LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), A Band Breakup Announcement, And New Videos!!

I've got another news post to check out on this Saturday morning, which is half devoted to new YouTube videos, but we're looking at two staples of the weekend bar cover circuit to kick things off, for very different reasons, and first is a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with attached apology!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for a concert TONIGHT, after previously playing there last night! I profusely apologize for the short notice and for missing last night's show on here, I only heard about both via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page this morning.  The band did not plug these shows on their Facebook page whatsoever (not the first time that's happened), and Reggie's Facebook page only mentioned the gigs last night at 7:29 PM, giving barely more than 90 minutes notice for the Friday nighter. Given that Soundcheck's shows later this month at Shooters made the site yesterday, I'd happily have combined this weekend's shows into that write-up had they had even a day's extra notice, so apologies again, and hopefully yesterday's Reggie's gig was a hit! At least fans of their old school hard rock and country covers have a second chance TONIGHT!

You can enjoy Cameron, Terry, Paul/Rob, and Glen's crowd friendly blend of covers TONIGHT (and yesterday if you have a time machine) at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession have announced that their Esquire Club gigs on February 10th & 11th will be their last before disbanding. In a statement from bassist/founding member Jim Michaud on their Facebook page on Tuesday, he revealed that the decision was prompted by guitarist Gabe Tessaro deciding to retire from the band, and Jim thanked all past and present Obsession band members for their contributions, as well as fans for their support over the past 18 years. This news comes as a big surprise, as there were no public inklings that they were anywhere near done, with concerts listed through the end of the year on their website until this news dropped. However, as Gabe wasn't an original Obsession member, it speaks to their faith in him that they wouldn't want to try replacing him. Gabe has been a solid guitarist for years, and if he is done with live music, I hope his next steps are what's best for him!

Of course, Obsession cancelled a lot of dates with this decision (next being planned Esquire Club shows on March 17th & 18th), so the possibility exists that a new band featuring other Obsession members could emerge to take on those bookings, which is not unheard of in the area. We'll keep you posted if they have a fresh start as such or not, but let the countdown to Obsession's farewell concerts begin, and hopefully they get a great crowd to send them off both nights!

Also today, here's a rarity: video footage from Toystock at the Grand Gardens North in November! I'm surprised more videos haven't surfaced publically by now given the "10 bands in 10 hours" setup, but at least on YouTube, only two have been posted that I've found. One features the aforementioned Glen Thomas giving away drum kits (and a guitar this year also) to young Toystock attendees, continuing a tradition that he did annually for Christmas Cheer at Toystock pre-pandemic. Wonderful gesture as always, so click here to see the giveaways, as uploaded to his YouTube channel! You can see Glen's Soundcheck bandmates on stage during this, but they are not performing in the clip. However, we do have one known video of a Toystock band in action, namely young local punk trio Vanity First, who performed "Playboy Magazine" in a video that was only just uploaded to their YouTube channel on Tuesday.

No word on why it took over a month to upload this, but better late than never! The video is shot from right close to the band (if from somewhat below given the height of the stage), and the filmer makes good use of zoom, which counteracts the shakiness a bit. This Mikhal-sung track comes off well, and it's good to see some new footage of Vanity First, so check it out below, and visit their Facebook page for details on how you can buy their new official long-sleeve shirts!

We'll close today with the second song from local extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore's new Manitou project, as uploaded to his YouTube channel last week! Entitled "The Pit (Part One)", he doesn't give much context on the song/Manitou in the description, instead posting a rant there about the process of posting music on YouTube and algorithms for content creators, so check that out if you are at all inclined. Visually represented in much the same way as "Gristle" was, this song has ominous but slowly recited harsh vocals and a brutal but steady pace, and I do like the percussion! The song itself is well structured too, it'd work live if Chase turned Manitou into a full band, so check it out for yourself below!

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