In seventh place with no votes was Sykotyk Rampage's upcoming 23rd album "Bella Disgusta"! I chalk this up more to the band's local exposure and notoriety than unpopularity. This will be a fun unique album, I guarantee it! Tied for fifth place with two votes each were "All of the above" and "Other". Nice to see a few people hoping for all of the albums, and as for "Other"? That could mean anything, from albums not announced when the poll was launched to Sault Michigan albums to non-metal albums, but of course, I won't know what those voters had in mind unless they let me know. Fourth place REALLY surprised me, which was Lion Ride's first full length album, which just garnered three votes! I would have bet it'd have been at least third before I launched this poll! Very odd, but I bet that when the album comes out, there will be a huge buzz! Third with five votes was "None of the above", which was surprising to me as well! There are five people that aren't really anticipating ANY of the CDs included in the poll? Very strange! But hey, everyone has different tastes! And in second place with seven votes was Sense of Truth's debut E.P.! Nice to see people hoping for this album a lot as well, I'm really looking forward to it myself! I would have thought Lion Ride would have gotten a higher total, but this is great to see that people want to hear the new Sense of Truth album!
And in an overwhelming first place with 33 votes, or 63% of the final vote, is Garden of Bedlam's first full length album! I expected this to win, but not by this much! You could make the argument that Garden of Bedlam are the biggest local metal band at the moment, and with all the success they've seen since 2008, it's no wonder that people are anticipating their new album! With songs like "New Rain", "Torment", "Around The Bend", and "Your Disgrace", their new CD will no doubt be a highlight of 2010! Great to see tons of support for Garden of Bedlam, and there's nowhere to go but up from here, with their next stop being as the openers for Kiss on August 10th! Stay tuned for more exciting updates from Garden of Bedlam!
So now, a few days late, it's time for a brand new poll on the SMS! This poll will run until AUGUST 20TH to give it a full 30 days of voting, and to help us inch our way back to the 18th of each month and get back on a normal schedule. This poll needs little introduction, cause it's basically the new edition of a poll we ran last year! We're in the latter half of July, but concerts from the first six months of 2010 are sure to still be fresh in everyone's minds! The first half of any given year isn't usually the stronger half for new concerts, but there were a number of big time metal and hard rock shows between January 1st and June 30th, and now's your chance to voice your opinion on your top shows of the year! So I pose this question to you guys: What was your favourite metal concert in Sault Ontario in the first half of 2010?I picked 16 notable shows from the first half of 2010 for you guys to vote on, from a wide variety of styles, bands, venues, and concert types! Note that, like with previous "favourite concert" polls, all listed choices are concerts with at least 50% metal/hard rock bands, so some notable concerts didn't make the cut, like the Three Days Grace show. So, what was your favourite metal show in 2010 from January-June? What was the most fun, the best time? Here are your choices!
Bands: Ultraviolence & Sense of Truth
Venue: Coch's Corner
Date: January 12th
Info: In their first of FOUR Sault Ontario concerts through August, Toronto drunk n' rollers Ultraviolence hit Coch's Corner for a well advertised mid-week concert at Coch's Corner on January 12th, supported by local hard rockers Sense of Truth! This concert was better plugged and attended to my knowledge than the February one. I'm still mad that I missed this show, but by all accounts, it was a success, and Ultraviolence always deliver! What do you guys think?
Bands: Bring The Fallen, Out Of The Mouth Of Babes, and DJ Spruceau
Venue: Nite-Life Dance Club
Date: February 20th
Info: SooToday's Donna Hopper organized February 20th's Algoma Hope4Haiti event across numerous local venues in Sault Ontario to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief, and the most notable metal-wise was at Nite-Life, where young local metal bands Bring The Fallen & Out Of The Mouth Of Babes delivered a moshing good time! Also notable as O.O.T.M.O.B.'s only live concert appearance since their inception, it was an excellent show, but do you agree?
Bands: Sense of Truth & The Groove Committee (now Call Me Allen)
Date: February 26th
Info: A slightly impromptu show, Sense of Truth played their first headlining concert of 2010 on February 26th at The Canadian with the debuting local rock band now known as Call Me Allen, featuring former Soldiers of Misfortune bassist Alex White! Sense of Truth treated fans to many of their great originals and select covers! Finally got to end my bad-luck streak of missing their shows with this one, and it was great! Would you say the same?
Bands: Garden of Bedlam, Papa Fogals Chair, and Pistols At Dawn
Date: February 27th
Info: Garden of Bedlam hit the stage for the first time in 2010 for this special concert on February 27th, where they were joined by drummer Derek Turner's old band Papa Fogals Chair in a rare live appearance! Also featuring London's Pistols At Dawn, the bands played to honour PFC percussionist Adam Chillman's birthday! It must have been a very special, and metal night on February 27th, was it your favourite show so far in 2010?
Band: Keep The Faith
Date: March 13th
Info: The Canadian Nightclub has ramped up on tribute band bookings in 2010 so far, and one of the most prominent was Bon Jovi tribute band Keep The Faith, who brought their authentic sounding and looking stage show to Sault Ontario twice in 2010! The first show on March 13 was better advertised than the June one, so I'm including this one in the poll. I heard good things about this concert, and were you there to back up what I heard?
Band: Turner Up
Date: March 27th
Info: Turner Up played numerous concerts in the first half of 2010, but I'm including their March 27th show here for the extra hype it recieved, thanks to professional recording at the show and the kick-off of t-shirt giveaways! During the height of the Todd Killam era, Turner Up delivered a good night of rock covers and party tunes to those in attendance! If you were there, would you consider it your favourite show of 2010 so far?
Bands: Garden of Bedlam & Half Past
Date: April 2nd
Info: In their last concert in Sault Ontario before they hit the studio to record their first full length album, Garden of Bedlam rocked The Canadian Nightclub to it's core at this April 2nd concert which also served as the official launch party for their official website! They were also joined by local hard rockers Half Past in their last concert prior to bassist Arthur Lacasse's departure, and they also delivered a great set themselves! Awesome concert, would you agree?
Band: Destroyer
Date: April 3rd
Info: While we impatiently awaited the then-unannounced Kiss date for Sault Ontario, we got the next best thing on April 3rd, when Kiss tribute band Destroyer made their way to The Rockstar Bar! These guys definitely knew how to deliver the Kiss experience to Kiss Army members in town, presenting an authentic stage show with authentic music and costumes! A relatively expensive concert, but from what I've heard, well worth it! Do you agree?
Band: Caveman Morrison
Date: April 9th-10th
Info: Caveman Morrison also played numerous concerts in the first half of 2010, but because this was their first weekend set at The Rosie since it's return to metal concert booking, I'll give it placement on the poll! Tym Morrison and company delivered more of their heavy metal covers and great sounds to The Roosevelt Hotel on these notable shows on the April 9th weekend! Were you there? If so, was one of these shows your favourite?
Band: Garden of Bedlam
Date: April 17th
Info: To raise funds for the recording sessions for their upcoming full length album, Garden of Bedlam assembled just outside of town in Garden River for a fundraiser dinner and concert with their fans, friends, and family! The band played two sets with some covers and some cool extras for those in attendance, and the crowd loved every bit of it! I was there and proudly showed my support for the band, and won a toaster too! What'd you guys think?
Band: Crued
Date: May 1st
Info: Another notable tribute band hit The Canadian on May 1st for a night full of Motley Crue classics as Crued rocked Sault Ontario! Possessed with an authentic Motley Crue sound and look, Cured delivered on all accounts for this show, and even brought along Alleykatz Studio to do piercings and tattoos at the concert! Likely the next best thing to seeing Motley Crue live, how'd you enjoy this show, if you went?
Bands: Derelict, Beyond Within, Thekillingfield, and Bring The Fallen Date: May 6th
Info: Death metal was the name of the game on this concert on May 6th, which very well could have been the heaviest show so far in 2010! Montreal's Derelict and Northern Ontario metal bands Beyond Within and Thekillingfield (neither of which are local strangers) surely melted many faces with their metal onslaughts on May 6th! Also featuring locals Bring The Fallen as openers, was this show as awesome for you as it was heavy?
Bands: Lion Ride & Sense of Truth Date: May 22nd
Info: Despite playing during the May 2-4 weekend and having to compete with good camping weather, Lion Ride and Sense of Truth delivered a high octane night of hard rock to the fans in attendance for this show! It's so far both bands' most recent local concerts, and they made sure to pack in as much good music as they could for us to enjoy, including new originals! This was one of my favourite concerts of 2010 so far, how about you guys?
Bands: Bring The Fallen, SBD, The Fury, and The Tenagens Date: May 28th
Info: Despite the absence of bassist Nolan Rainville, Bring The Fallen captured their third battle of the bands win in four attempts at Downtown Showdown on May 28th, the Sault Youth Association-hosted battle designed to promote and find young local talent! Local experimental hard rockers SBD also impressed in their second live appearance! This rare concert at The Oddfellows Hall went over very well, what do you guys think though?
Band: Frightlight
Date: June 16th
Info: Ah yes, the "secret" show. Frightlight played an unadvertised concert at Coch's Corner on June 16th, their first with Jeff Richards on drums and their first since their Halloween 2009 debut! Great crowd reportedly for this one, among them, a certain band named The Misfits! Can't divulge much else, it was secret for a reason, but it was a show you'll have wanted to be there for! If you were among the lucky attendees, would it be your favourite?
Band: Second Coming
Date: June 18th
Info: The last show among the selected concerts on the poll was another tribute band performance, as Alice Cooper tribute Second Coming headed to The Canadian on June 18th for an amazing live stage show full of impressive theatrics and authentic renditions of the classic songs of the godfather of shock rock! Another very talented tribute band for sure, did you go to this show? Was it your top concert of 2010 so far?
Other: If you wanna vote for another concert, metal or not, Sault Ontario or Sault Michigan, pick this choice! Remember, for ideas, bands like Three Days Grace, Browbeat, Tym Morrison, Stillbroke, Sykotyk Rampage, 40 Sons, Gunz N' F'N' Rosez, Black Dog, Who Made Who, Hells Bells, and more rocked Sault Ontario in the first half of 2010, along with extra shows from some of the bands in the above choices! Vote here if your choice isn't above!
VOTE TODAY! You have until August 20th, so get cracking! As was the case last year, this poll should be very interesting, I wonder what most of you guys enjoyed the most? We'll have to see, here's hoping the vote totals are good!
And to close this post, I have a short note about that Subsistance concert that was scheduled for Foggy Notions last night. The good news is, the show WAS on, and there was even an event page posted for it by Foggy's own Taryn Bugyra! They and openers Kleins96 and The Royal Red Brigade (both punk bands from Regina) were scheduled to perform from midnight to 2:00 AM last night, following Foggy's scheduled jam night. Now the fact that Foggy's didn't publicly announce the show until the day of the concert was odd, but at least we had confirmation of it! Then, the next day, I saw a surprising status update from Subsistance on Facebook. The employee working last night that they talked to must have had no idea of the Subsistance show, because according to the status update, the booker forgot about the show, then apparently wouldn't let Subsistance play and called the band member who posted the update "rude". So it looks like the show never happened, and the band doesn't appear too happy over it. I won't pass judgment on Foggy's staffers at all, that'd be unfair of me, especially from my good experiences with them, but it's a shame what happened! Subsistance are a really good band, I hope this doesn't shake them off from trying here again, cause I'd go see them! Just figured I'd bring that update to you guys, check the above links for more info!That's all for today, but here's what's coming up on the SMS! I'm going to be out of town til Sunday on a family trip, so I will have two auto-posts this weekend until my return! Tomorrow, a new news/updates post will go up, and on Saturday, the first installment of our brand new "Defunct Local Band Profile" Series will be posted, where we take a look at AtrophiA! And I will be back on Sunday with (hopefully) tons of updates from the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival, and more! Stay tuned!
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