Before we begin today's post, just a heads up that local hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley joined indie rock duo Sainte Marie at Thessalon's Community Days tonight. In case you're wondering, Thessalon is just outside of our coverage range (one hour driving from the Soo), hence why we've never actively covered shows there, but hopefully this concert was a hit for all involved! Now, here's one more weekend concert preview, plus some recent news and updates from a trio of familiar local bands!
The second matinee concert at Shooters Downstairs Lounge from local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison goes down THIS SUNDAY! Tym debuted at the Dennis Street nightclub this past Sunday, so if you haven't been able to see his regular Trading Post shows or his occasional Sunday matinees at Reggie's, you can swing down to Shooters on Sunday for his hard rocking cover selection and vocal & guitar talents! Remember, this is not the beginning of a new weekly arrangement at Shooters for Tym, as country musician Leslie Cook will be playing there on the next two Sundays. Similarly to Tym's past Reggie's matinees, Sunday's festivities are at 3:00 PM with no advertised cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!
Next up, here's some surprising news from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession, as they have enlisted Jessica Amadio as their new lead singer, replacing Valerie Powley. A reason for Valerie's departure was not announced, but in their Facebook page's post about the change on Tuesday, the guys were very complimentary to Valerie for her contributions to the band & her future prospects. As you may recall, Obsession had featured Jess on backing vocals & tambourine for their Rotaryfest weekend gigs two weeks ago, and while I can't say if these were intended as trial runs for the singer change or not, at least fans who saw Obsession's last two concerts will be familiar with Jessica that way (especially as I'm not familiar with her from prior bands). Valerie had fronted Obsession since replacing Lorrie Bolduc back in 2012, and only founding bassist Jim Michaud remains from that lineup.
Obsession's first announced show with Jess on lead vocals will be at Poohfest in White River on August 20th (they're not easing into things!), but unless something earlier is announced, Obsession will next play a public local concert on October 28th at The Esquire Club. This is very surprising news, and unexpected even if you read into why they had a guest singer for Rotaryfest, but hopefully things are as amicable as they sound between Valerie and the band, and given her vocal talents, we definitely haven't heard the last of her. Maybe her other band Ladies Sing The Blues will become a primary project? See above for more from Obsession!
Also, here's the latest non-concert news from local punk/alternative rock quartet Handsome Sandwich (or "Ourselves"), so aside from their Shooters gigs this weekend, what's new to report? First off, it was revealed on July 2nd that bassist Mitch Sirie and drummer Johnny Belanger have joined local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters, and will debut with them at The Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir next month, where The Soo Fighters are a new lineup addition for the Friday schedule! Obviously, Johnny is replacing the late Chris Thompson behind the kit, but I'm unsure whether Mitch will be on guitar or bass (I have not seen any reference to Wes or Arthur leaving the band). We'll let you know when/if things are clarified! No, an official schedule for the bands has not been made public yet, but after last year, this shouldn't be too shocking (Handsome Sandwich are reportedly playing on the Saturday, time to be announced).
Meanwhile, Handsome Sandwich's debut album "Lettuce" is still in the works, and it will feature a guest performer, as frequent Wyld Stallyns guest Josh Norling (of Blues Harvest fame) will appear on their new original song "No Entry". He was photographed in the studio on July 20th, and it'll be interesting to hear how Josh's smooth sax fits into this puzzle! We'll cover the Sandwich's new videos soon, but get more updates on them above, and don't miss them at Shooters TONIGHT & TOMORROW!
Finally for today, here's a new video from local indie/punk quintet The Northwest live at LopLops last month, courtesy of their YouTube channel three weeks ago! The song is the studio copy of "Unsober October" from their new EP "All In" (to be reviewed on the SMS next month), but it is synced up to video footage shot by Jeff King when they opened for Elliott Brood on June 16th. I think some of the immediacy of the live experience is lost by dubbing over the actual audio (really empty not hearing cheers at the end), and I do think the cameras were zoomed in a little too much on average, but this is an excellently produced video, so give it a look!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
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