Vanity - "Vanity" Demo EP Review!!

It's now time for our 155th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're looking at local punk quartet Vanity First's self-titled demo "Vanity"! Just to get this out of the way now, the band recorded and released this EP when still known just as Vanity, but they changed their name to Vanity First in early March, which is somewhat unusual to see a local band do so soon after putting out any sort of album. I'll use both names interchangeably here, for the record. Independently released on February 9th in a limited run of 50 CDs, "Vanity" features singer/guitarist Andrew Beggs, guitarist Mikhal Muto, bassist Nick McClelland, and drummer Keegan "Ljubov" McAllister. While the limited print run leaves current CD availability questionable at best (note that the band has not posted on Facebook in two months), you can stream the whole EP for free on the band's YouTube channel in both a full EP upload and as separate tracks.

With six songs running for a over 16 minutes in length, let's begin our review of the Vanity demo with the opening track, "Hard Feelings"! The shortest song on offer, it opens with a solid drum intro from Keegan before launching into an upbeat pop/skate punk vibe and tempo that showcases Vanity's core sound well enough! Andrew's singing fits the genre, and the up-tempo vibe would be ideal to skateboard to, but I do think the guitar riffing is somewhat muted in the mix, and the stretch with backing vocals wasn't ideally handled. Fun opener to set Vanity on the right foot! Next up is "Playboy Magazine", which Vanity First actually re-recorded at Mission Control Studios shortly after the demo EP was released. Bizarrely quick turnaround to be sure! I'll focus on the original version here, but the re-recording obviously benefits from Dustin's production. This song has more of a laid back indie rock/power pop vibe, showing their diversity early!

Andrew's vocals are better suited for the punkier material than this, as they can get somewhat nasal by comparison, and again, I'm not a huge fan of how the backing vocals pair on this one. The song is solidly composed with good lyrics that tell a real story, but part of me does think they'd have worked better as a full on pop punk song, as the laissez faire verses didn't jive as well for me. Still a good song, but do check out the re-recording for a more optimal take! Third is "Empty Home", which takes things into punk territory again, albeit in relatively straightforward format without a lot of variance to the song structure. Good driving feel with solid guitar work from Mikhal, but the variety and spontaneity of "Hard Feelings" is absent. Strong pure punk song at it's core, but there's not a lot here distinctive beyond that, though don't forget the relatively young ages of Vanity First's lineup.

The second half of the EP begins with "Black Flies", which lets Mikhal really show off with a nice melodic guitar lick early! A slightly slower but still firmly rock-centric number, this has more of the musical variance I missed on "Empty Home", with lower register singing, solid drumming from Keegan, a strong guitar solo, and more of a 1980s rock feel than punk or indie that I appreciated! Return to form here for sure, and worth a listen for fans! The penultimate and longest song is "White Ghosts", which opens with white noise and an ominous beep before the band proper gets into gear. The song proper is a fun rocker that is surprisingly punctuated by a late aggressive outburst featuring Andrew yelling in anger leading into another strong extended guitar solo by Mikhal, and it's a shame it ended on that because it felt like it should have went on longer! 

"White Ghosts" built nicely and delivered in kind, and everyone performs well on it, but the echo on the vocals before they get intense was really noticeable here. Still, another highlight on this EP! Vanity (First) wrap things up with "Breathe", curiously choosing to end the demo with their acoustic ballad rather than with a bang. The nature of the indie demo recording is very prevalent here (especially from background hiss), and while functionally not a bad song, this feels like a one-take jam recording and again doesn't benefit from the backing vocal layering. It's a fine campfire song, but not an optimal EP closer.

So what are my final thoughts on Vanity's demo EP? I'd say it's a strong first step for this promising young quartet, but you can see why they already saw it necessary to re-record a song for it. Everyone in Vanity First showed some solid talents for both punk and beyond, with Andrew particularly shining on punk-inspired songs, Mikhal laying down some great guitar solos where needed, Nick delivering on the low end reliably, and Ljubov nailing some hard hitting drums along the way! The music on offer definitely ran the gamut beyond just modern pop/skate punk with elements of indie and metal on offer, which is a good sign for their future prospects, peaking for me with "Hard Feelings" and "White Ghosts". For things to work on.... the production quality is obvious, but this was always labelled as a demo. Beyond that, backing vocals never gelled for me in the mix, Andrew's singing on "Playboy Magazine" wasn't optimal, ...

... I wouldn't have ended the EP with the ballad, and "Empty Home" kinda just existed without showing a lot of what the guys could really do. Vanity First haven't updated their Facebook page in a couple of months, and with Mikhal posting on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group since, I'm hoping that this isn't it for them, as they're definitely a promising punk band capable of a lot more, and you can hear what they already bring to the table at the above links! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and look for our review of Chase Wigmore's new album "Sonic Apocalypse" next month, with weekend concert previews coming next! Thanks everyone!

Black Label Society Concert Video Showcase (Part 2!!)

Let's belatedly close out showcasing videos from the  Black Label Society-headlined concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino today! The delay was just to ensure that nothing else went up belatedly, so I think we have everything publically uploaded in the bag now, but we're not starting on YouTube. Actually, let's start with B.L.S. frontman Zakk Wylde's own Facebook page, as he uploaded three videos taken during and prior to the show there! Go back through posts from May 6th-9th for the local goods. Two of the videos are pre-show clips, including this 14 second video of berserkers who met the band for the meet & greet beforehand in a group shot of the Black Label Society's Sault Ste. Marie Chapter (this happens at all B.L.S. tour stops), as well as this 57 second clip of Zakk roaming backstage just before their set with a Doom Crew Inc. coffee mug while doing a silly voice.

Fun to see some of the pre-show and behind-the-scenes workings at a major Kewadin concert, and look for all of the posters from the previously cancelled B.L.S. dates there! Embedded below is the clip of Zakk & crew playing "Spoke In The Wheel" from quite a unique vantage point, appearing to be up on a balcony position high on the side wall, nicely showing how the venue was lit, gradually going from dark to light as berserkers on the floor are in view. Given the distance and abbreviated length, it's not an optimal view of the band, but it's an interesting angle, so check it out below!

Today's other videos come from prolific Rudyard-based musician Jon Johnson's YouTube channel, as Jon uploaded eleven videos from the May 6th proceedings, though be advised that six of them are "Shorts" videos that are intentionally brief vertical uploads not unlike what you see on TikTok. None of those are technically from Black Label Society's set, save for this pre-set clip of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" being played over the loudspeaker. Jon filmed three proper videos of B.L.S. in action, specifically their songs "Destroy & Conquer", "Spoke In The Wheel" again, and as embedded below, their set-opener "Bleed For Me". I didn't embed Jon's take of "Spoke In The Wheel" for variety's sake, as that's what Zakk himself uploaded, but Jon captured some good pre-song banter from Zakk with it, including acknowledgements of the pandemic postponements (though the March 2020 show was the first one cancelled, not the last one held.)

Apparently, Black Label had bus trouble they had en route to the Soo for this concert, so good thing they were able to power through, as could you imagine the show being postponed again? Not to mention Zakk actually losing his voice and having to postpone some dates after May 6th, so we got lucky in a sense! Jon's videos were shot from further back on the floor, so you have to deal with a lot of attendee heads, but he had a good view of the stage, and the audio quality holds up fairly well, so definitely give his videos a look above and below!

Jon did upload three videos of Nita Strauss' opening set, but all of them (including her radio hit "Dead Inside" linked below) are Shorts videos and have an insubstantial length & vertical orientation, and were also uploaded in monochrome. Check out the two instrumental clips here & here, but again, they're basically TikTok videos, and are notably from more of a side-stage angle before centering in time for B.L.S.' set. Give his Shorts clip of "Dead Inside" (with a David Draiman backing track) a watch below!

Finally, Jon uploaded three videos of opening blues rock artist Jared James Nichols' set, including Shorts of him playing his originals "Shadow Dancer" & "Bad Roots" (both remain in full colour). Embedded below is Jared and his backing band covering Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box", and I do have to note that Jon accidentally re-uploaded this credited as Nita Strauss and her band playing her song "The Quest", which may explain why he only had Shorts videos from her set. No word on if Jon still has that actual file to re-upload, we'll let you know if it turns up. Solid video of Jared & crew tackling this grunge staple with a bluesy edge, so give it a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (These Magnificent Tentacles), New Videos, And Much More!!

Late news post to check out on this Friday night, including some new video discoveries, a few shorter assorted notes, and leading off, a somewhat unique LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next weekend!

Local alt-punk duo These Magnificent Tentacles will play their first public concert of 2022 when they open for surf rock trio The Dynowaves on Saturday, May 21st at the return of promoters Dryer Fire's temporary venue! In this case, Dryer Fire have been renting space at 285 Wilson Street (off Bruce Street, near The Breakfast Pig), and they're celebrating their recent growth with an open house featuring the aforementioned live bands, and even refreshments from the Sweet Aisle Candy Store that's also set up at this building. It is worth noting that in their promotion of the concert, These Magnificent Tentacles said on their Facebook page that this will be "our first show as a full team", so did their teased search for new band members prove fruitful? In any event, frontman Brenton Ellis will be selling his own art on this event on a pay-what-you-can basis, which you Slumshine fans should like!

The open house proper has a 1:00 PM matinee start time, no cover charge, and is definitely all ages, which goes with the community art/candy sale aspect well too! This should be a fun change of pace if you're up for some Saturday afternoon concert action next weekend, and between T.M.T. and The Dynowaves, you'll get some diverse musical entertainment! Visit the above links for more details on this unique matinee concert!

Next up, here's two new videos from local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek at their Soo Blaster concert last week! Filmed by attendee Eddie Hernando, one is another acoustic interlude just featuring singer Justin Grayson and bassist Robin "Bones" Lee on acoustic guitar covering Luke Combs' "Beautiful Crazy". I'm not a country guy, but it's a solid rendition! Embedded below is the full band clip of Fort Creek covering Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", and it's a well done version that builds in the instruments well, and fans on the floor definitely appreciated dancing to it, so give both of these a look above & below!

Also today, here's some videos from former Leaked/Mustang Sally drummer Nic Buckner on his YouTube channel in the last few years! While Nic didn't become a major name as a local rock drummer, he did move to the States to further his career, and his YouTube videos reflect his later musical education! Alongside covers of Maroon 5, Sweet Machine, Michael Jackson, and The Color Black songs, Nic posted a cover of "Rule of Nines" by the Victoria, B.C. metal band Spiritbox in April 2020, complete with an inset second camera showing his foot pedal work. Nic's a very talented drummer and I like how he mixed the backing song with the drums to optimize his performances, so give these a watch above & below!

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

 

• I have moved local acoustic hard rock band The Isolation Sessions to our inactive band links. The band has not issued a public update since posting a cover of Three Days Grace's "Never Too Late" on their Facebook page in January of last year, with members Jordan Rains & Arthur Lacasse since focusing on Dealing Without and the revival of Half Past. The Isolation Sessions seemed like a promising stopgap band in worse pandemic times, and hopefully we hear more from Jordan, Arthur, and Todd soon (and R.I.P. Chris!)
• Prolific local metal musician Mitch Sirie is looking for a bassist for a hard rock/alternative metal band that he's working on with a sound comparable in range to The Deftones or System of a Down. The sonic description implies that this is not for The Bear Hunters, Exploring Detritus, or Handsome Sandwich (where he is the bassist), so Mitch is definitely keeping busy as things pick up locally in 2022! Message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post yesterday for more details!
• A Facebook event page has been launched for the Parabol-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on June 4th, and it happens to feature a new local band as openers named Short & Sweet, who are an acoustic two-man project from former Skeyes of Seven bandmates Cory Murchison & Kyle Sweet (hence the name). I don't think Short & Sweet have an online page yet, but Cory & Kyle should deliver an entertaining set beforehand, and see above for more details on what should be a solid concert!
  

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this weekend concert preview post (including some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS), just a heads up that the late notice Wyld Stallyns show at The Water Tower Pub last Friday did not occur, as per a post on the venue's Facebook page at 7:39 PM that night, after last weekend's concert preview post went live. Apologies for missing that, but the word did come very late. Hopefully nothing bad happened in the Stallyns camp! Now, here's what you should know for this weekend!

Prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT with a solo headlining gig at the aforementioned Water Tower Pub! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook event page on Sunday. I believe Tym has played here before, but definitely not since the pandemic began, so if you want to see this talented frontman back in action, you can do so TOMORROW! Tym had just taken a month's hiatus from public concerts, surprisingly last being seen at Reggie's on April 10th, so if you like his extensive selist and live show, head north to The Water Tower Pub for all of the action! TOMORROW'S one-night-only concert has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT, not Saturday! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the band's Facebook event page yesterday, and drummer Glen Thomas implied on his personal Facebook page that this was a late booking on request from the venue. No word on why they're playing TOMORROW, when all of the other Shooters gigs have been Saturday nighters since they began hosting bands earlier this year, but if you'd really prefer to see them on a Saturday, be at the Dennis Street nightclub next weekend! As for TOMORROW, Soundcheck's brand of classic and hard rock covers should deliver another knockout punk for their third show at Shooters, so don't miss out! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Moving to previously announced concerts, let's head downtown to Soo Blaster, where Toronto southern hard rock icons White Cowbell Oklahoma will be headlining TOMORROW NIGHT during the kickoff of this year's Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer! After a pandemic-induced break, the LopLops-hosted festival is back at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center this month, so definitely click here for all of the craft brew details if that's your style! White Cowbell Oklahoma (still featuring ex-Detroit guitarist Curtis Faux to my knowledge) were last seen on a local stage when they rocked LopLops in January 2019, and if you're at all familiar with W.C.O., you'll know that their live stage show is to be seen to be believed, and Clem & company should be in fine form for their Soo return after three years! After all, where else will you see power tools & flames amidst the rock? This show has no advertised opening bands.

This 19+ show has a 10:00 PM start time and $25 advance tickets which you can buy at this link, and while nothing has been stated about in-person availability at Soo Blaster, inquire with LopLops if you are at all curious.  This should be an explosive concert for fans of White Cowbell Oklahoma and IPAs alike, and their show is definitely worth the price of admission, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's White Cowbell Oklahoma live at Loplops back in 2019!

Finally for today's previews, let's head to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Believe it or not, these will actually be Peril's first shows at any venue since playing at The Rapids Lounge in January (no, they're not local), so while they don't play live as often as their sister band Scarkazm, this should be a prime opportunity once again for old school rock fans to see Jeff, Adam, and Brooks in familiar grounds once again! If you can't come out, Peril will be back at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branch early next month. This talented and frequently seen trio will be on tomorrow and Saturday at 9:00 PM with no cover charges and 21+ age limits as usual for Kewadin's lounge concert bookings. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Peril live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Handsome Sandwich) & Northern Vibe Festival Lineup Details!!

Before we dive into this weekend's concert previews, here's a new news post for this Wednesday night, which is devoted to two topics, both involving the same band! One is the preliminary lineup for a returning summer concert festival (dates to be announced) and the other is a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related missed show apology, so let's lead off there!

Local alternative/punk quartet Handsome Sandwich will return to The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, May 28th as part of a mixed genre concert in memory of late Manitoulin Island rapper/artist Zachary "$onny Vybe$" Cywink! If this sounds familiar, it's because Handsome Sandwich also played a benefit event for Zach (who died last summer at the age of 27) at the same venue on October 15th, 2021, a gig that the band did not promote in advance on social media, though organizers did promote it at the time. That was Handsome Sandwich's first post-relaunch set in city limits, for the record, and they were the only non-rap act on that bill. I profusely apologize for not covering that show on here at the time, especially given the tribute optics, I'd have plugged it here had promotion been larger! Note to self, give Facebook event pages for rap shows more of a look next time. Local rap label Sooicide Records are giving this another go-around at month's end to honour Zach, and proceeds will be going to some great causes!

Half of the show's intake will be going to the Cywink family and the remainder will go to the Ngwaagan Gamig Recovery Centre in Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island, a very fitting gesture reflecting Zach's own struggles. A full performer lineup has not been released as of this writing, but note that last fall's $onny Vybe$ benefit also included MCs Fvck Sxvad, Bold Noize, Mic Swiff, Rick E., Sawbe, Kodex, JSK, Comniption, and Angelazura. Admission for this 19+ event on May 28th will be $8 in advance at this link or $10 at the door, and there is a 9:00 PM start time in effect. While Zach wasn't from the Soo, he certainly performed here and had strong relationships with musicians here, and clearly he left a positive impact on the local hip hop community to get a second memorial concert in less than a year, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

While we're on the subject, videos were uploaded to the $onny Vybe$ Facebook group from last year's benefit by attendee Amanda MacAloney, including one video of Handsome Sandwich playing what appears to be an original song that they haven't otherwise posted a video of yet, before finishing with "All For Nothing". The vertical camera angle is unfortunate, but this is a solid performance with good melodic structures, and while Taylor is a little stiff behind the mic, she gets into it well musically! Give it a look at this link, as the Facebook group's privacy settings don't allow external embedding of videos uploaded there.

Next up, the tentative band lineup for this year's Northern Vibe Festival has been announced! Alongside the reveal for the DJ-centric River Stage, bands scheduled for the Thompson Memorial Forest Stage on August 26th & 27th can be seen in the photo on the right, as posted on the Ophir concert festival's Facebook page yesterday. Yes, this year's Forest Stage is named in honour of late Frightlight drummer Chris Thompson, who pulled triple duty at last year's Northern Vibe in one of his final concert bookings before his passing last fall, which is a very nice gesture! Curated once again by J.D. Pearce in first local concert promotion role since last year's festival, be advised that last year's Northern Vibe Festival advertising never revealed the daily timeslots for the bands on the Forest Stage, leading our coverage to be surprisingly piecemeal, only sussing out the nightly band order after the fact.

This year's touring headliners are Toronto pop rock duo Goodnight Sunrise in their second regional concert set this summer, following a planned set at the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing. Not a hard rock band, but Goodnight Sunrise's upbeat alt-rock sound should find an audience! Four bands are returning from Northern Vibe last year, including the aforementioned Handsome Sandwich (whose new lineup debuted in Ophir last summer), surf rock instrumental trio The Dynowaves, funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns, and alt-punk trio A Dire Setback in their first announced concert set since Northern Vibe last year. Given J.D.'s involvement once again, he'll be back behind the mic on this night, including via the previously teased homecoming of Spades GT, as the former Jack Spades will play their first local concert set since 2019 and since their move to Barrie & name/lineup changes at Northern Vibe 2022!

That'll be a hook for attendees alone, so don't miss their presumably later set this year! As well, I believe J.D. will be fronting Hey, What About Us?!, which was the name to have been used by a one-off Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute band he planned to perform with at his annual Halloween Party at The Algonquin back in 2016. If still accurate, that will be a fun diversion! The other five bands making their Northern Vibe debuts include reunited and still online page-less punk cover quartet The Cover-Up (thankfully not still called You First & The Givee Givees) in their own first show since 2019, rising indie punk quintet (The) Northwest, punk/alternative duo These Magnificent Tentacles (more on them soon), punk trio Redundant (last seen opening for Buckcherry), and indie rock quartet Man Feelings. Stacked lineup, so stay tuned to festival pages for (hopefully) the full nightly lineups... fingers crossed!

I am surprised that none of Chris Thompson's old bands (except Spades GT) are playing this year in his memory, but bands could theoretically be added by August. Full weekend passes are currently on sale for $100 at this link (nothing on daily passes yet), and there is an early bird coupon code, so get on that A.S.A.P. if you want to save in advance of all of the action at the old Hempfest grounds this summer! Stay tuned for festival updates when they roll in, and look for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow, and much more news and notes beyond! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Id Iota

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, continuing our monthly feature spotlights on local metal, hard rock, and punk bands from the past, all as randomly selected from our inactive band links! This month's choice is a very notable and familiar band that straddled genre lines to a strong run in the late 2010s, so here's what you should know on them!

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Id Iota

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Alternative/Hard Rock

Lineup (Members not in their last known lineup in italics):

Christian Lemay (Free Beer, Habitat Shuffle), vocals/guitar
Dustin Goodall (Pointless, Free Beer), guitar
Robert Sartini (Pillory, The Peach Thieves), bass
Blair St. John (The Dirty Few), drums/studio bass
Justin Girardi, bass
Dan Linklater (The Vertically Impaired), bass

Audio/Video: Id Iota released one four song EP during their run, namely April 2016's "Maudlin Fair", and while now out of print, you can buy and stream it on their Bandcamp page! The band had more originals than just these, notably working on an unreleased studio album afterwards (also at Dustin's own studio Unsalted Audio), and you can see some of them via surviving videos on social media, including on their own Facebook page & YouTube channel, and I even filmed them for the SMS' Facebook page. Here's Id Iota playing the non-EP original "Introduction To American Literature" at LopLops in 2017!

Info/Analysis: After the release of then-new local alternative rock band Habitat Shuffle's EP "Sober Drift" in August 2014, 3/4ths of that band surprisingly opted to start over under the name Id Iota in mid-2015, moving to a somewhat softer sound in the process. Id Iota would debut at The Algonquin Pub that June, and would become a fan favourite sight at a wide variety of shows over the next three years, including opening slots for bands like Saturn Alien, Windigo, and The Almighty Rhombus, sets at the NLFB Meltdown battle of the bands and Lopstock 2, two different Ontario tour runs supporting Mike Mikus-led projects in 2016, and three consecutive Rotaryfest Stage 2 sets. The band's classic lineup (with Christian, Dustin, Dan, and Blair) were prominently seen in 2016 & 2017. Id Iota played their final shows in early-mid 2018 alongside new bassist Robert Sartini, closing with a Rotaryfest afterparty at LopLops.

The band (minus Christian and plus Bill Priddle) covered an unreleased Pup song in their last public act in February 2019, and they quietly disbanded later that year. While fans of Christian & Dustin's prior ska punk band Free Beer may have been disappointed by the shift in genre, their increased songwriting abilities and maturity were clearly evident during Id Iota's heyday, combining an indie sensibility with some punk influence, raspy vocals, and solid melodies that made them easily adaptable at shows of many stripes! Not every band can make a melodica work in a live setting, but Id Iota pulled it off! They had a good thing going, and hopefully they'll turn back up again down the line, perhaps completing that album?

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, our random selection will keep us in Sault Ontario for a look at a contemporary punk band of Id Iota's, namely Stegadeth! Look for that on or around June 10th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Black Label Society Concert Video Showcase (Part 1!!)

As promised, it's time to finally dive into some of the fallout from Friday night's Black Label Society-headlined concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, a show quite literally 2+ years in the making! Mercifully, there were no pandemic hangups or positive tests to throw yet another spanner in the works, as the fourth time was the charm for Zakk Wylde and crew to finally rock out with members of the Sault Ste. Marie chapter! I regrettably did not go as I caught a bad cold (not COVID) last week, and was still under the weather on Friday, so better safe than sorry, especially with the remaining pandemic measures at the border. That said, all reports I heard from attendees were very positive, and you can see for yourself via videos from the show, which have popped up from three known YouTube channels so far, and we'll start with a single Black Label Society upload from user Anthony Roy on Saturday!

Anthony filmed just the one clip of Black Label Society playing "You Made Me Wanna Live", and despite being in the vertical cell phone orientation, it's solid quality! Capturing Zakk in his finest kilt and sounding just like you'd expect from their albums, Anthony was in the second or third row on the floor, and the audio on this slower, more deliberate original is nice and clear with a good view of the stage, do don't bypass this one below!

The rest of today's videos all come from the prolific YouTube channel of Christopher Paci in his first concert video uploads since Buckcherry in Sault Ontario last fall, and his first at The Dreammakers Theater since The Hair Scare Live in February 2020 (we all know why it took this long). Good to see that Chris is able to cross the border and see shows across like normal, and he got eleven videos from all three acts on Friday, so let's start with Black Label Society, who were filmed for six of them! Along with 57 seconds of Zakk shredding and this 99 second clip of Zakk and fellow guitarist Dario Lorina dueling with guitar solos, Chris filmed four full songs from B.L.S.' set, including "Demise of Sanity", "A Love Unreal", "Spoke In The Wheel", and as embedded below, their closing song "Stillborn". While not as close to the stage as Anthony was, Chris was far more centered, and you get a good view of the mass of berzerkers in attendance on Friday!

The lighting can be a little overexposed from this vantage point, but Chris got some solid footage of the Doom Crew doing what they do best, and from his videos, you get songs that are both musically and emotionally heavy depending on your preference! Give these a look above and below!

From the openers, Chris shot three videos of Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss' set, including her & her solo band playing her instrumental "Our Most Desperate Hour", her hit single "Dead Inside" (featuring a backing track of Disturbed singer David Draiman rather than live vocals), and embedded below, two different instrumentals, namely "Alegria" & "Lion Among Wolves", with Nita acknowledging playing on that very stage during her second ever show with Alice Cooper between songs. Really strong videos here capturing Nita's technical guitar wizardry very nicely, and her band's up to the task, so give these clips a watch above & below as well!

Finally for today, Chris did film two videos of opening blues rock musician Jared James Nichols' set, including of his original "Bad Roots", but given that he's not a hard rock/metal musician, I wasn't projecting embedding a video of his here... until I noticed that he covered Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box" on Friday! The audio quality of the camera is noticeably rougher here compared to the later bands, but Jared gets a strong beefy sound in both songs, and he's clearly a very talented guitarist who can back it up vocally! Maybe with a little too much vocal emphasis at the end of some verses, but A.I.C. fans will dig it, and you can see more above & below!

That's all for today, but more Black Label Society concert videos will be hitting the site soon, and for now, stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!