So this was my first ever concert at The Rockstar Bar, which is the newly renovated upstairs bar at The Algonquin Hotel, and I'm impressed by it as both a concert venue and bar! Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, and as a music fan, the band photos, posters, framed albums, guitars, and cymbals are all great touches! Instantly gives it a more "rock" feel, and sets it apart from other local bars! This picture will give you a bit of a glimpse of the bar's interior. And thanks to my promo and press of shows at The Rockstar Bar, the staff gave me a free Rockstar Bar t-shirt, blue with the logo on the back, and a Budweiser logo on the front! Thanks again if you're reading this, I'll definitely wear it on Boxing Day for Half Past's show there! But where there's something new, it was complimented by my past concert experiences coming back to life! I haven't seen a full Caveman Morrison concert since the latter months of 2005, and Fitswitch's Rick White was there too on bass, adding to the nostagia! If some guys from Fabio and Soldiers of Misfortune were there too, and they put some blinds up behind the band, it could be a 2005 Oddfellows Hall show all over again!
Caveman Morrison hit the stage a little after 10:00, way earlier than I figured, but all the better, because they rocked for an extra long time! Definitely brought back memories, good ones I might add! They covered tons of classic metal songs, including songs by bands like Metallica, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Ratt, Ozzy Osbourne, and Megadeth! The guys also cracked out some heavier versions of non-metal songs from artists like Eric Clapton, John Fogerty, Billy Joel, Starship, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Neil Young, among many others! The setlist as a whole resembled frontman Tym Morrison's acoustic shows more than I was expecting, but you don't hear any complaints from me, cause they were great!
Tym's voice, though slightly impaired by another cold, was really good, even more so with the heavier material! I got to thinking last night that with his vocal range and sound, he could probably do a power metal song pretty well! And his guitar work? Outstanding, especially with the list of songs he knows! He even left the stage to show off his solos up close to the crowd, which is a very nice touch! Rick White did good on bass, though he admittedly didn't know every song, he kept up well, and the songs he knew were dead on! Jeff Richards also was very good behind the kit! But there were also lots of surprises last night! Tym handed lead vocal duties to Jeff for some Tragically Hip covers, which were pretty good, though I'm not a huge Hip fan! Jeff has a nice voice! Later in the set, the band were joined by Browbeat drummer Chris Smith (also bassist for Wishbone) for a song, which was pretty cool too! There were also surprises from the songs they played, including "Happy Birthday" by request, and a Nine Inch Nails cover, which I never saw coming!
Overall, a very fun night of songs, I wish I could have stayed longer, but exam studying + tiredness were working against me last night. But they definitely delivered, with damn near four hours of songs, if there was a cover, you'd have gotten your money's worth! I'll definitely be back to see Caveman Morrison live again, it won't be four years between full concerts like it was last time! I do recommend anyone out there who loves hard rock that you should go see these guys, you'll have a good time! They have merchandise too, so make sure you pick some up if you see them live! I now have a Caveman Morrison shirt, keychain, and magnet! I'll make sure to have my Caveman shirt at their next show! And as you can tell, I took lots of photos, which you can check out by clicking here, or visiting The Sault Metal Scene's official Facebook page!
Speaking of Caveman Morrison, we have some huge news: FOGGY NOTIONS IS FINALLY REOPENING! No, I'm serious, they actually are this time! Yes, the popular Queen Street bar is back (yes, for real), after over a year of renovations, false starts, and anticipation! And everything kicks off with a V.I.P. night this Wednesday! I mention that because it's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT too! Caveman Morrison, fresh off their show last night, will be playing the V.I.P. night on Wednesday! It will be at 11:00 PM that night, with a $10 cover! But seeing as this is a V.I.P. deal, you'll have to get tickets to get in for it. If you're interested in attending Foggy Notions' reopening for the V.I.P. night, seeing Caveman Morrison, or both, message Taryn Bugyra, Ryan Figures, Pat Casey, Luke Bugyra, or Angie DeSimon-Bugyra on Facebook!
Caveman Morrison have also announced that they'll be back at Foggies in the new year, as they'll play a normal concert open to the general public on January 2nd as well! This will be another 10:00-2:00 concert, with no announced cover charge, so if you can't get a V.I.P. ticket, no worries, they'll be back in just a few weeks! Nice to see Caveman and Tym Morrison so busy with shows in the next while! For more info on THIS WEDNESDAY'S V.I.P. PARTY, click here for the Facebook event page, here for details on it from Foggy Notions' Facebook page, and here for more info on the January 2nd concert! Remember, you CAN'T GET IN AT THE DOOR FOR THE V.I.P. PARTY! If you want to be there, you HAVE to get a ticket in advance by TUESDAY!
And if you thought that was all for local metal-related news about Foggy Notions, hold onto your hats, for the official GRAND OPENING is on FRIDAY NIGHT! And headlining the grand opening are local hard rockers Sense of Truth! Fresh off of their finalists performance at the Kiss Battle of the Bands, this will be their first full concert since Halloween at Top Hat Billiards (which coincidentally was a show originally scheduled for Foggy Notions!) Joining them will be local punk rockers The Scary Uncles, for what should be one hell of a grand opening! Everything starts at 7:00 PM, there is no announced cover charge, and seeing as this is Foggy Notions, expect a big crowd and lots of partying and rocking out! Get full details on the grand opening concert with Sense of Truth at this location! And here's a fun fact: Sense of Truth guitarist Ron Baxter also played at the closing show for Foggies last spring while still in Driving Dave Home! I found that interesting, seeing as (in a sense) he sent it off and is helping bring it back too!
There's other shows in the works at Foggies too (The Billy Bastards are headlining one, that should draw some of you guys in!), but that's all that's going on in the metal world! I was too young to experience Foggies in it's heyday, I wasn't even drinking age when it closed, so I can't comment on experiences I had there or any nostalgia for it, I just know that there was a huge fanbase for it, and they always put on some great shows! Hopefully, now that it's back, I can grow into becoming one of it's loyal fans, because I've always wanted to go, and now I can! I don't believe I'll be able to get to the V.I.P. party (I'll let the old Foggies lovers have that to themselves), and I sadly will be out of town this Friday, so I'll miss Sense of Truth (Detroit trip, again! They're really badly timed!) Everyone go this Friday, I'll be there in spirit (if you believe in spirits), it will be one hell of a show, trust me! But January 2nd with Caveman Morrison? Pencil me in for that for sure! I'll keep you guys posted on any updates I have on anything metal at Foggy Notions!I have even more news, but let's spread things out to avoid swamping you guys too much. I'll close with this for now: Watch the MCTV News at 6:00 tomorrow evening. Why? Because Garden of Bedlam will be on! No word on what for, but I bet you it's related to their opening slot at the Kiss concert on Tuesday! Expect my preview of that TOMORROW! Thanks to Buzz for letting us know on Facebook! That's all for now, Kiss concert preview, plus even more news and updates are on the way tomorrow at some point! Thanks everyone!
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