LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Ripcordz & Soundcheck), A New Album, And New Videos!!

Before we dive into Rotaryfest fallout, let's tackle some recent and overdue news and notes, including a surprise album release, new videos, and leading off, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this fall!

With our Sault Ontario concert calendar now listing shows through early November from other bands, let's add three more concert weekends from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's own 2019 concert calendar to our listings! As revealed there (with new promotion hopefully following closer to showtime), fans can see Soundcheck back at Reggie's West for Friday & Saturday nighters on September 13th & 14th, and then on October 18th & 19th, shows which sandwich a return weekend at The Esquire Club on October 4th & 5th. Of course, there will likely be more shows coming from Soundcheck that aren't on the Reggievelt/Esquire-heavy concert calendar above, not to mention shows beyond October, so stay tuned for word on those if they come out. You can enjoy Travis, Terry, Paul, and Glen's hard rocking classic hits on all six nights at 10:00 PM-ish start times with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz will return to Sault Ste. Marie for one night only on Saturday, November 9th when they headline at The Rockstar Bar! Yes, this is advertised as being upstairs at The Rockstar Bar, not The Algonquin Pub, where they've played thrice before. After playing a local venue annually in the latter half of the year from 2013-2017, Paul Gott and company did not play a Soo date at all last year, so the anticipation is high for hardcore punk fans to take in The Ripcordz' extensive setlist, albeit later into the year than ever before, I think! Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will open this concert, marking their sixth straight time opening for their "Fed Up!" split-mates locally, with at least one additional opening band to be announced (for reference, the other opening act in 2017 was Stegadeth.) Once again promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, this 19+ concert will have $10 advance tickets (availability details forthcoming), but unlike in 2017, the price jumps to $15 at the door.

Not seeing a Ripcordz show locally last year was very unusual, but better now than never for their seventh and final Sault Ste. Marie concert of the 2010s, and I know there will be a great turnout this fall! Visit the official Facebook event page for continuing details on this concert as they roll in!

Also, here's some long overdue updates from new local death/trance metal solo project Black Cloud, who quietly (and surprisingly) released their debut album onto their new Bandcamp page on June 27th! Entitled "Abstract Sounds", the Peytan Andreola-led act recorded nine songs for the album, which is available for $7 (or more) at the above links, eschewing the recent trend of "name your price" payment models for local bands on there, though you can stream the whole thing there for free too. While lo-fi in this state, the songs all have substantive length and don't have overtly provocative lyrics, so keep "Abstract Sounds" in mind if those aspects interest you! As a new paid album release, this is absolutely eligible for an SMS review, perhaps in the coming week, so stay tuned! Now, elsewhere from the Black Cloud camp, Peytan had posted a handful of new videos onto their Facebook page a couple of months back, so what is there to see from these?

Most recently, Peytan shared a video of him covering Devildriver's "Swinging the Dead", though it's hard to discern his performance over the original song. You get a better sense of his skill on this solid acoustic jam clip, plus two live streamed videos from May 28th (a 4 minute clip linked here, and the 43 minute long video embedded below.) Your best bet for audio clarity is the first 10 minutes, as Peytan's guitar was turned way down for most of it. He has growling ability and guitar skill, but he could stand to fill out the songs and improve on the structure and pacing. Is this present on "Abstract Sounds"? Find out soon, and see more above & below!

Finally for today, here's some new footage of local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith, courtesy of his Facebook page earlier this month! Over the Canada Day weekend, Mike played at a private event with Thompson-area musicians, and he posted two videos from that set onto Facebook afterward, featuring him on vocals & rhythm guitar alongside guitarist John Ham, drummer Kory Wickdahl, and Mike's Between the Ditches bandmate Justin Fuciarelli on bass. For what it's worth, there are personal Facebook videos floating around of Mike and many of the same musicians from a more recent outdoor jam concert, but at press time, those haven't been publically shared that I know of. In terms of the Canada Day private gig, Mike and friends can be seen covering Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" (a fine pick for the then-impending Fourth of July), and as embedded below, Mike's own solo original "The Nature of the Times."

These performances sound good, and the extra rock base from the full band (temporary as it may be) does help the song, in this listener's view! I'm not a huge fan of "Free Bird", but that cover's handled well also. The videos' biggest issue is the tight camera angle which only captures Mike and Justin with any regularity, though Kory's head does come into view when Mike moves to his left. Solid renditions, so give them a look above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Rotaryfest fallout on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!