Full Details On Mike Haggith's Eighth #LockdownLive Concert Set!!

Happy Memorial Day to all of our American readers! Today's post is devoted to Sault Ontario/Thompson, Manitoba alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith's eighth #LockdownLive at-home concert, which was live-streamed on his Facebook page on Saturday (back in it's usual timeslot), so what should you know about this installment? While not announced prior to Saturday, the theme for #LockdownLive VIII was "The REAL Back Catalogue", as unlike #LockdownLive VI's dive into his Sault Ste. Marie-era albums two weeks ago, this one takes us into a small sampling of original material from his 43 canon albums recorded and/or released in Windsor from 2005-2010. Mike doesn't acknowledge these albums frequently due to most of that material not being representative of his current musical & production abilities, so unless you followed Mike's pre-Soo music career with any regularity, few of these songs will be familiar at all, let alone be streamable publically.

That said, if I know of the songs Mike is playing to be on any of his old music or social media pages, I will link them here. After outlining the contest to share the live-stream for a chance to pick a cover he must play this coming Saturday, Mike begins the set by showing off his very first canon album, the 2005 demo cassette tape named "Demonstration Recording" (my reference documents say it's under the project name "Sub Zero"), though he admitted to not knowing anything about the guitar or recording music at that time. Mike's first song is a reworked version of the demo's first track, an instrumental that he didn't give a title for. He then moves on to two songs released in 2006, namely "The Letter" (album not given) and "Stoner Ride" from his 8th canon album of the same name, but it's 2007 where Mike's solo material begins showing signs of objective quality, including the jump to electric sngs. Mike released at least 15 albums that year, for what it's worth!

He next specifically brings up his 24th (22nd in my notes) studio album "13", from which he plays his songs "Lifeline" & "Left To Live, before playing a progressive song named "Destroying Each Other" from an uncredited album, an untitled track from an early computer recording, and "One", which was later re-recorded as "Solitude" on 2013's "Neighbourhood Watch II: Where It Ends". After reminiscing about 2006-era emo bands, Mike revisits "13" by playing "When It Falls Apart", before beginning the second half of the set with "Empty", which he wrote about missing friends while in air cadets, and was later re-recorded for 2009's "Hotel For Transients". The real back catalogue moves into Mike's less prolific but more professionally recorded output in the next two years, starting with "Recovery", which was written in 2008 but was released on 2009's "The Curse Was The Cure", followed by showing off a photo of him playing drums at a 2008 show in Windsor.

Mike goes into detail about "The Curse Was The Cure" (his 37th canon album) next, which was his first official album to get a CD production run, and saw an abridged reissue in 2011. From it, he plays "Long Distance" and "Ode To August" (the latter sung in 17/2 time signatures!), before apologizing for delays on mailed copies of his new album "If Ever Comes The Day" making it to Sault Ste. Marie. He next focuses on his morosely titled 38th album "I Hate My Life & I Want To Die", from which he plays "Analog Palace", a song that The Din later covered in earlier shows and on "The Din Does Laundry". Mike ends the back catalogue portion by playing "Euphoria" from it's eponymous 11th album, which was carried over to his other 2009 studio album "Hotel For Transients", which isn't available for streaming online. FYI, Mike doesn't get into his three canon albums released in 2010 ("Ace", "For My Fallen Angel", and "Laps In A Lake Of Fire".)

For the last 20 minutes, Mike starts by covering his promised cover of Wheeler Walker, Jr.'s "Drop Em Out", as nominated by A Dire Setback's Matt Quinn for winning last week's share contest. Approach this one with an appreciation for country comedy songs if you can, as it's not for the easily offended, but Mike is a man of his word! The promised announcement of the winner of Saturday's live-stream share contest was delayed due to Mike's work commitments (that's a good sign in one way!), but he follows by discussing #LockdownLive IX, the planned private Facebook group, and overall discussion with fans who watched live, and yes, things got irreverent as usual! Just in case viewers tuned in who only heard his less-than-refined early songs, he ended by playing "MorningStar" from his new album.

With the focus on his early music and how Mike evolved as a musician from square one, I was reminded (in a positive way) of the retrospective videos by folk musician Ben Minnotte on his own music career, via his excellent web series The Oddity Archive, and if you are at all curious, click here to watch episode 1. Mike has grown so much, so the critical nature in hindsight is readily apparent, but it'd be neat to hear some of these songs re-visited down the road with his contemporary talents and abilities. Give #LockdownLive VIII and the amusing commentary alongside it a watch below, and stay tuned for much more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!