Mike Haggith - "All The Best In All You Do: Rose Edition" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 174th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're finally taking a look at local/Barrie alternative hard rock musician Mike Haggith's 52nd canon solo album "All The Best In All You Do"! Released through his own MorningStar Records imprint on July 13th in conjunction with his dislocated knee-abbreviated set at Rotaryfest, this is Mike's first album released after moving from Thompson, Manitoba to Barrie in late 2022, though work on the album began beforehand. Like his last two albums since he resumed primary work as a solo artist, this is a concept album with Mike on all instruments except for a guest guitar solo on one track. You can stream "A.T.B.I.A.Y.D" on major streaming services like Spotify, while you can also buy it for $10 on Bandcamp, and physical copies are on sale for $10 on CD and $40 on vinyl at this link. Albums are also available when Mike plays concerts in town, though no word on if The Rad Zone or other retail stores carry copies.

Five bonus songs (four originals and a cover) are also included in the limited-run "Rose Edition" of this album, sold in a DVD case with a pressed rose inside each. If you were unable to buy one of those for $20, fans who buy "All The Best In All You Do" on Bandcamp will also get the bonus songs, but Mike does not plan on posting them for sale with the album on other platforms, so they are not freely streamable at press time. This review will look at the complete "Rose Edition", as bought on Bandcamp. With 15 songs running for 53 minutes (10 songs for 37 minutes if you just have the normal album), let's begin our last album review of 2023!

Conceptually, the 10 base songs of this album outline a personal story of Mike moving from a toxic relationship into happiness and fulfillment in his current one, and in that respect, it feels like a sequel to 2020's "If Ever Comes The Day" even moreso. Bookending the 10 songs are split title tracks in reverse, starting with "All You Do", which leads off the story by outlining relationship issues and trying to make sense of one's partner's increasingly hostile and unfriendly behaviour. A darker and ominous instrumental track here is contrasted with Mike singing in full voice, and he makes good use of duplicated vocal tracks to make it sound like four or five Mikes are singing at once! That said, I do think that the singing and instruments don't mesh terribly well, and I'd have either made this much heavier or had Mike sing in a more reserved tone. Not a bad song to start the story all the same!

"All You Do" directly leads into track #2, "Twist Of Fate", basically serving as its extended introduction. In this song, the tables have seemingly turned as the toxic partner going on the town and engaging in embarrasing behaviour, with the final straw seemingly nearing. This is among the heaviest songs that Mike has released since the end of The Din in 2017, with a steady driving rhythm and good melodic vocals that are on level with the opener but far more suited to this style of song. The symphonic bits at the end of choruses felt thrown in, and the percussion should have been let up a bit on the bridge, but this is a fun track that will definitely be to the liking of Din fans who missed his in-your-face power pop!

The continuing structure of the album maintains by leading directly into the next song, "Hot & Cold". The longest song on any version of this album, it is basically an extended breakup song where Mike explains why he is dumping the woman in question, and like "Twist Of Fate", it has gotten good mileage in concert this year. Very 1980s feel to the verses with the synth influence and programmed drums, and between that and the twinkling keys on the choruses, this song sounds very different to what you may have seen out of Mike & crew live. Structurally, this song is still a rock number, if not as heavy as "Twist of Fate", but it has a directness and edge to it that I think is somewhat lost with the synths and keys. What does help things are the guest guitar solos by Southern Ontario-based metal guitarist Hetriani, who adds a strong added feature here without feeling too far out of place with the song as is!

Ultimately, I think "Hot & Cold" works better live than it does in studio, as it seems a little overproduced in studio to make a grand epic, and to a point, I think Mike's local-era symphonic material balanced that line a little better. As a composition, its certainly well thought out though! Fourth is "If Only You Could Hear Me", one of Mike's older tracks to finally make a studio album appearance here. Lyrically a reflection about being alone and hoping that his now ex would return in spite of everything, this is basically an acoustic folk rock song, if a little optimistic and upbeat given the lyrics, and with some synth backing coming into focus late. The musical positivity and the prominent drum track present another contrast in styles that I wouldn't have made given the introspective lyrics, but Mike's clean singing gets a good showcase, and this song is easily stripped down to a one-man unplugged setting, as longtime fans know!

The first half (third if you have the Rose Edition) of the album ends with "Carousel", and if you subscribe to the five stages of grief, this would be "acceptance", with the carousel in the title being referenced as both getting off of it (the relationship) and being given the run-around in the first place. Of the opening five tracks, this feels the most like something that could have been on Mike's Thompson-era CDs, with his expressive yet deep vocals carrying the song overtop of soaring yet rock tinged music. While it'd be easily downscaled to acoustic, the music and lyrics click well to better match the storyline compared to some of the earlier cuts, so this is an early highlight for me! Song #6 is "I've Seen It Before", which basically flips things from where "If Only You Could Hear Me" was, now with Mike refusing to take his ex back, no matter what she says, as he has literally seen it all before and doesn't want to go through this again.

This album's second and final 5+ minute track, it again contrasts the lyrical message with the music, this time with another upbeat, optimsitic nature which sounds like a happy indie rock song without the edge of the lyrics. Mike gets good mileage out of the chorus vocal effect again on the choruses, and the symphonics are well layered with the music (if at the expense of the guitar), so it succeeds musically despite the lyrical dissonance! We start the turn towards the brighter, optimistic future next with "Love Will Light The Way", which is the shortest song on any version of this album. Lyrically about depression and sadness always having a light (and love) at the end of the tunnel, this 99 second track just features Mike at a piano with some backing vocals, and feels kinda churchy.

It's not a very substantial track on its own, though it is pretty enough for fans of Mike's more reserved side. Still, it serves a purpose to bridge the album from it's darker lyrical places to the brighter final three songs, which seem to very clearly reflect his relationship with his now-wife Tianna (whose hand is lighting the rose on fire on the album cover). Eighth on the album is "The Start Of Something Real", which seems to be about meeting her and realizing that this is truly the beginning of a positive relationship with long-term prospects. Another very 1980s-inspired song here, especially thanks to its drum intro and plonky keyboard backing that reminded me a bit of Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" (I hope that's a fair comparison)! As such, this song is very laid back and relaxed, if oddly not as happy overall as some of the earlier songs came off (lyrics aside), but it works well enough for what it is!

The "whoas" in the choruses are overdone, but this song does feel sufficiently different from what came before, so keep that in mind! After all, this has a flute solo, how many local musicians can say that? Ninth is "To Be With You", which is an original song and not a Mr. Big cover! It's lyrically about appreciating his new love and their future, and wanting to be with her, and continuing the vibe of the album changing its themes as the lyrical mood changed, this has more of a electronic/synth rock vibe to it that calls to mind a band like Imagine Dragons or Awolnation, and honestly, that's not a good thing for me. However, the song doesn't vocally sound like those type of bands, and still feels very Mike Haggithy, with his direct and passionate clean singing still firmly in the foreground, so fans won't be too far removed from his old material! Still not a favourite track of mine, especially thanks to the repetitive chorus.

We come full circle for the main album with song #10, "All The Best", which is basically about trust in this new relationship as they head into the future together while Mike gives his best and his all. Of the final four songs in this phase of the album, this feels the most traditional for Mike's post-2017 solo material, with a more subtle but still '80s-influenced synthy backing track, soaring vocal melodies (Mike's range is at its height here), and a tighter structure, if still with repetitive chorus vocals. Of the final four "current relationship" songs, this is the best and its a good way to end the album... unless you bought the Rose Edition! Just as a heads up, the four bonus originals don't have lyrics (at least not via Bandcamp), and curiously, their runtime steadily decreases as the track order progresses. First of the bonuses is "Unforgotten", which opens with plonky synths that remind me of Star Light Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 1!

More of a reserved ballad backed with the '80s sound of multiple tracks on offer, it's not a bad song and has a relatively tight dreamy essence to it without coming off as too repetitive, but if you like Mike's more rocking songs, this may leave you wanting a bit. Next is "Requiem", which is another softer track, reminiscent of "Love Will Light The Way" but longer and without percussion, though sound effects of water are added to bookend the song. I'd have dialed the singing back a bit to better match the mood, and I do prefer more rock-based songs, but Mike sings with passion regardless, and it has the maturity you expect out of his ballad-leaning material! Third of the bonus tracks is Mike's cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City", which he has performed live and you can hear thusly at this link even without owning the Rose Edition proper. Shorter than the original, the song is about a couple moving to Atlantic City, albeit with the man joining the Mafia to repay his unspecified debts. 

I'm not a massive fan of Springsteen, but if you've been wanting something more rock-based out of the bonus tracks, this will fill the gap, and while Mike doesn't differ greatly from the original's structure (length aside), it is a good change to hear him sing in a relatively lower register for the bulk of it. Also, Mike didn't add in the synths and keyboard parts to this cover, which are a different kind of '80s than a Bruce Springsteen cover really needs! The penultimate song is "I'd Do It All For You", which immediately begins with Mike singing and has no lead-in. This song feels like it would work well as a campfire jam if stripped down, but it still has some atmospheric backing and a percussion track. Relatively light and sunny track with good melodic vocals, it works for what it is, but it ends way too soon and it fades out too abruptly. The Rose Edition ends with "Horizons", which is the album's only instrumental.

A soft folk/indie rock song with atmospheric elements, it's basically a coda to the preceding album that perhaps was intended as Mike's flight into the future, and given his day job, I can totally picture that being intentional music to fly to. Not much of a standalone track for rock fans, but it serves a clear purpose to cap off the complete album!

So, after 5½ months, what are my final thoughts on "All The Best In All You Do"? Overall, while it's not the heaviest album in Mike's back catalog, it continues his storytelling and personal slant very well, and it succeeds as an artistic statement with quality songs to match! As his last album "Bridges" was postponed to make way for the more recently recorded "If Ever Comes The Day", that album (largely about a failing relationship) definitely feels like the spiritual predecessor to "All The Best...", but with the key addition of the symphonic and keyboard backing that was heard on "Bridges" and his late-era local material in the mid-2010s. That gave much of the album a very 1980s feel, which was neat to hear at times! On the reverse, this won't be the cup of tea for fans who got into Mike based on his local band work, as aside from "Twist Of Fate" and "Hot & Cold", the songs on offer wouldn't overtly fit in Din setlists.

My big issue with this album is that, given the arc of the songs from a relationship at its end stages to a happier new one, the songs didn't really fit musically as much as they did lyrically. Many of the songs where Mike is outlining how bad things are are sung at a contrastingly happy and upbeat tone, and while the album does shift for the last few songs, it's mostly towards experimental styles. Some songs played live also get more of a synth/key backing than fans may be used to from Mike's local gigs last year, and given how I'm not a fan of Imagine Dragons-type bands, the backing on "To Be With You" wasn't my thing. Still, this album delivers for fans of Mike's wide ranging music abilities, with "Carousel", "Twist Of Fate", and "All You Do" being my favouites! The Rose Edition tracks are welcome inclusions, if not 100% essential for casual fans, with my favourite being the "Atlantic City" cover.

"All The Best In All You Do" is a strong album where Mike pours his heart out for good and for bad, but it ends on the right note to go along with his happy marriage, and fans of his should find multiple songs to like on this album! Be sure to give it a listen (or buy it on Bandcamp for all 15 tracks) at the above links, and I hope you guys liked our last CD review of the year! To start 2024, we'll continue our now 15 month string of new album reviews by looking at local rapper Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow's debut punk album "God Save Me", which was released back in August! Look for that next month, and for our 2023 year-in-review post next! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Chase James Wigmore

After tearing through the New Year's weekend concert previews, let's end 2023 with a series of special feature posts, starting with this month's delayed YouTube Channel Profile! Once again, this monthly feature looks at 1-3 YouTube channels (all randomly selected) whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts, and after conveniently looking at a short-term channel from this same artist in September, he was drawn again! Yes, I am well aware of his show next month at The Distraction, stay tuned for more on that next week. Here's what you should know about his YouTube channel!

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Chase James Wigmore (http://www.youtube.com/@manitouparkguitaracademy)

Owner: Local folk punk/extreme metal singer/guitarist Chase James Wigmore, also known from projects like The Strange Coyotes, This Is Your Band On Drugs, Them, Project Legion, The Autumn Roots, The Black Lodge Masters, The Coyote Speedfreaks, Manitou, and Squirrelboy & The Smiling Giraffes

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 31st, 2021; Videos uploaded from that March through September 2023

Channel Summary: The current official YouTube channel for Chase Wigmore (originally under the alias "Jason Walker"), it features an assortment of recent original material and acoustic video performances, as well as four songs posted under the Manitou project name, with many newer videos featuring AI animated visuals. Despite the channel URL hinting that Chase is heading up his own guitar academy named for/from his Manitou project, no content along those lines is (currently) posted.

Why You Should Watch: Fans of Chase's considerable guitar talent and eclectic original material will definitely want to see what he's been up to in the early 2020s here, both for studio albums and one-off material! Be advised that this channel succeeded his old "DogRun Stray" channel upon its creation in terms of active usage, while Chase also uploads unique videos to his Facebook page. Also, with Chase teasing plans to either retire or step back from music after the release of his next album, channel uploads may slow down if they haven't ended already.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Without You - Chase James Wigmore: Surprisingly, none of Chase's videos on this channel have wide viewership, but at press time, his most popular upload is his original song "Without You", which was previously on his double album "Living Divisions" before getting tweaked for this re-upload in November of last year. Lyrically about how time moves on meaninglessly without a loved one around, it is an industrial-influenced metal song with processed clean vocals that give the song an ominous quality. Chase definitely has more accessible songs than this (and more extreme ones too), but it's a good teaser of his various influences, but definitely check out more of his recent solo output here as well!

The Pit (part one) - Manitou: A year or so ago, Chase uploaded four songs to his channel under the project name Manitou, a name that he did not expand past YouTube to other platforms or material releases. Manitou played more of a synth-inspired doom metal style that bore similarities to Chase's old Awokest project at times, but was distinct enough to stand alone, and while it would be nice to hear more from Manitou, Chase's teased pause of his solo music may not bode well anyway. Alongside "Gristle", Manitou mostly recorded the 11 minute suite "The Pit" across three chunks (here's #2 & #3), all featuring unique motion video backing. Fans of Chase's darker (if not screamiest) metal material will definitely find something to like with these songs!

The Guilt And Shame In Being - Chase James Wigmore: Only three of Chase's videos here feature himself performing on camera, one being a Neil Young cover, but in terms of style and post-production, the best one to check out for fans of his music would be him playing his own song "The Guilt & Shame In Being" back in August. A monochrome video with filters and illuminati-esque imagery layered over the performance throughout, this is a more reserved folk song that escalates into rapid fire intense guitar work, so fans of his will definitely get something out of this musically! And yes, that is a "Decolonize" shirt in the classic Metallica font.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around January 26th when we look at our first randomly selected channel of 2024, namely that of ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick, featuring concert videos of his from 8-9 years ago! Look for that then, and for this month's CD review next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Bookclub) & Even More New Year's Weekend Concert Previews!!

Due to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS hitting the old news desk, I have extended our third (and final?) weekend concert preview post for the New Year's Eve weekend to cover five different events, all but one taking place on Sunday night to ring in 2024. Soundcheck aside (whose New Year's show was covered on the site yesterday), here's what you should know for the remainder of the local hard rock slate!

Online page-less local punk/alternative cover quintet Bookclub will topline Sault Noir's New Year's Eve party Saved By The Ball on SUNDAY NIGHT at The Machine Shop! Apologies for the short notice, Bookclub were announced as performing at this event a few weeks ago but it completely slipped us by until this week. The second concert event put on by ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick's current promotion agency to feature a punk or hard rock band, Sault Noir are sparing no expense to make this a night to remember, including 1990s-themed costume and dance contests with prizes, dancers from Soo Dance Unlimited, and a honest-to-goodness ball drop inside the venue at midnight. Read more about the inspiration and expectations for Saved By The Ball in this SooToday article by Chris Belsito yesterday! Musically speaking, Bookclub will be joined by rappers from No Filter Records (only Sawbe was identified by name in promotional materials) and DJs AngelAzura, DJ Seith, and Damaging D.

Saved By The Ball is a licensed & ALL AGES event, though attendees under 16 years of age must have adult accompaniment. Tickets run for $25 apiece and include a free slice of pizza and entries for draws to win a VIP ticket upgrade or passes to all of Sault Noir's 2024 events. VIP tickets are $100 and also get you a loot bag, early entry at 7:00 PM (the event otherwise begins at 8:00 PM), and access to the upper mezzanine. A $100 group rate for 5 people also exists, and get your tickets at the door or online at this link. Proceeds from this event will worthily go to Pauline's Place and The Soup Kitchen. Visit the official Facebook event page & the above links for more details on this huge event, and here's Bookclub live!

Next up, we'll head over to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for the first of three known New Year's Eve concerts from hard rock bands, as local classic metal/hard rock trio Tarnished will be sending out 2023 on SUNDAY NIGHT at... The Fraternal Order Of Orioles Nest in Kincheloe? Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced that they were playing here on Wednesday. This club has sporadically been hosting live music in the latter half of 2023, and they'll welcome Tarnish(ed) there for the first time to Nest 311 for their New Year's party, which is publically attendable and not limited to existing Orioles. Hors d'oeuvres will be served throughout the festivities, and it'll be interesting to see how Alex, Parker, and Josh go over on SUNDAY in case it could lead to more hard rock-leaning concerts there! This New Year's event goes down at 4916 West Curtis Street in Kincheloe (20 minutes south of the Soo) on SUNDAY NIGHT at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Now back to shows that did have advance notice, and we'll take a slight detour back to Sault Ontario for a show taking place TOMORROW NIGHT, as local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will play their final show of the year when they go acoustic at The Water Tower Pub! Last seen unplugged two weeks ago at Gateway Casino and at The Water Tower Pub early last month, hopefully Greg, Alex, and Warren's classic and hard rock favourites find another strong audience at this central venue tomorrow! A one nighter as per usual at The Water Tower Pub (Angry Joe & The Growlers are playing there tonight), tomorrow's show is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, Bone Yard have four new live-streamed videos on their Facebook page to check out! These all come from their show at The Esquire Club this past Saturday.

The videos include what appear to be two original songs, something that Bone Yard has long teased but rarely post videos of. One is "a new one" whose lyrics were not especially clear, but the other one appears to be called "Fuck Around & Find Out". The two cover videos are of Van Halen's "Eruption" & The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" back to back and, as embedded below, Van Halen's "Ice Cream Man" (I embedded that here as its structure is the most amenable to being played unplugged). Alas, all four videos were shot vertically, but the filmer had a good vantage point to capture Bone Yard's set, and their originals are solid hard rock compositions, so give them a watch for yourselves above & below!

Back to Sault Michigan and area we go, and we'll next head to the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Michigan-based classic/hard rock tribute band The Rock Show will make their local debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge! One of two touring tribute bands playing New Year's Eve parties at Kewadin's two regional branch lounges (Niagara Falls party rock cover band XPrime are playing at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo), The Rock Show will definitely give fans in St. Ignace and Mackinac County the heavier night of rock favourites on Sunday, so be sure to visit their website to find out what all they have in their back pocket! Yes, The Rock Show have an alter ego as a Journey tribute band, who will be playing a private event at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin branch tomorrow while they're in the U.P., so if you see anything about that, now you know! 

I am unsure about specific New Year's frills, but it isn't unreasonable to expect something beyond the usual cover band amenities. As such, there is no advertised admission fee/cover charge on Sunday, it remains a 21+ event, and expect a 9:00 PM start time. From what I have seen of The Rock Show, they deliver the goods for fans of classic and hard rock, so don't miss out on their 2023-capping concert in St. Ignace! See above for more details, and here they are live!

Finally for known hard rock concerts on this jam-packed New Year's weekend, we'll head back to Sault Ste. Marie, where local hard rock quintet The Nameless will end the year on SUNDAY NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! While not announced by the venue on Facebook (as is sadly far more common than not for bands who play there), this will be The Nameless' first gig since rocking The Merch for that venue's Halloween party, and they will reportedly return in March for a St. Patrick's Day weekend gig, exact date and such forthcoming. No details on end-of-year party frills were given, but hopefully Sault Michigan fans who want to enjoy some live hard rock covers will get the opportunity on Sunday! If you are at all curious, Sault Ste. Marie's annual anchor (not ball) drop will take place just not far from The Merch on Ashmun Street, so if you want to duck out to be part of the festivities, click here for full details!

Sunday's Nameless concert has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, click here for their sole public (if unembeddable) concert video, and see above and yesterday's post for complete details on hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults known to me over the next few days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Our busy end-of-year post streak continues with non-LopLops weekend concert previews, all involving a band playing tomorrow in some form or fashion. As an update on our concert preview schedule, we'll look at Bone Yard's acoustic gig on Saturday and New Year's Eve hard rock concerts (Soundcheck aside, check below) to wrap up this weekend's previews, extra late notice gigs aside. Now, let's resume our concert previews with some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Joining their already announced New Year's Eve concert at Reggie's Place on SUNDAY NIGHT and their usual jam night hosting duties at Jay's Piston Broke Pub tonight, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will also be playing traditional concerts at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT as well! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these two dates on their Facebook page on Tuesday. Counting their Cameron-less jam night as a "concert", Soundcheck will end 2023 with live performances across four consecutive nights, so if you're a fan of theirs, you have plenty of options to enjoy their classic and hard rock cover selection this weekend! TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows will be Soundcheck's first traditional gigs at Jay's in a little over a month, while Sunday's previously announced New Year's party at Reggie's will be their third show there in the span of ten days.

Booked after they dropped out of the Delta Waterfront Hotel's New Year's party, expect some level of New Year's frills on Sunday night, if at a much lower price point, given that the Delta's event costs $100! TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S Jay's concerts and New Year's at Reggie's all start at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Soundcheck's busy end of 2023, and here they are live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover band Generations will return to the stage with a one-nighter at Shooters Downstairs Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! This concert will end a nearly 2 months-long break for the Jus' Chillin successors, who were last seen together at Jay's in early November and at Shooters in mid-October, though fans may have seen members since filling in with Tex Riviera & The Ride and at the Blues For Food concert. I'm not sure why Generations haven't been playing live lately, but hopefully their classic and hard rock covers find another receptive audience to end 2023 with tomorrow! A one-night-only event due to Shooters' hosting another DJ night on Saturday instead, tomorrow's 19+ festivities have no cover charge, and will have an earlier start time of 8:00 PM for unexplained reasons. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

Also this weekend, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will rock The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Confirmed on the venue's Facebook page with band members backing that up on personal accounts, these shows are on despite Double Down announcing that their November 24th-25th shows at Reggie's would be their "last gig(s) of 2023". Clearly, things have since changed, so fans will get to see this talented foursome back in the west end tomorrow & Saturday! Notably, these will be Double Down's first ever shows at The Esquire Club, after dropping out of planned dates there in mid-September, while this will presumably feature their full lineup, after bassist Brad Stephen had to miss their Reggie's gigs last month. You can take in Double Down's Cancon-heavy slate of rock covers both nights at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Double Down live!

Finally for this preview post, rising young local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will end their 2023 by returning to the aforementioned Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Their fifth and sixth concerts at the Queen Street East staple, these come just two weeks after Red, Raine, Liam, Claire, and Anthony last played at Reggie's. Oddly, HeadFirst have not posted on their Facebook page whatsoever since December 4th, but these shows are on, so if you're up for their classic rock-inspired slate of hard hitting covers, this talented group should deliver the goods once again! Official band merchandise will also be available tomorrow and Saturday night, shows that have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. If you want to see some newer faces with your hard rock this weekend, be at Reggie's tomorrow and/or Saturday, so see above for more details, and here's HeadFirst live at Reggie's in the fall!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews or this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Fuller & 20 Musicians Of Christmas Concert Previews, Plus New Northwest Videos!!

With this year's New Year's Eve weekend being busy as ever, especially post-pandemic, we have to break our weekend concert previews into three posts! We'll start today with two upcoming shows at LopLops Lounge, then we'll look at Friday-Saturday nighters elsewhere, before capping things off with New Year's Eve shows proper, so there's a glimpse into the upcoming post timeline, and we also have a YouTube Channel Profile, this month's CD review, and our year-end recap post ahead, so expect some busy times at the SMS to end the year! Let's lead off with those LopLops previews, with some new live videos from there to cap things off with!

For punk and emo fans of the early-mid 2000s, the New Years weekend begins in style TOMORROW NIGHT when Fuller reunite at LopLops for their first public gig in at least seventeen years! On this night, Fuller will be represented by founding singer/guitarist Jamie Vincent (last seen with No Funeral) and late-era bassist Mark Rand (now of Barrie's Cross Dog), with Pointless/All The Tired Horses drummer David Peredun taking over for the absent (and also blonde) Nathan Sauve. It will be great to see Fuller back for the holidays, and hopefully the promise of their jam session teaser videos spill over into tomorrow's set! Local punk supergroup The Gambit (née The Sick Sons) will return to the stage for their second gig as a quintet and under their current name when they take the stage tomorrow, in their first live set in exactly one year. Good to see them back after way too long, and they should have a fun set in store for old school punk fans tomorrow!

The opening band tomorrow is the debuting Honest Work (not to be confused with the defunct Honest Job), who feature the surviving members of Nebraska Arms alongside Rising Tide alum Sheldon Jaaskelainen on guitar. It's not clear who's singing here (Wayne?) or if they will sound similar to Nebraska Arms, but it'd help if they launched an online page! Regardless, they'll be a talented lead-off to tomorrow's SOLD OUT and 19+ concert, which begins at 8:00 PM, though tickets were $20 when still available. This should be a great time for punk and emo fans, especially those around in the 2000s scene, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Fuller live back in the day!

Next up, the holiday season program at LopLops ends on FRIDAY NIGHT when many familiar faces take part in the return of the 12 20 Musicians of Christmas! Since we first covered this special concert event on the site two weeks ago, when it was already inflated from the traditional 12 artists to 16, organizers have added four more local musicians to inflate this event to its biggest state yet! As you may recall, The 12 Musicians of Christmas was a holiday season-tradition at LopLops from 2005-2018, where musicians were (at least at the time) given three song sets where they were joined by assorted other participants for some tantalizing one-off supergroups throughout the night. How that format will look with an extra eight people involved is to be determined, but with this performer roster, you won't want to miss out! Unlike in the earlier installments, there are a number of punk and hard rock alumni performing, so who can you expect?

Fans of Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will be curious to check this out, as Dustin, Mikey Hawdon, Liam Seymour, Chris Johns, and new addition Marshall Jaaskelainen (good to see him back in town!) will all be taking part. No word on if we'll get a mini-Tide reunion or not, but don't bypass their involvement! Readers will also recognize Treble Charger/Pointless guitarist Bill Priddle, Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling, and ex-Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch among the roster of performers on Friday. The other twelve Musicians of Christmas are Frank Deresti, Al Wood, Lindsay Pugh, Cliff Alloy, Shannon Moan, Juliana Regan, Hannah Lindsay, Andree-Ann Dechesne, Chris Belsito, and new additions Gabrielle Dumas, Craig West, and Vince Feletti. That is a stacked lineup of local talent covering a wide range of styles, so it'll be very interesting to see who plays what and with whom!

This special concert begins at 7:00 PM on Friday, it has a 19+ age limit, and admission is $50 at the door or in advance (+ processing fees & taxes) at this link. Yes, it's a pricey event, but that is on par with past installments, and look at the value you're getting. While the 20 Musicians of Christmas are gathering four days after the fact, it'll be a big night for fans of local music to see this much talent together for the holidays, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details! Given the nature of the event, I'll forgo a preview video, as everyone is advertised on an equal playing field and it'd be tough to find one video to sum up 20 people!

We'll close today by staying at LopLops, where Honest Work's Wayne Watkins performed on Friday with his primary current indie/punk band The Northwest! Attendee Christopher Paci filmed three videos of their set from their 10th anniversary concert for his excellent YouTube channel, and for the record, I do not believe that Far From Fine (who were advertised as opening in some personal Facebook plugs) played on Friday night after all. A reason for their apparent withdrawal wasn't publically announced, but be advised that the band never confirmed their involvement on social media (granted, The Northwest didn't even promote the show publically on Facebook). Hopefully we see Far From Fine in the new year! Chris filmed The Northwest covering The Who's "Baba O'Riley" and playing their own originals "Unsober October" and, as embedded below, "Walls".

In a nice touch, Chris shot each Northwest video from a slightly different angle, and while I chose "Walls" to embed because of its length, it was also shot from the most central locale of the three. It's also one of The Northwest's punkier originals, and the guys sound good and lively across all three videos, though be advised of very purple lighting for most of the combined runtime. Give these a watch above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for non-LopLops concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Lo-Fi Video Fanzine No. 1 Review!!

Merry Christmas to all readers who celebrate! I hope everyone is having a pleasant holiday and got lots of presents! On this holiday, I wanted to open a present of sorts, namely a disc that I found at Value Village a few weeks ago called "Lo-Fi Video Fanzine No. 1", credited on the spine as "a lo-fi film by Christopher Shoust". Long-time readers may recognize Chris Shoust as the frontman of the inactive indie/punk solo project Telephone & Address, from his work in bands like The Red & Black and Orange, and from his artistic pursuits as a painter and filmmaker, but I had no idea that he once worked on a video magazine project! Two DIY installments of this zine were made up in late 2012 (the first one is dated to September of that year), but I couldn't tell you how they were distributed at the time, as I don't remember him or performers openly plugging this on social media at all.

Interestingly, the disc is not a DVD, rather a data disc containing the 30 minutes of video in one file, so if you have either disc, your mileage will vary on if it will even play on certain devices. Given that I have only seen one of these in the wild in the past 11 years, I'd hazard a guess that their print runs were quite limited, but never fear, as Chris quietly uploaded both Lo-Fi Video Fanzines to his YouTube channel in April of last year. We'll focus on the first one today, which was largely shot across two dates in August & September 2012 inside the old Royal Canadian Legion building on Great Northern Road, aside from one performer, who was partially filmed playing on Queen Street East outside of Reggie's Place. It is worth noting that Chris said that the video is "deliberately low quality" to focus on documenting what happened rather than making the footage "look pretty". I don't necessarily agree, as our eyes see better than the camera was set up to, but Chris always liked lo-fi recordings.

I have no clue whether the Legion performances here were taken from public concerts or private events intended specifically for the zine, but if I had heard about them being public events, I would have at least covered them on the SMS at the time. The 30 minute video opens with defunct local hard rock duo Sounds From The Green Room, an online page-less precursor to singer/guitarist Brad Griffith & drummer B.J. Swire's later band Bizotic. S.F.T.G.R. even played a show in Ottawa in 2011, but their public dates in the Soo were very limited, and I didn't know they were still playing anywhere in 2012! Their song (which ended their set at the fuller Legion concert) was introduced by name, but I couldn't make out the title due to the lo-fi recording quality, though it sounded like Brad said "Fudgel". Very Sykotyk Rampage-esque sound to this song, but with more traditional melodic vocals, and it's definitely heavier than Bizotic were!

Second on the zine are two spoken word poems by Denis Robillard, though only the second ("Many Phones Sleep Here, Under The Earth") has its title introduced on camera. I'd have left in the applause after he finished, but Denis did write good thematic poems here! Next is the first appearance of fan favourite local pianist & street performer Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda, who performs some original music for 3 minutes or so, and his skill on the keys is as prevalent as ever! More spoken word follows when Cody Rydall reads a well written poem named "Like Flight", while his brother Jake (who we have covered here via the old Swampstravaganza open mic block) gets an almost six minute stretch of the zine next, where he does two original songs on vocals & acoustic guitar. Neither one has its title given on camera, but they may be called "Eye To Eye" and "Broken Guitar Strings".

Jake sings well here and has a knack for good compositions! As the second half of the zine begins, we leave the Legion for the first time to catch Spider Fingerz playing outside on Queen Street (at 3:00 AM, no less!). One wonders what nighthawks must have thought of this, but as always, Damjan's abilities as a pianist are clear as day even if the video isn't! Cody Rydall returns for a second poem next, which isn't titled on camera but only runs for about 30 seconds. Once you're done snapping your fingers to it, you can check out the return of Sounds From The Green Room's Brad Griffith, who is otherwise best known on bass with No Arrow and SBD, and for his more recent solo pursuits under the Gortium85 handle. Brad's solo section is the longest in the zine, and the only one to feature two distinct camera angles. As seen here, Brad is sticking closer to his grunge/hard rock work of the 2000s and early 2010s than what we saw later from him.

His two songs include one possibly named "Black Shadow", but I couldn't catch a candidate name for the second song, which has a livelier classic rock flair, and was filmed beside Brad rather than in front of him. Strong stuff for fans of Brad's pre-Bizotic music in particular, especially his first song! Denis Robillard returns for one more poem next, whose title sounds "Woke Flow Aerodrome" but I may be slightly incorrect with it. That ends the Legion content of the zine, and after a break with Damjan skateboarding downtown, we end with him and Chris joining forces like they did in The Red & Black, but here, it is specifically credited as an improvised joint performance between Telephone & Address and Spider Fingerz. Also filmed outside of Reggie's in the middle of the night, this is basically what happens if you let two guys play piano simultaneously, with Chris playing the high keys and Damjan handling the low keys.

Rather than play side by side, Damjan is playing from behind the keyboard while standing up, and they do pair well together to create music that one pianist shouldn't be able to do alone! While I would have filmed these with better quality cameras/settings, this was a fun watch to capture this chunk of the local music scene from a bygone era, with some good poetry to break it up, and it's a shame that this didn't have a wider release or publicity at the time, as I'd have happily covered it 11 years ago! Give Lo-Fi Video Fanzine No. 1 a watch below, and click here to watch No. 2, which is more focused on the local arts community and does not feature hard rock or punk-leaning musical acts. Thanks everyone, and Merry Christmas!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) & Spades GT Updates!!

Today's SMS post is devoted to two topics, including lots of recent updates from a prominent local metal band, but to kick things off on this Saturday morning, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will make his apparent solo debut at Misty's Fifties TODAY for a matinee gig! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page on Monday, with the venue first mentioning is one week ago. Misty's Fifties is a long-standing bar & restaurant at 658 Second Line West (beside the west end Pharmasave at the corner of Goulais Avenue) with a 1950s pop culture theme, as you may have guessed. The venue has never came up in our past concert previews, as musicians there have tended to lean towards older classic rock or country, but The Bearded Lounge (a.k.a. Bone Yard minus Warren) played there in 2018 before we rolled them into our full coverage, and I believe Misty's Fifties leans towards smaller or acoustic acts due to its relatively small size (let alone that most acts play in a 4:00 PM matinee time slot, Tym TODAY included.)

We haven't seen the former Caveman Morrison/Nostalgic Band frontman in concert since his seasonal Mike Case Memorial Stage run ended in September, so if you've missed his unplugged hard rock covers, head deeper into the west end TODAY! This is a 19+ event at 4:00 PM with no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Tym's Misty's debut, and here he is live!

Let's dedicate the rest of today's post to local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT, who we haven't covered new activity from in over two months, so what are the former Jack Spades up to at the moment? In this recap "Reel" from October, we hear a little bit from their appearance on Sum 41 bassist Jason "Cone" McCaslin's radio show Cone's Cave on 94.9 The Rock in Oshawa, which also features some brief video clips of the band, audio of their song "Sewer City Radio", drummer Tyler Reiner giving an on-air plug for the show, and guitarist Daniel Horton thanking Cone for the recognition. Nice to get a little taste of what local FM listeners couldn't, unless they knew to hear the livestream! "Sewer City Radio" even found its way onto The Plowzone Radio Show on Ozcat Radio in San Francisco in October as well, so the guys are definitely making the rounds and getting some deserved exposure beyond the GTA!

Their last show of that month saw them and multiple other bands open for Random Killing at In Crust We Trust #12 at The Atria in Oshawa on October 26th. The guys recapped the events of that concert with this "Reel" (as always, unembeddable externally) featuring the guys hanging out at the hotel pre-show, mingling with fellow performers and attendees, and checking out some of the bands. Frontman J.D. Pearce got into the Halloween spirit for his attire, almost meeting his Spades and Frightlight looks halfway! Yes, Spades GT are seen performing, but only briefly and never with the raw audio. The video quality looks good, I wonder how much raw (and perhaps horizontal?) footage they're sitting on from In Crust We Trust #12? Another "Reel" was posted on Halloween featuring J.D. jokingly jumping out of a closet in the hotel room in an attempted scare tactic.

Also from that event is this "Reel" with Daniel & Tyler taking a picture with fans in cowboy hats, joking that this was a "punk & country crossover". On October 22nd, Tyler and his dad (Anvil drummer Robb Reiner) were both interviewed by Richard Varty of The Simcoe Scene as promotion for their joint show in Barrie last month. On the Spades GT end of things, Tyler is asked about the inspiration and themes of the "Sewer City Radio" album, how he approaches the drum patterns in their songs, the surprising inspiration for most of his drumming, Spades GT's approach to their sound/album, and some fantasy/hypothetical topics, among others. Good article that gives interesting insight into how father and son both look at drumming in rock bands, so give it a look at this link! The Anvil show (and other upcoming dates) were hyped in this "Reel" featuring concert posters, and in this "Reel", a llama was even showing its fandom!

We'll have more from Spades GT from November 6th onward in an upcoming post, but we're getting caught up as to what the guys are doing in the GTA, and look for a busy year from them in 2024! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & The Wyld Stallyns) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Christmas weekend is upon us, and true to most Christmas holiday seasons, the slate of hard rock concerts has bumped up as people come home/have time off! As such, we have to break this weekend's previews in two, with Saturday's late notice Tym Morrison show coming in our next post, perhaps with more if anything else turns up on the heavier side. Here's what you should know to start the weekend, leading off with some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

 

Local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook event page yesterday, and the band has not publically confirmed the booking on social media at press time. TOMORROW'S booking will see The Stallyns replace Tex Riviera & The Ride as the planned entertainment at Shooters, as per the venue's December entertainment calendar, though a reason for The Ride's withdrawal was not publically announced. Worth noting that The Ride actually replaced The Wyld Stallyns at Shooters on November 10th, but I have no idea if they traded dates or if the band switches both ways are coincidental. Regardless, it's good to see The Wyld Stallyns' fan friendly and often heavy cover array back over Christmas weekend, and hopefully there's a good turnout TOMORROW!

 

A one-nighter due to Shooters' continuance of Saturday DJ nights, TOMORROW'S concert has a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. See the above links for more details, and here's The Stallyns live!

 

 

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced on Reggie's Facebook page on Sunday. With TOMORROW & SATURDAY being added to Soundcheck's schedule, that means that they will be playing at Reggie's three times in a ten day span, joining their previously announced New Year's Eve gig one week from Sunday. so if you've missed Soundcheck here since the summer, you have lots of seasonal options! Notably, Soundcheck have enlisted Double Down's Ric Datson as a guest drummer TOMORROW & SATURDAY, as regular drummer Glen Thomas agreed to fill in with pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue this weekend at Jay's before Soundcheck booked this weekend's gigs. Mildly confusing, but Ric is more than capable of handling Soundcheck's set!

 

For the record, Bourbon Blue have parted ways with drummer Brent Royer and are looking for a permanent replacement, so message them A.S.A.P. if you're interested in trying out! Yes, Glen will be present for their Cameron-less jam night hosting duties at Jay's tonight as well, but remember, we don't cover jam/open mic nights as "concerts" due to their in-built unpredictability. TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

 

 

We'll move to shows that had more than a few days' notice next, starting with local indie/punk quintet The Northwest's return to LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! While the band has oddly not promoted this show on their Facebook page whatsoever, and LopLops' own promotion drops the "The" from their name in every case, personal Facebook postings from Northwest band members indicate that this show will be in honour of their 10th anniversary as a band. We haven't seen The Northwest on stage since the Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island in July, so it'll be good to see their upbeat heartland rock and punk originals back in city limits tomorrow! Some personal Facebook advertising for this show indicate that local punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine are scheduled to open tomorrow's concert, but they, The Northwest, and LopLops have not publically confirmed or denied their involvement on social media that I have found.

The lack of public advertising for this show aside from LopLops' batch coverage of their December slate is very odd, but hopefully the personal approach is doing the trick and that everyone is happy with the turnout regardless! This 19+ event has an 8:00 PM start time, and admission is $10 (higher with taxes & processing fees on Eventbrite), and yes, the 10 person "party ticket" with added drinks also exists for $100. See above for more details, don't miss The Northwest (and Far From Fine?) tomorrow at LopLops, and here's The Northwest live!

 

 

Finally for today's previews, we'll head west to The Esquire Club, where local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will take the stage for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at this Second Line West staple five weeks ago, look for another solid weekend of southern-fried classic and hard rock covers from Greg, Alex, and Warren over these two nights, and as these will likely be their last fully electric shows of 2023, come on down to plug in with the full Bone Yard experience! No word on if they'll have merchandise for sale or not though. Tomorrow & Saturday's concerts take place at 9:30 PM with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. Live music fans have a lot of options locally for Christmas weekend entertainment, but Bone Yard's hard rocking ways and crowd-friendly set should bode well for fans in the west end, so visit the above links for details, and here they are live!

 

 

That's all for now, but look for our Tym Morrison preview (and more) on the site next! Thanks everyone!