Last Month's Poll Results, This Month's Poll, And Your First Look At Foggy's!

It's the 18th of the month once again, so now it's time to share the results of November's poll, and I'm pleased to say, our total rose to a record 51 VOTES! Thanks to all who voted! But even if the vote count was small like previous months, the results would still be no surprise. As you may remember, last month's question was: "What was your favourite major metal concert at The Essar Center so far?" And here are the final results, in order by votes recieved!

1. Heaven And Hell & Megadeth, March 20, 2007 (51%, 26 votes)
2. Motley Crue, December 6, 2006 (31%, 16 votes)
3. None of the above (10%, 5 votes)
4. Three Days Grace & Seether, January 24, 2008 (4%, 2 votes)
4. Jackyl & Slaughter, May 24, 2008 (4%, 2 votes)

No real surprises here, I was a HUGE fan of the Heaven and Hell concert, and everyone that went that I talked to were praising it openly! I figured it'd win, and I was right, overwhelmingly! Motley Crue in second, again, no surprises there. Fun show, but for musical quality and sheer awesomeness, Vince Neil and company fall short against the combined forces of Dio and Dave Mustaine! If something did surprise me, it was that "None of the Above" got 10 votes?! That implies that someone didn't like ANY of the four major metal shows so far (remember, the poll didn't include the Three Days Grace concert from this month.) Then again, maybe they didn't attend any of them, hard to say. I expected Three Days Grace and Jackyl to finish in a close last place. 3DG was a great and huge show, but not a typical metalhead's cup of tea, whereas Jackyl, though awesome, was really hampered by high ticket prices and low advertising.

So there's your results from last month's poll, and now, let's discuss this month's poll! This will be really interesting, I reckon! I pose this question to you guys: "What was the biggest Sault Ontario metal news story of 2009?" I figure that, with 12 days left in the year, we won't hear anything else that will be very earth-shattering beyond some more concerts, so now's as good a time as ever to see what the biggest metal story of 2009 was! To make sure I covered all my bases and give everyone a wide expanse of choices, I gave 15 options to vote from, as well as "Other" if you don't agree with them! So here are your choices, with quick summaries on each!

Caveman Morrison coming back home: After a three year exodus to Calgary to further their musical goals, prominent local metal cover band Caveman Morrison returned home to Sault Ste. Marie in April, and haven't stopped since! With numerous live dates, and solo shows from frontman Tym Morrison on the 2009 schedule, the band have firmly planted themselves back in the local scene. Is this your top story of the year though?

Foggy Notions re-opening: In March of 2008, Foggy Notions shut it's doors. After 21 long months of renovations, hype, anticipation, an owner change, and false starts, the popular local bar returned with a vengeance (and new bathrooms) in December of 2009! And with concerts featuring Caveman Morrison, Sense of Truth, Garden of Bedlam on the slate, they look to build on the great Foggy's legacy! But what do you think?

Garden of Bedlam edging out Lion Ride in the Kiss Battle: In the most talked about battle of the bands of the year, 20 local bands performed to find a winner for the now-postponed Kiss concert at The Essar Center! And when the dust settled, Garden of Bedlam narrowly beat pre-battle favourites Lion Ride by a single point to win the openers slot! Add to that all the buzz and excitement, and you had one really special event! Do you agree?

Garden of Bedlam releasing their debut EP: The popular local metal act released their first four track EP in April of 2009! A precursor to their 2010 album, the band showcased their obvious talent on the EP, and the songs are all live staples today! Great disc! One of the best local releases of 2009, but is it your top news story?

Gates of Winter going on hiatus: After a successful six year run, local progressive metal band Gates of Winter called it quits, for now. Last seen live locally in the fall of 2008, Gates of Winter remain one of the most accomplished local metal bands ever, including releasing an EP and a full length album, touring Ontario, and developing a huge fanbase! A future return hsn't been ruled out though, but where does their breakup fit in your eyes?

The Grady concert boycott threat: Though maybe not a major "news" event, this was well publicized. Three unidentified bands threatened to boycott The Canadian Nightclub if local rock band Wishbone played support at the Grady concert in October, due to unflattering remarks by then drummer Glen Thomas. So they were dropped. The show went on, but this issue stuck around for a bit. But would you consider this a major news story?

Hempfest ending after 11 years: The Northern Ontario Hempfest was riding high since 1999, delivering marijuana culture and awareness to the masses, along with lots of great music! However, 2009 marked Hempfest's end, due to costs and the R.I.D.E. program. They went out with a bang though, with Garden of Bedlam, Lion Ride, and Aerosmith tribute Mama Kin, among many other bands! How important is this story to you?

Kiss postponing their Sault concert: This has been the talk of the Sault for the last week, and with good reason. After months of anticipation, Kiss were forced to postpone their concert planned for December 15th due to inclement weather, with promises to play a makeup concert here in the summer! Even still, reaction has ranged from disappointment to anger to hope. What say you guys on the Kiss postponement?

Renovations at The Canadian Nightclub: The bar downstairs at The Knights Inn has been quite popular for many years, but this past summer, a facelift was needed. A few months later, The Canadian re-opened and has put on many great concerts since, including Garden of Bedlam, Grady, and possibly most notably, the Kiss Battle of the Bands! Reaction varied to the new look, but does it rank highly as a major local news story?

The Rockstar Bar opens: A new downtown watering hole popped up this fall, with a decidedly hard rock feel to it! The upstairs bar at The Algonquin Hotel became The Rockstar Bar, a brand new hotspot for concerts! Great venue, and it's hosted some great bands to boot, with even more scheduled for 2009 and beyond! I know it's popular, but is it's opening big news to you?

Sault Ste. Marie demanding Kiss in tour voting: When Eventful and Kiss announced that they were letting Kiss fans decide what cities they should visit on the Alive 35 tour, Saultites were quick to jump online and cast their votes! When all was said and done, we finished third, guaranteeing us a Kiss concert (postponed or not, we're getting them!) This was big news, and thousands rallied to get us high in the voting! What do you think?

Stillbroke releasing "Never Enough": The local hard rockers released their debut EP in November, showcasing their talent to a wider audience! Great album, with hopefully more to come! Stillbroke have played these songs live as well, good stuff! As a whole, does this release stack up?

Susan Myers trying to stop the Kiss concert: Ah yes, this got some infamy this summer. Councillor Susan Myers openly declared that Kiss were every negative misconception in the book, and prayed that they wouldn't play here. She's entitled to her opinion, and her opinions aren't enough to actually prevent the show, but this was a major story this summer, for good or bad. Is it top story material, though?

Three Days Grace returning to The Essar Center: 22 months after they last played a show here, Canadian alt-rockers Three Days Grace returned to Sault Ste. Marie for another popular concert, the first major hard rock show at The Essar Center since May 2008! Though attendance was down, the energy was high for Three Days Grace, who delivered a great performance! Is it your big news item for 2009?

Woods of Ypres releasing "The Green Album": One of the more anticipated local metal releases of 2009, Woods of Ypres' 4th album was released in November with some noticeable fanfare! Their first album with Gates of Winter's Bryan Belleau on lead guitar, it featured 16 tracks of effective doom metal, and has been getting great reviews in it's own right! Is it your top local metal story of 2009?

Other: Have another concert in mind that you'd vote for instead? How about a band's formation, return, or breakup? Something else Kiss-related? Anything else that comes to mind? Vote for it here!

VOTE TODAY! I'd love to see this poll crack 50 votes too, make it happen, guys! I'd love to see what you guys thought the biggest local metal story of 2009 was!

And finally for tonight, did you miss V.I.P. Night at Foggy Notions? Well, never fear, Donna Hopper from SooToday has you covered! She attended V.I.P. Night, and took lots of photos of the new Foggy Notions, including some pics of Caveman Morrison from their performance, and some shots of the bar's attendees! Keep your eyes peeled in the photo album for Buzz and Josh Belleau from Garden of Bedlam and the guys from Sense of Truth as well! And yes, there's plenty of visual proof of how Foggy's looks now! On first impression, it looks good, though I don't have the old Foggy's to compare it too cause I couldn't get in then on account of my age. And yes, the bathrooms are renovated, and they look extra nice now, so there you go! Check out Donna's photo album and review of the new Foggy Notions at this location! And remember, the official grand opening is TONIGHT!! Sense of Truth and The Scary Uncles are performing, you don't wanna miss it!

That's all for now, I will try and update the SMS where time permits this weekend, as I will be stuck in Detroit doing family stuff. Have fun at tonight's concerts for me, I wish I could be a part of them! I'll be back Monday, if nothing else! Have a great weekend, I shall be back before you know it!