After a brief spell of feature posts, I realized that we have quite the backlog developing, partly due to seasonal commitments on the personal end of things, so let's slowly start remedying that! Luckily in that respect, this is a quiet weekend for announced hard rock concerts, so let's also including some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (two on SHORT NOTICE) to fill things out. Here's what you should know!
Local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard have announced their year-ending concerts for next month, all brand new confirmations that hadn't previously been announced by themselves or the venues, so where can you see them in December 2023? Bone Yard will actually be playing at six different venues across the five weekends next month, starting with shows at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard about these shows via this concert calendar from the band's Facebook page yesterday, and Jay's have not publicized them at press time. Next, they'll head downtown to Reggie's Place for shows on December 8th & 9th, in the only dates next month at a locale that they haven't played at in the past month. On Friday, December 15th, they'll return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for a one-nighter, as the Saturday DJ experiment continues there next month.
Instead, fans can see Greg, Alex, and Warren unplugged (or, as they call it here, "uncorked") at Gateway Casino on Saturday the 16th, so look for a more relaxed acoustic show that night! Leading into a Christmas break for most, Bone Yard will return to The Esquire Club for shows on December 22nd & 23rd, and in their apparent last show of the year, they'll bring their unplu.... uncorked show back to The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, December 30th. Remember that The Water Tower Pub traditionally hosts different nightly bands, with classic rock veterans Angry Joe & The Growlers playing there on Friday the 29th instead (source here). At least as of this writing, Bone Yard have not signalled a booking on either the 29th or on New Year's Eve, but we will let you know if either are announced. In any event, Bone Yard are quite busy to end 2023 with, so don't miss their southern, hard, and classic rock covers across all of December!
The acoustic gigs have 8:00 PM start times, the rest all begin at 9:00 or 9:30 PM, none have an announced cover charge, and all are 19+ events. If you like Bone Yard, you will enjoy their final shows of 2023, so visit the above links for more details, don't miss them first off at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard live!
Next up, local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty have been added as openers for another otherwise rap concert at Soo Blaster, this time opening for Guelph rapper Robbie G on his latest tour! The show takes place on Friday, December 8th, and is along the lines of the past rap concerts at Soo Blaster that The A.A. opened, only now featuring Ha!ls' Mikhal Muto as a second bassist. Robbie G will be familiar to local hip hop fans for opening for Tech N9ne, Afroman, and Madchild here (all shows at The Apocalypse Afterparty opened), but this is Robbie's own headlining tour, and while I'm not a rap scholar, he does have a strong flow and rhymes to match! As usual, The Apocalypse Afterparty are the sole rock band outliers next Friday, with Sound Syndrome, Sawbe, Bold Noize (likely not in a reprise of his punk turn from last summer), Jaay Sheps, Lumberjack Pat, and Lil Clout. Occxpied & King Mickey are advertised on Eventbrite but not the poster, but I don't know which source is currently accurate.
Presented once again by R-Evolution Media, I do apologize for the month-long delay in plugging this show on here, but I was waiting for the final poster listing the opening acts to be shared publically (initial posters only mentioned Robbie G). This all ages show has an 8:00 PM start time and tickets run for $20 at the door or via this link (with processing fees/taxes), while VIP packages for $50 or $140 also exist. These rap shows at Soo Blaster do seem to do well, and The Apocalypse Afterparty definitely enjoy playing them, so hopefully they continue their cross-genre campaign with style and intensity next Friday, and visit the above links for more on the (mostly) rap festivities ahead!
Finally, let's go back to weekend concert previews on this seemingly quiet hard rock concert weekend by previewing the previously announced show by local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, who will return to the aforementioned Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Soundcheck (no space) even lead off the Dennis Street nightclub's December concert calendar from their Facebook page, which is the first formal schedule posting that they've made to confirm their Saturday DJ nights that began earlier this fall. As hard rock goes, they and Bone Yard are the only largely amenable bands playing this month, but Lime do have a few SMS-friendly covers. New Year's Eve will there will be a karaoke night, for the record. Last seen at Shooters over Halloween weekend, hopefully this proves to be another fun night of classic and hard rock cover action for them there tomorrow!
I am well aware of Soundcheck's New Year's Eve concert for this year, check back for that in an upcoming post. Tomorrow's concert at Shooters has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more (overdue) news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
It's now time for our 173rd monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and with our lengthy review backlog in its later stretches, our penultimate review of 2023 is of newer local punk trio Ha!ls' debut EP "Rock And Rolls"! Released to their Bandcamp page on July 4th (though print runs on CD and cassette tape were teased earlier this month via their Instagram page), this is the first release from the Vanity First side project, who quietly & independently recorded this EP earlier this year. Hails are represented here by Slumshine's Brenton "B.G" Ellis on vocals & bass alongside guitarist Mikhal Muto (Agnosticism/The Apocalypse Afterparty) and drummer Keeghan McAllister. All album artwork, digital and physical alike, is handled by Brent, who is a noted painter & visual artist beyond music. "Rock & Rolls" is on sale on Bandcamp for $7 and can also be streamed for free there, but consider buying it to support their work!
As per an Instagram post on September 6th, this EP is also "streaming errrrrrrrvrywhere", and by "errrrrrrrvrywhere", they mean YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and... Boomplay? It's not clear if the CD and cassette copies are currently on sale or not, but when availability of them is confirmed, we'll let you know! Tape runs of Brent's recent albums have tended to go for $10 apiece. With four songs running for just under 10 minutes, let's begin with short EP review!
Ha!ls' EP kicks off with a 34 seconds long track named "The Horns", which is a galloping instrumental that calls to mind the one-off metal songs on early Sum 41 CDs moreso than the advertised skate punk. Not a problem for me, but I do wish that this was fleshed out into a longer song, as I was just getting into it when it ended! Next up is the longest song on offer, "Down For Life", which is about rising above low/non-ideal conditions and discovering freedom. Keeping on the same in-your-face trajectory but with more of a punk edge, Brent's vocals are sung with passion before clarity, so you really have to pay attention to hear what he's singing (or read the lyrics alongside). Keegan's drumming never lets up aside from the bridge, and Mikhal shows his stuff well on guitar, so skate punk fans will be right at home with this song, especially as it borders on hardcore punk for most of its runtime!
The third song on "Rock and Rolls" is "Thrashmastertenbillion" (no spaces), which seems to be about living on the edge and for the thrill/danger of (if I'm reading the lyrics correctly) skateboarding. Another blistering skate punk song, this gets more of the fast-paced intensity that worked so well on "Down For Life", but Brent's vocals remain hard to distinguish on a casual listen, and for a song that barely cracks 2 minutes, the "whoa-oh" bridge really eats up too much time. Structurally, I do prefer "Down For Life" as a composition, but both songs will entertain subgenre fans! Hails' EP ends with "Nowhere Wolf", whose lyrics seem to correlate drug addiction with turning into a werewolf (I hope I connected the right dots). The only song on offer that doesn't grab you by the throat musically from the off, it instead leads with some bouncy guitar work from Mikhal and simple rhythms before a wolf howl signals the punk onset.
From 0:55 on, we're in skate punk territory, but Mikhal does get some more flourish on his guitar lines, and Brent's singing does have more an affect put onto it than on the prior two songs, while Keeghan gets more room to show off his drumming! The track ends with background atmosphere noises, including a howling wind, but I think it killed the song's mood a bit as the song didn't really allude to the ominous themes as much as the lyrics. Still a quality closer to the EP for punk fans! So, how is Hails' debut EP? Overall, it will definitely get the job done for fans of modern skate/hardcore punk, and it's a promising first entry into original recordings! Comparisons to Vanity First's debut EP will be natural given Mikhal & Keeghan are in both groups, and while Hails benefited from better recording quality here, Brent's vocals are not as clear across the board as Andrew Beggs' were for Vanity.
Of Brent's prior bands, I'd point fans of his stint with Toronto's Maximum RNR to Ha!ls for the in-your-face punk attack and focused delivery of the instrments, and his involvement with Mikhal & Keeghan definitely gives them a good shine from his experience! That said, this is much faster and heavier than Brent's prior local band, These Magnificent Tentacles, not to mention his solo work in Slumshine. While a good EP with lots of punk action pound for pound, I'd have lengthened "The Horns", dropped the bridge on "Thrashmaster...", and had Brent's vocals handled in a clearer (even more Detroit-esque) fashion. Still, if songs like "Down For Life" are anything to go by, Hails have a bright future ahead, so buy/stream "Rock and Rolls" above, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Next month, I will finally look at Mike Haggith's newest album "All The Best In All You Do"!
Our lengthy new album review backlog is almost cleared out, and as such, I feel like I'm the last person to talk about Mike's new album, but we're doing it right to close 2023, as the review will include all ten songs plus the five bonus cuts from the Bandcamp download copies and the "Rose Edition" in the DVD case. Watch for that review by year's end, and for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Here is this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again look at a YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts, as randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions! This month takes us back a decade to a promising but relatively short lived local hard rock band, so here's what you should know!
Owner: A member of 2011-2014 local hard rock quartet Ashes To Dust, exact identity unclear (my best guess is guitarist Alex Hemy)
Channel Timeline:Launched on December 17th, 2011; Videos uploaded from February 2012 until June 2013
Channel Summary:The official YouTube channel for this then-teenage hard rock band, their channel features 9 videos from the peak of their local run, including five live performances at Superior Heights Collegiate & Vocational School, two covers at their at-home studio/jam space, their sole released original song, and a video from the recording sessions for it.
Why You Should Watch:Fans of Ashes To Dust will get the biggest repository of media from their run by checking their channel out, and while they weren't too established locally outside of school events, they had promise and developing talent that I would have liked to have seen further into the mid-2010s had they stuck together! Be advised that this channel has seen a handful of videos made private for unannounced reasons, including a blooper reel and a cover of System of a Down's "Aerials" at the second annual Swampstravaganza at The Oddfellows Hall in 2012 (their only non-Superior Heights concert).
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
Stone Sour - Though Glass (Cover): This May 2012 cover is unique in that it was recorded/filmed in two stages, with singer Noah Morden and guitarist Alex Hemy recording the acoustic intro/opening verse of "Through Glass" at home, before switching to a performance at Superior Heights featuring bassist Kyle Breckenridge and future Pointless/Peach Thieves drummer David Peredun at the 1:49 mark, matching the original's structure. The transition is not seamless and there's no attempt made to blend/fade the two files, so part of me does wish that one/both versions of the cover were uploaded in their raw/full form, but the cover is well done! Noah's range was not up to Corey Taylor's higher notes, but he carries a tune well, and the youthful promise of Ashes To Dust was clear! Their cover of The Refreshments' "Banditos" on this channel was done at the same set
Ashes to Dust - Forgotten Lives: As preceded by this teaser video of the guys recording the song in studio from a week prior, Ashes To Dust released their only original song "Forgotten Lives" on June 8th, 2013. Now featuring Liam Yeomans as a second guitarist, and featuring Noah on bass following Kyle's departure in late 2012, this is a fairly straightforward hard rocker with surprisingly serious lyrics about a soldier going to serve in war and the cost of his ultimate sacrifice. This has some of Noah's best vocals on their channel, and it gives us a glimpse at Alex's lead guitar talents, plus some good backing rhythms. It's a shame that this was Ashes To Dust's only studio effort, as I'd argue that they had more potential with originals!
[LIVE] 10 Years - Wasteland (Cover): Ashes To Dust's most popular video is this 10 Years cover filmed at Superior Heights and also posted in June 2013, alongside a performance of "Forgotten Lives" from this same set. Both contain their only public concert videos with Liam on guitar, though Noah does not double up on bass on either song. Their final and most popular video, the "Wasteland" cover is well handled, and while Noah doesn't sing the exact lyrics, you can see his vocal progression over the preceding year, if still not hitting every higher note. It's a shame that Ashes To Dust didn't do more publically after June 2013 (aside from dropping out of two Swampstravaganzas), but hopefully everyone's still active!
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around Boxing Day for another randomly selected channel getting profiled, and to end 2023, we're looking at prolific local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase James Wigmore's current official channel! Yes, we looked at a separate channel of his in September, but this one is more active for upload count and recent usage. Look for that next month, and stay tuned for this month's CD review next! Thanks everyone!
Here is our extended preview of a major charity concert event returning TOMORROW, as Toystock returns for its tenth installment! Returning to The Grand Gardens on Great Northern Road for a seventh year and for its second year period since a 2020-2021 pandemic hiatus, this is an annual fundraiser concert for Christmas Cheer, with the conceit of 10 bands playing across 10 hours, all donating their time for the cause. Entry is via donation of new/gently used toys, non-perishable food items, or (if you prefer) cash, but there is no ticket/cover fee if you donate food or toys. At this time of year, helping families in need with donations to ensure that they have a happy and less stressful Christmas is a wonderful idea, so definitely give generously where possible if you're coming to Toystock X tomorrow! As usual, numerous family activities and non-musical entertainment can also be enjoyed during the day.
A children' play area, face painting, and more are to be expected to entertain the kids during this all ages event, and Santa Claus will be stopping by as well! Get full non-musical details at this link. Now to the music, and this year's headliners at 9:00 PM tomorrow are local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard in their third show in as many days and their record ninth Toystock set (only missing 2013). Frontman Greg Simpson promotes Toystock through his GS Entertainment (formerly [Choose] Maxx Entertainment) banner, and kudos to him for putting in so much work for Christmas Cheer and helping those in need since 2012! Bone Yard's southern fried classic and hard rock covers should end the evening with a bang, so stick around until the end to see them in action! Newer local pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will co-headline Toystock X at 8:00 PM in their second year taking part in the festivities.
Bourbon Blue feature alumni of the inactive Soo Fighters, and while not as hard rock-focused as that tribute band, don't bypass them! One of two mystery debuting local rock bands will take the stage at 7:00 PM, named Headrush. Based on personal Facebook posts, I do know the bassist of this group, but I don't believe they've said anything publically about their lineup or sound, so I won't jump the gun in case they are intentionally waiting for showtime. Newer local rock quartet Skinbox (subgenres/set samples still not given online) will take to the stage at 6:00 PM, preceded by local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck at 5:00 PM in their fifth straight Toystock set, a record for a band not featuring event organizers in their lineup. Alas, drummer Glen Thomas will reportedly not be doing his annual drumkit giveaway this year, but don't miss their old school rock and country covers!
New local classic/hard rock quintet HeadFirst (not to be confused with the aforementioned Headrush) will take the stage at 4:00 PM in their third public concert set and first outside of Reggie's. With Raincourt and Them alumni in their talented young lineup, hopefully they make a good impression on attendees tomorrow! Reunited local punk trio Redundant will play their first concert set in two years tomorrow at 3:00 PM, which will also be their second Toystock set after first playing there in 2016. It's great to see Justin, Andrew, and Rick back on stage after way too long, and let's hope that this isn't a one-off return for them! The 2:00 PM band is tomorrow's other mystery debuting group, named Kickstart. In this case, I was told who'd be in the band via a Facebook e-mail, but again, their identities and sound are not publically posted at press time. Their lineup will be familiar to local rock music fans though!
We'll let you know more about Headrush and Kickstart after their sets and/or as things go public. A student band from Long & McQuade will continue the long string of music school student bands playing at Toystock, with their 1:00 PM set being the second straight here for Long & McQuade since they replaced Case's Music post-pandemic. Opening the festivities tomorrow afternoon is Wailing Aztecs alumna Kelly McGillivray in her solo debut at Toystock, but her old band The Algo Rhythms played here thrice from 2015-2018. All of this all ages action begins at noon tomorrow at The Grand Gardens, and attendance is FREE with a toy/food donation (unless you want to make a cash donation). This is a wonderful event for a great cause, so all credit goes to all of the organizers and bands donating their time to help those in need! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Bone Yard live!
Filmed at their one-nighter at Shooters Downstairs Lounge last night, this features Bone Yard pulling a two-for-one for Pink Floyd fans, namely covers of "Wish You Were Here" & "Young Lust". Greg does start the former playing acoustic guitar rather than drums, which did give a brief preview of their acoustic show at Gateway Casino tonight in that way. Vertical camera angle aside (which I can't be too shocked by anymore), this live-streamed video from their Facebook page is well shot with good angles of Greg, Alex, and Warren in action, and they do know their way around classic Floyd, so give these a watch below, and don't miss them at Toystock tomorrow night!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
Before we resume weekend concert previews by looking at Sunday's tenth annual Toystock, let's address some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and new videos from both sides of the border. Here's what you should know!
Sault Michigan hard rock cover quintet The Nameless will play their last show of the year on Sunday, December 31st when they rock a New Year's Eve party at The Merchants Bar! Last seen at the same venue for their Halloween party last month, this will be their third gig at The Merch in the fall/winter, so this is developing into their favourite local venue, The Merch's lack of Facebook posts about scheduled concerts acknowledged. No word yet on holiday frills for the occasion, but surely there will be something for New Years revelers to ring in 2024 with beyond just alcohol and live music. Hopefully The Nameless deliver a solid night of hard rocking covers next month, so don't miss out! This is a 21+ event with a 9:00 PM start time and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this show!
Next up, Coquitlam, British Columbia alternative rock musician and political activist Matthew Good will make his long awaited return to Sault Ontario on Thursday, April 25th when he headlines at The Machine Shop! This concert comes over four years (exactly 213 weeks, in fact) since Matthew's planned show at The Sault Community Theatre Centre in March 2020, which was one of the first casualties of the pandemic lockdown-related cancellations that spring. As such, this will be Matthew's first local date since his infamous acoustic gig at The Speak Easy in October 2007, which I won't rehash here, but click here for both sides of that dispute. 16+ years later, it seems clear that Matthew wants to let bygones be bygones with Sault Ste. Marie, so hopefully he'll break out hit Matthew Good Band & solo songs like "Load Me Up", "Hello Time Bomb", and "Weapon" for local fans!
Replacing Ria Mae as the opening act in April is Guelph hard rock solo artist Vilivant, who notably dropped out of this past Tuesday's Big Wreck show & its tour due to logistical issues. Clearly those are lesser/nonexistent with Matthew's tour, and it'll be good to see Vilivant here at last! Presented by Cabin Media Entertainment, tickets for this all ages show went on sale this morning at this link, and they run for $44.50 (first 100 seats), $54.50 (later buyers), and $64.50 (balcony), all with the usual online processing fees. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and hopefully everything goes according to plan for Matthew Good's long awaited local return in April, and that everyone makes up for 2007!
Hopping back over to Sault Michigan briefly, here's a new live-streamed promo video for local metal trio Tarnished's concerts at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, as per the band's Facebook page earlier today! The 72 seconds-long video was shot with drummer Josh Fair's cell phone, but be advised that as the video started filming while vertical, it didn't matter when he flipped it horizontally, so it's both vertical and sideways. Otherwise, the video features Alex, Parker, and Josh hyping up TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S concerts, and while we don't learn much new from them, it does mark the first time that we've heard Parker speak on camera in official Tarnished media. While we're on the subject, it's as good a time as any to remind readers that the recent departures of guitarist Nathan Webber & bassist Isaac Royer were amicable, and we have photo proof!
The band posted pictures on their Facebook page last Wednesday of Isaac and his replacement Parker squaring off in a bass duel! Amusing pictures, and proof that there were no hard feelings behind the lineup split and Nathan & Isaac forming Double Jack afterwards. Check those out above, and give their promo video for this weekend's Kewadin gigs a watch below!
Finally for today, I wanted to embed this video proper on the SMS due to it being new footage of a prominent local band, but uploader Mandi Dolle made it age restricted, and thusly, it's not viewable when embedded on external websites. The only questionable thing for content is swearing in the lyrics, but I've heard much worse from other local concerts, so who is to say why that choice was made for this video. Mandi uploaded this video in June, and it features Sault Ontario crossover thrash band Jack Spades (now the Barrie-based Spades GT) covering The Inner City Surfers' "Commandments", which later appeared on 2015's "Fed Up!" split in studio form. As far as I can tell, this video was shot at The Rad Zone's 30th anniversary bash at The Rockstar Bar on October 11th, 2014, where they played alongside The Ripcordz, Destroilet, and DJ Seith. I reviewed this concert for the SMS, which you can read at this link.
Jack Spades' classic 2013-2016 lineup is present for this video, with current frontman J.D. Pearce joined by guitarist Tiffany Stocco (now of Sudbury's Knuckle City Dusters), Bear Hunters bandmates Justin Lam & Johnny Belanger, and Johnny's Handsome Sandwich bandmate Jesse Cook. Kudos to Mandi for uploading this after so long, and while the overly red lighting doesn't help the visual quality, Jack Spades sound good as you'd expect, let alone from the rare sight of a local band covering another local band! Give it a watch above or at this link, and that's all for today, but stay tuned for our Toystock preview next! Thanks everyone!
I hope that our American readers had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! Let's dive into this weekend's concert previews (minus Toystock, coming later this weekend, but plus some new videos), and we're leading off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!
Local classic metal/hard rock trio Tarnished will return to the stage for traditional concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino! Apologies for the short notice, these were quietly announced on the 12th via Facebook event pages (linked here and here) that slipped us by at the time, and they have since been backed up on Kewadin's entertainment page. These will be Tarnished's second & third public gigs, and first full solo concerts, since adding Parker Talentino as their new bassist last month, so if you're curious to see how he fits in with Alex & Josh for longer than 15 minutes, head to The Rapids Lounge TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY to see the new lineup! While Tarnished didn't make the podium of the (fan-voted) battle of the bands at Lake Superior State University last week, their talents and notoriety in the E.U.P. are certainly not unrecognized, and they should draw good crowds!
TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video we have yet to share from the battle last week.... well, before it! Filmed by battle runner-up Molly Escherich for her YouTube channel, this features Tarnished covering Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll" during a rehearsal before the event at LSSU's Arts Center. Of course, there's no need here for the guys to vamp it up for an absent audience, but it's a fine cover of this classic rock staple, vertical camera angle acknowledged. Check it out below!
Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will kick off a busy weekend of three shows in three days, all as hyped in this new Facebook commercial for the gigs making optimal use of sound effects (I won't spoil things further!) Things start TOMORROW NIGHT when they rock Shooters Downstairs Lounge for the first time in just over a month, but as this venue has been hosting DJs on Saturdays in the fall, where will Bone Yard play on SATURDAY NIGHT? Gateway Casino, in fact, and like their recent gigs there, this will be an unplugged event, so if you'd rather see Bone Yard strip things into acoustic mode (or miss The Bearded Lounge), the downtown casino is not too far away! The weekend caps off with Greg, Alex, and Warren headlining at Toystock on Sunday, which will be previewed separately on the site in our post on Saturday.
Both of these shows are 19+ affairs with no cover charge, and while the Shooters gig begins at 9:00 PM, Gateway Casino concerts begin at 8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new live-streamed video of Bone Yard covering Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" at The Esquire Club this past Saturday, courtesy of their Facebook page! Vertical camera angle aside, this is well shot and the filmer gets some nice & close angles of Bone Yard playing that funky music, with the talent and energy fans have come to expect, so give it a watch below, and look for our Toystock preview this weekend!
Speaking of Bone Yard, their former rhythm section can also be seen live this weekend, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will take the stage at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at Jay's last month and Reggie's in September, this weekend's shows will reportedly be Double Down's last gigs of 2023, if their Facebook page is to be believed, so if you like their Cancon-heavy array of classic and hard rock covers, you might not want to miss out tomorrow and/or Saturday! Double Down don't (yet?) play most weekends as it is, so all the more reason to come out! As usual for Reggie's, these shows have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Double Down live at Reggie's!
Finally, we'll return to Sault Michigan, where local classical metal band Theatre of Night will return to the local stage for a headlining show THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Soo Theatre! After pausing their annual Christmas tours amidst the pandemic and not playing locally upon bringing it back last year, Theatre of Night will finally return home for this concert, their first in town since 2019's Kewadin Casino headlining date. The tour kicked off in Hillsdale this past weekend, and more downstate shows lie ahead, but Saturday's concert here will be their first local set since Marquita & Luke Bernard replaced Rachel Mender & Scott Andringa in Theatre of Night's live lineup. Roster changes aside, expect more proficient metal takes on Christmas carols as this talented quintet weaves their way through retelling the story of the Nativity, and with the Christmas season fully upon us, this should be a good early taste of the holidays!
Presented by Sharp Talent Productions, Saturday night's event is an all ages show with a 7:00 PM start time and admission by donation (they suggest $20). This will also be the first heavier concert that we've covered at the newly renovated Soo Theatre, so if you haven't seen the Ashmun Street venue's refreshed digs, keep that in mind also! Hopefully there's a great turnout as Craig, Steve, Erik, and the Bernards ring in the holidays as only they can, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Theatre of Night live in Sault Ste. Marie!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
On this (American) Thanksgiving eve, we're heading back to Sault Michigan to continue looking at the fallout of a big concert event last week, tied in with a new addition to our band links, so here's what you should know!
In resuming our coverage of the Lake Superior State University battle of the bands from this past Thursday, let's add the winners to our links and full coverage, namely new local punk quartet The Sole Aggressors! While they were already on Instagram and YouTube, it's their new Facebook page that gets them linked on the SMS, though be advised that it was created as a personal account rather than a proper "page", so you have to add them as a friend or follow them rather than "like" them. Oddly, The Sole Aggressors haven't posted their identities online publically at press time, but thanks to an e-mail from the band over the weekend, I can confirm that their lineup consists of singer Henry Boucher, guitarist Brett Siesel, bassist Calvin Swedene, and drummer Isaac Brindley. None are familiar from prior local bands, though most of them get Google hits from their involvement in Sault Area High School sports competition in recent years.
The Sole Aggressors debuted at Bird's Eye Outfitters in August, with the battle at LSSU's Arts Center being just their second concert, and not every band can say that they won a battle of the bands within two gigs of their inception! Yes, it was fan voted, but even if you read that as a popularity contest, they still already have a good following and/or were impressive enough to sway the audience! While not filmed for Molly Escherich's channel (more from her in a bit), a band representative did film The Sole Aggressors' entire set, and partly thanks to punk lending itself to shorter songs, the guys crammed in seven songs into their allotted 15 minutes on Thursday. The set started with original songs named "Reject" & "Kill Thy Neighbor", followed by a trifecta of Black Flag covers ("Six Pack", "Jealous Again", and "Depression"), and two more originals to cap things off with ("State Of The World" & an instrumental named "Fool").
Adding to their surprise victory at the battle is that Henry was unable to perform at the event for unannounced reasons, so Brett handled vocals in his place (reminds me of when the future Bring The Fallen debuted short-handed at a battle of the bands in Sault Ontario and still won it). We'll share their Bird's Eye concert video (featuring Henry) in an upcoming post, but they did pull of a solid set without him on Thursday, and Calvin's loud, crunchy bass was nice to hear too! Seeing teenagers in the E.U.P. playing hardcore punk this capably is extremely welcomed, let alone with originals already, and hopefully The Sole Aggressors have much more ahead, but give their battle set a watch below!
The Sole Aggressors edged out Molly Escherich by three votes to win the battle, and as we already featured her battle set the last time we covered the event, let's jump to the third place finishers, namely new local hard rock quartet Double Jack, who made their live debut on Thursday. Molly's YouTube channel actually got uploaded two different copies of their set (and much more, stay tuned), including the raw vertically shot copy, but I embedded the longer version that was zoomed/cropped to normal landscape orientation to focus on the stage, which looks much better. The last of the six acts to perform at the battle, Double Jack's set started with covers of Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild", Seether's "Gasoline", and a medley of portions of Metallica's "Master Of Puppets", The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" (coincidentally covered in full by Tarnished earlier that night), and Green Day's "Brain Stew", all with bassist Isaac Royer on lead vocals.
In a surprise at set's end, Molly walked out on stage and jokingly shoved Isaac away before taking over vocals for covers of Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box" & "Wonderwall" Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy". We'll have more from the Double Jack/Molly collaboration soon, but the band sounded good for their debut live gig, no doubt helped by Isaac & Nathan's existing Tarnished chemistry, and Isaac was up to the challenge vocally, though it'll be interesting to see how big his range is. Molly fit in well on plugged in rock songs, and it was a neat bonus to cap the battle of the bands with, so give Double Jack's complete set a watch below!
Finally, local singer/guitarist and Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Kevin Blakeney also competed on Thursday, and like Molly and the Sole Aggressors, he had his set filmed for his own YouTube channel. With Molly also filming Tarnished and Double Jack, that just leaves Heavy Lies The Crown without a public video from their set (that I presently know of), but stay tuned in case one turns up! Kevin was the only performer on Thursday who did not play metal or punk, but seeing as this is a battle of the bands that I was actually
planning to attend before catching a cold last week, I'll talk about his
set here! Kevin started with original songs named "Gone Are The Days", "Won't You Come With Me", and "Thank God For The TV", before covering Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and (I kid you not) Pinkfong's "Baby Shark". If you like gritty acoustic folk music, you'll take to Kevin's set!
Kevin possesses a distinct, deep & weathered singing voice that will appeal to Tom Waits fans, and while the audio quality on his camera isn't as pristine compared to his battle cohorts, you can tell that he has songwriting talent! Unfortunately, the video was mostly uploaded sideways, and between songs, they put the camera down, leading to black screens and shuffling noises, so be advised of technical quirks. Check it out below!
Whether Heavy Lies The Crown's battle set surfaces in video format or not, we're not quite done with LSSU battle fallout on the SMS, so stay tuned for that in the coming days, but for all of our American readers, have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
We'll take a brief break from our Sault Michigan/battle of the bands coverage to look at some recent Sault Ontario topics in today's post, including a new video, a preview of a major concert taking place tomorrow, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month, so here's what you should know on this Monday night!
New local classic/hard rock quintet HeadFirst will return to Reggie's Place for concerts on Friday, December 22nd & Saturday, December 23rd! These dates were announced at the end of their post on their Facebook page on Tuesday where they talked about their Reggie's debuts this past weekend and thanked everyone for coming out. Photos were attached from the gigs, allowing us to see (if not via a video) how they look on a public stage, and for what it's worth, bassist Claire Jeffrey appeared to sing lead without playing bass on at least one song during the weekend. Landing gigs on Christmas weekend may be a mixed blessing for both weather and for many attendees having family commitments for the holidays, but hopefully this talented young group sets a festive tone with a good crowd! These are 9:00 PM shows with 19+ age limits & no cover. See above for more details, and don't miss HeadFirst at Toystock on Sunday!
Next up, here's a big mid-week concert preview, as Juno Award winning Toronto hard rock band Big Wreck will return to The Machine Shop for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Best known for hits like "That Song" and "Blown Wide Open", this will be Ian Thornley & crew's first concert in town since they headlined at the same venue back in February 2018. This will also be their first local date since Chris Caddell & Sekou Lumumba replaced Brian Doherty (R.I.P.) & Chuck Keeping in their lineup. With songs from their upcoming EP "Pages" as well as fan favourite originals & Thornley holdovers to be expected, this should be a great time for domestic hard rock fans! London pop rock quartet Texas King (who headlined at Odeno at Sault College in the mid-2010s) will return to the Soo as openers, with their own distinct original sound sure to be welcomed back by fans!
Guelph hard rock solo artist Vilivant pulled out of Big Wreck's North American tour two weeks ago due to logistical issues (source here), but hopefully she can make it to the Soo down the road! This concert will still have three acts, as Watchmen frontman Daniel Greaves was added to this tour as an extra performer before Vilivant dropped out. Look for classic Watchmen songs like "Stereo" & "Any Day Now" in Daniel's show-opening set! This all ages concert takes place at 8:00 PM tomorrow, and while this show is all ages unlike 2018, ticket prices have jumped to $49.50 (plus online processing fees) if bought at this link rather than chancing the door. It's been well over five years since Big Wreck played in town, and while the Tuesday night scheduling is not ideal, hopefully there's another solid turnout at The Machine Shop tomorrow for their high energy hard rock hits! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Big Wreck live in 2018!
Finally for today, while local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith has confirmed that The Soo's Got Talent finals was the final gig for his solo band in 2023 (as per his Facebook page two weeks ago), we haven't heard the last from him, Chris, Jacob, and Brandan this year! While Mike was in town for the finals, everyone took part in a "top secret" video interview that saw a preview clip uploaded to Mike's Facebook page on Wednesday, where you see everyone sitting in what looks like someone's jam space. The clip does not capture a specific question from the interview, nor does it give away who is doing the interviewing and for what outlet, but we do see bassist Jacob Quarrell eat a purportedly seven-months-old slice of pizza! If nothing else, this will be reason to see the full interview to gain context, assuming it isn't cut from the final product. Give the teaser video a watch below!That's all for today, but we'll pick up our recent Sault Michigan coverage on the site next! Thanks everyone!
As you may know, Lake Superior State University held a fan-voted battle of the bands at their on-campus Arts Center on Thursday, marking the first battle of the bands in either of the Twin Saults since before the since the NLFB Meltdown battle in Sault Ontario in 2017. Oddly, LSSU didn't announce the results online after the fact, but we now know who won and how the competitors did, so who won this rare Sault Michigan battle? New local punk quartet The Sole Aggressors, who took home the $150 cash prize after winning the fan ballot! Apparently, they won by just three votes over rising young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich (who won $50), while the third place band was reportedly new local hard rock quartet Double Jack. The fact that these three acts made the podium and the more established Heavy Lies The Crown, Kevin Blakeney, and Tarnished did not may be seen as an upset, but remember that this was fan voted.
I'm writing this before I see videos from Thursday, so the actual performances should not be discredited, but many would see a fan-voted battle of the bands with no judges as being a popularity contest and not a true measure of each act/set. Still, this is the first local battle of the bands of any kind in over six years, so I'm just glad that one was held, and hopefully more (from LSSU or otherwise) are held in the future! Videos have turned up from half of the competitors on Thursday, not including The Sole Aggressors, H.L.T.C., or Kevin (yet?), and while Kevin didn't knowingly lean to heavier music in the past, we will have more from the two un-filmed bands on the site next week, and congratulations to The Sole Aggressors for their big win! A lot of our post-battle knowledge comes from Molly Escherich, who posted about it a good deal on her Facebook page and also uploaded videos from it to her YouTube channel!
Molly was actually the first performer at the Arts Center on Thursday, and her entire 15 minute set was filmed for her channel, where she covered Eddie Rabbitt's "Driving My Life Away", Pop Evil's "100 In A 55", System of a Down's "Aerials", and Slipknot's "Snuff", before playing an original song named "We Are Still Here". I severely doubt that this will be the last time we talk about Molly on here (check back for our next Sault Michigan/battle post), but she has a good voice and guitar abilities, and has a natural audience rapport, and it is very encouraging to see someone of her age covering songs like these in the E.U.P.! Check out her set below!
Finally for this post (there's more coming next week), let's skip ahead to the fourth band to play at LSSU on Thursday, namely local classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished, in their first gig with new bassist Parker Talentino, who reportedly joined the band a month ago. As it turns out, frontman Alex Traynor is Molly's guitar instructor, which is neat to learn! Molly (or a friend/family member) filmed Tarnished covering Local H's "Bound For The Floor", Van Halen's "Eruption" (naturally leading directly into their cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me"), and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", which didn't quite take them to their 15 minutes allotted on Thursday, but I can't confirm if the filmer missed a short song before "Bound For The Floor" or not. I also can't confirm why they only played covers, perhaps to ease Parker into live gigs and/or maybe as a play to grab maximum audience attention with familiar songs?
Performance-wise, everyone sounded good, and if this battle had judges, Tarnished would definitely have won brownie points for showmanship and Alex's guitar skill, especially on the "Eruption" solo! Parker seemed to fit in well on bass too, if a little stiff during this mini-set. The Achilles heel with this video was that it was shot vertically, and while that wasn't a problem for Molly, it rendered Alex, Parker, and Josh very tiny in the background, not to mention that Molly's set had zoom and Tarnished's didn't. Still a very strong and heavy performance for classic metal fans, so give Tarnished's battle set a watch for yourselves below!
We'll have more from the battle and Sault Michigan bands in general next week, but that's all for today, and stay tuned for more from Sault Ontario acts next week as well! Thanks everyone!
