LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), Ontario's Third COVID-19 Lockdown, And More!!

A new month is upon us, and it's already starting out to be newsworthy in a somewhat melancholy way, so that's leading things off, but there will be a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and a new video to check out later on. Now, here's what you should know in the news!

 

As many of you will probably be aware by now, Ontario Premier Doug Ford will put the province into another mass lockdown phase starting Saturday at midnight due to rapidly rising COVID-19 cases. This is slated to run through the end of the month, and an extension into May or possible tightened restrictions would be on the table if case counts don't visibly improve. Click here or visit your preferred local/provincial news outlets for more details on these new measures. This won't be a complete lockdown on the level of the ones we went through from March-June of last year and in December-February, as schools are not slated to close, and non-essential retailers can remain open with a 25% capacity limit. However, this will wipe out indoor dining & nightclub service once again, consequently also calling off what little concerts in the Soo that were booked at traditional venues from April 3rd-30th.

The only scheduled hard rock concert in Sault Ontario that was publically announced in that timeframe was a planned matinee this Sunday at Reggie's Place from Tym Morrison, a show that would have been previewed on short notice in this post had the Premier not pulled the emergency brake. The Facebook event page for that concert has not been updated to reflect it's cancellation, but regardless, yesterday's announcement will have confirmed it's status. Of course, a third lockdown is not ideal for the local music scene, especially given that the Algoma District is still not doing as badly as Southern Ontario for cases, though numbers have slowly been adding up in this region (229 confirmed cases and 4 deaths as of this writing, source here.) Yes, vaccines are starting to roll out, but clearly not fast enough to stem the tide of this third wave, so hopefully these new measures will help.

Unless you were lucky enough to get a vaccine already, please take every recommended measure to keep yourself and others safe. Wear a face mask, be vigilant, wash your hands, practice social distancing, and stay home where possible. Hopefully this lockdown isn't lengthened or tightened, so that we can get back to somewhat more normal proceedings, especially with more vaccines eventually making their way here. We will get through this!

 

With that said, we do have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT before the lockdown goes into effect, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Reggie's West for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this gig via their Facebook event page yesterday (it's unclear whether this is a last minute booking due to the lockdown or if this was already planned, just not publically promoted before now.) This will be Soundcheck's first concert since their run of three in four days at the same venue during St. Patrick's Day week, and their last until May(?), so if you want to see Terry, Cameron, Paul, and Glen's brand of classic and hard rock covers on Good Friday, be at The Reggievelt TOMORROW! A 7:30 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ show with no age limit. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Finally for today, remember how local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore teased on his Facebook page last month that he is "almost finished with something that is on an entirely different level of magnitude than my normal work"? Well, the fruits of that labour were uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday, namely a half hour piano composition named "The Symphonic Organism"! If considered an "album", there are no track listings given. Chase is a more accomplished guitarist, but his piano playing is lively and proficient, and it's great to see him expand his horizons like this! Give "The Symphonic Organism" a listen below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums? post next! Thanks everyone!