Last Month's Poll Results & Our Newest Poll!!

Continuing our daily post streak, here's this month's new poll and the results of last month's poll! As you may recall, I posed this question to you guys last month: What was the biggest local metal, hard rock, or punk news story of 2019? Sadly, this poll only got 8 votes, but there is a definite winner, so with all of that said, here are the final tallies! 

Puddle of Mudd headline Muddfest in Sault Michigan (3 votes, 37½%)

The Offspring & Sum 41 rock GFL Memorial Gardens (1 vote, 12½%)
Long & McQuade music store begins local operations (1 vote, 12½%)
Oh!No festival expands to 2 nights in Leeburn farewell (1 vote, 12½%)
Sailor's Tongue reunite for Rotaryfest Stage 1 set (1 vote, 12½%)
The Killer Dwarfs headline at Soo Blaster (1 vote, 12½%)
The Apocalypse Afterparty place 3rd in The Soo's Got Talent (0 votes)
Banned dissolve & are succeeded by Tarnished (0 votes)
Crooked Music moves across Ashmun Street (0 votes)
Danger Cats alum Summer Stevens passes away (0 votes)
Dave Evans (ex-AC/DC) rocks The Rockstar Bar (0 votes)
Drowning Pool concert in Sault Michigan postponed (0 votes)
Dryer Fire open Bruce Street pop-up venue twice (0 votes)
The Inner City Surfers reunite for LopLops Lounge concert (0 votes)
Joni Radford memorial concert held at Algonquin Hotel (0 votes)
Late & Loud hold one-off reunion concert (0 votes)
Michale Graves returns for reschuled Canadian date (0 votes)
Mike Haggith releases "Ashes of K" soundtrack album (0 votes)
Music City Sault Ste. Marie project launches (0 votes)
Pop Evil & Buckcherry play outdoors at Kewadin Casino (0 votes)
The Rad Zone announces move to Queen Street (0 votes)
The Sick Sons debut at Random Killing concert (0 votes)
Slaughter & Autgraph rock the St. Ignace Kewadin (0 votes)
The Tea Party returns for show at The Machine Shop  (0 votes)
Tripod the Dog permanently reunite (0 votes)
Other (0 votes)

What do you think? Alas, at this rate, I can't be too surprised as to the low vote totals, but for the options that didn't get any vote, I am most surprised that the Inner City Surfers and Late & Loud reunions, and the Pop Evil/Buckcherry and Michale Graves concerts didn't get any votes. For the five choices that tied for second with a single vote (sigh), I'm most surprised that Sailor's Tongue's reunion got some attention, but I'm not overly shocked with the others, as all were big deals in their own way. I didn't expect that a Sault Michigan concert would win out, but November 1st's Muddfest at The Dreammakers Theatre was the victor, as the only option with multiple votes over the past month. That concert had a stacked lineup for fans of nu-metal and 2000s radio hard rock, and despite that Puddle of Mudd cover of "About A Girl" and Trapt's frontman's divisive social media postings as of late, the music on this night clearly won out here. Thanks to everyone for voting!

As for this month's poll, we are winding down our "favourite _____ of 2019" polls, and that continues by posing this question to you guys: What was your favourite local metal, hard rock, or punk concert in the second half of 2019? I know, it seems like forever ago when concerts took place, but maybe jarring the memory to some of the big shows that took place late last year will bring back some positive memories! Besides, I still have to hold our poll covering all of 2019, featuring the vote-getters from our early 2019 poll! To be included in this poll, concerts must have taken place in Sault Ontario and the surrounding area between July 1st and December 31st, 2019, and anything that was held in 2020 before the shutdown will be addressed in a future poll. Concerts must have had a performer lineup at least half comprised of metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands, so events like Rotaryfest, The Soo's Got Talent, and Toystock are not included, though "Other" is back as an option if you are so inclined. Here are your final 15 choices!

Bands: Random Killing, Jack Spades, and The Sick Sons
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: July 5th
Info: Well over five years after the well received Hardcore Homecoming concert at the same venue, Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing (and Saultite frontman Andrew Kiteley) returned for another hard hitting night of old school punk action in July, with support from Jack Spades and the debuting Sick Sons to get things started on the right foot. This was another hit for punk fans, but was it your favourite local concert of late 2019?

Bands: The Inner City Surfers and Love & Rehab
Venue: LopLops Lounge
Date: August 3rd
Info: A packed house was on hand for the long awaited reunion of local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers after a 10 6+ year hiatus in early August, with their fan favourite original songs and chemistry more than welcomed for the occasion! Also featuring Brad's Toronto-based band Love & Rehab as openers, this concert was a major success, with plans for new studio material and future gigs following, but would you vote for this one?

Bands: Black Crown Initiate, Inferi, Warforged, and Pillory
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: August 3rd
Info: While it's scheduling opposite The Surfers on August 3rd can't have been ideal, this rare Live705 concert will have appealed to any technical death metal fans last summer, with a trifecta of touring bands ready to melt faces, including the returning Inferi from 2018's Rivers of Nihil show. Local death metal trio Pillory also opened in their last live concert to date, helping make this a must-see extreme metal concert, but can you vouch for it?

Bands: Mike Haggith & Jacob Quarrell
Venue: Outspoken Brewing
Date: August 10th
Info: In his only local concert appearance of 2019, former Din frontman Mike Haggith returned home for a late notice show at Outspoken Brewing, which was notable for fans and Mike alike, especially as that Soo trip helped instigate his upcoming studio album "If Ever Comes The Day" in more ways than one. Also featuring folk musician Jacob Quarrell (who will be in Mike's band for his eventual CD release party), did this show earn your vote?

Bands: The Therapists, Kodex, Jack Spades, Planet Rock, Stegadeth, and Slumshine
Venue: Robbie Adamson's church in Leeburn
Date: September 6th
Info: Expanded to a two-day schedule for it's third and final installment before it's planned Sault Ste. Marie move in 2020, the Oh!No concert festival in Leeburn welcomed 5 varied local act to the stage for it's first night in September (including Stegadeth's last concert set to date), before Sudbury "party violence" quintet The Therapists returned for a second straight year as Friday headliners. Did you like Oh!No III's first night the most?

Bands: Pisser, Cross Dog, Lightmares, Femur, Wrecker, Pointless, Garbageface, Lord Hidetora, The Franquilizers, Forest City Aurora, The Dynowaves, Telephone & Address, The Elements, Conika, The Angry Spells, Hannah Lindsay, The Speed Humps, Shae Tull, and Malignant Neoplasm
Venue: Robbie Adamson's church in Leeburn
Date: September 7th
Info: A whopping 19 of the scheduled 25 acts for Oh!No III were booked for the Saturday lineup last year, including all but one of the touring acts, such as headliners Pisser, the return of Mark Rand's Cross Dog, and sets from festival regulars like Lightmares, The Franquilizers, and Forest City Aurora, plus select local acts, including the reunion of indie/punk project Telephone & Address. Was night 2 of Oh!No III worthy of the piano bonfire?

Bands: The Cancer Bats, The Single Mothers, Sharptooth, Forever Dead, and Redundant
Venue: Soo Blaster
Date: September 12th
Info: The last show in Thunder Bay promoters Loffredo & Associates' 2020 streak of local bookings saw a stacked lineup of touring headliners at Soo Blaster last fall, including the Juno-nominated Cancer Bats & Thunder Bay rockers Forever Dead's first local concert sets in many years, plus the local debuts of The Single Mothers & Sharptooth, and the Soo's own Redundant's first official set with Andrew on bass. Was this your #1 show in the poll?

Bands: Michale Graves, Frightlight, and A Dire Setback
Venue: The Canadian Nightclub
Date: September 28th
Info: A year and a day removed from the former Misfits' frontman's scuttled first try at a local concert, Michale Graves fans got a windstorm-free night of classic Misfits songs last fall, as both of his albums with them were played from start to finish! The receptive crowd also got to enjoy the latest return of local horror punk favourites Frightlight, plus a solid opening set from A Dire Setback, but was it your favourite concert here?

Bands: Late & Loud and Planet Rock
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: October 10th
Info: Five years after their "farewell concert", classic metal quartet Late & Loud reunited one more time to help fundraise for and support bassist Benn Garside's wedding that same month, and fans got to enjoy one more night of heavy rockin' hard metal at The Rockstar Bar! Opened in somewhat surprise fashion by DJ Seith's hip hop project Planet Rock, it was great to see Late & Loud back one more, but would you vote for it?

Bands: Parabol 
Venue: Soo Blaster
Date: October 12th
Info: In their final live concert appearance before quietly closing their social media accounts, local Tool tribute band Parabol booked Soo Blaster for a huge headlining concert, featuring their proficient renditions of Tool's back catalog. This was a must-see show for fans of these progressive metal legends, and Parabol had the chops, but was their (unbeknownst to us) farewell show your favourite local concert in the second half of 2019?

Bands: The Elements, The Guitar Gangters, and The Soo Fighters
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: November 1st
Info: J.D. Pearce's 15th annual Halloween party returned to The Rockstar Bar for a rare post-Halloween date last fall, and while it was contracted to a single day, punk and hard rock fans still got their fill from The Elements' turn covering songs already covered by Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, plus the debut of Volbeat tribute supergroup The Guitar Gangsters, and the return of The Soo Fighters. Would you cast your vote here?

Bands: The Ripcordz, A Dire Setback, and The Sick Sons
Venue: The Rockstar Bar
Date: November 9th
Info: Despite the late withdrawal of Jack Spades, hardcore punk fans came out in full force in November to welcome the legendary Ripcordz back to the Soo after over 2 years away, and they delivered another attitude-fueled set of original favourites! Also featuring A Dire Setback's fast-rising attack and the second live set from The Sick Sons, this will surely have had a great reception, but would you agree with that?

Bands: Dany Laj & The Looks and B.A. Johnston
Venue: The New American Pub
Date: November 9th
Info: If your musical tastes didn't lean towards hardcore punk, you may have been at The New A on November 9th instead, where Girl Friday Productions brought Hamilton comedy/folk punk musician B.A. Johnston back to town for another set of irreverent and polarizing originals, as well as headlining Montreal power pop band Dany Laj & The Looks in their (at least) fifth Soo appearance. The musical talent was here, but were you?

Bands: The Offspring, Sum 41, and Dinosaur Pile-Up
Venue: GFL Memorial Gardens
Date: November 19th
Info: The only major punk or hard rock concert to take place at the Gardens post-renaming, many local punk fans flocked to the arena in November to see The Offspring and the long awaited return of Sum 41, with both bands unleashing sets full of their classic original songs for the occasion! Also featuring rising English alt rockers Dinosaur Pile-Up, this concert was very well received despite high admission, but was it your favourite?

Bands: Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide and The Elements
Venue: LopLops Lounge
Date: December 21st
Info: Of all of the seasonal punk concerts to take place at LopLops in December, the biggest was arguably the pre-Christmas show headlined by local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide on the 21st, and with new material from their forthcoming studio album in tow, this was another hit for this infrequently seen but very talented ensemble! Also including The Elements as support, was this your favourite late-2019 show?

Other: Did we miss your favourite concert from late 2019? For reference, artists like The Apocalypse Afterparty, The Bear Hunters, Black Mastiff, Bon Jovi Forever, Chase Wigmore, The Cover-Up, Doreen, The Faps, Fluid 5ive, Griphook, Just Leppard, Life Like Fire, The Long Nines, Northwest, Re:Born, Sailor's Tongue, Seax, Soundcheck, The Strange Coyotes, Tripod the Dog, Tym Morrison, The Uncanny Valley, Warsenal, Who Made Who, Whoop-Szo, The Wyld Stallyns, and Zoon also played shows in this time period, while other shows featuring bands in the poll also took place. If, for whatever reason, your favourite concert isn't in the poll, vote for "Other"!

VOTE TODAY! You have until May 18th to make your voices heard, and then we will combine the shows with votes from the first half of 2019 poll and this poll for one final poll on the complete year that was. Until then, let's see how this poll goes in the month ahead, so cast your votes while you can, and stay tuned for more news and notes next week! Thanks everyone!