LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Vanity First, Silent 9, And HeadFirst!!)

Before we begin this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of founding April Wine singer/guitarist Myles Goodwyn, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 75. Visit your preferred national or music news websites for more information. Myles was the sole original member of the legendary Halifax hard rock band left when he retired from touring with the band last year, though they continue to tour in an incarnation led by long-time guitarist Brian Greenway. Local fans will recall seeing Myles and April Wine at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in February 2013, as well as at Sault Memorial Gardens in Sault Ontario during their 1984 "farewell" tour, but they were forced to drop out of their planned 2017 outdoor date at the St. Ignace Kewadin when Myles fell ill. Songs like "Roller" and "You Could Have Been A Lady" remain popular cover choices by local cover bands.

April Wine's heyday was before my time, and while I tend to go for metal-leaning bands of this era, Myles had a strong voice and a good ear for melodies and strong guitar riffs throughout their lengthy career! I know that his loss will hit many domestic rock fans hard, but Myles left lots of hits across his run with April Wine, and hopefully they'll continue to find receptive ears in Canada and abroad. R.I.P. Myles! 

Today's post is otherwise devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll go in chronological order, starting with newer local hard rock quartet HeadFirst's next live dates, which will come on Friday, December 15th & Saturday, December 16th at Reggie's Place! These were announced via this poster on their Facebook page on Monday, and oddly got confirmed after they announced shows at Reggie's at the end of the month. Out of order or not, it's good to see HeadFirst get some more bookings, but Toystock aside, all have been at Reggie's, so will we see them elsewhere in the new year? Like on the 29th & 30th, these are 9:00 PM gigs with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. While we're on the subject, HeadFirst has launched an official YouTube channel, though at press time, it only features two "Shorts" videos (basically YouTube "Reels"), both cross-posted from TikTok.

One has the band covering Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" in a literal purple haze, though the permanently vertical nature of the video is noted, as is its short length (if they have the full recording, why not post it?) Also, note that Liam & Anthony are not visible on camera whatsoever. The other video is embedded below (at least you can embed "Shorts"!), and it features the guys playing an instrumental piece at Reggie's with post-production filters to simulate fiddling with the dials on an old TV. Only Red & Raine are focused on in this vertical & too short clip (you see more of Angus Young than of anyone else), but what we hear sounds good on both videos! I wish these had the full songs, but give them a watch above & below!

Next up, local punk trio Vanity First will return to the stage on Tuesday, December 19th when they headline at... The Distraction? This is a new venue at 72 East Street (the former Big Guns Barbershop building beside Uncle Gino's Pizzeria) that will be used as "a space for art, music, (and) learning". There are unknowns about The Distraction as a venue, but the first test for it hosting live music will be when they welcome former Raincourt/Sylo frontman Eli Russell one week from Thursday (link here for details). The show on the 19th will mark Vanity First's... first show since headlining at Soo Blaster in June, though guitarist Mikhal Muto has hardly been idle since via work and gigs with three other local bands. Both for the locale intrigue and for the long wait since Vanity's last public concert, hopefully this show does well despite the Tuesday evening timing! Be advised that you have to walk up stairs to get in the front door.

Doors open for this show at 6:00 PM, it is all ages, and admission is via donation (they recommend $5 apiece). It'll be interesting to see how this concert goes over in two weeks, and it is good to see Vanity First back on stage after almost half a year, so visit the above links for more on their Distraction debut later this month!

Finally, we'll wrap things up with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9, who have announced their current concert calendar into next year via their Facebook page and website! Aside from private/special bookings to end the year, they're taking December off, but "Sault Ste. Marie's premier party band" have dates listed on their website through the end of 2024, which may seem excessive, but drummer Steve Porco's old band Obsession did this routinely on their closed website. I'd rather too much notice than short notice! That said, I don't like listing shows from one band that far in advance, especially when they're the only band with shows that far ahead advertised, so I'll cap things (for now) at April, so that our calendar doesn't have six consecutive Silent 9 listings months in advance at the end. The first 2024 dates from them will see them return to The Water Tower Pub on Friday, January 12th, a one-nighter as customary there.

The other early 2024 dates from Silent 9 will see them play full weekends at The Esquire Club on February 9th-10th, March 8th-9th, and April 5th-6th, as part of a string of one weekend per month there for four months. We'll formally list shows in May and beyond in due course. The Water Tower Pub show is at 8:00 PM, the rest are at 9:30 PM, none have an announced cover charge, and all are 19+ events. Sounds like a busy year ahead for Silent 9, but their fan-friendly classic and hard rock covers should find an audience across the year, so visit the above links for more details! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news on the site soon! Thanks everyone!