As we continue to slowly clear our our backlogged news stories, here's a second post on this Wednesday, so be sure to check out last month's poll results & our newest poll below! This post is otherwise devoted to newly discovered concert videos that were filmed at last month's Gorod/Bookakee concert at The Oddfellows Hall, as filmed by the Montreal Metal Shows YouTube channel! These were only uploaded there on Saturday, hence the obvious delay, but it's better to get them now than never! You may recognize this channel as the one that filmed acts at last year's Benighted/Bookakee concert, so I'd have to deduce that the channel's creator is a member of Bookakee. Unlike last year, they filmed each band at the show, so let's start with the headliners, French progressive death metal quartet Gorod, who were filmed playing their original song "Carved In The Wind".
One of the late-set songs where frontman Julian Deyres' microphone didn't work (he sang anyway without one), this is still a strong video with the filmer getting some nice close angles of the band in action! The venue lighting is a little inconsistent, but if you can get past the microphone failure, it'll live up to Gorod's hype, so give it a look below!
Next up, here's the channel's video of co-headliners Bookakee, specifically the Montreal progressive/theatrical death metal quintet playing their song "Carcass Coffin"! Basically confirming that a Bookakee member is the channel's filmer (as it's at a stationary angle for this video until the very end), this is a later song from their set, after the band shed their masks, and sadly isn't one that includes any of their major theatrical elements. The lighting is such from this angle that only the right half of the video has any form of good lighting, but Bookakee sound brutal here on this lengthy and proficient number, so check it out below!
Moving to the local openers, punk/metal quintet Jack Spades were filmed at the show playing two songs: The shorter "They Live", followed by "Breakneck Speed", so click each link to go to each song directly. This is a solid video, despite generally poor, and Jack Spades are on their usual form on these intense originals, so give them a look below!
We'll close with local death/groove metal duo Them, who were the only band not filmed at last year's Benighted concert via this channel, so this is a nice way to make up for their omission last year! This is of Tyler & Anthony playing their new original "Slaughter House Blues", in a rare concert video of Them from a non-house party event, let alone with vocals, though Tyler's very hard to hear in that regard. The lighting's poor too, but Them have promise in their genre, so give their Oddfellows video a look below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
I was originally planning for today's second post to be our LopLops concert review from last night, but on the way to the venue, I saw that The Rockstar Bar's outside marquee advertised a pair of shows that we hadn't heard about for this weekend, so our review will be coming tomorrow morning, I promise! As such, we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, another new concert event next month, and some long overdue new videos from a recent concert, so here's what you should know!
Sporadically seen local classic/hard rock quartet RPM will return to the stage for shows at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, the gigs were only announced on the venue's Facebook group this morning, complicated by RPM's lack of an online page to promote shows, though they had been advertised on The Rockstar Bar's physical marquee sign this week. I'm not sure if RPM have been playing live at all since, but these are the first shows that we've heard about from Lindsay Pugh & his adult music camp alumni since August's Roberta Bondar Pavilion show during the city's summer concert series. RPM have been developing well since their debut, and hopefully they rock The Rockstar Bar well TONIGHT & TOMORROW! There's no cover for these 10:00 PM-ish shows, and you must be 19 or older to attend. See above for more details, and here's RPM live!
Next up, a big fundraiser concert entitled "Bay Mills Bands Together!" will go down in Brimley, Michigan at Pickles Bar & Grill on Sunday, May 15th, with a number of local artists joining forces to raise money for Maryssa Kronemeyer, an area high schooler who was seriously injured after being hit by a car last month. All proceeds will go to her and her family & the related medical costs, which is a great gesture! The lineup has many solo acts, but there will be bands performing, including new local hard rock/blues quartet Project 906 as the listed headliners (returning to the site of their live debut), and online pageless local metal quartet Stoned Ape Evolution, whose frontman John Napoletano is promoting the benefit. I still don't know much on Stoned Ape Evolution beyond some member identities and that they wear masks on stage, but hopefully more is revealed soon! Bands named The Karstons and Brainstorm are also listed, but I have no info at all on either. Of course, we'll let you know if we hear anything!
Remaining acts include Broke On Sunday frontman Mark Bowen, local country/pop artist Caitlin LeBlanc, Infathom frontman Dillion Semasky (no word on if his solo set will be rock or rap-based), solo artist Ken Jahnke (genre unknown, but Facebook indicates he's a metalhead), and a duo act named Mitchell & Brenda (possibly ex-Train Wreck bassist Mitchell Willis?) A $5 donation is in effect for this 21+ fundraiser, which starts at 6:00 PM, has sound by the Superior Sound Company, and will feature door prizes & a 50/50 draw. This is a great idea to help Maryssa out during a difficult time, so visit the Facebook event page for more info, and stay tuned for updates!
We'll close today with some overdue videos from last week's Gorod/Bookakee concert at The Oddfellows Hall, courtesy of frequent local concert filmer Chris Paci's YouTube channel this past weekend! Though he's been active filming at various other big concerts since, these are Chris' first public videos from a metal concert since The Superior Festival in Sault Michigan last August. Starting with his videos of French death metal quintet Gorod, Chris shot their opening song (I can't place the name, maybe it's new?), "Celestial Nature", and "The Axe of God", but embedded below is the last song from Gorod's set, "Carved In The Wind", which came after Julien Deyres' microphone died. The song's still brutal, and Julian made the most of it by singing sans mic and turning into the conductor of the metal symphony at hand, but the lighting of the hall does impact the quality. See more from Gorod above & below!
Finally, here's Chris' videos from Montreal theatrical/progressive death metal band Bookakee's set, which include this very entertaining quintet's song "Carcass Coffin" and the their version of the theme song from the Super Nintendo game Donkey Kong Country, titled "DK" on their album (if you're at all familiar with Bookakee, you'll know exactly what happens at song's end!) Embedded below is the longest of Chris' Bookakee videos, of a song whose name I can't place (maybe it's new?), so give it a look below, and see more of Chris' solid footage from this show above! (Sadly, he didn't film Jack Spades or Them at all, but kudos to him for getting what he did!)
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of last night's LopLops concert next! Thanks everyone!
Before we get into this concert review post, I wanted to apologize for missing a concert in this weekend's concert previews, as local party hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom played a one nighter at The Rockstar Barlast night. The show slipped us by after the band announced it on Wednesday, and while we did plug the show on our Facebook page late last night, missing it on here is a bad error on my part. Profuse apologies, I'll make sure we have a wider eye on Stiffler's Mom's next show! Now, let's tackle our review of Friday's Gorod/Bookakee show at The Oddfellows Hall, which had a solid attendance (especially for Bookakee's set), so let's kick things off with the late-added openers, local grind/thrash metal band Them! This was the first time I've seen them live, their first show of the year, as well as their first since their most recent lineup changes, as they have quietly parted ways (for the second time each) with guitarist Chase Wigmore and bassist Rainey Vincent. Reasons for their departures were not announced online or at the show, but hopefully things are amicable, and that we see Chase and Rainey back on stage at some point soon!
At least at this point, neither have been replaced in the band, so add Them to the increasingly large roster of two man bands in the area, but frontman Tyler St. Amour and drummer Anthony Boudreau compliment each other well, laying down some heavy if minimal metal action on Saturday! Bookending originals like "Moosejaw Boudreau" & "Slaughterhouse Blues" with covers of Green Jelly and (I believe) Red Fang, Them are a work in progress from a live setting, with awkward pauses being a bit too frequent, and Tyler seemed a little nervous and quiet between songs. Musically, they sounded solid and they fit their genres well, but vocals were very hard to hear on most songs (and completely absent on "March Into Regression"), and bass would be a benefit at times. That said, Them have the talent and promise, and hopefully Tyler & Anthony keep at it and play live more often!
The next band was supposed to be reunited local extreme metal band Winkstinger in their first public concert set since opening for Sleep When You're Dead at The Oddfellows Hall in May 2013, but they did not end up playing due to scheduling delays. According to drummer Jonas Gasperas after the show, a band member wasn't off work in time for their planned set after Them, and there wasn't time to slide them into a later timeslot or after Gorod finished. This is disappointing, especially given the near three year wait for Winkstinger to play a public concert again, but hopefully we see them back in the near future! However, as a teaser of what to expect when they do play live next, I can confirm that their new lineup features Jonas and guitarist Jesse Cook alongside Free Beer alum Keith Gagnon on vocals (replacing Alan Wells) and Scary Uncles alum Andrew MacDonald on bass (replacing Jason Bourcier), while the rhythm guitar position is, as far as I can tell, still vacant.
It's great to see Andrew back in a live band again, and while Keith has some singing experience from past bands, how does he stack up as an extreme metal vocalist? Hopefully we'll find out in short order, so stay tuned to the SMS and Winkstinger's Facebook page for future updates!
With that said, the aforementioned Jesse Cook still played next with his punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in their first non-battle of the bands set of the year, and they proceeded to jack the planet (and hall) with a fun set that fans easily took to! Playing originals like "They Live", "Crossroads", and "Motorwolf" alongside Turbonegro and Ripcordz covers, everyone was generally on form from past shows, aside from an aborted attempt at "Fear Corps" late in their set. That aside, my biggest issue was that the vocals were, like with Them, very muffled and quiet, but J.D. Pearce sounded good when you could hear him through the music, and Jesse and Tiffany Stocco were strong as expected on guitar! Good energy from all involved, with J.D. exploring the hall during songs, and a positive fan reception throughout, so hopefully Jack Spades are back soon, and kudos to J.D. for putting this concert on!
Montreal progressive/theatrical death metal quintet Bookakee co-headlined in their second local concert, and you can tell that word of mouth from the Benighted concert last year has paid off, as a huge crowd saw a set you had to see to believe! I could just spend all day talking about their theatrics and stage show, beyond anything you ever typically see at The Oddfellows Hall, with singer Phil Langelier proceeding to filet his face on two occasions, perform on on-stage abortion, murder Donkey Kong(?!) with a chainsaw which showered front row attendees with blood, and even spray everyone with silly string to end their set! If you saw Bookakee last year, you know what to expect, but it was a blast to see all of this live! The band wore costumes and masks (which were shed mid-set), but with or without them, their progressive-tinged death metal stood on it's own even without the theatrics, with SP Gagnon a very talented guitarist, and Jo David was a powerhouse on bass too! Bookakee rocked beyond measure, and if you weren't there, you missed out!
Despite having a tough act to follow, French progressive death metal quintet Gorod delivered a devastating set of their own to close the night! Playing songs spanning their entire career (including from their newest CD "A Maze of Recycled Creeds"), Gorod played with aggression and a solid stage presence, with frontman Julien "Nutz" Deyres showcasing brutal growling and a natural ease and command of the stage, which served him well for their last few songs, after his microphone stopped working. Rather than stop the show or complain, Gorod powered through, with Julien continuing to sing sans-mic, while basically turning from frontman to conductor of the death metal orchestra, never missing a beat. Mathieu Pascal & Nicholas Alberny were solid and very skilled on guitar throughout, and Karol Diers' technical, fast drumming was a perfect compliment! Despite the technical difficulties, fans rightfully called for an encore, a solid capper for Gorod's awesome set!
Overall, this was a great concert with a double-header of brutal headliners and two entertaining local bands, and despite early muffled vocals, Gorod's microphone issues, Winkstinger's lost set, and the unfortunate fate of Donkey Kong, I know fans will be clamoring for Gorod & Bookakee to come back to the Soo in short order, and I concur! You can check out our photos from the show at this link or at our Facebook page, and as for our videos, here's Them playing their instrumental "March Into Regression", Jack Spades playing "Negative Headspace", Bookakee playing "Monarch of the Depraved", and Gorod playing "Celestial Nature"!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our newest poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
After a few quiet days at the SMS, we're back in full force to tackle this weekend's concert previews! We'll cover this weekend's Mourning Wood, Tym Morrison, and Banned shows tomorrow, given the amount of hard rock shows this weekend, but we'll focus today on shows taking place from Thursday-Friday in the area, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Lucky 13 will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band quietly announced the show on their Facebook page on April 3rd, but it slipped us by until today (in any event, the venue hasn't confirmed it online as of this writing.) Fresh off of their Park Grille debut last weekend, this will be the first Rockstar Bar date from this talented veteran band since their first show with new guitarist Robin Lee three weeks ago. This should be another solid showcase of Lucky 13's new lineup, so keep it in mind for TOMORROW NIGHT for some hard hitting cover action! No word on why they're not playing on Saturday night though, or regarding what act is. TOMORROW's show has NO COVER (a recent permanent change for local shows), you must be 19 or older to attend, and there's a 10:30 PM start time in effect. See above for more details, and here's Lucky 13 live at Rednecks!
Next up, a recently announced house party concert entitled "Metal Massacre!" goes down TONIGHT with some new and familiar faces rocking out at 124 Anna Street in Manitou Park, where last year's Man & His Machine and Shit Liver house shows were hosted! The headliners are local thrash/death metal trio Pillory in their second gig, first non-battle set, and first headlining appearance since their reunion, while new local death metal band Kaepora Gaebora (featuring Bring The Fallen, Ashoka at the Show, Bring The Misery, and Gates of Winter alumni) will make their live concert debut as co-headliners, which should be very interesting on both counts! Another debuting band, local metal duo Twistory (featuring ex-Pillory bandmates Robert Sartini & Josh Amendola) will also be unveiled tonight, with the lineup rounded out by Tyler Gibson's late-added goregrind projects Crucify the Whore & Rotopsy, the latter of which playing live for the first time in eight months tonight, so if you've missed them, don't forget about this one!
Solid lineup for fans of young local death and extreme metal, and it definitely has the flavour of old Blood Shed/H.N.E. house party events, so keep this show in mind for tonight! Promoted by Twistory frontman Josh Amendola, Metal Massacre! has a "pay what you can" model for entry, there's no advertised age limits, and everything starts at 9:00 PM, but of course, respect the fact that is a home & residence. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this intriguing show, and here's Pillory's old lineup live!
Also this weekend, a blast of metal will also hit The Oddfellows Hall TOMORROW NIGHT for the first all-ages metal show of the year at the downtown venue! This concert will be headlined by French technical death metal quintet Gorod in their local concert debut, making them the second band from France in around a year to headline at The Oddfellows Hall (following Benighted.) Their progressive yet brutal blend of death metal should melt many faces tomorrow night, so definitely check Gorod out in advance of this concert! Montreal progressive/theatrical metal quartet Bookakee (who played at last year's Benighted show) will return for an encore tomorrow themselves, and if you saw last year's show, you'll know how wild and extreme their stage show can get, so get hyped for Bookakee as well! Local support will include punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (in their first non-battle of the bands set of 2016) and reunited local extreme metal band Winkstinger, making their first public concert appearance since 2013, with their new lineup finally being unveiled too! As well, local grind/thrash band Them have been added as a late opening band, as per the official Facebook event page on Wednesday. Good choice, especially given that they haven't been a frequent concert sight in over a year, so come check out Them's new lineup too tomorrow! Also, note that Montreal death metal band Beyond Creation are only playing select dates on Gorod & Bookakee's Canadian tour (this is not one of them), and this show was relocated from The Algonquin Pub due to that venue not being "ready in time". This ALL AGES show has a $10 cover charge and start at 7:00 PM, so see the above links for more details on this huge show, and here's Gorod live!
Finally for this preview post, local classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires will make their delayed debut at The Park Grille TOMORROW NIGHT! After they were replaced on short notice by the aforementioned Lucky 13 last week, this new band from Havadder, Cleveland Steamer, and Wishbone alumni will become the third band to play at the Industrial Park Crescent restaurant/venue during their spring season experiment with live music, with returns on May 13th & 20th also scheduled. As such, this will be The 3 Day Millionaires' first show since rocking Rednecks three weeks ago, and this talented group of familiar local faces should deliver a strong show tomorrow, so keep it and The Park Grille in mind for your concert plans! Remember, this is a one-nighter, The Park Grille is only booking Fridays (for the time being?) An early 8:00 PM start time is in effect with no announced age limits or cover charges, but remember where this is being held. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's a new video of The 3 Day Millionaires live!
Filmed at their Rednecks show on March 25th by ex-Chintzy Slicks/SBD drummer Shane Triplett and shared to the band's Facebook page the next day, this 86 second video (from shortly before the venue's relaunch and stage remodeling) is of The Millionaires covering Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You", a favourite cover of a few recent local bands, though here, drummer Scott McLurg provides lead vocals. Shot on the vertical cell phone camera angle, it's still a fun cover that the guys handle well, though it is incomplete and a little fuzzy. Give it a look below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and concert previews in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
A new month is upon us, but first, we have an apology to note regarding a missed concert this past weekend, as hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison played his first ever public concert at Centro Sports Bar (formerly Chilly Willy's) at The John Rhodes Centre this past Saturday as part of the pub night during the Charity Hockey Classic there for the ARCH Hospice. As best as we can tell, it was a public event, but Tym never plugged the show publically that we found. Still, our apologies for missing it, we'd have plugged it had we known! Now, today's stacked post features LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, an upcoming new album of sorts, and more, so here's what you should know!
Local concert promoter J.D. Pearce (in association with Tidal Records) is back for his first non-battle of the bands concerts of 2016, with the first seeing French progressive death metal band Gorod headlining at The Algonquin Pub on Friday, April 15th! The second metal band from France in as many years to rock the Soo (following Benighted last spring), Gorod's brutal technical sound and intense stage presence should leave a strong impression on local metalheads next month, so don't miss this late stop on their Canadian tour! Montreal theatrical death metal outfit Bookakee (who memorably opened for Benighted last year) will join Gorod next month for another set that will surely entertain and maybe even shock fans once again, so check them out as well! Local support will come via punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (in their first show of the year outside of battles of the bands), while the reunited Winkstinger will open the proceedings, and we'll let you know when more comes out on the extreme metal veterans' new lineup!
Note that fellow Montreal metal band Beyond Creation are advertised for only select dates on this tour, those all being in Eastern Canada. This show takes place on April 15th at The Algonquin Pub (not Algonquin College in Ottawa, that's a typo), and there's a 10:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and $10 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see this long-teased concert finally confirmed, and kudos to J.D. for getting this one booked, so keep it in mind for a blast of death metal come mid-April!
J.D. isn't done though, as he's also got something for punk fans next month, with a headlining concert on Saturday, April 30th at The Algonquin Pub featuring Calgary hardcore punk quartet The Motherfuckers! That's their name, don't shoot the messenger! Veterans of the Canadian punk scene dating back to 1998, The Motherfuckers' explosive blend of fast-paced punk should be just what the doctor ordered as we get back into the swing of regular original concerts over the spring, so if you want some live punk rock, be at The Gonq at the end of next month during this stop on their Classless Society Tour! The aforementioned Jack Spades will open this concert as well, but at least one more band is to be announced, so stay tuned for updates on that front. Like for the Gorod show, this is a 19+ affair with a 10:00 PM start time, but the cover charge for this one is just $5. Sounds like a fun blast of old school punk, so check the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more on both shows!
We'll close today with new videos, all concerning local hard/alternative rock musician Mike Haggith's active projects! In the last few days, Mike has posted two new studio versions of his solo original songs "Limb Coast" and, as embedded below, "Room 822" onto his YouTube channel, which are both planned to go towards "Neighbourhood Watch Revisited", a completely re-recorded version of his 2012 CD "Neighbourhood Watch", which I believe Mike had talked about doing in the past. On these new copies, Mike is joined by Din bandmate Brandan Glew on drums, as well as former guitarist Curtis McKenzie (nice to see them working together again!), so if you miss the 2015 version of The Din, pay extra attention here. Pending a possible review of the re-recorded album, I won't review the 2016 versions here, but in terms of the differences between versions, the new songs are longer, have better production, but otherwise are similar in structure. We'll let you know when more comes out on the re-recordings, but give Mike's first two "Neighbourhood Watch" re-recordings a listen below!
Finally, here's the latest from the aforementioned The Din, whose second installment of their "Cover of the Month" video series was posted online yesterday! Uploaded to The Din's YouTube channel yesterday, this is of the alternative hard rock trio covering The Barenaked Ladies' "The Old Apartment", complete with Mike & Brandan re-enacting the spoken word intro of the original song to kick things off (albeit with a "mic drop" for good measure.) Well recorded and filmed, fans of Mike's band work should enjoy this cover, so give it a look below, and don't miss The Din at next week's battles of the bands on Wednesday & Thursday!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post and weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
As we get back into the swing of things after the battle of the bands, we have a special video showcase post featuring videos from a recent all ages metal concert, but be sure to check out our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on My Dear Malice in the post below this one! As you may remember, French grindcore band Benighted and Montreal progressive death metal band Bookakee headlined a well received show at The Oddfellows Hall exactly three weeks ago today, and in the process, someone on tour with the bands filmed eight videos from seven of that night's bands for the Montreal Metal Shows YouTube channel, as they've been doing for the duration of Benighted's Canadian tour, which is a nice bonus for local fans! The videos shot for this channel come from all of the bands at the Soo show, with the exception of newer metal trio Them (who played first), and while that was presumably due to timing issues, it does flow with Them's seemingly intended secrecy, with no posted media or online pages yet from them. We'll know more at some point, hopefully!
We'll touch on the videos of local openers Mike Haggith & The Din, Rotopsy, and Crucify The Whore in an upcoming post in order to spread them out, but let's go in descending order from that night with a look at headliners Benighted, whose filmed video at the local concert was of them playing their song "Foetus". Solid quality from right up close to the stage, and you get a good sense of Benighted's brutality and technical skill, with lots of moshing fans, but the audio is a bit muffled. Strong footage, so check it out below!
Next up, here's co-headliners Bookakee bringing their theatrical stage show to the Soo, with their filmed video being of their songs "A Night To Dismemember" and "Whorrific", which opened their 2013 album named after the latter song. It's somewhat odd that their video is on a stationary angle (maybe a band member was filming?), so it doesn't completely capture Bookakee's costumes or setup, but the relentless fast-paced songs come through fine, so give their songs a look below as well!
The highest placed local band three weeks ago were VM Radio Battle runners-up The Bear Hunters, whose filmed video was of their song "I Fear No God". Well filmed with much brighter lighting, this captures one of the guys' better new originals, plus a lively pit, so give it a look below!
Lastly for today, we'll feature the video of late-additions Bad Back, whose filmed songs were their original "Two Tongues" & their cover of The Refused's "Rather Be Dead". Is it ironic that the last four bands at this show had names starting with the letter B? Nicely filmed again and of solid quality, but Jamie & Nathan are oddly further apart than fans are likely used to from their sets, though it's worth noting that setup for The Bear Hunters' set appears to be ongoing during this video. Nice to hear Bad Back's grunge/hardcore hybrid on stage again, so give their video a look below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review, the rest of the Benighted concert videos, and more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
Hey guys, I just wanted to say that I've opted not to attend last night's Speak Easy Battle due to my cold not improving enough, which might be for the best, as 4 of last night's bands are involved in the VM Radio Battle that I'm a judge for, and I want to be fair and have an even playing field without potential biases or pre-concieved notions on how bands will do in two weeks and at the finals. We will update everyone on the results and more from the event as we hear it though, so stay tuned! Now, today's weekend concert preview post includes SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TONIGHT & TOMORROW and more, with one show having a new confirmed band, so here's what you need to know!
Local classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood will hit The Rockstar Bar for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we first heard about them via the venue's Facebook group on Monday, so we held them for this weekend's previews. These will be Terry, Steven, and T.J.'s first shows at The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs bar in two months, and while they're the first shows that this talented cover band have announced in two weeks, bassist Steven Flint's personal Facebook page implied that they played shows this past Monday & Tuesday at Reggie's Place downtown (not Reggie's West.) If true, I do apologize for missing them, but you'd have thought the band would have promoted them on their own pages, especially given the atypical days. Regardless, it's great to see Mourning Wood back at it this weekend, so don't miss out at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT & TOMORROW!
There's no announced cover charge (but have cash on hand just in case), you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is in effect. For more details, visit the Facebook event page, and here's Mourning Wood live last year!
Next up, we'll add longtime Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's March concert slate at The Harp Bar & Grill to our schedule, as his ongoing year+ weekly arrangement there marches on! He'll be back at the former Madison's Pub TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, as well as next Friday the 13th, as well as March 20th & 21st and on March 27th & 28th, and like above, I apologize for the short notice on this weekend's shows, but as usual, we waited for Facebook confirmation before plugging the next set of shows here. Also, note that while his website's calendar lists a show on Saturday, March 14th, we're not listing it here due to that being the night of the UFC 185 PPV, as The Harp tends to broadcast UFC PPVs, but if that assumption is wrong, we will correct that. Tym's unplugged hard rock covers have entertained many audiences at The Harp since late 2013, and that shouldn't change this month, so don't miss him TONIGHT, TOMORROW, or later this month!
Admission should be free like usual for this month's Harp shows, you must be 19 to attend, and there are 10:00 PM start times in effect each night. For more details, visit the above links, don't miss Tym THIS WEEKEND, and here he is covering Extreme a few years back!
Moving to previously announced concerts, we'll head south to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will take the stage for solo headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of shows at The Rapids Lounge just last month, it's great to see Jeff, Adam, and Brooks back already to deliver their fan favourite metal covers to their U.P. fans! Actually, this weekend's shows are Peril's first since last month's Kewadin gigs, so local fans could see themselves as spoiled, especially with St. Ignace stops coming later in the month! As usual for Peril shows here, there are 9:00 PM start times in effect, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. For more details, check the above links and the official Facebook event pages for each day (linked here and here), and for a preview, here's Peril's take on an Ozzy Osbourne classic!
We'll close today's previews with the biggest concert of the weekend, as both Heavy North Entertainment & Blood Shed Productions will host their first non-house party event of 2015 TOMORROW NIGHT when French goregrind quintet Benighted will make their local concert debut when they headline at The Oddfellows Hall! A favourite of promoter/Them frontman Tyler St. Amour, their brutal death metal sounds and technical skill should be welcomed on Saturday night at 11:00 PM! Joining them here and on their Canadian tour are Montreal theatrical death metal quintet Bookakee, whose unique stage show, costumes, and theatrics should set them apart along with their metal intensity this weekend, as they have to be seen to be fully appreciated, so don't miss them at 10:00 PM! A lineup of six local metal acts are signed to open on Saturday, including one new confirmation, so who all is playing? VM Radio Battle finalists The Bear Hunters will play their first non-battle set of the year at 9:00 PM, while grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back are late additions at 8:30 PM!
Announced on the Facebook event page on Wednesday, their addition is a pleasant surprise, and their hard hitting originals should find a solid audience in their 2015 debut! The remainder of the lineup includes local hard rock/alternative quartet Haggith at 7:45 PM, Blood Shed goregrind acts Rotopsy & Crucify The Whore in their 2015 debuts at 7:00 & 6:15 PM, and the long awaited non-house party debut of Them, the pageless new metal trio from Bring The Misery, Revolution, and Infamous alumni, as they'll open at 5:30 PM. Also, Blood Shed fans should keep a look out for copies of the recently released 11-way split demo, as this will be their first concert since it was released due to the release party being cancelled again. Tickets are available for $7 through promoters in advance (the price jumps to $12 at the door), and this is an ALL AGES show. For more details, visit the above links!
I regrettably won't be at this show, as The Bear Hunters and Haggith are still involved in the VM Radio Battle that I'm a judge for, so I don't want to risk any complaints about favoritism for them or a bias against other competing bands by attending, or gaining a pre-concieved notion on how they'll do, but I do hope this show is a huge hit! I know this has been highly anticipated by H.N.E. and Blood Shed fans, and I was curious to see the headliners and Them in particular, but hopefully there will be lots of photos and videos next week! See above for complete details, and for a preview, here's Benighted live in 2012!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of last night's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands later today! Thanks everyone!
I hope everyone's having a great Tuesday! Keeping with our recent steady output, today's news post includes new material from two linked projects, the latest from a promising young band, and more assorted updates, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for March! (Edited on Wednesday at 2:05 AM)
A long teased death metal concert is now official, as French death/grind quintet Benighted will headline at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday, March 7th (and by French, I mean from France, which is very cool in and of itself!) A favourite of promoter Tyler St. Amour, Benighted's brutal and intense death metal sound should be more than welcomed to Sault Ontario in the midst of their first Canadian tour, so be sure not to miss this show if you live death metal & grindcore! They'll be joined by Montreal theatrical death metal quintet Bookakee, who are known for wearing costumes, using props, and enacting sketches during their sets of technical & progressive death metal, and they have to be seen to be believed, so make sure to see them in March! They're scheduled for 11:00 & 10:00 PM respectively, while the top local support slot will go to local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters in their first announced show since November's CD release party, and they'll be on at 9:00 PM.
Very fitting choice, and they should brutalize on March 7th! The only other currently announced local band will be goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore (in their second announced show of 2015) at 6:30 PM, and while The Revolution have expressed interest in playing, the other three local band slots have yet to be confirmed. The first concert from Heavy North Entertainment in over 4 months, admission will be $7 in advance (starting on February 1st) or $12 at the door, the first band will be on at 5:30 PM, and this is ALL AGES! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This sounds like it will be a great concert for death metal fans, so be sure to stay tuned for updates as they come in!
Next up, here's the latest from young local alternative/hard rock trio The Pixo Control, who will be making a big appearance on a new local webseries soon! The show is called Bare, and it's a VM Radio-produced series where local musicians will perform in a stripped down acoustic fashion (a'la MTV Unplugged), with multiple cameras filming all of the action. A preview photo is shared of the set on VM Radio's Facebook page, but it's not from The Pixo Control's episode. Other details on Bare are forthcoming (including on what sites to watch it on), but we'll let you know when more comes out. Either way, it sounds like a fun series, and I'm curious to see who else plays on Bare! Also, a review of their most recent concert (at Cafe Natura on December 30th) is now online via the local music & arts website Ears & Eyes, as written by contributor Shane Erickson (a.k.a. DJ Seith), and it's fairly in depth on all of the bands that night, so what should you know?
Along with remarks on the reunited Frasiers and Great Chamberlain (who featured The Pixo Control's Michael Mikus and The Fever Tops' Mitch Harris), he praised local post punk quartet Gnaeus' energy, openness, and their "hard-charging alternative rock sound", while enthusiastically praising Michael's stage presence and intensity when discussing The Pixo Control, who debuted a new song named "Alphabetical Order" that night. I won't spoil the rest, but Shane is well spoken in the interview, so give it a look at this link or above, and read more from Ears & Eyes too, it's a great site!
Also today, here's the latest from Telephone & Address frontman Chris Shoust's other two active bands, those being his duo projects The Red & Black and Orange! They both now have new media on their respective Soundcloud pages, with Orange's page now featuring 10 new "Sunday Sessions" recordings posted last week (bringing them to 14 total), all continuing their diverse punk/rockabilly instrumental sound! The Red & Black's new Soundcloud page features 7 original songs, including 4 previously heard on their Bandcamp page, and three new songs named "Sing or Move On", "Stay at Home in Bed", and "This is All That Matters". Their new songs are effective yet lo-fi like before, and fans of Chris & Damian's past collective work should enjoy the songs! It should be noted that The Red & Black's Soundcloud page implies that their 7 songs will comprise their portion of the hinted split album with Orange, but it's not clear yet which Orange songs will be included, or if this album will get a paid public release in some form.
Chris' projects have been very prolific in terms of media in the last few months, so we'll have to see what comes next from them! Stay tuned for more updates, and yes, we have more from Telephone & Address themselves as well, so keep an eye out!
Finally for today, here's three shorter assorted items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or event name:
Apolcaypse Afterparty
"songwriter" Paul Stanghetta (a.k.a. Puablos Stancu) is looking for
"chicks with bass & an amp", presumably to join the band, which does
follow earlier hints that they were looking to expand their lineup with
female members. If you're a female bassist and are interested in
joining this unique rap/metal project, message Paul at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
We've moved local death metal band Social Suicide to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, having not posted on their Facebook page since January 5th, 2014. Active since 2011, this band was led by the aforementioned Tyler St. Amour, and underwent many member & sound changes, but house parties aside, never played a public show or released any media. Best of luck to surviving members in the future, and don't miss Tyler & fellow Social Suicide alum Anthony Boudreau in the newer metal band Them!
Only 5 registration forms for the VM Radio Battle of The Bands at The Canadian Nightclub in March are available to whoever wants to pick them up and enter, rather than just bands who reserved spots, so if you want in and/or had a reserved spot, head down to The Rad Zone A.S.A.P. to get your forms! Once completed and sent in with your $100 entry fee (which you get back by selling your ticket packages), you're in for the battle! Our source is promoter J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page today.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more in the coming days, including this weekend's concert previews & more! Thanks everyone!
As we continue to slowly clear our our backlogged news stories, here's a second post on this Wednesday, so be sure to check out last month's poll results & our newest poll below! This post is otherwise devoted to newly discovered concert videos that were filmed at last month's Gorod/Bookakee concert at The Oddfellows Hall, as filmed by the Montreal Metal Shows YouTube channel! These were only uploaded there on Saturday, hence the obvious delay, but it's better to get them now than never! You may recognize this channel as the one that filmed acts at last year's Benighted/Bookakee concert, so I'd have to deduce that the channel's creator is a member of Bookakee. Unlike last year, they filmed each band at the show, so let's start with the headliners, French progressive death metal quartet Gorod, who were filmed playing their original song "Carved In The Wind".
