Kiss Tour Dates: The Latest Debate, Plus More Local News On Out Of Town Bands!!

Firstly, before we get to local metal news, we have yet another tragic metal death to mention. The Sault Metal Scene sends huge condolences out to the friends, family, and bandmates of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray (a.k.a. #2, or "The Pig"), who was found dead in an Iowa hotel room yesterday at the age of 38. The cause is currently unknown. Slipknot have a pretty big fanbase here, and I'm sure this is hitting fans pretty hard. I was lucky enough to see Slipknot on Ozzfest a few years back, they were awesome, and I've always liked Paul's bass style. R.I.P. Paul, your music lives on! I can't believe we've lost Paul, Peter Steele, and Ronnie James Dio in a six week span, that's a completely unfortunate run.

Alright, keeping with yesterday's fifth monthly profiles on out of town bands with local members, today's SMS update is all about out of town bands with a local connection! The updates concern local concerts from these bands, be they upcoming, to be determined, or past! And, I bet there's one topic you're all expecting to be the top story, right? Well, let's start with that!

According to their official website, Kiss will embark on their newest North American tour, titled "The Hottest Show On Earth", starting on July 23rd in Cheyenne, Wyoming! And since Kiss postponed their planned December concert here at The Essar Center, Kiss fans have been waiting patiently (or impatiently) for a rescheduled date. The full tour dates are available at this location, and many have noticed a glaring omission: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The band's management had already confirmed our show would be rescheduled for this summer, but current dates list nothing implying a local stop. SooToday have already posted the same press release at this location, with the title "KISS announces summer tour. Crap! We're not on it!" No other local news outlets have picked up on this to my knowledge.

I can hear the skeptics now: "I TOLD YOU KISS WEREN'T COMING! WHY WOULD GENE BOTHER, WE'RE TOO SMALL, BLA BLA BLA", and so on. But hold your horses before you start saying "I told you so" or sending the band hate-mail. First off, Kiss PROMISED US a show. Gene even guaranteed it in an interview I quoted on here last year, search the blog, it's still there! We finished third in the voting for the fan-routed tour contest that the band held with Eventful last year. If they suddenly backed out without explanation, it would look horrible on them and many people here would be calling foul. That being said, the band haven't said "We're not coming, here's why" either. The postponed December date for here is still listed on the band's official tour page on their website, and if the show was called off with no plans to reschedule, would it still be there? Plus, SMS reader Natalie Belleau replied to my SMS Facebook page status update yesterday to say she e-mailed the band's website, and got a reply saying that Kiss WILL be coming here, and an announcement will be made soon! I trust her word, I imagine other people here are doing the same exact thing also to make sure, let's just hope there's no contradicting replies!

So, though I'm sure there is many skeptics still floating around that will believe Kiss will come here when they see it, I think they will. This show SOLD OUT originally, it will sell out again, and it will make Gene Simmons lots of cash! They rescheduled the Kewadin Casino show after an even more questionable cancellation (a Japanese tour instead or inclement weather, which is worse against us?) Have faith, Kiss fans, and as for skeptics, show some optimism! As for when to expect the Kiss show to be, I've narrowed it down to three likely time periods, if we're indeed part of this leg: Between the end of their current European tour on June 27th and their tour kick off show on July 23nd, between their September 5th and 9th shows in Minnesota and Toronto, and late September following their last scheduled show in Phoenix. We could be tacked on the beginning or end (that's what happened last year), or we could be slotted in along with their current routing, and the early September span makes the most sense if you look at their full tour schedule. FINGERS CROSSED, I'M PRETTY SURE THEY WON'T FAIL US THIS TIME!

Next up, I have updates for next month's Tesla concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino! The hair metal legends will indeed have a support band, luckily I heard about it before the show this time! (I didn't want a repeat of missing 16 Second Stare from last year's Ace Frehley concert.) Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way will play direct support for Tesla at the show, which will be June 26th at 7:00 PM, with doors opening at 6:00! So, how are Fifth Way? Well, they've actually got more of a radio hard rock sound, but they're not bad at all, they have some good melodies and some nice heavy vocals! They should do pretty good as support, check them out at their official MySpace page! The poster for the show points out that Fifth Way's newest CD is now available at Grooves Music, so if you like what you here, buy it there! Hair metal fans rejoice for this little piece of additional Tesla concert news: It's not sold out yet! There are still general seats available for just $38.50 American, click here to visit Kewadin's ticket page and see about picking up a ticket! And now that I'm smarter about remembering this, if you're interested in asking about a possible meet and greet with Tesla, call Kewadin Casino at (906) 341-2951 and see if there is one, and when! Confirm your attendance for Tesla's return to Sault Michigan at this location!

Thirdly today, updates on Bret Michaels, who is still scheduled to headline the first night of Kewadin Casino's 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! Now, I'm sure much of the Bret Michaels-related headlines lately are from his victory on the finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, which won him $250,000 for the American Diabetes Association, but of course, his health is first priority! Apparently, he suffered a "warning stroke" four days ago related to a hole discovered in his heart, which he plans to get surgery for in September, AFTER his tour. He's tough, I'll give him that! And yes, now that he's completely alert and can fend for himself out of hospital, he plans to resume playing live this weekend with a show in Mississippi! Will this mean his future tour dates are on, including the Kewadin festival? Maybe, not even Bret knows. According to some articles, he wants to take baby steps back and see how this weekend's concert goes. Personally, I would rather he was 100% than performing at less than that while in pain, so no matter what Bret decides to do going forward with future dates, I won't complain! Brain hemorrhages, strokes, apendectomies, and a hole in the heart are all big deals, keep that in mind! But if he does play here, I hope he's pain free and has a great time here, as he's had in his previous two stops!

Speaking of his previous two stops, here's an interesting article that The Sault Star uploaded last month! It's an interview they had with Bret Michaels in advance of his October 2005 show at the now-closed Eastgate Hotel in Sault Ontario, where he talked about his includion of country music in his sets, why he was playing in a small venue like The Eastgate, one of his box set releases from around then, and some of his film work! Nice article, I don't remember it from back then, give it a look at this location! And check the links below for updates on Bret Michaels' health, the previous 2005 article, and an additional one from The Sault Star last month where Kewadin representatives confirmed no changes to the festival lineup at the time.

Bret Michaels hospitalized with warning stroke
Bret Michaels not sure if he's ready to start touring
Bret Michaels After Brain Hemorrhage: Still Gets The Headaches
Bret Michaels still on for Kewadin
Bret Michaels: The 2005 Sault Star Interview

Alright, tomorrow, I PROMISE we'll get back to talk on local bands! I just had to group the Kiss, Tesla, and Bret Michaels stories together because they all have shows coming up here, and it made sense to clump them together. Updates from Nixxon Dixxon, Stillbroke, WinkStinger, Energy Rock Radio, and possibly more, will be in store tomorrow, so keep a look out!