LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Steel Panther), New Videos, And Much More!!

If you were listening to Rock 101 this morning at 9:00 AM, you'll have heard a major LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this season, so let's lead off today's post there, with more recent updates to cap things off with!

Los Angeles glam/comedy metal quartet Steel Panther will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for their second local headlining date on Saturday, November 26th! This show comes almost four years removed from their prior show here on December 1st, 2018, and with the pandemic at a much lesser state, it's awesome to see Steel Panther back! Of course, if you're unfamiliar with them, they are the throwback glam/hair metal act who pay homage to the sounds and look of the era, tongues firmly in cheek, with very adult, joke-filled parody lyrics, so even if it's not advertised as such, this is a 21+ experience. With staple songs like "Death To All But Metal" and "Community Property", fans will be eager for round #2! No word on opening acts yet, but Wilson had the honours in 2018. This show is a presentation of Allstar Promotions, whose 25th official booking was the prior Steel Panther date here.

The first stop of Steel Panther's seasonal Claws & Paws Holiday Party Tour (no word on if they'll play "Sexy Santa" or not), tickets for this 8:00 PM show run for $29.50 (up from $25 in 2018), and while official Steel Panther fan club members can immediately get tickets, the public on-sale date is Friday at 10:00 AM at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office. Sault Michigan is known to love hair metal (look at The Hair Scare's following for proof), and Steel Panther are a loving parody of the genre with loads of honest musical talent beneath the hairspray, so don't miss out in two months, and see above for more details!

Next up, here's a video interview I profusely apologize for covering so late on here, as Sault Ontario hard/psychedelic rock quartet The Uncanny Valley (sans drummer Dylan Turner) appeared on local internet streaming television channel ONNtv's morning show First Local on April 22nd! The interview can be seen within the original episode on SaultOnline's YouTube channel, but was simultaneously uploaded (and embedded below) separately if you don't want to jump ahead 20 minutes. Conducted by ONNtv correspondent Colette Linden with the members joining remotely, the almost 7 minutes long interview features the band talking about how they came up with the Uncanny Valley as a band name, why they withdrew from the Clusterfolk concert at The Rockstar Bar the following day (guitarist Matt Ferlaino contracted COVID-19), the band's influences & sound, and where to listen to their songs online.

Clearly, this interview was supposed to tie in with Clusterfolk, so it's a shame that one of the key bands withdrew, but at least Colette and the band tried to give it some press! Good and optimistic interview that alerts newcomers as to who The Uncanny Valley are, but I'm surprised that the Clusterfolk album never came up, and the transitions between the interview & the clips from the "Stuck In Rotation" music video weren't mixed overly well for levels. Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more!

Also today, here's the latest from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession, who have yet to play a public concert in town with new frontwoman Jess Amodio, but they haven't been idle since she came on board! Of course, the new lineup debuted in White River last month, and on Saturday, they posted on their Facebook page to note that they were "ready to kill it tonight at The Machine Shop". Despite not hinting at this fact, the gig was private, hence why we never covered it on here, and The Machine Shop is a little big for one covers-centric local band with no attached greater event. Obsession still aren't scheduled for a public gig in city limits until Halloween weekend at The Esquire Club, so at least the new lineup has time to get in sync! We do have a partial video sampler of the new lineup though, as the band posted this video of just Jess and guitarist Gabe Tessaro covering Stevie Nicks & Don Henley's "Leather & Lace" on Sunday.

No word on if this is a new setlist addition for the full band or if it was learned for the event (based on attendee attire, it looks like a wedding reception), but it's well handled and the performance definitely earned the slow dancing on the floor! Give it a look below, and stay tuned for more updates from Obsession when they roll in!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• A mystery fourth act has been added to the Garbageface concert (featuring industrial metal project Molten Imp) at the Dryer Fire temporary venue on Wilson Street on October 21st, as per recent updates to the Facebook event page. The artist in question is No Funeral, a noise pop act who I also can't find a verified online page for, much like fellow local openers Owen MK, though Google links to obituaries are an inevitable consequence of that search. We'll let you know if we hear anything relevant before showtime!
• Local/Barrie crossover thrash quartet Spades GT's long teased gig opening for Anvil in Brampton on Friday went off successfully, if Facebook page updates are to be believed, though the band featured Caym alum Jay Sarrazin on bass in lieu of Daniel "Odie" Rodbard once again (still no word on why he's missed their last few gigs, but he is still listed as their bassist on Facebook). Drummer Tyler "Jeeb" Reiner also starred in a 23 second video to promote the concert, though aside from being a plug for a show from the former Jack Spades, there's nothing local to speak of, with him just talking to the camera in his vehicle. Stay tuned for more!
• According to personal Facebook posts, Handsome Sandwich/Soo Fighters drummer Johnny Belanger subbed in for Derek Turner during The Wyld Stallyns' headlining concert at The Whisky Barrel this past Friday. A reason for Derek's absence was not announced, but this is hardly the first time that Johnny has filled in with The Stallyns, prominently doing so in the summer a couple of times. Hopefully all's well with Derek, and that Friday's show was a hit!
   

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