at last year's Sky's The Limit fundraiser concert at The Tech, but they never publically promoted that event online, and hadn't posted on their Facebook page since the end of January 2018. First coming onto the SMS' radar in the lead-up to The Sky's The Limit I in 2016, Electric Church would grow in prominence from White Pines Collegiate gigs to proper concerts in Sault Ste. Marie through the end of 2017, including sets at a bunch of early Live705 concerts, that year's Go Skateboarding Day, K.I.C.K.'s CD release party, and opening slots for Kenny Wayne, Speaker, and Return For Refund, among others. However, recording sessions at Mission Control Studios for a debut album never reached their intended conclusion, despite optimistic teasers for big plans at the start of last year.

I don't know what happened to Electric Church, but they were a very promising band that gave a unique retro zest to many local concerts during their run! With a maturity beyond their years and an old school sensibility from their early Jimi Hendrix covers through to their original songs, it looked like the sky was indeed the limit (pun intended), but hopefully they're just lying low and will be seen again, as there's a lot of talent to go around in their ranks. Best of luck to Spencer, Elijah, and Beau in the interim!

We'll close today with some new videos from Kinross/Mount Pleasant hard rock singer/guitarist Alex Traynor's second "music for tips & coffee" matinee set at Biggby Coffee in Sault Michigan yesterday! These were uploaded to the coffee shop's Facebook page in the last couple of days, including one belated upload from last week of Alex covering Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's "Pride and Joy". The distant from-the-side angle isn't great, and the video's short, but what you hear works out! The Saturday videos also include Alex playing "Pride and Joy" again, but this clip is longer, somewhat closer, and has some attendees dancing, which is a fun sight! Embedded below is Alex covering Warrant's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", which has a much better and longer view of Alex's performance, and he has a good handle of this hair metal classic! Hopefully he got lots of tips, but see how he did for yourself above & below, and stay tuned for more from Alex!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as this week continues! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Bucksaw

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we continue our monthly spotlighting of inactive metal, hard rock, and punk acts for current readers! This month's randomly selected band was originally assumed to not have enough public information to warrant a solo profile, but I was happily proven wrong, so I will be pushing our announced profile on Sault Ontario's Nowhere Fast to next month with a second low-info band to fill things out. Now, here's what you should know on this fan-friendly E.U.P. outfit from the early 2010s!
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Bucksaw (later known as Dirtbag In A Dress & Mr. Fister)

Genre: Hard Rock/Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. This lineup information may be incomplete. Let me know if you can fill in any blanks!)

Jason VanLuven (Paradise Excuse, 415E, Chump Change), vocals/drums
Bill Ogston (Blind Baby), guitar
Barney Gravelle (Scofflaw, Broke on Sunday, Retro Troop), bass
Mark Bowen (Paradise Excuse, Broke on Sunday), vocals/guitar 
Ryan Franklin, vocals/guitar 
Mikey Bishop (Half A Man, Bludgeoned, Summon), drums

Audio/Video: No public video footage exists of Bucksaw under that name, but under their later names, there is a fair amount of material to check out from LemmaFest III & IV in 2013 and 2014. Yooperlites' own Erik Rintamaki filmed four videos of Dirtbag In A Dress for his YouTube channel at the earlier LemmaFest, while filmmaker Wayne Kozeyah shot Mr. Fister covering Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy songs at this link, as part of their wider ranging video footage from both events. Quality's solid across the board, so fans will want to check thee out, including Erik's longest video of theirs below!



Info/Analysis: First coming onto our public radar with a set at the inaugural LemmaFest outside of Dondee Lanes in June 2011, Bucksaw would reprise that set at 2012's second installment, though if they had any substantive activity at other concert events, they weren't acknowledged well online. In 2013, the band changed their name to Dirtbag In A Dress and finally launched a Facebook page to promote themselves, frequently sharing YouTube videos heavily implied to be songs covered in their setlist. After sets at LemmaFest III and a publically advertised house party in Sugar Island the following month, public updates died down before Bill Ogston & Barney Gravelle (their only constant members) brought the group back under the Mr. Fister moniker for the final LemmaFest in 2014 alongside the returning Jason VanLuven. Public updates did not follow, and the band is presumed to have folded by year's end.

While updates beyond LemmaFest were minimal, especially concerning the Bucksaw years, this band was an entertaining covers-heavy outfit, and from what I understand, they got heavier after their name changes, while still inserting some more general and country covers for good measure. With a lineup full of familiar faces from E.U.P. rock bands, plus solid singing from Ryan, Jason, and Mark depending on era, Bucksaw/D.I.A.D./Mr. Fister had a good thing going, and were surely a welcome sight at each LemmaFest, but don't miss members in their current local projects!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we will look at mid-2000s Sault Ontario alt-hard rock trio Nowhere Fast as promised, but to round things out, I randomly chose a second band with similarly little surviving information to round things out with. As such, we'll also be looking at local hard/progressive rock project The Mourning Glory! Look for all of this on or around June 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Fluid 5ive), Plus New Live Concert Videos!!

Let's close out this weekend's hard rock concert previews while also getting caught up on some new video postings from the last while, so without any further adieu, here's what you should know for this rainy Thursday, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Fluid 5ive will make their Esquire Club debuts with concerts TOMORROW NIGHT and, as missed on the site at the time, SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on the Saturday gig, it was announced on the Facebook event page at the time in a comment, but the date given on the event page only ever said the Friday nighter, so the addendum passed us by. One week removed from their Water Tower Pub debut, this veteran group will continue their slow spread across local venues as they hit the west end tomorrow and on SATURDAY, so keep Colin, Liam, Pierre, Jeff, and Rob's shows in mind for your weekend plans! As usual for Esquire Club gigs, tomorrow's & SATURDAY's Fluid 5ive shows have 19+ age limits and no announced cover charge, and 9:30 PM start times are advertised. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fluid 5ive live!

Next up, here's more videos from Christopher Paci's YouTube channel of last week's Dave Evans/Hells Bells concert at The Rockstar Bar! After some initial staggering of his uploads, Chris posted the rest of his videos of Hells Bells (with and without Dave) on YouTube on Monday, so what else did he get? Regarding the standalone set by the Barrie AC/DC tribute band, Chris also shot them covering "If You Want Blood (You Got It)" and "Thunderstruck", which will satiate AC/DC diehard fans nicely, though again, the vocals are a little soft. Of course, Hells Bells also served as the backing band for Dave Evans' headlining set (albeit after their guitarist changed out of his Angus getup), so what all did Chris film of the original AC/DC founder that night? Most of the videos are of Dave tackling songs by his old band, both from his early run with the group and the Bon Scott era, including versions of "Can I Sit Next To You Girl", "TNT", "Highway To Hell", and "Let There Be Rock", plus their Big Joe Williams cover "Baby Please Don't Go", so you can see how Dave handles the classics!

As well, two songs of Dave's from his own solo pursuits were filmed, including "Go Wild" from his 2017 album with the band Barbed Wire, and as embedded below, "Rock 'n Roll or Bust". Now, as you may assume, Bon Scott comparisons are inevitable, and Dave's voice has a deeper and more direct quality to it that will take some adjusting if you're not familiar with him. That said, he's a solid frontman, and it's very neat to hear the original AC/DC frontman interpreting these songs locally! Kudos to Chris again for the uploads, and check out Dave Evans & Hells Bells in the Soo above & below!



Also, here's a new video of classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck covering Styx's "Too Much Time On My Hands" at the aforementioned Esquire Club this past Saturday! This was uploaded to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel on Monday. Fans won't get to see the Mourning Wood successors on a local stage this weekend due to a Wawa road trip, but this rendition (sung by guitarist Travis Sharpe) may help! The audio quality is fine, and the deeper singing works fine on it, but the visual quality is somewhat muddy with inconsistent lighting. Give it a look below, and stay tuned for much more from Soundcheck in the coming weeks!



Finally for today, here's a new video of local acoustic hard rock cover trio The Wyld Stallyns playing at The Whiskey Barrel... this past Friday?! Profuse apologies for missing that show on here, it was announced that Tuesday on their Facebook page but it completely slipped us by. The Whiskey Barrel (the new Scottish themed bar/restaurant at 113 Gore Street) is still very new to our coverage, I will work harder to ensure shows there are covered here! Erroneously posted to their Facebook page twice, this video was filmed by attendee Steven Hewgill (the star of the local Tommy production in 2015), and it features the Stallyns covering The Band's "The Weight" alongside a drum circle of sorts, with five different guests hitting a hand drum on this night, Rob & Jesse's Elements bandmate Jonas Gasperas among them.

Not a whole lot for Christina to do here, but it's a solid campfire-esque jam, and the visual of five drummers playing alongside is definitely unique for a band covered on the SMS! I apologize again for missing this concert on here, but take a load off and give this new Wyld Stallyns video a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Poison Girl & Alex Traynor) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

It's now time to dive into another busy weekend of concert previews in the Twin Saults! However, due to the length of this post, I'm holding our preview of this weekend's Fluid 5ive concert(s!) for our next post, coming either tonight or tomorrow morning, so look for them and more then! Now, let's kick things off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Kinross/Mount Pleasant, Michigan hard rock musician Alex Traynor will return to Biggby Coffee in Sault Ste. Marie for another afternoon matinee concert THIS SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by the venue on their Facebook event page on Monday. It appears that the Banned frontman's quietly announced show there this past weekend was a hit, as the Ashmun Street coffee shop is bringing him back for an encore just a week later, and hopefully Alex's unplugged covers play well with shop patrons and fans alike on SATURDAY! This show is a part of Biggby Coffee's expanded weekend concert schedule, with the hook being that performers will play 2 hour blocks on weekends for tips and complimentary coffee. You may have seen an open guitar case for tips in videos from last week's Alex Traynor and Tyler Dettloff shows, so it's clear those sets were part of this seemingly new series.

For what it's worth, Biggby Coffee is looking for performers for extra dates this weekend, namely a 10:00 PM set tomorrow and a 12:00 PM set on SATURDAY before Alex takes the stage, so contact the venue at this link if you're an E.U.P. artist looking to play for tips and coffee this weekend! Alex's 2:00 PM matinee on SATURDAY has no cover charge or age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Alex at Biggby Coffee!

Next up, a pair of local tribute band sets will hit The Rockstar Bar in Sault Ontario THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, headlined by the second live concert set by new local HIM tribute Poison Girl! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via it's Facebook event page yesterday. Over six months after their debut at the same venue over the Halloween weekend, this union of all 3 members of Stegadeth and ex-Gates of Winter keyboardist Brian Holmes will finally dust off their gothic metal and hard rock renditions in this headlining set, and it'll be interesting to see how things look for Poison Girl on SATURDAY! The other band on this night is Stoned To Deaf, a new (and online page-less) local Rage Against The Machine tribute band! A Rage tribute isn't brand new around here, as Dysfunkshunal Kemistry can tell you from 2009, but as far as I can tell, this band is completely unrelated.

As per videos of jam sessions floating around on personal Facebook accounts, their most familiar member is Elements/ex-Redundant bassist James White, and he's joined in this new band by singer/guitarist William Jordan Wardlaw, guitarist Spencer McGillivray, and drummer Jamie Labreche, who previously played with James in the Blind River hard rock band The Disciples of Rock. I won't embed videos I've seen of Stoned To Deaf, as none are publically posted yet, but the guys have the sound down from what I can tell, and William's a better match to Zach de la Rocha's vocals than I saw with Dysfunkshunal Kemistry. I'll be curious to see how Stoned To Deaf perform in front of a live audience, and you can see for yourself on SATURDAY NIGHT! A presentation of (Choose) Maxx Entertainment, this concert has a 10:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 19+ age limit.

See the above links for more on this double blast of local tribute action on SATURDAY, and when videos of either band surface, we'll let you know! I don't recall public videos existing of either band at press time, sadly, not even Stegadeth covering HIM pre-Poison Girl's launch.

We'll close this preview post with the previously announced continuation of local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's arrangement at Gliss Restaurant, as he'll return there for matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY, with a nighttime gig at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road tucked in between TOMORROW NIGHT! While fans can regularly see Tym's unplugged cover action at Gliss each week, tomorrow's Roadhouse concert will be Tym's first there in over a month. He'll be back one week after all three of these shows at the same venues, so you'll get other chances if you miss out, but Tym's diverse and prolific setlist should provide ample entertainment at the downtown restaurant or the east end bar this weekend! The Gliss matinee gigs are at 6:00 PM, the 19+ Roadhouse shows is at 10:00 PM, and none have a cover charge. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and here's Tym live in concert earlier this year!

 
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Fluid 5ive previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

The Next Local Battle Of The Bands, The Body Lens Concert Preview, And More!!

With some big news as of late, let's tackle a big new story to lead off this post, which could well turn into a local concert alert in time pending who signs up, while we also have a mid-week concert preview and a new video to round things out. Here's what you should know!

An increasingly rare battle of the bands will take place in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan this July, though the stakes and scope are bigger than you may expect. Hosted by Kewadin Casino, the battle will be held on two nights (Wednesday & Thursday, June 12th & 13th), and while it will take place at The Dreammaker's Theater, the winning band will receive the local opening slot for the newly announced Great White concert at the Manistique Kewadin branch on July 27th! For clarification, this is the original version of Great White, not the Jack Russell-led version that played St. Ignace in 2017 (there are two concurrently active versions of the band a'la LA Guns.) And yes, I did say the Great White show was in Manistique (2 hours west of the Soo), but Kewadin is targeting this battle towards bands who live near all 5 of their casinos, which means that acts from the Soo, St. Ignace, Hessel, Manistique, and Christmas, or surrounding areas are free to compete if they can make the trip

Entitled the "Rock Me Battle", bands who wish to compete must submit a performance video to the Facebook event page. Six bands will be selected, and four songs (including at least one original) will be performed by each band. It's not clear how the two day structure will be handled (three bands each night? Eliminations after night 1?), but we will let you know if Kewadin clarifies. In lieu of judges, a fan vote will determine the winners, but uniquely, the vote will be decided by concert attendees and likes on the Facebook event page linked above, with online voting ending on Friday, June 21st. Alongside the Great White opening slot, the battle winners will also recieve guaranteed bookings at The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie and The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace next year, so keep that in mind if you'd like to play at Kewadin's E.U.P. nightclubs in 2020. Luckily given the weekday placement, each night of the battle starts at 8:00 PM, and this is presumably a 21+ event, as usual.

Admission will be $5, which will get you entry to both nights and a +1 credit for online voting. Despite the mid-week scheduling, a battle of the bands stretching out to the Central Upper Peninsula in both band pool & final prize definitely helps set it apart, but who might we see compete in June to open for the "Once Bitten Twice Shy" legends? Might we see some bands from Munising, Newberry, or maybe even Sault Ontario along with the 5 Kewadin locations? And what kind of hard rock/metal acts will jump in? Stay tuned for updates as they roll in, and see above for more details!

Next up, here's our preview of a special Wednesday concert in Sault Ontario TOMORROW NIGHT, as Lethbridge, Alberta post-punk quintet Body Lens will play one of the first concerts at local concert promotion agency Dryer Fire's seasonal pop-up venue at 128 Bruce Street! Playing an artsy/garage rock-influenced sound with a punk attitude and some gothic touches, Body Lens' unique sound should attract a diverse fanbase tomorrow, so definitely give them a look to see what they bring to the table! Debuting local "dungeon synth" band Hot Goblin will open the proceedings tomorrow, though nothing has came out publically on this group, we'll let you know if anything pops up. As mentioned above, this concert is taking place at Dryer Fire's eponymous temporary location downtown, and will serve as a summer replacement for Nicole Dyble's 2018 bookings at the M.S. Norgoma.

It's great to see Nicole find a new location for the summer season, temporary as it may be, and hopefully lots of great events hit Dryer Fire in the coming months! As well, Trenton-based mobile bookstore Samson Books will be on site selling their wares, so keep that in mind if you love to read.  This ALL AGES concert has a $10 cover charge and a 7:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Body Lens live!



Finally for today, here's a new commercial for the Dopethrone-headlined concert at The New American Pub on May 20th, courtesy of openers AlgomA's YouTube channel yesterday! The first upload on their channel since 2017, the 47 second commercial features text information on the show proper, plus video clips of the headliners, AlgomA, and fellow openers Shit Liver, including footage of an AlgomA show at The Oddfellows Hall that A. is sadly dated, and B. isn't immediately familiar. The commercial closes with a suitably edited image from the poster for the film Maniac. Well done promotion while it lasts, so give it a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!