Local Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post is devoted to recent live concert videos (yes, Muddfest is coming soon), and we'll start with one from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's Christmas tour kickoff concert at the Sandstone Congregational Church in Jackson (40 minutes south of Lansing) on Sunday! Attendee Lonnie Overmyer filmed this video of Theatre of Night playing their set-opening carol "What Child Is This?" for his YouTube channel, and he even acknowledged that it was uploaded with permission, which is rarer than you think for local acts. The video quality is very fuzzy, almost looking like a concert video you'd see posted from a show in 2005, but the audio quality holds up, and you get a neat vantage point from where Lonnie's standing. He starts off beside singer Rachel Mender before her walk to the stage as her verses begin, and if you're not familiar with Theatre of Night's live shows, this song and Rachel's entrance traditionally kick things off. Give this video a look below, and don't miss their second Christmas tour stop in Blanchard on Friday night!

Next up, here's another live video from a church out of town, this time from Sault Ontario/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, who uploaded this video of him playing another brand new original song to his Facebook page on Halloween! Entitled "2145", Mike intends this to be a "CD-exclusive bonus track", presumably for his upcoming album "If Ever Comes The Day", though hopefully local fans have a way to hear the studio copy beyond snail mail orders. Recorded at one of his unplugged coffee house shows at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Thompson, Mike admits that this is a "rather somber renditon", and he also broke his own rule not to use lyric sheets in order to play the song as intended without mistakes. I'll hold comment pending our review of the full CD, but if you like Mike's darker and softer material, you should take to "2145", so give it a watch below! Yes, we will cover his new studio track on the site soon!



We'll close today with new videos from SaultOnline journalist Mike Caruso's YouTube channel, which continues getting stockpiled with live videos of local cover bands and musicians in recent concerts, and a handful of hard rock performances are sprinkled within! Two of Mike's videos come from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's double header at The Water Tower Pub this past weekend, though curiously, the band does not feature singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe in either video, similarly to their Cheap Trick cover filmed there in September. No word on where Travis was, but Terry, Paul, and Glen sound good despite being shorthanded! The filmed covers are of Loverboy's "Working on the Weekend", and as embedded below, Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream", and both work well with their sound and Mike's dual camerawork, so give both a watch above and below!



Finally, here's Mike's video of local country rock veterans (and Toystock VII headliners) Bone Yard covering April Wine's version of Hot Chocolate's "You Could Have Been A Lady" at Reggie's West on Halloween night! While primarily known for country covers, it's great to see Greg, Alex, Brad, and Ric break out the occasional rock song, and they handle this early hard rock classic with ease! While not dressed for the occasion, Mike did add a Halloween flourish in post production via some clips of ghosts and monsters in a creepy room, but it's up to you whether these add much after October 31st. Give Bone Yard's Reggievelt video a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Muddfest videos and weekend concert previews in due course! Thanks everyone!