LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Quite Frankly, Generations, And Viscera) And More Recent Updates!!

As my Rotaryfest review will be quite long, here's a news post to fill some time while that gets written, and it includes LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and some other shorter updates, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced their August concert calendar via their Facebook group this past Wednesday! After opting to take July off (with a Jus' Chillin reunion gig and Pierre playing with Mudfoot Mike & The Muckrakers at Rotaryfest Stage 2 in the interim), Generations will return to action on Saturday, August 1st at Gateway Casino, in their first concert there in almost two months, with said gig falling on the Civic Holiday long weekend for many. Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony will pack their bags for The Water Tower Pub (the site of their most recent concert) on Saturday, August 8th for another one-nighter, and they'll end the month at Reggie's Place on Friday, August 28th & Saturday, August 29th. Surprisingly, these will be their first Reggie's stops in over a year (and thusly their first there with Joe Miller on guitar), so if you're a fan of this downtown staple, keep this full weekend in mind for your concert planning!

The classic and hard rock covers will be flowing at all four of these 19+ gigs, none of which have an announced cover charge, and while the first two are 8:00 PM shows, the Reggie's weekend starts at 9:30 PM. Good to see Generations back at it, so visit the above links for more details!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will make their debut appearance at Outspoken Brewing on Friday, August 14th! Fresh off of their Rotaryfest debut on Friday (fallout forthcoming), this rare double header weekend for Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe will see them kick things off at the 350 Queen Street East microbrewery and nightclub, which only infrequently hosts concerts. Street parties aside, we last caught wind of a hard rock or punk concert there when Dos Amigos played there in May of last year. It's an intimate spot that is arguably better suited to acoustic artists, but hopefully there's a strong turnout for Quite Frankly downtown next month! If you can't make that date, they will return to the aforementioned Gateway Casino the following night. The Outspoken show on the 14th is at 9:00 PM (only for two hours at that) with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover. Visit the above links for more on Quite Frankly's upcoming dates!

Also newly announced is a new fall date from Sault Michigan hardcore punk trio Viscera, who will return to the basement of Pizza Hut on Saturday, September 26th! Unlike recent shows at the 225 Ashmun Street restaurant space, this show is a presentation of Viscera's new in-house promotion agency Soo Tang Records, and like their Three One Three show next month, they are the advertised headliners. The concert will see Marquette "ghostcore" band Particle Thrower open in their local debut, returning the favour after Viscera open for them in Marquette on August 1st. Their sound and imagery lean heavily into the original Ghostbusters movie, at least so far, so that will be a fun pull beyond their hard hitting brand of metalcore in two months' time! At least one more band is to be announced. This concert has an 18+ age limit and a 7:00 PM start time, but admission fees have not been announced yet.

The increase in eclectic original concerts in the E.U.P. in the past year has been very welcomed, and Viscera are making solid waves with their brutal genre mix, so visit Viscera's Instagram page for more details on this intriguing concert, and to get details on how to get their debut EP on CD!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• In a minor spring cleaning note, these are songs recently seen in Facebook "Story" videos posted by band or venue that I was able to see, but alas, not feature here due to their self-destructing nature after one or two views: Bone Yard 225 covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" at their last "uncorked" gig at Beck's Bar, Silent 9 covering DNCE's "Cake By The Ocean" and Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" at The Esquire Club in May, and TNT (Travis Sharpe n' Terry Eaton) covering Dishwalla's "Counting Blue Cars" and Kim Mitchell's "Patio Lanterns" at Beck's last month. I strongly dislike "Stories", but these are setlist hints!
• If you're wondering who The Korner Monsters (the mystery band at this weekend's ARCH Run) are, they are actually a reunion of a local rock band from the 1990s featuring prolific local drummer and Rising Tide alum Chris Johns on guitar. Kudos to him for confirming some details about this band, but will anything extra public come out about them? Stay tuned for our preview of the ARCH Run later this week for more on the festivities in any event!
• New local alt-hard rock band Riverside Stasis will be parting ways with guitarist Liam Dinsmore following this weekend's ARCH Run and Blaster Powerhouse concerts, as per their Facebook page earlier today. A reason for Liam's impending exit wasn't announced, but things are 100% amicable, and it comes off to me like he's moving out of town, but don't take that as gospel. Liam had joined this new band alongside Raine & Anthony when HeadFirst disbanded earlier this year, and while not the loudest or most front-facing member of either band, he is a talented musician that will be an asset at whatever comes next! See him off in style this weekend!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Rotaryfest review and more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (M1, Epic Rush, Silent 9, And Curtis McKenzie!!)

Between the glut of recent major concert videos (that still isn't entirely cleaned out), regular feature posts, and personal life dealings, I'm behind on a lot of stuff around here, so let's start rectifying that tonight with an all-LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post for Sault Ontario through the fall, so with a lot more coming up ahead, here's what you should know to start!

Fresh off of hosting Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath tribute band Crazy Babies there this past weekend (videos forthcoming), The Full Throttle Saloon are trying again with booking a touring tribute band, this time courtesy of Sudbury-based Rush tribute band Epic Rush on Saturday, June 13th! This is far from their first time here, as the Kuthy brothers previously brought the former Rust to Soo Blaster for shows in the fall of 2024 and 2025, but they're coming back for their third go-around sooner than locally normal, and at the former Primavera Hall this time. As fans have seen from both Epic Rush's prior local dates and their sister band Just Leppard's shows here, they deliver the goods for fans of the real thing, and why not strike while the iron is hot with the real Rush back on tour? No word on a local opening band as of this writing, but Headrush did the honours last week.

This 19+ concert will take place at 10:00 PM next month, and tickets will run for $40, which is up from what Rust/Epic Rush cost at Soo Blaster ($25) but thankfully, is much lower than the Crazy Babies show was ($70). No word on if they'll also not allowing attendees to pay at the door again, but you can buy tickets in advance at the Saloon or by calling ahead, and seating is reportedly limited. Visit the above links for more on Epic Rush's third local concert!

Next up, if you like hard rock tribute bands, there's another notable one returning to the Soo this summer, as Calgary-based Motorhead tribute band M1 will return to Beck's Bar for one night only on Wednesday, July 8th! This show comes precisely 52 weeks (though not quite a calendar year) removed from M1's local debut at Beck's, and while the identical mid-week timing remains just as non-ideal, it is neat to see them back at the same time of year. If you missed M1's July 2025 stop, you missed a faithful sounding and hard hitting (if not visually close) homage to Lemmy and crew, and if you're up for more in-your-face speed metal classics from the Motorhead catalogue, head to the west end in two months! No word yet on a local opener, but last year, Dodge This/ex-Phastick frontman Jason Taillefer eased into things with an acoustic set. Unlike last year's 9:00 PM start time, the Facebook event page advertises an 8:00 PM kickoff this time.

While last year's show had no cover, I have not seen any firm declaration on if that will be the case for the encore or not. Regardless, expect this one to be 19+ again. Motorhead fans won't want to miss this one, so visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for possible updates!

Also newly announced at Beck's Bar are two acoustic concerts from former Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie, who will set up shop at the former Vibe Lounge for Sunday matinee gigs on August 9th and October 4th! Unusually announced with plenty of notice, Curt first mentioned them on his Facebook page earlier today, and will mark his first stops at Beck's this year, having last played there in November. Fans of Curtis' past local band work and his more recent unplugged solo work should take to his alternative and hard rock covers later in the year, so keep both shows in mind as we proceed towards the summer! Both are 3:00 PM matinees with presumed 19+ age limits and no cover charges, and we should at least see Curt live at The Dive Gastro Pub in the interim, if not elsewhere (the summer is fast approaching, after all). Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from him in due course!

Finally for today, if we're moving that far into the year for new show announcements, we might as well add local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's announced fall dates from their website's calendar onto ours! As usual for them, Silent 9 are focusing on festivals, special events, and private bookings this summer (I'm waiting for more details on their listed "grass drags" set at Runway Park next month), but their first proper local nightclub booking in four months will see them return to The Tap Room at Northern Superior Brewing Co. on Saturday, September 19th, so if you've missed this talented and fan-friendly foursome at this more intimate downtown venue, then you know where to be! The other fall date (so far) will see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve return to the aforementioned Beck's Bar on Saturday, November 14th, so things are definitely being booked well in advance on Goulais Avenue!

Of course, it's way too soon to know who's playing the matinee slot that day at Beck's. The Tap Room show is at 8:00 PM, the Beck's gig is at 9:00 PM, and both are 19+ events with no cover. Good to see Silent 9 staying busy, even with a quieter/festival-focused summer again (if you'll be in/near Thessalon or White River, look out!), so see above for more details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Generations, And HeadF1rst) & Weekend Concert Previews!!.

We have another busy weekend for local  hard rock/punk-leaning concerts, so this weekend's previews are being broken up into two posts. As such, look for our Oz and Double Down previews tomorrow! Also, we have concert cancellations to take note of, as Tym Morrison's solo matinee dates at Misty's Fifties on Saturday, next Saturday, and on March 14th have all been cancelled due to suffering a broken pinky finger, which would understandably impair guitar playing. His concert at Reggie's on February 7th was also cancelled the day prior, with Sam Spadafora replacing him. Hopefully Tym mends up on schedule, and I apologize for missing the Reggie's cancellation! Tym's regular run of Misty's gigs is slated to resume on Saturday, March 28th.

Now, here's what you should know to start the weekend, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, but we'll start with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, who have a busy weekend ahead. Including their previously announced Jay's Piston Broke Pub concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, those shows will sandwich a rare matinee gig from them on SATURDAY at The Tap Room at Northern Superior Brewing Co.! Apologies for the short notice on the Tap Room matinee, it was only announced yesterday via their sister band Separate Wayz' Facebook page. The reason why that band announced it is because this is the first teased "epic crossover" between the two groups, meaning that both Soundcheck singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe and Separate Wayz frontwoman Nicole Thibodeau will join Terry, Jim, and Johnny for a concert featuring songs from both bands. If that's not a hook to come out, I don't know what is!

No word on if Travis and Nicole will be trading off, splitting sets, and/or sharing dual vocals in this setting. Of course, tomorrow's Jay's concert will be the reunited Soundcheck's first since Travis officially returned to replace the Nashville-bound Cameron Oliver in the band he co-founded in 2016. Whether you want nighttime classic and hard rock covers in the west end, or daytime ones downtown (and with Nicole), you have options! The Jay's shows are both at 9:30 PM, the Tap Room gig on SATURDAY runs from 3:00-6:00 PM, and all have 19+ age limits and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Separate Wayz (a.k.a. 3/4ths of Soundcheck) live!

Next up, here's another late notice show announcement, as local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will return to Beck's Bar on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday, with the band only corroborating that yesterday. Last seen six weeks ago (also at Beck's), their second show of the year will be the nightcap of a long day for frontman Red Jettison, who will be pulling double duty as the acoustic matinee performer on SATURDAY under his real name Carson Hiltz. This is the one time where you could argue that the 3:00 PM matinee act at Beck's is kinda sorta "opening" for the nighttime band, two hour gap acknowledged! I don't know if this will basically be HeadF1rst unplugged, if it will be closer to his side project Bards With Beards, or if he's going really off script. Find out for yourself if you come by early!

For the record, Beck's are hosting rare live music tomorrow night also, but they don't typically double up weekends when they do, and tomorrow's band is classic rock cover trio The Sidekicks. The show is on SATURDAY at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadF1rst live!

 

Also, here's some shows that did have advance notice before Monday, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT, but before we get too far, their originally announced Saturday nighter at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort is no longer taking place. Drummer Tony Santoro said on the band's Facebook group that "a booking error" was to blame, but he didn't elaborate if that was on the band's end or the venue's (I have not heard about a possible musical act there on Saturday otherwise). However, Tony did confirm that Generations will return to The Kiln on Saturday, March 21st, so keep that new booking in mind in four weeks! In the meantime, tomorrow's Water Tower Pub show breaks up their alternating pattern of Kiln and Full Throttle Saloon gigs to start 2026, and marks their first Great Northern Road concert in two months.

Tomorrow's Water Tower Pub show and next month's Kiln gig will both be 8:00 PM affairs with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Lastly for this post, local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will return to The Whisky Barrel for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen at Bon Soo for a special outdoor concert this past weekend, this will be their first publically advertised indoor concert since rocking the Tap Room last month, and if you enjoy the long-running musical collaborations from BookcluB/ex-Inner City Surfers bandmates Dustin Jones and Mikey Hawdon, seeing them in action tomorrow on Gore Street may be just the idea for your Friday night plans! This one-nighter has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new-to-me video of Mikey & Dustin! This comes from Dos Amigos' Instagram page, but it was actually uploaded there in June to promote a Whisky Barrel show last year (remember, they rarely update Dos Amigos' social media, hence why we often hear of their shows late).

This video sees Mikey & Dustin covering Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros' "Coma Girl", which you may recall seeing the two tackle back in 2020 for a "quarantune" vocals/ukelele cover for what became Mikey & His Uke. Uploaded in black and white for one reason or another, this outdoor performance is sound and melodic in the right ways, especially for Joe Strummer/Clash fans, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

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A post shared by Dos Amigos (@dosamigos_official)

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Oz and Double Down previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225 & Oktoberfest) And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's keep the weekend concert previews rolling on this Thursday evening with more concert action in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, particularly from two concurrent outdoor community festivals promoted by local breweries. One is a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and we have more new dates to touch on, so here's what you should know for concert preview post #2!

Make it two Oktoberfests that local alternative/punk cover supergroup Bookclub are playing at this fall, as they have been added to the lineup for SATURDAY'S Outspoken Brewing-hosted Oktoberfest street party on Queen Street East! Apologies for the short notice, the band was only confirmed for the festivities on Outspoken's Facebook page on Monday (they were obviously the "more TBA" when the brewery first announced the street party on September 4th, and there are no other punk/hard rock-leaning bands scheduled). Still riding the momentum from the Forever Seger concert earlier this month, BookcluB should be a fine and crowd pleasing fit on Queen Street (closed between Elgin and Bruce) on SATURDAY evening, so don't miss this stacked sextet then! It is worth noting that guitarist Brandon Ruch was present with the band at Forever Seger despite his announced move to Barrie, and he is pictured in the Oktoberfest advertising.

I don't know what's Brandon's status with BookcluB is going forward, but we'll let you know when/if we learn who was playing guitar with Mikey and crew on SATURDAY! BookcluB are slotted in the middle on SATURDAY at 5:30 PM, with local DJ/EDM duo Flummoxx closing the festivities at 10:30 PM, and indie rock quartet Lucy's Diner (the former Hollow Heads) scheduled in between at 8:00 PM. Local polka band Nein German Guys (who are also playing at Soo Falls' Oktoberfest at The Machine Shop with BookcluB on October 18th) will keep the Oktoberfest vibes rolling at 3:00 PM, and the day begins with folk singer/guitarist and Dustcovers member Tom Peer at 2:00 PM. Beyond the music, there will be lots of games and competitions (with prizes) to take in, plus food, beer (as you'd expect), vendors, and more German-flavoured entertainment, so definitely visit Outspoken Brewing's Facebook page for full details on SATURDAY'S events!

Tickets run for $30 at this link (plus processing fees) and presumably at the gate on SATURDAY. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for a high of 19° with mostly cloudy skies and a 10% chance of rain, which should bode well for Oktoberfest revelers, but do follow up with your preferred local weather outlets for updates closer to. Visit the above links for more on SATURDAY'S first of three Oktoberfest parties in the Soo this fall, and for a preview of all of the action, here's BookcluB live!

Next up, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will return to their favourite local stomping grounds (Reggie's Place) TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Two weeks removed from their last stops at Reggie's, "the dirty three" should be in fine spirits with some gritty and in-your-face covers and originals all weekend long, plus with lots of merchandise and hoodie orders in store for fans, so don't bypass this weekend's action if you're up for it! While we're on the subject, Greg, Alex, and Warren have some newly announced dates ahead at The Esquire Club, which resumes hosting live bands this weekend after their summer break, and as per the venue's Facebook page, they'll be back there on on November 7th-8th! The band already announced their Thanksgiving weekend shows there. We'll have more on the other hard rock-leaning new shows at this Second Line West staple in an upcoming post, but it's good to have The Esquire Club hosting concerts again!

Your local 225 are on at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday at Reggie's and for their November dates at The Esquire Club. All four shows are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges. See above for more on Bone Yard's upcoming concerts, and here they are live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, let's re-answer the viral question: What is Wolf Fest? Running head to head with Oktoberfest for downtown outdoor concert action from a local brewery on SATURDAY, Wolf Fest takes place at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and will be hosted by Northern Superior Brewing Co. to help give back to the community and their customers. Along with live music, attendees under the big tent will get to enjoy local vendors and artisans, beer, a charity auction, barbers, tattoo artists, an arcade, and more, so definitely visit Northern Superior's Facebook page for full non-musical details! SMS readers will likely be most drawn to classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 in the 7:00 PM timeslot (their prior scheduling of a Northern Superior show on Saturday was clearly this and not at the Tap Room), but the headliners at 8:15 PM are pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks, who do have some heavier covers.

Online page-less local Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury will take the stage at 5:45 PM, preceded by indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous (led by Killer Hooks frontman Tony Marcello's son Anthony) at 4:30 PM. In a late confirmation, the "special guests TBD" are actually The Royal Canadian Navy Band, believe it or not, so don't miss them leading off Wolf Fest at 3:00 PM! The weather should hold up identically (tent acknowledged) for Wolf Fest, which has admission by donation to the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie, which is a wonderful cause. Saultites have a lot of options for live music, beer, and varied entertainment downtown on Saturday, so see above for more on Wolf Fest, and here's Silent 9 live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Double Down and Tym Morrison previews (and more) on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Wolf Fest & Double Down!!)

In today's post, we're focusing solely on LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all involving prominent local cover bands, so here's what you should know for later this month and beyond!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's summer break is almost over, and after eleven weeks away from the public stage (even festivals), they have announced a busy slate of nightclub gigs through mid-December! Now, two caveats here: I'll hold their return gigs next weekend for that round of weekend concert previews given the now-short notice, while with the exception of next weekend's dates, all shows are listed as being on a single night (and all but one of those is given as being on a Friday only). Given normal booking trends, I will treat the Jay's and Reggie's bookings as being for the Friday and Saturday of the given weekends, but we'll let you know if that isn't the case. All new dates were announced via Facebook event pages this summer, mostly last month. Beyond next weekend, their first show back at The Water Tower Pub since June will take place on Friday, September 19th, with a return there also taking place on Friday, November 21st.

Both of these are one-nighters, as The Water Tower Pub historically doesn't book the same band on consecutive days. After playing a private stag & doe on September 26th, fans can see Joel, Beej, Dan, and Ric back at Beck's Bar for one night only on Saturday, September 27th, and it will be good to see them back at this newer west end favourite for the first time this fall! On October 3rd and 4th, Double Down will return to Reggie's Place for the first time since last year, and while I don't know why the Syrettes and crew haven't played there in so long, hopefully they rock the house well for downtown fans next month! Lastly, as part of their run of monthly weekends at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, you can see the guys back at the Korah Road nightclub over the Thanksgiving long weekend (October 10th-11th) before returning to the former Roosevelt Hotel on November 21st-22nd and December 12th-13th.

Sounds like a lot of good chances ahead to hear their hard rocking cover array, complete with teased new setlist additions, so keep all of these dates in mind, and we'll address their first shows back from their break on Thursday! All of these shows are 19+ with no announced cover charge, while start times are 8:00 PM at The Water Tower Pub, 9:00 PM at Beck's, and 9:30 PM at Reggie's and Jay's. Visit the above links for more details on Double Down's fall/winter return schedule!

Finally, and after three weeks of teasers from Northern Superior Brewing Co., we can finally answer this question: What is Wolf Fest? Well, it is a community festival taking place on Saturday, September 27th where the downtown microbrewery plans to give back to the Sault area and supporters, and there will be beer on tap (as you'd expect) plus food and a wide array of local vendors and artisans. This even extends to barbers, tattoo artists, and an arcade, believe it or not! Visit the brewery's Facebook page for complete non-musical details so far. Rather than cram everything into the Tap Room on site, Northern Superior will hold Wolf Fest at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and four bands will rock the big stage under the tent there, including classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9, confirming their prior teasers about playing here. Good to see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve back at it after their recent Tap Room gig!

The headliners in three weeks are veteran local/Toronto pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks (who do cover hard rock songs on occasion), while frontman Tony Marcello's son Anthony will play a rare concert with his dad that night when his indie rock band Jupiter Marvelous also rock Wolf Fest. The advertised lineup is rounded out by online page-less Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury (featuring Redefined, Late Shift, Headrush, Billy Bastards, and Tripod The Dog alumni), while the poster references "special guests T.B.D.", so we'll have to see what that entails. Wolf Fest is presumably an all ages event, it runs from 3:00-11:00 PM on the 27th, and admission is by donation to the Alzheimer Society of Sault Ste. Marie. I think Northern Superior could have gave Wolf Fest more direct promotion and less of a teaser campaign, especially as it's three weeks away, but this sounds like a fun event with a lot going on, so visit the above links for more on Wolf Fest! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Nameless & Silent 9!!)

While nowhere near as busy as what we saw locally in July, things are definitely busier locally for hard rock concerts this weekend, and we will have to stretch out our weekend concert previews to two posts as a result. As such, this weekend's Heavy Lies The Crown, Generations, and Tarnished shows will feature in tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know otherwise, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! 

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have a busy weekend ahead, and it starts TOMORROW NIGHT when they return to The Tap Room at Northern Superior Brewing Co., followed by the featured headliners slot at the annual Laird Fair outside of town on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on both fronts, the band only announced both dates on their Facebook page on Monday, though they have been advertised for the Laird Fair in their own promotional materials before then. TOMORROW'S show is the second late notice one in as many weeks from an SMS-amenable band at the Tap Room, and is a bit of a surprise booking from Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve, as they normally take the summer off from standard nightclub shows, only playing festivals and private bookings then. In fact, while we're on the subject, they'll be back at the Tap Room on Saturday, September 27th as well!

That show was quietly confirmed on their website's concert calendar, and we'll wait on other public shows there for now due to the later scheduling but they will be more active publically this fall. As far as I can tell, there's no raison d'etre for TOMORROW'S brief pause of their summer break from bar shows, but the fun classic and hard rock covers will be in full swing at Northern Superior, especially at a venue better known for acoustic acts! TOMORROW'S and next month's shows are at 8:00 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover. As for the Laird Fair (a.k.a. the North Shore Agricultural Fair), Silent 9 are this year's headlining band, taking over for the now-defunct Soundcheck on SATURDAY NIGHT! The Friday band slot this year was replaced by karaoke. Loads of family friendly entertainment is in store in Laird (outside of Echo Bay), both for farming and agricultural events and for games and activities, so be sure to visit the fair's Facebook page for the complete schedule!

Silent 9 will set up shop on SATURDAY NIGHT under the covered (but not entirely indoors) stage at the fairground site at Lake George Road East once again, which bodes well for the rainy weather forecast, but do follow your preferred weather forecast for updates on Laird Fair events like this (9&10 News is calling for a high of 27° that night). The concert proper is a licensed 19+ event at 9:00 PM, and admission to the concert is included with fair passes, which run for $10 for the day and $20 for the full weekend. Visit the above links for more on Silent 9's busy short notice weekend, and for a preview, here they are live last year!

Next up, let's skip over to Michigan for another new confirmation, as local hard rock quartet The Nameless will debut at The Goetzville Tavern in nearby Goetzville on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by the band on their Facebook page on Sunday, though the venue has been plugging this show on their Facebook page since last month. Stalwart Agricultural Fair aside, this is the first standard concert that we've covered in Goetzville (outside of Pickford) since 2014, believe it or not. The Goetzville Tavern may be better known to local readers as Yooperman's Bar & Grill, and it re-opened under its new name and ownership in April at 18017 East M-48. Concerts have sporadically taken place there since last month, with The Nameless being the first heavier-leaning act there, so welcome them to a new locale an hour south of here in style on SATURDAY!

The Nameless take the stage on SATURDAY at 7:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Note that The Goetzville Tavern technically closes at 10:00 PM nightly, but they will clearly extend their hours for concerts if need be, and The Nameless are advertised to play until 11:00 PM. The official Facebook event page strongly hints that the show will be outdoors under a tent, so given that, 9&10 News is calling for a 70% chance of rain on SATURDAY dipping to 40% at night, with temperatures expected in the mid-high 70s (a high of 27° Celsius). I have no idea if they have provisions to postpone the show or move it indoors due to rain, so follow The Goetzville Tavern and/or the band on social media for updates if you are all concerned. Otherwise, visit the above links for more details on the hard rock action in Goetzville on SATURDAY NIGHT, and here's The Nameless live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone! 

A Missed Concert Apology, More Ripcordz Cancellation Fallout, And New Videos!!

Before we dive into what is looking like a little busier concert weekend in the Twin Saults, let's look at some news and notes from both sides of the border, including new video uploads, updates on a major recent concert cancellation, and more, so here's what you should know!

To lead off this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this past weekend's round of previews. Given how slight last weekend's hard rock/punk slate was, knowing about this one would have been extremely optimal! This past Saturday, local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos returned to Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room for a one-nighter, after playing their third announced show there in June, but unfortunately, the venue only plugged the gig on their Facebook page that morning and it completely slipped us by. On Dos Amigos' end, the BookcluB side project also never acknowledged the booking on their Facebook page prior. I profusely apologize for missing this show regardless, but acoustic acts do well at the unique setting of the Tap Room, and hopefully Mikey & Dustin had a good show on Saturday! Actually, we can see if they did for ourselves now, as they shared a video from the concert the following day!

The first public video on Dos Amigos' Facebook page (and their first post there of any kind in almost four months), the video sees Mikey & Dustin covering Rancid's "Roots Radical" and doing a solid job of adapting it to a two man unplugged setting! I wish the filmer got more than 24 seconds, but everything sounds and looks good at the Tap Room. and the vertical camera angle isn't as objectionable because both guys are in frame without issue. Give it a watch below, and apologies again for missing this show in last weekend's previews, I'd have happily covered it with even a day's notice!

Next up, here's more on the mid-show cancellation of last month's Ripcordz concert at The Distraction in Sault Ontario! In a follow-up article on SooToday on July 30th, Sault Fire Services public education officer Aaron Gravelle confirmed that the show was cancelled following "a fire safety complaint", with police and fire crews determining that the basement space didn't have sufficient fire/life safety measures in place, and was thusly not approved for use as a concert venue. Fire Services and the city's building division will reportedly work with The Distraction towards ensuring "future building compliance", but whether this means that concerts will return to the East Street nightclub and when, I don't know. In the article, Ripcordz frontman Paul Gott is interviewed in text and in an attached video by contributor and former Honest Job frontman Drew Armstrong, where Paul praised the Soo and small concert venues like The Distraction.

Despite the cancellation, Paul was cordial and respectful on camera about the abbreviated concert and the local scene, let alone the younger generation of punk fans and musicians, and it's a good watch for fans! Unfortunately, I can't embed videos directly embedded onto SooToday (this isn't from YouTube) on the SMS, but give it a watch above, and it includes black & white photos from the local openers' sets!

Finally, let's zip over to Sault Michigan for some relatively rare videos of local classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished's current lineup in action! These actually come from the Fourth of July parade in the Soo last month, where Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron performed on a float once again (the band as a whole has done this for at least three years now). At least two people posted their own copies of the half hour-long parade route to YouTube, one being user onewxone, who was stationed beside the Ashmun Street Bridge. In his video, Tarnished become audible 24:30 into the 30 minute video (which was edited slightly in post-production to reduce the dead air between floats). While in earshot, Tarnished were covering The Go-Gos' "We Got The Beat" and while you only see them on camera for about 25 seconds, you can hear them at varying levels of clarity for two minutes before and afterwards.

Click here to jump straight to Tarnished's spot in the parade, but I won't embed that particular video here because of the sharp stationary angle of the procession. Embedded below is the parade video shot by Sunshine Gregory, who was filming further down the route at the corner of Ashmun and West Portage Avenue, capturing the procession with more of a side view, and not on a tripod. In Sunshine's video, you can first hear Ron's drumming at 24:17, and the guys are covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" at this juncture. Like they did for at least part of last year's July 4th parade, Alex & Josh walked alongside the float while both cameras were rolling, with Chris and Ron performing on the float itself, and you get a better view of that in Sunshine's video given her placement en route. Here, Tarnished are only on camera for 16 seconds, but Sunshine was moving her camera around to better capture what an attendee might see.

You can hear Tarnished finish the song, so they're audible in this parade video for about 80 seconds. The guys sound good on both covers, and Alex was definitely having fun engaging with the crowd from what was captured! If you're curious, the Independence Day parade actually featured two bands, as the E-Free Church's Sault Ste. Marie campus had contemporary Christian performers on their float, which rode down midway through the parade. They had a camera of their own rolling for their own parade video on the float itself, which gives a unique view from the other side, but check out the full parade and Tarnished's performances there above and below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (B.A. Johnston) & The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews

Before we begin today's post, just a heads up that the expanded Cruisin' The Dub car show was planned for today at both A&Ws on Great Northern Road, with Soundcheck playing the car show at the new one as normal, while Bone Yard (more on them in a bit) would headline a motorcycle show concurrently at the old one. This would have been a Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada fundraiser, as is often the case for A&W car shows locally. While the advertising online for this one was minimal, it doesn't matter now, as Cruisin' The Dub was cancelled on Tuesday due to today's weather forecast, as per Soundcheck drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page. Unlike past A&W car shows, this was going to be held between 5:00-8:00 PM today, and while they would have dodged this morning's rain, they wouldn't have made it until 8:00 PM before the rain came back (and with wind to boot.)

This is hardly the first time that an outdoor local concert was cancelled due to a gloomy weather forecast, but given that this is an annual event for a great cause, hopefully A&W reschedules in some form! Alas, August 17th each year is A&W's Burgers To Beat MS Day, hence the timing for this event. We'll let you know if it gets a do-over, but now let's dive into shows this weekend, sans Sault Michigan & area, plus the late notice (as bands go) street party on Sunday. Let's start with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that some of you will be eagerly anticipating!

Hamilton outsider folk/punk musician B.A. Johnston will return to Sault Ste. Marie for his fourth headlining concert appearance on SATURDAY NIGHT at Outspoken Brewing! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced when B.A. confirmed his fall tour slate on August 8th, but I was waiting for information from the local promoters that have surprisingly never came (it must have been booked in house). Personal Facebook postings confirm that the show is on, so if you've missed B.A.'s amusing and eclectic brand of one-man punk rock, audience participation, and oddly relatable music, be at the 350 Queen Street East brewery on SATURDAY! This will be B.A. Johnston's first local date since rocking the temporary Legion Bar at The Marconi Club just under a year ago, with all four of his Soo gigs being at different venues.

Despite the minimal local advertising, fans who saw B.A. locally in 2015, 2019, and last year will know why you can't miss his live show, so be there on SATURDAY to see what he has in store! This is a 19+ concert with no advertised openers, and note that his Legion Bar show last year had an 8:30 PM start time and $12 admission. Visit the above links for more details, and here's B.A. Johnston live (though you'll want to see him for yourself)!

Next up, local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will continue his weekly run of acoustic solo gigs at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW NIGHT! As it turns out, last week's show there was indeed cancelled due to (you guessed it) rain, as per Tym's personal Facebook page. This is why I've included weather forecasts for outdoor concerts in our weekly concert previews in the past few years, just to warn everyone in the event that weather affects the proceedings, and Tym did confirm that it was off after our preview post went live. Apologies for missing that! As such, tomorrow's show will be his sixth in his weekly arrangement at The Trading Post this summer, with at least one more to go, but note that in his prior weekly runs here, Tym did continue playing into early September. We'll let you know when/if any September dates there are announced!

Note also that Tym is not playing with The Nostalgic Band this weekend, after playing dates with his classic metal trio for four straight weekends, necessitating Tym playing two different shows on Fridays lately, but not tomorrow. This concert has a 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and no cover charge, while 9&10 News is calling for sunny weather of around 17°, so it'll be a little cooler and much drier than last week. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live at The Mike Case Stage!

We'll wrap up this preview post with local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard, who may not have been able to rock the old A&W today as planned, but they still have a busy weekend at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! As has been the case for their weekends at the former Reggie's West this summer, they'll be subbing in as the jam night hosts rather than Soundcheck tonight, and while we don't count jam nights as fully fledged "concerts" for our purposes, it is good to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren can still play somewhere despite the car show cancellation! In terms of traditional concerts, they will be rocking out at Jay's TOMORROW NIGHT, but the big event will actually be on SATURDAY, when Bone Yard serve as the headline musical entertainment for the Dragonfly Run, which is the relaunched Ride For ARCH motorcycle rally for the Algoma Residential Community Hospice. For full details on the bike rally proper, click here!

Along with music inside Jay's, there will be a street party outside of the Korah Road nightclub, local vendors, and family entertainment, and in a late confirmation, Bone Yard will have an opening band, namely new local rock band Skinbox (featuring Pixo Control/Vol. alum Steve Edwards). We still don't know anything on Skinbox's sound or membership beyond Steve, but this will be their first public concert set, so come out on Saturday to check them out! Their set begins at 7:00 PM, Bone Yard are on at 9:00 PM all weekend, these are 19+ concerts, and there's no cover charges beyond any ARCH donations. Great cause, solid hard rocking music, what's not to love? See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Bone Yard live at Shooters Downstairs Lounge this past Friday! This was live-streamed to their Facebook page.

The video sees Bone Yard covering Roger Miller's "Me & Bobby McGee", which is (was?) a staple of their acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge's set, and to that end, frontman Greg Simpson plays guitar rather than drums here. It's a fine cover of this oft-covered song by local classic rock-leaning groups, but alas, the filmer shot this vertically, not that I can be too shocked, as their last horizontal video posted on Facebook was shot in August 2022. Give Bone Yard's new video a watch below, and don't miss Bone Yard at Jay's this weekend!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's known hard rock concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard, Double Down, The Northwest, And Soundcheck!!)

It appears to be one of those weekends, namely a busy one full of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! Alas, all of today's hard rock/punk weekend concert previews are of shows that were only publically announced on social media in the past five days, so I'm pushing the previously announced Fort Creek & Peril concerts to our next preview post hitting the site by tomorrow morning. With all of that out of the way, here's what you should know to start off the weekend!

New local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will play their second live concert weekend TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on the band's Facebook page on Saturday, though be advised that Reggie's has not publically confirmed them at press time. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows come three weeks after this talented foursome debuted at Reggie's, and with Bone Yard, Mojo, Griphook, and Mustang Heart alumni in their ranks, you know that Double Down will deliver the goods for classic and hard rock fans! These are 9:00 PM gigs with no cover charge and 21+ age limits once again. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video from Double Down's first concert! Drummer Ric Datson uploaded this to his YouTube channel on April 24th, so what do you see/hear?

After a post-production intro featuring the sound of a jet flying by, we get a montage of clips and no full songs, which may be disappointing for some, but this conceit is not brand new for Ric's channel if you recall some videos of his old bands. Filmed on a stationary camera at different zoom levels (and different levels of crowd involvement as the night wore on), the video is full of snippets of familiar covers that will please fans of members' prior projects, but the lighting is surprisingly dark by default unless stage lighting is in action. Good teaser of what to expect TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's, so check it out below, and stay tuned for some more videos from weekend #1 from other sources soon!

Next up, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these gigs via their Facebook page on Tuesday, and the venue had not followed suit whatsoever at press time. This is basically the re-booking of their cancelled Shooters weekend in early March, which was a casualty of 2/3rds of the band falling ill that weekend, meaning that TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows will be Bone Yard's first at the Dennis Street nightclub in over three months. Good to see them downtown again, and hopefully their southern fried hard rock covers find another strong audience TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These are 9:00 PM shows with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brief new video of them live earlier this year!

Uploaded on Saturday, this was filmed by attendee Trevor James at Shooters in February (I think) for his Tiktok page, and while his page there has either been deleted or made ultra private since, the band was able to save it for a Facebook upload. It features the guys covering all of Golden Earring's "Radar Love", and it sounds good with lots of nice angles, though the vertical-only limitations of TikTok videos do a disservice to how Trevor shot this. I'd have cropped the black bars out for Bone Yard's upload, but it's still a solid performance of this live staple, so check it out below, and don't miss Bone Yard at Shooters TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, these shows have not been announced publically by either the band or venue (at least as far as Facebook goes), and I only know about them because of plugs on personal Facebook accounts. Last seen at The Esquire Club via a show(s?) in early April that similarly had no public notice online (well, not until 7 hours prior), TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts follow Shooters gigs last week, and should provide fans with more fun hard rocking covers and good times! Be advised that Soundcheck had to cancel their usual jam night hosting duties at Jay's Piston Broke Pub tonight due to a band member falling ill (they didn't specify who, but it's not singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver, who typically doesn't appear at jam nights).

How this will affect TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT's shows, if at all, is to be determined, but stay tuned to band members' personal Facebook pages for details if you are able. Yes, this weekend's Soundcheck gigs were originally scheduled for bassist Jim Michaud's old band Obsession when they announced their now-scuttled 2023 concert slate. As usual, they have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details when/if they surface, and here's Soundcheck live!

Finally for today's previews, we'll head back downtown to Outspoken Brewing, where local indie/punk quintet The Northwest and alternative/indie rock quartet Man Feelings will reportedly join forces for a special matinee concert on SATURDAY! Once again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via Man Feelings' Facebook page last night. Like every show above, the venue hasn't confirmed it publically that I have seen, and neither have The Northwest, who haven't posted on their Facebook page in over a month, despite being the ostensible headliners on SATURDAY. No word on why this is a matinee concert (Man Feelings gave a 2:00 PM start time, with Outspoken normally opening at 3:00 PM on SATURDAYS), but remember that the 350 Queen Street East microbrewery is a smaller venue that has lent itself more to acoustic acts in the past, so this should at least be a more intimate event than you may be used to.

Still good to see The Northwest back on a local stage for the first time this year, and Man Feelings should still have momentum on their side following their set at The Loft last week! This will also be our first previewed concert at Outspoken since their January-February closure and all of the rumours therein, but they have bounced back and hopefully more good times are ahead! This 2:00 PM event has no cover charge and a presumed 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Northwest live!

That's all for now, but look for our Fort Creek and Peril previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!