Spun Concert Preview, New Northern Vibe Festival Video Footage, And More!!

For our first news post of September 2021 (which probably should have been sooner than now, more in a minute), we have a weekend concert preview and a few new videos to check out, so here's what you should know!

Marquette, Michigan hard rock quartet Spun will complete their return engagement to the Eastern U.P. for the first time post-pandemic when they rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TONIGHT, after playing there last night! I profusely apologize for not previewing Spun's shows sooner and thusly missing yesterday's here. There's no excuse, but a combination of personal matters, the lack of hard rock shows on this side of the border this weekend, and scheduling quirks just piled up at the wrong time, and Spun deserve better, especially as a touring band who haven't played in our neck of the woods since 2018! It's great to see Spun back after all this time (many readers will remember them as the instrumental core of the prior touring favourites Nudge.), and hopefully last night's show was a safe hit for all who attended, and that their hard rocking covers provide more good times in Sault Ste. Marie tonight! 

As usual, please respect and follow any and all public health/social distancing guidelines at Kewadin Casino to ensure that you and everyone else has a safe time. Otherwise, tonight's (and yesterday's) shows have a 21+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. If you want to some rare touring hard rock action in the Soo in 2021, this would be a great way to do it, so don't miss out on Spun tonight, and I apologize again for not previewing their show yesterday in time! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Spun live a few years ago!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario and area for some new videos, starting with new footage from last month's Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir! First, we have two videos of local horror punk quintet Frightlight's headlining set on Friday, August 27th to share, which were uploaded to the band's Facebook page last night! The videos feature the band's full current/reunion-era lineup covering The Misfits' "Helena" and, as embedded below, playing their own "They All Float", and the filmer got very close to the stage, giving us an excellent & clear view of the band in action than many readers are possibly used to. Frightlight also made great usage of stage lighting here, befitting their more theatrical presentation. I've heard the band sound crisper, but it's awesome to see them back after almost two years, and hopefully they'll be back soon! Give both videos a watch above & below!

Just prior to Frightlight's set on the Friday, the co-headline band was (online page-less) local punk supergroup Jonesy Land in their second live concert appearance! Like at Rotaryfest in July, the band featured frontman Dustin Jones' daughter Jett as a guest singer for a handful of pop/country covers, and one of those was filmed and uploaded to Jett's YouTube channel, which also features her own original solo song "Losing Hope". The Northern Vibe Festival video features Jonesy Land & Jett covering Billy Edd Wheeler's "Jackson", though this version is more based on the rendition by Johnny & June Carter Cash. While a departure musically from Dustin's usual band work, this is a fine cover, and while Jett still comes off as a little nervous, she holds her own! The video quality is solid (if square), complete with nice shots of the crowd, but you can tell that it was raining. Give Jett & Jonesy Land's video a watch below!

Finally for today, here's a new-ish jam session video from local southern/hard rock cover quintet Fort Creek! This was uploaded to bassist Robin "Bones" Lee's YouTube channel in July, and while it is unlisted there, the band did publically share it to their Facebook page this past Sunday, so it's fair game to acknowledge here! The rehearsal clip (filmed well before the unspecified medical issue that scuttled their gigs last week) features Fort Creek covering Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down", and they do so very capably with good energy! However, the video isn't an ideal look at the band compared to live dates, with Bones sitting down, Anthony drumming off camera, and Justin coming in and out of frame repeatedly, but their jam space does look cool! Give Fort Creek's cover a watch below, and hopefully we'll see them back on stage before too long!

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