LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadFirst & Curtis McKenzie) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Another busy concert weekend is upon us, with today's post covering SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and most announced hard rock/punk shows in Sault Ontario this weekend! Preview post #2 (likely hitting the site by tomorrow morning) will cover Tym Morrison's Saturday matinee and Sault Michigan dates. Here's what you should know to kick off October's concert slate!

Former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another "Think It Over Thursday" gig TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, The Dive only confirmed Curt's gig TONIGHT in this Facebook video hyping up this week's musicians and food/drink specials. This will be Curtis' first show at the former Low & Slow in two weeks, and it's no secret that he likes playing there (and they like having him, even on late notice). Hopefully Curt's acoustic hard and alternative rock covers go over swimmingly again at The Dive TONIGHT, and if you missed his show there two weeks ago, click here to see his full setlist! As usual for "Think It Over Thursday" shows regardless of headliner, TONIGHT'S festivities are at 7:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Curtis live a few years ago!

Next up, local hard rock quintet HeadFirst will reportedly return to the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they rock Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Again, apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced on the venue's Facebook page yesterday. Surprisingly, HeadFirst have been silent on social media since before their most recent gigs at Reggie's Place almost a month ago, which may be slightly worrying for some fans. That said, if Jay's is promoting them as playing TOMORROW & SATURDAY, then they must be, and at least two band members shared the post announcing the gigs on their personal Facebook accounts! These will be HeadFirst's... first shows at or near Jay's since their set at last month's ARCH Run, and hopefully they will provide some fine opportunities to hear their classic tinged hard rock covers and select originals in the west end audience!

TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows are 19+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:30 PM start times. See above for more details on this weekend's late notice return to the stage, and for a preview, here's HeadFirst live!

With the late notice shows out of the way, I would normally look at a Friday-only gig next, but I'm going to deviate from procedure slightly this week due to a venue change. As advertised on their website's concert calendar, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 were scheduled to play separate one-nighters this weekend, with TOMORROW'S concert being an "uncorked" affair at The Water Tower Pub (who host different acts nightly) and SATURDAY'S being at Shooters Downstairs Lounge (who have only booked bands on Saturdays all year due to their Friday DJ nights). However, tomorrow's show has quietly been moved to Reggie's Place for unannounced reasons, and will presumably now be a normal plugged-in electric gig as a result. This was first announced by Reggie's Facebook page on Sunday, and Bone Yard corroborated the Friday venue change on their Facebook page yesterday. Hopefully all is well with The Water Tower Pub, but fans now have double the chances to see your local 225 in full power!

Greg, Alex, and Warren last rocked Reggie's two weeks ago, while they have surprisingly not played at Shooters since April, dropping out of a planned Saturday nighter last month. As Bone Yard 225 are booked at Shooters on Saturday, country rock veterans Tex Riviera & The Ride will be playing at Reggie's that night. The guys' southern fried rock covers can be enjoyed (perhaps with their shot?) at both venues at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard's two downtown and fully corked shows this weekend, and here they are live!

Finally for this preview post, here's the aforementioned Friday-only concert, as Waterloo, Ontario pop punk quintet Among Legends will debut on a local stage when they headline at Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT! As advertised on bulletin boards in town since July, this is the penultimate stop on Among Legends' western Canada tour, and will see Among Legends play cuts from their 2022 debut CD "Take Good Care". Genre fans will get a solid array of catchy and well composed modern punk, so definitely give Among Legends a spin to see what you think before making plans to stop by Soo Blaster tomorrow night! Local support will come by way of thrash metal trio The BAG in their first show since opening for The Devil's Sons on Monday, though they have oddly not promoted either show on their Facebook group. While obviously not a punk band, The BAG should get the energy levels onto a good high to start the night tomorrow!

If you want an (unembeddable and vertical) teaser of this set, attendee Jordan Dubois posted a "Reel" there of them playing a "tasty jam" at the Sylo-headlined all-local show at Soo Blaster in August. By necessity of "Reels", it's a very short and restricted video, but give it a look above, as what we see/hear is promisingly heavy! Another presentation by promoter Mikhal Muto, Tickets cost $15 in advance (at this link or at Soo Blaster) and $20 at the door for this 8:00 PM and likely 19+ concert. Visit the above links for more on this punk and metal double header tomorrow, and for a preview, here's Among Legends live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post and more concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Among Legends), HeadFirst EP Updates, And New Videos!!

For today's post, let's cover some recent news and notes and break from, our recent single topic posts to fill in some lost ground! Along with recent festival fallout, we have some new videos, updates on a new album release, and more, but let's lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this year!

Waterloo, Ontario pop punk quintet Among Legends will make their local concert debut on Friday, October 4th when they rock Soo Blaster! Quietly announced on the venue's website, this show has (so far) gotten more promotion via bulletin boards at grocery stores than via social media, but it is 2+ months away, so a lot can happen before then. A relatively newer group who put out their debut album "Take Good Care" (produced by Siegfried Meier of "Woods 5" fame) in 2022, Among Legends' melodic brand of modern punk has many catchy qualities, strong percussion, and well written lyrics, so punk fans should find a lot to like from them this fall! The local openers are fast-rising metal trio The BAG (last seen in Leeburn this past Saturday), and while they're not a genre match, they'll inject some heavier energy to kick things off on a good note! Tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door for this concert, which is likely 19+

You can buy advance "early bird" tickets at this link and presumably at the venue (no word on if The BAG have any), and this show has an advertised run-time of 8:00-10:30 PM, so it'll be an early-ish night. Punk and metal fans should find a lot to like with this double bill, so visit the above links for more details on Among Legends' local debut in October!

Next up, here's some details on local hard rock quintet HeadFirst's debut EP "Head Trauma", which was released on July 20th in limited quantities at Rotaryfest before its wide release at its launch party at Shooters Downstairs Lounge this past Saturday! I bought my copy at Loud & Proud on the 21st (#10 of the limited run of 20 discs that weekend). "Head Trauma" is very much a DIY production as far as physical pressings go, with burned CD-Rs with handwritten labels, and staples holding the cardboard packaging together, including the (mirrored) gatefold image of HeadFirst performing in concert at Reggie's Place (Saige Burch shot the included band photos). Lyrics are included for the four tracks via four individual lyric sheets in the sleeve, and while there are no guests, "Take You (Down)" does feature Liam & Anthony trading guitar and drums as also seen when played live.

Writing credits go to the entire band on "Hot Blooded Woman" & "Little Darling", all but Liam & Claire on "Take You (Down)", and just Red & Raine on "Don't Care, Don't Mind". Major streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, and even Boomplay have the album available, and physical copies will be on sale at future concerts, next including their return to Shooters on August 17th. Our review of "Head Trauma" will hit the site next month, as I'm reviewing Choking On Appendages' debut album tomorrow, but check out more from HeadFirst's... first EP above, and here's track #1!

Also today, here's some fallout from this past weekend's Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing, courtesy of the festival's Facebook page! Normally, these would get a fuller feature on the site, but alas, the page's administrator chose to upload all videos from Go North as "Reels", meaning that I can't embed any of them here (they're also vertical, short, and unplayable in background tabs, but my laments about "Reels" are well known by now). Videos from Centennial Grounds include Daniel Romano's Outfit beginning their set with "Field Of Ruins", Bleeker (née Bleeker Ridge) playing their song "Highway", and two "Reels" of The Trews' headlining set. This one features the end of their set, including guest appearances from fellow Go North performer Terra Lightfoot and Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle for the ending jam, while the other one has the band literally going into the crowd to perform their folksier classic "Ishmael & Maggie".

That must have been a thrill to have The Trews literally join their fans to sing this one together, and the sizable crowd definitely knew the song! "Reels" or not, the videos are solid quality and capture the stage setup on St. Joseph Island well, and it's great to see that lots of fans made the trip for the festival, whether making the hour's drive from the Soo or if they lived closer by! Check out the Go North clips above, and we'll let you know if any other public videos surface!

Finally, here's the latest from local skate punk/crossover thrash quartet Hails, whose next local concert will see them open for The Ripcordz on August 10th, but they will also hit the road for another show in Bay City, Michigan at The We/Us House there on September 21st! This will be a one-year anniversary event at this venue, and will feature eight other metal/punk acts. I don't know how Brent & crew made the connections to be playing Michigan (let alone downstate), but clearly their debut in Bay City in April went well for them to come back! Unlike then, they'll be arriving as a four-piece thanks to new second guitarist Carmen Muto, and Ha!ls showed him off in this new video from their Facebook page, where he's playing the guitar solo that he wrote for their newer original song "Ghosts" alongside his unseen bandmates. I usually don't make a big deal about musician ages, but Carmen is 14 years old, and he has serious skill level already!

Unfortunately, this video was shot horizontally but framed into vertical dimensions with pillarboxing, meaning that it's tiny. Why do some Facebook videos get that treatment? It's just Carmen, so it'd have been better to just crop it into the vertical orientation! Embedded below however is a horizontal new video from Hails, specifically of them playing their newer original song "Crustal Displacement" at Queen Elizabeth Park for last month's Go Skateboarding Day festivities, and the filmer used the placement to the side of the big ramp to get a lot of focus on skaters as well as the band. Mikhal is mostly hidden behind amplifiers, but it's an intense performance, and long for a Ha!ls video, so check it out below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's CD review tomorrow and more news and notes soon!     Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Late Shift & Tym Morrison), Plus More Concert Previews!!

We're back on this Saturday afternoon with some more weekend concert previews for the next couple of days, but leading off, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next few weeks, so here's what you should know!

Prolific local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will be back on stage next weekend, so with that in mind, we've added his August concert dates to our listings! After taking this weekend off for a scheduled vacation (according to his personal Facebook page), his dual weekly concert arrangements will continue at both Gliss Steak & Seafood and The Harp Bar & Grill for the rest of the month as per his website's calendar! As such, expect Tym to be back at Gliss by the Station Mall for suppertime matinees on the rest of August's Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, including NEXT WEEK (the 13th-15th), plus the 20th-22nd & 27th-29th, while his longer-running nighttime shows at The Harp on Pine Street will continue from the 14th-15th, 21st-22nd, and 28th-29th once again, as he doesn't play at the former Madison's Pub on Thursdays (also, there's no UFC PPVs for the rest of the month, so don't worry about Saturday nighters!)

And remember, given the unusually lengthy show listings on his website, we take Tym's bookings a month at a time for our listings, so we'll get to September when it comes. As usual for Tym's concerts, the Gliss shows are 6:00 PM matinees and the Harp shows are at 10:00 PM, neither has an announced cover charge (but remember that Gliss is a restaurant), and as it's a bar, you must be 19 to attend the Harp dates. Great to see Tym's successful runs at both venues continuing, and hopefully he enjoys his vacation, so for more details, visit the above links!

Also in new concerts, local funk/hard rock quartet Late Shift will return to the stage when they open for Ottawa alt-rock trio The Red Rails in their third local concert appearance on Saturday, August 29th at The Rockstar Bar! Last seen at Algoma Ride For Autism (barring an unannounced concert in the interim), this popular yet online pageless band should deliver a solid set of hard rocking covers in their return to The Rockstar Bar at month's end! If you're not familiar, The Red Rails (last seen last August at the same venue) are the current band from Sault native and former Turner Up drummer Steve Brogno, who notably played with Late Shift's John Barber and Matt Sibilo in the defunct local hard rock band Driving Dave Home in the late 2000s. Might we get a mini-reunion of sorts on the 29th? Find out then! A higher cover charge of $7 is in effect, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:00 PM start time in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Also, I don't believe Late Shift have starting using the definite article in their name, but we would list them as The Late Shift on the SMS if that was ever confirmed by the band themselves. This should be a fun show, and it's nice to see Steve bring his talented, blues-tinged power trio back home to the Soo on the 29th, so keep this show in mind!

We'll close today with two concert previews for shows taking place over the next couple of days, including the return of Vancouver crossover thrash metal quartet The Golers to Sault Ontario TOMORROW NIGHT at The New American Pub! Last seen over two years ago during their dual Roosevelt Hotel Thursday night sets in mid-2013, their brutal originals should be welcomed back to the stage in their New A debut tomorrow, including even heavier and thrashier new material from their latest album "In 'n Out Outlaws"! The local openers will include doom metal trio AlgomA (who opened for The Golers in June 2013) in their first local show since the end of their first tour run, while local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters will open the day with their brutal originals in their own New A debut, and both should be fine choices for tomorrow's intensity! A Six Two Oh production, this 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Also, a personal Facebook posting by Bear Hunters frontman Nik Deubel implied that their set would have a couple of surprises, so keep that in mind too!

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a brutal time with three explosive and varied types of metal bands on display, so if you're up for some Sunday night brutality, head down to The New American Pub for the return of The Golers! Here they are live in Alberta!



Finally, it'll be a "Heavy Monday" in two nights time, as Edmonton "future space groove" trio Eternal Prophecy and Calgary hardcore metal sextet Lie Among Us will make their local concert debuts THIS MONDAY NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub! Solid double bill of Alberta metal action, with Eternal Prophecy's creative hybrid sound and Lie Among Us' extreme intensity (with new EP in tow) a nice compliment, so don't miss them if you can help it on Monday night! Originally planned to have the now-defunct Haggith & The Revolution as openers, Haggith alumni Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton will still open the proceedings with their local classic metal quintet Project 421, in the third show with their new lineup, though they are now the only local opening act. Their classic metal sound and the boost of Curtis' returning vocals should kick things off nicely on Monday, so don't miss their second show in four days then! Note that this show is not a Gonqshow event, it's being promoted by Project 421's own label PaperClip Productions.

A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert, which starts Monday night at 9:30 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a solid time for metalheads, and with two varied nights of local and out of town metal in a row downtown coming up, you guys have some solid options to check out! See above for more details, and here's Eternal Prophecy live last year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Eternal Prophecy, That's Chester, And Havadder) And Stereo North Updates!!

With a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT, let's get our latest news post on the site before the notice gets any shorter! That headlines this post, along with more upcoming concerts, including one with out of town bands and one of a teased special stage event, plus an apology for a missed concert and related updates from a local punk band to round things out. Now, here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock quartet Havadder are playing TONIGHT at The Rednecks Saloon as well! Apologies for the obviously short notice, the band only confirmed the show within the hour on their Facebook page. Originally advertised for just yesterday's birthday party event, the band has since clarified that they are indeed rocking the former Nicolet Tavern TONIGHT also, so if you missed Jason, Jamie, Travis, and Scott yesterday (or any time recently), here's another chance to have at 'er with Havadder! As they like they say, if you don't, you didn't! Like yesterday, there is no announced cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and the show will likely be starting in a half hour or so (10:00 PM in other words.) For more details, visit the above links, and here's Havadder live last year!



Next up, a recently teased metal concert now has a venue, as PaperClip Productions will throw their hat into the local concert promotion ring by bringing two Alberta bands to The Algonquin Pub on Monday, August 10th! Entitled "Heavy Monday: A Day of Reckoning", the show will be headlined by Edmonton "future space groove" trio Eternal Prophecy and Calgary hardcore metal sextet Lie Among Us, both making their local concert debuts. Both have solid extreme metal sounds, with Lie Among Us' intensity and Eternal Prophecy's creative fusion material both lending themselves well to the live stage, so don't miss either in August! Local openers, both naturally from PaperClip Productions, will include local hard rock quartet Haggith (in their new lineup's Algonquin debut) and local doom/punk trio The Revolution in their first show since their reunion!

Also to be their first gig with Haggith's Jordan Leach on bass, we haven't seen The Revolution on stage since October, so be sure to welcome back at this event in their own Algonquin debut! Tickets will be $5 in advance (details to be announced) and $7 at the door, while the show will be a 19+ event with a 9:30 PM start time. For more details on Heavy Monday, visit the official Facebook event page! Remember, this is NOT a Gonqshow series event, PaperClip Productions are putting this on, but hopefully it's a big hit and leads to them putting on more concerts! Stay tuned for updates!

Lastly for new show announcements, we now have dates for local classic/hard rock quintet That's Chester's long teased involvement in the upcoming local stage production of The Who's Tommy, which will take place for five straight nights from Wednesday, November 4th through Sunday, November 8th! That's Chester will provide the house music for the show, with frontman Greg Simpson serving as narrator, so if you want to hear this talented veteran band take on one of the great rock operas, your chance is coming! As for where this will be held, it's not where you might assume, as Tommy's local production will be held at The Machine Shop at Mill Square, so if you count these as "concerts", they're the first announced public events there to fit our SMS coverage since the Treble Charger concert. Details on admission prices, times, and so forth are to be announced, but if you're interested in being a Tommy cast member, what should you know?

Shot In The Dark Productions will host auditions at Superior Heights Collegiate & Vocational School (on the former Bawating site) on June 11th & 12th at 6:30 PM, and if you want to know what parts are open to be casted for, click here. Interested auditioners don't need to know a Who or Tommy song already, they'll teach you one there. Audition call backs will be held on June 21st at 2:00 PM, where remaining candidates will perform with That's Chester, but given the nature of that event, we won't promote it as a concert here. Sounds like things are shaping up well, so click here for full details on the local Tommy production and how you can try out, and The Machine Shop's now in our local concert venue links!

Finally for today, here's the latest from new local punk quartet Stereo North, including an apology for a missed concert, as the guys opened for Windsor "anti-folk" duo The Prairials at Reggie's West (the former Roosevelt Hotel) there this past Monday. The band had plugged it since May 10th on their Facebook page, but somehow, it completely slipped us by (though for what it's worth, the venue's Facebook page never plugged it.) Still, there's no excuse on our end, so our apologies to Stereo North for missing the show, we'd have absolutely plugged it had we have heard! Also, it's good to hear that Reggie's West are putting on non-Mourning Wood shows with alternative bands, even if sporadically, so they're now in our venue links too! In news we didn't miss however, the guys have two new live videos, so what should you know on them?

Filmed at their fifth show (Wednesday's River Jacks-headlined Gonqshow concert at The Algonquin Pub), the videos are both of Stereo North originals, including "Fall Before Me" (albeit sideways) and, as embedded below, their newer song "Heart Collider". The guys sound solid on both with a nice upbeat punk sound and smooth vocals from Andrew Pucci, though why couldn't the filmer move to the left a bit so Matthew Anich was actually visible instead of behind that post? Check out Stereo North's new videos above & below, and we will try hard not to miss any of their upcoming shows!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news, notes, and features in the coming week! Thanks everyone!