Last Month's Poll Results & This Month's New Poll!!

It's the 18th of the month, so as expected, it's time to unveil the final results of last month's poll at The Sault Metal Scene and to launch our newest poll on the site! Starting with the last poll results, you may remember that our last poll posed this question: "What was your favourite Sault Ontario metal concert in the first half of 2012?" 32 votes were cast in the past month, which is a solid number, and I thank you all for voting! That said, what did you guys pick as your favourite shows from January 1st to June 30th? Here are the final results!

Dead In The Van at The Canadian on March 4th (8 votes, 25%)
The Merves at The Canadian Nightclub on January 14th (8 votes, 25%)
Garden of Bedlam at The Rockstar Bar on May 12th (4 votes, 13%)
F.A.T.I.L. Gathering in Laird on June 22nd (3 votes, 9.5%)
Other (3 votes, 9.5%)
Winkstinger at The Roosevelt Hotel on June 7th (2 votes, 6%)
Ypres Metal Fest at The Canadian on April 7th (2 votes, 6%)
Late and Loud at The Canadian on March 30th (2 votes, 6%)
Who Made Who at The Canadian on February 3rd (0 votes)
Winkstinger at The Roosevelt Hotel on February 16th (0 votes)
Waster at The Roosevelt Hotel on March 15th (0 votes)
The V.D.M. at The Speak Easy on March 16th (0 votes)
Mama Kin at The Canadian Nightclub on April 13th-14th (0 votes)
Battle of the Bands at The Grand Theater on April 20th (0 votes)
Shit Liver at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on May 4th (0 votes)
West of Hell at The Canadian Nightclub on May 13th (0 votes)
The Brat Attack at The Canadian Nightclub on May 20th (0 votes)
Fuck The Facts at The Canadian Nightclub on May 23rd (0 votes)
Battle For The Blood at The Roosevelt Hotel on June 19th (0 votes)
Hallows Die at The Canadian Nightclub on June 29th (0 votes)
Maximum RNR at The Rockstar Bar on June 30th (0 votes)

What do you guys think? Well, I have to say that I'm very surprised that there wasn't a more even spread with the voting, as 12 of the 20 choices weren't picked. I'm probably most surprised that Dismembertainment's May concerts at The Canadian and the Maximum RNR show in June got no love, but this is all in who votes, I assume. Of the three shows tied for 6th with two votes each, I'm most surprised that the Ypres Metal Fest only got two votes, especially knowing how huge & emotional that night was! The F.A.T.I.L. Gathering in Laird's fourth place finish with 3 votes is higher than I projected, and though it tied with "Other", that could mean anything from the Die Mannequin show to July concerts, but I can't prove what those voters had in mind. A respectable third place with 4 votes went to Garden of Bedlam's solo concert at The Rockstar Bar in May (pretty good!), but the tied first place concerts with 8 votes and 25% of the total each were two Canadian Nightclub shows featuring incomplete Frightlight lineups from earlier this year, those being the Merves-headlined show in January & the Dead In The Van fundraiser in March! As it took place more recently (and won with less time in our consciousness), I'll declare Dead In The Van the "winner" of the poll, but this was a mathematical tie.

The Merves/Frightlight show's high finish really surprised me, but the Dead In The Van fundraiser show was a fun and diverse night of metal and punk, and they're a solid & deserving winner for the poll, even if my personal projections were off! We'll see the vote-getting choices again early next year for our poll on your favourite concerts of the entire year, and for now, thanks to everyone for voting!

With that said, what's in store for this month's poll? Well, this time, I wanna see what SMS readers habits are in terms of our coverage, more specifically, the Sault Michigan side of things. While I admit that our coverage and readership is mostly Sault Ontario-based, I make a clear effort to cover Sault Michigan and close Eastern U.P. regions on as close to an equal level as I can. A different nationality doesn't render any band less worthy of the time and attention I'd give to a Sault Ontario act, and I remember being suitably impressed with the bands (past & present) that I found across the river when I first began compiling band links and resources in 2007. That said, there is a disconnect between the Twin Saults in terms of coverage, which can be blamed on varying reasons. Aside from the population differences (which can be blamed on the smaller band totals), Sault Michigan tends to be harder to cover thanks to a larger number of bands & venues without actively updated online pages, and concerts are known to occasionally slip me by. Also, the crossover of bands playing across the border is almost nonexistent now thanks to the excessive paperwork and legal hangups that you need to work through nowadays just to play across the bridge, so in some ways, we're covering two distinct areas without a lot of commonality.

That all said, Sault Michigan has a lot of plusses in terms of their metal & hard rock scene compared to Sault Ontario. They tend to have better advance schedules for their shows, they tend to have more out of town hard rock regulars at local shows than we do (like Nudge, Peril, and Driven), they have the only rock radio stations in this region, and they get more big name headlining bands at Kewadin Casino than The Essar Center does. Plus, I've noticed a greater ratio of family member bandmates and female musicians in Sault Michigan hard rock bands, and in recent years especially, there's been some great rock camps & youth programs to get children & preteens into heavier bands, so they do have a lot of benefits and advancements worth noting! I think most would say that Sault Ontario has more going on for concerts and local metal band activity, and I would agree, but I wouldn't ignore the Sault Michigan area. After all, they have bands like Clownsack, End of Existence, Half A Man, and Powerslug, along with inactive acts like Bad Side, I.S.O.M., Nixxon Dixxon, and Oddfellow, and they definitely deserve to be recognized and followed!

Now, with that all said, I'm posing this question to you guys this month: How much do you follow metal/hard rock bands & concerts in Sault Michigan & the Eastern Upper Peninsula? I've picked 5 options that should sum up most of the feelings on how connected you guys are to the bands and shows across the river, and I'm curious to see how the voting shakes down. With that said, here's your choices!

More than or equally to the Sault Ontario metal scene: Do you follow Sault Michigan and Eastern U.P. bands and concerts on comparable levels as to what goes on in Sault Ontario? Do you focus on Sault Michigan more? Or do you live/work in Sault Michigan and do more concert hopping there? This would be the choice if any of the above applies to you!

Just certain bands/shows: Everyone has personal preferences, and maybe you only pay attention to select bands and concerts across the river that fit into what you already like, listen to, and attend. Not every Scofflaw fan is going to like Theatre of Night, for example. Or maybe you prefer one American bar to another? Do you only follow select groups and gigs in Sault Michigan?

Casually or occasionally: Is your knowledge of the Sault Michigan scene more of a loose and informal recognization? Are SMS posts and the occasional clicked link your only experience with bands across the river? If you're a casual fan who doesn't study or look into the Sault Michigan scene in-depth, but doesn't ignore it either, vote for this option!

Only for major Kewadin Casino concerts: While The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino is a big source of major hard rock concerts in the area, Sault Ontario news media generally only touches on Sault Michigan concerts when they happen there, and if that's all you hear about, that could be all you'd attend for, especially as few heavier ones have local opening bands. Are major Kewadin shows your only link to the Sault Michigan hard rock scene? If so, vote here!

Not at all: Do you only pay attention to the Sault Ontario metal/hard rock scene? Is Sault Michigan a different world, too much of a hassle, or not worth your time? I see a lot of validity and talent from the Sault Michigan metal/hard rock bands and concerts past & present, but if you only focus on Canada for your local music, pick this option!

VOTE TODAY!! This month's poll will be up in the upper left column until September 18th, and I'm really curious to see how connected you guys are with Sault Michigan. The talent is there, shows do happen, and there's plenty of reasons to at least follow their bands. The Twin Saults are linked in many ways, and I'd love to see stronger bonds between the two scenes, but who knows what the votes will say. VOTE A.S.A.P. and stay tuned for a new news post tonight or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!