Back to the news backlog clearout on this Tuesday evening, including new updates from the E.U.P., a revived solo project, and leading off, a preview for an expected mid-week concert, so here's what you should know!
As recently usual, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison should return to The Mike Case Memorial Stage at The Trading Post for another Wednesday evening concert TOMORROW NIGHT, but while we're on the subject, let's add his expected August dates there to our calendar! Unless otherwise stated (like for inclement weather), Tym should be back at the Great Northern Road outdoor stage on Wednesday, August 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st, so fans of his deep setlist of hard and classic rock covers should be amped up for these mid-week events next month, and before then, tomorrow! Remember, the Mike Case Stage is only open seasonally, closing for 2022 in September. Tomorrow's and next month's shows have no age limit, no cover charge, and 7:00 PM start times, but be advised that Tym has not visibly plugged tomorrow's concert on social media, so we'll let you know if it is 100% off or if things are a go as usual.
Weather-wise, if he is back there tomorrow, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy, 17° weather with the rain likely ending before showtime. Again, we'll let you know if Tym's off tomorrow or if the show just didn't get an event page, but see above for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, let's head to Michigan for some more backlogged updates from St. Ignace metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown's Facebook page! Beyond the YouTube video covered the other day, Heavy Lies The Crown uploaded three TikTok style "Reels" videos that are ultra short & repetitive by design after the Nonpoint concert in New Baltimore two weeks ago, but they did post one proper 30 second live video from that event of the guys in action, unfortunately shot vertically. The attendee still had a good angle of the band (minus bassist Christian Thanasiu) as well
as fans trying to get a mosh pit going on the floor, and the video and
audio quality holds up where the aspect ratio may not! Give it a watch
below, and stay tuned for more from Heavy Lies The Crown in due course!
Also, here's a new video of local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 from their show at The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel this past weekend! Uploaded to their Facebook page on Sunday (with more videos from the show allegedly forthcoming), this features the guys covering Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box". Strong performance of a great song, if a little soft vocally on the choruses, but the visual quality isn't ideal thanks to the overexposed blue stage lighting. Still good stuff all around, so check it out for yourself below, and 906 will be back in Hessel next month!
Finally for today, let's head back to Sault Ontario, as local hard rock solo project Stonesmith GC (f.k.a. StrykerGC) relaunched in May! I almost went with them for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile before noticing, FYI. Led by veteran local guitarist Troy Isaac, Stonesmith GC has been absent from Facebook updates for a year+, but as you can see by the links in their YouTube video descriptions, he sure has a current presence online! Two original songs under the slightly altered name Stone Smyth can be heard on his/their Bandcamp page, entitled "Uncle Ted For President" (a musical homage to Ted Nugent) and "Who's Next MF", while their YouTube channel features 30-60 second samples of those and six other songs, all set to thematically related stock footage. The full songs can be heard on Spotify and/or Apple Music, though no word on if Troy is planning an album or not.
Note that Stone Smyth's Bandcamp description says "Please look me up for up coming
performances" and "I have a full 15 song original show coming to a town near
you", though I have not seen any references to live dates on his pages at press time (also note that pages tend to list the project as being from Toronto nowadays). Good to see Troy back at it with his original music, and his guitar and programming talents are on solid display with these songs, but the vocal processing may not be for everyone. It'll be interesting to see what else comes of the new Stone Smyth, but give their new songs a listen, and here's the preview video for "Cold Rain"!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
As promised, here is our third Rotaryfest video showcase post, and we're sticking with Stage 1 at Clergue Park today with bands that played on the Friday (with one exception), so let's lead off for a second straight day with Mike Haggith, as his long-awaited full-band concert in the Soo took place on day #2 of the festival! This was live-streamed to his YouTube channel on the 15th, and captures his entire 45 minute set on the main stage, alongside A Dire Setback's Chris Nielsen & Matt Quinn and his old Din bandmate Brandan Glew. Also capturing stage MC Andrew Steutz's introductions and pre-set announcements, the video is shot in front of the stage, so ignore the sharp angle of the thumbnail. In order, Mike's original-heavy set included "If Ever Comes The Day", "MorningStar", a cover of The Barenaked Ladies' "Too Little Too Late", "Twist Of Fate", "Back Away Slowly", a cover of The Foo Fighters' "Times Like These"...
...a cover of Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", "I Seen It Before", and "The Nature Of The Times". Covers aside, this was definitely a showcase for Mike's Thompson-era originals (no Din carryovers whatsoever), and while the video quality is washed out, things sound good! I honestly didn't expect to see Mike just singing two songs with no guitar (very odd), but the band mesh together nicely, even if Matt isn't always in frame! Definitely give this a watch to see Mike's newer original material in a fully realized form, but there's more from his set to look at too!
The ever-prolific Christopher Paci was also in attendance for Mike's set on that Friday, filming "Twist of Fate" and, as embedded below, "The Nature of the Times" as part of his eleven videos across both stages on his YouTube channel. I didn't mention this above, but Brandan's old Re:Born bandmate Elly McWatters joined the band for the closer as a backing vocalist, and she does add some good harmonies! Chris' videos of Mike & crew were further away in the seating area, and the sound is tinnier than on Mike's full-set clip, but the extra angles are welcomed, especially to capture Matt in steady frame. Check these out above & below!
Chris also filmed two extra bands on Friday, including closing classic rock band Angry Joe & The Growlers covering Tony Joe White's "Bayou Woman" from a closer angle, but embedded below is a glam metal cover from classic rock veterans and modern day Rotaryfest mainstays Mustang Heart, namely Autograph's "Turn Up The Radio". The location and quality is no different from Chris' videos of Mike's set, but performance-wise, it's solidly handled, and Marci hits all the right notes on vocals, so fans will want to give this one a watch below, and look for Chris' Saturday videos soon!
Finally, let's jump to Saturday the 16th for a video of local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek's Stage 1 set, as attendee Tom Thumb (that can't be his real name) filmed them covering Thriving Ivory's "Angels On The Moon"! Uploaded to the band's Facebook page that night, this was shot from the lawn close to the stage, and it's a solid quality video capturing this smooth cover with nice rich audio quality! Solid work, if not their heaviest cover going, so check it out below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
It's nice to be clearing out our backlog of news and videos from this month, if slowly, and today's post is devoted to furthering that goal! We're in a video-heavy mode today, including live concert footage from both sides of the border, recent updates from a prominent E.U.P. band, and leading off, a new single from a familiar face, so here's what you should know!
It took nine days, but let's finally acknowledge local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's newest studio track, which was posted to his YouTuhe channel on July 15th! As possibly heard already in his live-streams and solo concerts, this is entitled "Twist of Fate", and while it will apparently be the second song in Mike's upcoming album "All The Best In All You Do", this is the "single version", implying that it's shorter than what will make the album proper. While not the version we'll be reviewing when the album eventually comes out, I'll still hold comment on the song proper until then as they will share heavy similarities. The video is not just the song with a static image card either, this is a full video featuring an assortment of often dark and cryptic stock footage from Pexels, with the song lyrics accompanying the video as it rolls along. Interesting to watch even without paying attention to the song!
Fans of Mike's more rocking songs should take to "Twist of Fate" in its studio form, so give it a watch below, and yes, I am well aware that he performed it at Rotaryfest and that it was filmed by multiple YouTube channels. Our third Rotaryfest video showcase post is arriving on the site probably tomorrow, so stay tuned for that A.S.A.P.!
Next up, here's the latest from St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, so what have they been up to lately? Quite a lot, it's been almost a month since we last covered them on here! Back on June 27th, Brandon & Ted uploaded this video to their Facebook page where they acknowledged having forty free tickets for the Nonpoint concert in New Baltimore that they were to play on July 13th, with fans able to get a ticket if they show proof of sharing, liking, or promoting H.L.T.C. online (note the counter of times they said "free"). Before then, however, they shared this video on July 7th of the clip of Eddie Munson playing guitar in the Upside Down on Stranger Things, only with the band's own song "Voices" dubbed overtop instead of "Master of Puppets". Solid work to jump on a very viral moment, I'm surprised more local bands didn't do that! As for the Nonpoint concert, videos were absolutely shot!
We'll touch on their own Facebook videos soon, but YouTube user BIGKEV420 was in attendance at The Diesel Concert Lounge on the 13th, filming Heavy Lies The Crown playing part of their song "Friend". Unfortunately, it's in the vertical orientation, and Ted is largely obscured from view by an attendee's head, but as you can see in the above picture from The Diesel, H.L.T.C. appear to have finally secured a new rhythm guitarist! I have not found a public reference to his identity yet (we'll keep you posted), but gotta love his Flying V! The video proper is more of interest for the audio, which is solid, if shot at a very breakdown-heavy portion, so give it a watch for yourself below!
We'll close today, at long last, with Christopher Paci's videos from the Sandman/Fort Creek concert at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario on July 9th! Apologies for the two week+ delay, things have been incredibly busy this month, and yes, I am well aware of his Rotaryfest videos from both stages, check back hopefully tomorrow as we continue ticking those off! Chris had his camera rolling for both bands, and for the headlining Toronto-based Metallica tribute band, he shot them playing "For Whom The Bell Tolls" (with "Ecstasy of Gold" introduction), "The Unforgiven", "One", "Enter Sandman", Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?", and their set-closer "Fade To Black", but embedded below is their version of "Master of Puppets". The audio can be a little tinny, but Chris got a strong angle of Sandman doing their thing, and the crowd response is very welcome, especially during the mid-"Unforgiven" audio fail! Check these out above & below!
As for opening local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek, Chris filmed them playing their original "Hammer Down", and as embedded below, Montrose's "Rock Candy". Chris' view of the band is cleaner here thanks to having less fans on the floor, and they get a good bassy sound for these performances, so give these clips a look above & below as well!
That's all for today, but if all goes well, look for even more Rotaryfest videos on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
After a couple days spent previewing local concerts, we're back to the Rotaryfest concert video grind on this Saturday afternoon, as we have even more videos to share from the Sault's summer festival, specifically bands who played at Stage 1 at Clergue Park on Saturday the 16th! There is absolutely more coming, including from Stage 2, so look for those next week. We'll pick up where we left off on Wednesday, via former SaultOnline reporter Mike Caruso's new YouTube channel, but Mike was only present for the first two bands on the final day, neither being or playing hard rock. He filmed Pegasus covering Billie Holiday and The Jeff & Jeff Show covering Garth Brooks, but the video is having issues for me, with Pegasus audio bleeding over top of Jeff & Jeff video, some of it slowed down. Mike did re-upload his Thursday and Friday videos, so this could be why, to eliminate issues like this.
Keep tabs on Mike's channel to see if this gets fixed, but kudos to him for filming what he did! Now heading to videos of some of the hard rock acts on Saturday, starting with a video of Montreal-based Queen tribute band Queen Flash's featured set! This comes from the Facebook page of local talent competition The Soo's Got Talent (which allegedly returns from its pandemic hiatus later this year), who shared it from co-organizer Mario Naccarato's personal Facebook page. The video features Queen Flash playing "We Are The Champions", and singer Johnny Zatylny definitely has the look and tone of Frreddie Mercury down well (even with a crown and robe!), but you can tell this was later in the set, as he is struggling on some higher and longer notes. Solid performance of this Queen staple all around, so give it a look below!
Also, Rotaryfest's own Facebook page has posted hundreds of photos from the weekend and assorted posts about the festivities, but only one video from the band lineups was posted there, namely this remarkably short (only 13 seconds long!) video of Queen Flash's set. The focus seems to be less on the band and more on the fans, as the filmer had a corner-of-the-stage angle of the crowd clapping along mid-song, and yeah, quite a solid turnout for Rotaryfest's return to normalcy! If you got the latest Sault This Week in your mailboxes, you'll have noticed a neat overhead shot of the 2,500 person crowd for Queen Flash, which is really good to see! Check out this quick video for yourself below, and more videos are coming soon!
We'll close today with the band that actually followed Queen Flash, namely local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard, who closed the festival on Saturday night! Attendee Marcy Catherine live-streamed two videos from their set onto her personal Facebook page, with the band sharing them on their own Facebook page after the fact, and they include covers of The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?" (seriously) and, as embedded below, the back half of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son". Solid covers with good camera angles given Marcy's location, and while the former cover is unexpected, it's light and amusing! Check out both of Bone Yard's Stage 1 videos above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
Before we finish off this weekend's concert previews, I wanted to note that Soo Blaster's website advertises a show from Ottawa indie rock band No Hits on Sunday night that local alt-punk quintet These Magnificent Tentacles were allegedly opening. As best as I can tell, that is an outdated listing, as the Tentacles have never plugged the show on social media, physical posters at Soo Blaster only mention Distich as opening, and their own Facebook page says their next show will be The Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir next month. A reason for T.M.T.'s withdrawal from this show has not been announced, but note that frontman Brenton Ellis indicated in a personal Facebook post that drummer Brendan Garlick was unavailable for their recent outdoor festival gigs, so that could be related. No Hits aren't a hard rock/punk band, but they are talented for genre fans, so look into this minimally advertised show if you're at all curious, as I am pretty sure it is still on!
Now, today's post otherwise features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (mostly on SHORT NOTICE), plus a new videos from a performer playing this weekend, so here's what you should know!
Local punk trio Vanity First will play a special matinee gig THIS SUNDAY at... Harmony Beach Lakeview Resort in Goulais River?! Apologies for the short notice, the show was announced via this concert poster on July 10th, but between last weekend's concert preview slate and the generally busy times for the SMS this month, it got pushed back and back. SUNDAY's show will see Andrew, Mikhal, and Keegan playing at Harmony Beach's annual beach clean-up, which takes place at 11:00 AM at the resort, with the free-by-registration event seeing attendees helping clean up the beach. Nice idea, if somewhat sad that they have to make a point to giving the conceit an annual event, but hopefully everyone does their part to keep Harmony Beach beautiful! Organizers didn't go into great detail about the format of Vanity First's concert, but they will have an opening band (Sylo, who I know nothing about, stay tuned in case anything pertinent comes out).
Note that Vanity First will also be playing a house party event tomorrow at a cottage in Goulais River, and as I'm wary about advertising events at private residences, I won't cover it here due to the nature of the location, but be advised that the address is on the poster linked above. Hopefully it goes over well! SUNDAY'S beach clean-up is an all ages event, lunch and refreshments will be provided, and the resort is at 128 Harmony Beach Road. Assuming they're playing outdoors, be advised that 9&10 News is calling for a 35-40% chance of scattered thunderstorms with temperatures of 19°. See above for more details, and here's Vanity First live!
Next up, local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play matinee concerts THIS SUNDAY and next Sunday the 31st, but not at Reggie's Place, at Shooters Downstairs Lounge! Again, apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced these shows via their Facebook event page on Monday, with Shooters posting their own yesterday on their Facebook page. Clearly, Shooters' deep dive into live concert bookings in 2022 is going well, as they're now trying their hand at the Sunday matinee like the downtown Reggie's has hosted for years, and Tym's up first there THIS SUNDAY and next Sunday! Despite playing there two straight weeks, this isn't the start of a new weekly arrangement for Tym, as the Dennis Street nightclub will be hosting multiple artists for their Sunday matinees, including country singer/guitarist Leslie Cook on the first two Sundays of August.
Shooters' Sunday matinees have 3:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Tym's acoustic classic and hard rock covers should find a receptive audience further down Queen Street THIS SUNDAY and next Sunday, so definitely keep these shows in mind for some dinner-time music! See above for more details, and here's Tym live!
Let's close today with some new videos from Vanity First guitarist Mikhal Muto before these get pushed back any further in our backlog! In between sporadic full band-related updates on their Facebook page, two videos were posted there of Mikhal solo on June 27th & July 8th, with the first being a 32 second clip of him playing the guitar solo from their song "White Ghosts". Very well done, any punk band in the Soo would be lucky to have Mikhal on board playing like that!. Embedded below is the slightly longer second video, which sees him playing a section of a new original (and partially eponymous) song named "Habitual Vanity", which they're reportedly debuting the house party in Goulais River tomorrow. The video is not as high quality (and it's clearly mirrored), but it's still a solid showcase of Mikhal's skill, and as a new song, it was worth sharing here! Check out both videos, and don't miss Vanity First at Harmony Beach on SUNDAY!
That's all for today, but our Rotaryfest concert video coverage will continue on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Another busy weekend concert preview slate is upon us, so we'll be breaking things up into two posts. Tomorrow, we'll look at shows/bands on Sunday, and all happen to be short notice deals either on the band's/promoter's part or from my own busy schedule around here. Today, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS tied into the Friday-Saturday previews, some on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know!
Local southern hard rock cover quintet Fort Creek will return to Reggie's West for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the band's Facebook page yesterday. Following their double header of concerts at Shooters and Rotaryfest this past Saturday, this will be a return to normalcy for this talented five-piece, and they should deliver some solid hard rock and southern rock covers (plus select originals) for fans at the Reggievelt TOMORROW! No word on why they're not playing Saturday, but if TOMORROW doesn't work for you, don't worry, as Fort Creek will also return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for a one-nighter on Saturday, August 6th! The band has not confirmed that date yet, but the venue beat them to it with a Facebook event page. That Shooters date is a one-nighter due to or resulting in a show on Friday the 5th that we'll touch on in a second.
Both shows have 8:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits, and there will be yet another merchandise giveaway at Reggie's West TOMORROW (no word on Shooters yet, but in their solo shows, it's pretty likely). Visit the above links for more details on both TOMORROW & next month's dates, and here's Fort Creek live! Yes, I am well aware of their new videos from both the Sandman show and Rotaryfest, stay tuned!
Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge themselves for shows on SATURDAY NIGHT and then again on Friday, August 5th! The venue announced the former with plenty of advance notice via this Facebook event page, and made good in kind for August 5th via this event page, so Shooters delivers in that regard! For the record, Soundcheck have not posted on their Facebook page for any reason in over two weeks, but their own concert announcements are unfortunately usually on short notice anyway. Note that drummer Glen Thomas mentioned on his personal Facebook page that tonight's Soundcheck-hosted jam night at Reggie's West was as a trio (no Cameron, who often misses those) and featured regular guest bassist Rob Gilmar rather than Paul Belair, so if you want to read into either for Shooters on Saturday, that's your call.
If Glen's plugs for the weekend were to be believed, they are not playing anywhere tomorrow. Soundcheck's hard rocking party covers and staple classics will be on tap this Saturday and on Friday the 5th at 8:00 PM with no cover charges and 19+ age limits as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview of this weekend's gig, here's Soundcheck live!
One more from Shooters Downstairs Lounge for this preview post, and if you noticed that Soundcheck aren't playing there TOMORROW, it is either due to or resulted in southern hard rock trio Bone Yard playing there instead! While also announced via a Facebook event page from the venue (something Bone Yard did acknowledge publically), they were not confirmed for an August date there in Shooters' newest concert announcement wave, but more is definitely coming tomorrow! This will be Bone Yard's first concert since closing Rotaryfest's Stage 1 in style this past Saturday (videos from their set are also forthcoming), and will mark their first stop at the Dennis Street nightclub in well over a month. Greg, Alex, and Warren's experienced and oft-seen brand of southern and hard rock covers should prove a solid soundtrack at Shooters tomorrow, so don't miss out on their action tomorrow night downtown!
Once again, Shooters' weekend cover band shows like this have a 19+ age limit, 8:00 PM start time, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, stay tuned for more from the band and venue in the coming days, and here's Bone Yard live!
Finally for today's previews, let's take a detour to the E.U.P., as Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will rock The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel for one night only TOMORROW! The first hard rock-featured show at The Islander Bar that we've previewed on the SMS since 2015, fans will have last seen Billy, Joe, Dustin, and Odin on a public stage in the Soo three weeks ago, but they did share pictures from the private gig they played a week later on Facebook. It will be interesting to see how well Project 906's rare Hessel gig goes tomorrow, and if it becomes a recurring venue in their live schedule, but consider heading down there for their hard rocking cover selection (and possibly some originals) tomorrow night! The Islander Bar is located at 134 South Pickford Avenue, for the record, and Hessel is basically 40 minutes due south of the Soo. While 906 don't often play two-nighters, a celebration of life takes place at the bar on Saturday.
Like the Shooters gigs above, tomorrow's Islander Bar show has an 8:00 PM start time and no announced cover charge, but as this is Michigan, expect a 21+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Project 906 live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
Before we resume the weekend concert preview grind, lets at least start to cover videos from Rotaryfest's music stages from this past weekend! By all accounts, the return of the full (midway aside) summer festival after two pandemic affected years was a hit, if under muggy conditions, and there's a lot of pictures, articles, and videos across the expected social media and news channels online! For videos, the widest breadth of bands filmed is via former SaultOnline correspondent Mike Caruso's new YouTube channel, as he had his camera rolling on all three days, especially Friday! You may recall Mike posting videos of every Stage 1 band (except Fusion for one reason or another) in 2011 & 2012 for his old YouTube channel, as well as selections from later years, but no word on why he launched a new YouTube channel outright. From Mike's 2022 Rotaryfest videos, who and what can you see?
For the Thursday video, Mike filmed all four Stage 1 bands at Clergue Park, but the advertised performance order is not reflected in how Mike laid this out (no word on if there were any actual changes). Local funk/hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns open Mike's video, in bassist Al White & drummer Derek Turner's public video debuts with the band. They & guest saxophonist Josh Norling were filmed covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "American Girl" ("Rotarian Girl", if you prefer"), with Christina Speers on lead vocals. While not the hardest rocking cover in their repertoire, it is well performed and the plugged-in, full-band setup is a nice change of pace if you're used to their unplugged quartet gigs! Believe it or not, classic rock trio Flathead Ford go heavier via Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" afterwards (relatively recent cover from what I know of them).
Flathead Ford handle this song alright with good energy, though the vocals aren't as smooth as Freddie's (few are, granted). Rotaryfest regulars The Northern Jazz Ensemble are next with an instrumental performance that I honestly cannot title (jazz music isn't in my wheelhouse), but the talents are on full display, if very stoically! Classic/pop rock cover quarter L!me closed the video and night #1, and their filmed cover is also SMS-amenable, namely their set-opener "Song 2" by Blur. Short choice but always good to make an impact, and Madi's vocals are an interesting take! Solid videos from a good angle, so give all four bands a look below!
Mike got the bulk of his footage on Friday via this 48+ minute video of that day's six bands! This was uploaded once before but re-posted with edits that you can compare & contrast while the old one is still online, but the songs proper are the same. The immense length is explained by Mike filming two songs from each band rather than one (not sure why, but those bands should be happy!). The opening Friday band on Stage 1 in person and on video are local blues/classic rock cover band Ladies Sing The Blues, who were filmed covering Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" & Etta James' "The Blues Is My Business", and with Valerie's vocal talents on full display, genre fans won't wanna bypass those! In case the banner didn't give it away, classic rock veterans RPM played next, and Mike shot their set-opening cover of Tom Petty's "Free Falling" plus them doing Bruce Springsteen's "My Hometown". Both are strongly performed and faithfully handled!
Valerie Powley returned to the stage in time for her primary classic/hard rock cover band Obsession's set afterwards, who featured not just teased guest performer Jessica Amadio, but also guest guitarist Dan Belanger, who played with Obsession last year and filled in for That's Chester's reunion sets at Rotaryfest in the late 2010s. Their filmed covers include their set-opener "Everybody Wants You" by Billy Squier and "Roxy Roller" by Nick Gilder, with Jessica on tambourine for the former & singing backup for the latter. I'm unsure if her involvement was just for the weekend gigs or if more will come of it, but she didn't detract from either song, and everyone seemed to be performing at their best on these classic rock staples, so Obsession fans have nothing to worry about! In a rarity for Mike Caruso's Rotaryfest videos, he filmed an original act next, namely local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith!
He and his Dire Setback/Din alum-bolstered backing band were filmed playing their set-opener "If Ever Comes The Day", plus "MorningStar" from the same album. Very neat seeing Mike play these songs on a local stage with a proper backing band at long last, and if he had to wait 2+ years from the original CD release party plans, look at the stage he got! Yes, I am well aware of his own full-set video from that night, check back on Saturday (I hope). Classic rock veterans Mustang Heart were filmed by Mike Caruso next covering Journey's "Stone In Love" and Honeymoon Suite's "What Does It Take", and Marci & crew do a solid job on these classic rock favourites (having a keyboard really helps for both). Nightfall had hit for the Friday headliners, classic rock veterans Angry Joe & The Growlers, who covered Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain" & The Wallflowers' "One Headlight".
Similarly strong and well played renditions to end the Friday bill at Rotaryfest, so definitely give each individual song a listen via the above linked titles! We are far from done with Rotaryfest fallout (I haven't even touched on what Mike shot on Saturday yet), but I must put a pause on this topic until Saturday at the earliest, as another busy concert weekend is imminent. Stay tuned for this previews (and late notice show announcements) in the next couple of days, but check out Mike's Rotaryfest Stage 1 videos from Friday below! Thanks everyone!
