LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rhythm & Brews), A New Video Interview, And More!!

I wasn't planning to double up with posts on this Saturday, but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT came to my attention, and we'll fill things out with a lengthy new video interview with a familiar face, and the surprise cover songs he was involved with! Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will return to The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill (well, outside of it) in nearby Barbeau to cap off their Oktoberfest celebrations TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced their involvement via their Facebook page on Wednesday, but the venue's Facebook page had been plugging the band as headlining for well earlier than this week. Rhythm & Brews debuted at The Cozy Corners at 6800 East 15 Mile Road in July for the Dunbar Dirt Road Dash, and TONIGHT's show will similarly be for a special event, with this Oktoberfest being a fundraiser for the Hospice of the E.U.P. in Sault Ste. Marie, so don't bypass that wonderful cause! Rhythm & Brews' established hard rock covers and likely Van Halen flourishes will be capping off Oktoberfest TONIGHT at 9:00 PM outside of the venue, and a bonfire, cornhole tournament, stein hoisting contest, and more will be ongoing from 2:00 PM onward

Also don't forget the smoke-off that began this morning, and again, sorry again about the late notice! I believe admission is free for Oktoberfest, with donations and funds from the smoke-off and internal events going to the Hospice, and of course, expect a 21+ age limit given the beer emphasis. 9&10 News is calling for cloudy weather from 9:00 PM-11:00 PM before showers are projected to set in, so hopefully Rhythm & Brews and the crowd escape the rain! No preview videos of Rhythm & Brews yet, alas, but visit the above links for more on TONIGHT's festivities!

Next up, here's a 50 minutes long video interview with former Gates of Winter/Woods of Ypres guitarist Bryan Belleau! Conducted remotely last month by Tyler Fleming of the Pensacola, Florida doom metal band October Noir, he hosts a YouTube interview series called The Noir Hour, which launched in the summer and has roughly posted an interview a week since. The interview is primarily based around Bryan's two year stint with Woods of Ypres (though Gates of Winter come up), and includes questions about Bryan's life in British Columbia nowadays, how Bryan met David Gold & joined Woods of Ypres with the rest of Gates in 2008, experiences working with & learning from David, Woods' influence and reach in the past decade, how he got involved in a cover of "Wet Leather" featuring Bam Margera (more on that at post's end), his folk/jazz music with his wife Melinda out west in the last few years, seeing bands cover Woods of Ypres songs at the Ypres Metal Fest in the Soo in 2012, ...

...his reactions to David's death the previous year, his relationship with David after leaving the band, Bryan's thoughts & perceptions of his album with the band (2009's "Woods IV: The Green Album") and some songs individually, the emotional impact of Woods of Ypres' late-period songs, the personal qualities & positive impact of David's mother Esther (a.k.a. Mama Gold), his musical development while recording with Woods, what Bryan knew about the "Home" single (he was told that the songs were "Woods IV" leftovers), the personal reasons that led to Bryan amicably leaving the band before their 2010 American tour, the wide-ranging friends Bryan met through Woods of Ypres, his views on the impact of his stint with the band, and how involved he wants to be in metal nowadays, especially now that he is a father with different priorities.

Solid interview with Bryan coming across as very humble & appreciative of both his time in Woods of Ypres and the kindness he's felt from fans of his, the band's, and David's in the past decade, and while Tyler was an acknowledged late bloomer to Woods fandom, you can tell he was thrilled to talk to Bryan and get his insight! Some more talk about Gates of Winter, even if just some more details on the Gates of Ypres 2008 tour and/or why Lee, Brian, and Steve progressively left, would have been interesting, but Bryan definitely hit most notes non-local Woods fans will wanna hear. Give the interview a watch for yourself below!

To close, what was that about Bryan recording a cover of "Wet Leather" with Bam Margera that I mentioned earlier? I assume this flew under the radar because Bryan isn't locally based anymore, but in April of last year, Bryan collaborated with Matt Lidwin of the Milwaukee goth metal project 616 to remotely cover "Wet Leather", with Bryan on guitar and Bam (formerly of Jackass fame and his band Fuckface Unstoppable) singing chorus vocals, alongside former HIM drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen. 616 have strong HIM overtones, and Bam was a major fan of theirs already, so the shoes fit! Clearly a good working relationship was also established between Matt and Bryan, as the two worked together on another 616 cover earlier this year, tackling Type O Negative's "Everything Dies" last month, a song that Bryan mentioned in the Noir Hour interview was tentatively planned for a Woods of Ypres covers album that never made it to the studio.

Both 616 covers are on all major streaming services, I have them linked/embedded here via their YouTube channel. Great hearing new metal material from Bryan for the first time since Gates of Winter's last public "Perhelion" teasers in the mid-2010s (I miss them), both songs suit Matt's (and Bam's) vocal ranges well, and the covers are faithful but with some extra flourish and effects to help them stand out a little. Well recorded and produced, and if you don't mind the lyric repetition of "Wet Leather", it'll be easy to hop on board with that cover. Give them a listen above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison & Bone Yard), More Weekend Concert Previews, And A New Video!!

Happy Canada Day to all of our celebrating readers! As promised, let's wrap up this weekend's concert previews before we dive into some more big news this weekend, including some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and a new video upload, so here's what you should know!

Local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook event page on June 21st, which would have been enough time for us to acknowledge it but I'm still getting used to checking Shooters' Facebook page for show announcements (note that Bone Yard have not confirmed the date on their own Facebook page,  and their prior Facebook show schedule ended in June). Last seen at Reggie's Place last week and at Shooters over a month ago, this should be a prime chance to check out Greg, Alex, and Warren's hard rocking cover selection at a prime downtown locale, so don't miss out TOMORROW! This is a one nighter due to Soundcheck's Canada Day party there TONIGHT, with Greg & Alex instead playing at The Water Tower Pub as their side project The Bearded Lounge.

TOMORROW'S Shooters gig has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit, as usual at the Dennis Street nightclub. See above for much more on Bone Yard's next concert, and for a preview, here they are live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place for another matinee concert THIS SUNDAY! Again, apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page yesterday. Believe it or not, this is Tym's third straight SUNDAY matinee at the downtown Reggie's, so is this a new weekly series for the former Caveman Morrison frontman? I'm not prepared to say that in this case, as Reggie's historically has a variety of acts on Sundays with Tym usually monthly at best there. Is this just consequence of their/his availability, or have things changed? We'll let you know if we hear anything, but fans of Tym's classic and hard rock covers should find a lot to like on SUNDAY to cap off the long weekend! For the record, Tym apparently did not play his current weekly concert at The Mike Case Memorial Stage this past Wednesday, as it was apparently "too cold", as per his personal Facebook page that day (a public cancellation announcement never came).

The forecast on Wednesday evening called for cloudy 18° weather, so I'll let you decide if that's not warm enough for an outdoor show, but a musician would know the ideal conditions to play in, and in late June, you may be expecting sunnier 20° + weather. Tym is scheduled to be back at The Trading Post this coming Wednesday though! As for SUNDAY's Reggie's gig, it'll be at 3:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock previews, let's head to Michigan again for a show that definitely had advance notice that I caught in time, as Sault Ste. Marie hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will debut at The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in nearby Barbeau TOMORROW NIGHT! While guitarist Chris Hubbard's old band Splitshot played at The Cozy Corners often, this will be Rhythm & Brews' first trip to Barbeau (20 minutes from the Soo), and will be their first truly local date of the summer, following their hour+ road trip to De Tour Village two weeks ago. Tomorrow's concert will basically be the afterparty for the Dunbar Dirt Road Dash 5K fun run in Barbeau, with a Fourth of July weekend boat parade from Neebish Island ending at the tavern as well, and prizes and such will be awarded after too. Head to Cozy Corners' Facebook page for full non-musical details in case the fun run and/or parade interest you!

All the musical action takes place at 6800 East 15 Mile Road in Barbeau tomorrow,  and the show proper is a 21+ affair with no cover charge and an 8:00 PM start time. Sounds like a good time for Fourth of July celebrants in the E.U.P., so don't miss Brandon, Chris, Brett, and Ron's hard rocking cover selection tomorrow night, and we'll let you know when videos surface!

Finally for today, here's a surprise upload: new pro shot video footage from Kiss' outdoor headlining concert at Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie in July 2007! This was uploaded by YouTube user Anthony Alexander, whose channel is devoted to archival Kiss concert videos, and this is reportedly unreleased master footage from the local date (it's single camera, but zoom and pan shots are frequently used). How Anthony got this video, I'm not sure, but kudos to him for uploading it after almost 15 years! The video starts with footage of Kiss receiving the key to the city from then- City Commissioner (and ex-Rock 101 DJ) Ray Bauer before showtime, which has been previously uploaded in longer format, but this clip has much better video & audio quality, and isn't as cropped, so give both a look for the full experience. Afterwards, you get 13 minutes of very nice quality footage from the concert proper, so what can you see?

Three songs from early in their set are included from that night, including "Deuce", "Makin' Love", and "All American Man", the latter notably being played live for the first time ever on that night. Again, the same source video from the key to the city clip gave us this footage (the original channel was an ostensible Kewadin Casino channel that has no other videos), and while opener "Detroit Rock City" isn't here, everything else is longer and, again, in much better quality. Credit to Anthony and Mick E. Gee for getting this optimized for upload in 2022, it's great footage from Kiss' first local date with Paul's stage banter to boot, so check it all out below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rhythm And Brews & The Wyld Stallyns), Plus New Videos!!

Keeping our steady string of new daily content on the SMS alive, here's another news post on this Saturday evening, so if you're back from the Cruise or the Science Festival, settle in for LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for more summer community events next month! Wrapping things up, we do have some short new videos, so here's what you should know!

Local acoustic funk/hard rock quartet The Wyld Stallyns will be among the live performers at this year's Poutine Feast over Canada Day weekend, with their set being on Saturday, July 2nd outside of the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site at 800 Bay Street! As you may know, the Poutine Feast is a touring festival with multiple chefs and food professionals coming from town to town cooking up various forms of poutine, with local live music and other family entertainment also on the docket, so definitely click here or above for full details on the poutine and other non-musical events! Of course, we lucked into getting this on the Canada Day long weekend for its post-pandemic return too! The Wyld Stallyns will be the opening band on July 2nd at 11:00 AM, preceding a headlining set that day at 2:00 PM by DJ Seith. As you can see in the schedule, live music is slated daily from Thursday the 30th through Sunday the 3rd, but The Stallyns are the only heavier act.

Attendance outside of The Old Stone House is FREE (the poutine is another story), and while live music only begins at 11:00 AM on Saturday the 2nd, daily start times are at 11:00 AM daily, with live music running into the evening on the 30th and Canada Day proper. Obviously, Poutine Feast is an all ages event, and hopefully the weather cooperates. The Wyld Stallyns' newest summer festival set should prove to be another fun time for attendees, so don't miss their hard rocking covers in two weeks!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews will play their first known concert in nearby Barbeau when they rock The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill on Saturday, July 2nd as well! Long time readers may recall The Cozy Corners hosting local bands often in the early-mid 2010s, especially Nixxon Dixxon successors Splitshot, so how fitting is it that Brandon & Chris' current band are making their way to Barbeau all these years later? This isn't just a run of the mill concert, however, as it will effectively serve as the afterparty for the Dunbar Dirt Road Dash, an annual 5K fun run in Barbeau that will be followed by a Fourth of July weekend boat parade from Neebish Island that's ending at the tavern, with prizes and such also following. Visit Cozy Corners' Facebook page for full non-musical details! This will be Rhythm & Brews' first announced concert since their road trip to DeTour Village tonight.

If you're curious, Barbeau is much closer to the Soo than DeTour Village, it's basically a 20 minute drive down South Riverside Road away, and Cozy Corners is still located at 6800 East 15 Mile Road. All of the pre-concert festivities aside (details above), the Rhythm & Brews concert proper is at 8:00 PM with no announced cover charge and a 21+ age limit. This should be a fine opportunity for the 415E side project to make some new fans with their hard rocking cover selection, so don't miss out on all the action over the Independence Day long weekend!

We'll head back to Sault Ontario to close, starting with a promotional video of new (Jack) Spades GT drummer Tyler Reiner! Like their prior (and no longer unlisted) highlight video from their Toronto concert last month, this was filmed by Aidan Grossman of the The Grossman Film Group, and its 30+ second runtime is half devoted to Tyler (who local readers may recognize from Caym) setting up for that show and then clips from the set. Unfortunately, there is no live audio here, instead featuring an instrumental track from a rap song, giving this a bizarrely chill vibe. Well edited, but again, Aidan's sitting on some excellent raw Spades GT footage from The Rockpile. Still, give this a watch below! 

Finally, here's a new video from former Bring The Fallen guitarist Andrew Chiarello's YouTube channel, marking his first upload there in over four years! A TikTok-style "shorts" video with a sub-1 minute run time, this features Andrew jamming on his Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 guitar, oddly pillar boxed into the vertical cell phone dimensions despite not originally being shot that way (I'm not a fan of "shorts" videos, if you couldn't tell). Besides that, Andrew shows off his skills nicely in this clip, and you can see why his lead work was such a highlight in his live band days! Give it a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Caveman Morrison & Griphook), A New Band, New Year's Eve Concert Previews, And More!!

In our second-last post of 2013, things are stacked, so what's on tap? Previews of two heavier-leaning New Year's Eve concerts, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next while, lineup changes for two bands, and leading off, a new local band, so here's what you need to know!

New local metal band Project 421 finally have a Facebook page, so we can now add them to our band links! You may remember that this was the surprise band that debuted at The Algonquin Pub on December 7th during Haggith's farewell show, though according to their Facebook page, they were launched in October. Their lineup features guitarists Blair Burch (who sang at their debut show) and Frank McGillivray alongside Punch's Daniel Horton on bass and former Fitswitch/Frightlight drummer Larry Mousseau, and though I had heard on the 7th that they had a singer who wasn't ready for their debut, a post by Daniel on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Saturday suggests that they are actively looking for a new vocalist. Their record label is PaperClip Productions (naturally), they plan to introduce original material into their 1970s-1980s cover sets, and Daniel indicated that the band already has some 2014 dates booked (though specifics have not been revealed at present.)

Featuring alumni of older local bands like Broken, I was impressed with Project 421's live debut three weeks ago, and hopefully the guys have some big stuff in store for next year, so become a fan and inquire about their singer vacancy at the above links!

Now to the LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, starting with a short notice announcement for TOMORROW NIGHT, as local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison will rock out at The Roosevelt Hotel for New Year's Eve! Apologies for the short notice, the band only just announced this show yesterday. A rare Tuesday night show for them (but it makes sense given the occasion), this will be their first public concert in almost three months, and unless there's more late notice concert announcements to take note of, this is bound to be the heaviest way to ring in the new year in Sault Ontario! The show starts at 10:00 PM, with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit, and for more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I expected a few New Year's Eve concerts despite the Tuesday placement, and a solid evening of classic metal & hard rock hits should be a perfect way to celebrate if you're on this side of the border, so keep it in mind for your partying plans, and for a preview, here's Caveman Morrison covering Ozzy Osbourne's "I Don't Know"!



Also in new concerts, the first confirmed Sault Ontario hard rock shows of 2014 will go down this weekend on January 3rd & 4th, as local hard rock cover quartet Griphook will rock The Roosevelt Hotel in their own right, albeit with a major lineup change. When the shows were announced last night, the band revealed that they have added former 100 Gran frontman Joel Syrette to their lineup as their new singer/guitarist, replacing Jim O'Leary. Apparently, Jim is moving to Ottawa soon "to pursue other musical endeavours", which is disappointing, but Jim's a talented musician (his Flat Stanley work is proof), so we wish him the best of luck for sure! As for Joel, videos I've seen of him with 100 Gran point to a very talented skillset (and really nice vocals that fit the genre well), so this should work out well going forward! I assume he'll also take over Jim's duties in their classic rock sister trio The 7 Year Itch too, but with no online pages for them, I can't verify that right away. The new look Griphook's shows next weekend have 10:30 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Note as well that a comment reply on December 20th on Griphook's Facebook page implied that they would be playing a date at Searchmont (likely referring to a 7 Year Itch date there this past Saturday) and a "New Year's blowout" at Bossy's Pub N' Grub, but I have no other information on the latter event (including for which band is playing), so it's either private or will get very late public notice. I'm curious to hear and seem more from Griphook with Joel up front, so stay tuned for updates, as well as those 100 Gran videos I alluded to earlier!

Finally for today, we have at least one more New Year's Eve concert preview, as Kinross hard/classic rock trio Banned will return to The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau, Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT for their own New Year's bash! I say trio as I'm now fairly certain that they've parted ways with guitarist Denny Smith, given the band's removal/privatization of all but one extant video featuring him from their YouTube channel. If true, their current lineup (Alex & Don Traynor and Jim Pentland) is the same as it was late last year, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but hopefully things are amicable, and best of luck to Denny in the future! Tomorrow's New Year's Eve show will be Banned's first date in Barbeau in almost five months, and though a pile of 2014 shows are likely, this should be a fun heavier-leaning way to end the year across the river! This should be a 21+ event with a 9:00 PM start time, and there's no announced cover. For more details, visit the above links!

Banned should put in another fun concert tomorrow night to end 2013, so keep it in mind in your New Year's plans! I still don't know why they privatized and deleted their videos with older lineups from this year, as they were solid performances even if somewhat more varied than in 2011 & 2012. Is there some "old shame" and/or an intended focus on the current lineup? Hopefully they aren't gone forever, but for now, preview TOMORROW'S New Year's show with this Foster The People cover from last year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our special look back at major events and news in 2013 TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Throwbacks & Banned) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Today's post tackles most of the local metal/hard rock concert previews for this weekend that I currently know about, but we'll touch on the X-Mess acoustic show featuring The Danger Cats TOMORROW, along with any potential late notice gigs I may be alerted to. Two of the shows are SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and along with said previews, we have extra news on each, including a new show for New Year's Eve, our first video of one of them, and first, a new local band, so here's what you need to know!

A new local rock trio named The Throwbacks will make their live concert debut TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Roosevelt Hotel! Apologies for the short notice, I only just heard about these the other day. No online pages for them yet, but they apparently play a variety of classic/modern rock, and their lineup includes Lucky 13's Jeremey Salatuk & Jeff Gray alongside 2 Buck Beers' Brent Royer on drums (and probably lead vocals.) Brent previously played with Jeremey in Wishbone & with Jeff in the original Turner Up, so there's history all around for these three! I don't know exactly what The Throwbacks will play in concert, but given all three members work in a hard rock-leaning band in the early 2010s, I'm inclined to believe they'll be similar to a Turner Up-ish band. Both tomorrow & Saturday night's concerts have 10:30 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I'm curious to hear more about The Throwbacks, and hopefully their debut this weekend goes off without a hitch, so check them out at The Rosie, and when I hear more on this band, I'll let you guys know!

(Note as well that I have no idea if Jeremey & Jeff's presence in this new band means anything negative for Lucky 13's status, but keep in mind that they last played live two weeks ago, and they're not an overly frequent live band as it is. Just in case though, I'll keep you guys posted when we hear new stuff on Lucky 13!)

Also in new concerts (and linking to a show TONIGHT), Kinross, Michigan classic hard rockers Banned will rock The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in nearby Barbeau on Tuesday, December 31st as part of their New Year's Eve festivities! This will be their first show at this venue in almost 5 months, and it keeps with their usual trend of playing a concert on New Year's Eve (you may remember them in at The Bird in 2011 and at Todd's Tavern last year), so hopefully they send off 2013 with a bang in just under two weeks! There's no announced cover charge for this 21+ show, and a 9:00 PM start time is likely. This show joins a private wedding that they're playing next weekend, and of course, a rare Thursday night set TONIGHT at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where they're the musical entertainment for The Autism Alliance of Michigan's Relentless Tour stop in the Soo! This event is headlined by a speech by Michigan State Spartans basketball star Anthony Ianni about his battle with autism and how he overcame it to find success and purpose in life, so if you go, definitely consider checking that out!

Tonight's event (which also has a resource fair, prizes, face painting, bouncy castles, and other family entertainment) starts at 6:00 PM, it's definitely ALL AGES, and there's no admission fee! For more details, visit the above links & the event poster! This is a very unique but important event that should hopefully raise a lot of awareness for this important cause, so don't bypass it if you're across the river TONIGHT, and Banned should rock  themselves! For a preview, here are the guys playing their song "Plaid Girl"!

Finally for today, Sault Ontario classic/hard rock quintet The Thrill Junkies will return to Docks Riverfront Grill for two more concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Likely their last concerts of 2013, this talented veteran outfit should have another hard hitting weekend of covers and familiar hits in store for fans in Docks' Playroom (the name for the main area for bands), so don't miss this union of Carbon Black, Lois Lane, Full Circle, Havadder, and Scary Uncles alumni down at Docks this weekend! A $4-ish cover is likely for these 10:30 PM concerts, and you must be 19 to attend either tomorrow or Saturday night. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see The Thrill Junkies back at Docks so soon after their November shows there, and hopefully it truly is a Thrill Junkies Christmas this time around, so keep them in mind for your weekend plans! For a preview, we finally have a video glimpse of the band in action, so what should you know on that front?

Filmed by bassist Justin Langlois' dad Michel and uploaded to his YouTube channel two weeks ago, this comes from The Thrill Junkies' set at The Canadian at Toystock on Decmember 1st. The video features the band covering The Foo Fighters' "Times Like These" and Volbeat's "Heaven Nor Hell", and the guys sound pretty good here! Travis Sharpe's vocals are strong, and the guys know the songs well, though their stage presences are somewhat stiff. The camera angle's nice too, if a bit far, but the lighting's inconsistent, with Travis lit up way more than everyone else. Nice to finally see a video of The Thrill Junkies, so check it out below, and don't miss them at Docks this weekend!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our X-Mess preview and more tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & RamWagon), Powerslug Concert Previews, And More Recent Updates!!

(UPDATED, 12:40 AM) In our first of two posts today, we're mostly focusing on more concert previews for the weekend, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the Sault Michigan area, along with some more shorter news items from recent days and some left over concert previews for this weekend, so here's what you need to know!

Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned aren't just playing at The Sundown Lounge on Saturday, as they've also announced a gig for TONIGHT at The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau, Michigan! I apologize for the short notice, they only just announced this show on their Facebook page last night, and as far as I know, it wasn't previously advertised (also, they don't mean The Cozy Inn in Brimley, as proven at The Cozy Corners Tavern's own website.) Last seen in Barbeau (a half hour south of the Soo, an hour north of St. Ignace) over 5 months ago, it'll be nice to see Banned's ever more diverse blend of hard rock and more general sounds back at The Cozy Corners tonight, so if you can't make the Pickford show tomorrow, you have an earlier alternative! There is a 9:00 PM start time for this 21+ concert, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the above links, and best of luck to Banned on their busy regional weekend! For a preview, here's Banned covering a Carrie Underwood song earlier this year!

Also in late notice Eastern U.P. hard rock shows, Sault Michigan hard rockers RamWagon will return to The Satisfied Frog in the Soo TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, the band only announced the shows on their Facebook page 20 minutes or so ago. Essentially a splinter band from similar local band Full Throttle, RamWagon made their first Frog appearance three weeks ago (after debuting at LemmaFest in June), and their modern-leaning assemblage of covers should go over well in their return to this popular West Portage Avenue bar and concert spot! A 10:00 PM start time has been announced, you must be 21 or older to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, check the above links! Even though their solo shows have all seen relatively late notice announcements, I like what I'm hearing from RamWagon's lineup, so keep their Frog returns in mind this weekend, and see their only public video at the above links!

Next up, and in a bit of negligence on my part, I forgot to preview this weekend's "Powertoast" shows at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill in Sault Michigan yesterday! I plugged them last month when first announced, but somehow, they never made it to our concert listings, and for that, I profusely apologize! "Powertoast" refers to (I assume) a rare intentional double booking for Sault Michigan cover bands, as local hard rock trio Powerslug and the more general rock cover quartet Toast (both featuring drummer Bob Helsten) will share the stage at The Corner Pub TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, though there is the possibility that this weekend's shows will feature a form of a combined lineup featuring members of each band. Regardless, Powerslug have a lot of great covers to chug your mug to, and Toast are quickly making a name for themselves with their more varied sound, so keep these shows in mind! There's no announced cover charges, you must be 21 to attend, a 9:00 PM start time is advertised, and I do not know if these are outdoor or indoor gigs. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should be an interesting weekend, be it a shared booking or a "two-off" band combo, but keep these shows in mind for some Sault Michigan hard rock action, and for a preview (as Powerslug have no known public videos), here's Toast covering Rev Theory at a recent concert!



Also today, here's three shorter assorted stories from the Ontario side of the border, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• We missed covering this at the time, but local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters were newly working on their debut CD again as of July 16th (as per their Facebook page), with ex-guitarist Josh Stephney completing his tracks in 2 days, Mitch Sirie starting his soon, and a name decision in the works as well. I'm not sure how this flew under the radar, but hopefully these latest sessions finally lead to a release of some kind, and stay tuned for more in tonight's "Where Are The New Albums?" post!
• New local band Jack Spades (featuring T-Rex Manning, Bear Hunters, and Asylum Country members) will apparently be an all-original band, despite playing a Pennywise cover for their preview at The Crusade in May (my source is frontman J.D. Pearce on a comment reply on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday.) This should be good news, especially if the songs turn out like old Fitswitch tracks or "She Banged The Mayor", so don't miss their full debut next month!
• Local indie/punk musician Wayne Watkins (now of The Small Town Rivals) will be joined by former Nebraska Arms bandmate Dave Prendergast for his acoustic opening set at the Catgut/Bad Back concert at The New American Tavern on August 12th, as per his addition to the Facebook event page a couple of days ago. Nice to see them back together, and hopefully they set the tone well for the grunge/punk onslaught to come that night!

Finally for today, here's some more updates to our Battle of the Bands Rewind Profiles! First, I updated our profile of 2009's YMCA Battle again to reflect that winners The Undead Warriors (later Bring The Fallen) finally released their debut EP "Stand Before" last month at their farewell/reunion show, as they won the recording time to record the included tracks at this battle. On our Kiss Battle of the Bands profile from that same year, I replaced the yet-to-debut Crawfather with the aforementioned Small Town Rivals in the section on competing members' later bands, and I noted that Madison's Pub (where winners Garden of Bedlam celebrated for their first post-battle concert) is now The Harp Bar & Grill. Finally, on our profile of the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands in 2012, I noted that winners Late & Loud and tied-fourth place finishers The Valentine's Day Massacre are both now inactive, and I also updated the lineups of Jack Spades & London death metal band D3athcharg3r to note the addition of other performers from this battle (bassist Justin Lam & guitarist Andrew Angelic respectively) in their current lineups in the section on performers' newer bands.

That's all for now, but stay tuned later tonight for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Powerslug), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

News has been slow this week, but luckily, the weekend has a bunch of heavier acts playing live, so that makes up most of today's news post at the SMS! Today, we have 5 metal/hard rock shows in the Twin Saults area to preview, plus lineup notes from a Sault Ontario metal band, so let's begin today's post with a popular Sault Michigan act's weekend plans, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a newly announced show of theirs!

Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug have a busy weekend coming up, including a newly announced show at Dan's Place in Rudyard TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, I only heard about this on frontman Chris Leask's personal Facebook page the other day, and you know how we only tend to hear about their shows on late notice without a band page to promote them. This new show in Rudyard (roughly a half hour between the Soo & St. Ignace on South Tilson Road) joins an already announced date at The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau TOMORROW NIGHT (as the venue promoted with their own event page), and while this is a bit more of a drive than Dan's Place is (40 minutes to an hour from the Soo or St. Ignace), either venue should handle Powerslug's hard rock covers well, and their talents speak for itself, even if there's no preview videos to back that up! Admission should be free for both of these gigs, you must be 21 to attend either, and I'd assume 10:00 PM start times are in order. Check the above links for more details!

It's great to see the guys staying busy this weekend, and hearing about more shows in Rudyard is good too, as Dan's Place hasn't been overly common for metal shows lately that I've seen (though Powerslug were there in December.) Go chug your mug with Powerslug in Rudyard or Barbeau tonight and/or tomorrow, and hopefully we'll hear (& see?) more from them soon!

Now to the rest of this weekend's announced metal/hard rock concerts, starting with Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's latest solo gig TONIGHT at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road! His second solo acoustic concert of 2013, Tym's been making The Roadhouse a favourite live venue of his in recent months, and though it is far in the East End, I'd say it's worth a trip to see him rock out with some proficient and entertaining metal & hard rock covers! Admission should be free for this 19+ concert, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Tym's solo concerts are usually must-see, so don't miss out on his latest solo unplugged this evening, and if you miss out, he'll be back at The Roadhouse two weeks from tonight! For a preview, here's Tym covering Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" in 2011!



Finally for the weekend heavier previews is the next two gigs from Kinross hard rockers Banned, who have a similar itinerary to Powerslug for the weekend, that being Friday & Saturday gigs at two different bars in the Sault Michigan area! TONIGHT, this frequently seen outfit will return to The Runway Bar in Hessel for the first time in almost three months, while they'll hit Todd's Tavern in Moran, Michigan TOMORROW NIGHT for the first time in 2013! Note that these are also Banned's first shows since they (possibly) confirmed lineup changes, as they now feature photos of singer Tara Starr & guitarist Denny Smith on their Facebook page. It would make sense for both to fully be in Banned now, as singer Mike Straw's band status was downgraded to "occasional" last year, and guitarist Alex Schrovenwever has largely been absent due to college out of town since August, so just in case, watch out for Tara and Denny this weekend in case they're indeed new full band members!

Both venues are roughly 50 minutes south of Sault Michigan, but Moran is 20 minutes closer to St. Ignace than Hessel is, so keep that in mind if you live that direction. There's no announced cover charge for either gig, you must be 21 to attend, and the shows start at 8:00 PM tonight and 9:00 PM tomorrow. Check the above links for more details! Banned should rock this weekend no matter where and how their lineup looks, so get ready for some entertaining covers and originals in the Eastern U.P. this weekend! For a preview, here's Banned covering a Guns N' Roses classic last year!

Finally for today, here's a lineup change relating to Tym Morrison's local metal trio Caveman Morrison! The band's early 2012 lineup has apparently been reunited, as they announced the return of Redundant bassist James White to their lineup yesterday, replacing his former Browbeat bandmate Dutch Vanderploeg. The news was broken on the band's Facebook group via edits to the group description, but a reason for Dutch's departure wasn't announced. This is James' second stint with the band, having replaced Jacques Marceau in late 2011 for a few months before initially leaving last year, which led to Dutch's own return to Caveman Morrison following his first run with the band in mid-late 2010. It's disappointing to see Dutch apparently leave the band again, but hopefully he returns to live music soon, as he's got a lot of talent that should be utilized! As for James, his skills on bass are undoubtedly good, and here's hoping he lasts for the long term in his second go-round with Caveman Morrison! Stay tuned for updates on their next shows in the coming weeks!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post hopefully tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison), Banned Concert Preview, And More!!

It's time for another news post at the SMS, and remember that tonight's the big April Wine show at Kewadin Casino in Sault Michigan! Just THREE tickets remain as of this writing, so if you're holding out, get yours A.S.A.P.!! Now, today's post features updates to one of our monthly feature series, a promotional video relating to a prominent local band's recent fundraising campaign, and the leftover concert preview for this weekend, but first, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next few weeks in Sault Ontario!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison has announced his next two solo acoustic shows, and they'll take place over two of the next three Fridays (February 15th & March 1st, to be exact!) One month after he played his first 2013 gig at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road, both of his next shows will take place there as well, which is definitely becoming a recent live favourite of his for these unplugged concerts! Both of these shows were announced on Thursday, and both should have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 10:00 PM start times, so check the above links for more details! It's great to see Tym's popular unplugged shows keeping up, so I'd keep trips out the East End in mind in the next few weeks for his next Friday night shows at The Road House, and of course, any more shows from either his solo project or Caveman Morrison as they come in! Stay tuned for any possible updates!

Before we get to the concert preview, just a note on a debuting band this weekend. Some of you may have heard of a new Sault Michigan band named Toast that played their first show at Dondee Lanes last night. All I know is that their lineup includes former Swayze Train bandmates Melissa Strand, Mike Libertoski, & Tony Rogers, so while there's clear metal in their background, I don't know enough about them yet (i.e. genre, full lineup, online pages) to fully get into them on here yet. If I hear more, I'll let you guys know!

Now, to this weekend's remaining hard rock concert, and if you're gonna miss TONIGHT'S near-sold out April Wine concert in Sault Michigan, why not take the 40 minute drive south to Barbeau to check out Banned at The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill? In the first of two stops for the band at this regional tavern, the Kinross hard rock standouts will be returning to Barbeau for the first time since August for tonight's gig, which should see Banned break out a solid set of covers and original material, as usual! A cover charge hasn't been announced for this 21+ concert, an a start time of 8:30 PM is advertised on their Facebook page. Check the above links for more details! Banned's busy scheduled continues tonight, and you know Alex and company should deliver a fun night of music at The Cozy Corners, so don't miss TONIGHT'S action! For a preview, here's Banned takin' care of business in Hessel last spring!



Also in the news, remember on Monday when we plugged Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's Kickstarter campaign to raise money for their "Christmas Night" re-recordings this year? Well, we completely missed the band's promotional video to go along with it, and it contains some extra information! Uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on Monday, it's similar in composition to many of their earlier promo clips, but it features a general overview of their campaign to raise $7,000 to fund this new album, including that they plan to have the recorded tracks mixed & mastered in Munich, Germany (likely as singer Gaby Koss is from Germany.) As well, they're aiming for the 2013 re-recording to feature 14 tracks (up from 12 on the 2011 instrumental version), and to make all of this a reality, they need YOUR help! Surpriginly, no funds have been raised yet, so if you want to help make this ultimate 2013 version of "Christmas Night" a reality, click here and give what you can (you have less than 2 months), and check out their new video below!



And finally for today, here's some recent updates I made to entries in our YouTube Channel Profile Series, just to make them more accurate and current! In our profiles on both of Garden of Bedlam's original YouTube channels, I restored some featured photos, which I also did on the profile for guitarist Josh Belleau's old channel, albeit with some added notes on more recent band and personal channels (like this one.) In our profile of local electronic/hard rock project Candle Hour's YouTube channel, I updated references on their current status (as they've uploaded no new music in 9 months), while our profile on dutters23's channel was updated to reflect the deletion of all of his videos for unknown reasons (the local ones were 3 Woods of Ypres songs), but I relinked active YouTube copies of said songs there from other users. Finally for this batch of updates, I added references on ex-Bear Hunters guitarist Mike Vincent's YouTube channel to note his latest video, which features him looking through a horde of Pokemon figurines. Stay tuned in a future post for updates on Sault Michigan-centric profiles in this series!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post likely tomorrow, along with this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on No Arrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned), This Weekend's Concert Previews, And A New Queensryche Video!!

Once again, we have a 100% Sault Michigan post today that largely circles around Banned and Queensryche! I know it might seem like overkill lately, but the latter's show here was a big deal, and the former have had a lot of recent news, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and previews of this weekend's concerts that they're involved in. Also keep reading for a new Queensryche video and previews of another Sault Michigan concert weekend, but first, let's get you guys caught up on the new shows (Also, the Sebastian Bach preview's coming this weekend, as it's a bit too soon to have it today.)

Kinross hard rockers Banned have been in the news a lot this week, and that trend continues with their newest show announcements, as they'll return to The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in nearby Barbeau, Michigan for two dates next month! As announced yesterday, these surprisingly won't be on the same weekend, as they'll hit this venue on separate Saturdays (February 9th and 23rd), but the music should be great no matter what! The February 9th gig will mark their first concert in Barbeau since August (that I can confirm), so if you like the venue and the band, this should work out well for you! Banned will bring their classic and hard rock covers and originals to the Cozy Corners on both nights at 8:30 PM, with 21+ age limits and no cover charges likely. For more details, visit Banned's Facebook page! These should be a solid pair of concerts from this freuqently seen local band, and hopefully Banned rock Barbeau (a half hour south of Sault Michigan, an hour northeast of St. Ignace) to it's core next month in their busy February schedule!

That said, Banned will be playing long before then, namely THIS WEEKEND, as they'll make their first ever live appearances at Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Similar groundrules are likely compared to their past and future shows, save for an oddly early 8:00 PM start time both nights, so expect a 21+ age limit, but have cash just in case. These will also likely be held without guitarist Alex Schrovenwever, who I believe is back out of town for college following his brief return over the holidays. It's great to see Banned covering new ground in their slow expansion across the U.P., and hopefully they make a great first impression at the Dondee this weekend! For a preview, here's Banned playing their song "Cocaine Riot" in September!



The other announced hard rock shows this weekend (Sebastian Bach aside, that's coming on Saturday) will take place at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Sault Michigan trio Powerslug will make their first announced concert appearances of 2013! I stress "announced", as with no online pages, their shows are often short notice or missed for coverage on here, so it's good to have this one in the queue well in advance thanks to Kewadin Casino's entertainment page! I'd expect Chris, Bob, and Chris to have a great set of hard rock covers this weekend, so take the trip down to St. Ignace TOMORROW AND SATURDAY NIGHT to chug your mug with Powerslug! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and I'd expect 10:00 PM start times both nights. Check the above links for more details! Though I wish they had online media/pages, their talented membership (including Clownsack and Kilacel alumni) should impress as usual, so don't miss Powerslug at the St. Ignace Kewadin tomorrow or Saturday night!

Finally for today, here's another new video from the Queensryche show at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this past Saturday! A day after his first two videos went up, attendee Christopher Paci posted one more video from the concert onto his YouTube channel, this time of Queensryche playing their song "Eyes of a Stranger"! Like his first videos, this are far from the stage with good audio quality, but luckily, it's not as jittery on his videos of them playing heavier songs, so definitely give it a look below, and stay tuned for more Queensryche videos if they turn up!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for last month's poll results and this month's new poll! What was your favourite new hard rock band of 2012? What element of 2012 will you judge over the coming month next? We'll find out tomorrow, so stay tuned!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Nudge, Powerslug, And Banned) And Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews!!

As expected, it's time to preview this weekend's Sault Michigan metal and hard rock shows! Our review of The Jamestown Massacre is still coming later today, but for now, let's discuss what's coming up this weekend across the river, and most of these shows are newly announced, so those (and a pair of new Sault Michigan shows next weekend) make up some new LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! Here's what you need to know, starting with the new shows in chronological order!

First up, local hard rock trio Powerslug will return to the stage TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill for a second straight concert weekend! I apologize for the short notice, but as usual from any of their post-name change concerts, I only heard about these just recently, namely last night on drummer Bob Helsten's personal Facebook page. I still say advertising these in advance on an actual band page would help turnouts and spread the word better, but who knows. Still, Powerslug are talented and have lots of great covers in store, so these latest Corner Pub stops should entertain! They should be on at around 10:00 PM tonight & tomorrow, you must be 21 to attend, there's no announced cover charge, and it's unknown to me if they'll be outside or inside for these gigs. Check the above links for more details! Powerslug need more online info & media, but these shows should be entertaining, so if you're up for chugging your mug with Powerslug, The Corner Pub is the place to be! For a preview, check out this unembeddable video of Powerslug in action earlier this year!

Also this weekend is the return of Kinross hard rockers Banned to the area concert stage, as two weeks after making their first stop in Moran, the Traynors and company will return to The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau, Michigan for a one night only stop TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be their first Cozy Corners gig in 6 weeks, and knowing their road-trip friendly ways throughout the Eastern U.P., who knows when they'll be back, so Barbeau locals and those nearby may wanna take notice! Apologies again for the short notice, as Banned only announced this show on their Facebook page yesterday. Banned will be on at 9:00 PM tomorrow night, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, check the above links! It's always good to see Banned back for some Sault-area concerts, and they have a lot of heavier and varied covers and originals in store, so keep their show in Barbeau tomorrow night in the back of your heads for your weekend plans! I also have a new show of theirs to cover soon on our next news post relating to a local music festival, but for now, let's preview their next show with their original song "Plaid Girl" live in Gould City in June!



Finally in new shows, we'll break from the weekend previews briefly to cover the next local concert dates from Marquette hard rock quartet Nudge, who are returning to The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan next Friday & Saturday! After making no local stops in July, this hard touring U.P. cover band will be sure to deliver some great hard rock hits to their Sault Ste. Marie fans next weekend, and I wouldn't miss them if I were you! Notably, this will be their first local concert weekend with new drummer Scott Kusmirek behind the kit, as he replaced Jed Thibeault in the band last month. Amazing how much drummer instability that Nudge have had lately, with four drummers (Eric Schlumpf, Tim Rousseau, Jed, and Scott) manning the Nudge kit in the past 8 months, but hopefully Scott can last for the long term! Also to note: Scott will join Nudge frontman Danzo McCracken for two acoustic solo sets at The Frog on Wednesday and Thursday prior to their full concerts, so if some unplugged tunes are your thing, keep these dates in mind! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is advertised. For more information, visit the official Facebook event page! Nudge always impress with their hard hitting covers sets, so don't sleep on their shows here next weekend, and stay tuned for more on them as we inch closer to next weekend!

Finally for tonight, here's the other concert previews for this weekend, and the only ones we had advance word on, as Sault Michigan hard rockers Monkey's Uncle are returning to the Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste. Marie TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! One of the hardest bands to find sources on for future concerts, I know they're playing at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin only thanks to Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, but I know they've played shows elsewhere this year as well, such as at least one show at The Bird in March (which I apologize profusely for missing!) Still, Henry, Ron, and company should have some solid hard rock covers & originals in store for Kewadin revellers tonight and tomorrow, so keep these dates in mind when deliberating your concert plans this weekend! I'd expect 10:00 PM start times, no cover charge, and 21+ age limits at these shows as well, and check the above links for more details! Though they've been somewhat of an online enigma since not long after their name changes, Monkey's Uncle have plenty of talent and great songs to offer, and this weekend's Sault Kewadin shows should be no different! For a preview, here's Monkey's Uncle covering Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog" a few years back!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for my Jamestown Massacre concert review later tonight! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & Nudge), Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Now that I'm back home and settled in, let's help clear out this glut of news from the past week starting with an all-Sault Michigan news post! We haven't had one of these in a while, partly thanks to an overall slowdown in news across the river, but this weekend's pretty big for metal in the Sault Michigan area, so it fits to give everything some extra attention today! That said, our preview of LemmaFest is coming tonight, as I want to give it more of a focus than it could have in this post due to some new shows, so in this post, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this month, a preview of a notable band's live return TONIGHT, and more news from them, so here's what you need to know!

Kinross hard rock quartet Banned will return to the Sault Michigan area TOMORROW NIGHT for their first ever concert at The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau! Though they've kept busy in the last couple months with shows all over the Eastern U.P., their Cozy Corners debut will be Banned's first show within 45 minutes of the Soo since their March 15th stop at The Bird, so if you've missed their hard rocking covers, take note of their Barbeau gig tomorrow night! I apologize for the short notice too, as this show was only announced on the band's Facebook page on Wednesday, and I've only had time to mention it now. Also, if they're having any guest performers, their page hasn't announced them. Details are scant for this show, but Banned's set will come after the festivities wrap up for a walleye fishing tournament that The Cozy Corners Tavern is hosting on Saturday. A cover charge has not been announced, but a 10:00 PM start time and 21+ age limit are both likely. For more details, visit the above links! It's nice to see Banned back in the area on Saturday, and hopefully the guys deliver a great weekend of hard rock classics and maybe some originals tomorrow! For a preview, here's Banned playing their original song "Plaid Girl" last month in Gould City!



Also in new Sault Michigan shows, Marquette hard rockers Nudge have lined up another set of weekend dates at The Satisfied Frog next week! Just 4 weeks after their last shows at The Frog, this hard working and talented U.P. band will rock Sault Michigan once again, and with the frequency of their last 3 weekend engagements here (all are just 4 weeks apart), it's great to see Nudge making up for lost time following their early-2012 absence from the area! Also note that frontman Danzo McCracken's solo show will return to The Satisfied Frog on Wednesday and Thursday before Nudge crank up the rock on Friday & Saturday, so if you wanna mellow out a bit, keep Danzo's solo sets in mind next week as well! There's no announced cover charge for Nudge's shows next weekend, you must be 21 to attend, and there's an advertised start time of 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a good time to me, and hopefully Nudge can rock The Frog to it's core with plenty of great heavier covers next weekend! Stay tuned for updates on these shows if they come in!

Now to a preview of one of the metal concerts in Sault Michigan this weekend, and while our LemmaFest preview is forthcoming in our next post, the band that opens this year's Michael Lemma tribute festival tomorrow will also be playing a long awaited concert TONIGHT as well! Brimley metal trio Half A Man will play their first concert in 13 months tonight at The Bird (a.k.a. Golanka's Bar), and this has definitely been a long time coming for the guys following recording sessions, delays, lineup changes, and more! As such, this will also be their first show as an official trio (though they temporarily played with 3 members at their 2010 live debut), and it will be their first concert since the departures of guitarist Denny Breslin & singer Dillion Semasky, though only Denny had played at any prior Half A Man shows. Tonight's concert seems fairly standard compared to Half A Man's earlier concerts, but the Facebook event page does confirm that there will be a barbeque at The Bird prior to their set, so come on out for that as well! There's no cover charge for tonight, you must be 21 to attend, and the concert itself actually has a listed start time of 8:00 PM, which is oddly early. Check the above links for more details!

Sounds like a great show to me, and it's awesome to see Erik, Gary, and Mikey back on stage after so long! This caps off a busy Friday for Half A Man after being interviewed by Scott Cook & Brian Davie on Rock 101 this morning, and I hope many of you guys knew about the interview and tuned in, as I was busy this past week and couldn't get a moment in to remind you guys. I hope someone recorded it too, it'll be a great listen if someone did! Also remember to follow Half A Man on their new Twitter page too, especially as you can only read their tweets if you're a confirmed follower on your own Twitter account. Go see Half A Man TONIGHT at The Bird, stay tuned for our LemmaFest preview later tonight, and for a preview of tonight's show, here's the new "radio version" (less swearing) of their original song "Drunk", courtesy of their YouTube channel yesterday! Sounds very good and still potent, but make note of their live return tonight!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our extended LemmaFest preview later tonight, and possibly more news! To accomodate that, I'm postponing this month's YouTube Channel Profiles to tomorrow so we don't flood the site with posts today or de-emphasize the LemmaFest preview by putting it up tomorrow morning, as it begins early tomorrow as it is. Stay tuned!

Sault Michigan Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

With a typically stacked Halloween weekend for concerts, I've been left no choice but to separate this weekend's concert previews by city, and because I'm waiting for additional confirmation on a pair of dates in Sault Ontario, we'll start the previews with the Sault Michigan metal and hard rock shows over the next two nights! If you want to know where the heaviest Halloween shows are across the river, this should tell you, though a couple of the shows are kinda iffy on their statuses. That said, here's what you need to know for the announced Halloween weekend shows across the river!

First for Halloween weekend metal concerts in Sault Michigan is the return of local hard rock quintet NoXcape to the concert stage tomorrow night and Saturday night! These are the first scheduled concerts for the band featuring the classic Absolute lineup and Krosswalk guitarist Joey Beairl in over a month, but they're listed on band pages to return to The Satisfied Frog for two hard hitting Halloween weekend shows over the next couple nights! I'm slightly concerned though, as band pages have not been updated since September, and there's been no advance promotion for these concerts in recent weeks, so part of me is worried that these bookings are or were in jeopardy. Unless I hear otherwise though, I'll treat these shows as still on, but I'll keep tabs on them! That all said, there's no announced cover charge for either night, you must be 21 to attend, and I imagine they'll be on at 10:00 PM or later for both shows. For more details, check the above links!

Saying that these shows go down as scheduled, I'd expect NoXcape to rock The Frog with some awesome covers and (maybe?) originals, so keep these shows in mind for your Halloween weekend plans! Though there's no videos of NoXcape to my knowledge, get a preview of their sound by clicking here to see old Absolute videos from their heyday!

Next on the weekend schedule across the river, it's two metal bands for the price of one at The Merchant's Bar for their Halloween bash, as local hard rock acts Scofflaw and Powerslug will join forces for two consecutive nights! The two bands, who both share drummer Ivan Schliska, will play their first joint gigs since LemmaFest (when Powerslug was still River Witch) this weekend, and look out for some different but always entertaining varieties of hard rock from both bands over the next two nights! The Merch has Halloween plans for the weekend as well, including a Halloween costume contest for $100 on Saturday and Halloween-themed drink specials, so keep those in mind for if you head there this weekend! There's no announced cover charge, you must be 21 to attend, and though the announced start time is 7:00 PM, I expect the bands wouldn't actually take stage until after 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's nice to see Scofflaw back, and it gave us more and fuller concerts for the holiday weekend to boot, so hopefully their grungier hard rock style and Powerslug's newer covers mesh well this weekend! Go see the two bands rock The Merch if you can, and for a preview, here's Scofflaw playing their song "Love Destroyer"!



The other metal/hard rock Halloween weekend shows that I know of across the river take place just outside of town, but they're certainly not far from Sault Michigan, so keep these shows in mind! Firstly, local hard rock quintet Splitshot will rock The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau, Michigan tomorrow night & Saturday night! The band featuring Nixxon Dixxon alumni Chris Hubbard, Kyle Beaumont, and Jake LaLonde (along with Dave Menard and Kyle's dad(?) Gary) will play for what could be the first time at the Barbeau restaurant & concert spot this weekend, and yes, there'll be lots of Halloween stuff going on this weekend as well, including a costume contest on Saturday night as part of The Cozy Corners' own Halloween party! And yes, Splitshot are sure to have lots of hard rock covers in store for you hard rockers, so don't forget about the music! There will be a 9:30 PM start time both nights, there's no cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! Though I still can't tell you much about Splitshot's sound, they'll be sure to rock you guys all weekend long, especially for the Halloween party on Saturday night, so keep these shows in mind as well for your weekend plans!

And finally, Kinross hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to return to The Sundown Lounge in Pickford, Michigan on Saturday night only for that bar's own Halloween festivities! This show was originally scheduled for tomorrow night, but the band confirmed it was moved to Saturday last month, so don't get thrown off! Now, I'm slightly wary of this concert's status too, for a couple of reasons. Banned still haven't announced a replacement for bassist Alex Schrovenwever, who left the group a few weeks ago, and the status that confirmed this show was deleted from their Facebook page. However, other statuses there still reference it, as does the promo video that guitarist Alex Traynor's sister Ashley uploaded two weeks ago, which is still online without changes. Are they playing on Saturday, and if so, who'll be playing bass? I can't say for the latter (former live guest bassists Steve Jacobus or Eric Cairns are good guesses), but with no official retraction of the date, I'll treat this show as on unless I hear otherwise. If they're on, they'll hit the stage at around 10:00 PM, a Halloween costume contest with prizes is planned, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details!

If Banned are indeed rocking The Sundown Lounge this weekend, they'll deliver some great hard rock covers for sure, so head to Pickford on Saturday night if you know they're playing and wanna rock out for the Halloween season! For a preview, here's Banned covering Led Zeppelin's "Rock N' Roll" in Pickford last month!



That's all for now, but our next post should have Sault Ontario weekend concert previews, so stay tuned for all that! Thanks everyone, and have a spooky good weekend of Halloween concerts!