Upcoming Sault Ontario Concert Updates, Plus New Videos!!

In our first news post of our seventh year at the SMS, we have some recent Sault Ontario updates, including new videos from some local grind artists, the first video from a recent private Canada Day event, and leading off, updates for three big upcoming metal/hard rock concerts, so here's what you need to know!

We'll start with updates to two of local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's huge upcoming shows, beginning with the news that there will be physical ticket sales locally for the Airbourne concert at The Canadian Nightclub on August 19th! On the Facebook event page yesterday, he confirmed that tickets are available at both The Canadian Motor Hotel's front desk and The Rad Zone, though online tickets are still available, as are ones direct from him on request or at upcoming shows of his. Tickets are bound to fly fast for this huge show, so get yours A.S.A.P. for $30 wherever you can! The other update is that the Creepshow/Hellbound Hepcats psychobilly concert (featuring local metal openers Frightlight & Sykotyk Rampage) has been moved from Thursday, August 29th to Monday, September 16th, as per that show's Facebook event page yesterday. A reason for the postponement wasn't announced, and while the Monday placement may be a bit less convenient, the music should still rock for metal, punk, and rockabilly fans, so check the above links for current details, and stay tuned for further updates!

Next up, the Facebook event page has finally been launched for local grunge/alternative rock quartet Haggith's second Bushplane Musical Madness event on Saturday, July 20th, so what should you know that we didn't already? In terms of bands, both acts that Haggith shared the stage with at this event last year (local hard rockers The Suicide Kings & blue Chinese metal crash punk quartet Sykotyk Rampage) will return for another go-around, while a 5th confirmed act is ex-Blackwater bassist James Watterworth in a solo set. I'm not overly familiar with his solo music, but I've heard he does take on a more experimental sound than Blackwater were known for, so we'll have to see what he has in store in two weeks! These bands join the previously confirmed Haggith & Redundant on the bill, and there's likely more bands to be announced. The 4:30 PM start time remains in effect (ending by midnight), and while there will be advance ticket sales starting on Wednesday, admission will be $5 no matter what. The event is all ages and will be licensed for alcohol sales, so feel free to partake in a drink if you have ID!

Full lineup details and band timeslots are to be announced, but stay tuned to the above links for more details! This is shaping up to be quite a fun evening of original local talent, and considering that it's running concurrently with the last night of Rotaryfest, could you unofficially call this the "Third Stage"? As more updates come in, I'll have them here!

In related news, the first video from Haggith's Canada Day weekend concerts is now online, and it's of Haggith drummer Mike Haggith & his new live jam project The Din making their live debut at this private Goulais Mission concert weekend! Filmed by attendee Mark Irwin on Saturday and later uploaded to Mike's YouTube channel yesterday, this is of Mike and his Din bandmates (Haggith's Curtis McKenzie on bass and Daniel Horton on drums) playing Mike's solo song "The Ballad of K2/K3", complete with a more elaborate stage setup than last year, but how does this rendition sound? It feels more like the studio track than I expected, and Mike shows good live confidence as a singer and a guitarist, and I'd definitely like to see Mike take The Din to some public shows and give his solo material a wider audience! Also, if you're curious on the lineups of two of the bands who played at Goulais Mission last weekend, Curtis' solo Facebook page has photos and setlists of both his new solo band Sound X (pictured) and the band named The Nirvanabees, who I can confirm were a Nirvana tribute.

Sound X shared the same lineup as The Din, just with Curtis and Mike trading singing/guitar and bass duties, while The Nirvanabees had Haggith's exact lineup and instrument roles minus Daniel (with Caleb Cachagee on bass), though no word on media from their sets, or if The Nirvanabees will exist for more than a one-off. I'm curious to hear more, but for now, here's Mike Haggith and The Din playing "The Ballad of K2/K3" last weekend!



Finally for today,YouTube user LoveTheDeathbat uploaded 6 videos in the last few days of Brutaly Fatal mainman Austin McRae and Blood Shed Productions labelmate Ringsnaps Gibson (Crucify The Whore, Tomgrindy, etc.) jamming original material and covers in the Blood Shed studios, which include loose renditions of Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime", Nirvana's "About A Girl", and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", and two videos of instrumental jamming (here and here.) The other clip (embedded below) is some jamming of original material that Austin wrote, and everything sounds good (if not too refined), and Austin's singing voice has a good tone, but I don't think he has a wide range for clean vocals. Like with the last live C.T.W. video we've seen, it's nice to see Blood Shed's goregrind artists diversifying a bit and really showcasing their guitar talents, and I still think that if Ringsnaps, Austin, and the Tomgrindy guys formed a full band, they could make some local waves. Check out more below and at the above links!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for some more big news tomorrow! Thanks everyone!