As promised, let's wrap up this weekend's slate of concert previews with a Saturday night trifecta, thankfully all with advance notice! For our previews of tonight's Tym Morrison show, this weekend's Soundcheck concerts, and the now-concluded Goo Goo Dolls/Cheap Trick show, check out yesterday's post. Now, here's what you should know to wrap up an unusually busy weekend!
We'll start in Hulbert Township, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie hard rock trio Tarnished are advertised to return to Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast for one night only TOMORROW! I will advise that, while this show is the final advertised concert on Tarnished's summer concert schedule on Facebook, the band proper has not updated their Facebook page in over two weeks, and Hulbert House have also not promoted it publically on Facebook as of late. If we get public confirmation that this show is not taking place, we will let you know, but as it's still advertised by the band, we'll proceed as normal. While this will be Tarnished's first show since their St. Ignace Kewadin gigs two weeks ago, and their first Hulbert appearance since the AMVETS rally there last month, you may recall that they were slated to open for Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys in a cancelled outdoor show there last week.
Hopefully all's well in Tarnished's camp and at Hulbert House, as this would be a fine way to end their summer concert calendar via their hard rocking originals and covers! If past Hulbert gigs are any indication, tomorrow's show will likely be a 6:00 or 7:00 PM affair with no cover charge or age limit, but I don't know if it'd be on the outdoor stage or in the B&B proper (the weather forecast looks good for tomorrow, in any event). Of course, please follow any social distancing guidelines in place at Hulbert House too. Follow the links above for more updates, and here's Tarnished live!
Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where local funk/hard rock quintet The Wyld Stallyns will headline the Entomica Insectarium's summer 2021 social fundraiser concert at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre TOMORROW NIGHT! Subtitled "Let's 'Mis-Bee-Hive', Come Out & Jive" (and held on National Honey Bee Day), this special event will be the first Bushplane Museum concert we've covered in two years, and will serve as a fun way to support the bug lab's work in the community and local businesses in general. Attendees can expect food and drinks from established local vendors, plus kids activities, a bee costume contest so visit the official Facebook event page and Entomica's Facebook page for full details on these aspects of the show. The Wyld Stallyns will be the heaviest and final band of the night, closing things at 11:00 PM in their fourth concert of the year & with their new lineup, while veteran local entertainer Tim Murphy will precede them at 10:30 PM, performing (likely in drag) as "Ms. Beehive".
Classic rock veterans Mustang Heart will hit the stage at 9:30 PM (expect at least one heavier cut from them), while newer local country musician Jeffrey Wright will look to make an impact with a set at 8:30 PM. Dueling local jazz collectives will take the stage during the kid-friendly opening half of the fundraiser, including The Northern Jazz Ensemble at 6:45 PM, and the confusingly named Josh Norling Jazz Ensemble leading off at 5:00 PM. An unidentified DJ will also spin tune between bands. Admission is $5 for this all ages event, which should be a winner for the bug lab and attendees all around, but of course, please respect and follow any social distancing and public health guidelines at the Bushplane Museum to ensure that everyone has a safe time, especially given that this is an all ages event with children's activities. See above for more details, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live!
Lastly for known hard rock concerts in the Sault Ste. Marie area this weekend, local garage/hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley will make their Rockstar Bar debut with a one-night-only concert TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be this rising young band's second show of the year following their Rotaryfest set last month, as well as their second public date with new bassist Brendan Bertrand. Of course, The Uncanny Valley are also the last of the four live bands announced for The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs nightclub's return to live music in August 2021, so will more be coming soon? Time will tell, but enjoy this promising quartet's classic-inspired originals tomorrow! A 8:00 PM start time is advertised for this 19+ concert, which has no announced age limit, but again, please be mindful of any and all social distancing measures (and wear your mask!) Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Uncanny Valley live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post of some kind by Monday! Thanks everyone!
After publishing six posts in six days last week, things have crashed back to Earth more or less in terms of news and notes, but if you're interested in new content from the Sault Michigan-area, then today's post will be up your alley! It includes a surprise lineup departure, new videos, and a preview of a concert this weekend, so here's what you should know!
With news slowing down again in the wake of the Kewadin Casino schedule announcement and the beginning of Stage 2 in Ontario, I'm opting to post this weekend concert preview slightly early to ensure that steady content on the SMS is maintained. That said, if you're in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, look for Sault Ste. Marie hard rock trio Tarnished back at their recent favourite local venue (Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast in Hulbert Township) THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! This is a special concert tied into an American Veterans motorcycle gathering that you can get full details on via the Facebook event page, and there are events relating to that all weekend, including a bonfire and unspecified separate musicians on Friday. Hulbert House did not announce if Tarnished's show on Saturday would be outdoors or indoors, but again, if the weather's good, why not take advantage of their proper stage?
Admission is $50 for the weekend and includes camping priviliges at the Hulbert House site, and while Tarnished's concert is included with admission, inquire within if you want to ask about attending just the concert itself. I assume they'd prefer attendees be related to AMVETS or motorcycling, but you never know! Tarnished will be on at 7:00 PM on Saturday, and if you are up for a trip over the Mackinac Bridge, they will also be playing in Mackinaw City on Friday night, so click here for more details on that. See above for more information on their Hulbert gig on Saturday, and for a preview, here's some new videos of Alex, Nathan, and Josh from their set in Grand Marais this past Saturday! While not promoted much on Facebook, this outdoor show two hours west of the Soo was filmed for two 45 seconds-long videos posted on Tarnished's Facebook page, so what can you see here?
These videos show covers of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll", and as embedded below, Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love", which I chose to embed as it's both a heavier cover and it's filmed in a normal landscape orientation. Both are well done covers that put Alex's strong melodic singing to good use, and it's just a shame that the filmer wasn't closer to the stage (let alone filming vertically for the Seger cover). Give both videos a look above and below, and don't miss Tarnished in Hulbert on Saturday if you're attending the AMVETS gathering!
Next up, here's a new video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel, this time of a short new instrumental original track named "Kitten Cat Shark Attack"! Well, Shark Week is coming up, perhaps this is getting an early jump on things? Despite the thumbnail, there's no kittens or sharks to be seen, it's just Ted playing a very heavy progressive metal song with his headless guitar. I'll admit, this is one of my favourite of Ted's solo tracks so far, the brutal technicality is great, and the new lighting/camera setup works to it's advantage! Give Ted's new video a watch below!
Finally, we have some surprising news out of Sault Michigan, as new local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews have surprisingly parted ways with bassist Chris Leask before they could even debut at The Rapids Lounge this past weekend. The band did not elaborate on their Facebook page,
but Chris revealed on his personal Facebook page that he left for
medical reasons that will impair his ability to play bass, though it is nothing life-threatening. Given the
non-public source, I won't elaborate here, but Chris has been a frequent presence in our Sault Michigan coverage with bands like Power Slug and Highway 63, and hopefully his condition
improves so he can return to the stage down the road! A new Facebook photo posted by the band from their debut weekend shows the bassist they brought in at least for those gigs, and I may be wrong on this, but he looks like Brett Blackwood, who played in guitarist Chris Hubbard's prior hard rock band 415E from 2019-2020.
In any event, Rhythm & Brews have not publically confirmed a permanent replacement for Chris, let alone acknowledged his departure in writing, but they don't have any other Kewadin Casino gigs advertised in 2021, so there may not necessarily be a rush either. We'll keep you posted when more rolls in from Rhythm & Brews' camp, but that's all for today, and stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next, barring any late notice concert announcements! Thanks everyone!
We have a bounty of big updates and show announcements ahead, so let's start cutting some of that down with today's post, which is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in Sault Michigan and St. Ignace! Yes, concerts are good to go in The Great Lakes State, and it's definitely showing with some of the news ahead, so here's what you should know from both a prominent young hard rock band, as well as a huge touring concert later this summer!
Local hard rock trio Tarnished have announced some new regional concert dates for August! The band revealed an updated summer concert schedule on their Facebook page on Thursday, which includes new dates outside of our coverage range in Newberry yesterday and in Grand Marais on July 3rd. Oddly, neither has a listed venue, despite the Newberry gig being on two days notice and never being plugged by the band on Facebook otherwise. In terms of the new dates that are within a one hour's drive of the Soo, Tarnished will now apparently return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, August 6th & Saturday, August 7th, marking their second weekend engagement there in a four week span! This isn't all for Alex, Nathan, and Josh under the Kewadin umbrella, as the casino has finally announced their concert schedules at their regional lounges for the second half of 2021, as weekly live music will resume in five days!
While not yet advertised by Tarnished, The Northern Pines Lounge's official schedule confirms Tarnished's prior announcement of dates there on July 16th & 17th and August 6th-7th, but they also list Tarnished as playing Friday & Saturday nighters there on September 17th & 18th, so now fans in St. Ignace and area have six opportunities to see Tarnished live in the back half of 2021! Don't worry, Saultites, Tarnished will also make their Rapids Lounge debut at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Friday, November 12th & Saturday, November 13th, so while dates there are less and further away, you'll get your Soo Kewadin fix of Tarnished in time! Yes, The Rapids Lounge's official schedule is out too and booked solid through year's end. Finally for new Tarnished dates, they will return to The Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast in Hulbert Township for a one-nighter on Saturday August 21st!
Coming one week after they open for Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys there, it's not yet clear whether it'll be an outdoor gig too or indoors, but with the summer still on then, I'd be surprised if they weren't on their proper stage! Assuming it's similar to their Summer Rock Party show there, expect a 6:00 PM start time, and a cover charge or age limit wasn't announced. Meanwhile, the Kewadin dates at both locales are all 9:00 PM events with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for current and continuing details, and hopefully Tarnished's hard rocking sound proves to be a hit this summer!
There is a lot to get to from the Kewadin Casino lounge umbrella, but before we get back there, here's a big outdoor concert hitting the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Thursday, August 19th, as Rockford, Illinois hard rock/power pop quartet Cheap Trick play their first local date since July 2019 when they open for Buffalo alternative rock band The Goo Goo Dolls! Of course, readers should recognize both bands, with Cheap Trick being Rock & Roll Hall of Famers off the strength of classic songs like "I Want You To Want Me", "Reach Out", and "The Flame", while The Goo Goo Dolls had steady mainstream success in the 1990s & 2000s with hits like "Name", "Iris", and "Slide", and while I personally feel that Cheap Trick are more obvious headliners, there's a nice swath of music to enjoy for many fans! Yes, this is outdoors, much like 2017's Great White/Lita Ford show there.
This concert is sponsored by Glen Arbor radio station Classic Rock: The Bear (yes, formerly heard locally on 97.9 FM), which currently simulcasts to the St. Ignace area via WWSS 95.3 out of Tuscarora Township. You can pick up The Bear in Sault Ste. Marie with the right antenna and/or location, but the St. Ignace locale and Lower Peninsula station sponsor seem like a good way for Kewadin Casino to bring back major touring bands before the Canadian border is opened. If you can't cater to and get ticket money from Sault Ontario, why not aim for rock fans in the tip of the mitt that are able to attend? A 7:00 PM start time is in effect for this concert, which has no advertised age limit, though face masks may be required to attend (check back for further details on that front.) Tickets run for $85 (first 10 rows), $75 (rows 11-30), or $50 (general admission on the lawn), and can be bought at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office.
I'm not a huge fan of either The Goo Goo Dolls or Cheap Trick, but both bands have a lot of hits to offer, and it's great to see Cheap Trick back in the E.U.P. for their fourth time, at least (having played the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in 2001, 2014, and 2019), and hopefully this is a great show with great summer weather! Stay tuned for updates if they roll in, and we will have much more from Sault Michigan and the new Kewadin Casino lounge schedule later this week! Thanks everyone!
We have a new news post to check out on this warm Tuesday, and while we're half focusing on videos from a recent Sault Michigan concert, let's stay in Sault Ontario to start, courtesy of a new teaser video and a newly added solo project to our full coverage! Here's what you should know!
We have a new local solo musician to add to our local band links, namely Kush Wood (real name Kristien Woodcock), an alternative/grunge musician who has actually had his solo Facebook page up and running since 2015! Apologies for the delay in finally rolling Kush Wood into our band links, of course, but let's make up for lost time! Kristien is not familiar from past local bands, but you may have first heard of him via his run of grunge and alternative-leaning unplugged videos posted to his YouTube channel through 2017 (partially uploaded when he was working in Costa Rica), plus his entry into the Stone Temple Pilots singer contest that you can still hear on Soundcloud. In March 2020, Kush Wood returned with long hair after a three year public hiatus, and has continued posting new and re-recorded videos and original singles over the past year, with many now available on digital platforms like Spotify, Bandcamp, and Apple Music.
The grunge influence is very prevalent in Kush Wood's originals, and while Kristien seems to have Scott Weiland as a vocal inspiration, his own songs are closer in spirit to "Jar of Flies"-era Alice In Chains, if more optimistic. Production can be a work in progress, especially with the obvious drum programming, but Kush Wood is on to something, and it's nice hearing a grunge-inspired solo act like this around here! Give Kush Wood a listen above, and here's his video for "Love Replace This"!
Next up, here's a very brief teaser video for something that local party metal band The Apocalypse Afterparty were recording with Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno's Spacebag Productions in March. Uploaded to drummer Amanda Stanghetta's personal Facebook page and subsequently shared publically to the band's own Facebook page, this features frontman/Amanda's husband Paul covering Saul Williams' "List of Demands (Reparations)" in a bathroom, with Josh manning a very professional camera at a close angle. No one else is playing the song proper in this 13 second clip, but given the setting, there might not be room for everyone anyway! If this is going to be a professional multi-angle video of this cover, other band members will have been shot separately, but so far, I don't believe it's out yet. We'll let you know when/if the video is released, but give Amanda's teaser clip a watch below!
Let's head to the Sault Michigan area to close, via new live videos of local hard rock trio Tarnished's "summer rock party" concert outside of Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast in nearby Hulbert Township on Saturday night! The venue's Facebook page uploaded or live-streamed five videos of Tarnished's set, which allow us to see their outdoor stage setup, which will also be used for their set opening for Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys in August. Looks professional enough to do the job, though it's placement sideways along the slope of a hill is definitely an interesting visual! As for the videos proper, two are from later in the night from a closer zoom of the stage, with Tarnished covering Seether's "Remedy" and Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn". The other three are in daylight and are thankfully much longer, including covers of Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Blue On Black" and Everlast's "What It's Like".
The other video is over 9 minutes long and captures songs from near the start of their set, including the end of frontman Alex Traynor's solo track "Life Is Made Of Lies" and covers of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust". This video has definite audio quality difficulties, so I'd be embedding another one here, if Hulbert House hadn't blocked external embedding of these videos, alas. Given that the two full songs in the 9 minute clip are very bass heavy, who is playing bass in Tarnished now? Alex himself (and on a five string bass, no less!) It is surprising to see him not on guitar, but if him switching instruments allows them to play live short term, go for it! Unfortunately, only the Everlast cover is on a horizontal camera angle, but the filmers do zoom in and get closer to the stage on the other clips. Performance-wise, Tarnished are on their game!
Despite not having a high turnout (remember, the band didn't plug this date until Wednesday, and Hulbert is an hour's drive west), they're in good spirits and clearly happy to be back on an E.U.P. stage for the first time since March! And again, this will be a preview of what to expect when they play Hulbert House's outdoor stage again in August, pandemic willing. Give these videos a look via the links above, and that's all for today, but look for our next Defunct Local Band Profile by Friday! Thanks everyone!
Well, this is a rare sight: two posts in a two day span! I wasn't planning to have anything new on the site today, but surprisingly, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT dropped into my lap courtesy of a prominent Sault Michigan band, so I cobbled together stuff I was saving for next week to fill this post out. There are some Sault Ontario topics to get to, including a new album release and more, but we're mostly staying in the E.U.P. here via some new videos and that concert, so here's what you should know!
Local hard rock trio Tarnished will return to Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast (well, outside of it) in nearby Hulbert Township TONIGHT for a special "summer rock party" concert! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the event via this poster on Wednesday, but the venue had posted the Facebook event page for it over a month ago. While I'm surprised Tarnished waited until this week to plug the event, I should have caught Hulbert House's own event page before now, and I profusely apologize for that! Tarnished have played a few shows downstate in the interim, but this will be their first publically advertised local concert since March (also at Hulbert House), and this will mark their first E.U.P. date since the departure of bassist Donald Alexander. As per this low-res photo from their concert in Vandalia last week, it looks like Josh is still on drums, but I can't tell whether someone's playing bass instead of guitar or not.
As best as I can tell, Tarnished are the only band playing TONIGHT, and with no lockdown order in Michigan, why not come out to see some live hard rock, let alone outdoors! Be advised that 9&10 News is calling for isolated thunderstorms in Hulbert around 10:00 PM. TONIGHT'S all ages concert has a 6:00 PM start time, a $15 cover charge, and takes place outside of the B&B at 9920 South North Hulbert Road. Concerts, let alone outdoor ones, have been rare for obvious reasons in recent months, so if you can make the drive west, don't miss Tarnished under the stars TONIGHT, and here they are live!
Next up, defunct Sault Ontario classic metal quartet Late & Loud are back (kinda) with a new album.... kinda! While the band proper did dissolve following their two standalone reunion gigs in 2014, with members largely moving out of town at least temporarily, they obviously remained friends, as evidenced by the creation of their role playing game podcast Late & Legends last fall. I'm not super knowledged about D&D-style role playing games, but clearly the guys know their stuff and have made up a detailed fantasy world and characters to work with, and you can get links on their website towards audio and video episodes of their exploits in Renlan. Much to my surprise, the podcast has led to the release of a "new" album in April entitled "Late & Legends 1" that is on sale for $5 on the Late & Loud Bandcamp page, marking their first album since 2013's "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal" reissue!
Honestly, this is more of a score than a proper album, compiling backing music heard in the podcast proper, so expect something more along the lines of SweetKenny's late-period albums than a true sequel to "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal". Still, it does feature 12 new instrumental compositions, six each by guitarists Brendan Christie & Jonathan Tiberi, though I don't know if Benn or Josh contributed to the recording sessions. As this is technically a new Late & Loud album, it is eligible for a review on the SMS (perhaps this month?!), but in any event, give the podcast and/or album a listen, watch the pilot below, and Late & Loud are surprisingly back in our active band links!
Also today, here's another new original song from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel on Tuesday! Entitled "Devoured", this is a collaboration that the St. Ignace product made with Darien Deilami, an Oklahoma-based metal vocalist from the band Xeropthalmia (among others). Given the long distance, it's surprising that the final product is only 73 seconds, but it's a brutal death metal track while it lasts, and Darien's brutal vocals fit very well (there's even a lyric track on the video if you want to try and sing along!) Give "Devoured" a listen for yourselves below!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:
The Buckcherry-headlined concert at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario has been rescheduled once again, this time to Tuesday, October 19th, as per a quiet update to the Facebook event page. Organizers and bands haven't made a massive deal of the new date yet, perhaps due to the uncertainty on the border and if normal concerts will have the go-ahead in the province by then, but optimistically, I have listed the new date on the site. Fingers crossed that things will be more opened up by the fall! If you do want tickets for the new date, or to inquire about refunds, click here.
St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown teased on their Facebook page last week that they are in "talks of a music video for a new song that has never been heard yet", but followed that up a day later by apologizing for not posting lately (despite the previous day's post), saying that "things have happened recently that has changed our route a little." Nothing too detailed has followed since, just vague teasers, but hopefully all is well in their camp!
The rescheduled Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tribute concert at the Sault Community Theatre Centre in Sault Ontario did not take place on Wednesday for obvious reasons, but it has been rescheduled once again, as their website's tour schedule now lists it as taking place on Sunday, May 22nd, 2022. Surely, we won't have to worry about lockdowns and social distancing by next spring.... right?! Again, fingers crossed, and the new date is listed on the site! Yes, tickets are on sale at this link.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
As we settle into another lockdown on the Ontario side of the border, let's focus solely on Sault Michigan and the Eastern U.P. for today's post! Mostly, this relates to one band in particular (who have a surprise LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the summer), but we do have some solo videos to cap things off with. Here's what you should know!
Local hard rock band Tarnished will return to the Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast in Hulbert Township on Saturday, August 14th when they open for Grand Rapids country band Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys! Odd genre mix, but it would appeal to a wider audience. The band has yet to confirm this date, but the venue's Facebook page announced the show last week. Time will tell how pandemic restrictions impair this event, but Hulbert House postponed it from a planned April 14th date to work out further details. Note that while Tarnished's previous appearances at Hulbert House were indoors (more on them in a bit), the venue's Facebook page has been teasing that Tarnished will be playing outside of the B&B at dates to be announced this summer, so will this be outdoors too? Details on time, admission fees, and potential age limits are to be announced, so stay tuned to the SMS when we hear more!
While we're on the subject, Tarnished have been busy of late, including releasing their new single "SDR&R" (short for "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll") on Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, and Spotify on March 29th! Assuming it won't be on an album (at least imminently), I will give my thoughts on it here, and it's an effective 1980s metal throwback with a modern hard rock bite and strong guitar work, but ending the song with a solo did feel like a slight anticlimax. Fans should enjoy it, so give it a listen! The black & white photo at the top right is from a new shoot Tarnished did with Jay London Photography, but new bassist Donald Alexander is not included for unannounced reasons. Hopefully he was just unavailable that day! Lastly, remember their Nathan-free live-streamed performance on Friday, March 19th? Well, here's some more details on where that took place!
As it turns out, the March 19th video was filmed at the aforementioned Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast, so they must have returned less than a week later, despite neither the band nor venue advertising the return engagement on their respective Facebook pages. Assuming this wasn't a private event, I do apologize for not covering it on the SMS, but again, neither Tarnished nor Hulbert House plugged it in advance. An implied Alex/Josh acoustic set may also have taken place at Hulbert House, based on photos the venue shared on March 18th (again, apologies if we did miss something, but it wasn't announced beforehand.) One more concert video was shot during the March 19th set, as uploaded on Hulbert House's Facebook page two days later, where Alex, Donald, and Josh covered Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water".
Capturing the full song (if short a guitarist), Tarnished handle this classic hard rock standby with ease, though Alex does put some extra oomph into the vocals at times. Again, the lighting seems overkill when the indoor stage setup there looks so plain (hence why I didn't assume the prior video from this set was from a scheduled concert at first), but if the gang at Hulbert House see an opportunity to host live music during a low time, and can do it safely, why not give it a shot? Check out Tarnished's other new video below, and stay tuned for updates when they roll in!
Finally, have you been wondering what St. Ignace progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown have been up to lately? We're nearing a month since their last update relating to actual band activity (allegedly, they are waiting for mastering to wrap up on their upcoming CD), but two members have been working on some solo endeavours in the past month! Singer Brandon West has been supplying vocals for a couple of far-flung musicians' original projects that have been shared on H.L.T.C.'s Facebook page (both via YouTube postings and Brandon's TikTok page), but will these provide any sonic hints towards the band's upcoming album? They're brutal enough to match, for what it's worth! Meanwhile, guitarist Ted Olson quietly resumed his dormant solo project over the winter, and has posted a handful of original composition playthrough videos to his new YouTube channel (largely filmed by Brandon), with an outdoor video for his own track "Odin" posted yesterday.
Embedded below is Ted's solo song "Just Chill", uploaded almost a month ago. Excellent progressive metal guitar work from Ted, who is an underrated player locally, though whether you consider his solo to be as "insane" as advertised is up to your preferences. Hopefully Ted's YouTube videos will help tide everyone over while we wait for Heavy Lies The Crown's album, so give his videos a look above and below, and Ted is back in our active Sault Michigan band links! Here's hoping he has some more content in the works!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site by the end of the work week! Thanks everyone!
As promised, here's a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for your Thursday night reading, now that concerts on both sides of the border have the go-ahead in a limited basis once again! Leading off are a pair of SHORT NOTICE gigs for the weekend ahead, so here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will play their first public concerts of 2021 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT when they return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East! Apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced via their Facebook event page on Saturday. One of the few heavier local bands to play live dates with pandemic restrictions, you may recall seeing Terry, Cameron, Paul, and Glen at both Reggie's branches last fall (most recently at Reggie's West in December), so this looks like Soundcheck are picking up where they left off now that concerts can take place again, even in this form. If you're up for some hard and classic rock hits, and likely country cuts given the locale, head to the downtown Reggie's TOMORROW & SATURDAY! These are 19+ events with no cover charges and early start times of 8:00 PM, as venues do have to close earlier right now.
Of course, Reggie's and other local concert venues that are choosing to host bands will be subject to similar social distancing limitations as they had last fall, so expect capacity limits, spaced out seating, early closing times, and mask requirements where stated. If you can brave all that, Soundcheck will await TOMORROW & SATURDAY! See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck in action live at Reggie's West last year!
Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished (minus Nathan) will make their Hulbert Township debut on Saturday, March 13th when Alex Traynor & Josh Fair bring their two-man acoustic show to... The Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast?! This is the first show we've covered in Hulbert (an hour west of the Soo) since Project 906's pre-pandemic gigs at Hulbert Happy Hour, and while the venue is definitely atypical of where you'd normally see Tarnished play, so was Biggby Coffee before their weekly series there! The Hulbert House (at 9920 South North Hulbert Road) has hosted sparing live concerts that they have documented on their Facebook page, and hopefully Alex & Josh deliver a fun set for gathered fans in a couple of weeks A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for this concert, which has no cover charge, and while this doesn't strike me as a 21+ event, you may want to enquire within.
And it goes without saying, please respect The Hulbert House's social distancing regulations, whatever they happen to be come March 13th, to keep yourself and everyone else safe. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for much more from Tarnished soon!
Also, let's head back to Sault Ontario, as local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the aforementioned Reggie's Place for his second announced solo concert of 2021 on Sunday, March 21st as part of their Sunday matinee series! Tym has announced more dates for there on his personal Facebook page, but we'll hold off on those until they receive a public confirmation. Next month's gig will be Tym's first solo date since rocking Reggie's Place this past Sunday, and while the early timeslot isn't normal for him, the Sunday matinee timeslot is par for the course at Reggie's. Expect a 19+ age limit, 3:00 PM start time, no cover, and very similar social distancing measures unless things appreciably improve in the next three weeks. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more from Tym when publicized!
Finally, local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will end their own pandemic-induced break when they return to Reggie's West (the former Roosevelt Hotel) for gigs on Friday, March 26th & Saturday, March 27th! Surprising that they're waiting so long to play following the resumption of limited concerts, but a post on their Facebook page from the 14th did note that bassist Robin "Bones" Lee was injured, albeit still rehearsing. These will be Fort Creek's first concerts since their Christmas Cheer fundraisers at the Reggievelt back in November, and after a four month layoff, hopefully they shake off the rust and deliver some more fan favourite rock and roll for the crowd, however limited it may be, next month! The band is also planning to give away some merchandise over this weekend, so if you want some of the swag they've been promoting on Facebook, there you go!
Similarly to the above downtown Reggie's shows, Fort Creek's west end Reggie's dates are both 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges, and the start time is currently advertised as 7:30 PM. Once again, pandemic restrictions are fluid and could change if things improve in the coming weeks, but regardless, please follow all of the venue's restrictions and capacity limits to ensure a safe environment for the band, staff, and fellow patrons alike. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!
In what's fast becoming a new normal for The Sault Metal Scene (sigh), we might as well look at the latest on the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and it's effects on the local hard rock/punk concert calendar. The big news that broke today is that Kewadin Casino has postponed the Candlebox-headlined concert at The Dreammakers Theatre in Sault Michigan on April 18th, as per their Facebook page (the Little Texas show was also postponed.) As with the Black Label Society concert, you can hold already-purchased tickets to be honoured when the Candlebox show here is rescheduled, but refunds are available from Kewadin at point of purchase. This is definitely disappointing, but alas, it's not entirely unexpected, especially with the recent news that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive order to close all bars, nightclubs, and restaurants in the state through the end of March, as they work to contain the coronavirus (click here for details.)
Now, in terms of our concert calendar in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, this surprisingly doesn't affect that too much, as we didn't have any nightclub shows from local or touring hard rock bands listed there anymore, but this theoretically would interrupt local hard rock band Tarnished's "every Thursday" matinee run at Biggby Coffee, where they were expected to play at 12:00 PM this and next Thursday. I will tentatively remove those dates from our calendar too, but if Tarnished or Biggby confirm otherwise, I will add them back. I suppose they/Alex could play just for people picking up to-go/take-out orders (which will still be allowed in Michigan)... stranger things have happened! Also, I will leave Traverse City hard rock trio Scarkazm's April 10th weekend concerts at the St. Ignace Kewadin in our concert listings for now, as they take place after the March ban ends, but this situation is fluid and could get far more volatile, so stay tuned for updates on those and other April events as they roll in.
Over in Sault Ontario, the provincial government was not issuing a ban for restaurants and nightclubs at this time, as the evidence does not support doing so right now, but Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams is now strongly recommending that they close. Click here & here for more on this subject. In any event. Gliss Restaurant on Spring Street have announced on Facebook that they are closing their regular business hours as of today due to COVID-19, but they will re-open for reservations booked there and will bring in staff accordingly. They did not give a timeline for when they'll be back in full, but this would appear to interrupt Tym Morrison's weekly matinees there on Fridays & Saturdays. Again, I suppose he could be brought in to play for reserved guests, but that's not truly a "public" concert, so I'll also de-list his March gigs there until otherwise stated. Unless given reason otherwise, his March 27th gig at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill will remain in our calendar for now.
Also, The Rockstar Bar's Martin Fiser noted on their Facebook group today that they will be closed through this weekend due to the coronavirus, and they may have to cancel events into April pending how the pandemic unfolds. SMS-wise, this would primarily impact next month's Just Heart & Lycanthro concerts, but it is too soon to make judgments on them.
The last surviving hard rock or punk concert left on our calendar for this weekend was The Sick Sons & Slumshine at LopLops Lounge
on Friday, and that show has also been cancelled, as per it's Facebook event page. No word on if this will be rescheduled, but both bands are local, so watch their social media accounts for details either way. As well, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck have announced on Facebook that their planned Wawa road trip in two weeks (to play at a women's curling event that they were a part of before) has been cancelled, and they are "officially off for a few weeks", with updates pertaining to scheduled gigs to be announced. Soundcheck have only plugged their concerts on short notice (if at all) in 2020 so far, and accordingly, they were not listed in our current concert calendar anyway, but any heads-up to fans is welcomed! With all of this said, we surprisingly still have a concert to preview, so what should you know there?
The aforementioned Slumshine are still advertised to play their "Story Time With Slumshine" concert at Home Bakehouse Bed & Breakfast at 168 March Street THIS WEDNESDAY! The relatively unfamiliar venue has been gaining fans in recent months with their homemade baking and their requisite B&B operations, and they have confirmed that they are staying open to help serve the community, as of 3:09 PM (they don't have a real dine-in operation anyway.) Slumshine's planned acoustic punk originals will be joined by Brent telling short stories about them, VH1 Storytellers style, and he hinted that more "Story Time" shows are in the works. This special Wednesday evening concert has a 7:00 PM start time, a "pay what you can" entry model, and no age limit. Assuming this show isn't called off amid the coronavirus fears, this should be a unique but entertaining event at Home (2 minutes north of Gliss), and Slumshine's established unplugged punk attack should make and keep lots of fans!
If you're craving live punk music, this could be one of very few chances to see it for a while, assuming it goes on as scheduled, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, here's Slumshine live, and if we hear anything regarding this show's status, we'll let you know!
Unless a short notice concert pops up that boldly tries to go on amidst the COVID-19 panic, we will have no concert previews this weekend, which is bizarre, but isolating and keeping the coronavirus contained is essential, and we can only hope that things improve in the near future for everyone's health and safety. That's what's important, concerts can wait until we figure things out. Stay safe, everyone, and we'll have more news on the site this week!
Before we get into this post, just a heads up that tonight's Handsome Sandwich concert at The Rockstar Bar has reportedly been cancelled due to the inclement weather & related staff invailability, as per singer/drummer Johnny Belanger's personal Facebook page this afternoon. Tomorrow's concert is still on, but if you're hoping to see them, do not come out tonight. Disappointing, but not all is lost, so keep tomorrow's show in mind! However, you can stay warm with today's SMS post, featuring recent musician searches, a band moved to our inactive band links, and leading off, here's an overdue addition to our band listings, with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT too!
We have a new addition to our active band links today, and they are Slumshine, the current acoustic punk solo project from veteran local hardcore punk singer/bassist Brenton Ellis! Slumshine are nothing new, having debuted on stage back in September 2017, but early sound descriptions pointed to more of an alt-folk theme. However, as fans can attest, Slumshine are a full on punk act, just with one musician clad in the finest pink knit ski mask you'll ever find on a local stage! Brent doesn't use his name officially with Slumshine, and curiously uses plural pronouns (i.e. we/us) despite being a solo project. Initially making a splash via sets at the first Oh!No festival and by opening for The Faps, The Ghostly Hounds, and Dany Laj & The Looks in the fall of 2017, Slumshine went dormant throughout the following year, before returning to action in early 2019, appearing at Oh!No III and opening for The Faps again, Darsombra, Femur, and The River Jacks. Also, they released their first album "SLMSHN" on cassette tapes last July, and you can buy/stream it on Bandcamp on a "name your price" model.
Of course, Brent is among the staff of the Oh!No Collective, who distributed "SLMSHN" in their first release as a planned cassette tape-centric indie label, and his talents as a painter and artist are very evident in Slumshine's online marketing. Fans can see Slumshine back at it on Friday, March 20th when they open for The Sick Sons at LopLops (details here), but in a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, you can see Slumshine in a rare solo headlining appearance on Wednesday, March 18th at... Home Bakehouse Bed and Breakfast at 168 March Street?! This is a new downtown business whose name suggests what they do, so if you like homemade baked goods, or need a place to stay, Home is where the heart is! The locale is very atypical for an ostensible "punk concert", but Home has partnered with the returning Fishbowl Festival for sourdough classes, for what that's worth. This mid-week show has an early 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and a "pay what you can" entry model. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
Currently also a bassist with The Dynowaves, Brent's vocal work here and in Toronto is well known, and musically, I get more of his earlier straight punk vibe here rather than his later hardcore punk screaming, albeit with the stripped down unplugged format. Solid lyrics and strong melodic vocals mesh together well, and I think these sounds would be a great fit with a full plugged-in band, but even in this format, it's easy to see why Slumshine turn heads even beyond the pink mask. A smattering of videos are on Facebook & YouTube, but here's Slumshine playing their songs "Back in Blue" and "Blue Shift" at Outspoken Brewing in December!
Next up, I have reluctantly moved local alternative/indie rock quartet Id Iota
to our inactive band links. The group has not issued a public statement
since their cover of Pup's "Free At Last" was uploaded to their Facebook page
one year ago today, though that performance was sans frontman Christian
Lemay, and regardless of his status with the band, they have not played
a live set since the 2018 Rotaryfest weekend. Active since mid-2015
when they succeeded the studio-only Habitat Shuffle, Id Iota quickly
became a popular sight at a variety of local concerts in the mid-2010s,
including at Lopstock II, three straight Rotaryfest Second Stages from
2016-2018, two Ontario tour runs in 2016 with The Pixo Control and Mike
Mikus, and opening slots for touring bands like Saturn Alien, Windigo,
and The Almighty Rhombus. Along the way, Id Iota also released their
"Maudlin Fair" EP in April 2016, and they were working on a full length
album as recently as April 2018.
I have no clue what
happened to Id Iota, but they were a creative band that had enough genre
diversity to slide into hard rock and indie shows with relative ease!
Genre preference-wise, I did take to their 2000s ska punk predecessors
Free Beer more, but Id Iota showed their growth and progression as musicians
very well, and they left a wide footprint locally and with their tours 4
years ago. Hopefully we see Id Iota and their planned full-length CD
resurface down the road, but best of luck to Christian, Dustin, Robert,
Blair, Justin, and Dan in the future!
Finally for today, here's three recent Musicians Wanted Facebook group postings relating to musician and band searches from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
Former Half Past bassist Arthur Lacasse is starting an acoustic rock band with him on guitar, who would cover modern hard rock acts like Highly Suspect, Shinedown, Seether, and Three Days Grace. He already has a singer lined up, and is looking for a bassist, drummer (ideally on cajon), and maybe an extra guitarist. It'd be great to see Arthur back out there, but if you're interested in more details, message him at this link or via his group post from February 8th!
A local rhythm guitarist named Jayrald Micky is looking to join a local band, and while he is aiming to play guitar in said group, he does have drumming experience. He didn't give a genre preference, just that he was "looking for anything at this point" and that he just wants to jam again. I'm not familiar with Jayrald as a musician, but if you want more details, message him at this link or via his group post from February 12th!
Fluid 5ive guitarist Liam Vaillancourt posted here on February 11th looking for a keyboard player for "a gigging band" that is capable of playing signature lines from various rock, blues, and country cover songs. Liam did not specify in the post if this was for Fluid 5ive or another band, but if it is referring to the 5ive, we have not heard anything regarding Rob Irving's status with the group (note that Rob played rhythm guitar as well as keyboard.) In any event, message Liam at this link or above for more details!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
As promised, here's those mid-week concert previews on this Monday morning, but to go along with them, I have some videos to share from a recent metal concert. Now, here's what you should know, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!
Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Mark's Breakfast Plus at the Market Mall for the first time this year with special matinee concerts TODAY, TOMORROW, and WEDNESDAY! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their Facebook event page on Friday. A frequent venue for Tym Morrison's acoustic solo gigs since Mark's opened in 2017, Tym is known for typically playing at this west end diner on early weekday bookings, but these will actually be his first public shows there since last June. I'm surprised he didn't play there more often when Gliss was relocating, but it's great to see Tym back at a familiar locale TODAY, TOMORROW, and WEDNESDAY, even on late notice! As usual for his Mark' Breakfast Plus gigs, expect these to have early 4:00 PM start times with no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale. See above for more details, and here's Tym live a few years back!
Next up, here's a preview of a huge concert with lots of advance notice, as Juno nominated Windsor hard/world rock trio The Tea Party will return to Sault Ste. Marie THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT at The Machine Shop! Following their successful free concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion last July, the band behind such hits as "Psychopomp" & "The Messenger" are back for another show full of hard rocking songs from their long career, including their new single "Black River", and hopefully there's a strong turnout for Jeff, Stuart, and Jeff's return to the Soo on Wednesday! Joining The Tea Party as openers (though only quietly acknowledged in local advertising) are Winnipeg southern rock quintet The Proud Sons, whose country-inflected original sound will prove an interesting contrast on Wednesday, but they have the talent and musicianship to go around nicely! Presented by Cabin Media, this is unfortunately not a free and all ages concert like last year, with tickets running for $40, but they are still available!
You can buy tickets at this link and presumably in-person/at the door, attendees must be 19 or older, and a 7:30 PM start time is advertised. After a 19 year wait for The Tea Party to rock Sault Ste. Marie ended last summer, it's great to see them back so soon, and hopefully they deliver another skilled and fan-friendly set on Wednesday! Stay tuned for updates and hopefully some local news coverage, and here's The Tea Party in the Soo last year!
We'll close today with some new concert videos shot by the ever-generous Christopher Paci (who also filmed the above Tea Party video), as he was in attendance for Saturday night's OZbourne concert at The Canadian Nightclub, filming 11 videos that night for his YouTube channel. Kudos to Chris as usual, he goes above and beyond when he's at a show regarding filming the bands! Regarding the headliners, Chris filmed the Winnipeg-based Ozzy Osbourne tribute band covering Black Sabbath's "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "N.I.B.", and (part of) the song "Black Sabbath", plus five of Ozzy's own solo songs, namely "Bark At The Moon", "Flying High Again", "Crazy Train", "I Don't Know", and as embedded below, "No More Tears." Generally, OZbourne deliver the goods on these videos for Ozzy fans in music and presentation, and Chris got a nice close view of the band too, so fans should enjoy these clips! Give them a look above & below!
Lastly, Chris also filmed two videos of opening blues rock cover trio The Paul DellaVedova Band on Saturday, and it's clear that Paul & company are fans of Paul Rodgers & Simon Kirke, as their filmed covers are of Bad Company's "Rock & Roll Fantasy" and, as embedded below, Free's "All Right Now." Nice to see the guys break out some hard rock classics for the occasion, and while Chris wasn't as close to the stage as he would get with OZbourne, you get some good angles on these solid covers! No, I don't know if the stage setup with the speakers behind metal barriers on the floor is permanent or just for this concert. Give Paul's videos a look as well!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!
