LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Mid-Week Concert Previews!!

The pandemic is definitely not what it was, given how busy the SMS has been for posts as of late, and that we have enough mid-week concerts taking place tomorrow and on Thursday to warrant a special mid-week concert preview post today! We'll start with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will indeed play at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post for a third straight Wednesday concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook event page yesterday. With three straight late notice Wednesday concerts announced thusly, a pattern is established, and while he hasn't firmly stated this publically, it does appear that Tym has an arrangement to play weekly at The Mike Case Memorial Stage, not unlike his pre-pandemic agreements at Gliss and elsewhere. No word on how long we'll see Tym weekly at The Trading Post, but note that the stage only operates through September on a seasonal basis. As we did for Tym's prior weekly arrangements at indoor venues, I'll approach his presumed future Mike Case Stage gigs month-by-month, so I've added June 22nd and 29th to our concert calendar until/unless otherwise stated.

In any event, Tym's prolific and proficient brand of hard rocking vocal/guitar covers should deliver a fun couple of hours for fans TOMORROW NIGHT and likely on Wednesdays to come, so don't miss out! TOMORROW'S and other Wednesday night shows have 7:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and no age limits, but be advised that 9&10 News is calling for scattered thunderstorms from around 8:00 PM onward (the show is slated to end at 9:00). See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, let's preview two more mid-week concerts in Sault Ste. Marie, both getting lots of advance notice, starting with the local debut of British Columbia post-punk quartet Blessed when they headline at Dryer Fire's temporary pop-up venue at 285 Wilson Street TOMORROW NIGHT! Old fans of the late lamented Gnaeus will want to site up and take notice of Blessed and their indie/art rock-tinged brand of original post punk, complete with Talking Heads-influenced vocals, and they should be an intriguing early attraction in Dryer Fire's summer concert series! Local "triumphant rock" quintet These Magnificent Tenatacles will bring their alternative and punk hybrid attack to the stage as openers tomorrow, marking their third live appearance since expanding their lineup, and their second at 285 Wilson. The Tentacles have been making positive waves locally this year, and seeing as two of their new band members are Gnaeus alums, they will fit even better!

Tickets for this ALL AGES, 7:00 PM show will run you $10 at this link and presumably at the door. Barring a late show announcement or band switch, this will be the most punk/hard rock-friendly show Dryer Fire has all summer, so if you can make it to 285 Wilson (near The Breakfast Pig) tomorrow, you should get a strong night of talented live music! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Blessed live!

Lastly for this atypical batch of mid-week concert previews (we'll start addressing the Friday-Sunday crowd in a couple of days), local indie punk quintet The Northwest will take the stage for the first time since December 2019 (and since becoming The Northwest) when they open for Toronto alt-country trio Elliott Brood at the re-opened LopLops Lounge on THURSDAY NIGHT! A lot has changed and improved for Wayne, Greg, the Mikes, and Marc since the pandemic began, but a lot of patience and hard work led to the release of their third EP "All In" last week, with this show serving as the de facto release party. I can't confirm if they are imminently selling physical copies (their last two EPs were strictly digital), but this will be your first chance to hear these songs live regardless! Curiously, The Northwest still have not confirmed their involvement in this show on their Facebook page or the official Facebook event page, but members' personal Facebook accounts have been plugging this one a great deal.

As for the headliners, Elliott Brood are a Juno winning group whose brand of dark country & roots rock originals have been seen multiple times (generally at LopLops) in the Soo area since the 2000s, most recently at 2018's Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing. While not a hard rock or punk act, Elliott Brood are a talented outfit who may provide a more amenable sound for readers who don't like traditional country music, so don't bypass them if you're not familiar with them already! Thursday's concert will be the first held inside LopLops on Queen Street East since they were forced to close in March 2020 for very obvious reasons. Stephen & crew stayed active with craft beer deliveries and promoting off-site events, but being back in their home base will be awesome, and hopefully this show is a huge hit to kick things off again! A thankfully early 7:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ event.

Advance tickets cost $32.84, and you can buy them at this link and presumably at the door. This show is a big deal whether you're a fan of Elliott Brood, The Northwest, LopLops, or any combination therein, and while the Thursday scheduling isn't ideal, hopefully a sizeable crowd turns out for all of the action in a couple of days! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's (The) Northwest live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Blessed & The Northwest), New Videos, And More!!

Keeping our steady stream of regular posts going as the month of June rolls along, we have some new videos to check out today, plus updates on an upcoming CD release, and the latter ties into one of two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next week, so here's what you should know!

Abbotsford, British Columbia art-rock/post-punk quartet Blessed will make their local concert debut on Wednesday, June 15th when they headline at Dryer Fire's temporary pop-up venue at 285 Wilson Street!  Of course, "post-punk" and what many would traditionally call "punk" don't have a lot of obvious modern links, but Blessed's upbeat wall-of-noise approach and Talking Heads-inspired rhythms and vocals should appeal to a wide array of listeners next Wednesday, so definitely give them a listen to see what you think! Be advised that their newest EP is solely of remixes. Local punk/alternative quintet These Magnificent Tentacles will open in their third show with this lineup, and first appearance at 285 Wilson since the open house last month, and with 2 members of the band coming from the now-defunct local post punk stalwarts Gnaeus, their inclusion makes a lot of sense!

While this concert is technically part of Dryer Fire's summer concert series, it was only publically announced yesterday as a "bonus show", hence why we're only mentioning it now. This all ages event has a 7:00 PM start time, and admission runs for $10 at this link or presumably at the door. Of all of Dryer Fire's shows this summer, this one next Wednesday is the most punk-leaning, so we're starting with a bang in that regard, and visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

Next up, local indie punk quintet The Northwest will play their first public concert set of the year when they open for Juno Award winning Toronto alt-country trio Elliott Brood on Thursday, June 16th at the re-opening LopLops Lounge! Last seen at the same venue in December 2019 (you can probably guess why they haven't played live for 2+ years), this will be The Northwest's first show since tacking "The" to the beginning of their name, but more importantly, it will be the de facto release party for their brand new EP "All In", which is full steam ahead for its public release on Friday! This is the cover art, and you can pre-save it on Spotify at this link, but the band has not firmly stated if the EP will be available in physical copies or on paid mp3 download platforms at press time. If they had to take such a long break (planned or not), The Northwest are returning with a bang, and expect to hear new and old original favourites then!

Be advised that official public online sources have not confirmed The Northwest as opening, but guitarist Greg Callaghan revealed the news on his personal Facebook page yesterday, so they may be a late addition (the show was announced with just Elliott Brood last month). Speaking of Elliott Brood, while not a metal/punk act, their dark brand of "death country" has been entertaining audiences for two decades, including at multiple local dates (mostly at LopLops), last playing in our area at the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing in July 2018. If you're not a country fan, Elliott Brood may be an exception to the rule, so don't bypass them! As for LopLops, the popular Queen Street East venue has remained active during the pandemic with craft beer deliveries and hosting events off-site, but they closed their actual doors to the public in March 2020, so this should be a great way to come back!

An early 7:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ show (good thing too, given the Thursday scheduling), and with Elliott Brood's existing profile, tickets next Thursday will run for $32.84, and you can buy them at this link and presumably at the door. Whether you're in this for the alternative country or alternative punk, this double bill should deliver the goods next Thursday, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Finally for today, let's get caught up on a couple of new videos from local/Barrie crossover thrash quartet Spades GT's Facebook page from last month! Both promotional clips for when the former Jack Spades opened for Anvil (more on them soon) in Toronto, one is a jokey video made by guitarist Daniel Horton where he used a website named www.talkobamato.me to use clips of former U.S. President Barack Obama's speeches to make him promote the Toronto concert, leading into clips of Spades GT's post-relaunch debut and fake videos of Obama dancing set to the studio version of "Rise". If you recall Jimmy Fallon's bit where he made NBC News anchor Brian Williams "rap", it's edited similarly, albeit by a program reading your text, not staff. Cute idea, but the speech goes so fast, it can be hard to hear what Obama is "saying". At least it's not overtly political or leaning toward any heavily partisan opinions!

Embedded below is their newest video, which is actually embeddable publically (Daniel's video isn't as it has longer audio to content match). This was uploaded the day of the Anvil concert, and features all four current members of Spades GT outside seemingly preparing to enter their vehicle to the venue, before jumping to studio audio and relevant posters/logos. Short but effective promotion, so give it a look below, see more above, and stay tuned for more from Spades GT when it rolls in!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Stiffler's Mom), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

(Updated at 3:28 PM) Before we begin this post, I wanted to acknowledge an event taking place THIS SATURDAY that may have local hard rock or punk ties, but I didn't have enough details to call it here. The event is the planned first YouTube party from Underground Empire Records at The Canadian Nightclub, which is planned to have varied musical entertainment, competitive events, and fundraising for entertainment development in the Soo. The Din & A Dire Setback expressed interest in playing, but the promoters are best known for rap and dance music, and in any event, neither the promoters nor those bands have confirmed involvement. If we hear anything either way, we'll let you know in our next post!

Now, let's dive into weekend concert previews and a new video, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as veteran local party/hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom will return to The Esquire Club for headlining solo concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via their official Facebook page on Monday, and while that they didn't directly note the dates of this weekend's gig(s), we'll treat them as a typical two-nighter unless otherwise confirmed. Last seen at a private fundraiser at The Canadian Nightclub last week, this will be Greg, Mike, and Jon's first announced concert weekend at the west end venue since June, and first public gig anywhere since early last month. It's great to see Stiffler's Mom back at it with another weekend of high energy covers, so don't miss out on their Esquire Club return TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! There are no announced cover charges, 19+ age limits, and 10:00 PM-ish start times in effect. See above for more details, here they are live, and stay tuned for a surprise upload from their early days!

Moving to previously announced concerts, let's next touch on the presumed next Gliss Steak & Seafood gigs from Tym Morrison, as the veteran acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist is scheduled to return there TOMORROW and SATURDAY! His usual planned Thursday nighter tonight has been cancelled due to the inclement weather conditions, as per his personal Facebook page, but plans are for him to play tomorrow. Fans of Tym's band and solo work in the area know what to expect from his solo shows, especially with his long-term run at Gliss marching on, so keep his shows at the Bay Street restaurant in mind for this weekend! In any event, expect 6:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and no age limits for this weekend, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant. See above for more details, stay tuned in case there are any further changes, and here's Tym live!

Lastly for this weekend's currently known hard rock concerts, we'll skip across to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E will hit the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Making their likely final concert appearances of 2016, this will be 415E's first concert weekend since rocking the same Kewadin branch over a month ago, so the formerer Hubbard-Menard Band are in familiar territory. This talented quartet don't post a lot of media or teasers of their live show online, but if you're up for some Van Halen-inspired hard rock from alumni of such bands as Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, and The Highest of Fives, then you know where to be this weekend! You can take in 415E's sets at 9:00 PM both nights, you must be 21 or older to attend, and there are no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and here's 415E live!



Finally for today, here's the long-delayed sixth installment of local recording studio & promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s performance video series Live @ Six, Two, Oh.! Just their second installment in the past 9 months (Rihkee Strap played solo in the series 4 months ago), this features Vancouver pop punk quartet Blessed playing two untitled original songs, apparently as recorded locally at the studio in October, not when they played a headlining concert here in May. Featuring solid video angles and some nice tiled video effects, the performances are good and energetic, particularly the second song, which definitely plays more to their punk genre than the first. It's nice to see that Live @ Six, Two, Oh. is still alive & well, so give Blessed's episode a look below, and see more from this series (including local and out of town acts alike) above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon, including possible info on that YouTube party! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood) And The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

With the Victoria Day long weekend upon us, let's dive right into previews of this weekend's hard rock concerts! With more shows than we can reasonably fit in a post, we will preview Saturday's Banned show and Johnny Belanger's birthday bash that night tomorrow, plus any late notice confirmations, so look for them then, and now, let's kick off our previews with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood are heading back west for shows at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows via their official Facebook event page earlier this week. With their full lineup back in tow after their Rednecks Saloon stops last week, Mourning Wood's shows this weekend will be their first at the Second Line West bar in three weeks. The band has indicated that fans should be there early TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY, as The Esquire Club tends to fill up fast, so definitely consider a trip there for some classic & hard rock action! There's no announced cover charges for these 19+ shows, which each have no announced cover charges. Check the above links for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Moving to previously announced concerts, let's first touch on a stacked multi-band concert at The Rednecks Saloon TOMORROW NIGHT, where every band from March's VM Radio Battle of the Bands (sans The Din) will unite for the Victoria Day weekend! Promoted and headlined by local modern hard rock quartet Eclipse in a rare headlining appearance, they'll be joined tomorrow by local indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. (who won the battle), pop punk standouts Stereo North (in their first concert since the battle concluded), and local hard/pop rock quartet Heavy Head, so if you want an encore of the battle, head to the former Nicolet Tavern tomorrow night! Of course, you can also see Eclipse and Heavy Head on Saturday at The Oddfellows Hall too for Johnny Belanger's birthday show, more on that in our next post. PaperClip Productions will be on hand with gear for this show, which has NO COVER CHARGE, a 9:00 PM start time, and a 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

As we saw at The Canadian in March, this is a very solid lineup for fans of hard and alternative rock, and while it is a little odd that Eclipse are headlining over K.I.C.K. given the results of the battle, there's a great lineup of music ahead to check out! No word though on if Eclipse's teased plans to expand to a quintet with a new bassist will be finalized in time for this show, however. Check the above links for more info, and here's Eclipse live!

Also this weekend, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concert arrangement at Gliss Steak & Seafood continues with two more acoustic solo shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY! This prolific and well-versed local musician should be in top form for this weekend's downtown matinees, and if you're familiar with Tym's extensive setlist and talents, you'll know you're in for some good & often heavy tunes if you head to The Quality Inn's house restaurant this weekend! Though this weekend is a two-nighter as recently usual, Tym noted on a comment reply on his personal Facebook page earlier this week that he'll be playing every Thursday at Gliss again "soon" as well. No timeframe or public confirmation of this has been given, but if this holds up, it would mark the return of his weekly triple bookings at Gliss, which were contracted to twice weekly in March for unannounced reasons. If/when more is announced, we'll let you know!

As usual for Tym's unplugged Gliss shows, tomorrow & Saturday's have no announced cover charges or age limits (but remember where this is being held), and each will start at 6:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Tym Morrison live!



Finally for today, let's head to The New American Pub, where Vancouver post punk quartet Blessed will take the local stage for the first time THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Blessed bring elements of indie and pop punk to their upbeat and high energy sound, and should have a strong set in store for local fans at The New A on Saturday, including via songs from their new EP, so check them out in advance of this stop on their Canadian tour! Local openers will include Brash Gash, the new project from Honest Job's Drew Armstrong, and unless you saw them (and the cool fish mask) at The Gore Street Cafe's Fishbowl Festival, they'll be an unknown commodity, so be there to find out more on Brash Gash! Local acoustic punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address will open the proceedings, and Chris should impress with his prolific unplugged originals!

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. in another deviation from their metal wheelhouse, this 19+ show has a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details! This should be a fun concert with a lot of intriguing action for punk and alternative fans, so don't miss out on Saturday at The New A, and here's Blessed live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Blessed, Grave Party, And Mourning Wood), And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Today's post will see the last of our weekend concert previews, barring any late notice confirmations, but first, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (including SHORT NOTICE ones), so here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Esquire Club for a pair of headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only just announced these shows yesterday via their Facebook event page. Last seen at The Rednecks Saloon two weeks, ago, this will be the first concert weekend for this veteran fan favourite band at The Esquire Club since early February, so keep these shows in mind if you've missed this union of Hollow, Suicide Kings, Rainhorses, and Flat Stanley alumni at the Second Line West venue lately! As usual for Mourning Wood's local concerts, there are 9:30 PM start times in effect, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Mourning Wood live earlier this year!

Next up, here's a pair of newly announced shows with lots of advance notice, both at The New American Pub, starting with the local concert debut of Vancouver post punk quartet Blessed on Saturday, May 21st! Fans of Northwest or Gnaeus should dig this band, whose indie-tinged punk originals have taken them to a strong following in recent years, and with a new EP in tow, don't miss out when they hit The New A next month! Local openers will include Brash Gash, a newer local band who you may recognize from a set at the Fishbowl Festival at The Gore Street Cafe. Honest Job's Drew Armstrong is in their lineup, and you may remember them as the band with the elaborate fish mask, but we don't have any other details on their lineup or sound as of this writing. We'll let you know when/if anything is announced! The opening act will be local acoustic punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address, and Chris should have some strong unplugged originals in store in three weeks' time!

A presentation of Six, Two, Oh. (whose next punk rock bingo installment will be covered in our next news post), this 19+ show has a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. This should be a fun time for indie and punk fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more from Six, Two, Oh. soon!

Also, one of the two recently teased Blood Shed Productions-promoted metal shows has officially had it's venue confirmed, as Winnipeg punk trio Grave Party will make their local concert debut on Monday, June 20th at The New American Pub! This skate punk trio have a lot of fun songs that should attract a good audience at The New A next month with originals from their newest EP "For Dummies", so be sure to give them a listen to see what Grave Party have to offer! Though they are the nominal headliners, Coyote Speedfreaks mainman Chase Wigmore is listed to play after them in a solo set, marking his long awaited return to the stage, and it'll be good to see him back in June! Blood Shed co-founder Tyler Gibson's two local grind/death duos (Rotopsy & Brutally Fatal) lead the opening lineup, with the latter playing their first announced concert of the year in the process, while rap sets from Mikey Thomas and (jointly) Phat Boii and Miracle Man will precede them.

The show will be opened by Jacob "Shit Creek Survivor" Quarrell with a set of folk/indie rock numbers, so come early for his set too! A $4 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert (a rarity for a Blood Shed-presented concert event, which are usually all ages), and a 9:00 PM start time is in effect at The New A on June 20th. This should be a fun concert for fans of Blood Shed's goregrind, rap, and alternative acts, with Grave Party delivering some solid skate punk as well, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details!

Finally, here's our last announced concert preview for this weekend, as Calgary hardcore punk quartet The Motherfuckers will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT with a headlining set at The Oddfellows Hall! This veteran outfit should lay waste to the stage with their fast paces, attitude fueled punk attack during this stop on their Classless Society Tour, so don't miss out tomorrow! The Motherfuckers are on at 10:00 PM, while local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will return to the stage as co-headliners at 9:30 PM (just a half hour?), as they continue to jack the planet! Local/St. Catharines' grindcore trio Shit Liver will come back home for their first local concert appearance of 2016 when they rock The Oddfellows Hall for the first time in about two years, as they continue the early stretch of their Number Two Tour, so be sure to welcome the guys home in time for their 8:30 PM set! Reunited local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger will play their first show in almost three years tomorrow night with a set at 7:45 PM, which will also see the debuts of new singer Keith Gagnon and new bassist Andrew MacDonald, so don't be late so you can welcome Winkstinger back!

The planned late openers were to be new local death metal quintet Kaepora Gaebora, but they were quietly removed from the Facebook event page on Wednesday for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing bad happened, as they sound very promising! They've been replaced by the aforementioned Rotopsy in their first Oddfellows set in over a year, so be ready for their goregrind attack tomorrow! Moved from The Algonquin Pub due to ongoing renovations there, this now-ALL AGES event starts at 7:00 PM, and it has a $10 cover charge. This should be a great show, so check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Motherfuckers live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of AlgomA & Chronobot's vinyl split EP next! Thanks everyone!