LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Live 705 Local Show), New & Returning Local Punk Bands, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Canadian Nightclub DJ and former local concert promoter Jay Perron, who reportedly passed away earlier today at the age of 43. Given the sudden word, we don't know details about final services yet, but will get them to you when announced. A familiar sight for fans of club nights and dance parties at The Canadian under his handle "DJ Reverend J", Jay frequently hosted such events under the Total Package Entertainment and Edge Entertainment brandings, including planned Halloween events this weekend, while he also has DJed at venues like the former GLOW, Vibe Lounge, and Docks locations in the past. Jay had also dabbled in rock concert promoting in the past, and in The Sault Metal Scene's early years, he was extremely helpful in letting me know about concert cancellations and lineup clarifications for shows at The Canadian, and was still friendly and reliable when needed even after the venue cut back on solely-local concert bookings.

Though we weren't in as much contact in recent years as we had been, Jay was a very nice guy and always willing to help when clarifying or confirming news on the site, and he even gave social advice beyond music coverage. As a personal aside, his mother was the maid of honour at my parents' wedding in 1988. No word yet on the status of Jay's planned Halloween parties at The Canadian this weekend, but visit the above links for information in that regard, and our thoughts and best wishes are with everyone affected by this sad news. R.I.P. Jay!

Now, today's post features an intriguing LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, but as it involves a debuting local band, we'll lead off with that! The new local band in question is A Dire Setback, who feature some familiar names in their lineup, including former A Fall From Innocence singer Larry Babic, ex-The Fallout/Shore guitarist Chris Nielsen, bassist Matt Quinn, and ex-State of Misery/Stealing Kisses drummer Nick Kainula. The members' past bands may hint towards a punk/alternative genre, but in personal Facebook conversations, Nick has told me that they have "a different sound" and aren't "super punk", while their Facebook page lists their genre as "TBD", so take that for what it's worth. A Dire Setback have been recording in some form or another since August, and have already ordered a stage banner, so they're on their way to a public launch, so when will that be?

How about at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday, November 19th? Courtesy of the band's new in-house concert promotion agency Live 705, the band and company will debut that night for "The Live 705 Local Show", whose lineup calls more to the late 2000s punk/alternative Oddfellows shows than more recent death metal/grind events there. A Dire Setback are the listed co-headliners, with indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. headlining in a rare Oddfellows appearance (perhaps their first?) Other listed bands on the 19th include a pair of bands that played at the Sky's The Limit fundraiser at The Tech in May, including online page-less classic rock trio Electric Church (in the Spencer Pine-led band's Oddfellows Hall debut) and alternative/hard rock trio The Din, so if you liked that event, keep this one in mind! Also, here's an unexpected surprise for punk fans, as late-2000s punk quartet Talk Shit have reunited and will play their first show in seven years on the 19th!

No online pages yet (or then), but singer/drummer Adam Sauve, guitarist Marc LaFrance, and bassist Ian Robinson are back alongside new guitarist Steve Shaw, who is replacing the relocated Andrew Angelic in their new lineup. This is an unexpected surprise (increasingly so if you miss members' earlier band Renderware too), so it'll be interesting to hear how Talk Shit sound in their return, and hopefully they finally launch an online page of some type! The lineup is rounded out by hard rock quartet Eclipse and local rapper Jasmin "Jizzy Baby" Sky, who you may recognize from recent Soo York City rap events. I'm not familiar with her musically, but we have seen rappers open Oddfellows shows in the past, so she should set the tone well! This ALL AGES show next month has a 5:30 PM start time, and tickets are now available for $8 at Case's Music, The Rad Zone, the Thomas Walls School of Music, and directly from band members (if there's a planned price hike at the door, it's not publically stated.)

This is a very intriguing concert for punk and alternative fans, including a nice balance of established, returning, and newer faces, and it does call to mind the more varied punk shows at The Oddfellows Hall from the mid-late 2000s! Absolutely stay tuned for updates, both A Dire Setback and Live 705 are in their appropriate sections for our links now, and stay tuned for more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!