LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Sylo & Tarnished), Mid-Week Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin this post, we have a cancellation to take note of, as the planned Krang-headlined concert at The Distraction on September 8th is no longer taking place. Promoter Mikhal Muto said on his personal Facebook page that it was "due to the current situation with The Distraction", likely referring to the East Street venue's fire safety compliance needs following the Ripcordz concert cancellation last month. With almost three weeks to go, it's a wonder why they're not looking for a new host venue, but this is still disappointing, and hopefully Krang get a chance to play here again, let alone that The Distraction re-opens with all approved safety measures soon!

Now, today's post features an unusually robust lineup of mid-week concert previews, including two SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, plus some assorted updates, but let's lead off with one of the two brand new shows, as Sault Michigan hard rock/classic metal cover quartet Tarnished will play a special outdoor concert TOMORRROW NIGHT at Lake Superior State University outside of Brady Hall! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show on their Facebook page earlier today, even calling this a "surprise show" there. Tarnished did not specify why they're playing a random outdoor show at LSSU outside of one of their residence halls, let alone TOMORROW, but this is orientation/move-in week for students enrolled in the fall semester at Lake State, so this must be a fun pop-up concert for the new and returning students to check out to escape from the usual preparations and unpacking!

Despite the university campus trappings, Tarnished are on TOMORROW at 8:00 PM with no cover charge, and while there's no stated age limit or restrictions for students/non-students, mind the locale if you want to check things out. 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy skies TOMORROW with no chance of rain, and temperatures ranging from 64-66° (18-19° Celsius), so conditions should be really good for some live hard rock covers. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Sylo will headline a special mid-week concert at Beck's Bar TOMORROW  NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced on Sylo's Instagram page on Saturday.  With very rare exceptions so far (like the Motorhead tribute M1), Beck's has only hosted full electric bands on Saturdays since re-opening, so it'll be interesting to see how an originals-infused local band does TOMORROW there, especially given the atypical scheduling for a local headliner! On their Facebook page, Beck's called this "a special treat" and referenced that "we love welcoming up and coming new bands to the scene" (even though Sylo debuted in 2021). An unsaid motivation for this concert may be frontman Elijah Russell's university commitments out of town, which caused the band to take a hiatus from August 2024-May 2025. If Eli is heading back to school, TOMORROW may be the last Sylo show for a while.

Whether Sylo are going on hiatus again or not, they are a talented young group, and hopefully their Beck's debut TOMORROW goes off without a hitch despite the unusual scheduling! This is a 19+ concert at 9:00 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above link for more details on TOMORROW's stop at the former Vibe Lounge, and for a preview, here's Sylo live!

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Also today, here's one more mid-week concert preview, but it's one we knew about already, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will headline the annual Cruisin’ The Dub motorcycle show at the older A&W at 121 Great Northern Road on THURSDAY NIGHT! Weather permitting, the last few years have seen joint classic car and motorcycle shows to support Multiple Sclerosis Canada at both of the A&Ws on Great Northern Road (the newer one down the highway hosts a car show), and given Bone Yard's affinity for motorcycles, it's a no-brainer that they'd support a great cause like this at the bike show half! August 21st is Burgers To Beat MS Day too, so buying a burger will help out even if you don't come out for the concert and bike show, which includes games, raffles, popcorn, and more. There will reportedly be live music at the newer A&W for the car show but I'm unsure which band. We'll let you know if something is publically said.

For more charitable motorcycle concert action, Bone Yard 225 will also rock the annual Dragonfly Run on Sunday, and our preview of that hits the SMS this weekend. While the bike (and car) show starts at 5:00 PM, your local 225 don't take the outdoor stage until 6:00 PM on Thursday. This is absolutely an all ages concert with no cover charge, but donations to MS Canada will absolutely be encouraged. 9&10 News is currently calling for similar conditions on Thursday evening, with partly cloudy skies, no chance of rain, and a weather in the 22° range. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's first charity motorcycle concert of the week, and here they are live!

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

 

• SooToday's Greg McGrath-Goudie reviewed B.A. Johnston's concert at Venue in May for this article, going into solid detail about the eclectic happenings at the Hamilton outsider punk musician's latest local stop and what goes on at his shows in general. Two pictures were included, even of him performing on top of a car outside of the Queen Street East events space, and Greg did get some interview remarks with B.A. post-show as well. Entertaining read that does as good of a job at outlining his hard-to-describe live shows as you can, so check out the full article above!
• Newer local death metal band Bardo, progressive metal quartet Convergence, and online page-less metal supergroup The Sault Side Squad will join the previously confirmed Maynard Hayes as the local openers for the Napoleon-headlined concert from Heavy North Entertainment at Soo Blaster on Friday, September 26th, as per a quiet update to the Facebook event page. Notably, this will mark Convergence's first time opening for a touring band, while this will be Bardo's first concert in almost a year, after debuting when they opened for Selias at the same venue this past September. Looks like a solid lineup to me, so visit the above links for more details!
• I have moved local punk quintet The Gambit to our inactive band links. The former Sick Sons have not issued a public update since their Rotaryfest Stage 2 set in July of last year, but note that they have always been sporadic for their social media updates and live gigs, having played just once a year since their name change and late 2022 revival. The Gambit were working on original material and had teased future plans, so hopefully we do see Lucas, Steve, Christian, Dave, and Clint back when the time is right, especially with that stacked lineup of local punk veterans!

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225) & A Locally Relevant Cover Song!!

Today's post covers a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from a prominent local band as they book up their remaining dates for the summer, while a cover of local note ends things. Here's what you should know!

While local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 aren't playing at Rotaryfest again this year, they're staying busy with new show announcements for next month, so where can you see Greg, Alex, and Warren in August? All of these shows were announced on the band's website's calendar, and follow two private gigs and two tour dates, one being at Thessalon's Community Days on August 1st and the other actually already having taken place, that being the Motorcycle Poker Run in Kirkland Lake (a whopping 7 hours northeast of the Soo) this past Saturday. Props to them for supporting the cause and making that far of a drive! Frontman Greg Simpson used to live in Kirkland Lake, and he even did a radio interview with CJKL 101.5 on their morning drive show the previous day too. In terms of the new concerts, Bone Yard's next local date will take place on Friday, August 8th when they rock Reggie's Place!

The guys will also headline there on August 29th & 30th for the Labour Day long weekend, so fans of this prominent downtown venue will like that your local 225 are returning there a few times next month! If you're wondering why Bone Yard aren't playing at Reggie's on Saturday the 9th, it's because they are returning as the headliners at this year's Algoma Tree Services community meet & greet/charity barbecue that night! Like last year, expect Bone Yard to rock out at 7:00 PM with classic rock veterans Angry Joe & The Growlers also returning as the lead-off band at 1:30 PM, and alongside the music and food, there will be family activities, a staff meet & greet, and a bonfire. Keep this public outdoor event in mind at 1424 Haviland Shores Drive in Goulais River next month! After another Thessalon road trip (a second straight gig at the Aubrey Falls Trading Post Pig Roast), they have two charity gigs lined up in late August.

On Thursday, August 21st, "the dirty three" will perform at the Cruisin’ To End MS motorcycle show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road, so hopefully the weather holds up for this outdoor fundraiser event for multiple sclerosis! Expect some vendors and refreshments along with MS Canada donations and promotions, plus the bike show, far from the first such event that Bone Yard 225 have been involved in at a local A&W. Lastly for their August calendar, Bone Yard will rock the returning Dragonfly Run motorcycle rally for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice on Sunday, August 24th, as it returns for its third year since rebranding from the Ride For ARCH and second at its current homebase at The Grand Gardens North. Bone Yard remain heavily involved in the Dragonfly Run's organization, and this special charity concert should also feature family activities, vendors, a silent auction, and games like last year, though keep tabs for updates.

No word yet on the full band schedule, but last year, Bone Yard played at 5:00 PM sandwiched between Mid Life Crysis and the recently-dormant The Haze, with bands beginning at 2:00 PM. Only the Reggie's shows next month are 19+ with 9:30 PM start times. The Algoma Tree Services event begins at 1:30 with Bone Yard at 7:00 PM, and the A&W sets begin at 6:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard 225's end-of-summer schedule as their hard rocking "sermons" continue march onward!

We'll close this post with a nod to tomorrow night's cancelled Headstones show at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, as I was saving a cover of theirs with a local relevance for our preview of the event. Alas, I was writing up the preview when I found out that the concert was off! In 2019, the Kingston punk/alternative veterans recorded a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" as a non-album single. Of course, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sunk in Whitefish Bay in 1975, just 15 miles from the Soo, and the ship's loss remains a vivid memory for many in the Twin Saults and area almost 50 years later. While Hugh Dillon and crew aren't local, their website's page on the cover notes that they found the original song "profoundly meaningful", and it got strong feedback from fans when it was played at VIP soundchecks. For the single release, they even shot an official music video for the cover, so what should you know there?

In the video, Headstones members are seen walking across ice covered waters while footage of ships, shorelines, and the wreck itself are seen in between, eventually transitioning to the band performing outside at nighttime. The cover is very Headstonesy and would fit in well with their original radio hits, and drives around at a steady clip that rocks up the song but doesn't distract from the somber tone. The harmonica comes in at a good time too! Whether The Headstones would have covered the song here tomorrow, I don't know (Setlist.fm last logs them playing it in a regular set in 2023), but the local relevance is noted regardless. Check out The Headstones' Gordon Lightfoot cover below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bone Yard 225), Thursday Concert Previews, And New Videos!

(Updated at 9:58 PM) This weekend's concert slate is quite busy again after getting a relative reprieve last week, so let's start things a day early today! After all, two (three?) of the shows are Thursday evening affairs, and have more to say than normal given the setting of them, so here's what you should know to start, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! We'll touch on Friday-Saturday nighters and/or the Northern Vibe Festival in preview post #2 hitting the site tomorrow.

Joining the previously confirmed Soundcheck concert at the Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road tomorrow, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will indeed be headlining the concurrent motorcycle show at the old A&W at 121 Great Northern Road TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice on Bone Yard's end, public advertising confirming their involvement only showed up on Facebook earlier today, but remember that they have been busy prepping for the Dragonfly Run on Sunday (preview forthcoming). The dual sets by both bands at the respective A&W car and bike shows is a reprise of last year's Cruisin' The Dub festivities, only this year, Mother Nature isn't going to interfere, as 9&10 News is calling for sunny skies and weather of around 23°. Both car & bike show were rained out in 2023, so things should run smoothly across the board!

As expected, Cruisin' The Dub is in support of Multiple Sclerosis Canada, with lots of classic cars and motorcycles to check out across both Great Northern Road A&Ws, along with family friendly games, prize draws, and refreshments, and a hard rocking local band at both locations, so keep all of this in mind TOMORROW! A much bigger follow-up to the car-only show that Soundcheck played in June, the car and/or bike show will have no cover, they're absolutely ALL AGES, and both run from 5:00-8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on TOMORROW'S action, stay tuned for more from both bands this weekend, and here are both bands live, including one of three new videos of Bone Yard 225 live via their Facebook page! Two of them were live-streamed from their concert at the Laird Agricultural Fair on Friday, including one of them covering The Ramones' classic "I Wanna Be Sedated" with bassist Warren Reville on lead vocals.

While it is vertical, the filmer largely only focused on Warren, so the orientation isn't so bad in that regard! Solid cover but the vocals came through very quiet. The other Laird Fair video (which is horizontal) sees them covering ZZ Top's "Tush" with guitarist Alex D'Ettore on lead vocals, and it's a solid cover with good energy! Embedded here is their (also horizontal!) new video from one of their Reggie's Place gigs in July, where they covered The Tragically Hip's "Little Bones" with singer/drummer Greg Simpson handling vocals. Another strong cover filmed in high quality, if slightly to its detriment given the stage lighting at Reggie's, but check this out for yourselves below, and don't miss Bone Yard TOMORROW!

Next up, Hails frontman Brenton Ellis' acoustic punk solo project Slumshine will play a rare live set TOMORROW NIGHT when they return to the Sault Ste. Marie Museum for their third straight set at the annual Fringe North Festival! The only SMS-amenable music act playing Fringe North this year, Slumshine will see Brent break out his acoustic guitar and pink knit ski mask for the first time since last year's Fringe North when he opens up "the Comet Stage", which will be set up outside of & behind the museum tomorrow night (as such, expect the same sunny & 23° weather conditions as at Cruisin' The Dub). The official program outlines all of the details you could ask for re: this year's festival, including a complete performer lineup at the Museum and elsewhere, celebrating art and culture in all of its diverse forms. Like last year, Slumshine's set (named "A Work In Progress") will be themed around Brent's recovery from drug addiction.

Click here to read more about Slumshine's modus operandi and what to expect lyrically from their set, courtesy of Fringe North's website. While Slumshine's set opens tomorrow's program at "the Comet Stage" at 7:00 PM, each individual performer is priced separately at different tiers, with no batch price packages to cover an entire day's musicians on one stage. Brent will be a musical outlier anyway tomorrow, as he precedes sets by Toronto R&B musician Aieysha Haws at 8:00 PM, Thunder Bay rapper O'Rose at 9:00 PM, and rappers from local label Sooicide Records at 10:00 PM. If you want to see Slumshine's set tomorrow from 7:00-8:00, the minimum advertised price is $5, though $15 is the "support the artist" rate (note that the program lists both tiers as being $5 higher than the online ticket page does). It is also worth noting that Brent will be jetting off to Southern Ontario for shows with Hails this weekend!

On Friday and Saturday, they'll be opening for Toronto "hypnofolk" band Twintwa (who also played with Ha!ls at It's The Pits in Leeburn) and Hamilton electro-noise rock band Better Homes For Meaner People, across both nights, the former at Vertagogo in Hamilton and the latter at the third annual Humber River Art & Music Festival in Toronto, where the three bands will be joined by Peterborough rapper Garbageface, the Soo's own Shae Tull, and many others. Hopefully both shows are hits for Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan this weekend, but don't miss Slumshine tomorrow at the museum first! See above for more details on Fringe North 2024, and for a preview, here's Slumshine live back in 2019!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck), Northern Vibe Festival Updates, And New Videos!!

Here's another news post on this Tuesday evening, which is half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, but we also have lineup updates for an upcoming festival to take note of too, as well as some new live videos. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will be playing at the annual Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road on Thursday, August 22nd! The guys had played a car show there on June 30th as well, which had no advance public advertising on social media that I could find, though it did take place, as noted on personal accounts and presumably in person at the restaurant. However, next week's actually is making the rounds for advertising on Facebook, with drummer Glen Thomas sharing a poster on his personal Facebook page on Friday. This will be the annual car show there, with donations going to Multiple Sclerosis Canada, and will also include family entertainment and refreshments. The plan is to have a concurrent bike show at the older A&W at 121 Great Northern Road too, and while Glen said that "I believe" Bone Yard 225 is playing that, Bone Yard have not confirmed that at press time.

This special Thursday outdoor matinee concert(s?) goes down at 5:00 PM and it is absolutely all ages with no stated cover charge, donations aside. Of course, Mother Nature is the elephant in the room here, as last year's Cruisin' The Dub car/bike show was cancelled due to rain that day, so absolutely keep tabs on your preferred local forecast next week just in case. While we're on the subject, Soundcheck will also return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only on Saturday, August 31st! The band has not confirmed this show publically yet, but the venue did via (belatedly) posting their August concert calendar on their Facebook page yesterday, marking their first monthly schedule drop there since May. This will be Soundcheck's first show at the Great Northern Road nightclub in just over two months, and it should be a prime opportunity to hear Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen's diverse and often heavy array of covers before the summer season ends!

A one-nighter as is custom at The Water Tower Pub, the band on Friday the 30th will definitely be the aforementioned Bone Yard 225, who already confirmed that "uncorked" gig via their website's concert calendar. Soundcheck will be on at 8:00 PM for this Labour Day long weekend concert, which has a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's upcoming dates, and don't miss them (and Bone Yard) at the Laird Fair this weekend, preview forthcoming!

Next up, here's the latest lineup updates for this year's (final?) Northern Vibe Festival in nearby Ophir over the August 24th weekend! We still don't know the complete band schedule (though organizers did finally unveil it publically last year, if on short notice), but they have been publicizing many individual performers on both the band-centric Forest Stage and DJ-centric River Stage on their Facebook page this summer. Through there, they have confirmed two new Forest Stage acts that were not previously advertised, and still aren't on their website. One is Sudbury psychedelic hard rock trio The Dirty Mystics in their debut (not just locally, anywhere!) and the other is veteran local folk/country singer/guitarist Brian Tremblay, so their diverse sounds should add to the festivities! No word yet on if they're replacing anyone, but note that announced touring acts Hellrager, James Roy Daley, and Medussah have not (yet?) gotten individual Facebook plugs where every other Forest Stage act has.

It's also worth noting that magician Ryan McFarling is also returning for this year's Northern Vibe too, but his Facebook promotional image describes him as a "special guest" and does not tie him to a stage, despite being a scheduled Forest Stage performer last year. Whether this is the last Northern Vibe or not, the lineup is shaping up well, and while we await the complete nightly band schedule, visit the above links for full current details on how to attend next weekend!

We'll close today with two new videos from reunited local hard rock quartet Half Past's Facebook page, courtesy of their second show of the year, which took place at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on August 3rd! One sees the guys covering most of "I Don't Care" by Apocalyptica & former Three Days Grace singer Adam Gontier (interesting seeing that song covered by a band with a guitarist and bassist given that Apocalyptica replace both with cellos), but embedded below is their longer cover of Chevelle's "Joyride (Omen)". Solid covers of these modern hard rock hits, and Jordan is definitely getting more and more comfortable as a frontman via the shared clips from this year! The filmer also made use of the floor to film lots of close (and horizontal) angles, so do check these out above & below, and don't miss Half Past opening for Selias at Soo Blaster next month!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes as we continue playing catch-up tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soundcheck), Convergence Updates, And More!!

Today's post was going to be very different, but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT fell into my lap, so we're changing course by looking at that, a linked new video, and the latest updates from a talented original metal band, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck have one more charity car show gig at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road for 2023, and it goes down TODAY! I profusely apologize for the short notice, the band has not publically confirmed this gig on their Facebook page (alas, they rarely do for these A&W car shows), and I only heard about it via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page this morning. This is the rescheduling of the Cruisin' The Dub car/bike show that was supposed to have been held across both of the Great Northern Road A&W locations last month (bikes and Bone Yard at the old one, cars and Soundcheck at the new one), but advertising indicates that everything will be at the new A&W TODAY, with just Soundcheck playing, though be advised that the poster doesn't specify live music. Besides Soundcheck and the classic cars/bikes, expect games, raffles, popcorn, and more family friendly entertainment!

All proceeds go to the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, which is always a very worthy cause. While rain often seems to hit A&W car shows (hence why last month's was cancelled & postponed), 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather in the 15° range, so it should be quite comfortable and dry! This all ages event takes place from 1:00-3:00 PM TODAY (again, I'm sorry about the late notice), and there is no cover charge to attend. Click here for more details, and for a preview of THIS AFTERNOON'S festivities, here's a brand new video of Soundcheck live! This comes from Glen's YouTube channel, and it is from a recent Thursday jam night at Jay's Piston Broke Pub that they hosted no later than September 7th. The video features the band sans singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver (who usually doesn't appear at jam nights) alongside an uncredited guest singer tackling Judas Priest's "Grinder".

You can tell that Terry, Jim, and Glen didn't 100% know this song in advance, but such is how these jam nights often go, and it's a fun performance with heavy & committed vocals from the guest! Shame about the vertical video though, especially with the lower half of the frame being just an empty floor. Give it a watch below, and don't miss Soundcheck (with Cameron) at the postponed A&W car show TODAY!

The second half of today's post is devoted to the latest from local progressive metal duo Convergence! The former Kraken Mara have not been idle since we last talked about them in June, and I do apologize for the delay in covering their summer activity, so what's been going on with Brendan & Jake as of late? Well, on July 9th, they announced that they had officially signed as "signature artists" with Halo Guitars, a well known guitar/bass customization company, so keep that in mind when watching the videos! Just over a week later, they posted a new song named "The Ebb", and true to prior teasers, it was belatedly added to the official track listing of their debut EP "One" as song #4, so you'll get it if you buy the EP (if you bought it beforehand, the song costs $1 on its own). Good thing we have an album review backlog, so if anything else gets added after the fact in the coming months, we'll be able to review it/them from the off!

As such, I'll hold comment on the song for now, but it does feature session drums from Kelowna, B.C.-based drummer Cliff Aubut. Still hard at work on new material (whether some/all is added to "One" or not, I can't say), Convergence posted two "Reels" on their Facebook page with teaser clips of new song named "Dredge" and "The Burial", featuring post-production spacey visuals and footage of guitarist Brendan Christie playing the songs in studio. Sounds promisingly heavy and technical, but the jury's still out on the full songs. Another "Reel" on August 16th featured advertising for Halo Guitars alongside footage of their 2021 video of them playing "Stratus" at the Bushplane Museum, but of course, "Reels" remain brief and vertical-only videos that cannot be embedded on external websites or played in background tabs, so they are what they are. Do Convergence have any videos that I can embed here?

Yes, two of them! In August, they posted two abbreviated playthrough videos of their songs "Ishka" and "Chimera", and while neither is brand new, they also aren't (yet?) included on the "One" EP. While both are structured similarly, I've opted to embed "Chimera" here as it's longer (though neither is visibly a full song) and it features guitarist Jake Valois on camera too! Good to see him, as Brendan alone appears in the majority of their performance clips. What we hear is on point for fans of progressive instrumental metal, and I'm curious to see how things progress for Convergence, so give everything a watch above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Handsome Sandwich & Soundcheck), Spades GT Updates, And More!!

Plans for today's SMS post changed when a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (and missed show needing an apology) fell into my lap this morning, so that leads off today's post along with one more new show and some other recent updates. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Jay's Piston Broke Pub TONIGHT after previously playing there last night! I profusely apologize for the short notice and for missing yesterday's show, the band did not publicize them on their Facebook page, while the venue only announced them on theirs yesterday morning. I really must do a better job at checking out venue pages when bands don't get the word out themselves, I apologize again, and hopefully yesterday's show was a hit! Same for jam night at the former Reggie's West on Thursday, but we've never covered those as "concerts" here. If you'd prefer to hear Soundcheck's classic and hard rock covers outdoors, then good news, as they'll reportedly be the musical entertainment at TOMORROW'S returning Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W at 659 Great Northern Road! Again, apologies for the short notice, official promotion does not mention a band.

Late notice or not, Soundcheck have played at multiple car shows at this A&W, and hopefully they deliver the right soundtrack for all of the classic cars, especially as proceeds go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada! Both TONIGHT'S (and last night's) Jay's shows are/were 9:00 PM events with no cover charge and 19+ age limits, while TOMORROW'S car show gig is a 1:00 PM matinee affair for the entire family with no cover. 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather at 22° during the car show, which isn't as hot as we have had lately! Visit the above links for more details, apologies again for missing last night's show at Jay's, and here's a brand new video of Soundcheck (with no guests)! Uploaded to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel last week, this was filmed at The Esquire Club the night before their Obsession tribute gig there, where they covered Kenny Chesney's "Young".

A staple of their set since Cameron Oliver joined the band, he is solely on vocals here and is not playing guitar. Unfortunately, the filmer of this video was shooting vertically, leading to a lot of panning between 3/4ths of the band and Terry from where they were standing, but this cover comes through well, at least from what I know of this song! I'm not a big country fan, but it sounds on par with Soundcheck's prior filmed versions for the performance quality. Give it a watch below, and don't miss them at Jay's TONIGHT and at the car show TOMORROW!

Next up, local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich will make their Water Tower Pub debut on Saturday, July 8th! Their first true solo gig with no support or external headlining bands of 2023, this event will come fresh off of their appearance at the Poutine Feast one week from tomorrow, so these two gigs will literally bookend July's first full week. Still riding the momentum of their "Deconstructed" album release, look for a long night of originals and covers not unlike what fans would have seen from the Sandwich in early-mid 2022 gigs, albeit before Rafael came on board! This is definitely a one-night-only gig, as The Water Tower Pub historically books separate acts on Fridays and Saturdays, but if you're curious as to who's playing on Friday the 7th, keep tabs on the venue's Facebook page, where announcements are usually made a few days prior. This 19+ show has an 8:00 PM start time and no cover. Visit the above links for more details!

We'll close with updates from Handsome Sandwich members Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger's old band (Jack) Spades GT, who play their first concert in Sault Ste. Marie since 2019 tonight at The Machine Shop! In terms of their recent daily run of (to me) annoyingly restrictive "Reels", those ran until June 14th, with the last four including three more Indie Night In Canada videos from the same filmer (one focused each on singer J.D. Pearce, guitarist Daniel Horton, and bassist James Roy Daley), closing with this preview "Reel" to hype the "Sewer City Radio" album being on "all streaming platforms" (quite an accomplishment if "all" is true!) Again, "Reels" can't be embedded externally, are only uploaded vertically, and can't be played on background tabs, so click above to see them! In terms of the Indie Night In Canada gig proper, Spades GT's set was highly praised by Jay Broderick of LoudTO in this article.

If this doesn't sell Spades GT on the unitiated, I don't know what will! While they said that Indie Night In Canada on June 5th would be their last Toronto show for "some time", I guess "some time" is code for "thirteen days", as they played at See-Scape there this past Sunday to open for Dogo Suicide. Hopefully that later notice gig went well! Lastly, Daniel hyped their show in Cambridge that night using this "Reel" with lots of mirrored and rotated copies of the same footage. Was the chef's kiss well placed? Click here to see, but hopefully the show was a hit! Stay tuned for more on their July plans soon, don't miss them at The Machine Shop tonight, and look for more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Tym Morrison), Slumshine/Ghostly Hounds Preview, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, yet another concert cancellation to take note of, this time for a short notice gig we hadn't yet covered on the SMS. Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck were supposed to return to the A&W at 659 Great Northern Road tomorrow as part of the planned Cruisin' The Dub charity car show, but it was reportedly cancelled due to tomorrow's poor weather forecast, as per drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page. Truth be told, 9&10 News are currently calling for thunderstorms all day, so clearly this is a "better safe than sorry" approach, especially given how Soundcheck were rained out after an hour the last time they played an A&W car show gig.

Look for Soundcheck back on stage next week, but as for today's post, we have the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews (one being a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), and we'll start there, as local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for a matinee concert TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page earlier today. If you want an indoor respite for some live cover action on TOMORROW, this will do the trick, with this being Tym's first announced show since his apparent 2022 finale at The Mike Case Memorial Stage last week. Should be a solid concert for fans of his unplugged classic and hard rock covers, so don't miss this Sunday matinee despite the late notice! This show has a 3:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's one more LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will make their debut at Northern Light Cannabis Co.(?!) in nearby Dafter on Friday, September 30th! Not every day you hear of a local band playing at a marijuana dispensary, but this is hardly a new proposition for Tarnished, who had previously planned to play there back in July, only for the show to be cancelled without ever being 100% publically finalized. How a live band will go over at Northern Light (Michigan's first tribally-owned provisioning center) is to be determined, but the show coincides with the dispensary's Fire Up Fridaze events, including an open consumption lounge, board games, and product discounts. Located at 2736 West M-28 in Dafter (15 minutes south of the Soo) this 21+ event has no cover charge, and I'm unsure when exactly Tarnished's set begins given the event timeframe of 12:00-8:00 PM.

That seems inflated to match the Fire Up Fridaze timeframe, and Tarnished's solo gigs usually have them blocked for four hours, so I'd expect this to be a 4:00 PM matinee, but we'll let you know if that was an incorrect guess. Given the venue, this show will surely play more towards active marijuana users than people who don't partake, but it'll definitely be a unique locale for Tarnished's hard rocking covers & originals at month's end, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Back to Sault Ontario now for one last weekend concert preview, this time with plenty of advance notice, as local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine will open for British Columbia folk solo project Ghostly Hounds at Dryer Fire's temporary rental venue at 285 Wilson Street TONIGHT! This is effectively a sequel to a September 2017 concert that both acts played at the former Gore Street Cafe, so it is neat to see Brent and Francesca pairing up on a local stage with Nicole promoting once again! Unlike there, Ghostly Hounds are a solo act now, and their darker, highly personal brand of folk rock should fit the Dryer Fire oeuvre well tonight! Slumshine had just returned to the stage for the first time in well over two years at the Sault Ste. Marie Museum during Fringe North, but attendance was highly restricted over pandemic safeguards there, so hopefully Brent's ski mask-clad originals find a solid audience here!

Tonight's all ages concert has a 7:00 PM start time, and admission runs for $15 in advance at this link or $20 at the door (a sharp increase from 2017, where it was a $10 or "pay what you can" affair). Not the heaviest show out there, but Ghostly Hounds honest and affecting originals and Slumshine's unplugged punk stylings should keep Wilson Street rocking tonight, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Slumshine live!

Finally for today, here's the latest from revived local hard rock quartet Half Past! After seven months of public dormancy aside from a couple of picture uploads, they posted the Facebook video embedded below on August 28th, giving us our first new audio of the band's current lineup, here covering Chevelle's "Joyride (Omen)". It's not an overly polished cover, but Jordan Rains handles the vocals well, and new drummer Jamie Labreche fits in throughout! Nice hearing a local band covering Chevelle too, you don't see them tackled a lot. Be advised that a Facebook page surfaced last week for a different band featuring Jamie and bassist Arthur Lacasse named Fade Out, with them joined by singer Drew Borchardt and former Fitswitch guitarist Lee Slater. That band's Facebook page was launched after the Half Past video went online, so I don't know if Fade Out is an entirely separate project or if Art & Jamie left.

In any event, Fade Out played a private event earlier this month where they covered Weezer's "Say It Ain't So", with Jamie using his Half Past (or "Past Half") drumkit for the gig, and the video is up to watch. Not a bad rendition! Again, no word on what Fade Out's existence means for Half Past, let alone if Fade Out lean heavier in their set, but get the early details above, and give Half Past's Chevelle cover a listen below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Slumshine), The Tym Morrison Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed (if abbreviated) concert earlier this week, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck played at a car show at the newer A&W on Great Northern Road on Thursday. The band never promoted this gig on their Facebook page, and I only belatedly heard about it via drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page... but the show only lasted for an hour before heavy rain washed the band out and they were unable to continue. Hopefully their gear wasn't damaged, and I do apologize for missing the show, I'd have covered it if someone said something! Now, here's a weekend concert preview & a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine are back and will headline day #3 of this year's Fringe North Festival with a concert at The Sault Ste. Marie Museum TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Slumshine's Facebook page has not been updated to reflect this date, but project leader Brenton Ellis' personal Facebook page, and Fringe North's own promotional materials have picked up the slack. Slumshine had been publically dormant since the release of their "Slumlord" EP in May 2021 and the launch of Brent's current band These Magnificent Tentacles that same week, and they hadn't played live at all since early 2020, so you can see how a new Slumshine gig could take fans by surprise! As you may recall, the Fringe North Festival is the annual arts & culture festival intended to showcase open, censorship-free, and limitless performances from artists of all stripes, and is hosting in-person events again this year.

While many Fringe North performances remain as videos viewable by ticket purchasers only (The Uncanny Valley participated as such last year), and there's no linked Up The Arts Festival at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion like there was pre-pandemic, The Sault Ste. Marie Museum at the corner of Queen & East is the 2022 home base for in-person events. However, recent Facebook promotion indicates that the poor weather forecast for this weekend has forced Fringe North to move previously planned outdoor events inside the Museum, but capacity is limited across the board whether they were in the museum or not. Full details on any schedule adjustments are available on the Fringe North Facebook page. The only hard rock/punk-leaning in person act this year, Slumshine will be performing in the Museum at the Durhan Gallery TOMORROW NIGHT at 10:00 PM as part of a six act program, with Slumshine as the only "band".

Also scheduled are a performance of the one-act play Danielle at 8:30 PM, a Haus of Gore drag show at 7:00 PM, musical comedy troupe The Floor Beneath Us at 5:30 PM, a Project Nishin Niizh watch party (for indigineous culture videos reflecting the impact of the pandemic) at 4:00 PM, and Tim Murphy's historical one-man-show Wasn't It Grand? at 2:30 PM. It is worth noting that Slumshine's set TOMORROW NIGHT is plugged in the official Fringe North program as "a personal recovery based musical performance piece incorporating visual art", implying that Brent's paintings will be involved along with personal song lyrics, but of course, his pink knit ski mask is a given. Performances at Fringe North are individually priced, and while the format is "pay what you can", organizers suggest $10 for most acts and $20 as a "support the artist" price. Age limits are not specified, but use your discretion given the open culture.

Space limits inside the Museum for both size and pandemic protocols mean that there will be only 35 paid attendees allowed to see most acts, Slumshine included, so head down to the Museum A.S.A.P. if you want to ensure you're in before showtime! I'm very surprised to see Slumshine back, if at a very restricted event for capacity, but hopefully Brent has a lot more up his solo sleeve after TOMORROW NIGHT, so look for his entertaining unplugged punk originals downtown! Visit the above links for more details, Slumshine are back in our active band links, and here they are live!

We'll close tonight's post with one more weekend concert preview, as local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for a matinee concert THIS SUNDAY! Tym debuted at the Dennis Street nightclub last month with two consecutive Sunday matinees before ceding the timeslot to Leslie Cook over the last two weeks. Tym's back over the next two Sundays, and while I don't know if he and Leslie are trading two Sundays in rotation for the time being or not, fans of his deep covers setlist should find a lot to like in a couple of days! No weather issues to deal with either, doubly so given that it's at Shooters Downstairs Lounge. Whether this works out better for you than his Trading Post gigs or if you can't get enough, Tym's show on Sunday has a 3:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Soundcheck), Plus New Videos!!

Today's post took big detour from what was originally planned due to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, both regarding Sunday matinee gigs, and new video footage of one of tomorrow's acts, but some recent videos from another local band will still cap things off as planned from before. Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will be playing at a car show TOMORROW outside of the A&W at 659 Great Northern Road! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this gig via their Facebook event page this morning, but it was acknowledged previously on personal accounts. This might seem atypical for Soundcheck at first, but you may recall seeing the guys playing outside of the new A&W for car shows in mid-2019, so now that the pandemic is in a much better state, those can happen again, and bands can play them again! TOMORROW'S car show is Cruisin' The Dub car, bike, and jeep show, and as the poster indicates, expect games, raffles, and refreshments along with the vehicles and live music. Soundcheck's wide ranging but often heavy setlist should provide a solid musical backdrop TOMORROW!

All proceeds from registrations and purchases on site will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (great cause), but this is a FREE & ALL AGES event for general attendees, and the show runs from 1:00-3:00 PM. However, be advised that 9&10 News is calling for light rain TOMORROW during showtime, and the band's own event page says that the concert is "weather permitting", so hopefully the forecast comes up lucky for the band and attendees. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's some brand new videos of Soundcheck at Shooters Downstairs Lounge this past Saturday! Live-streamed by the venue's Facebook page, one is a short clip of Soundcheck covering Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!" with guitarist Terry Eaton on lead vocals, but embedded below is a full video of them covering Kenny Loggins' "Footloose" with fellow guitarist Cameron Oliver singing lead instead.

Unfortunately, both are in the vertical cell phone orientation, but the audio quality holds up, and the filmer from Shooters got some nice angles of the band rocking out and the attendees dancing and enjoying the music, so if you're curious as to how Shooters looks on the inside, these will help you out! The monitor that displays relevant band logos above the drum kit has always been a nice touch. Check these out above and below, and if the weather cooperates, don't miss Soundcheck outside of the new A&W down Great Northern TOMORROW!

Next up, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for another Sunday matinee concert TOMORROW as well! Again, apologies for the short notice, the venue only announced this show via their Facebook page on Thursday, with Tym following suit with a Facebook event page yesterday. This is an unusually quick turnaround for Tym at Reggie's, having just played there this past Sunday too, and when he is booked for their Sunday matinee series, it's appears to be mostly on a once-a-month basis, so could this show be as a late fill-in? In any event, if you missed Tym at The Mike Case Memorial Stage on Wednesday (or can't make it to see him there next Wednesday), his deep setlist of classic and hard rock covers will keep the entertainment going TOMORROW! This 19+ show has no cover charge and a 3:00 PM start time. See above for more details on this matinee gig, and here's Tym live!

Let's wrap things up today, with a lot of new TikTok videos from St. Ignace metalcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown! Singer Brandon West launched a TikTok page for the band way back in December 2020 (apologies for missing it), and there's way too much ground to cover with it, but let's at least sample what he's uploaded there. Posts on TikTok aren't normally promoted on their Facebook page, but Brandon's last two were acknowledged there teasers of him opening a box and asking fans to guess what it was (it's glowing, briefcase in Pulp Fiction style, but they're clearly teasing something with them). Otherwise, H.L.T.C. on TikTok is a mixture of preview clips, duets & stitches with other TikTok videos, and content shared from/more amenable to Brandon's personal TikTok page, including videos featuring his kids. The band's mascot Iggy Duck also appears, with Brandon donning that duck mask seen in Facebook teaser clips for some distorted vocal covers.

I wouldn't say TikTok is the source for Heavy Lies The Crown's major updates, and it looks more like a lighter diversion for fans of Brandon specifically and/or supporters who are better versed in the TikTok platform, but there is a lot to see, if not always 100% devoted to the band at large. Diehard fans should be curious though, so give everything a look above! The embed code for TikTok videos has never worked for me on the SMS. That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!