More Recent Kewadin Casino Concert Videos, Double Down Updates, And More!!

Today's post keeps us covering some big news and notes from the last little bit in the twin Saults, and that includes new videos, a big lineup change, and some more shorter updates. However, let's start with some more videos from high profile touring acts in our area, so here's what you should know!

Let's tackle some more recent major concert videos to start this post, and of course, this past weekend's other major headlining concert was the Tesla show at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 28th! Taking place just in time for Kewadin to reopen the Soo branch after the ransomware attack-prompted closure, I haven't found too many YouTube uploaders from this concert, but prolific Sault Ontario concert filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel filmed eight videos of the Sacramento hair metal quintet's headlining set, so what all did he film? Videos include Tesla playing "Rock Me To The Top", "Modern Day Cowboy", "Changes", "What You Give", "Love Song", and their covers of Ph. D's "Little Suzi" & The Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs", but embedded below are two songs back to back, namely "Forever More" and "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)".

Solid performances overall, and while some of Jeff's lower register singing sounds slightly off, they have a good sound on their classics! It is neat to see that Tesla still play songs from 2000s albums (like "Forever More"), rather than just leaning on songs from their commercial heyday, so fans who stuck with them well beyond will be rewarded. Chris had a strong close angle of the stage, if from a sharp vantage point, but it accentuates the sea of people in the center section well, and his camera's audio holds up, so check everything out for yourselves above & below!

Next up, Chris was also on hand for Staind frontman Aaron Lewis' solo concert at The Dreammakers Theater in December, but only posted videos from that event onto his YouTube channel on February 27th. This isn't a show that we covered because Aaron's solo output is 100% country music, but he does cover stripped down versions of a handful of Staind songs live, which I have noted when local videos have popped up before. Aaron played at the Soo Kewadin in 2014 and 2021 as well, not to mention Staind's own Kewadin dates in 2006 & 2009, so he has always been good to the E.U.P.! If you know anything about Aaron's country career, you'll know that his solo music is often patriotic and/or quite politically charged, so I'll hold comment on all of that, but click here to see what Chris filmed from his solo catalogue. In terms of Staind covers, he played "It's Been Awhile", "Here & Now", and as embedded below, "Outside".

Aaron and his backing guitarist (playing on his lap, Jeff Healy-style) pair well to give these Staind songs a more reserved, intimate atmosphere, and Chris' camera captures the audio nicely, though this does include a very clear take of the audience singing along with "It's Been Awhile" and "Outside" in particular, as well as Aaron's crowd banter, often during songs. Give his Kewadin videos a watch above and below!

Now let's head north to Sault Ontario for some big news from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down, as they have enlisted Sidekicks bassist Dan Beaupre into their lineup, replacing Brad Stephen. The band announced his addition as "our new bass player" in this video from their concert at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday night. A reason for Brad's departure was not announced, but he hadn't been visibly pictured in the band's social media postings since January. Hopefully nothing too serious happened, especially given his long run in bands with Ric dating back well before Double Down's 2023 inception, and that we see Brad out there again soon! Dan will be familiar to readers from work in bands like Hollow, let alone his work with Griphook and 100 Gran (both alongside Double Down singer/guitarist Joel Syrette), and he's a good guy and very talented bassist, so he will be an asset with Joel, Beej, and Ric going forward!

With The Sidekicks playing at The Water Tower Pub last night, Double Down enlisted Mid Life Crysis/ex-Havadder bassist Lori Reinholtz to fill in at Jay's for night #2. From the Friday concert, Double Down's Facebook page has two brief clips with Dan on bass, including the one linked above of them covering A Flock Of Seagulls' "I Ran (So Far Away)" with drummer Ric Datson on lead vocals, but embedded below is 30 seconds of them covering Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" with Joel on vocals only and Dan's Sidekicks bandmate Steve Cardiff guesting on guitar. Very dark visually, but it's well done, and Steve nails the solo, so check out Double Down's new videos above & below!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

 

• Local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore has been added as the final opener for the Selias-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on Saturday, as per quiet updates to the Facebook event page last week. Solid choice to ease into things while still providing Chase's requisite intensity! Note that the event page now says that tickets will be $15 in advance (identical to Selias' debut here last fall) or $20 at the door, but an Eventbrite page for advance tickets is not online that I can find, so if you want to save $5, get yours at Soo Blaster or through Heavy North Entertainment or the local openers.
• To promote both their Sault Ontario concert in January & their Shamrock Show set at Three One Three on Ashmun on Saturday, Sault Michigan punk trio The Sole Aggressors shared the presumed setlists for those gigs in photos on their Facebook page. You don't see this often from local bands, so it's a neat window into what to expect! Regarding the teased setlist for this week (nice dog!), it features all thirteen original songs from their Brimley concert in August, plus newer cuts named "Burning Down", "Humans Aren't Ordinary Monkeys", "Heil Artificiality", "Tale Of An American Hero", and "The Same Individiualist". See how everything sounds live this Saturday night at Three One Three!
• Back on Sault Ontario, the roof of the Tarentorus Sports Club's curling rink collapsed on Wednesday, as covered in this SooToday article. No injuries were reported, and while details on the building's future for events aren't clear yet, let alone the cause of the collapse, social media postings indicate that the club has plans in place. This is relevant to the SMS because the Avery Road venue hosted the Band Together To Rock Cancer fundraiser in September, so to hear of the building suffering severe damage like this less than six months later is really surprising. Hopefully the Tarentorus Sports Club can rebuild and/or move forward as best as they can!

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles next! Thanks everyone!