LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Just Leppard & Tym Morrison), A New Single Release, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I want to apologize again for missing a recent Soundcheck concert, as the classic/hard rock cover quartet returned to Reggie's West for an apparent one-nighter this past Friday. This show was only announced at 2:03 PM the day of the show, and they have not announced a non-open mic night on more than 12 hours notice since August. I profusely apologize, but with such short notice combined with out general slowdown of news stories lately, this doesn't bode well for our chances of catching them in time. Hopefully last weekend was a hit, and I will double check Soundcheck's Facebook page tomorrow for obvious reasons!

Now, let's get to some recent news, a video, and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, starting with one on SHORT NOTICE, as prolific local hard rock musician Tym Morrison will play a rare concert at The New American Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page on Monday. As best as I can tell, this is the first public concert on record (at least with Facebook promotion) that Tym has played at the 602 Bay Street venue, and it's the first New A show we've covered on the site since Fluid 5ive played there in December 2019 (you can guess why it's taken this long). The New American has sporadically been hosting live music during the pandemic, most recently bringing back classic rock cover acts in September after last pausing that schedule during the April lockdown, and it's good to see that Tym's extensive and often heavy setlist will find its way there TOMORROW!

This one-night-only concert has a special 6:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Vaccine passports must be shown upon entry as per Ontario public health guidelines, while as usual, please follow the venue's public safety measures to ensure that everyone has a safe time. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym's newest original song, as uploaded to his YouTube channel on Saturday! An instrumental entitled "In All God's Glory", the song is set to assorted clips and stock footage of a religious or ethereal nature, but the song is definitely an upbeat metal track complete with a killer shredding solo. Nicely done composition for long-time fans, so give it a listen below!

Next up, Sudbury-based Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a concert on Saturday, November 6th at The Rockstar Bar! This show comes almost two years after Just Leppard made their local debut at the former Canadian Nightclub, and I believe this will mark the first show from any touring band at The Rockstar Bar since before the pandemic began. Just Leppard had only played their first ever live concert three months before the November 2019 show here, and even then, they had a strong handle on Def Leppard's classic singles, so with two years to hone their craft (pandemic acknowledged), they should deliver even more for hair metal fans next month! This 19+ concert has tickets running for $15 in advance (buy them at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk) or $20 at the door. Admission is limited due to social distancing measures at the venue.

Vaccine passports must be shown to enter The Rockstar Bar for this event, and while this will be taking place after the reported introduction of QR codes as an alternative to the existing passport forms, I don't know how that will work in regards to this venue and concert. In any event, please follow any and all social distancing and public health measures to ensure that everyone has a safe time and that The Rockstar Bar might bring more touring bands here short-term. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Also, here's the latest from local industrial metal solo project Molten Imp, who do have some new material to check out on their Bandcamp page! If you recall Boyd's teaser/admission about wanting to cover Deep Purple's "Space Truckin'" but waffling on finishing it after discovering that Ministry already covered it, then I have good news, as Boyd did release it after all! Featuring guest vocals by Swampgut's Frank McCormick, this cover is over eleven minutes long, and it's definitely distinct from Ministry's version. I don't find that Frank's vocals suit music this tech-heavy, but it's a unique take with a nice long stretch of noise rock between key verses, so give it a listen above to see what you think! Afterwards, Molten Imp starting hyping up the release of their second virtual single "Constable Sewage", which was successfully released on Sunday, so what should you know there?

Featuring two (kinda three) songs running for an equal length, you can buy "Constable Sewage" above for $5 or stream it for free. It's great to see that Molten Imp finally have their teased follow-up single out, but might it be our next CD review on the SMS? Stay tuned in any event, and check out all of Boyd's new musical exploits above, and/or via their new Twitter page!

Finally, here's a new video from August's Goo Goo Dolls/Cheap Trick concert outside of the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! This was uploaded by the YouTube channel of Audio Allegro, a Traverse City, Michigan-based music review website that frequently posts videos to their TikTok page, often from major Lower Peninsula concerts. The video was first posted on TikTok shortly after the concert took place, but Audio Allegro only posted it to YouTube on September 17th, hence why we didn't discuss it when the show was timely. TikTok recently increased it's maximum video length to 3 minutes, and this one is just over 2 minutes, but what is there to see? After the channel owner introduces what show he's seeing, we get brief clips of him driving across the Mackinac Bridge and a POV angle of him walking to his seat before the concert began. Cheap Trick are only featured via 13 seconds of them playing "The Flame" & "Surrender".

Naturally, The Goo Goo Dolls get the rest of the video's runtime, given that they were the headliners, and you get a lot of clips of familiar songs like "Slide" & "Iris" over the last 90 seconds or so. It's a short video in vertical portrait orientation, but Audio Allegro's footage was of solid quality, and it was interesting seeing the seating layout before the bands began! I'd have included more of Cheap Trick, but give the whole thing a quick watch below!

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