Let's tackle some big recent updates and media on this Tuesday morning, including new live videos from two E.U.P. bands, and our first look at a new Sault Ontario band on a public stage. However, we're leading off with the teased return of a once prominent concert promotion agency, so without any further ado, here's what you should know!
It looks like local concert promoters Live705 are gauging interest in returning to concert promotion after a 2+ year hiatus! On November 13th, they posted on their Facebook page to see if any local bands would be interested in opening for Orillia experimental/progressive band Tangents on their upcoming tour. They didn't specify the intended date or venue, but Live705's Matt Quinn did message me last month to bounce some ideas around, though I'll hold on any of the specifics until they say something. Tangents are a solidly brutal and proficient extreme metal band who would surely be welcomed on a local stage by genre fans, but of course, touring shows like this are still a work in progress in many respects post-pandemic. Live705 (the promotion agency founded by the members of local punk trio A Dire Setback) were very active from their 2016 launch through helping bring an Elton John tribute to The Rockstar Bar in November 2019.
Live705's planned shows in 2020 (including A Dire Setback's own CD release party) were all cancelled for obvious reasons, but the guys have kept the page active by plugging and hyping other local concerts, album releases, and musicians sporadically since then, which they had also done between their own events previously. They also still provide live audio and DJ services at other promoters' events, not unlike the confusingly named but separate 705Live Sound Co.. It is great to see Live605 kicking the tires on getting back to their late 2010s normal, but message them A.S.A.P. if you want to open for Tangents next year!
Next up, here's the first public videos of new local metal trio The BAG, courtesy of their Facebook group! Despite not posting there at all in over three weeks, The BAG did indeed play at The Esquire Club this past weekend, and attendees Jordan Dubois and Val McGillivray (likely a relative of Spencer's) both posted videos from the Saturday nighter to the Facebook group that are publically viewable! Unfortunately, all four of the videos are shot vertically, and none capture the full song. Jordan posted this clip of the guys playing a very familiar instrumental breakdown, with his other two videos (a cover of Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name" and Spencer playing a guitar solo) being lumped in with pictures from that night. The longest of the four videos is Val's, who filmed their metallized cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", as uploaded below.
While it is a shame that these are all vertical (primarily focused on Spencer as such) and don't capture full songs, you get a good sense of their sound and talent, and he, Austin, and Bradley are definitely on their way locally with a tight, heavy sound! Very strange hearing a band this heavy at The Esquire Club though, could this be a positive sign for 2023? Good stuff, so check out The BAG's new videos above & below!
We'll close today's post with new videos from two bands in Sault Michigan and area, starting with a highlights video of local hard rock quartet Tarnished's experiences opening for Steel Panther at The Dreammakers Theatre at the local Kewadin Casino last month! Uploaded to their Facebook page on Sunday, this video was edited together by former drummer Gary Croad, and features footage of them playing "Shortcut", as uniquely shot from behind the stage. I don't believe this video has been posted without the post-production edits, for the record. You'll also see clips of Tarnished being interviewed by Rock 101's Scott Cook at the venue for that night's episode of The Hair Scare, them getting ready backstage, their meetings & pictures with 3/4ths of Steel Panther (no Spyder, alas), plus the actual photos, including one with their merchandise crew, and some great concert pictures by Kayla Kirkwood (hopefully those get posted separately!)
The video ends with some thank yous to everyone who made this experience happen. Gary did a very professional job compiling everything, and while the raw footage of "Shortcut" would be nice to see (especially given the angle), it sounds good and Tarnished look like they had a blast, so fans won't want to bypass this one below!
Finally for today, a surprising amount of live videos from St. Ignace metalcore quintet Heavy Lies The Crown have surfaced on drummer Jaxon Massaway's new YouTube channel in the past two weeks! These primarily come from their Summerbash gig in Gaylord (2 hours south of the Soo) in July, where an attendee filmed ten videos of H.L.T.C.'s set, including them playing "Friend", "Every Step Of The Way", "A Hell Bound Heart", "A Sold Soul (A.S.S.)", "Voices", "Knucklebutter", "*69", "Time Diffuser Or Something Else", and "Choke". That's every song from their full length album except "Princess" and "Interlude", for the record. The videos are all shot from a side-stage angle and given the poor lighting at this outdoor camping-friendly event, it kind of looks like the guys are playing in a void, first row fans with cameras aside. The audio holds up for fans though!
Embedded below is the only new video on Jaxon's channel from a different event, namely them playing "Choke" at the French Road Bash in Alpena in August. While incomplete, this is the best video I have seen yet of the current Heavy Lies The Crown lineup, with the filmer getting a nice front row angle of the guys in action, aided by the daytime setting and neat forest backdrop. Cool to see all of these videos, so kudos to Jaxon for uploading them, and also check out his two solo vocal/guitar covers on his channel, as they're not bad either! Give "Choke" in Alpena a watch below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
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