LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Soo's Got Talent Finals) & Saturday Night Concert Previews!!

Alright, let's close out this weekend's concert previews, but to fill things out, we also have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning the finals of an ongoing competition, and fallout from it's semifinals! Apologies for erroneously crediting the finals as being part of this week's preview slate, I forgot that they were taking a two week break between the last rounds. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

After a very talented semifinal round this past Saturday, local rap/metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty have punched their ticket for the finals of The Soo's Got Talent, which go down next Friday, October 11th at Soo Blaster! As attendees of the semifinals will already know, judges sent The Apocalypse Afterparty, Killabeatz, Bethany Pelletier LeBeouf, Juliana Regan, and Adrian Sullivan through as the five advertised finalists, but like last year, two wild card slots were also granted, this time to The Dancing Divas and Coulson Perri. With that said, Madison Blair, Colin Gasparelli, and Cameron Oliver were eliminated from the competition last week. As the only true band with instruments left in the competition, The A.A. definitely stand out in the crowd, but can they carry that to a surprise victory next Friday? We'll find out then, but look for another great night of rising local entertainment at Soo Blaster next Friday at 7:00 PM! Again, admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids 16 and under.

Along with the finalists, organizers have announced that ONNtv morning host and veteran local entertainer Tim Murphy will return as a guest judge and performer, while 2018 Soo's Got Talent champion Daniella Brewer will also perform next week, as well as "a surprise celebrity tribute artist." Should be an exciting finals, but before then, SaultOnline's footage of the semifinals aired on ONNtv on Monday and is now up on their YouTube channel in a 1 hour, 40 minute+ video, so what can you see here? Again all sung covers unless otherwise stated, the acts include Cameron Oliver (The Eagles' "Hotel California"), The Dancing Divas ("A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman), Killabeatz with more of his skilled beatboxing, Coulson Perri (David Bowie's "Heroes"), Madison Blair (KT Tunstall's "Other Side Of The World", Juliana Regan (Sia's "Death By Chocolate") both Colin Gasparelli & Adrian Sullivan playing original songs, Bethany Pelletier LeBeouf (Miley Cyrus' "Party In The USA"), ...

...and The Apocalypse Afterparty playing a brand new original, possibly titled "Going To California." Very dark lyrics, but the upbeat hard rock sound is a nice contrast, as are their bright summery outfits! The video ends with another bonus Killabeatz and guest performance, followed by the results announcement, complete with dramatic music. Everyone performs well for their given songs, and despite some visual glitches during Colin's judges feedback, everything looks great at Soo Blaster, so give the footage a look below, and stay tuned for more when we preview the finals next week!



Next up, let's finally wrap up this weekend's metal & punk concert previews by looking at two shows taking place TOMORROW NIGHT, including the Arts Against Homelessness fundraiser concert at The Rockstar Bar! A collaboration between Live705, Celeste's Art & Photography, and Suzie DePlonty, this special concert event will see all proceeds go to the St. Vincent Place men's shelter on Albert Street East, which is a wonderful cause, and hopefully they get lots of much needed aid as a result of this fundraiser! I am unsure of the official lineup order, but this will be a rock vs. rap mashup of sorts, with Live705's flagship punk trio A Dire Setback and power rock quartet Re:Born (fresh off of a summer break) joining forces with Christian rapper Bold Noize and hip hop duo Planet Rock for the occasion. As well, Planet Rock's own DJ Seith and deep house DJ Bobby Lawn will be on hand to spin tunes between bands.

An increasingly rare all-local concert from Live705, this event has a $10 admission fee at the door or at this link, while there will be raffle draws for the cause, with tickets available via canned good donations, and you can see some of the prizes at the Facebook event page. This is a 19+ event, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. This should be a fun concert to help out St. Vincent Place with, and with some rock and rap for both tastes, what's not to like? See above for more details, and here's A Dire Setback live!



Finally, if you're looking for a more extreme headline act TOMORROW NIGHT, or a pseudo encore from Oh!No III, then head to Room 21 above Low & Slow, where Thunder Bay "pisscore" trio Femur will make their Sault Ste. Marie debut! As fans who saw them in Leeburn last month can vouch for, this brutal hardcore punk band should deliver another devastating performance full of fast paced original material, so if you want more Femur action or missed out at the festival, here's a second chance! In a quiet opener switch earlier this week, local alt-folk solo project (and fellow Oh!No performer) Slumshine will now kick off this concert, replacing cybergrind solo act Malignant Neoplasm. A reason for the change was not publically announced, and while there was briefly a private social media post on Malignant Neoplasm's end this week that indicated that they weren't happy about being removed, I could not find it today, so I hope things were reasonably smoothed out between Tyler and organizers.

Slumshine aren't as obvious of a genre match to Femur, but Brent's a talented musician and he should set the tone well before things get heavy! The first metal concert promoted by the Oh!No Collective since retiring the Six, Two, Oh. name, this 19+ show has a 10:00 PM door opening time, and admission is either $10 or "pay what you can." Should be a solid concert for fans of hardcore punk and masked folk rock, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details, and here's Femur live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!