Last Month's Poll Results, A New Video, And Rudyard Musicians Festival Updates!!

Today's SMS post features the results of last month's poll and updates on a returning concert festival, but we'll start today with another new concert video from Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie's revived solo project, this time from his set opening for his old band The Din at LopLops Lounge yesterday!  Another cover of Seether's "Broken" (also filmed for his Facebook page at The Vape Escape on Friday), the rendition is solid, though the camera work can be a little shaky. And yes, that is an old CRT TV on stage, The Din have brought it back as an on-stage element. Give Curt's newest solo video below, and don't miss him with Eclipse TONIGHT at The Canadian!



Next up, here's some early details for the second annual Rudyard Musicians Festival in Rudyard, Michigan on Saturday, August 19th at Rudyard Township Park have been announced, so what do we know so far? There will be a dozen separate acts this year (including bands and solo artists), all proceeds will again go to music programs at Rudyard Area Schools, the festival will be held rain or shine, attendees can camp on site on Friday the 18th, and there will be concessions and a pig roast on the Saturday, so things sound like they're shaping up well. Unfortunately, in the sentence about music genres this year, this event poster expressly says "(NO HEAVY METAL)", despite last year's event featuring masked metal quartet Stoned Ape Evolution. Did their set have a poor response, or were they just too much of an outlier last year? It's hard to say, but hopefully there's still some hard rock mixed in this year to give genre fans something. Check the above links for more details, and if there is hard rock on the lineup, we'll let you know!

Finally for today, here's the final results of last month's final poll on the year of 2016, as we posed this question to you guys: "What was your favourite metal, hard rock, or punk concert of 2016?" Only 13 votes, sadly low again, so I'll be taking the rest of the year off from polls on the SMS due to the turnout save for next month's poll on your favourite early 2017 concerts as usual, and I will maintain yearly polls on here. That said, there is a clear winner, so here are the final results!

Guy Thiffault Benefit at The Rockstar Bar on December 27th (4 votes, 31%)

The Ripcordz at The Canadian Nightclub on August 13th (3 votes, 23%)

The Din & Gnaeus at The Tech on August 12th (2 votes, 15%)

Cocaine Moustache at The New American Pub on July 12th (1 vote, 7¾%)

Hedley & The Rising Tide at The Yard on July 1st (1 vote, 7¾%)

Redneck Rock Bash II at Rednecks on June 4th (1 vote, 7¾%)

Project 421 & Eclipse at The Rockstar Bar on May 13th (1 vote, 7¾%)

The Din & Stereo North at The Gore Street Cafe on March 4th (0 votes)

Gorod & Bookakee at The Oddfellows Hall on April 15th (0 votes)

Id Iota & The Pixo Control at LopLops Lounge on April 21st (0 votes)

Go Skateboarding Day at Queen Elizabeth Park on June 21st (0 votes)

Iskra, Pillory, and Rotopsy at The Oddfellows Hall on July 14th (0 votes)

Live705 Show at The Oddfellows Hall on November 19th (0 votes)

Other (0 votes)

What do you guys think? Well, in ascending order, I will say that it is disappointing to see six shows receive zero votes, especially as all choices in this poll received at least one vote in our half year polls. Recency may have won the day here, as only 2 voters chose a show from June or earlier, while only two shows from the second half of the year received no votes (including Live705's debut, which came in second in the half-year poll.) Of the four shows to get a single vote this time around, Cocaine Moustache surprises me the most given the stature of the other shows and Redneck Rock Bash II winning the early 2016 poll, but it's all in who votes! The second and third place shows (which conveniently took place on consecutive days) finished strong in the poll, proving how well recieved The Ripcordz' return and The Din's CD release were, but the winner of both the second half and full year polls was December's Guy Thiffault tribute concert. An emotional yet entertaining night of local punk and metal veterans playing in honour of a fallen comrade, this was a very deserving winner to cap off our 2016 polls!

Thanks to everyone for voting, and again, we will be taking a month off from polls due to low turnout before trying again with our poll on your favourite concerts in early 2017 next month, then likely laying low again until tackling the whole year in early 2018. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates soon! Thanks everyone!