LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Pet Retina & 5 Dollar Bribe), Convergence Videos, And More Recent Notes!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert(s?) in this weekend's concert previews, as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished played at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino last night. The band only announced the show yesterday morning, noting that "it's last minute for us too", and while unstated there, they were late replacements for St. John's country veterans The Louie Longoria Band following the passing of Louie's brother, as per their Facebook page. I do not know if Tarnished played at the casino on Friday also, but kudos to the guys for filling in late, and hopefully the show(s?) went well! And of course, our condolences go out to the Longoria family at this time.

Today's news post otherwise features some new videos and assorted recent updates, but let's lead off with two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this month in Sault Ontario, and we'll start with new local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe, who will play their second public concert on Friday, May 15th at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Another trip to the west end for this promising young group, who received a strong reception for their matinee debut at Beck's Bar last month, but unlike that concert, this Victoria Day long weekend show will be in Jay's usual 9:30 PM timeslot, so how will 5.D.B. go over at the former Roosevelt Hotel? Find out next weekend, but give their ample videos from the Beck's show a watch on their Facebook page to see what Jayce, Tyler, Randy, and Chase bring to the table! This is a 19+ show (5 Dollar Bribe members aside), I do not yet know who is playing on Saturday the 16th, and there is no cover. Visit the above links for more details on their sophomore gig!

Next up, Victoria, B.C. noise rock duo Pet Retina and drummer Max Patterson's solo project i.o will make their return to Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday, May 27th to play at Piecing It Together Shows' pop-up venue in their last concert of the 2025-2026 season! As the former Dryer Fire have done a few times in the past, P.I.T.S. have rented a vacant space to serve as a short-term host venue since September, this time at 331 Wellington Street West (beside Angela Le Fashion and across from Bruni's Fine Foods). A nine month residency is pretty good, but in that span, Nicole and crew haven't really dipped into hard rock or punk territory aside from open mic hosts, so this will be a party to cap off their Steelton stint! Pet Retina & i.o last came here in May of last year to open for Shae Tull's album release party, and this will be Pet Retina's third local stop, and i.o's fourth. Should be some explosive sets of minimalist noise ahead, so keep this one in mind!

Local support will come by way of local comedy rock band The Floor Between Us (more on them soon) and new local experimental group A.D.H.D. (who I still know nothing about). This all ages concert goes down in just over three weeks at 8:00 PM with advance tickets going for $15, but as of this writing, the online ticket link is not live. Visit the official Facebook event page for updates in that regard, but the door charge will jump to $20. The event page also notes that no one (will be) turned away for lack of funds. Should be a fun and diverse capper to P.I.T.S.' pop-up run on Wellington Street West, despite the mid-week scheduling, so see above for more details!

Also today, here's the latest from local progressive metal quartet Convergence's YouTube channel, where they have been surprisingly active in the past month posting there like it is Facebook, even though you basically have to be subscribed to them to not have to seek the posts out yourself. Of note, they launched a poll last week asking for fan input on a new original song name, giving the options "Cooked/Chopped", "Ultraluminari", "I Hate My Day Job", and "Erode". Assuming these aren't joke titles, this confirms that their long-gestating self-titled album will have new originals and not just re-recordings and holdovers from their instrumental era, but if you want to pick your favourite name, do so above! Along with "new content, new music, and some heavy surprises on the way", three new vertical "Shorts" videos were posted there as well as on the band's Facebook page, so what can you see therein?

One is a vertical clip taken from Stephen's vocal tracking from their behind-the-scenes video from last month, so if you want the full upload in widescreen and without a "This chorus hits different" caption hard-coded on the video, watch that instead. Another just reuses the same promotional Soo Blaster video used in other "Shorts" seen on social media, this time following a jumpscare (with a warning, at least). Embedded below is the only new "Short", which gives us an alleged glimpse at what the band members hear in their in-ear monitors when recording their music. Amusing while it lasts, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Convergence soon!

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:

 

• Some Facebook users may have seen a "Story" video shared from The Speak Easy's Facebook page showing newer local ska punk band A.S.D.P. playing at Friday night's Write-Ups concert there, but alas, as a "Story", I could only watch it once before it vanished forever, despite being the first public A.S.D.P. video that I have ever seen online. You'll have to take my word for it that the vertical video showed a second guitarist (wearing a Vanity First t-shirt) playing with Adam Smith Death Parade, but I didn't immediately recognize him, nor do I know if he was a new permanent member or just a guest. We'll let you know if something is confirmed!
• In a quiet announcement on his Facebook page on April 23rd, local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary announced that the first single from his new album will be released to major streaming services on June 5th! The song is named "Carousel", and while I can't go back and check due to Mike delisting most of his back catalogue, this appears to be a re-recording of a song of the same name that he included on his 2018 EP "Hourglass" and its full-album expansion "Weight Of The World" (which I reviewed at the time). Stay tuned for the (re-?) release next month!
• At this year's Northern Ontario Music & Film Awards, Dustin Goodall has received his third nomination for Outstanding Engineer for his work producing local death metal trio Pillory's new album "Old Soul"! Dustin was previously nominated in this category in 2024 for producing both The Northwest's last EP and Handsome Sandwich's first album. He does great work at Unsalted Audio, so congratulations to Dustin and the other nominees! The winners will be announced on June 20th, and fellow local musicians Crystal Shawanda and Kalle Mattson have been nominated in other categories,

 

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

Not A Leap Year Party & Project 906 Previews, Plus Double Down & Tym Morrison Videos!!

As promised, here's the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, and in case you were wondering, the late replacement band at The Esquire Club was covered in an update to yesterday's post below this one, Along with this weekend's remaining heavier shows, we also have new videos from acts not playing live imminently, so here's what you should know!

We'll start with in Michigan for this post, as Sault Ste. Marie blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will play at The Strongs Tavern in Eckerman TOMORROW NIGHT! Historically a favourite venue for the 906 crew despite not playing a public concert there since July, tomorrow's show will be the first from Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian since rocking the Snowsfest weekend at Snow's Bar & Grill in Cedarville two weeks ago. Hopefully there's a solid crowd beating the winter blues in Eckerman tomorrow for Project 906's entertaining blend of hard rock covers, and there's lots of videos online to sample what they bring to the table! As usual for their trips an hour west to Eckerman, tomorrow's Strongs Tavern concert is an 8:00 PM affair with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above link for more details on Project 906's Strongs concert tomorrow night, and for a preview, here they are live last year!

Next up, if you've missed a multi-band concert in Sault Ontario in recent months, this might fit the bill, as local promoters Underground Events SSM are hosting a "Not A Leap Year Party" TOMORROW NIGHT! While this is a house party concert (something I usually don't cover due to their not-usually-public nature), this is a publically advertised event on Bruce Street with an admission fee and 19+ age limit, and while they don't give the exact address, there will be balloons outside the locale so you know where to go! Specifically, the venue is being called "Mellow D's Basement", which is an allusion to the former pop-up venue Mellow D's Underground. Six acts will gather in said basement tomorrow, including new local ska punk trio A.S.D.P. (in their first concert set since releasing their debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade"), party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty, and online page-less space rock duo The Spaceship Opening (featuring A.S.D.P. drummer Ralph Barber).

As well, three solo acoustic acts will be playing tomorrow, namely Sylo frontman Eli Russell, folk singer/guitarist Gimiiwan Ikwe, and former Vanity First frontman Andrew Keith (Beggs). Promoted by A.S.D.P. frontman/Apocalypse Afterparty bassist Mikhal "Châ" Muto, this show has a $10 cover charge (or "suggested donation"), and doors open at 5:00 PM. An intriguing event for sure, especially as these six acts do not collectively update social media much, so come to Bruce Street tomorrow for all of the action, and look for the balloons! See above for more details, and here's The A.A. live!

Also today, let's talk about two acts that aren't playing this weekend, but have new videos to share, starting with classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down! As you may recall, they played their first show with bassist Dan Beaupre in six months this past weekend at The Water Tower Pub, and while there are videos from the show on their Facebook page, both of them have guest performers. One is a cover of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy" (possibly the Big Sugar version) with guitarist Joel Syrette on vocals and RPM's Joseph Bertrand on drums in place of Ric Datson. Still a relatively original cover choice as local bands go, and the guys do a good job with it! Joseph shows his stuff well behind the kit too, and don't bypass RPM, they have developed a good following with their own classic rock covers! The other video is embedded below, and it features the return of Mid Life Crysis bassist Lori Reinholtz, who was Dan's "stunt double" for most of his absence.

Thanked for helping Double Down out with this Cameo video by musician/social media personality Joey Breaux, Lori did two songs last week as a guest singer, with the filmed one being Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "I Hate Myself For Loving You" (yes, Ric was back on drums here). While both videos are sadly vertical and incomplete, they are unique in that guitarist Beej Syrette filmed them with a headcam while performing, so we got to see his direct point of view on both videos. The audio quality is kinda tinny on both, but you sure get a different view of everything this way, and it'd be interesting to see Beej (let alone other local musicians) do this more! Check both videos out!

Finally for today, let's talk about local hard rock/metal solo musician Tym Morrison, who is taking a break from concerts until at least late March while he heals up from a broken pinky finger. He's not staying musically idle though, as he has posted four original songs to his YouTube channel in the past two weeks! All have accompanying music videos featuring assorted linked video clips, though be advised that some feature apparent generative AI. One song is an instrumental metal song named "Moon Patrol" that you may remember as being planned for his unreleased second album. The other three seem to be new, and the only one to exceed two minutes is "Jesus Save Me", which leans heavily into his faith. It is a lyric video if you wanna sing along! The other two new tracks are secular, including a comedy rock song named "Liar Liar Pants On Fire", which is about who the title suggests!

Embedded below is his new metal instrumental "Frantic Delay". It's good to see some heavy new music from Tym, who gets to let loose on these tracks and shred to his standards (granted, I assume these all predate his broken finger), and his singing voice is put to good use on the two songs with lyrics! Note that only "Jesus Save Me" even cracks 2 minutes in length. Give Tym's new songs/videos a look above and below, and we'll let you know if he has more material to post before he returns to the stage!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Krang & Project 906), The M1 Concert Preview, And A New Punk Cover!!

Here's a new news post to check out on this Tuesday evening, which is half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, with the back half featuring a special Wednesday night concert preview and a new studio cover to check out, so let's get things rolling!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quintet Project 906 will return to The Strongs Tavern in nearby Eckerman on Saturday, July 19th! Not yet announced by the band on social media, this concert was announced by the venue's Facebook page two weeks ago in this poster advertising July events (or lack thereof, as they closed for two days during the Fourth of July long weekend). Last seen on stage in Brimley late last month, the guys last played in Eckerman at the end of May, and hopefully the #summerof906 continues well with another night of strongly performed and crowd friendly hard rock classics next Saturday! You can see Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian take the stage at The Strongs Tavern next Saturday at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Project 906's next show, unless they announce something on short notice prior!

Next up, remember how two Swiss death metal bands played in Sault Ontario this past Sunday night? Well, another band is trekking all the way from Europe to play in the Soo, as Czech skate punk band Krang will make their local concert debut on Monday, September 8th at The Distraction! An upbeat pop punk band whose songs are heavily based on retro pop culture and nostalgia (yes, the songs are in English), Krang will absolutely pique the interest of local punk fans this fall, so don't bypass their fun original attack in two months! Local support will include online page-less "east end rock & roll" duo The Spaceship Opening (featuring ex-Fitswitch/Redundant bassist Andrew MacDonald alongside Ralph Barber) and A.S.D.P., which I am 99% sure stands for "Adam Smith Death Parade". You may recall seeing them debut as a late replacement band at the private Go Skateboarding Day replacement event last month, which also featured The Spaceship Opening.

The venue describes A.S.D.P. as "crackrocksteady", so does the "rocksteady" reference imply ska punk? I don't known anything else on A.D.S.P., but stay tuned when we hear more! Taking place in The Distraction's current basement locale on East Street (all shows were moved out of the former hair salon upstairs starting last summer), this all ages concert will have a 7:00 PM start time and a cover charge of $15 or "pay what you can". Sounds like a fun way to kick off the fall season in style, so don't miss this stop on Krang's Real Canadian Moose Pit Tour if you can swing coming out on a work/school night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Also, here's a special mid-week concert preview for your Motorhead fans in the area, as Calgary-based Motorhead tribute band M1 will rock Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! The first time that a touring band has headlined at Beck's since the Goulais Avenue nightclub re-opened three months ago, M1 will bring a faithful sounding (if not looking) tribute to Lemmy Kilmister and crew to local audiences, and it will be neat to hear Motorhead songs other than "Ace Of Spades" covered at a local concert, let alone this many! As per a quiet update to the Facebook event page, Dodge This singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer will open tomorrow's festivities. Having an acoustic solo artist open for a Motorhead tribute may seem odd, but Jason has ample experience in hard rock bands, most notably the out of town groups Phatstick and Human Disorder, so I'm sure he'd tailor his set somewhat for the occasion, and he is a very talented musician, so don't be late!

This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time (moved up from 7:00 PM), and despite featuring a touring headliner, it will have no cover charge! While the work night scheduling won't be ideal for many, Motorhead fans won't wanna miss M1, especially at that (lack of) price, so visit the above links for more details, and here they are live!

Finally, remember how local crossover thrash quartet Hails released a self-titled album last month without much public warning? Well, that was prefaced by their appearance on the new compilation album "Punk Canada Vol. 4", and they released their contribution to it errrrrrrrrvrywhere on major streaming services on June 10th! Curated and released by Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz, you can get physical copies of the album (which features covers of Canadian punk bands by modern acts) on vinyl via Ha!ls members, and you can hear the whole thing on Bandcamp at this link, including Sault native Ash Richtig's band Avoid The Comment Section's cover of Grimskunk's "Dead End Violence". Hails contributed a cover of "Meathook" by Toronto punk legends The Almighty Trigger Happy, in their first studio recording with guitarist Carmen Muto in the fold. How is the cover overall?

Played a touch faster than the original (running for just 92 seconds), this isn't quite as ferocious as Ha!ls can get on their heaviest originals, but it's a faithfully executed cover that Trigger Happy fans will like, with a good pace & solid hardcore punk intensity! Give it a listen below or on other major streaming services, check out "Punk Canada Vol. 4" above, and look for our review of Hails' new album in October!

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