LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225) & Halloween Concert Previews!!

Halloween is drawing near, so let's start this weekend's concert previews early, as October 31st is a Thursday (ie. tomorrow) this year! Because it's Halloween, some venues and bands are celebrating tomorrow despite being a work/school night, but because Friday and Saturday are closer on the calendar than Saturday the 26th was, and Halloween runs right into Friday, there are belated Halloween themed events happening this weekend as well. It'll all be simpler next year when October 31st is a Friday, but for now, enjoy the extended Halloween season while we have it! Due to the amount of shows, I'll cover Silent 9, Rust, and Sault Michigan/EUP events in the coming days. Of course, this doesn't count shows that don't quite cross our subgenre radar, like Bourbon Blue at Jay's Piston Broke Pub this weekend, Rob Speers at The Dive tomorrow, and the Hallows Haunts/Wawa Witches (both touring bands) at Mane St. Cafe & Lounge tomorrow.

We'll lead off tonight with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will play a triple header weekend at Reggie's Place TOMORROW NIGHT, FRIDAY, and SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the Halloween night show on their Facebook page on Monday, while Reggie's Facebook page later confirmed that they will indeed be playing there for the rest of the weekend. Your local 225 just played at Reggie's this past weekend, including a Halloween themed concert this past Saturday, but with the guys already planning to release their new single "Gypsy Spell" on major streaming services TOMORROW, why not throw a second Halloween concert together to give it a proper launch? This weekend's three new bookings mean that Bone Yard will have played five shows at Reggie's in an eight day span, so if you like them at this Queen Street East staple, strap in for more rocking tunes!

Like this past Saturday, cash prizes will be awarded TOMORROW for the best solo and couples costumes, so if you can swing coming out on a work/school night for Halloween proper, don't put your costumes away just yet! FRIDAY & SATURDAY NIGHT'S concerts appear to be standard non-seasonal fare for Greg, Alex, and Warren's southern and hard rock covers. All three shows are 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Bone Yard 225 live!

Next up, local metal trio The BAG will headline a special Halloween concert TOMORROW NIGHT outdoors at the Sault Downtown Plaza! This show alone is kinda surprising given how outdoor concerts this late in the year are not common whatsoever, and while the performance stage has a roof, this is still very much out in the elements. In fact, 9&10 News is calling for a 70% chance of rain tomorrow night, while temperatures will be sitting at around 12°. If you are at all concerned about the weather throwing a wrench into tomorrow's festivities, keep tabs with The BAG and plaza for further updates, but hopefully things pan out for The BAG's explosive and accessible brand of metal! Regarding the openers, we can now confirm some details on them via this Facebook event page, so who are The Funky Monks and Prodigal Phase? The former are indeed a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band, and they feature some familiar faces.

Their lineup will include The Haze/ex-Gnaeus guitarist Brad Irwin, JFX Pedals founder Jordan Fresque, bassist(?) Ayako Makihara, and former Disciples of Rock/Half Past drummer Jamie Labreche. Prodigal Phase are a debuting cover rock trio featuring Jamie alongside former Dysfunkshunal Kemistry frontman Kevin Bouchard and ex-Scary Uncles/Fort Creek guitarist Matt Sibilo, though there's nothing else public about either band. Should be a fun mixed-genre night of music, weather permitting! This show is FREE & ALL AGES with a 7:00 PM start time running until 11:00 PM. Visit the above links for more details on this outdoor show at the Downtown Plaza, and here's The BAG live!

Finally for this all-Halloween concert preview post, we'll head to The Water Tower Pub, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will headline that venue's Halloween party TOMORROW NIGHT! While their Gateway Casino show this past Saturday never had Halloween branding attached to it, tomorrow's concert absolutely does, with a 3D poster on The Water Tower Pub's Facebook page hyping the festivities. There will be a costume contest with "great prizes" and Halloween-themed food and drink specials for the occasion, so keep all of that in mind if you come out tomorrow, and have your costumes ready! No word on who is playing at the Great Northern Road nightclub on Friday and Saturday, but note that the November schedule for live musicians there has not been posted online as of this writing. Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre take the stage tomorrow at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge.

Hopefully tomorrow's concert is a big hit for central concertgoers and Halloween revelers, so visit the above links for more details on Generations' Halloween party action, and for a preview, here they are live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews (including more belated Halloween action) next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mike Haggith) & The Soo's Got Talent Rounds #1 & 2 Recap!!

After first looking at the audition level of the fifth annual The Soo's Got Talent on Saturday, let's continue recapping what went down at Soo Blaster in this post, as the 23 acts who passed muster with the judges in September returned for the first elimination round on Wednesday, October 11th! On that night, six acts were eliminated either due to the judges' scores or not appearing for that day's competition, those being singers Elena Fera, Abiguale Lacroix, Elizabeth Budge, Sheena Matchett, and Abigail Joseph, plus "read rapper" Corey Marques. Sixteen other acts who performed that day moved on, though it was clarified on T.S.G.T.'s Facebook page that singer Chloe Tessier was the only "golden buzzer" recipient of the entire audition level, meaning that she was directly byed to the second elimination round on Friday, October 25th. First round action was highlighted in two recap videos posted to Facebook, so what can you see there?

All performers are singers doing covers unless otherwise stated. In order, the first video features Rebekah Moran ("In My Dreams" from the Anastasia musical), singer/guitarist Jennifer Joseph (Little Big Town's "Girl Crush"), Owen "MK" Kjiersdam doing an apparent original song, Andrea Dantzer ("Wishing You Were Somewhere Here" from The Phantom Of The Opera), Madii Schomogyi (Hozier's "It Will Come Back"), singer/guitarist Arin Karki (Eric Clapton's unplugged version of "Layla"), and Kristina Sagrak (Abba's "Dancing Queen"). Nothing heavier in there for song choices, but there is definitely some clear talent to check out! The second video has some hard rock content and is thusly embedded below. It features Demoy MacSamuels singing an original song possibly named "No Regrets", Ricky Roy (The Killers' "Mr. Brightside"), Haley Alopaeus (Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life"), Robert Nevitt (AC/DC's "Ride On")...

...singer/guitarist Nicolette Rebello (The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?"), Rebecca Wabigwan (Adele's "Make You Feel My Love"), and singer/guitarist Celeste Burton playing an original song. Two advancing performers (magic act Mxsterious and singer Theo Ravihansa) went unfilmed for The Soo's Got Talent, and while reasons for their omissions weren't announced, remember that a couple of audition videos had to be uploaded in excerpts due to copyright flags. Good stuff in video #2 as well, with Robert delivering some sold pitched-down AC/DC in his clip, and Haley showed off a good voice doing Evanescence in hers, so give most of the round 2 qualifiers a watch for yourselves above & below!

As mentioned above, the second elimination round took place this past Friday, where we learned which twelve of the seventeen remaining contestants would be moving on. Owen MK, Rebecca Wabigwan, and Mxsterious were eliminated at this stage, while Andrea Dantzer and Theo Ravihansa were unable to attend on Friday and are now out of the competition. As of this writing, videos from the second round have not been posted on The Soo's Got Talent's Facebook page, but photos of all fifteen competing acts can be seen at this link. If you want to see how the final twelve performers do in the semifinals, you can find out on Friday, November 8th, but here's where the LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS come in, as Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band will return as the house band for the semifinals and finals this year! This was hinted at during the finals last year, but Mike and crew will be back next Friday and two weeks later on November 22nd!

Like last year, the semifinals will feature Mike and crew (now including T.S.G.T. MC and 2023 runner-up Elly McWatters on rhythm guitar) as the halftime band in between the competitors, but on the 22nd, they will again provide backing instrumentation in some form or fashion for the remaining finalists on one or both of their songs. Everyone left in the field is a singer of some description, so things should fit cleanly next month, especially with Robert, Arin, and Haley all doing hard rock songs already, so they could fit extra well if they make the finals! It is also implied in the write-up for the above poster that there will be an audience save for a contestant eliminated by the judges next week, and you will get entries for a door prize if you vote thusly. The semifinals begin next Friday at 6:30 PM, and admission is $15 for adults and $10 for children. As best as I can tell, it will be more of the same for the finals on the 22nd.

If past years are any indication, 2023 T.S.G.T. winner Storm Rausch should get an invite to perform a guest song on the 22nd too, but their involvement has not been publically confirmed by organizers. Of course, best of luck to all twelve remaining competitiors next week, and hopefully they impress the judges (and audience) to stamp their finals tickets over the last weekend of November!  See above for more on what went down in the first two knockout rounds of The Soo's Got Talent V, and Halloween concert previews are on the way next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Toystock XI!!)

The eleventh annual Toystock goes down on Sunday, November 24th, and the official lineup was just revealed yesterday on the event's Facebook page! Held annually since 2012 (with a pandemic hiatus in 2020 & 2021), Toystock is the annual Christmas Cheer benefit concert event spearheaded by veteran local musician Greg Simpson, where attendees donate new/gently used toys, cash, unused gift cards, and cold weather clothing items to see ten bands in ten hours, and it's become something of an unofficial winter Rotaryfest given its similar performers in many years! Of course, lots of family activities, visits from Santa & Mrs. Claus, open bar/restaurant, and more will be in effect as usual, so visit the official website for full and ongoing non-musical details. As has been the case since 2015, Toystock XI will be held at The Grand Gardens at The Grand Gardens at 1324 Great Northern Road, though this year, Toystock will take place before the American Thanksgiving.

Each year, ten local music acts donate their time to perform at Toystock, and the "ten bands in ten hours" conceit is back in full force, including five new acts and five returning ones, so who all is playing next month? As expected, the headliners at 9:00 PM are local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 in their record tenth appearance at Toystock (only missing 2013 when Greg played with other bands of his instead) and their first year since tacking "225" onto their name. Yes, we'll have more on their three shows this weekend on the site soon! Local alternative rock quartet The Haze (who played last year's Toystock under their original name Skinbox) will surprisingly get the co-headlining slot at 8:00 PM. Playing before them at 7:00 PM are The Associates, the online page-less blues quartet who you may have seen at Rotaryfest Stage 2 back in July, and who also feature Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville in their ranks, so Friday Night Blues-goers will approve!

It's worth noting that, while not named for Long & McQuade, the members of The Associates are all staff or instructors at the MacDonald Avenue music store, continuing an annual trend of Toystock booking a band comprised of students or staff of a local music store/school since 2013. Classic rock cover veterans Mid Life Crysis will (believe it or not) be making their Toystock debuts on the 24th at 6:00 PM, while pop rock cover standouts Bourbon Blue will make their third straight Toystock appearance at 5:00 PM. In a change of pace, Mark "DJ Dark Mark" Millington (who has worked with Greg/Maxx Entertainment in various events for the past decade) will mix some tunes in the 4:00 PM timeslot, and it'll be interesting to hear how he goes over next month! Local punk trio Redundant will play their first show since last year's Toystock (and third set at Toystock overall) at 3:00 PM.

No word on why Redundant have been so quiet in recent years, with this being just their third show of any kind since the pandemic began, but hopefully Justin, Andrew, and Rick have a great return (again) next month! Local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith and his Big Finish Band will make their Toystock debut at 2:00 PM, though Mike & Brandan played at this event back in 2016 with The Din. Good to see Mike booking another local date this year, and yes, we'll have more on The Soo's Got Talent soon! Acoustic acts will open the day at Toystock XI, including Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver (who also played solo country covers at Toystock in 2019) at 1:00 PM, and veteran local blues rock musician Doug Cousineau at 12:00 PM in his solo Toystock debut. Conspicuous by their absence this year are Soundcheck proper, ending a streak of five consecutive appearances at this event.

Toystock is, as always, an ALL AGES event with plenty of kid-friendly activities in store, so consider bringing the family to kick off the Christmas season right next month! It's great to see Greg and crew bringing Toystock back into its second decade, and hopefully they have another great turnout for attenance and for donations to Christmas Cheer to help those in need at a difficult time. Definitely visit the above links for more details on all of the action at The Grand Gardens next month, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

X's & Y's - "The Obsidian Dream" CD Review!!

It's now time for our 184th monthly CD review on The Sault Metal Scene, but with another change of plans. Due to the comic book tied into Sykotyk Rampage's new album still not arriving, I'm bumping that one more month, so today, we're looking at Sault Michigan metal solo project X's & Y's' debut album "The Obsidian Dream"! Officially released on October 11th through the AFR Records imprint (also credited to the former Werehold Records on physical copies), X's & Y's is the current original metal project from former Life's Eclipse frontman and Swampghas guitarist (among other projects) Jason Mills, finally fulfilling long-held plans to release a paid physical CD. "The Obsidian Dream" has been in the works since at least 2019 at Scholomance Studios in Brimley, and features Jason on all instruments aside from guest appearances on two songs. Jason produced this album alongside local alt-rock musician, ex-Plastic frontman, and Crooked Music owner Zac Crook.

Mastering was done in Lansing by Mitchell "Mitch Michelle" Wells, who previously performed with Jason in the short lived project Shatterhand, and guests on "Houses" on an unexpected instrument. X's & Y's album is on sale on CD through Jason (contact him at this link) for $10 USD, and while it was carried at Crooked Music, the store is liquidating in advance of its closure later this week, so I wouldn't count on copies still being there. Digitally, the album can be streamed for free on YouTube Music, Amazon Music,  and a handful of smaller streaming services, though not Spotify or Apple Music that I have found. With eight tracks running for about 41 minutes, let's begin this month's CD review!

"The Obsidian Dream" ominously leads off with "Just Above Under", whose droning intro and sudden spoken word interjection leads into a pounding industrial metal number with the distinctive guitar tone that Werehold loyalists will recall from their heyday! Jason delivers some nice melodic guitar passages in between the riffs, but I will admit that some of the backing sound effects and samples really feel out of place, especially what sounds like clanging pipes in the first half. Effectively brutal instrumental if you can get past the noises in the background! Next up is "A Flow Of Touch", which is a faster but more straightforward number accentuated by a somewhat trippier intro and more rapid drum beats, and crucially, much less in the way of background samples. Jason also lets loose with a more of a technical and complex solo, which is definitely welcomed! Solid track that is an improvement in terms of what I like out of metal, so we're moving up already!

Third on the CD is "Ursa Minor", which is more of a deliberately paced song that really shows off the bass more than anything else. For me, I prefer songs to be faster and heavier than this, let alone fuller, as the guitar really isn't prominent in this at all, but as a showcase of what Jason can do on the low end, it definitely succeeds! It's rare where local bands put bass on this high of a technical pedestal, and short of slapping it, he did as much as you could ask for! I would like to hear some guitar in the background, as it's kind of an empty song beyond the bass playing, but a definite curio for fans! The first half of the album is met with "Solid Glass", which is the only song on offer to run for under 4 minutes. Guitar is definitely back on this song, which is the most djenty (is that a word?) song yet, so progressive metal fans will want to sit up and take notice!

Still harbouring the distinctly tuned guitar sound of earlier tracks, the guitar playing alone makes this song recommendable, and while there are better showcases on the disc for proper guitar solos, I definitely appreciate Jason's technical skill set on this song, and the percussion is well timed throughout! Fifth on the album is "The Starving Rust", which opens up a very eerie and spacey intro before the metal is unleashed, and while bass is again a lead instrument like on "Ursa Minor",the song is fuller and feels more like a realized final product. The drawn out ending is way too reserved and spare for my liking, but until then, it's a solidly brutal track that bass fans won't want to miss! Sixth is "Houses", which features the aforementioned Mitch Michelle on mellotron (basically a keyboard using magnetic tape to play sampled notes). You can hear Mitch's involvement throughout this song, with the mellotron being used to create a very folk/bardcore sound.

Progressive rock fans will be very familiar with the mellotron, and with Jason largely backing Mitch up here, this definitely feels the most different of the songs on offer, but certainly not in a bad way. A casual listen that almost feels like a boat ride through the countryside (if a nighttime one in the medieval era), metal-or-bust fans may want to steer clear, but "Houses" is an intricate and well composed prog rock piece, and good on Mitch to get involved in this way! The penultimate (and last guest-less) song is "Oculus", and this is a full return to guitar and bass-laden metal, which is definitely welcomed! Not sure that the springy backing sound effects in the breakdown are necessary, but we get some good guitar work and more prominent bass action, and it comes together well, so this is a strong return to X's & Y's usual form! The album closes with its longest song, the almost 9 minutes-long "Never Left", which has lots of guests.

Described as "a song for Jeremy" in the liner notes, the Jeremy in question is Illinois-based guitarist Jeremy Belter, who is joined here by former Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson, Florida-based musician Thaddeus Mitchell, and French metal guitarist Dorian Pied. The amount of guests shows in how the guitar parts are layered and implemented, with the longer length letting everyone show their stuff, but if I didn't know going in that there were four guests, I may not have assumed that there was anything radically different beyond just being more technical. The spoken word samples late are well utilized though, and the guitar skill levels are clear as day! As things change a fair amount, it never gets boring across its long run-time, but I'm not sure if the ending rough guitar outro (which sounds like a jam room demo) adds to it or not. A fittingly grand closure to the album in any event, and hopefully a harbinger of more big things from Jason musically!

So, what are my final thoughts on X's & Y's' debut album? I'm just glad to see Jason finally get an album out after all these years, but even beyond that, this is a very good instrumental metal album that fans of progressive and technical metal will take to! His guitar and bass skills were on full display here, and his bass-led songs will be a particular revelation to fans who are so inclined! Myself, I liked the fuller, more aggressive and speedy songs, but nothing on here is bad, and if you're a fan of Sault Ontario's Convergence, you'll find a lot to like here, and even "Houses" worked for me for how unique and fitting it was at setting its mood! I didn't find that all of the background sound effects and samples worked very well, I did find that "Ursa Minor" could be quite empty, and I would be curious to hear vocals on some tracks, as Jason wasn't averse to having vocalists involved in his old Werehold Records bands in the 2000s and 2010s.

It's great to see new extreme metal of any kind coming out of the E.U.P. in the 2020s, and while just a solo project, hopefully this is the start of more big things to come from Jason, be it with further X's & Y's material or something else! If you like instrumental prog metal, do check them out and buy/stream "The Obsidian Dream" for yourself above! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and I'm hopeful that I'll get the comic book for Sykotyk Rampage's "Waerlogas Saga 1: Konfysion Of Fyck" so that I can finally give it a proper review next month, so stay tuned in any event for that and more news & notes as well! Thanks everyone!

Piecing It Together Shows' Halloween Concert Review, Plus A New Concert Video!!

In this post, we have a review of a Halloween concert from this past weekend, and a video of a separate local show from that same night, so here's what you should know on this Monday evening!

Apologies for the delay in this making the site, but I (in a Calvin & Hobbes costume) was able to go to most of Piecing It Together Shows' Halloween concert a the Fraternal Order of Eagles club at 246 Wellington Street West on Saturday night! Just down the road from the Primavera Hall, the Eagles Club definitely felt like a tale of two venues when we first arrived, with the right half being where the concert was set up and the left being more where Eagles regulars were mingling at the bar and watching the Leafs game, but this got mixed up as the night progressed. Definitely didn't feel like a traditional concert venue (likely because it's not one), but kudos to the Eagles Club for hosting some P.I.T.S. events this year Unfortunately, we were running late for the concert and missed the opening set by local electro/synth musician Owen Kjiersdam, a.k.a. Owen MK, so I do apologize to him for not seeing him live!

Owen did post a brief clip of him (dressed as Jack Skellington) singing on Saturday night on his personal Facebook page, so seek that out if you're curious. It's at the end of a "Reel" that starts with video of him at The Soo's Got Talent's last week. From what little I heard, he was singing with confidence and enthusiasm, but it's not a long watch, so I don't know if things got as intense as the bands ahead in unfilmed portions of the night. I do think he does better when he leans more into how his studio material sounds, but hopefully we see Owen back out there soon!

The middle act last night was hardcore punk/crossover thrash quartet Hails, who unleashed an eleven song set of aggressive and fast-paced original music! With the non-Muto members in costume (albeit with items shed as the set wore on), Ha!ls tore through an eleven song set featuring originals like "Serf City" and "Such Desperate Joy" and a few songs carried over from frontman Brenton Ellis' acoustic solo project Slumshine like "BiPolaris" and "Sole Crusher", though surprisingly, nothing from their EP "Rock & Rolls" (despite it being on sale on CD and cassette). The guys were on brutal form on Saturday, with a very fast and heavy sound that pushes their earlier descriptions of being a skate punk band way to the backburner, with Brent full of confidence and honesty on vocals and bass, while Mikhal & Carmen Muto both shone on guitar with some impressive solos, and Keeghan McAllister kept up well on drums!

I do like how many songs had changes in structure and tempo that made you feel like the song was going to end, but it kept going while still feeling natural (I hope that made sense). The Vanity First side project delivered a brutal set for gathered fans, so don't bypass them if you like thrash metal!

Your headliners on Saturday were Toronto grunge/alternative trio Skoff in their local concert debut, and they definitely delivered a fun set to end the night with! You can see proof in my video of theirs, as a bunch of costumed fans hit the floor to dance and rock out mid-song (fan of the night is whoever was wearing the chicken mask!) It was often hard to hear the vocalist introducing songs, but they played tracks like "Cancel Culture", "F.A.F.O.", and "Let Me Out", sometimes using an old telephone headset as a microphone, which was neat!  While not a fully packed house, assembled fans definitely took to Skoff's aggressive, 1990s inspired sound, and the band was dressed up for the occasion, so everyone definitely had a good time to end the night. Skoff are still a relatively newer band, but their future is bright, and hopefully they come back to the Soo in the near future!

Overall, this was a fun concert and it's nice to see a multi-band show taking place for the Halloween season again! Hopefully there's more along these lines in 2025. You can see our photos and videos of Skoff and Hails (apologies again to Owen MK) at this link or at our Facebook page, but here's our videos of Ha!ls playing the Slunshine holdover "Pink Clouds Of Density" and Skoff playing an original that may be titled something like "Guess When I Die"! Let us know if you can help title it.

We'll close this post with a video from another Saturday night concert, albeit not a public one, as newer Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Dirty Musky posted a video of them at a private birthday party event at Three One Three On Ashmun onto their Facebook page! The video sees Dave, the Blackwoods, and Jamie covering White Zombie's "Thunder Kiss '65", which is awesome just in concept, as Rob/White Zombie isn't tackled much up here! Uploaded in funny vertical dimensions, the lighting isn't fantastic, but this is a well played and lively cover, though Dave's vocals could be a little grittier to better match the original. Check it out for yourselves below!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Destroilet's Channel

Here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again shine a spotlight on a randomly selected YouTube channel whose public videos are at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and/or concerts! This month's channel takes us to another single-band offering, this time one of the most prominent local hardcore punk bands of the 2010s, so here's what you should know in this month's profile!

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Destroilet's Channel (http://youtube.com/destroilet)

Owner: A member of 2009-2021 local hardcore punk band Destroilet, exact identity unclear

Channel Timeline: Launched on October 18th, 2009; Videos uploaded from the beginning of 2010 through October 2013

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Destroilet, it captures their early run via five (generally short) concert videos and two uploads of songs from their 2012 self-titled album.

Why You Should Watch: Fans of Destroilet's ferocious hardcore punk attack will want to check out their content here, and while venue lighting isn't always ideal, you do get a sense of what made them special to subgenre fans of the era! Note that the channel was not used after 2013, prior to the release of the "Fed Up!" split, their brief 2014-15 run as a sextet, and their late-era slowdown in gigs, but numerous fan videos from their mid-late 2010s run can be found elsewhere, and drummer Matt Waples would later post songs of theirs on his own YouTube channel.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

DESTROILET - TENNESSEE DRIVER: The first four videos on Destroilet's channel come from their debut live set in December 2009, when they opened for the similarly named local/Toronto hardcore punk quartet Detroit (fronted by their future co-vocalist Brenton Ellis) at their CD release party at Coch's Corner. This was back when Coch's was located in the Days Inn on Bay Street, now the Holiday Inn Express. Destroilet were exclusively filmed here doing covers, including The Dayglo Abortions' "My Erection" and fellow locals Fistmagnet's "Evil God Hater" from a more distant filmer. Another attendee much closer to the band filmed part of GG Allin's "Murder For The Mission" and, as featured here, "Tennessee Driver" by Hank Williams III's band Assjack. Despite some tinny audio, this is good as you could expect local digital camera video from a concert 15 years ago to be, and Destroilet are already showing their intense attack at this early stage, no doubt helped by members' prior local band work!

Destroilet - Cockteaser Pleaser (4 songs): After putting out a self-titled six-song EP in April 2011, Destroilet opted to re-release it in December 2012 with six more new songs. To promote the reissue, "Eternal Fire" was posted on YouTube later that month, followed by this teaser upload of four of the seven original cuts in 2013 (it also had five covers). In order, you'll hear "Truly Infected", "R.O.Y.C.", and "Eternal Fire" again, followed by "End Me", which is the only song here that was on the original 2011 EP. Featuring Matt alongside late frontman Mike Hull, guitarists John Conway and Christian Foisy, and bassist Adam Larocque, this sampler is a good way to introduce new fans to their studio material, especially with "Truly Infected" leading off! All sixteen of Destroilet's released studio songs, including the four new cuts on 2015's "Fed Up!" split, can be heard on YouTube here and here.

Destroilet - Eternal Fire: The last and most popular video on this channel is a music video for the aforementioned "Eternal Fire", as filmed/edited by Fred Kember with the 705 Video Magazine. This was filmed across multiple cameras when Destroilet opened for The Bunchofuckingoofs at the former Roosevelt Hotel (now Jay's Piston Broke Pub) in August 2013, before being uploaded on Devil's Night that year. While the vocals aren't always lined up with the studio track, this was well put together and captures Destroilet at their relative local peak nicely with a raucous crowd! Of course, Mike was in his element here too with another intense performance with constant motion, and he is definitely still missed in the local scene!

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I hope you guy liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our next random channel selection is of local industrial metal solo project Molten Imp, so look for that on or around November 26th, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

The Soo's Got Talent 2024 Auditions Recap!!

The fifth annual The Soo's Got Talent is ongoing at Soo Blaster, and just completed its second elimination round at Soo Blaster last night! Alas, it also seems like an annual occurrence that our coverage of it is delayed, so I do apologize for not covering anything from this year's festivities until now. Once again, T.S.G.T. is benefiting a deserving local charity, and this time, it's the Second Chances Animal Rescue, which only launched in Sault Ste. Marie last summer. An animal shelter is a wonderful cause, and hopefully this year's talent competition goes a long way towards helping Second Chances out! Remember, while we don't cover karaoke and singing-only competitions on the SMS, The Soo's Got Talent is open to musicians, bands, and other artistic performers, but who all advanced into October 11th's first round action this year? The auditions were also held at Soo Blaster, with night #1 taking place on Friday, September 20th.

On that day, judges sent six performers to the first round, and all were filmed for The Soo's Got Talent's Facebook page, with videos uploaded in a batch post four days later! The six advancing contestants are all singers only who performed cover songs, and they included 2019 competitor Andrea Dantzer (Thomas Aquinas' "Panis Angelicus"), Nicolette Rebello (Joy Woods' "My Days"), Rebekah Moran (Barbra Streisand's "I'm The Greatest Star"), 2023 semifinalist Kristina Sagrak (Ariana Grande's "Almost Is Never Enough"), and local electro-synth musician Owen MK (Radiohead's "Creep"), though Owen's video is only shown in excerpts due to a copyright flag. Yes, he will be opening for Skoff at The Eagles Club's Halloween concert tonight, but expect Owen to be playing more of his usual repertoire there. Embedded below is the sixth advancing contestant on the 20th, so who is that?

None other than former Re:Born singer Robert Nevitt, who covered Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome" as his audition song. Good to see him back out there beyond karaoke nights, and he sings this 1990s hard rock cover well with good energy, so it's obvious why he was sent through! Not a lot of heavier content from audition night #1, but there's a lot of clear talent on display, so check these videos out above and below!

Day #2 of the auditions was on Saturday, September 21st, where judges sent four performers to the competition level, and if you're seeking something beyond borderline karaoke, you'll like that three of the four to advance here played an instrument too! That day's contestants moving on included singer/guitarist Celeste Burton (her own original song "Live Like Nobody's Watching"), Rebecca Wabigwan (the hymn "Amazing Grace" while playing a hand drum), and singer Elena Fera (Olivia Newton-John's "Let Me Be There"), though like with Owen-MK, be advised that Elena's video was only uploaded in excerpts due to Facebook content matching the song. Embedded below is 2023 semifinalist Arin Karki, who was only filmed once officially for T.S.G.T. last year doing a Billy Joel vocal cover. Here, he's adding to his repertoire by playing acoustic guitar, and SMS readers will like that he covered Motley Crue!

This unplugged rendition of "Home Sweet Home" isn't badly handled, and Arin shows off a solid hard rock voice that suits him better than how he did "Vienna" last year, and I know from experience that judges will like that he's playing an instrument this year after just singing previously! Daring choice to wear white after Labour Day too (I'm joking!). Nice to see a more diverse array of talent advancing for the second day of auditions, so give these videos a watch above & below as well!

The third day of auditions was on Friday, September 27th, with six contestants stamping their ticket to the first round here, and all here are singers doing covers. Moving on that night were Abiguale Lacroix (Andra Day's "Rise Up"), a singer monomyously credited just as Theo (Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud") Lime frontwoman/2018 T.S.G.T. finalist Madii Schomogyi (Fiona Apple's "Paper Bag"), 2023 finalist and reigning Shooters Talent Quest champion Demoy MacSamuels (his own original song "Heart Cry"), Haley Alopaeus (Bishop Briggs' "River"), and 2022 contestant Ricky Roy (Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza"). Nothing too hard rock-friendly there, but the talent is very clear, and Demoy will instantly be a favourite this year! I will note that I am surprised that Madii didn't do any of her original songs that she unveiled in her "Miss Madii" set at Rotaryfest Stage 2 this year, but she could be saving those for later.

Finally, seven acts were sent through during the last round of auditions on Saturday, September 28th, starting with Chloe Tessier covering Morgan Wallen's "Sand In My Boots". The next three were lumped together as excerpts in the same video, including two returning first round qualifiers from last year, including Elizabeth Budge covering Christina Perri's "Jar Of Hearts" and magic act Mxsterious (Brooklyn Coghill alongside Nicholas Gingras) doing a trick with help from the judges. The third act in that clip is singer Sheena Matchett covering Mindy McCready's "Maybe He'll Notice Me Now". Another combined video sees successful auditions from Jennifer & Abigail Joseph (clearly family), with Jennifer playing acoustic guitar while singing Little Big Town's "Sober", then playing guitar for Abigail's cover of Lady Gaga's "Look What I Found". Last up was Corey Marques, who was actually a co-MC of the finals last year!

This is a bit of a hybrid performance here, as Corey (known locally as a poet and publisher with AwakenInk) was performing a "read rap", which basically amounted to inspirational and motivational beat poetry over a musical beat. Definitely a change of pace, but a unique original performance will play well with judges! No word on if any of the audition level contestants got a "golden buzzer" this year, for the record. We'll pick things back up from The Soo's Got Talent V soon when we look at what happened in rounds 1 & 2, but there's a lot of promising talent on display, so don't bypass the audition videos above! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm) & More Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's continue with this weekend's hard rock concert previews as we continue the (pre-)Halloween concert slate! Remember, there are venues and bands holding their concerts/parties on Thursday and next weekend, given the proximity to the 31st proper. Also, just a heads up also that Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Dirty Musky are playing a private event at Three One Three On Ashmun tomorrow night, as per their Facebook page, but I won't offer further known details out of respect to the event's non-public nature. Now, here's what you should know for your Saturday night concert plans, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year!

Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will play their last Eastern Upper Peninsula dates of 2024 when they return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, December 13th & Saturday, December 14th! While not yet confirmed by the casino online, Scarkazm announced the dates via this concert calendar on their Facebook page earlier today, which also covers dates by their sister classic metal/hard rock trio Peril and their acoustic side act Project 6 (no relation). Peril will not be north of the Mackinac Bridge for the rest of the year, and Project 6 scarcely play in the E.U.P. at all, but Scarkazm are ending 2024 with three regional weekends up here, including St Ignace stops next weekend and the Thanksgiving weekend in the Soo. Hopefully next month's and December's Scarkazm shows have more great hard hitting covers in store! As usual, these are 21+ gigs at 9:00 PM with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, we'll pick this weekend's previews back up in Sault Ontario, where local concert promoters Piecing It Together Shows (nee Dryer Fire) will host their Halloween party TOMORROW NIGHT at the Fraternal Order of Eagles club at 246 Wellington Street West! The second concert that Nicole and crew are hosting at the Eagles Club, tomorrow's spooky festivities will be headlined by the local debut of Toronto grunge/punk trio Skoff, whose explosive retro stylings should appeal to early 1990s alternative rock fans, so don't miss this rising young group tomorrow! Joining them are local punk/crossover thrash quartet Hails in their first gig since opening for The Ripcordz last month, and this should be a prime chance for Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan to unleash their fury on a new venue and audience! Online page-less local electro synth pop artist Owen MK (who debuted at a Dryer Fire event two years ago) will lead off this multi-genre event.

Specifics about the Halloween aspects of tomorrow's concert are not public, but if there's no costume contest, one assumes that costumes are at least encouraged, and hopefully there's some suitably scary decor! Admission is $15 via tickets at this link or $20 at the door. Everything starts at 7:00 PM and this is an all ages event. It's good to see a multi-band Halloween show like this post-pandemic, as there haven't been too many of those, so keep all of the Steelton action in mind tomorrow at the Eagles Club! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Skoff's debut music video! I struggled to find a video of them in concert.

Also, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of rocking Shooters last week, this will be Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's first show at the downtown casino in just over two months, and hopefully their classic and hard rock cover slate draws another strong reception as usual! What we don't know about tomorrow's concert is if it will be Halloween themed, as Generations have not indicated whatsoever if this show will have any seasonality to it. This is Gateway Casinos' Spooktacular Customer Appreciation week, which includes deals at the on-site Getaway Restaurant and nightly promotions for casino-goers midweek, but I have seen no promotion on the casino's end tying Generations' concert to Halloween at all. Of course, they will be playing on Halloween proper at The Water Tower Pub, but keep posted in case they/the casino clarify tomorrow's plans.

As such, wear costumes to Gateway Casino tomorrow at your discretion, but I can't guarantee that they're encouraged and/or if there will be a costume contest. The concert proper takes place at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

Finally, we'll head south to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for this weekend's last known hard rock concert, as Sault Ste. Marie hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will headline the Halloween party at Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter will be the Fake Chow successors' first show at the former Joe's Bar since debuting there with an outdoors gig back in July, and they'll be back there in three weeks if you want to see them in a regular, non-seasonal environment. Unfortunate Sun have fortunately delivered a strong show and gotten a reception to match since debuting, and hopefully they get more of the same in Rudyard tomorrow! Huck's Facebook page confirms that there will be a costume contest tomorrow, so wear your best outfit and you may be rewarded with one of three prizes! No word on other seasonal frills but the venue should be decked out for the occasion, so keep tabs with the band/pub for any possible new details on this show.

Like with Generations in Sault Ontario, Unfortunate Sun take the stage in Rudyard at 8:00 PM (though they're slated to run until midnight, one more hour). This show will be a 21+ affair with no cover charge, and in the unlikely event that Huck's is hosting this outdoors, 9&10 News are calling for partly cloudy skies with temperatures of around 39° Fahrenheit (4° Celsius), which I'd assume would be too chilly. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Unfortunate Sun live!

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