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

It's now time to shut down last month's poll and launch our newest one, as it is the 18th of the month! Last June 18th, we posed this question on the site: What is the best case scenario for getting a new reliable concert venue for metal shows? Only 12 voters, which isn't a high total, but it did give us a clear result, so thanks to everyone who did vote! And now, here are the results!

Just improve attendance to the shows we do get (7 votes, 58%)
Renovate or remodel a venue to attract more events (3 votes, 25%)
Open a new bar/concert venue (or re-open one) (2 votes, 17%)
Get an existing venue to host more shows (0 votes)
Get more live bands going to increase demand (0 votes)
We have enough concert venues as it is (0 votes)

What is the best case scenario for getting a new reliable concert venue for metal shows? - See more at: http://poll.pollcode.com/84351643_result?v#sthash.tnj4mLYP.dpuf

What do you guys think? Well, if you simplify things, it's pretty evenly split between the winning choice "Just improve attendance to the shows we do get" and options that relate to opening or remodeling a concert venue that's already active in town, so even if this is a very small sample size, you can see where opinions fall. I'm glad no one voted to say that we have enough venues (it's clear that we don't), and I can see why no one voted for the other choices, as you can't force people to form bands or let metal bands play at a certain location. It'd be a great to see someone open or remodel a bar or venue, but it's costly, and perhaps not reliable, so the simpler option won out. I can agree that it's simple to just encourage people to attend shows and to actually go to them, not just attend ones that your friends are playing at, or are conveniently close, or are cheap. If you don't attend what we do have, do you think promoters will reward us with better shows?

Thanks to everyone for voting! As for this month's poll, we're continuing a yearly tradition at the SMS, as we're posing this question to you guys: What was your favourite local metal/hard rock/punk concert in the first half of 2014? Though we're now factoring punk bands into our tallies, the criteria is the same as in past instances of our half year polls, as we've included 20 concerts from between January 1st and June 30th of 2014 for you guys to vote on (plus "Other"), and like before, shows must have a 50% ratio of metal, hard rock, and now punk bands on it's lineup to make the poll. This eliminates events like Lopstock, Musicfest, and certain nights of the Bon Soo Marquee, among others, but we include "Other" for a reason! Private events like stag & does aren't included either, hence the Papa Fogals Chair reunion's absence. And like normal, this poll does NOT feature shows from last year (we covered them already), or in July of this year (wait for those when we poll you guys on 2014's second half next year.) There were some big shows this year so far, so here are your choices in this month's poll!

Bands: The Merves
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: January 17th
Info: Continuing their recent trend of playing a Sault Ste. Marie date each January, local punk veteran Mikey Hawdon's Toronto-based Ramones tribute band came back to The Rockstar Bar to help kick off 2014, with new singer Amy Zuchetto on hand with their new half-Joan Jett cover theme, and fans definitely are it up! Was The Merves' first 2014 date your favourite concert of the year so far?

Bands: Pillory, Rotopsy, The Strange Coyotes, Crucify the Whore, The Bear Hunters, Project 421, Chase Wigmore, the original Brutaly Fatal, and Mike Haggith & The Din
Venue: The Oddfellows Hall
Date: January 24th
Info: Inclement weather forced planned headliners TheKillingField & Buried Out Back to drop out on short notice, so there was a lot of late lineup shuffling and additions for this show, Heavy North Entertainment's first since launching as a company. Notably featuring the reunion of Mike Haggith & The Din, Project 421's first show with singer Curtis McKenzie, and the last appearance by The Strange Coyotes, did you brave the storm to take in this all ages action?

Bands: Punch, The Bear Hunters, and The Elements
Venue: The Roosevelt Hotel (now Reggie's West)
Date: February 6th
Info: The first installment of the short lived Heavy Thursday series at the former Roosevelt Hotel saw Rosie favourites The Bear Hunters, debuting funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, and the most recent show to date from Haggith/Beaumont Avenue hybrid Punch, who all delivered solid sets! J.D. Pearce had a great idea in resurrecting a Thursday series at The Rosie, but was this the best show of early 2014?

Bands: Jack Spades, Project 421, and The Suicide Kings (now Beaumont Avenue)
Venue: The Roosevelt Hotel (now Reggie's West)
Date: February 13th
Info: The second Heavy Thursday at The Rosie saw the local openers of the next month's Anvil concert take to the stage, with Jack Spades, Project 421, and the former Suicide Kings delivering exciting sets of heavy originals and covers! Though all three have played bigger shows since, did you enjoy this late-era Roosevelt Hotel show the most in the past 6 months?

Bands: Late & Loud, The Danger Cats, and Redundant
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: February 21st
Info: Classic metal favourites Late & Loud held a one-off reunion set on February 21st at The Rockstar Bar, reminding all of the Loudmouths how exciting and talented they were in their heyday! Also featuring all-female rockers The Danger Cats and punk trio Redundant's first proper attended concert in 6 months (The Marquee notwithstanding), this was a great way to welcome back (and send off?) Late & Loud, but would you agree?

Bands: T-Rex Manning, Redundant, and Fist Fighting Stephen Hawking
Venue: The Roosevelt Hotel (now Reggie's West)
Date: February 27th
Info: Little did we know it at the time, but the third Heavy Thursday would be one of the last hard rock shows at The Roosevelt Hotel, which closed the next month prior to renovations and a re-opening as the country bar Reggie's West. Also featuring the last live appearances to date from both T-Rex Manning and Fist Fighting Stephen Hawking, was the 64th and final Thursday night metal/punk show at The Rosie your top show of this half of the year?

Bands: Anvil, Caym, Jack Spades, The Suicide Kings (now Beaumont Avenue), and Project 421
Venue: The Canadian Nightclub
Date: March 15th
Info: After two years away, Toronto metal legends Anvil brought the metal on metal back to The Canadian this spring for another well attended and very heavy night of hits! Also featuring the return of extreme metallers Caym and a trio of known and rising local hard rock bands, all of the metal pounders in attendance ate up the action before them, but was Anvil's grand return tops to you in early 2014?

Bands: Skynet, Chronobot, AlgomA, and The Northern Tragedy
Venue: 180 Projects
Date: March 16th
Info: If you weren't feeling the effects from Anvil, a rare metal concert hit 180 Projects the very next night, with Skynet and Chronobot coming in from out of town for a devastating night of their own metal styles, with AlgomA and The Northern Tragedy playing their own sludge and punk to set the tone! Again featuring lots of projector screen action (and even 3D glasses!), this was a unique show to say the least, but was it your favourite so far?

Bands: The Elements, Redundant, Project 421, Obviously D'uh, Cory Murchison & friends, and The Craig West Experience
Venue: The Grand Theatre
Date: March 22nd
Info: New funk rockers The Elements hosted Medi-Fest on March 22nd, a medical marijuana benefit & support fundraiser that attracted a good attendance and awareness to the cause, and a nice diverse lineup of artists! Notably featuring some stand up comedy, the long awaited return of Cory Murchison to the stage, and the debut of Mashagama predecessors Obviously D'uh, were you at Medi-Fest, and did it live up to the hype?

Bands: Who Made Who
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: March 28th
Info: AC/DC tribute favourites Who Made Who made their anticipated return to the Soo on March 28th, albeit at The Rockstar Bar rather than their past Canadian Nightclub destination. Still, a great crowd turned out for this night of high voltage rock n' roll, and with a tribute band of this skill and experience, you can't go wrong! Was Who Made Who's return your favourite early 2014 local hard rock concert?

Bands: The Merves
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: April 4th-5th
Info: Breaking from their usual January only trend, Toronto-based Ramones/Joan Jett tribute quartet The Merves came back to frontman Mikey Hawdon's hometown in early April, rocking The Rockstar Bar once again with punk and hard rock classics! The January show arguably got more promotion, but if you know The Merves, you'll know they delivered a fun set either way, but did you prefer their April stop(s) over other 2014 punk and metal shows?

Bands: Devon Coyote & The Fever Tops
Venue: Cafe Natura
Date: April 15th
Info: Local punk/alternative duo The Fever Tops (who begat The Pixo Control) held a one-off reunion at this Cafe Natura concert in mid-April, where they opened for British Columbia blues rock trio Devon Coyote for a second time! On the surface, not a show many metalheads might have attended, but Devon Coyote have a catchy sound, and it was nice to see The Fever Tops have a proper send-off! Was this your favourite 2014 show?

Bands: Rotopsy, Project 421, Buried Out Back, AlgomA, Crucify the Whore, Bad Back, Like Animals, The Pixo Control, Chase Wigmore, The Danger Cats, and The North Shore
Venue: The Oddfellows Hall
Date: April 19th
Info: Though originally planned to have 14 acts, Heavy North Entertainment's Dank Fest all ages marathon still had 11 artists rocking out at The Oddfellows Hall all day, including out of town brutalizers Buried Out Back and Like Animals, the first Oddfellows appearances by AlgomA, The Pixo Control, and The Danger Cats, and plenty of metal to go around, oddly with only one band exceeding 3 members that night! Can you vouch for Dank Fest in this poll?

Bands: Crued
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: May 3rd
Info: Just over a month after Who Made Who rocked The Rockstar Bar, Motley Crue and hair metal fans got their tribute fix when Crued came back to Sault Ste. Marie for a night of Crue classics! In absence of the real thing, Crued have always delivered a faithful and sleazy take on the source material, and I'm sure this show was as successful as their past stops, but would you agree with that?

Bands: Fuck the Facts, Empyrean Plague, Shit Liver, The Bear Hunters, Crucify the Whore, and This Is Your Band on Drugs
Venue: The Oddfellows Hall
Date: May 4th
Info: A lower than expected attendance couldn't stop the metal intensity on this night, with Fuck The Facts and Empyrean Plague making the trip west for long awaited returns to the Soo stage! Also featuring Shit Liver's grimy homecoming and CD release, and one of the first local appearances by This Is Your Band On Drugs, fans at The Oddfellows Hall had a definite blast, but was it your #1 metal show of early 2014?

Bands: The Bear Hunters, Sykotyk Rampage, Haggith, Rotopsy, Aggressive Acoustic, Pete Mozarowski, Rihkee Strap, the second Brutaly Fatal (now The Revolution), This Is Your Band On Drugs, DJ Seith, Mike Haggith, and open mic performers
Venue: The Oddfellows Hall
Date: May 10th
Info: The fourth annual Sewer Swampstravaganza returned to the spring months on May 10th with it's longest lineup yet, including four time Swampfest veterans The Bear Hunters, Sudbury hard rock from Aggressive Acoustic, Sykotyk Rampage & Haggith's first concerts of the year, a rare Mike Haggith solo set, and an entertaining block of open mic artists to kick off the day! Did this year's Swampstravaganza top the year so far to you?

Bands: Jack Spades, The Elements, Project 421, and Johnny Belanger & Jesse Cook
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: May 16th
Info: Punk/metal quintet Jack Spades launched their debut EP "The First" in style on May 16th at The Rockstar Bar with an explosive set of originals and covers, with members Johnny Belanger and Jesse Cook reprising Johnny's acoustic open mic set at the Swampstravaganza to open this show! Also featuring The Elements and Project 421 (with guest singer Travis McKenzie), a lively crowd reaction and great reviews followed, but would you agree?

Bands: The Great Sabatini, AlgomA, and The Danger Cats
Venue: The Moose Lodge
Date: June 10th
Info: The first Moose Lodge hard rock show of 2014 saw the return of Montreal grind/metal quartet The Great Sabatini to the Soo for a night of explosive all ages metal in their own right! Also featuring Oh! Right Arm! flagship trio AlgomA and The Danger Cats to provide local opening action, were you in attendance for this diverse concert, and did it beat the rest in this poll?

Bands: Heart & Jason Bonham
Venue: The Essar Centre
Date: June 20th
Info: In scope, this was definitely the biggest hard rock concert of 2014 in Sault Ontario, as Seattle/Vancouver hard rock legends Heart hit The Essar Center last month with Jason Bonham on hand to guest on drums and join forces with Heart for a set of memorable Led Zeppelin covers! Lots of great reviews and media attention followed, but were you in attendance, and was it the best early 2014 local concert?

Bands: Anciients, Havok, Wretched, Black Wizard, and The Revolution
Venue: The Canadian Nightclub
Date: June 24th
Info: Arguably the last major metal show of 2014's first half, J.D. Pearce brought in a huge bill of metal via two converging tours, with Vancouver progressive metal standouts Anciients, Colorado thrashers Havok, and North Carolina death metallers Wretched combining for one intense and well recieved show! Though attendance wasn't as high as hoped, fans in attendance didn't miss out on the brutality, but was it your favourite?

Other: Did we miss your favourite? For reference, metal, hard rock, and punk artists like Brad Example & The Role Models, Commencing Human Desperation, Glitch, Gnaeus, Griphook, James Watterworth, Late Shift, Lucky 13, Northwest, Public Animal, RPM, Stiffler's Mom, That's Chester, The Thrill Junkies, and Tym Morrison played live in early 2014 in the Soo, along with additional shows from bands in the above choices, and possibly some in private-only gigs. Maybe your favourite concert was one without a 50% majority of metal, punk, and/or hard rock, or one in Sault Michigan like LemmaFest, or maybe one that doesn't dip into our range? If your preferred choice isn't above, vote for "Other"!

VOTE TODAY!! You guys have until August 18th to cast your votes as we'll hopefully figure out the "winning" show of early 2014, so what was your favourite? Case your votes A.S.A.P., and stay tuned for more news and punk band features this week! Thanks everyone!