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

I hope everyone's having a great long weekend! Here's the belated close to last month's poll and the launch of our newest poll on the SMS, so to start, recall that we posed this question on the site last month: What was the biggest local metal, hard rock, or punk news story of 2018? Sadly, we only got 10 votes in this poll, but there is a clear result in the final tally, so thanks to everyone who did vote, and here are the final results!

Oh!No festival in Leeburn returns for bigger second year (4 votes, 40%)

I Mother Earth & Finger Eleven return to Sault Ontario (2 votes, 20%)

Steel Panther performs in Sault Michigan in December (1 vote, 10%)

Seether and 10 Years rock Kewadin Casino in August (1 vote, 10%)

Re:Born debuts in local scene in early 2019 (1 vote, 10%)

The Din posthumously release "Suburban Sendoff" (1 vote, 10%)

The Bear Hunters release their debut music video (0 votes)

Big Wreck plays at The Machine Shop in February (0 votes)

Chuck Ayotte of Fistmagnet passes away (0 votes)

Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide return with new lineup (0 votes)

The Essar Centre becomes GFL Memorial Gardens (0 votes)

Gliss Restaurant moves to Spring Street (0 votes)

The Gore Street Cafe permanently closes (0 votes)

The Halloween Party launches new local tribute bands (0 votes)

Highway 63 returns to the stage after a lengthy hiatus (0 votes)

Michale Graves concert cancelled due to inclement weather (0 votes)

Mike Haggith fully resumes solo career in Thompson, Manitoba (0 votes)

Pop Evil returns to Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in February (0 votes)

Redundant play at the final Vans Warped Tour stop in Toronto (0 votes)

Rotaryfest celebrates anniversary with Rewind lineup (0 votes)

Scott McLurg retires from drumming in local bands (0 votes)

Shit Liver tour Canada to support new record "Hitting The Fan" (0 votes)

The Soo's Got Talent competition debuts at The Tech (0 votes)

Stiffler's Mom quietly fall inactive after lengthy local run (0 votes)

Theatre of Night hold their second Christmas tour (0 votes)

Other (0 votes)

What do you guys think? Well, regarding the options that got no votes, I am surprised that many received no love here, particularly the Big Wreck and Pop Evil concerts and any new studio album releases, but it's all in who votes! Of the single-voted options, this does prove how big the Seether and Steel Panther shows were last year, and Re:Born were the biggest debuting hard rock band of 2018 locally in a lean year for band debuts, but I am surprised that The Din's posthumous live album squeaked into what you could call the top 3 (with ties.) Second place went to last year's huge I Mother Earth/Finger Eleven concert, which was a great night for fans of late 1990s/early 2000s Canadian alt rock, and hopefully it helped encourage more hard rock events at The Machine Shop! The winner of the poll was last year's Oh!No concert festival in Leeburn, which brought over a dozen diverse acts to the church for a full day of entertainment, and I know year #3 will bring more high profile action this September from local and touring bands alike!

Thanks to everyone who voted! As for this month's poll, we are winding down our "favourite _____ of 2018" polls by asking this question: What was your favourite local metal, hard rock, or punk concert of the second half of 2018? Following up on it's sister poll from last summer, I have grouped 15 high profile concerts for you guys to pick from during this eventful 6 month stretch, with shows receiving votes joining concerts from January-June 2018 in next month's poll on shows from the whole year. To make the poll, concerts must have taken place in the Sault Ontario area between July 1st and December 31st (so no Tea Party, for example), while concerts in the poll must have a lineup comprised of at least 50% metal, hard rock, and punk acts. This eliminates such events as Toystock, the Downtown Street Parties, the Northern Vibe Festival, and Rotaryfest Stage 2, but you can vote for those by selecting "Other" if you want. Now, here are your choices!

Bands: Rivers of Nihil, Alterbeast, Inferi, and Pillory
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: July 6th
Info: One of the heaviest shows of last year saw a trifecta of American death metal bands make their way to The Rockstar Bar last July, with Reading, Pennsylvania's own Rivers of Nihil inciting a huge circle pit for their brutal original headlining attack! Alterbeast and Inferi were more than up to the challenge as openers, while local death/thrash metal trio Pillory impressed in their only public show in the past 18 months. Was this extreme metal blast your preferred choice?

Bands: Treble Charger, Mustang Heart, Turner Up, Road Fever, and Tripod The Dog
Venue: Clergue Park (Rotaryfest Stage 1)
Date: July 20th
Info: As part of their "Rotaryfest Rewind" theme of band reunions at the covers-centric main stage last year, our local summer festival loaded up the schedule each night, with a very SMS-friendly Friday lineup to boot! Featuring prominent indie/punk quartet Treble Charger, a one-off Turner Up reunion, and the return of Tripod the Dog alongside festival regulars Mustang Heart and a reunited Road Fever, fans ate up this day's roster, but would you vote for it in this month's poll?

Bands: Id Iota & Great Chamberlain
Venue: LopLops Lounge
Date: July 20th
Info: Continuing with LopLops Lounge's tradition of booking Rotaryfest Stage 2 acts for nighttime concerts that same weekend, they played host to local indie/hard rock quartet Id Iota and the now-on-hiatus "unorthodox stadium rock" band Great Chamberlain for this concert, held at an unusually late time so as to not conflict with Treble Charger's set. Surprisingly the last Id Iota show to date, this was a well recieved concert, but can you vouch for it?

Bands: The Din & A Dire Setback
Venue: LopLops Lounge
Date: July 21st
Info: The second post-Rotaryfest show from LopLops last year saw a surprise reunion set from defunct alt-hard rock trio The Din, marking their first local concert appearance since their "Suburban Sendoff" at the same venue last fall! Also featuring their friends in pop punk trio A Dire Setback fresh off of their own Stage 2 set, this "Dinunion" reminded LopLops patrons how big of an attraction The Din were in their heyday, but was it your favourite late-2019 show featured here?

Bands: The Costanzas, Stegadeth, and Winkstinger
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: August 4th
Info: Presented by Six, Two, Oh. and the mysterious "Killenials", The Rockstar Bar played host to Montreal ska/jazz punk quartet The Costanzas on this August night, with their edgy yet amusing brand of originals attracting more fans in the process! Featuring local punk trio Stegadeth and the 2018 debut of extreme death metal veterans Winkstinger, this song delivered for a nice range of sounds, but did you like it the most of all of these concerts?

Bands: Garbageface, Cross Dog, The Therapists, The Franquilizers, Lightmares, Beaver Slap, Fat Cop, Forest City Aurora, Planet Rock, Pointless, The Dynowaves, Jack Spades, Mik & Steve, Winkstinger, A Dire Setback, The Elements, Jackson Reed, and Shae Tull
Venue: Robbie Adamson's Church in Leeburn
Date: September 8th
Info: The aforementioned Six, Two, Oh. brought back their Oh!No concert festival to the familiar church locale in nearby Leeburn on September 8th, and delivered with an even bigger day of music than in 2017! Featuring the long awaited local return of Mark Rand's Cross Dog, the Soo debut of The Therapists, fan favourite returnees from Oh!No I, Beaver Slap karaoke, and even a piano bonfire, would you vote for this fast-rising festival?

Bands: The Gabba Heys, The Cover-Up, and Amy Gabba
Venue: LopLops Lounge
Date: September 22nd
Info: After an almost 2 year hiatus from fronting bands locally, veteran local punk musician Mikey Hawdon returned home in September with his new Ramones tribute band The Gabba Heys (not the same band as the former Merves), with his AMY/DC bandmate Amy Zucchetto breaking out a Joan Jett tribute set for good measure! Also featuring the online page-less Cover-Up for a set of their own punk classics, was this punk rock lineup your preferred show out of all others in the poll?

Bands: Ten Foot Pole, Jack Spades, and Redundant
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: October 25th
Info: Helping kick off another big Halloween concert season from Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, his punk/metal quintet helped open for California skate punk veterans Ten Foot Pole last October, with fans over the past couple of decades flocking to The Rockstar Bar to see these cult favourites in person! Also featuring the first local concert set from punk trio Redundant following their EP release in July, was this your favourite show over all of the rest?

Bands: The Elements, Coral Fang, and Poison Girl
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: October 27th
Info: The first of two Halloween Party concerts at The Rockstar Bar last year from promoter J.D. Pearce, costumed fans bore witness to a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute set from funk/hard rock quartet The Elements (now known as Higher Ground when under this guise), while Stegadeth bandmates Tiffany Stocco and Johnny Belanger pulled double duty in debuting Distillers and H.I.M. tribute bands. Did the first night of tribute action pique your interest?

Bands: Frightlight, Parabol, and Redundant
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: October 28th
Info: The aformentioned Halloween party continued the following night with a (largely) Weezer tribute set by Redundant and guest bassist Andrew MacDonald, the live debut of new local Tool tribute supergroup Parabol (who arguably stole the show with their proficient set), and a one-off(?) reunion set by horror punk quintet Frightlight, sans St. Mayhem. Each band delivered with their own explosive brand of music, but did this top late 2018 to you?

Bands: Shit Liver, The Therapists, and The Bear Hunters
Venue: The New American Pub
Date: November 22nd
Info: Local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver returned home for their second hometown date of 2018 at The New A last fall, and they were up to their usual tricks at this well recieved concert! Also featuring Oh!No fan favourites The Therapists (props & costumes in tow) and the first Bear Hunters concert set in over a year, this well recieved Thursday nighter rekindled memories of Rosie metal nights gone by, but would you vote for it?

Bands: Parabol & The Elements (as "Scar Tissue")
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: December 14th
Info: An encore of sorts from the two night Halloween Party at the same venue, new Tool tribute band Parabol and their friends The Elements (then using the temporary tribute name "Scar Tissue") joined forces for a one night blast of progressive metal and funk rock, rekindling the same good feelings and strong fan responses that made their sets highlights at the end of October! Can you concur and pick for this show in this poll?

Bands: The Cover-Up & Coral Fang
Venue: LopLops Lounge
Date: December 21st
Info: A busy Christmas season for Tidal Records included a headlining set from label head Dustin Jones' online page-less punk band The Cover-Up, as flanked by new Distillers tribute Coral Fang in their sophomore outing. Fans at LopLops surely enjoyed this double bill of established local names tackling classic punk songs, and there was more to come from them in 2019, but did you like this show the most among the 15 presented here?

Bands: Northwest & K.I.C.K.
Venue: LopLops Lounge
Date: December 22nd
Info: The good times for local punk fans continued just a day later at LopLops, as indie/punk quintet Northwest launched their sophomore EP "Songs From 2015-2017" to a receptive audience, with their new and old originals alike bolstering their name and reputation among local fans! Also featuring returning indie rock openers K.I.C.K. after a year+ hiatus, was this your absolute favourite concert in the Soo in late 2018?

Bands: Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide and The Steeletown Girls
Venue: LopLops Lounge
Date: December 28th
Info: After a big return to the local scene following their lengthy hiatus since mid-2016, Celtic punk veterans Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide capped off an eventful year with a big headlining concert at LopLops on December 28th, with support by Din guitarist Tammy Hill's country pop duo The Steeletown Girls. This was a big post-Christmas platform for fans to check out The Tide's established and newer originals, but would you vote for it?

Other: Did we miss a preferred concert that you saw locally last year? For reference, metal, hard rock, or punk bands like Carried Away, Chase Wigmore, Crucify the Whore, The Faps, Fluid 5ive, Handsome Sandwich, James Watterworth, Re:Born, Soundcheck, The Suicide Kings, That's Chester, The Truth Of All Death, Tym Morrison, and The Wyld Stallyns all played live last year, not to mention shows from Sault Michigan-area acts, and un-listed concerts featuring bands already in the poll. If, for whatever reason, the show you want to vote for isn't here, vote for "Other"!

VOTE TODAY! You guys have until around May 18th to cast your votes, and I'm interested to see how things shake out here, especially if there's a decent vote total! Stay tuned for more updates, and for a new news post soon! Thanks everyone!