It's been way too long since I've made the point of crossing the border to see and review a concert in Sault Michigan or the Eastern Upper Peninsula, and with last night harbouring the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands, that seemed like as good a reason as any! I made the half hour drive southwest to Brimley (nice country drive there), and for context, the festival was set up not far down the road from Bay Mills Resort & Casino, and you also passed Pickles Bar & Grill en route. While I didn't take part in the bulk of the non-concert festivities, the layout by the Riverview Park & Campground saw food trucks, vendors, and tents bordering an open area for games and activities to take place. Like last year, bands performed under a large white tent that had room for some attendees to be under in case of inclement weather, though many were happy to sit and watch outside.
Skies were cloudy and overcast all evening, but there was zero precipitation, and temperatures were reasonable. The battle format saw bands play 45 minute sets with 15 minutes for teardown and setup, and all got a "one song left" warning from the sound guys (there was no dedicated battle MC, but there were PA announcements regarding festival events, last call for whitefish meals and drink sales, and the battle awards). The battle was judged, but there was no announcement made concerning judging criteria or who was on the judges panel. Good crowd of people too, and there was a real community/family aspect to who stuck around all night!
The opening set at 7:00 PM went to local southern rock/country duo Blood, Sweat, and Beers, who were playing their first show in 2½ years last night. This is the old/new band from former Fake Chow/Unfortunate Sun singer Skip Parish, who was joined on guitar by his brother Stephen, and their set definitely leaned away from the rock covers from Skip's recent band work. The all-covers set saw them tackle songs by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mellencamp, Deana Carter, The Eagles, Zach Bryan, Eddie Rabbitt, Post Malone, and Steve Earle. I'm not a big southern rock or country guy (let alone The Eagles), and I do think Skip's vocal range suits rock more, but the Parish brothers had a good sound going and a fun camaraderie! I especially liked Stephen's stage presence, coming off amusingly aloof and oblivious to the setlist and what was happening. Nice and casual southern fried unplugged set to lead off!
Second up last night was local punk/hard rock duo About:Blank, who were the only band present with any substantial inclusion of original songs, playing nine of their own tracks here, including "Shedding Skin", "Tread On", "Peaches", and "Run & Hide". A mix of familiar and unfamiliar acts were covered also, including Adult Books, Green Day, Turnstile, and The Orwells. I did see Parker Talentino solo at the LSSU Battle of the Bands in 2024, but in a full band setup (current duo lineup acknowledged), About:Blank delivered a set that had a lot of nods to early 1990s grunge with punk and hardcore influences, including some screaming for effect. He and drummer Kade DesArmo paired well for a chaotic but well composed batch of songs, including when Parker switched to bass for their closer "Unheard" (with its very "Barracuda"-ish riff). Good stuff, and hopefully we hear more from About:Blank before long!
The third band last night was reunited local classic/pop rock cover quartet The Whole Shabang, with singer Candy Fultz and her husband Lawrence (on guitar) back alongside bassist Mitchell Willis. On drums here was Mark Livermore, who was recently seen in The Chris Barker Band. Playing their own first show in two years, The Whole Shabang covered songs by Trick Pony, The Neon Trees, Robert Palmer, Billy Joel, Elle King, The Cranberries, Aretha Franklin, Radiohead, and Gretchen Wilson, for a set that really was a jack of all trades range of covers (dare I say, "the whole shabang"?). There was a hang-up when they restarted "Respect" after Candy got her foot caught in the microphone cord, but they had a fun and lively sound with everyone performing well, and lots of dancers hit the front of the stage, which is quite welcomed! You'd never guess they'd been inactive for as long as they were!
Closing the battle past sunset were The 8th Fire, who are the new local hard rock band from Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich alongside her former Other Guys bandmate Jackie Moon (ex-Exit 808) on drums, plus Proiect 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins on guitar. We'll have more on them in an upcoming post, but they look to be more than just a short term band made for a battle, as there are 8th Fire t-shirts! No word on what the first seven fires were though. Molly actually kicked off the set with an original country song about a perfect boat day with her dad, but the full-band songs were all covers, where they tackled Redbone, The Doobie Brothers, Green Day, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Judas Priest, and Ozzy Osbourne. Joe even took over lead vocals for a cover of Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome", and killed it on guitar, especially on "Mr. Crowley" (including playing behind his head at one point!) If only we had gotten that Project 1327 crossover!
Molly has improved vocally since I last saw her in person at the 2024 LSSU Battle, and while some songs were still out of her range, she adjusted well (and remember, she is fourteen years old). Jackie drummed well with enthusiasm, and Molly's bass work was strong, though Joe did break a guitar string late in "Billie Jean". Not a bad debut set at all, and hopefully we hear more from The 8th Fire before Molly heads back to Interlochen!
After judges' deliberations, the PA announcer revealed the winners of the battle, and the $1,000 first place prize went to.... The Whole Shabang! The 8th Fire debuted with a $750 second place finish, while About:Blank won $500 for third place, and Blood, Sweat, and Beers claimed $250 in fourth place (so everyone got something for showing up). The Whole Shabang also earned the right to play a bonus set (or as the announcer called it, a "jam sesh") in the 11:00 PM hour, but I didn't stay for that, owing to a combo of depleting camera batteries and the half hour drive back to Sault Ontario. I don't know what the judges criteria amounted to for the battle proper, but the order did fall in line with who had the biggest and fullest live band presentations, not to mention the crowd engagement levels. I will say that I don't think originality was supremely high as a criterion for the judges, as About:Blank would have ran away with that.
Still, this was a triumphant return gig for The Whole Shabang (they look ready to play regular shows again instantly), and kudos to everyone for an entertaining night of live music! No word on if the LSSU Battle will return for year #4 this fall or not, we'll keep you posted, but I do need to come across to the EUP for more concerts already! You can check out our photos from last night at this link or at our Facebook page, and here's Blood, Sweat, And Beers covering Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason", About:Blank playing "Dilletante", The Whole Shabang covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" (with flute!), and The 8th Fire covering Hole's "Malibu"!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for much more on the SMS this week, feature posts and regular news posts alike! Thanks everyone!
