Saturday, November 16, 2024

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tesla & Bookclub) And Recent Sault Ontario Concert Videos!!

Today's post came together in part due to a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that slipped my notice earlier this week, but a big show in the E.U.P. and some new videos of local cover hard rock acts are rounding things out, so here's what you should know!

Local alt-hard rock cover sextet Bookclub will return to the stage when they headline the fourth annual Illuminate The Season fundraiser for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice TONIGHT at The Machine Shop! Apologies for the short notice, Bookclub only announced their involvement in TONIGHT'S event via their Facebook page this past Sunday, and ARCH's website does not reference bands as taking part at all. Illuminate The Season is a multi-day event featuring auctions for Christmas decor and gifts from local merchants, plus Santa Claus' workshop, ice skating with Santa himself,  refreshments, and other family friendly activites at the Mill Square venue, and it is great to see so many groups and supporters coming together to celebrate Christmas early while supporting ARCH! Bookclub's concert TONIGHT marks their first publically advertised performance since their summer concert series gig at The Roberta Bondar Pavillion gig three months ago.

No word on where Mikey, Brandon, Dustin, Allan, Erin, and Josh have been since the summer, but hopefully their varied and fan-friendly, horn-laced covers draw a solid reception from attendees TONIGHT! While day #3 of Illuminate The Season began at 10:00 AM, Bookclub's concert sets proper begin TONIGHT at 7:00 PM to cap off the program (if there's musicians playing tomorrow, I haven't seen public reference to them, but its the last day running from 10:00-4:00). This is absolutely an ALL AGES event and there is no cover charge, but ARCH donations would absolutely be appreciated. See above for more details, and here's Bookclub live!

Next up, here's a big new concert announcement for 2025, as Sacramento glam metal/hard rock quintet Tesla will return to The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for a headlining date on Friday, February 28th! While Tesla are no strangers to playing here (they've been to the Soo at least four times), they have not performed up here since July 2013, so it'll be almost 12 years since Hair Scare fans heard them & their classic hits like "Love Song", "What You Give", and their "Signs" cover on local soil, let alone potential songs from their last two albums! This will also be their first local gig since Steve Brown replaced Troy Luccketa on drums. Tesla still sound good live today, and hopefully they draw a solid crowd later this winter! No word on a possible opening band at press time, but 2013's show here was opened by inactive Detroit hard rock band Fifth Way (featuring former local guitarist Zak Stelmaszek).

Presented by Rock 101, tickets go on sale on Friday at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office, with tickets running for $65-$85 USD depending on location of seats. This is definitely higher than Tesla's 2013 concert here, but again, that was almost twelve years ago. Hair/glam metal is a reliable seller up here, so Tesla should get a strong turnout in three months, but visit the above links for more on the first major hard rock show in the Twin Saults for 2025!

Also today, let's return north by looking at some brand new videos of Sault Ontario acoustic classic/hard rock cover act Dodge This' late notice gig at The Water Tower Pub on Friday! Jeff July was there to provide hand drum percussion on Friday, with four videos from the night being shared to the band's Facebook page on Monday in a batch post. The videos include mostly-solo renditions of Kings of Leon's "Sex On Fire" and Zach Bryan's "Something In The Orange" by Jamie July and two full band performances, including Collective Soul's "December", and as embedded below, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Night Moves". While not a heavier song, that's the only one with Jason Taillefer on lead vocals, and he injects some good heavier vocals and passion into this ballad that Phatstick fans will appreciate! Good work all around, especially for fans of Jamie-led material, so check out Dodge This above & below!

Finally for today, here's a new promotional clip for newer local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush's shows at The Esquire Club this weekend, tonight included! Bassist John Amendola shared it to the band's Facebook page last night (less than two hours before showtime for night #1, granted), and it features 46 seconds of very brief clips of them in concert at public and private events. Notably, the video does include some snippets that have not publically been uploaded in a longer form, let alone a horizontal one. While I can't identify all of them given the audio quality of the original cameras and the brevity of the clips, a late and new-to-me snippet is from Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me", focusing on guitarist Wes Greco during the solo. Actually, the video ends with Wes-focused clips, so if you know his skill level and like solos, wait til the end. Good teaser while it lasts, so check it out below, and don't miss Headrush tonight in the west end!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thsnk

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