Local Concert Previews, Fallout From The Kiss Battle, And Many Things I've Missed Lately!

First off, this completely passed my mind yesterday, but I figure this is worth mentioning: Did you know that yesterday was the first anniversary of this very blog? The Sault Metal Scene has been going strong since July 2007, but I didn't launch the blog until my frustration with Facebook came to a head on December 2, 2008, and I needed an alternative, and now look at us! This blog really has been a labour of love, I've put more time than I really should have into getting it looking nice and making sure you all got all the news and updates that us metalheads deserve, and I never expected it'd be so successful a year later! Now, we wait for July 4, 2010, when the SMS as a whole turns 3!

So this post tonight has a triple purpose: A. Preview this weekend's three local metal concerts; B. Discuss some fallout from the Kiss Battle of the Bands; and C. Get caught up on stuff I've missed over the past while, since the Kiss battle consumed most of my time (Though I really am grateful for it, as it was both awesome and huge for increasing SMS interest!) Let's begin with this weekend's local concert previews! Three shows, all in Sault Ontario, here's what you need to know!

First, we'll head to a venue that typically doesn't host much in terms of metal concerts, but there's an exception this weekend! Caveman Morrison, fresh off their solid performance Monday at the Kiss battle, will headline two consecutive nights at The Nicolet Tavern on Albert Street West tomorrow night and Saturday night! That's near the International Bridge, if you didn't know. Both shows start at 10:00 PM, no cover charge is advertised. Excluding the Kiss battle, these will be Caveman Morrison's first full local shows since August, and their first featuring new bassist Rick White (Frightlight, ex-Fitswitch!) This was indeed short notice, so don't blame me for the late announcement. The band are hyping an "awesome light show" on the official Facebook event page, which should be cool! Expect lots of great heavy metal covers, and maybe some of Tym's original songs too! Caveman Morrison are a great band, you'll have fun if you make it out!

I will see if I can make Friday's (not sure yet), but if not, I'll definitely see them next weekend at their shows at The Algonquin Hotel! Confirm your attendance at this location! I have no embeddable videos to share with you guys, but check out some live clips from older Caveman Morrison lineups at Caveman Morrison's official website!

Also on Saturday night, the WINNERS of the Kiss Battle of the Bands will celebrate their razor thin victory, when Garden of Bedlam hit the stage at Madison's Pub on Pine Street! This will be their first full concert set since October 30th at The Oddfellows Hall, and the first metal concert of any type at Madison's (to my knowledge) since Sykotyk Rampage played two nights there in March! Cover charge is $5, they take stage at 11:00 PM, and they will play two sets, including songs from their debut EP, new material, and some covers also! Doors are open all day, so stop in and get some pizza and a beer whenever! Madison's is small, so make sure you get there at a good time so you don't get trapped in a huge crowd! Buzz has been hyping this show as "the official Garden of Bedlam celebration", so you know this will be worth hitting!

I will absolutely be there, not only do I live near Madison's, but it'll be the first full show of Garden of Bedlam's I've seen in months, how could I miss this? And riding high on the wave of winning the Kiss battle, you know they're gonna be pumped to play live, so expect them to bring their A-games! Confirm your attendance for this show at this location, and hopefully you have tickets to see them open for Kiss on the 15th! For a video preview, I couldn't find anything recent, but here's a clip of the band performing the song "Shallow" from a show last year at The Lock City Grand Theater!



Speaking of Garden of Bedlam, some news has been falling out from the Kiss battle since last night! As expected, Donna Hopper has posted another review/recap from the battle on SooToday with lots of extremely good photos! The title sums up the results really well: "Lion Ride roars, but Buzz was better, judges rule". It was really a toss-up, both bands were massively deserving of the win! Nice article, check it out! Also, Frank Dobrobvnik from The Sault Star posted an article about the battle this morning, which you can check out at this location! However, it is quite outdated, as it still implies that Kiss have final say in the winner (Mark SanAngelo told us they left it in the judges hands last night), and neglects to mention that Garden of Bedlam won. Still a good article, just needs some updating and correcting.

And now, to get caught up on loads of news I've missed over the past week! I apologize for being late on this stuff, but you know I didn't have a lot of time or space for it during the battle of the bands! Let's quickly run through some things, so here's what you guys need to know in the world of local metal!

Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold has unearthed one of the first ever band interviews, taken way back in 2003! Originally posted on the internet webzine Transcending The Mundane, it was conducted by Brett VanPut on February 16, 2003, where he asked David questions about their personal philosophy, black metal, their origins, "Against The Seasons", label deals, how to pronounce their name, and many more! Nice interview, definitely a cool read for you Woods fans! Check it out at this location, with select excerpts and comments at their official forum! Also, another review of "Woods IV: The Green Album" has been posted online, by "Yoggi" on the website MetalMusicMan.com! Yoggi calls it "the best metal release of the year", which is a huge compliment! Check out his review at this location!

Thanks to Laurie Frigault for this information: Do you want guitar lessons from a real professional without going to a music store or school? Stillbroke frontman Jesse Frigault has been teaching guitar for three years, and you are free to contact him if you wish to learn from Jesse! Call 759-8696 to contact him if you're interested, he gives private one on one lessons in his studio. All ages are accepted at beginner to advanced levels, and anything that you want to learn, he can teach you! Remember, he was the namesake of the old Jesse's Music at the Market Mall, and he's enjoyed some huge success with Stillbroke, so you know he'll be a good instructor! So keep that in mind if you want to learn guitar!

Here's something different. When I was browsing SooNews today, I spotted this ad on their news page, which hyperlinks to a forum post on the SooNews forum. The ad says all you really need to know, a local band named Silver Dream are on the hunt for new members! I've never seen a local band buy advertising space to search for a band member before, that's interesting! The forum post doesn't elaborate much, but hey, if you're an experienced rhythm guitarist or drummer in need of a hard rock band to join, why not give Silver Dream a shot? Never heard of them before, it'd be interesting to hear what kind of material they play! Check out some more details on Silver Dream's band member search at this location!

Now, to recap some smaller news stories I've missed!

• An official event page for the upcoming Detroit/Destroilet/Talk Shit concert has been launched on Facebook! Nothing new to speak of for it, except for the revelation that band merchandise will be on sale! Remember, it's a CD release show for Detroit's second album, "Brace For Impact"! The show's on December 29th at Coch's Corner, with a $5 cover! I'll be there for the Detroit show, it's gonna be awesome!
  
• A new Facebook group has been launched for The Canadian Nightclub! Kinda sparse, but expect some growth in activity and content as time goes on! Join it today to get the scoop on upcoming shows and events there, at this location!
• Kincheloe metal band Silent Despair have broken up, as of November 28th. Their Facebook page has the quote "We're disbanned. (sic) Things weren't working out due to undedication." That sucks, they sounded like they had some promise!

I had some videos to share too, but I'll save those for my next update, let's spread the news and updates out a bit. Thanks everyone for the continued support, I think things are returning to "normal" on the SMS....for now! Remember, reviews of this weekend's Garden of Bedlam concert, Tuesday's Three Days Grace show, and posisbly Caveman Morrison's concert tomorrow night are all coming up! Stay tuned!