Anvil Concert Video Showcase, Part 1!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Big Wreck guitarist Brian Doherty, who passed away last Wednesday at the age of 51, following a lengthy battle with cancer. A co-founder of Big Wreck who played on all of their albums and tours (as well as the last Thornley tour that led to Big Wreck's reunion in 2010), local fans will have just seen Brian on stage in February 2018 when Big Wreck headlined at The Machine Shop during their "In Loving Memory Of..." anniversary tour. The guys previously played locally in 2001, though potential 1990s shows here are not well archived online. Big Wreck had just released their new single "Too Far Gone" last month and were scheduled for festival dates this summer, so follow along on band or regional news sources for updates on their near future plans. By all accounts, Brian was a kind and generous person who added a lot of skilled playing & songwriting to Big Wreck, and hopefully fans will hold onto the good memories. R.I.P. Brian!

Now, today's post is entirely devoted to videos from Sunday's Anvil-headlined concert at Soo Blaster, as solid quality videos of each band have turned up on two familiar public sources! We'll start with the videos filmed by one of the local opening acts, namely power rock quintet Re:Born, who posted six videos from every band at this concert onto their Facebook page on Monday. Of course, they filmed one video of headlining Toronto metal legends Anvil playing their song "Badass Rock N' Roll", which was also filmed for Chris Paci's YouTube channel (more on his videos in a couple of days.) Filmed in typically solid quality from the floor, the performance is up to Anvil's lively yet heavy standards, and fans definitely seem receptive to the metal on metal action! See more from Anvil's (and every band's) set on Chris' channel linked above, but give Re:Born's Anvil video a look below!



Possibly a sign of how well Re:Born members liked their set, two videos of co-headlining Edmonton metal band Striker made their page, featuring the NWOBHM-inspired quintet playing their songs "The Front" and, as embedded below, "Born To Lose". Here, the filmer got much closer to the stage, and was way happier to zoom in on their intense throwback attack here. Very strong and melodic performances are on display here, and Striker helped make up for lost time after 6 years, so check out their videos above & below!



One video was uploaded of fellow local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' set on Sunday, with the video in question featuring J.D., Tiffany, Daniel, Rob, and Johnny playing their original "Fear Corps." The filmer got a wider angle of the band like Anvil, but there were less fans on the floor at this juncture. The guys are definitely cramped on stage due to Anvil's setup, but this fast paced and aggressive original comes through just fine, so give Jack Spades' continued planet-jacking a look below!



Finally, we'll actually look at Re:Born's own videos from their opening set, with one video featuring them covering both Kissin' Dynamite's "Sex Is War" (also filmed by Chris) & Motley Crue's "Live Wire", but embedded below is their own original "Die Another Day." While still sans Frank, these performances showcase Re:Born's increasing confidence and chemistry, and the covers come through really well in their own right, but Elly needs to loosen up a bit still to match her stage presence with her vocal ability more. Give Re:Born's videos a look above and below as well!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!