Early on were Sense of Truth, who also kicked ass! They sounded just as good as ever, not really that different from the last time I saw them, but that's certainly not a bad comment! Cory Murchison's vocals were in top form, especially now that he just sings, he can do so much more as a singer without a guitar to worry about too! Steve Myers and Ron Baxter were solid on guitar, hell, the whole band were solid! Great stuff, especially if you like Tool & Deftones kind of music! The fans gave them a warm response too, and I half-expected that, what with all the people wearing Sense of Truth shirts! I'd have picked a heavier song instead of "Vicious Cycle" to open with, but it's a good song, and it worked! Can't wait to see these guys in a full concert again, it's been too long!
The third band were, to me, one of the wild cards, as I've neither heard their originals, or ever heard of them playing in Canada. In any case, Sault Michigan's own Nixxon Dixxon came, saw, and rocked last night! These guys aren't just a cover band, they're the real deal! Don't be fooled by the underage Xs on their hands, they sound extremely good and were among the night's best! Singer Brandon Carr has a confidence and stage presence that works well, and Chris Hubbard was nailing some great solos! The quality of their originals was actually pretty good, I wasn't sure what to expect, but they're good songwriters too! These guys are seriously a band to watch out for, and with them playing so often across the river, there's plenty of chances to check them out! Also, I loved the EVH 5150 III amp, that's an awesome piece of equipment!
The fourth band were Bring The Fallen, who has just came back from the Battle of the Bands at The Speakeasy (How'd they do? I'll tell you after I finish with Kiss battle stuff.) Without any shadow of a doubt, they were the heaviest competing band, and they were also the only group to get a mosh pit going! I try not to headbang at shows unless other people are, to avoid tangling my hair, but my head was sure banging for these guys! Tight and fast as hell, they were nailing everything! Josh Stephney sounded brutal (in a good way) on vocals, and the rest of the band were just amazing! Death metal may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I love it, and I would definitely send Bring The Fallen to the finals. However, that's in the judges hands...hopefully they liked death metal too!
Next were the only non-metal band in the first seven performances, local punk/country outfit The Billy Bastards (or The Billys for short!) Now, I'm the first guy to admit I'm not a country fan, but this is different, way closer to Hank III than Garth Brooks (Hopefully you get that reference!) Definitely different, and well played for what it is, I'm amazed at the cheers and support they had! Very cool to see! The punk quality of their music adds to make them sound not that bad, I would not be opposed to seeing them again!
The sixth band on the bill were the one with the most pre-battle hype, Lion Ride! And they pulled out all the stops last night, they had a merchandise table set up, they put their own banner over top of the Rock 101 banner, they even broke out their fog machine from their normal concerts! Add all that to their loyal fans, and you can tell they REALLY want this! Luckily, their songs delivered! Their typical on-stage energy was on full display, Mikey Hawdon sounded as good as ever on vocals, and the whole band seemed to relish this oppurtunity, so they made the most of it! Marco Pedalino was nailing the solos, Mike Indovina was solid on drums, not one flaw with their performance! Their game plan so far was working, I just wish they played "Slapdance"! Oh well, maybe tomorrow, if they made it! (I'll tell you if they did in a second)
The seventh band of the evening were also the final metal band, Stillbroke! It's been months since I last saw them, and I'm happy to report they haven't lost a step! I wasn't expecting them to play their self-titled song left off their EP, but it's a good song, and it gives bassist Kyle McKey a chance to sing too, which is cool! Frontman Jesse Frigault was a confident steady presence up front, and his solos and singing were both of a high quality! I also was amused by the Stillbroke fans up front waving glowsticks in support, that was fun! Also great to hear "Never Enough" live, always liked that song! Great set, they definitely have the talent, we'll have to see if the judges agreed enough to send them to the finals! And thanks to Bill Frigault for the Stillbroke t-shirt!
The night closed with three bands I wouldn't classify as "metal", though they all had obvious talent, so all was good! Eight were Wishbone, who were really good, moreso than I was expecting! The songs were a touch heavy, a quality I always enjoy, and the band as a whole were very good on their instruments! Dennis Duguay was a solid frontman, and Brent Royer is a great replacement for Glen Thomas behind the kit! Nice to see them back at The Canadian after the "ban" following that Grady show, it'll be nice to see them advance if they do! And I gotta say, I loved Jeremy Salatuk's guitar, I've always liked Dean Razorbacks, so props to him!
Ninth were local favourites Gsis Murphy, who had a good set as well! Admittedly not everyone's cup of tea, and not as heavy as some of the other bands, but I liked what I heard! They had lots of adoring fans, and the band even got some of the crowd to help sing along with "21st Century Loser"! They weren't bad at all, nothing too different, but nothing horrible either! The night closed with local classic rock band Middle of Nowhere (pictured) who were also quite good! Internet pages had me expecting they'd be more "pop rock", but they had a good classic flavour that worked nicely! Sergio Palumbo has a good voice, and the band played some rocking tunes with a good enthusiasm! They'll be worth checking out again, I'd say!
After a bit of a wait for the judges to pick their choices, Mark SanAngelo announced the five bands advancing to tonight's finals! And they are:
Gsis Murphy
Lion Ride
Nixxon Dixxon
Sense of Truth
Wishbone
Again, this will be up for debate in terms of who should advance and who shouldn't, and I'm happy with the choices! I'd have liked to see Bring The Fallen advance, but I can understand them being too "extreme" for the judges. Stillbroke surprised me, I thought they might move on! Overall, last night was a much tougher call for me than Monday, it was very close! Overall, I have to say that mostly due to the increase in metal bands, I enjoyed Tuesday more than Monday, but both nights were loaded with great bands and great music, and things will only get better and more important tonight!
Now it comes to TONIGHT, the finals of the Kiss Battle of the Bands! I won't preview each band in detail again, that's overkill and I won't have much new to add, but check my last couple posts for all you need to know about the finalists! For reference, here are your 10 finalists!
Blues Harvest
Flat Stanley
Garden of Bedlam
Gsis Murphy
Lion Ride
Nebraska Arms
Nixxon Dixxon
Sense of Truth
Stiffler's Mom
Wishbone
VERY tough call, all 10 bands are deserving and have the talent, but who do you think will win? Let me know on the comment board or on our Facebook page! Remember, it all starts at 9:00 PM tonight at The Canadian Nightclub, it's 19+ and the cover charge is $4! I took lots of pictures, 100 more to be exact, so check them out on our Facebook page or at this location! Of course, expect a much better quality photo album from Donna Hopper on SooToday at this location, great work as usual! Check out her recap and photo album from Monday at this location as well! Hope to see you guys at The Canadian tonight for the finals, this will be one hell of a show! If you didn't make it to Monday or Tuesday, THIS IS YOUR NIGHT!
Now, let's discuss the OTHER battle that took place last night! I wasn't there, so I can't give details on how it specifically went. Last night at the Battle of the Bands at The Speakeasy, Bring The Fallen won it all, taking home $300 and the right to open for The Inner City Surfers at The Speakeasy on December 22nd! (Still need an official announcement on that show, when I hear it, I'll let you guys know!) That marked Bring The Fallen's second straight battle win after the March YMCA Battle, though they sadly won't make it three in a row after being eliminated from the Kiss Battle last night. Still, props to them on all their success, and for playing two battles in one night! The Fury (featuring Out Of The Mouth Of Babes frontman Josh McNally and ex-DOTH drummer Joe Bumbacco) placed second, winning $200, while Toronto's RedD Monkey won $100 for placing third! Creedon & The Animal Detectives finished fourth, while The Scary Uncles were forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. This battle raised $500 for The United Way, which is awesome! Sounds like a fun time, it's just a shame it had to go the same day as the Kiss battle!
And now, for that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!! Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison has scheduled another upcoming solo concert, which will take place on December 21st at The Bottoms Up Lounge! Cover charge is nil, the show starts at 10:00 PM that night, and he's hyping that he might play some Christmas songs this time around! Should be a good show, it's worth seeing if you wanna hear some great covers in a more intimate atmosphere! All acoustic, but very well played, and he'll take requests too! He knows hundreds of songs, and he'll know something you'll like too, guaranteed! Confirm your attendance at the official Facebook event page!
And finally, I'm mentioning this now because I don't know how long they'll be available, but The Essar Center have quietly began selling some more Kiss tickets! As of 9:47 last night, some were being released in clumps of one or two at a time, some being prime floor seats! Head to The Essar Center's website to see if you can snag some while they're still available...well, IF they are! Thanks to David Helwig at SooToday for alerting us to this, article at this location!
That's all for now, I PROMISE THAT THE WOODS IV REVIEW IS COMING LATER TODAY! YOU HAVE MY WORD! This Kiss battle stuff + university have sapped my time to listen to it and give it a proper review, but I think I can get in today! Also, expect my review of the Kiss battle finals tomorrow! Then, things won't be quiet for long, I'll have a review of Garden of Bedlam's concert on Saturday and the Three Days Grace concert on Tuesday coming up as well! Stay tuned!
Now, let's discuss the OTHER battle that took place last night! I wasn't there, so I can't give details on how it specifically went. Last night at the Battle of the Bands at The Speakeasy, Bring The Fallen won it all, taking home $300 and the right to open for The Inner City Surfers at The Speakeasy on December 22nd! (Still need an official announcement on that show, when I hear it, I'll let you guys know!) That marked Bring The Fallen's second straight battle win after the March YMCA Battle, though they sadly won't make it three in a row after being eliminated from the Kiss Battle last night. Still, props to them on all their success, and for playing two battles in one night! The Fury (featuring Out Of The Mouth Of Babes frontman Josh McNally and ex-DOTH drummer Joe Bumbacco) placed second, winning $200, while Toronto's RedD Monkey won $100 for placing third! Creedon & The Animal Detectives finished fourth, while The Scary Uncles were forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. This battle raised $500 for The United Way, which is awesome! Sounds like a fun time, it's just a shame it had to go the same day as the Kiss battle!
And now, for that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!! Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison has scheduled another upcoming solo concert, which will take place on December 21st at The Bottoms Up Lounge! Cover charge is nil, the show starts at 10:00 PM that night, and he's hyping that he might play some Christmas songs this time around! Should be a good show, it's worth seeing if you wanna hear some great covers in a more intimate atmosphere! All acoustic, but very well played, and he'll take requests too! He knows hundreds of songs, and he'll know something you'll like too, guaranteed! Confirm your attendance at the official Facebook event page!
And finally, I'm mentioning this now because I don't know how long they'll be available, but The Essar Center have quietly began selling some more Kiss tickets! As of 9:47 last night, some were being released in clumps of one or two at a time, some being prime floor seats! Head to The Essar Center's website to see if you can snag some while they're still available...well, IF they are! Thanks to David Helwig at SooToday for alerting us to this, article at this location!
That's all for now, I PROMISE THAT THE WOODS IV REVIEW IS COMING LATER TODAY! YOU HAVE MY WORD! This Kiss battle stuff + university have sapped my time to listen to it and give it a proper review, but I think I can get in today! Also, expect my review of the Kiss battle finals tomorrow! Then, things won't be quiet for long, I'll have a review of Garden of Bedlam's concert on Saturday and the Three Days Grace concert on Tuesday coming up as well! Stay tuned!
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