Upon doing this month's YouTube Channel Profiles earlier this month, I realized that I was far behind on recent videos from local metal, hard rock, and punk acts, so let's check a big chunk of this audiovisual backlog off from the punk side of things today! Along with recent concert videos, let's lead off with a star-studded new cover video, so here's what you should know!
The first Mikey & His Uke cover video of the fall season went online on the project's YouTube channel on September 21st, and it features Bookclub frontman/Inner City Surfers drummer Mikey Hawdon and another far-flung all-star band covering Cock Sparrer's "Because You're Young"! Yes, that is the name of that band. As usual, Mikey is on guitar and (initially) ukelele before dropping that pretense, and he's joined here by Toy Dolls frontman Michael "Olga" Algar, plus three alumni of The Bouncing Souls, namely guitarist Pete Steinkopf, bassist Brian Kienlen, and drummer Michael McDermott (now of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts). If you're at all a fan of The Bouncing Souls, don't miss this video! Uploaded in a very wide aspect ratio (almost Ultra Panavision 70), the cover is predictably strong from this talented fivesome, and Olga's sneer adds a little extra to the proceedings!
In terms of filming locations, note that both Pete & Brian are both playing outside on a beach (no idea if it's the same beach but their videos don't cross paths), while Mikey is playing in a bathroom. Expertly edited and put together, so punk fans will want to check these out above & below!
Next up, the ever prolific Christopher Paci was in attendance for the Ripcordz-headlined concert at The Loft at the Algoma Conservatory of Music on September 1st, and his videos belatedly went online on his YouTube channel two weeks ago! Unusually for a multi-band show like this, he only got seven videos, but all three bands were filmed multiple times, including the headlining Montreal hardcore punk legends. Chris got three videos of The Ripcordz in action, including of their songs "Girls In The Pit", "X", and as embedded below, two songs back to back, namely (most of) "The Fence" and "Let's Go". While the audio can be a little tinny, it's great to see The Ripcordz back on a local stage for the first time in almost four years, and Paul & crew had a very receptive audience on the floor for their set! Odd seeing them in such an upscale venue, but very welcome all the same, so check these out!
Of the local openers, Chris got two each from both bands, including local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback's middle set on the 1st, and they were filmed playing "Faded" and, as embedded below, "Catastrophe". The audio quality is fuller here, and Chris was front row for part of their set, so we get to hear some solid renditions of these staple Dire Setback originals, and we get a better view on "Catastrophe" overall. Give these two videos a look for yourselves above and below!
Finally for today, the openers on this night were newer local punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine, with their set also getting filmed for two videos by Chris. One is a fast-paced punk song with singer Mike Gaetano doubling up on guitar, and while I don't know its title, the song embedded below is "This Way Again". Depending on what you're looking for out of Far From Fine (still featuring guest[?] drummer Blair St. John), you may prefer the skate punk stylings of the former to the slower alt-rock of the latter, but they definitely have range in their setlist, and hopefully they left a good impression on fans at The Loft on the 1st! Give their videos a watch as well!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
Let's continue our belated coverage of The Soo's Got Talent today, especially as the second round is tonight at Soo Blaster and I don't want to fall any further behind! After the auditions at the Great Northern Road Wacky Wings over the weekend of September 9th, sixteen qualifiers were sent through to the first round at Soo Blaster on the 15th to battle for one of twelve spots in round 2 taking place tonight, and while not everyone was filmed for the T.S.G.T. Facebook page, what can you see from round #1? All are singers unless otherwise stated. The first video sees dancer Jophin Saju performing to multiple Indian pop/rap songs, followed by 2022 finalist Xavier Pelletier LeBouef covering Adele's "Rolling In The Deep", in Xavier's first video appearance of this year's cycle after not being filmed at the auditions despite getting one of the four Golden Buzzers allocated for this year to guarantee a spot in the semifinals.
Also not filmed at the auditions was Elizabeth Budge, who covered David Guetta & Sia's "Titanium" in round #1. A different filmer (or at least in a different locale) filmed the next videos, all mercifully horizontal, and this time grouping competitors together rather than individual uploads. The first of these videos features three more performers who didn't get audition videos, namely Stan Fera (George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today"), Celeste Rector (Everyone Loves An Outlaw's "I See Red"), and Greg McLeod (The Greg Kihn Band's "The Break-Up Song"). The next video features Demoy MacSamuels performing another original song (possibly named "Welcome To The Dark Side"), ex-Re:Born frontwoman & Golden Buzzer recipient Elly McWatters (Journey's "Separate Ways [World's Apart]), and Jophin Shaju dancing to more upbeat Indian artists.
While Journey proper aren't a full hard rock band, "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" is a hard rock song, so we can embed that one here while staying on topic, and Elly's performance there was predictably strong given her established vocal abilities! Of course, as a Golden Buzzer winner, she was not at danger of elimination on the 15th, but she still proved herself worthy of the second round, as did Demoy and Jophin. Check everything out below!
The next three-act video features a reprise of drummer Teagan Krauter Maki covering Hoobastank's "The Reason". I can't speak for all acts, as not everyone was filmed at the audition level, but Teagan was, and to me, repeating the same song feels like a misstep despite his obvious drumming talent. If I was judging, I'd have encouraged him to play something more rocking/up tempo in round #1 anyway, as ballads usually aren't drummer showcases. Hopefully he keeps at it, good drummers are always in demand! This video also features Storm Rausch (who was also filmed at audition level and got the Golden Buzzer for her efforts) playing an original song named "Reminder" on vocals & guitar, and Arin Karki (not filmed for the auditions) covering Billy Joel's "Vienna". Good stuff all around, and Arin caught me off guard in a good way with his voice, so check these out at this link! Sadly, I can't embed it here, as copyrighted audio (likely "The Reason") was flagged by Facebook.
All remaining first round acts except Brooklyn Coghill were featured in the last round #1 video, and I have no clue why footage of Brooklyn's performance never made their way to The Soo's Got Talent's Facebook page. The video features Golden Buzzer recipient Kristina Sagrak (Loren Allred's "Never Enough"), Steven Jensen (John Fogerty's "Centerfield"), Raedyn Matechuck Levesque (Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man"), and Christopher Halliday (Cyndi Lauper's "True Colours"). When it came to announce the round #2 qualifiers, judges Darren MacDonald, Mike Severin, and Valerie Powley sent all acts through to tonight's event except Brooklyn, Elizabeth, Steven, and Teagan, so if you liked what you saw from the other twelve acts, come to Soo Blaster tonight for all of the action! Everything takes place tonight at 6:30 PM, where we will learn the eight competitors that will advance to the semifinals on Saturday, October 21st.
The four Golden Buzzer recipients (Elly, Kristina, Storm, and Xavier) are all guaranteed semifinal spots, and are exempt from elimination no matter what tonight, so only half of Arin, Celeste, Christopher, Demoy, Greg, Jophin, Raedyn, and Stan will join them next month. Come on out to find out what happens! Admission is $22 aside from kids 12 and under ($12). Visit the above links for more on The Soo's Got Talent so far, and we'll hopefully dive into the second round action in a more timely fashion! Thanks everyone, and good luck tonight!
A relatively quiet concert weekend is upon us for hard rock fans in the Twin Saults, but we do have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) to pad things out with, so here's what you should know on this Thursday night!
Local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will provide musical entertainment at TOMORROW'S street party on Queen Street East to coincide with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds' home opening game! Apologies for the short notice, I only heard about this show earlier today via SooToday, but a Facebook event page had been online for the past two weeks. Regardless, The Stallyns have not confirmed their involvement on their own Facebook page, but given drummer Derek Turner's ties with Village Media, them playing makes sense when you realize their precise location TOMORROW. Queen Street will be closed between Bruce & Dennis (naturally given where GFL Memorial Gardens is), but rather than play at street level on a pop-up stage as normal, the band will be playing on the rooftop of Village Media headquarters at 298 Queen Street East!
Very Beatles-esque conceit there, but totally unique for this city, so look up for The Wyld Stallyns' rocking covers TOMORROW! Food/alcohol vendors, OLG promotions, and family activities will also be on tap for this all ages event, which takes place at 3:00 PM in the leadup to the Greyhounds hosting the Sudbury Wolves in the Gardens at 7:00 PM. Likely one of this year's final outdoor hard rock shows in the Soo, 9&10 News is calling for sunny weather of around 20° TOMORROW during the festivities. Visit the above links for more details, here's The Stallyns live, and go Hounds go!
Next up, we'll pause our weekend concert previews for a second for another new concert taking place further in the timeline, as Toronto-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will return to Soo Blaster for a headlining concert on Saturday, October 14th! Announced oddly late given who the headliners are, this will be Destroyer's (at least) sixth local headlining concert, most recently taking the stage at Soo Blaster in April of last year. Fans who have seen Destroyer live will know that they deliver a faithful rendition of Kiss classics in visual and auditory senses, so if you want the best, the next best thing will be here in a little over two weeks! Local support this time will come by way of new local pop rock cover quartet Bourbon Blue (featuring Turner Up and Soo Fighters alumni), and while not as heavy as Fort Creek from last year, there's a lot of talent in their ranks, so don't be late for their lead-off set next month!
Admission for this 19+ & 7:00 PM concert is $20 in advance (on par with last year) or $25 at the door, and VIP booths will be available if desired. No word on online ticket sales yet, but last year's Destroyer show did have them. Should be a good time for Kiss Army members in the Soo, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
Moving back to this weekend's concert previews now, we'll next stay downtown on Queen Street for local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard's scheduled return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! A one-nighter due to Shooters' fall decision to host DJs on Saturdays, this show was announced via the venue's Facebook event page last month, but has not received active promotion on their end nor the band's since. Assuming that all is well, Bone Yard should have a solid evening of hard and southern rock favourites in store for fans and Shooters regulars alike tomorrow, so keep this show in mind for your end-of-month delectation! This 19+ show has a 9:00 PM start time and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!
Lastly for this weekend's known hard rock concerts, we'll head to the west end, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck are slated to rock The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their first of two concert weekends booked for the last third of 2023 at this venue, these will be their first shows since playing at Jay's last week with guest singer Darrel Ford, and as far as I can tell, their full lineup (with Cameron) will be back in full force for this weekend's gigs. While the band proper hasn't publically acknowledged them on Facebook, The Esquire Club has, so fingers crossed that the guys have lots of entertaining hard and classic rock favourites ready to go for fans this weekend! As usual for their gigs here, expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges tomorrow and/or Saturday. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live last year!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we once again shine a spotlight on YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts! For a second straight month, our randomly selected channels number at two, as the first channel only had two videos period, so a channel with a single video was picked to fill things out. Both take us to side projects of familiar local rock frontmen, so here's what you should know!
Channel Timeline:Launched on June 4th, 2013; Videos uploaded that same day
Channel Summary:Curtis' then-official YouTube channel features original audio recordings by two prior/side projects of his, rather than his then-concurrent work in Haggith, who had their own YouTube channel at the time.
Why You Should Watch:As a "what could have been" window into Curt's local music career, this channel is notable to give a listen to his prior projects that didn't get far off the ground as presented, and fans of his will want to give these two videos a look on that basis. Nowadays, Curtis is primarily seen streaming on Twitch, where he plays video games, plays vinyl records, and sometimes actually performs music, so follow him there to see what he's been up to post-pandemic!
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
Rage Train EP: In early 2012, Curt recorded a demo EP called "Rage Train" featuring him and drummer Zach Day Andre (who produced/mixed the songs) playing "No Cure For Insanity", "Rage Train", and "Wanko (Reprise)", which would all be adapted by the band Haggith on their debut studio album "Dragon Joy Ride" that fall. While these songs would be refined later that year, they still come through really well and they sound like the full Haggith band would have recorded them had you not known!
SOUND X - Disengage: Curt's most popular video here is of his short lived side project band Sound X, which featured him and long-time bandmate Daniel Horton (now in Spades GT) playing music separate from Haggith. Sound X had planned to record an album named "Three Year Relapse" at Paperclip Productions, but only "Disengage" made its way online before Sound X quietly fell inactive by the end of 2013. Featuring Curtis on all instruments aside from Daniel on drums, this song is a solid alt-hard rock number that wouldn't have been amiss in Haggith setlists, though I did note at the time that I felt Sound X should be more distinct from Haggith if the two were to co-exist. Follow Eclipse to hear Curt & Dan's later work!
Channel Timeline:Launched on August 30th, 2018; Only video posted the following day
Channel Summary: Despite having an eponymous YouTube channel that is still used to this day, Chase launched a separate channel in 2018 under the ribald pseudonym above that he initially used for songs released by Awokest, his industrial-leaning metal project. While Awokest proper have paid release albums, "The Tweakening" ended life as a free YouTube EP, whose songs run from 45 seconds to 2:37 in length. Featuring techno influences, black metal-inspired vocals, and lots of bass in the low end, "The Tweakening" will deliver the goods for fans of this side of Chase's ample solo back catalogue! However, be advised of some 18+ song titles.
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! As it turns out, our run of profiling multiple channels will continue in October, as the first randomly selected channel this time out only had one video, and the second only has two from the same concert set, so we're tripling up on or around October 26th by looking at the YouTube channels of Sam Mick (featuring a video from Hedley's show here in 2017), NorthernFunko (featuring two Three Days Grace concert videos at the Gardens), and Josh Belleau (featuring a 2012 concert video featuring three local metal bands). Look for these then, and for weekend concert previews and much more on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Hey guys, just a heads up that my primary computer is having issues outputting sound, so I've had to use my phone and/or a backup laptop for listening to things addressed in today's post. I sincerely hope that this isn't a prolonged issue, but if anything seems amiss from normal coverage, that is why. Now, we have a mid-week concert preview and some more recent news items to address tonight, so here's what you should know!
Punk fans who don't mind seeing a live concert on a school/work night may want to stop by The Speak Easy at Algoma University TOMORROW NIGHT, where Cumberland, British Columbia skate/hardcore punk quartet Mean Bikini will make their local debut! A unique and somewhat politically charged band who uniquely have a half non-binary lineup, this newer group should definitely turn heads with their upbeat and high energy brand of punk rock originals, so don't sleep on Mean Bikini despite the Wednesday night timing! Online page-less (Instagram aside) local folk punk solo project Agnosticism will open in their first show of the fall, so if you're interested in seeing Vanity First/Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto's unplugged exploits, be there nice and early tomorrow! Promoted by Dryer Fire, it has since been confirmed that this 7:00 PM show will be all ages, so don't worry about the student ID exemption here!
Furthermore, despite initially having an admission fee of $10 in advance ($15 at the door), Dryer Fire have announced that this show is FREE thanks to support from the Algoma University Student Union, so keep that in mind! We haven't seen a public punk/metal concert at The Speak Easy in over five years, with a pandemic and heavy renovations happening in the interim, so it'll be interesting to hear how tomorrow's show goes over! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Mean Bikini live!
Next up, here's the latest from local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT, so what have they been up to over the past month? On September 1st, their new album "Sewer City Radio" got a perfect 5/5 review by John Haseltine of Metal-Rules.com in their "Quick Jabs" series of brief new album reviews. John highly praised the "highly infectious tracks" as being "heavy thrashy rock with that pop-punk feel", and while he's not quite right about calling this their "debut album" (someone send him "The First"!), the praise was well deserved! A week later, the former Jack Spades posted a "Reel" on their Facebook page where frontman J.D. Pearce kinda covers Alanis Morrissette's "You Oughta Know".... kinda! You have to watch it to get the joke. Another "Reel" made its way there on the 17th where drummer Tyler Reiner showed off their new "Sewer City Radio" t-shirts that are now on sale.
The shirts actually show a radio station graphic, so there's a new interpretation! Spades GT's most recent show saw them and other bands open for Random Killing (a band Saultites know very well) at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto on Saturday night, which J.D. and Daniel plugged in two separate "Reels" linked here & here (nothing major to report in either, though J.D.'s has glitchy video effects). Daniel posted another "Reel" on Sunday to thank everyone who came to see them at The Bovine, and he noted there that Aidan Grossman of the The Grossman Film Groupwas filming their set for an upcoming docuseries. Aidan had filmed Spades GT when they opened for Anvil in Toronto in May of last year, and the footage was excellent despite the longer raw video never being posted online. This bodes very well assuming that the docuseries plans go according to plan, and hopefully it does!
One more "Reel" was posted earlier today featuring some of Aidan's footage, and true to form from last year, the quality is very good as we see (most of) Spades playing at The Bovine and talking to the camera beforehand, but why was this uploaded as a "Reel"? Aidan's footage is in landscape orientation (16:9) whereas "Reels" are permanently vertical! I recommend watching in full screen on a computer if you can, and true to form, I can't embed it here. Photos from the Toronto show (which guitarist Jay Sarrazin was absent for) were also posted to Facebook. In terms of new shows, Spades GT have added to their Toronto concert opening for Anvil with dates opening for the "Metal On Metal" icons in Sudbury at The Coulson Entertainment Centre on October 26th & at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie on November 9th (the Pembroke show listed on this poster does not feature Spades GT).
Alas, no Soo date, but it'll be neat for locals there to see both bands, and for father & son Reiner to share the same stage on these nights! Finally, their newest announced show will take them back to The Atria in Oshawa on October 28th when they and eight other bands will open for Random Killing again at the twelfth "In Crust We Trust" concert there. Spades opened for Drew & crew at The Atria in July as well, so this will be a familiar night even moreso if you're in the area! Now we're caught up on what Spades GT have been up to this month, but stay tuned for more on the site soon, including this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!
Two topic post on the SMS on this Sunday morning, but we're leading off with a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this fall, and punk fans of the 2000s and beyond will absolutely want to mark this one on their calendars, so here's what you should know!
If you're a fan of veteran local punk musician Mikey Hawdon, then you may want to head to Soo Blaster on Friday, November 3rd, as multiple past/present bands of his will take the stage on this night! This concert is being put on as "a pre-wedding rock n' roll party" in the lead up to his upcoming marriage to his fiance Ali Rainone, and despite the seemingly personal trappings, it is 100% a concert that the public can buy tickets for, not a stag & doe intended for friends/family only. Your headliners on this night are local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers in a one-off reunion, marking their Soo Blaster debut, their first gig in over four years, and just their second concert set in the past decade. The Facebook event page somewhat worryingly says that this may be The Surfers' "last show for quite some time" (remember, Brad lives out of town), but whether this proves true or not, it'll be awesome to welcome these local punk legends back after way too long!
Their set is scheduled to take place at 12:00 AM, so strap yourselves in! Co-headlining this event are Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band AMY/DC, who Mikey himself is a guitarist in, and remains a band member despite his move back home (they just don't play live as often). AMY/DC proper have never played here, but you will recognize frontwoman Amy Zuccheto (a.k.a. Amy Gabba; more on her in a bit) from multiple local concerts in the 2010s, and from this Mikey & His Uke cover of "Shoot To Thrill". Should be fun to see AMY/DC in town, and a female-fronted AC/DC tribute band is definitely unique for the Soo! Before their 10:45 PM set, Mikey's current online page-less alternative/hard rock cover quartet Bookclub will take the stage for a set at 9:45 PM, and it will be interesting to hear how their generally more mainstream setlist goes over with the punk-leaning crowd on November 3rd!
The openers will be a one-off reunion of Mikey & Amy's old Toronto-based Ramones/Joan Jett tribute band The Merves, who were active from 2010-2015, playing local dates five times in that span. Note that this is not the same band as Mikey & Amy's later Ramones/Joan Jett tribute The Gabba Heys, who played here in 2018 (the two bands had different rhythm sections and social media pages). Regardless of name, it's been a minute since Mikey channeled his inner Joey Ramone on a local stage, so be there nice and early for this tribute action! Note that The Merves also featured Mikey's old Fairmounts bandmates, so if you miss that band, keep that angle in mind too. This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time on November 3rd, and tickets will run for $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Advance tickets will be on sale at The Rad Zone, Case's Music, Long & McQuade, and Soo Blaster.
This will be an absolutely massive night for local punk fans, and the Surfers reunion alone would be reason enough for many to come to Soo Blaster, let alone Mikey playing four sets with different bands in one night! Given the Surfers' reputation from their 2000s heyday, who knows what will happen when Dustin, Dave, Brad, and Mikey take the stage, so do not miss this show when it comes around! Visit the above links for more details!
We'll close today with a different local guitarist named Mike, namely hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary, so what's new from his camp? On Thursday, he revealed on his Facebook page that he has decided to indefinitely focus on instrumental music rather than material with him on lead vocals, after realizing that "that's where my true passion is", and he has more freedom & creativity when he focuses on music over lyrics. Mike knows better than any of us what is most comfortable for him, I just hope that his pre-2023 back catalog isn't delisted forever, as he has (had?) good songs with vocals! Mike did also suggest that he'd be willing to do backup vocals in a live band when/if he joins one, though note that he hasn't been in a proper band yet due to anxiety about playing live (he stated this on Facebook in July). In terms of new media of him playing guitar, we do have a new video to check out, so what is there to see here?
Nothing, it's just a black screen, but the 52 seconds-long clip is from an instrumental song he's working on that is inspired by horror movies that he was watching. What we hear is promisingly heavy and has a good melodic base to it, plus some room to show off a bit of soloing, so fans of Mike's heavier material will enjoy the teaser below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for missing "Wing Wednesday" acoustic concerts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub by Bone Yard frontman Greg Simpson (August 9th & 23rd) and Nostalgic Band frontman Tym Morrison (this past Wednesday) for coverage on the site. These shows often only get late notice coverage from the venue, so they have been easy to miss on my part, especially given the atypical mid-week scheduling. I'll try to keep a better eye out for them, but hopefully all three were hits! Now, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE) and a surprise metal solo project's return!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for a concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced late last night, and it truly did come together on short notice, as Jay's were openly looking for a late replacement musical act following The Nostalgic Band dropping out of their planned booking this weekend. Of course, Soundcheck just played their usual Thursday jam night last night, so they are very well known around these parts, but this show will have a twist. As you can see in the marquee image from the venue, Soundch(ec)k will have a guest, and while there hasn't been a public confirmation as to his identity, drummer Glen Thomas confirmed on his personal Facebook page that singer Darrel Ford will be filling in for Cameron Oliver, who is involved with a wedding this weekend and will be unavailable as a result.
While not in a Soundcheck video, you can see Darrel covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" at a Bone Yard-hosted jam night at this link, and he should do a good job as a fill-in, possibly adding a heavier edge for the night! Due to the aforementioned wedding (which singer/guitarist Terry Eaton is actually DJing tomorrow night), Soundcheck are only playing TONIGHT, so keep posted with Jay's if you're curious as to who the Saturday band may end up being. TONIGHT's concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live at a recent jam night!
Next up, London progressive/hard rock band The Nameless Friends will make their way to the Soo on Thursday, October 12th at Reggie's Place! An uncommon (but not unheard of) venue for touring bands, Reggie's will be getting quite an original band in three weeks, with band members only identified as "Number One", "Number Two", and so on, charged songs about left-wing social issues, and a unique keyboard-infused sound that calls to mind 1970s prog rock with a heavier modern sensibility and lots of influences. They're a band that's hard to pin down, and should turn many heads when they play here in support of their new album "Blasphemy" next month! Note that The Nameless Friends reportedly played at Reggie's back in July 2017 (source here) but I have no memory of that event. An eclectic local support roster includes alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (in their Reggie's debut) and pop rock cover quartet Lime.
No one is a pure compliment in musical styles here, and neither local band has publically confirmed their involvement in this show (the venue and headliners did those honours), but hopefully everything runs smoothly across the board for what should be a fun night! This 19+ concert has an earlier 7:00 PM start time and will have $15 admission at the door. Visit the above links for more details on this event!
Today's other new concert takes us to Soo Blaster on Saturday, November 18th for an all-local event headlined in a rare appearance by local party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty! In some ways, this is basically a pared down, 100% public sequel to a private house party event that they put on last month, but you don't see Paul & Amanda play public gigs at actual public venues too often (especially not as headliners), so expect fireworks from their own charged rap metal attack in two months! They will reportedly feature Vanity First/Hails guitarist Mikhal Muto as a second bassist for this show, as per his personal Facebook page, but I can't confirm if he has joined the band or if he's just a guest. Newer local metal trio The BAG and prolific local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore will open the proceedings, so metal and hard rock fans will definitely get pulled in many directions from these acts!
The public poster (from Chase's Facebook page) is cropped to square dimensions, but Mikhal's personal Facebook page has the full poster, confirming that admission will be $10 in advance (via an Eventbrite link to be launched) or $15 at the door, and this 7:00 PM show will be all ages. All-local, all-original events like this are rarer than they really should be, so keep this Saturday nighter in November in mind to see an eclectic range of local metal talent, and see above for more details!
Finally today, here's a pleasant surprise from Sault Michigan (well, a few hours away): Galactic Alignment are back! In case you need a refresher, this was the 2009-2014 progressive metal solo project from local guitarist Mike Libertoski, who local fans may recognize from bands like The Slackjawed Rats, Swayze Train, and The London Gentlemen in the late 2000s and early 2010s. He has since moved downstate and currently performs in the southeast Michigan deathcore band Living Dissection, and it is cool seeing him playing original metal in a band of this scale nowadays, even if he had had to move 5+ hours away to do it. Aside from sharing this video that was posted to his YouTube channel in 2021, we hadn't heard from Galactic Alignment on their Facebook page since October 2013, so it was very surprising to see a post there on September 14th, where Mike revealed that he's re-recording Galactic Alignment's original 2009 demos!
Mike is planning to release them in some form or fashion by year's end, and you can hear the first fruit of this labour via his new Facebook video of the Galactic Alignment original "Shredded Into Pieces" (well, the first 85 seconds of it). If you want to hear more of their old original output, visit their Reverbnation page to see what Mike may be redoing. It's no hyperbole when I say that Mike is one of the most talented guitarists that Sault Michigan has ever produced, so I fully welcome him bringing back Galactic Alignment, and this teaser clip will leave fans wanting more! Check it out for yourself below, and stay tuned for updates!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this weekend's concert previews, just a heads up that local classic metal trio The Nostalgic Band have cancelled all of their upcoming concerts, as per their respective Facebook event pages (or deletions thereof) in the past week. Affected dates include tomorrow, November 3rd-4th, and December 8th-9th at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, October 13th & December 22nd at Shooters Downstairs Lounge, October 20th & 21st at Reggie's Place, and the recently announced continuation of their Thursday jam night hosting duties at Reggie's, whose (deleted) Facebook page had them blocked there into 2024. Reasons for the mass cancellations weren't announced, but hopefully things aren't as serious as all of these dates being rapidly called off may suggest. Fingers crossed that we see The Nostalgic Band back on stage when the time is right, as they are a talented group!
Otherwise, let's dive into this weekend's hard rock concert previews, in a relatively quiet weekend that primarily sees cover-centric bands taking the stage on both sides of the border, so here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were announced on the band's Facebook group on the 11th but completely slipped us by at the time. After taking two weekends off (with singer Valerie Powley resuming her judging duties at The Soo's Got Talent in the interim), these will be the Jus' Chillin successors' first shows at Reggie's in three months, which is kind of surprising! They also dropped out of dates there in July due to a scheduling conflict. As such, these will be their first gigs at this Queen Street staple with new guitarist Tony Kajnar. and hopefully he, Valerie, Pierre, and Tony S. deliver a solid weekend of classic and hard rock hits for fans there TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Expect 9:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Generations live!
Next up, let's head down the road to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will make their debut at this Dennis Street nightclub TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen two weeks ago at The Water Tower Pub, this will be the first solo headlining date for the Obsession successors at a downtown locale, and following a positive reception to their prior public and private sets, hopefully Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve keep the good vibes going with their eclectic but often heavy setlist tomorrow! A one-nighter due to Shooters' reported move to having a DJ on Saturdays this fall instead, tomorrow's concert has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the band's Facebook page for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video from a recent private gig of theirs! Well, maybe not "private", but given the nature of it, I didn't want to treat it like anyone could go see it.
On September 9th, Silent 9 served as musical entertainment at the postponed Family Fun Day at (well, outside of) Algoma Steel, which was really not intended for the general public, just plant employees and their families, hence my reticence to cover it here. We can get a glimpse of the festivities via this 90 seconds-long Facebook video of Silent 9 covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" on an outdoor stage, which sounds good with strong vocals and guitar work in particular! The square Instagram dimensions are preferable to a vertical cell phone aspect ratio (watermark acknowledged), but the placement of the filmer doesn't help us see drummer Steve Porco very well. Give it a look for yourself below!
Now let's head south to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock quintet The Nameless will play their first ever (publically announced) headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! Last seen at the Sugar Island Music Festival last month (apologies again for missing that on the site), this will be their first concert in city limits since opening for Scotty Austin at The Savoy Bar back in March. The Nameless don't play live all that often, but they do have a talented lineup and have shared the stage on a handful of big multi-band events, so hopefully they leave a good impression at The Merch tomorrow! Everything goes down at 108 West Spruce Street tomorrow at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, click here to watch their full debut concert set last year! I can't embed it here due to copyrighted music over the P.A. at the start of the video.
Finally for today, let's head even further south to St. Ignace, where Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While seen more often in the E.U.P. if you count dates in Luce County and western Chippewa & Mackinac County that are over an hour's drive from the Soo, these will be their first gigs at the St. Ignace Kewadin since May. Not having played closer in the interim, this should be worth attending for fans of Jamie and Rikk's minimalistic but hard hitting brand of hard rock and classic rock covers! These are 9:00 PM events with no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 or older to attend, and if you can't make it to these dates, Fyrbird will be at the Sault Kewadin in two weeks. See above for more details, and here's Fyrbird live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
As you may know, The Soo's Got Talent has returned for its fourth annual installment, and like in past years, there are aspects of this local talent competition that cross our metal/hard rock/punk radar! Just as a note of clarification, whereas the recent Talent Quest competition at Shooters Downstairs Lounge was 100% karaoke (thusly why we didn't cover it here), The Soo's Got Talent is open to all kinds of artistic performers. The late stages of last year's competition did only have singers (albeit with one also playing guitar), but that's just how the judging went for the performers who passed the auditions. Speaking of which, auditions for this year's T.S.G.T. took place at Wacky Wings on Great Northern Road from September 8th-10th, and videos from that weekend were shared to the competition's Facebook page, so what can you see there? As it turns out, the first audition video posted there is both hard rock and not a singer!
This has young local drummer Teagan Krauter Maki covering Hoobastank's "The Reason" on September 9th, and while I don't think a ballad is the best choice of song for a drummer to show his stuff with, perhaps this is just the warm-up before he headed to Soo Blaster for round #1 this past weekend? I'm curious to hear more from him, especially as drummers are not common on their own at The Soo's Got Talent! The 30 second video isn't ideally shot, with the vertical angle, accidental shot of a woman's face, and seeing more of the backs of the judges' heads than Teagan, but kinks will be ironed out as the month rolls along. Check it out below!
Follow-up videos from the auditions include three singers, including Celeste Rector covering Jo Dee Messina's "Bring On The Rain", an uncredited singer covering Olivia Rodrigo's "Vampire", and Demoy MacSamuels doing an original song (possibly named "Pray No More"?), before we see a familiar face around these parts, namely ex-Re:Born singer Elly McWatters, who actually won the aforementioned Talent Quest at Shooters last month! If you know her well, you'll know that heavy music isn't her thing first & foremost, so keep that in mind when checking out her audition cover of Reba McEntire's "Turn On The Radio". Now, for this year's T.S.G.T., organizers took a page from America's Got Talent by introducing "golden buzzers" that will allow judges to automatically send select auditioning contestants straight through to the semifinals, and they did just that for Elly!
Post-performance remarks are included after some of the uploaded audition videos, for the record, with Elly noting that she just got back from Sudbury the day prior and wasn't as dressed up as she would have liked. Given that, extra kudos for impressing the judges this much! While not live-streamed, two more audition videos were posted after the fact, including this one of dancer Jophin Shaju performing to Imagine Dragons and Jibbs songs, and Clusterfolk Music Festival performer Storm Rausch covering Billie Eilish's "No Time To Die" (and getting the golden buzzer for it!). That's it for the audition videos, with this year's event not having the same level of video coverage that last year's got, but the other first round qualifiers include Arin Karki, Brooklyn Coghill, Christopher Halliday, Elizabeth Budge, Greg McLeod, Raedyn Matechuck Levesque, Stan Fera, and Steven Jensen.
Of them, you may recognize Christopher, Elizabeth, Greg, Stan, and Steven as competitors in The Soo's Got Talent last year. Two more golden buzzers were given out to Kristina Sagrak and 2022 finalist Xavier Pelletier LeBoeuf, so they'll 100% join Elly and Storm in the semifinals, and all can perform in the prior rounds without fear of elimination. In terms of scheduling, round #1 took place at Soo Blaster this past Friday, with the sixteen qualified contestants competing and being reduced down to twelve, who return to Soo Blaster on Friday the 29th. The semifinals and finals take place on Saturdays (October 21st & November 4th) with a special guest who will definitely intrigue many, but we'll leave things to the audition level for this post. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't note that proceeds of this year's T.S.G.T. will go to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit at Sault Area Hospital.
Each installment of The Soo's Got Talent has benefited a different local charity, and hopefully this means of spreading the wealth proves advantageous for the C.A.P. unit! If you want to attend round #2 next week (or beyond), admission is $22 for adults or $12 for children, and each show starts at 6:00 PM. We'll have more from The Soo's Got Talent (including round #1) in the near future, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
