LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Nelson) & The Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven Concert Video Showcase (Part 2!!)

Before we tackle this weekend's hard rock concert previews, here's an extra news post as our backlog continues getting slowly cleared out (and more and more stuff is being added as it is!) This post covers some late but welcomed videos from a major springtime concert in Sault Ontario, but let's start with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a festive flair for Sault Michigan later this year!

California-based hair metal/hard rock duo Nelson will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the local Kewadin Casino on Friday, December 11th, but this won't be a run of the mill concert. Last seen unplugged opening for Night Ranger here this past October, Matthew & Gunnar's headlining return will be a part of their "Christmas With The Nelsons" tour, which will be a multimedia concert featuring their  nostalgic reflections and media from Christmases past with their families (including their celebrity grandparents Ozzie & Harriet Nelson and father Ricky Nelson), while playing Christmas carols and songs from their own back catalogue. You can read more on the concert proper at this link, and this sure will be an interesting way to marry hair metal (presumably acoustic again) with a warm and fuzzy Christmas experience, so keep this in mind for your holiday event plans! Click here for more information on the Christmas With The Nelsons tour.

Presented by Oldies 93 rather than Rock 101 (perhaps a hint that this won't be wall to wall Nelson songs from their early 1990s heyday), tickets for this all ages are now on sale at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN running from $26 to $46 apiece depending on row and section, which is a really good price if you like Nelson and Christmas, let alone the idea of them together. This will be a unique event for sure over the holiday season, so visit the above links for more details!

The rest of this post is comprised of belated new videos from the Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven concert at GFL Memorial Gardens in Sault Ontario in April! These come from prolific local concert filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, but for one reason or another, Chris didn't upload his videos from this show until last month. Better late than never, but if you were wondering why our coverage of videos from this sold out concert stalled out after one post, this may help explain that! Chris filmed twenty videos at the Gardens on this night, with 13 coming from the headlining Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet's set, so what did he film? Three Days Grace videos here included "Never Too Late", "Painkiller", "Mayday", "Just Like You", two songs from the acoustic campfire section ("Lifetime" & "Lost In You"),  "I Hate Everything About You", "Pain", "I Am Machine", "Break", "Animal I Have Become", "Dominate", ...

...and as embedded below, their closing song "Riot". Chris was on the floor here, and while not in the closest rows, he had a good clear view of the stage while still allowing for lots of attendee heads to validate the turnout and audience response (look at all the cell phones!). As I noted in our prior post on videos from this concert, Three Days Grace sounded good here, and while I do prefer Adam to Matt vocally, they pair off each other well, and it is interesting to hear how each other does songs from the other singer's era as the band's sole frontman. Give Chris' 3DG videos a watch above & below!

Shockingly, Chris is the only YouTube user that I know of to upload public videos of either opening band (in our first 3DG/F11 concert video post, the lone Finger Eleven video was from Facebook). In terms of Finger Eleven, he filmed the Burlington alternative/hard rock quintet playing six songs, including "Good Times", "The Mountain", "One Thing", "Slow Chemical" (Kane's theme!), "Above", and as embedded below, their closing song "Paralyzer" (complete with partial intro cover of Genesis' "That's All"). Some vocal wear from Scott aside, Finger Eleven sound good here, and the fans were definitely into their familiar hit singles, even if I like them heavier and darker than on "Paralyzer". Give these a watch above & below as well! 

Finally, Chris filmed a single video of Edmonton hard rock band Royal Tusk's opening set, but based on what I gathered from show reviews, there were delays getting fans from the lineup into the Gardens, so Royal Tusk were playing while a lot of fans were still making their way inside. This performance of their newer original song "Vindicate" has a solid edge to it with clear melodic vocals, and it sounds ready for radio airplay! No word on what the QR codes on the screen link to, my phone couldn't latch on to them clearly enough. Give the sole public local Royal Tusk video a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for most of this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Punk Rock Fiesta & The Reeves!!)

Before we look at a (somewhat thankfully) quieter batch of weekend concert previews, here's a news post devoted to two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the fall with touring headliners, one being particularly notable for its band reunions and implied status as a first annual punk festival, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday evening!

Local hard rock quartet The Reeves and space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will make their debuts at The Art Hub At Spring on Saturday, September 5th when they open for Saskatoon indie rock band Autopilot in their local debut! First teased on The Reeves' Facebook page last week, the headliners aren't a hard rock band, but if you like alternative and pop rock of the kind you used to see at LopLops, you'll take to Autopilot's melodic original sound with some unique flourishes (they even use a bow to play the guitar here and there!) For the local openers, this will be both bands' second show of the year, following The Reeves' set at Rotaryfest Stage 2 and The Spaceship Opening's Blaster Powerhouse gig at the start of the month, and they should set the tone well with their eclectic hard rock originals! Promoted by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis, this is far from his only collaboration with The Art Hub (actually located at 504 Queen Street East), so stay tuned for more on what he's cooking up there.

The first SMS-covered concert at The Art Hub At Spring since the Shae Tull/Pet Retina gig there in May 2025, this all ages concert on Autopilot's Name That Tour! will have doors opening at 6:00 PM, and admission will be $15 or "pay what you can". Sounds like an intriguing spread of sounds for fans of original rock music, if at a somewhat more intimate locale, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing will return to the Soo for the first annual Punk Rock Fiesta on Saturday, October 3rd! Ostensibly intended as a major annual local hardcore punk concert, this is the brainchild of new local promoters BCDR Productions (BCDR = Bush Core Drunk Rock), led by former Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy, who co-promoted the Fist Magnet/Room 206/Spigots concert in at Soo Blaster in December. That's where we last saw Random Killing in town (opening for The Dayglo Abortions in May 2023), but Punk Rock Fiesta will instead mark the grand return of a multi-band concert to The Algonquin Hotel for the first time since they paused hosting normal live bands in mid-2022 after some lean times there post-pandemic. We have seen the occasional Silent 9-headlined charity event there at The Rockstar Bar upstairs, but it is great to see them hosting a proper multi-band concert again after over 4 years! Here's hoping that more are in the works!

As best as I can tell from the mildly conflicting marketing, this will be at The Rockstar Bar, not the downstairs Algonquin Pub (though some posts just say it'll be at The Algonquin Hotel). Of course, it will be great to welcome Random Killing and their Saultite frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley back to the Soo this fall, and they're no strangers to The Rockstar Bar (headlining there twice in the 2010s), so hopefully there's another packed turnout of punk fans for their intense original back catalogue! The performance order is not clear based on how the bands are ordered on both the official (not AI!) poster and the official Facebook event page, but there will be two more big band reunions here, including the return of 1990s hardcore punk staples Fist Magnet, who we last saw at the aforementioned Blaster show in December. No word if their lineup will be Garry, Andrew, Dave, Christian, and John again, but keep note of this set in less than two months!

Perhaps more surprisingly, local punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards will reunite for their first gig since the inaugural Northern Vibe Festival in 2015 on this night! The band had hinted at reunions off and on over the past decade among posthumous hype for t-shirts and their music on streaming services, but that picture of 4/5ths of the band together in May on their Facebook page must have been a good indicator! I will treat this as a one-off reunion unless otherwise confirmed, but it will be great to see their cowpunk originals back this fall! Local crossover thrash trio Hails will make their Rockstar Bar debut on this night, as will newer local punk quartet PROD ("punk rock overdose"), who debuted at the December punk reunion concert but hadn't been seen since. Featuring three members of the Fist Magnet reunion lineup, hopefully they have a big return in their own right after 9 months away!

The last two bands are debuting bands named Dead II Society and The Baby Rails, neither of which has an online page or public information yet. I believe I know who one of the bands is, based on an intriguing recent personal Facebook video, but if true, I don't even know which of the two bands they're supposed to be. Stay tuned for more updates! Punk Rock Fiesta goes down on October 9th at 6:00 PM, it is 19+, and tickets go on sale on Friday at The Rad Zone (I don't know if there will be availability online or through the local performers). This will be a must-attend concert for hardcore punk fans this fall, so visit the above links for current details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Prince Fest), The Next LSSU Battle Of The Bands, And New Videos!!

In what will be a productive day re: knocking items off of our backlog that began building up last month, we have another packed news post today, including new videos from two bands seen on stage together earlier this month, initial details on a returning annual battle of the bands, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a new regional festival. Here's what you should know on this warm Tuesday evening!

A debuting summer concert festival in Prince Township (20 minutes west of the Soo) named Prince Fest goes down on Saturday, August 29th, and it will be headlined by Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer! While this is being co-promoted by DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse at 2667 Second Line West, Prince Fest will be an outdoor event in the adjacent baseball field at the corner of Second Line and Airport Road. Along with live music, advertising so far (the AI-generated posters linked here & here) indicates that there will also be local food and craft vendors, a beer garden, children's activities, at least one food truck, an on-site barbecue, a baseball tournament, and 3-on-3 basketball. More updates are sure to follow! Destroyer are by far the best known touring Kiss tribute to Sault Ste. Marie fans, having played here at least 6 times in the last 15 years, most recently at the former Soo Blaster in October 2023.

Good to see their faithful take on the Kiss back catalogue here again, if a little further west than you may expect! Local support will come by way of acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos and country rock solo musician Mike Robitaille, who has frequently played at the Boots & Saddles. Prince Fest is expected to run from 12:00-7:00 PM, it is absolutely all ages, and I have not seen any reference to a cover charge or ticket fee. 705Live Sound Co. will be on hand here too. Why not add one more community festival before the summer ends, and it's neat that one is happening so far west, so hopefully Prince Fest is a big hit at month's end! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, get ready, as the fourth annual Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands returns to Sault Michigan on Thursday, October 22nd! Now, the official advertising on LSSU's Arts Center's page erroneously lists this as the third annual battle there, even though this is 100% year 4 (The Sole Aggressors won in 2023, Molly & The Other Guys won in 2024, and The Dynamic Duo won last year), so hopefully that gets fixed in time for the Facebook promotion to begin. Thanks to generous sponsorship, this year's LSSU Battle will have the biggest prize purse yet, as after three years of $150 and $50 gift cards for first & second place, there will be prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250 for first-third place! If the same as the last two years, judges (primarily made up of LSSU faculty) will assess the competitors, who will each have 15 minute sets to compete this fall. The past three LSSU battles had six or seven acts apiece, though 2024 was once slated to have eight.

Video auditions are now being submitted at this link, and while last year's battle curiously only had solo artists and duos, the raised cash prizes should ensure a wider swath of artist submissions. We'll let you know when the official competitor lineup is announced, but could The Dynamic Duo attempt to repeat as champions where the prior winners didn't? Admission for general attendees will be $10 USD ($5 for kids 10 and under), and yes, this is a Thursday nighter, as the previous three LSSU Battles also were. Two EUP battles of the bands in a three month span with $1,000 top prizes ain't a raw deal, so visit the above links for more details, and click here to buy tickets!

We'll head back to Sault Ontario for the back half of today's post to look at some new videos, starting with the first 2026 concert videos from local space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening! On August 1st, Andrew and Ralph played their first show of the year when they opened for 5 Dollar Bribe at a multi-local band concert at Blaster Powerhouse, and they shared photos from it the next day to their Facebook page. While they teased that "videos (are coming) soon", only one has followed since, a video shot by an attendee named Kayla of them playing "a little ET cover". Whether they mean ET: The Extra Terrestrial or not, I can't identify the 22 seconds of music being played here, but the chugging riff sounds good, and being a duo, they are better framed for the vertical dimensions! I'd still have zoomed in a bit more though. Give this a look below, and hopefully The Spaceship Opening have more videos soon!

Finally for today, let's look at some new videos from the aforementioned 5 Dollar Bribe, who spent some time posting some non-concert videos to their Facebook page in late July and into this month that largely call to mind their pre-debut viral/comedy uploads on Instagram. To promote the aforementioned August 1st concert at the former Soo Blaster, drummer Chase Chapman starred in this video from July 28th where he demoed a kickflip, and had some help from "Jimbo Jenkins". Watch the video to find out who "Jimbo" is! Another video followed two days later that started with an attempted cover of the intro of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O Mine" before abruptly phasing to waking up in a field where Jayce and Tyler were, and beyond plugging the Soo Blaster show, I'll let you decipher what happened next! The day of the show, they posted an episode of "Dwayne's World" (one guess as to what they're parodying) where Chase was a guest of Dwayne and Garth(?) to promote the band and concert. 

Always good to see homages to classic SNL, even if needlessly letterboxed into vertical dimensions despite being a square video! Lastly, on July 31st, they covered At The Drive-In's "Patterns Against User" with Jayce on lead vocals, though for one reason or another, I can't embed it here. The level of covers that 5 Dollar Bribe will source from is always impressive, especially for their age, and they have a good tight sound on this post-hardcore deep cut, even if the video quality itself is fairly blurry. As it's apparently unembeddable, here's the "Dwayne's World" video, but give all of 5 Dollar Bribe's new uploads a watch at the above links!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Addition To Our Band Links, A Mid-Week Concert Preview, And Much More!!

In terms of our backlog clearout, yesterday's posts somewhat set us back, as one was a scheduled feature post and the other only knocked one topic off of the list. However, today's post will clear six items from our list, so here's what you should know via some recent shorter updates, a concert preview for tomorrow evening, and leading off, a belated addition to our band links and full coverage, so here's what you should know!

After their well received closing set on Rotaryfest Saturday last month, it's high time that we finally roll classic/hard rock cover trio The Sidekicks into our full coverage! The band has generally been cagey when it comes to sharing media and setlist hints from their shows, which is what has kept them out of our links for this long, but what they played at Clergue Park last month definitely points to The Sidekicks fitting based on bands that we already actively cover. Active since at least February 2020 when they played at the United We Jam! fundraiser right before the pandemic began, their Facebook page was only launched in August 2021, and they have had a steady lineup since then, featuring singer/drummer Tracey Hilderley (formerly of bands like Tripod The Dog, Boogie Fever, and Domina) alongside guitarist Steve Cardiff and bassist Dan Beaupre (of 100 Gran, Griphook, and Double Down fame).

Pandemic restrictions are partly to blame for their relative lack of shows from before 2023, and while they're not the most regularly seen cover band going, they're probably best recognized from their appearances at The Water Tower Pub in the past three years, along with scattered gigs at venues like Jay's Piston Broke Pub, The Dive Gastro Pub, and Beck's Pub (sorry, Beck's Bar). Tracey, Steve, and Dan have also been seen at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in 2023, that year's Bushplane Days, and a 2024 Summer Concert Series gig at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion. As noted above, The Sidekicks don't post videos of themselves on social media, perhaps with the thought process of "if you want to see/hear us, come to our gigs!", but from what I caught of them on Stage 1 at Rotaryfest last month, they covered the likes of Heart, The Cult, Pat Benatar, Sloan, The Scorpions, The Tragically Hip, and Judas Priest, among others.

The Sidekicks will be a unique band alone from having a frontwoman who sings and drums simultaneously, and while I did find that Tracey's vocals could be overly theatrical on more upbeat rockers, she adjusts well when songs call for it, and they do have some interesting cover selections that other bands don't tackle. Steve and Dan are solid musicians to match, and Steve is (to me) an underrated lead guitarist that I'm surprised isn't talked about as much. There is a new Sidekicks video to share from Rotaryfest shot by an external page that we'll address when we cover the remaining Rotaryfest videos, but click here to see our video of them covering "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" from last month! 

Next up, here's our latest mid-week concert preview concerning the prolific local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison, whose weekly arrangement at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post continues TOMORROW! With five more shows to go for the former Caveman Morrison frontman for this seasonal run, tomorrow's date should provide fans with more unplugged rock favourites, so keep things in mind if you're in the area or are up for a drive north! If you'd rather see Tym on a better day for concerts or somewhere else, we will preview his next Desbarats show on Friday in this weekend's previews, plus his new late notice matinee confirmation for Sunday. These shows are 6:30-8:00 PM affairs with no cover charge or age limit, and as this is an outdoor event, 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies with temperatures in the 20-22° range. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

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

 

• On June 2nd, Kewadin Casinos' Facebook page announced a new series of upgrades at their five locations to begin that summer, including "bar and restaurant/deli renovations". However, in the linked press release, the only way that this may affect SMS coverage is that the Sault Michigan branch is getting a new sports bar that begins construction next summer. Is this replacing The Rapids Lounge or is this something that will exist alongside it? Time will tell, but see above for more on all levels of upgrades at Kewadin Casinos in the coming months!
• The local openers have been announced for Australian hard rock band The Lazys' headlining concert at Blaster Powerhouse in Sault Ontario on October 9th, and surprisingly, it will be folk/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels! They revealed their involvement last week via the poster for their Full Chisel Tour this fall, though note that the former Soo Blaster has yet to visibly corroborate this in the full concert promotion. While 3/4ths of The Scoundrels have experience in hard rock/metal bands, they are still an interesting genre contrast, so hopefully they help pull a sizeable crowd in two months' time! Tickets are on sale at this link!
• In two more examples of local classic/hard rock cover bands using Facebook "Stories" to share self-destructing vertical videos that I can't link to or feature here, Quite Frankly did so from their April concert at The Water Tower Pub (where they covered Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son"), and Silent 9 just did so over the weekend for a very blurry video of them covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" at a recent private event, with Jess singing on stage alongside an attendee. I will never understand why some bands and venues choose to share videos as "Stories" that can only be seen once or twice before vanishing into the ether, but alas, you may have missed those ones as of late!

 

 That's all for now, but stay tuned for another new SMS post later today! Thanks everyone!

Bush/Candlebox Concert Video Showcase!!

It took only three posts for us to head back to the EUP in terms of the focus of tonight's post, but this time, it's to look at videos from the Bush-headlined outdoor concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on July 18th! Despite concerns over the air quality index from the Northwestern Ontario forest fires (this took place concurrently with Rotaryfest Saturday), the show went on, and attendance was quite good despite the competition an hour north! It is worth noting that the Barenaked Ladies show last year also took place on Rotaryfest Saturday, so this is nothing new for Kewadin. Social media buzz from the show seemed positive, and the air quality was manageable in St. Ignace, but if you want to see for yourself, at least three YouTube filmers were on hand, though two only filmed Bush's set. We'll start with Dr. Death Defying, in his first ever concert videos.

Dr. Death Defying filmed the British post-grunge/hard rock quartet playing their songs "Glycerine", "Everything Zen", "Machinehead", and as embedded below, "Ghosts In The Machine". The framerate isn't too high, but Dr. Death Defying had a good view of the former BushX (ask a Canadian), if with a head or two in the road. I'm not a huge fan of Bush, but I will say that Gavin Rossdale sounds really good compared to their 1990s hit singles, and the stage lighing gives the show a big time feel, so check these out!

Next up, the YouTube channel named Echoes From The Stage was also on hand for this concert, and while they have extensive video uploads from major rock concerts in Michigan and Ontario, this video of Bush playing "Glycerine" in St. Ignace is their only local upload to date, so they likely aren't from this part of the state/province. This video has a much better framerate than Dr. Death Defying's take, and while the audio quality doesn't seem too hot, "Glycerine" was always a low-toned ballad and I think that's just how it came off live. Gavin's singing here seemed a little forced compared to their harder rocking songs too, but see what you think below!

We'll close with prolific Sault Ontario filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, as he headed to St. Ignace for this concert after seeing Mid Life Crysis at Rotaryfest that afternoon. Chris' videos are last in this post because he's the only one of the three filmers that got Candlebox videos, but he by far has the most Bush videos here, filming 9 videos last month, including "Little Things", "Swallowed", "Glycerine", "Everything Zen", "The Land Of Milk & Honey", "The Chemicals Between Us", "Bullet Holes", "Machinehead", and as embedded below, the extended closing version of "Comedown". Filmed from one of the first few rows of seats, you do get the sense that Gavin's voice was getting run down by the end of the night, but the crowd was very receptive and happy to sing along, and the whole band have good energy and play these songs very well! As this was outdoors, it is neat to see the skies get darker.

You can tell during "Everything Zen" that the sun was setting, and while none of the the three filmers got "Human Sand" afterwards, it was black out from "Glycerine" onward, and I always liked that contrast! Check out all of the Bush concert videos (so far?) above and below!

Finally, Chris got four videos of Seattle grunge/alternative rock quintet Candlebox's opening set, and while they were in a support slot an hour south, it was nice to finally see them in our region 6+ years after their April 2020 concert at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin was cancelled due to the first pandemic lockdown! I wonder if anyone tried to see if their 2020 tickets could be transferred to this show? Chris filmed Candlebox playing their songs "You", "Far Behind", "Arrow", and as embedded below, "Change". Partially thanks to the steady daylight, the Candlebox videos give the best steady look at the crowd density up front, and the guys come off good in the videos here! Kevin Martin's voice has aged really well, and while only he and Peter Klett are still around from their heyday, the new band nails these grunge-era favourites, so don't miss Chris' videos of Candlebox's set above and below! 

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Skeyes Of Seven

Keeping our busy post schedule rolling as we enter a new work week, here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This monthly feature series again looks at a local metal, hard rock, or punk act that was randomly selected from our band links, and this month's selection is full of familiar faces that you may recall seeing at a few scattered Sault Ontario gigs in the early-mid 2010s. Here's what you should know on them!

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Skeyes Of Seven

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Hard Rock/Metal

Lineup: (Members not in their last full lineup are in italics)

Cory Murchison (Sense Of Truth, Bullet Train), vocals/guitar
Ron Baxter (Sense Of Truth), guitar
Kyle Sweet (Short & Sweet), guitar
Alain Fletcher (Half Past, Parabol), bass/formerly guitar
John Mignacca (As It Stands), drums

Mike Mannarino (Tripod The Dog), bass
Chris Thompson (Frightlight, Fitswitch), drums
Johnny Amendola (Soundcheck, Separate Wayz), drums

Audio/Video: Skeyes Of Seven were working on a debut EP (to be named "Stare At The Sky") at Deluca Sound Studios in 2014 & 2015, and while it never saw a proper paid release on CD or streaming, you can hear all six intended songs on their YouTube channel. Original songs named "Destination Unknown", "No One Cares", "Differences", and "Anything At All" were among songs that either didn't make the cut for or came after the EP sessions, while they did tackle select Sense Of Truth originals live, like "Crawling". Outside bands like Slipknot, Stone Sour, Breaking Benjamin, Tool, Audioslave, Mastodon, and Avenged Sevenfold were among Skeyes of Seven's cover range. Select additional videos exist on the band's surviving channels as well as Mike's and the SMS' YouTube channels. Here they are playing their song "Treading Water" at their last concert!

Info/Analysis: Sporadically active from 2012-2020, Skeyes Of Seven effectively replaced the shorter lived but more frequently seen Sense Of Truth upon their debut, with two past (and future) members of Half Past also being part of their initial lineups. Cory, Ron, Al, Mike, and Johnny debuted this new band when they opened for Anvil at The Canadian in July 2012, but would only play one further gig (with Garden of Bedlam at The Rockstar Bar in April 2013) before Mike moved out of town and Johnny left the band. With Al moving to bass and John Mignacca coming on board on drums, Skeyes of Seven ended a two year stage hiatus at May 2015's final Swampstravaganza at The Canadian, and played at one of the Gonqshow events at The Algonquin Pub the following month. Another two year hiatus followed, and the band (now with Kyle Sweet on second guitar) played their final show when they opened for Project 421 at The Canadian in November 2017.

Skeyes Of Seven resurfaced briefly in July 2020 when they entered "Detonate" into Corus Radio's $20,000 Summer Song contest, but they would not return in a public capacity after the pandemic restrictions eased up. Despite their longevity, Skeyes Of Seven were full of unrealized potential given their talent, experience, and modern hard rock sound, including technical and unexpected cover choices, and it's a shame that we only saw them five times in just over five years (all in support slots), let alone never got the full EP release. Most members have been active in newer bands in the 2020s, so follow them to see what they've been up to since, but hopefully Skeyes of Seven return down the line, and R.I.P. Chris! 

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, our latest random selection will give us a solo act for the third time in four months, and this time, we're looking at local progressive/hard rock musician and podcaster Mike Cliffe's dormant original solo project! Look for that on or around September 10th, and for a new video-heavy post on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

Dopethrone/Tribunal Concert Video Showcase!!

We haven't had a post 100% devoted to Sault Ontario since Wednesday, and it feels like longer given how many posts we've already has this month, so let's continue clearing out the backlog with a post dedicated to videos from a recent concert! In this case, this is one of the three recent SMS-leaning concerts attended by prolific YouTube user Christopher Paci that got backed up in recent weeks, as he was at Jay's Piston Broke Pub for the Dopethrone-headlined concert there on May 25th. While he only filmed seven videos at this Memorial Day concert, all four bands were filmed at least once, with the headlining Montreal "slutch metal" trio getting three videos on the evening. During their first local set in seven years, Chris filmed Dopethrone playing "Snort Dagger" and "Scum Fuck Blues" (featuring Tribunal guitarist Jessica Yang and Shit Liver frontman/promoter Josh Penno on guest vocals).

Embedded below is by far the longest of the three Dopethrone videos, which sees them playing their song "Dry Hitter". If you like your doom (er, "slutch") metal as slow and punishing as possible, you'll be glad to know that Dopethrone haven't lost a step in that regard since their 2019 date at The New A, and they hit all of the extreme notes while keeping things sludgy and low. Solid crowd too, so give Chris' Dopethrone videos a look!

Co-headlining in May was Vancouver gothic/doom metal quintet Tribunal in their local concert debut, and Chris filmed them playing their lengthy songs "A Wound Unhealing" and, as embedded below, "Incardine". Very distinct and eerie yet well layered and orchestral sound from Tribunal, who definitely looked like they left their mark on fans at the former Roosevelt Hotel in May, so give Chris' videos from their set a look above and below as well!

For the two local opening bands, Chris shot a video each, and one was of the one-off reunion of local grindcore trio Shit Liver in their first concert appearance since the Dopethrone show here in 2019. This was just a 15 minute bonus set and not a full reunion (Josh is busy leading The Golden Scoundrels nowadays), so Chris' video constitutes almost a third of this set. Two songs are played here, namely "Evacuation" from their 2018 album "Hitting The Fan" before an abbreviated cover of fellow local doom staples AlgomA's "Fell Down A Well", which Shit Liver covered on 2017's "Trading Faces" split. AlgomA's last show was also at the 2019 Dopethrone gig, so this was a cool nod to Boyd, Kevin, and Jamie in absentia! It is odd to see Josh playing these songs with short hair, but it must have been cathartic for him, Mike, and Matt to revisit their blistering 2010s chaos one more time, and fans definitely ate it up, so give this video a watch for yourselves below!

Finally, the opening band here was a band that Shit Liver know very well in and out of this Korah Road nightclub, as relaunched and renamed local death metal quartet Eden Plague (the former Bear Hunters) played their first show under the new name on this night! Chris filmed them playing most of "Bloodthirst", though unfortunately, he didn't film the minute-long instrumental intro. While not one of the new Eden Plague originals, there is something fitting about seeing Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny on The Rosie's stage, with that infamous pole, playing an early Bear Hunters staple once again all these years later, so give this brutal performance a watch below!

There's more to look at from Chris' channel as of late, but how soon will we have more of his recent hard rock/metal concert videos? Hopefully we'll know more soon, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS this week! Thanks everyone!