Friday, June 23, 2023

Josey Scott's Saliva & Northern Echoes Concert Previews!!

As promised, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews by looking at two very different shows coming up at high profile locales, so here's what you should know!

We'll start at The Machine Shop TOMORROW NIGHT, where Josey Scott's Saliva will make their local concert debut in a big outdoor concert! I am unsure if this is where The Yard is/was or not, organizers haven't made the distinction. Josey Scott's Saliva is the new alternate version of the platinum-selling Memphis, Tennessee hard rock band that is led by their original frontman, and who do not share any members with the original version of Saliva that played at Muddfest at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in 2019. Very much an L.A. Guns-type scenario here, but Josey is the original voice behind all of Saliva's biggest hits like "Click Click Boom", "Always", and "Ladies & Gentlemen", so it will be neat to see him in Sault Ontario tomorrow! Detroit hard rock quintet Sponge (of "Plowed" and "Molly" fame) will make their local debut as the co-headliners, and fans of radio alternative rock should enjoy their set!

Local support will include local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT in just their second local gig since they relaunched in Barrie in 2021 and changed their name from Jack Spades. Of course, their post-relaunch gig at last year's Northern Vibe Festival won't have been accessible to all, so their first show in city-limits since late 2019 should be worth noting! This will also be Spades GT's first local gig with new bassist James Roy Daley and since Jay Sarrazin moved to guitar. While a belated release party for their new album "Sewer City Radio" is coming next month in Barrie (more on the site soon), this is basically the de facto release party for local fans, so look for Spades GT's newest material during their set and presumably at the merch table! Local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will return from the studio as this concert's opening band, so look for a fun batch of hard rock covers & originals from them!

Louisville, Kentucky post-grunge quartet Tantric were slated to play at tomorrow's concert as well, but they were forced to withdraw from the bill due to frontman Hugo Ferreira being currently unable to enter Canada. They were not replaced, but advance ticket prices were lowered in response. Originally advertised as being at The Rankin Arena before being moved downtown, tomorrow's concert is courtesy of Sault Michigan promoters Superior Entertainment in their post-pandemic return to concert booking, and their first show on this side of the border since hosting Dokken & Firehouse at what's now GFL Memorial Gardens in 2017. Sponsored by Rock 101, this all ages concert is advertised to kick off tomorrow at 6:00 PM, and the contingency plan of moving things indoors for bad weather shouldn't be an issue, with 9&10 News calling for partly cloudy weather in the mid-low 20s Celsius, albeit with a 10-20% chance of rain.

Tickets are on sale for $43.50 at this link, down from the $53.50 price when Tantric was still scheduled, and anyone who bought their tickets at that price point will be refunded $10. You can buy your tickets at the gate or at this link, and there will be food and drinks available on site. I hope this show does well, and given Saliva's track record for big hit radio singles in the early-mid 2000s, they should be very recognizable to many readers, especially as Josey Scott himself is touring with this version! Should be a fun time for fans of live rock music, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Josey Scott's Saliva live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, let's jump ahead to SUNDAY NIGHT, where local musicians will join forces for Northern Echoes, the Sault Community Theatre Centre's second all-local musician showcase concert of the month! Answering questions about how these two linked events at the former Kiwanis Theatre with similar branding came together, this SooToday article by Chris Belsito from June 5th reveals that the shows are courtesy of a Re-engaging Audiences Fund for Professional Arts Presentation Organizations from the Ministry of Canadian Heritage towards stimulating live performance arts post-pandemic (source here). Good read that spotlights local artistic talent and the S.C.T.C. as a host venue therein! Unlike Soo Soundcheck two weeks ago, Northern Echoes will highlight covers-centric acts, including local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns and online page-less alternative/punk quintet Bookclub, in their fourth shared concert since the latter's debut.

Public promotion largely doesn't note the third act on Sunday, but the SooToday article confirms that Soo's Got Talent finalist Juliana Regan & ex-Id Iota bassist Blair St. John will play a joint set, as they have off and on together since 2021. Tickets for Sunday's all-ages, 6:30 PM concert run for $16 (adults), $12 (students & seniors 60+), or $8 (kids 12 and under), and there are plenty of great seats still available at this link, the Station Mall box office, or at the door. This should be a fun night for fans of eclectic live cover music, with The Stallyns and Bookclub bringing more of the rock edge, so keep a trip to White Pines in mind on Sunday, see above for more details, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

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