Here's something I haven't posted in way too long, a concert review (and not a drive-in one!), as I went to the Sandman-headlined concert at Soo Blaster last night! This was my first time seeing a concert at Soo Blaster, and while the layout isn't ideal when people aren't on the floor, a decent crowd showed up and got much closer to the Soo Lounge stage for the headliners! Good sound too from Mike Blair and 705Live (not the dormant promoters Live705), and things ran smoothly and very much on time from advertising! If there were obvious pandemic measures, they were well hidden, but things are better now.
I showed up slightly late, but I did catch the vast majority of
Fort Creek's opening set, marking my first time seeing them live, and they delivered a very solid covers-heavy set! If there was a merchandise giveaway, it was over by the time I showed up. Much like contemporary locals Bone Yard, Fort Creek definitely lean to hard rock covers with a southern influence, tackling bands like Judas Priest, Seether, Guns N' Roses, and Three Doors Down, while also playing at least one original from their upcoming EP. Of course, Fort Creek were supposed to make their public debut opening for Sandman in 2020 at The Canadian before the first pandemic lockdown scuttled that concert, and the two year delay absolutely helped Fort Creek develop strong chemistry together! Justin Grayson's melodic vocals were a constant alongside Shane Biron & Matt Sibilo's quality guitar work and Bones Lee's steady low-end bass,
Also nice to see Anthony Fabiabo back behind the kit, he's always been a welcome sight in local bands for many years! Impressive first set for a Fort Creek show that I was there for, and don't miss them at Rotaryfest!
And of course, your headliners were Toronto-based Metallica tribute band
Sandman in their (at least) third local concert appearance and first in seven years! I did see them live way way back in 2008 (my first ever 19+ show), but between the 14 year gap and my own growth as a blogger, reviewer, and photographer since, I approached this one as its own animal without a distant comparison. Sandman's officially licensed Metallica tribute went over very well with assembled fans, courtesy of a set comprised exclusively of songs the self-titled black album and prior releases, with everything from "Seek & Destroy" to "Harvester of Sorrow" to "Sad But True" on offer. Musicianship was no issue, a sudden P.A. outage during "The Unforgiven" excepted, but fans picked up the slack nicely! Frontman Rick Van Dyk (who looks more like Jason Newsted) was not a 100% vocal match to James Hetfield, but he had the essence & mannerisms down very well.
His self-deprecating, deadpan style of humour was welcomed, and it's clear that Sandman have great chemistry, with Rick and guitarist Joe DiTaranto particularly laying it down to make James and Kirk proud! Vocals did get strained as the show went on, and some verses were mixed around, but Metallica fans were on very firm hands with Sandman, with some very solid crowd responses, and hopefully the guys come back to the Soo again in the next seven years! Overall, this was a fun concert for old school metal fans, and everyone seemed to have a good time, so hopefully there's a lot more to come at Soo Blaster and elsewhere in the near future! You can check out my photos from last night at
this link or via
our Facebook page, and I got one video from each band, so here's Fort Creek playing their new original song "Hammer Down" and Sandman playing "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!
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