Local Metal Video Showcase!!

Before we tackle more Kewadin Casino lounge gigs on the site, here's an all-video post, though most of today's topics do relate to bands and concerts in the Sault Michigan area! We'll start with new videos from last month's Theatre of Night concert at The Dreammakers Theater, as filmed by Sault Ontario's Christopher Paci for his excellent YouTube channel, though they were only uploaded on Christmas Eve. Better late than never, and thanks to him again for filming at another major local concert! In fact, Chris has attended all three of Theatre of Night's annual Sault Ste. Marie stops for their Christmas tours, so visit his channel to compare the three events, though this time, he only posted 5 videos rather than 7 in 2017 & 2018. This time out, he filmed Theatre of Night playing "We Three Kings", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", "Little Drummer Boy", and as embedded below, "O Holy Night".

The camera angle is more central than in 2018, but he is a little further from the stage, and the camera work is somewhat jittery. As for the music, it all holds up well and delivers more grand and heavy takes on these Christmas standards, and given the lack of the promised live-stream from the band's own account, these can fill in the gap. Check out Christopher's Theatre of Night videos from last month above & below!



Next up, here's a mild surprise: Local hard rock band Tarnished have an official YouTube channel! If you frequent the band's official website, this may not be shocking, as their channel is linked there, but I can't recall it getting plugged on their Facebook page. These were filmed at their concert at The H Lounge at the Hollywood Casino in Toledo, Ohio in September, marking their first public date outside of Michigan, and they were in their electric full-band incarnation here (though Nathan had not joined the group yet.) An attendee filmed Tarnished covering Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me" and, as embedded below, Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls", and the guys sound good on these renditions, if a little stiff re: stage presence. I don't know how they got booked out-of-state, but the H Lounge looks professional in scope, if a little bright, and hopefully Tarnished made lots of fans in September! Check out Tarnished live in concert in Toledo above and below!



Next up, I wanted to start getting to St. Ignace progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown's recent Facebook page activity, as they have been posting a surprising number of videos on there in the past month. Three are short teaser/hype videos running for under a minute each (and often with a humorous slant), but the other three videos are very, very long, starting with this one from December 6th, where singer Brandon West and guitarist Ted Olson do some unplugged practicing in advance of their Kalkaska concert the following day. An earlier post hyping the live-stream indicated that they would answer viewer questions too, but the guys only talk to the camera in a more casual & intermittent nature. The 48 minute long video features some solid jams, and while the optimal H.L.T.C. experience is plugged-in, Ted does play an electric guitar late with some extra prog flourish. Interesting watch if you have time, so give it a look!

We'll close things in Sault Ontario... well, more accurately, Thompson, Manitoba, where local alt-hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith shared a new video of him live out west onto his Facebook page on New Year's Day! The video is attached to a very lengthy post where Mike reflected on all of his musical accomplishments in the 2010s, while also updating fans as to his musical plans in 2020, with both "If Ever Comes The Day" and the delayed "Bridges" planned for release this year, as well as at least one more music video, and surprises to be announced. Mike closed by outlining the inspiration behind his new song "Communique", which has a lot of personal themes that he describes better than I could, so definitely read his post for more background. Yes, he plays "Communique" in the attached video, filmed the previous night at an event he never publically promoted beforehand, so I assume that this was a private New Year's Eve function.

This features Mike on vocals & guitar alongside his Between the Ditches bandmates Justin Fuciarelli (on bass) and Jennifer Nyhof (on the fiddle), as well as Kory Wickdahl on drums. I'll hold comment on the actual song for now, pending our likely review of "If Ever Comes The Day", but the video quality is great, so fans should be right on board. Check it out below!



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