LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Social Play), A New Battle of the Bands, And Garden Of Bedlam's New Video!

You know something? News really has been piling on the last couple days, and it's not even Gene Simmons' fault this time! I didn't anticipate having enough for a new post until tomorrow, but there's some stuff here that can't wait until tomorrow, lest it be too short of notice! Let's start with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! (Check my post from earlier today for news on Garden of Bedlam's next show, the metalcore openers for Billy Talent, how you can contribute to Duane Roy's book about Sault Memorial Gardens, and more!)

One nice thing about Foggy Notions is that they post Facebook event pages for every gig booked there! However, they don't describe the bands in them. Such was the case for a pair of shows THIS WEEKEND at Foggy's, where a band called "Social Play" were booked for two nights there (Friday and Saturday). I had no idea who they were at first, but I can now confirm that this band was formerly known as Browbeat! Looks like they're back after all, just with a new name! Very solid hard rock, you may remember them from concerts in 2008 and prior, notably at the Rock 2 Roll skate park fundraiser! You may also recognize drummer Chris Smith as the bassist of local rock band Wishbone! The concerts are FRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHT, and are likely to start at around 10:00 PM! I'd expect a cover charge of around $2. 19+ only, so bring your ID! With no band pages at the moment (Browbeat's was deleted), I can't show you guys any video of them, but rest assured, they're very talented! I just hope the Social Play sound isn't a huge deviation from what I saw out of Browbeat! Confirm your attendance for either night's set at the Facebook event page!

Next up, over a month after the Kiss Battle of the Bands ruled the Sault, another battle is on the horizon! I apologize for the short notice of this, but it seems to have been primarily promoted through Sault College. ONE WEEK FROM THURSDAY, there will be a Battle of the Bands audition at Sault College! Bands will gather at The Outback behind Sault College on January 21st for PRIVATE AUDITIONS. This is NOT open to the public, no matter how many metal bands are playing, so I won't call this part of the battle as a "concert". No band limit has been announced, but the top four will be chosen to perform at the public finals on February 3rd at...The Soo Curlers Association Curling Rink on Anita Boulevard! The finals will be at the rink's HeartsStop Lounge. This battle appears to be a part of the festivities for this year's Scotties Tournament of Hearts, which is being held in Sault Ste. Marie, so the placement for the finals makes more sense. First place in the battle wins $750, second place gets $500, and third wins $150!

So, are you or your band interested in auditioning next Thursday? Well, here's what you need to know! Your band must have at least one Sault College student in the lineup, with your own equipment ready for the audition. You can't play more than three songs, with 10 minute setup time. Any genre's invited (hint hint metal bands!), and there is NO ADMISSION FEE TO AUDITION! Rules are subject to change, and you must be there at 6:00 PM regardless of when you perform. You have until Friday to sign your band up at The Outback or the Sault College Student Administrative Council office, so act NOW if you want to audition! For more info, contact Amanda Holmberg at amanda.holmberg@saultcollege.ca, by phone at 759-2554 (ext. 2708), or contacting her on Facebook! Get full details at the official Facebook event page! I know there's local metal bands with members attending Sault College, hopefully one or more audition! Remember, it's NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so don't head to The Outback expecting a concert, you won't be able to get in. When and if metal bands make it to the finals, I'll let you know then!

And finally for tonight, Garden of Bedlam have posted two new videos online, one likely to get your attention more than the other! The first is a picture slideshow on a new band YouTube account set to their song "Stand Your Ground"! The audio sounds slightly muffled, but it's a nice slideshow, check it out by clicking here! (Oh, and thanks for using some pics I took!) But that's not all, for the best is yet to come! Remember how I mentioned that Rick Dellavedova from Amethyst was filming Garden of Bedlam during their Boxing Day show at Foggy Notions? Well, the fruits of that are now online, as an official music video for their song "The Truth Shall Set You Free" has been unveiled! Well edited, nice use of black and white only in the video, and you may notice some familiar faces in the crowd! Nice sync job with the original track and the live performance too! Nice work overall, check it out below! It's not often you find real music videos from local bands, so make sure to see this one! Thanks to ChristopherMLance for the upload!



Alright, I think that's all for now! Remember to go see Ultraviolence and Sense of Truth concert at Coch's Corner, this might be your last chance to see both bands locally for a while, so at least consider it! See all you guys real soon!

EDIT: I won't be at the Ultraviolence show due to reasons out of my control. I really wanted to go, I haven't seen Sense of Truth in full since July...goddamnit. Have fun for me!