For the last concert weekend of February 2024, we again have too many concerts for one post, so I'm bumping Sault Michigan/E.U.P. concerts to tomorrow's post, as the ones we currently know about (Saint Asonia/Black Stone Cherry and Tarnished) are both on Saturday. Don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you should know north of the border, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!
Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Tazzi's Pub & Restaurant TOMORROW NIGHT, before playing another acoustic matinee concert at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice on both gigs, they were only announced via their respective Facebook event pages linked here and here yesterday. The current live venues du jour for Tym's acoustic solo act, TOMORROW's show at Tazzi's will be his first at the intimate Queen Street East venue since their fancy Valentine's dinner two weeks ago, and his first standard admission gig there of 2024. Meanwhile, west end fans are already spoiled by Tym's recent announcement of a bi-weekly arrangement at Misty's Fifties, but this was supposed to be an off week in the rotation, so adding an extra show there on SATURDAY will hopefully keep the good vibes rolling for fans of his unplugged hard and classic rock hits!
These presumed 19+ concerts have no announced cover charges, and while TOMORROW'S gig at Tazzi's has an 8:00 PM start time, the SATURDAY matinee at Misty's takes place at 4:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on Tym's busy weekend of acoustic concerts, and here he is live!
Next up, here's some shows that had advance notice, starting with the return of local hard rock trio Sylo to the public concert stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Distraction! After a year and a half's hiatus, this will be the former Raincourt's first live set since their headlining gig at Reggie's Place back in August 2022, though you may have seen frontman Eli Russell since with his solo project. This will also be their first live appearance since enlisting Alder Devries as their new second guitarist (replacing the long since departed Raine Rancourt), as per a quiet update to their Instagram page. I'm not familiar with Alder musically, but he is/was a White Pines Collegiate student (like his new bandmates), he has stage musical experience, and while he has a minor footprint online as a guitarist, much of his posts and media are either taken down or private. Hopefully he fits in well with Sylo tomorrow, and come on down to the East Street venue for a first look!
Local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will open in their first show of 2024, so be early for their upbeat guitar-less brand of hard hitting originals and covers! This all ages concert has doors opening at 5:00 PM tomorrow, and while admission is "pay what you can" as usual for The Distraction, $5 is suggested. Unless you saw Sylo's couple of mid-2022 gigs post name/lineup change, they'll be a bit of a mystery to many, but they're a talented young group, so definitely consider coming down to The Distraction for all of the festivities tomorrow night, complete with The A.A.'s intensity! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's one of Sylo's original songs from their first run!
Also this weekend, fans can see the aforementioned Raine Rancourt and his current hard rock band HeadFirst in that band's debut appearances at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fresh off of their first Shooters concert this past Saturday, HeadFirst are going west (...young man) to the former Roosevelt Hotel/Reggie's West, where their classic-leaning array of rock covers should find a receptive audience across both nights! They will be back here at the end of March, if you can't make it this weekend or want an encore. As usual for concert at Jay's, both tomorrow's and Saturday's festivities begin at 9:30 PM, while these are both 19+ events, and neither has an announced cover charge. HeadFirst have showcased a strong maturity and diverse setlist, with a fun stage presence from Red to boot, so look for much more of the same from this fast rising band at Jay's this weekend! See above for more details, and here they are live at Shooters this past weekend!
Finally for today's previews, we'll head to The Water Tower Pub, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return for another unplugged concert on SATURDAY NIGHT! While their new jam session hosting run at Reggie's Place may have broken things up depending on how you view such events, their "uncorked" show at the Great Northern Road nightclub will be Bone Yard's second straight traditional concert in their acoustic format, following their Gateway Casino concert this past Saturday. If you're up for Bone Yard's stripped down brand of southern fried classic & hard rock covers, head to this popular & upscale northern venue on Saturday! As is traditional for The Water Tower Pub, this is a one nighter, as they host different musicians every night, with blues rockers Smokehouse playing there tomorrow instead. Saturday night's action begins at 8:00 PM, there's no cover charge, and you must be 19 or older to attend. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard live and uncorked a few months back! That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Sault Michigan concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this post, just a heads up that local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck were slated to play at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tomorrow night (a show that they nor the venue had publically announced before today), but it has been cancelled due to half of the band falling ill, as per drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page. Hopefully everyone gets better soon, it's unusual to hear of Soundcheck cancelling a date, though maybe this explains why they dropped out of jam night at Jay's yesterday? This post otherwise concludes this weekend's concert previews, along with a new event announcement and some assorted updates, so here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Their second and third concerts of 2024, and first at The Esquire Club since that venue's Halloween party last fall, these will be the the band's first gigs in a run of monthly weekends at the Second Line West locale running through May. If you're up for Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve's hard rocking cover array, you know where to go this weekend! As usual for their Esquire Club stops, expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges tonight and tomorrow night, and if you can't make it, Silent 9 will be back here on March 8th & 9th. Don't miss out on Silent 9's concerts this weekend for some fan friendly and often heavy covers, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live at The Esquire Club for Halloween last year!
Next up, we'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews at Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant TOMORROW NIGHT, where local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will topline their special Valentine's Day weekend dinner! While Tym started playing occasional acoustic concerts at the Queen Street East cafe last summer, this is not a standard event, as it's a ticketed deal that you must reserve tickets for to attend, either by phone or in person. Attendees, presumably hoped to be couples given the occasion, will get Italian cuisine for dinner, plus pre-meal cocktails, and while Tazzi's hasn't publically indicated that Tym will be performing, he confirmed the gig via his own Facebook event page. Tym is no stranger to non-traditional gigs and venues, and he definitely has a lot of songs fitting a more romantic persuasion in his setlist, so if you are planning a date, this might be worth a look!
This presumably 19+ event has a 6:30 PM start time (dinner at 7:00 PM, Tym at 8:00 PM), and while this is a ticketed event, Tazzi's has not announced the price for attendees (given their entree prices, expect to pay at least $40 for a couple). Call Tazzi's or head there to book if you want to attend, see the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!
Also today, here's a surprise announcement: Jay's Piston Broke Pub is hosting a battle of the bands later this year! While there was one in Sault Michigan in November, this will be the first true battle of the bands in Sault Ontario since the NLFB Meltdown battle at LopLops in 2017, so that gap alone will make this a noteworthy event! The former Roosevelt Hotel did host the one-night Battle For The Blood (won by Winkstinger) back in 2012, but this is planned to be a multi-night battle on consecutive Wednesdays, not unlike the Rockstar Bar and VM Radio battles of the mid-2010s. We don't yet know the dates, scope, format, or prizes yet, let alone if it will have judges or be entirely fan voted, but the plan for the first place winners is for Jay's to match the band entry fees to come up with the top prize. Bands can register for the battle for $50 in person at the Korah Road nightclub, so do so A.S.A.P. just in case!
There are a lot of unknowns yet, not helped by the fact that Jay's only scarcely hosts bands primarily known for original music (granted, it was like that as Reggie's West too), but I am very curious to see how this shakes out, and after seven long years since we last saw an honest-to-goodness battle of the bands in city limits (not counting talent/singing competitions), think of the newer crop of local bands who could theoretically enter! Click here or above for more details on how you can enter!
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:
This can't be embedded here, as it's a "Reel", but local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard shared a "Reel" onto their Facebook page on January 25th of them playing the end of ZZ Top's "La Grange" at Jay's! The date wasn't given, but Bone Yard last played at Jay's over the December 1st weekend. Filmed/uploaded by attendee Marcy Catherine before being shared by the band, it's a fun clip (vertical angle aside) that shows Alex & Warren jamming on the floor with some attendees, so give it a look above, and don't miss them at Reggie's TONIGHT & TOMORROW!
In another "Reel" that I can't embed here, local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich posted a brief video clip of them playing "Stick Up" at the Lower Town Brewery in Ottawa during their southeastern Ontario tour last month on their Facebook page! The impromptu open mic performance did not feature guitarist Mitch Sirie or bassist Rafael Medina, with former Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch filling in for Mitch (no word on why there were absences or if they extended to their proper concerts last month). Fun rendition that is well applied to unplugged gear, but why is this a "Reel"? It wasn't shot vertically nor cropped to fit, and look at the pillarboxing as a result!
Algoma University's music program's Facebook page has confirmed that Lake Effect frontman Frank Deresti and Pointless/Fuller drummer David Peredun will serve as the rhythm section for Treble Charger's reunion concert at The Machine Shop on March 7th! As such, they will take over for session bassist Darcy Yates & drummer Ian McKay in those roles. Bill Priddle has played with Frank at numerous gigs, and David is a member of his most recent live bands, so this will be a huge feather in their respective caps! Student bands, presumably all linked to the university, will open the proceedings for this music program fundraiser. Click here to get your tickets for what will be a huge night!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!
An unusually busy concert weekend greets us to start February 2024, partly thanks to this being the I-500 weekend across, so we'll have to break up this weekend's previews into two posts! As such, we'll look at the previously announced Jackal Blood, Half Past, and Rhythm & Brews shows in our next post, hitting the site tonight or tomorrow morning, so don't worry, they are coming! Now, let's lead off this weekend's previews with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE!
Sault Michigan hard rock quintet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their respective Facebook event pages (linked here & here) on Tuesday, and The Merch has not confirmed the bookings on their Facebook page at press time. Of course, this is the weekend of the International 500 snowmobile race, of which The Merch is taking part in the annual pub crawl tonight, so there may be a busier crowd at the West Spruce Street nightclub for The Nameless' hard rocking cover array TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY NIGHT! As usual for their frequent Merch gigs, expect 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and click here for an unembeddable full concert video of theirs from 2022!
Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Tuesday, with the band not confirming them on theirs to match as of this writing. These will be Soundcheck's first concerts at Reggie's of 2024, last playing there for their New Year's Eve party, and they should prove to be another solid opportunity to enjoy Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen's classic and hard rock covers in a familiar downtown locale, so don't miss out TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Like in their prior stops at Reggie's, this weekend's shows have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. For more details, visit the above links, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live in concert last year!
Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Misty's Fifties for an acoustic matinee concert on SATURDAY, after previously playing there this past Saturday! I profusely apologize for missing last week's show, and for the short notice on THIS SATURDAY's, as I only noticed the Facebook event page covering both dates earlier this week. Misty's Fifties is still a relatively unfamiliar venue for us (Tym only just debuted his solo act there in December), but Tym is no stranger to playing locales that otherwise don't typically host hard rock acts, and this isn't all for him in terms of scheduled dates! If his unplugged classic and hard rock covers fit your idea of Valentine's Day entertainment, then he has two shows to match this month, starting with his first show at Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant of the year on Saturday, February 10th when he serves as musical entertainment for their Valentine's dinner!
Tym isn't promoted on Tazzi's Facebook page as being involved, but this is a special ticketed event that you have to call/message them for details on, so do so above if this seems like your kind of night out! Meanwhile, Tym will be back at Misty's Fifties for a special mid-week gig on Valentine's Day proper (Wednesday, February 14th), so keep that in mind for musical and/or romantic ideas as well! The Misty's gigs (last week's included, apologies again) are all 19+ affairs with no cover and start at 4:00 PM on SATURDAY and 5:00 PM on the 14th, while the Tazzi's show on the 10th is at 8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on Tym's February slate, and here he is live!
Finally for today's previews, we'll stay in the west end for a rare multi-band concert at The Esquire Club, as metal trio The BAG and punk trio Vanity First will join forces for the second time in a week TOMORROW NIGHT! Fans may recall seeing the two bands together at The Distraction this past Saturday, but here, The BAG and Vanity will take their talents to this Second Line West staple, which I believe will be a first for Vanity... First (The BAG have played here multiple times). Whether this show is a plus for location, timing, and/or just an encore chance to see these two rising young bands, you know where to go tomorrow to see them in action again, with originals and covers in tow for both! This is a one nighter, and if there's live music at The Esquire Club on Saturday, then I haven't seen any public advertising on who's playing that night (also, venue advertising only lists The BAG, but Vanity First are 100% opening).
A 9:30 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ concert, which has no advertised cover charge. Hopefully this show goes well and encourages The Esquire Club to bring in more original bands, let alone multi-band events, so visit the above links for more details, and here's The BAG live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Another concert weekend is upon us (it's already started if you count tonight's battle of the bands in Sault Michigan that we previewed yesterday), and luckily, things are busier on the hard rock side of things than they were last week! So much so that there's too many concerts for one post, so Saturday's Apocalypse Afterparty-headlined show at Soo Blaster will instead be previewed in our next post hitting the site tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know to start off the weekend, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant on Queen Street East for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page in the past week, with the venue first plugging it on their Facebook page on Monday. This will be Tym's first publically advertised concert since the breakup of The Nostalgic Band in September, and since the end of his seasonal run at The Trading Post earlier that same month, while he last played an announced gig at Tazzi's back in June. It's good to see Tym back out there in his acoustic element, and if his past Tazzi's concerts are anything to go by, hopefully he has a good turnout for his unplugged classic and hard rock hits TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be an 8:00 PM affair with no cover and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's a new video of Tym live!
Live-streamed by the venue's Facebook page from Tym's show at Tazzi's on April 21st, this unlabelled video has Tym covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive". Strong (if abbreviated) cover that suits an unplugged setting nicely, and Tym sings it better than Jon himself on the last Bon Jovi tour! Yes, the video is vertical, but that's fine for a solo performer like this. Give it a look below, and don't miss Tym back here TOMORROW!
Next up, here's some shows that did have advance notice, starting with newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! The last show announced by the group back in this Facebook calendar picture back in August (though more dates are coming), this will be their first stop at the Dennis Street nightclub in almost two months. Hopefully Silent 9 deliver a fun night of classic, hard, and pop rock covers for fans downtown tomorrow! Re: their website's concert calendar, 2023 ends with apparent private gigs that don't have listed addresses, but we'll let you know if any end up being public/ticketed events. A one-nighter due to Shooters hosting DJs on most Saturdays this fall, tomorrow's show has a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new live concert video!
The second video uploaded from Silent 9's Halloween party at The Esquire Club last month, this was belatedly uploaded to their Facebook page on Saturday, and features the band covering Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". As usual for their official video postings, it's abbreviated (44 seconds long), but it's a good quality recording, and horizontally shot for good measure, with "Wednesday" and crew delivering a solid rendition of this 2000s rock hit! Give it a watch below, and look for more from at Shooters tonight!
Also this weekend, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Bone Yard do not frequently play at this Second Line West staple, but this weekend's shows will see them replacing the previously advertised RPM (source here) as the next live band there. While these will be standard plugged in gigs for Bone Yard, they are teasing having new t-shirts for sale, as well as new official coffee mugs that were plugged via this Facebook video featuring the guys (sans guitarist Alex D'Ettore) waking up and enjoying a cup of coffee as only they can. Alex kinda also participated in the video but I won't spoil how they include him. Amusing promotion, and hopefully they move some mugs this weekend! These 9:30 PM concerts have 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's some new live videos from Bone Yard too!
A band representative live-streamed four videos from their acoustic gig at The Water Tower Pub on November 4th onto their Facebook page, where you can see Greg, Alex, and Warren covering The Charlie Daniels Band's "Long Haired Country Boy" (with Alex on vocals), Kid Rock's "All Summer Long", an instrumental section of what I believe is Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", and as embedded below, a 9+ minute video featuring Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" & Cinderella's "Shelter Me". The vertical camera angle is not ideal here, but they panned and zoomed where needed, and The Bearded Lounge Bone Yard sound good on these varied covers, so check them out for yourselves above & below!
We'll close this preview post by heading to Sault Michigan, where Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in our coverage range (an hour's drive from Sault Ste. Marie) when they rocked the St. Ignace Kewadin in September, these will be Jamie & Rikk's first shows in the Soo since April, after they were erroneously listed for gigs at The Rapids Lounge last month on the venue's end. This hard-touring two man band should have a hard hitting attack of covers in store for Eastern U.P. fans this weekend, so don't miss out on all of the action tomorrow and/or Saturday! These shows have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Fyrbird live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for the Apocalypse Afterparty preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!
A new month is upon us, so let's kick things off with some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and weekend concert previews, so here's what you should know on this warm June evening!
Nostalgia frontman Tym Morrison will bring his unplugged classic/hard rock show back to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant on Queen Street east for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via his Facebook event page this past Friday. After a month+ break from solo gigs, Tym will revert to his recent standby of solo covers with lots of multi-tracked effects and pedals to get a bigger sound out of everything, and after things went well at his spring gigs at Tazzi's, hopefully fans get more of the same hard rocking entertainment from him there TOMORROW! As usual for his gigs at Tazzi's (just seconds from Reggie's), expect an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on TOMORROW'S concert, and here's Tym live!
Next up, Tym's aforementioned new hard rock cover trio Nostalgia will play their second and third concerts when they return to Reggie's Place on Friday, June 9th & Saturday, June 10th! After a successful debut gig there last Friday, this new band (featuring Tym, Browbeat/Caveman Morrison alum Dutch Vanderploeg on bass, and ex-Nikkfitt drummer Chet Dziergas) should provide fans with another fun night or two of classic-leaning hard rock and metal hits next weekend! Note that Nostalgia have yet to visibly make an online page separate from Tym's solo Facebook group, and they have not posted media from their first show yet either. Expect 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits at Reggie's next weekend. Visit the Facebook event page for more details!
Also, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for an apparent one-nighter on Friday, June 16th! The band has yet to confirm this gig publically, but it was announced by the venue with this Facebook event page, one of many that they put up this week for concerts this month (Bone Yard already confirmed their shows the following week there). This will be Soundcheck's first show at the Dennis Street nightclub since early last month, and it should be a solid chance to fans to check out their hard and classic rock covers with the summer season in full swing! Again, this appears to be a one-night-only gig, as Shooters' wave of June event pages have been for each individual night without doubling up two shows in one event page, and there is none for Saturday the 17th, not even for a different band. We'll let you know if that omission was in error and/or if another band is confirmed!
As usual for their Shooters stops, you can see Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen on Friday the 16th at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and if you're going to miss them at jam night at Jay's tonight, they will have fitting replacements!
Finally, this weekend's only announced hard rock concerts that I'm aware of (Tym Morrison aside) come at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will hit the stage for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Well, "one night only" in the sense of a traditional concert, but they will be at Jay's tonight subbing in for Soundcheck for the the first of three times this summer during Jay's Thursday jam nights! If Bone Yard are scheduled this summer at the former Reggie's West, then they're leading the jam night charge in those weeks, so keep that in mind if you're into such events! Again, we don't cover jam nights as "concerts" for our purposes due to their unpredictability by design. Bone Yard have been busy in the studio since their last gigs at Shooters three weeks ago, so look for some solid hard rocking tunes from Greg, Alex, and Warren tomorrow night as they kick off their summer slate!
A one nighter due to a private booking elsewhere on Saturday night (new local pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will be playing at Jay's on Saturday instead), tomorrow's standard concert from Bone Yard will have a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard's next concert (and jam night duties), and here they are live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for either this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, or news on new album releases! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this weekend's very quiet hard rock concert previews, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck returned to The Esquire Club for a show last night. The band only announced this concert via their Facebook page at 3:08 PM yesterday (less than 7 hours before showtime), and The Esquire Club's Facebook page never confirmed the show period. If Soundcheck played there on Friday night, no one announced it that I have found. Be advised that bassist Jim Michaud's old band Obsession had planned to play at Shooters this weekend before they broke up in February, so last night's Esquire Club booking was not inherited from that band. If you're following the former Obsession's announced 2023 concert calendar, then the next of those dates that Jim could theoretically take over with Soundcheck would be April 21st & 22nd at The Esquire Club.
In any event, last night's apparent Soundcheck one-nighter was held once the venue got the snow from yesterday's storm dealt with (they were closed until 6:00 PM), and it coincided with singer/guitarist Terry Eaton's birthday. Happy belated birthday, of course! I profusely apologize for missing this show on the SMS, but the late notice combined with a quiet concert weekend and the storm didn't have me thinking anything would pop up, let alone with time to make up a post. Hopefully it was a blast in spite of Mother Nature, and stay tuned for previews of Soundcheck's next late notice shows this weekend later in the week!
Now, today's post otherwise features a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with ample notice for later this month, plus some new concert videos, and let's start with that new show, as local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant at 478 Queen Street East for one night only on Friday, April 21st! This will be Tym's third show at the restaurant just down the road from Reggie's Place following his St. Patrick's Day weekend gigs there last month, and clearly those went well for Tazzi's to bring him back for another go-around! Tazzi's has primarily focused on acoustic-leaning solo acts on Friday nights since beginning their live music experiment, and hopefully Tym's unplugged classic and hard rock covers go over well as usual there!
Like last month, this show has a 19+ age limit, no cover, and an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more from Tym when it rolls in!
We'll close today with new videos from a pair of major hard rock concerts in each of the Twin Saults, as posted to YouTube last month! YouTube user Brian S has recently been uploading videos from three different concerts that he attended to his channel, including the Skillet/Theory of a Deadman/Saint Asonia show in Mount Pleasant, Michigan last month, but his newest two are from the Pop Evil-headlined show at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on March 17th! The videos are all of the headlining Muskegon hard rock band, and they feature their hits "Deal With The Devil", "Torn To Pieces", and as embedded below, "Footsteps". Alas, all but "Torn To Pieces" were shot vertically, but Brian had a decent angle of the stage, and while not close to it, he zoomed in and made use of his camera's solid visual quality to capture these songs nicely with good lighting!
Audio quality is pretty solid on these too, if a little muffled, but if you're a fan of Pop Evil's modern hard rock singles, you will like how Leigh and crew translate these songs to a live set so seamlessly! Give these a look above and below, and we'll let you know if more Pop Evil videos surface!
Finally, while Brian's Theory of a Deadman videos are primarily from the aforementioned Mount Pleasant show last month, he was in attendance for the Burnaby, B.C. hard rock/post grunge band's headlining date at the Sault Community Theatre Centre in Sault Ontario in February 2020, belatedly uploading this video of their older ballad "All or Nothing", complete with Tyler starting on piano before moving to just vocals and interacting with front row attendees. I'm not a huge Theory (of a Deadman) fan, but Brian got an even better video for angle, position, and quality here, and this performance was definitely well recieved in one of the final major hard rock shows here pre-lockdown, so check it out for yourselves below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site next! Thanks everyone!
As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's hard rock concert previews in this post (barring anything on super late notice), but leading off are a couple of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at two relatively unfamiliar venues as the SMS goes, so here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the live stage on Friday, March 17th when he debuts at... Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant?! If you're unfamiliar, Tazzi's is located at 478 Queen Street East (just down the road from Reggie's Place) and it's by no means new to the Soo, having been open since at least 2008, but they've only really been getting into live music bookings since last summer. They typically bring in acoustic country and classic rock solo acts, and often film them for their Facebook page, so keep that in mind! Tym appears to be the latest to give Tazzi's a whirl, and will be doing so on St. Patrick's Day, but I have no idea if they go all out for that holiday or not there (be advised that Tazzi's has not promoted Tym as playing yet). Concerts at Tazzi's have early 8:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 19+ age limits. Visit Tym's official Facebook event page for more details on this hard rocking debut!
Next up, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's album release party for their debut album "Deconstructed" will take place on Saturday, May 6th (not May 5th) at.... The Loft?! Yes, another new-ish venue for our coverage, as The Loft is the concert venue opened in 2021 on the third floor of the Algoma Conservatory of Music at 75 Huron Street (the former St. Mary's Paper office), and is actually managed by Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori, who also runs the recording studio on the same floor. You can read all about The Loft's specifications, atmosphere, and amenities at this link, and most tantalizingly for casual fans is that The Loft has HD cameras by default and is wired straight to the recording studio if bands want to have concert sets recorded. In fact, Handsome Sandwich confirmed that this set will be "live recorded", so whether audio or video, keep that in mind!
The show proper will be Handsome Sandwich's first of 2023 (unless they announce anything beforehand), and they plan to perform both the entire "Deconstructed" album alongside new songs not on the album that night. Indie rock quartet Man Feelings will open in their own first concert of the year, and while not as heavy as the Sandwich can get, hopefully the guys deliver their entertaining originals with zest to kick off the evening! No word on if their set is getting recorded/filmed too or not. Tickets will run $25 for this show (if physical CDs are being sold, I don't know what they will cost individually), and there will be a cash bar on site. You can buy yours at this link, but be advised that The Loft advertises a capacity of 180 people for concerts, so get yours A.S.A.P. just in case! A 7:00 PM start time is advertised, and there is no stated age limit. Colour me impressed by the scale and setting for the release party!
I had known about what Greig and everyone at the Conservatory was doing for a couple of years, but concerts at The Loft so far have more leaned more towards what you'd see at LopLops or on CBC Music (certainly not a criticism), hence why it took us this long to mention it in any detail. Given Handsome Sandwich's existing ties with Treble Charger's Bill Priddle (who produced the album), that can't have hurt for connecting the right dots! The long wait for the album release continues (remember, they had May 6th announced as the date last fall), so definitely visit the above links for more details on this show and to buy your tickets, as it will be quite a concert from the setting and atmosphere alone!
Finally for today, here's that final concert preview for this weekend, as Hamilton-based Pearl Jam tribute band Leash will hit Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT in their first ever local appearance! The first of two touring hard rock tribute bands scheduled at Soo Blaster in the spring months (joining Kiss tribute Destroyer next month), Leash deliver a very proficient brand of Pearl Jam's distinct grunge & alternative classics, and while the vocals aren't a 100% match, genre fans should get their money's worth tomorrow! In a late confirmation on Monday, local punk trio Vanity First will serve as local openers tomorrow in their first announced concert set of 2023, and first set at Soo Blaster since opening for Gutter Creek in September. Vanity First aren't a perfect genre match, but they weren't for Gutter Creek either, and this should give them a solid audience to deliver their up-tempo originals and covers to once again, so don't be late!
A 19+ concert as you may expect, tomorrow's festivities have doors opening at 7:00 PM, and tickets run for $25 in advance at this link or $30 at the door (a $320 VIP table package is also on sale at the online ticket link). If you like seeing talented touring tribute bands in the Soo, and want to see a different range of them compared to what usually stops in town, coming out to see Leash would definitely be a good idea, so come enjoy Seattle by way of Hamilton tomorrow night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Leash playing multiple songs live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for two missed concerts, as veteran local ska/hard rock trio Tripod The Dog played at The Esquire Club for Saturday matinee concerts on both March 26th & this past Saturday. I only belatedly heard about both shows via bassist John Amendola's personal Facebook page, as Tripod The Dog have not launched an updated social media page to promote their shows, but The Esquire Club's Facebook page did plug both back in February. I profusely apologize again, hopefully both shows were hits, and I will keep better tabs on The Esquire Club's Saturday matinee series in the future!
Today's post otherwise looks at some assorted recent notes and big updates from an E.U.P. band, but let's lead off today for a special Tuesday night concert preview for a Sault Ontario homecoming, as local/Thompson, Manitoba solo stalwart Mike Haggith will play his first Soo date in over two years TOMORROW NIGHT at the Mane St. Cafe on Queen Street East! While certainly visible to local fans with his live-streamed concerts and new albums, Mike hasn't graced a local stage since playing at Outspoken Brewing in August 2019 (partly due to the pandemic), so it'll be great to see the former Din frontman back in town tomorrow! While this solo acoustic gig is far smaller in scope than his cancelled CD release show in 2020, Mike will play both of his Thompson-era albums "If Ever Comes The Day" & "Bridges" in full tomorrow night, along with select older and newer cuts, so prepare for lots of songs you haven't heard in concert here before!
This show has no opening act, and is presumably on a Tuesday due to Mike's busy personal schedule, especially given his day job. This is a FREE & ALL AGES show with a 7:00 PM start time, and CD copies of his two newest albums will be on sale for $10 tomorrow at the Mane St. Cafe (right near Case's Music). It'll be great to have Mike back in the Soo, if only for one night, so fans of his extensive solo catalog who've missed seeing him live in the pandemic era will want to head downtown for all of the festivities tomorrow, and at least it'll end early on a work/school night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Mike live!
Next up, here's the latest from St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, who have finally announced their teased return show! Unfortunately, it will not be local, instead taking place 3½ hours downstate in Saginaw, which is mildly surprising given that a factor in the departure of 3/5ths of the band was distance, but if you followed H.L.T.C.'s pre-pandemic live schedule, booking shows downstate rather than in the E.U.P. isn't anything new. Heavy Lies The Crown will be one of six Michigan metal or punk bands on the lineup for The Rock Rebel Showat the Hamilton Street Pubon May 26th, and you may recognize some of the other bands from Lansing rock radio station Q106 'sMusic Mania tournament last month. Hopefully Brandon & Ted's first live concert in over two years is a hit next month, but how will they look? Well, they have indeed found a new bassist & drummer!
After announcing on their Facebook page last week that they were "back at full strength", they shared this photo featuring an unidentified drummer (so Brandon won't have to drum on the 26th after all!), while also throwing the idea out of playing a show in Gaylord, which is a 2 hour drive from the Soo, customs/bridge traffic permitting. Yesterday, this video was uploaded featuring slow motion grayscale clips of Brandon, Ted, the new drummer, and their new bassist, finishing by teasing that they will be "announcing shows soon". As of this writing, they have not identified the new members by name yet, and they do not appear to have added a new second guitarist to replace Nathan at the moment, but we'll let you know if they clarify anything (for what it's worth, I don't recognize the new guys). Of course, it's great to see Heavy Lies The Crown getting back into the full swing of things!
Even without their massive lineup overhaul earlier this year, the band has not played live since before the pandemic, but the two year break gave them time to record and release their full length album and get more confidence and studio time under their belt, and with just Brandon & Ted left from H.L.T.C. lineups of yore, stage rust won't be as much of an issue in Saginaw next month. Hopefully we'll see them north of the Mack at some point for local fans, but check out all of their new updates above! External embedding of the new lineup video is unavailable due to Facebook content matching the background music from the band's new album.
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or show name:
If you've been following Sault Ontario metal radio show Metal Morpheus on The Borderline in recent weeks, you'll likely know that the series has continued airing reruns in the past month, hence why I haven't recapped any new episodes lately. No word on where Josh has been, but at least in this hiatus, reruns are still being regularly aired on Sunday nights and re-posted after the fact, unlike for most of their winter break. We'll let you know when/if first run Metal Morpheus episodes resume production!
Vanity First guitarist Mikhal Muto posted again on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group last week, this time inquiring about jamming or writing with "younger punk musicians" around 17 years of age. He can also sing, and he's open to playing covers. What this means for Vanity First isn't clear, and while Mikhal is still listed on their lineup on their Facebook page, the band has not made any updates there in over a month. In any event, if you want to work with Mikhal in whatever's next, message him at this link or above!
Local/Barrie punk/metal quartet Spades GT will return to the annual Spiderfest
in Meyersburg on July 8th! Before the pandemic, the former Jack Spades
frequently hit the road for this multi-day punk festival, but now from
Barrie, it'll just be a 2½ hour drive. Spades GT are on the
smaller Friday lineup without acts familiar to local concertgoers, but
Saturday the 9th will see the likes of The Ripcordz & Random
Killing, among many others. Hopefully the guys have a great time as
usual at Spiderfest this summer!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
Here's a late night news post for you guys to check out on this Saturday, which is half devoted to playing catch-up with an E.U.P. band's recent updates, but the rest is on the Ontario side of the border via a new video find and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a little later this month. With all of that said, here's what you should know!
Local alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a special acoustic solo concert on Tuesday, April 19th at Mane Street Cafe & Lounge! This surprise local date will be Mike's first in the province since he played at Outspoken Brewing in August 2019, and aside from the relatively new locale (adjacent to the Mane Street Salon in the Square 1 Mall at 626 Queen Street East), this show seems to be formatted similarly. Don't go into this expecting a rescheduling of the long-since-cancelled "If Ever Comes The Day" CD release party at LopLops in 2020 (one guess why that show didn't happen), but Mike promises to play both that album and last year's "Bridges" in order & in full on the 19th, along with some other cuts. A 7:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and no age limit are in effect, and CD copies of both albums will be on sale.
I don't think many fans were expecting Mike to announce a Soo date so abruptly, let alone on less than 10 days notice, but remember that his day job can account for scheduling quirks. It'll be great to have Mike back in town though, and fans of his Thompson-era original material will want to stop by the Mane Street Cafe next Tuesday evening to hear these songs in person after way too long! Get more details at Mike's Facebook page!
Next up, here's the latest from St. Ignace, Michigan metal band Heavy Lies The Crown, who haven't been idle despite losing 3/5ths of the band two months ago! As they teased at the time, H.L.T.C. took part in Lansing rock radio station Q106's third annual Michigan Made Music Mania tournament, where station listeners could vote on their favourite rising Michigan rock act in a 16 band bracket. Heavy Lies The Crown did win their opening round match over Grand Rapids rock band Crossing Bard before narrowly falling to Ann Arbor punk band Lake Mosaic in the quarterfinals (Jackson hard rock band Flowers on the Grave won the whole thing). Similarly, frontman Brandon West has entered a Michigan Metal Vocal Competition held by promotional company Ghost Media Entertainment, as one of 12 competing singers from statewide metal bands, so what should you know there?
Apparently being held virtually, vocalists will compete on Wednesday, May 4th, though initial promotion didn't reveal the criteria, prizes, or format. Best of luck to Brandon for sure, it'll be interesting to see how far he goes against his downstate competition! A lot of H.L.T.C.'s updates this spring have been of the slightly more comic/tongue in cheek variety, as immediately seen after they first announced their lineup changes, but on April 1st, the band revealed that they had a show booked! No one claimed this was an April Fools joke, but they have yet to reveal details on the concert. As of the 1st, Brandon noted that he would have to play drums for the show due to a lack of willing nearby drummers, implying that the show might be local for a change, but again, details are not out yet. We'll keep you posted, but to close, here's a new video of theirs!
Again a Brandon-centric update (no direct sign of Ted in their newest posts), this features him recording vocals for a planned new original song, but the captions helpfully tell us that while tracking this song, the police were knocking at his door over a noise complaint. Hopefully that doesn't happen too often, but given how heavy that Heavy Lies The Crown can get, you never know! The high screaming/singing hybrid here is well handled, but there's a lot to learn yet about their current songwriting. Is another album in the works? Are just Brandon & Ted handling instruments? How far along are they? Time will tell, but check it out below, and visit their Facebook page for all of the above topics & more!
Finally, here's a very belated live concert video that I apologize for not sharing on the SMS before, as it was uploaded to the Reggie's Place Facebook page in October 2020 during the show in question, without giving the band's name. Of course, it's Sault Ontario classic/hard rock quartet Soundcheck, and the video in question sees them covering Tom Petty's "Running Down A Dream" with guitarist Terry Eaton on vocals and frequent guest bassist Rob Gilmar in place of Paul Belair. The 21 second clip suffers from a harsh blue glare from the neon Bud Light sign behind Glen, but the cover is solidly done for fans, so give it a watch below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this post, just a heads up that the Glambition fundraiser concert at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (scheduled for this Saturday) has been postponed again due to the rise in regional COVID-19 cases, as per the event's Facebook group late last month. The Facebook event page confirms the date change to Monday, January 30th, but the statement confirming the postponement was not cross-posted there. Disappointing but understandable, and hopefully things quiet down in time for next month! Still, we do have some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend, plus a new videos from some familiar faces, so here's what you should know!
Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play his second concert at Mane Street Cafe & Lounge on Queen Street East TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page on Monday. Apparently "back by popular demand", Tym made his debut at the Square 1 Mall cafe & hair salon spinoff on November 12th, and hopefully he delivers another skilled night of unplugged classic & hard rock hits for assembled fans TOMORROW! Yes, there will be half priced martinis and snack board specials if these interest you. An early 7:00 PM start time is in effect TOMORROW, prepare for a 19+ age limit, and there are no announced cover charges. Crucially, please use common sense to maintain social distance, wear face masks, and do not forget your vaccine passport if you want to attend this concert safely. See above for more details, and here's Tym live & in concert!
Next up, we'll head to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, where local hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard on SATURDAY NIGHT for their themed ugly sweater party! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was also only announced on Monday, this time via the band's Facebook page. Last seen via their replacement gigs at The Rapids Lounge two weeks ago, this will be Alex, Nathan, Isaac, and Josh's first Rudyard stop since playing at Huck's (the former Joe's Bar & Grill) almost a month ago at a hunter's bash. Given the seasonal timing, SATURDAY'S concert will be in the holiday spirit, with attendees encouraged to wear ugly Christmas sweaters, and there will be prizes of some kind on offer (perhaps for the ugliest sweaters of all?) Yes, there will be drink specials too, no word on if you have to wear a sweater to get them. A 9:00 PM start time is in effect on SATURDAY, as well as a 21+ age limit and no cover.
Please be sensible and follow any public health guidelines posted at Huck's to ensure everyone's safety, especially with recent rises in COVID case counts and the new omicron variant. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
We'll stay in the E.U.P. to wrap up this post via some new videos, including new teasers over the past week from St. Ignace progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown, who have posted one new video on their YouTube channel each day over the past week hyping that their long-teased full length album will be released tomorrow! You can pre-save its Spotify copy on Distrokid, but the band has not confirmed if it will be available elsewhere, let alone via outlets where it'd be on sale. The teaser videos (all under a minute long) feature audio clips from the album alongside thematic imagery and text hyping the release, but I embedded today's presumed final teaser video here, as it's the longest and gleans the most information. The album will be self-titled, and it will include twelve songs, including at least three of the songs from their 2019 EP "Scatter Brain", sans "Thing #1" unless they renamed it.
I cannot 100% confirm if the "Scatter Brain" carry-overs are re-recorded or not, but the version of "Knuckle Butter" from their music video in July used the 2019 recording. The album's cover artwork is embedded above, which can be seen on Distrokid and the YouTube teasers. Could H.L.T.C.'s new album leapfrog the Room 206 vinyl re-release in line as our next album review? It does have being a mostly new album and an earlier release date on its side, but it also has to officially be sold, not just posted for streaming. We'll let you know, but stay tuned for the full release tomorrow (our coverage should be short to follow), and check out this week's teasers above & below!
Finally, here's a surprise: New guitar performance videos from former local metal guitarist Mike Libertoski! The Galactic Alignment, Slackjawed Rats, and Swayze Train alum no longer lives in Sault Ste. Marie, but he is still musically active, currently performing in the White Lake deathcore band Bleak Life. After a nine year hiatus from his YouTube channel, Mike resumed posting new videos there in the last couple of days, and while all are short, it's great to see Mike is back and hasn't lost any of his considerable guitar skill! The videos include two teasers of Bleak Life original material (one audio only, one in black & white), plus a sweep picking arpeggios demo, and two cover snippets of Archspire's "A Dark Horizontal" and, as embedded below, Necrophagist's "Stabwound". I wish these were longer, especially the Archspire clip, but Mike's still got it, and Bleak Life have brutal songs of their own, so give everything a watch above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
