LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Generations, Legends Of Rock, And Curtis McKenzie) Plus Crush Updates!!

A surprise news post on this Saturday night is led off by LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on VERY SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know!

Southeast Michigan-based 1980s metal/hard rock tribute band Legends Of Rock will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at... the Ronald "Bud" Cooper Gymnasium at the James Norris Center on the campus of Lake Superior State University?! I profusely apologize for the short notice, this show completely skipped my usual channels, as scouting LSSU Lakers hockey games isn't common SMS protocol for me, but it has gotten primary social media promotion on the LSSU Athletics Facebook page. TONIGHT's concert is a post-game party following the Lakers' regular season hockey game at the Taffy Abel Arena (also in the Norris Center) that has commenced as of this writing, but you don't have to be a ticket buyer to go across the hall after the game ends at around 8:00 PM to see the concert. The raison d'etre for Legends Of Rock's show TONIGHT is that the game has a "Rock The Rink" promotional theme.

Attendees of tonight's CCHA conference game against he Bowling Green Falcons (who beat the Lakers yesterday) will get rock music all night during play stoppages, plus there will be an air guitar contest and more themed activities, which is a fun idea! Legends Of Rock pay homage primarily to 1980s hair metal and arena rock, and do a solid job of it with fun energy and lots of talent, so keep TONIGHT's show in mind if you're in the E.U.P. and want to rock out, though the scheduling opposite the Trixter concert at Kewadin Casino is admittedly curious! There's no announced age limit, and the concert (held where LSSU's basketball teams play) is FREE. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Legends Of Rock live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for two more new show announcements, starting with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' next concert, which will see them rock The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, November 1st! Two weeks removed from their return from the stage after a two month break, this will be their first show at the Great Northern Road nightclub in almost three months. No word on if there will be a late Halloween theme for the occasion as other venues are taking advantage of (Elly McWatters & The Drifters are headlining their Halloween night concert on Friday), but we'll let you know if something is said by the band or venue! With their guitarist slot still vacant, Smokehouse's Michael Yurich will fill in with Generations once again, while drummer Tony Santoro promised "a special surprise" as well that night. This is a 19+ event at 8:00 PM with no cover. See the above links for more on this classic/hard rock attack! 

Also newly announced for next month, former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will take his acoustic solo act to a rare support slot on Friday, November 21st when he opens for local Pink Floyd tribute band Dark Side Of The Soo at Beck's Bar! Itself, this show is a rarity as a Friday nighter, as Beck's usually reserves that day of the week for DJs and dance parties, but they have been slowly booking special Friday night concerts in recent weeks, new local Pearl Jam tribute band Even Flow on Friday (for Halloween) among them. Curt's unplugged hard and alternative rock covers won't be a perfect genre/era match to Pink Floyd, but the talent and familiarity with the former Vibe Lounge is certainly there, so keep his opening set in mind next month! Dark Side Of The Soo (a side project of pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue) debuted locally last summer and have played live sporadically since.

Their own Beck's debut in August was a hit, and hopefully Jules and crew deliver a night of classic prog rock goodness for west end fans in four weeks' time! An 8:00 PM start time is in effect for this concert, which has a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close this post with what new Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush have been up to as of late! Keeping with their comedic lean for social media posts, this short video on August 8th sees bassist Isaac "Iggy" Royer getting into an altercation (of sorts) with a traffic pilon. I'll let you decide who won! On Friday, October 17th, Crush were interviewed live on Scott Cook In The Morning on Rock 101, which I'm surprised never got promoted in advance by the band on their Facebook page! That seems like the sort of thing that you'd want people to tune in for, you know? From what I was told, they performed an acoustic version of their song "Hey You". Hopefully that went well regardless, and it's always nice to see Scott promote local musicians on air! After a couple months of primarily teasing and hyping their concert slate otherwise, their next Facebook post was the day after their Rock 101 interview.

Said video is of Iggy reviewing the men's bathroom at their concert in Battle Creek the previous night, which has to be a first for us, so check above to see how he judged the amenities there! Embedded below is their newest Facebook update (tour concert photos aside), which sees Isaac working the front desk at Rock 101's parent company Sovereign Communications! Well, as far as you know. If you didn't know they were on the radio last week, you'd have lost a lot of context, but hopefully we hear more from Crush in musical and non-musical areas soon! Check out their new videos above & below!

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

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The 2025 Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands!!)

Six local acts will face off in the third annual Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands on THURSDAY at the on-campus Arts Center! Apologies for the short notice, the final lineup was only revealed on the Arts Center's Facebook page this past Wednesday, though details on some of the acts were not immediately available, with posts introducing them being staggered over the past week. The second major battle in the E.U.P. this year (following the Superior Whitefish Festival one in Brimley in July), this year's LSSU Battle will feature six acts (down one from 2024) vying for battle supremacy, and we have a guaranteed first-time winner ahead, as The Sole Aggressors broke up this summer and Molly Escherich is attending the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Two performers are returning solo musicians from last year, including veteran folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney, which makes him the only act to play at all three LSSU battles.

Joining him again is Kaleb Shannon, who now performs under the solo handle NDN Summer, but don't bypass either as a contender on THURSDAY, as Kaleb did win the $750 second prize at the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle (which Kevin also competed in). Will they appeal to the judges at the Arts Center this time around? Of the four bands competing on THURSDAY, the most familiar to SMS readers will be hard rock/punk band About:Blank (who performed at the Superior Whitefish Festival's Music In The Park concert, but not the battle). This will be a special two-man acoustic set, as guitarist Nathan Webber (one of Molly's victorious Other Guys from last year) will be absent himself, so frontman Parker Talentino (a solo competitor from the 2024 LSSU Battle) and drummer Kade DesArmo will press onward. Will Kade's presence push Parker into the winning position? Find out on THURSDAY!

The other three acts are brand new to me, including Socrates & The Cavemen, a new band from LSSU philosophy/humanities professor Jason Swedene, who played bass for last year's competing indie rock quartet The Undecideds alongside his son Calvin (formerly of the Sole Aggressors). In this new project, Jason is "The Cavemen" while Socrates is his other son William, but the descriptions don't outright say what they'll play beyond teasing a soul/funk influence. We'll find out on THURSDAY! New local rap duo Tunngtyed (featuring MCs Tha Baztad and G-Blunt) and new local acoustic project The Dynamic Duo (featuring singer Danielle Petingalo and guitarist Ben Huyck) round out the battle roster, which means that this year's battle has no bands with more than two advertised members, whereas there were four with 3+ members in each of the last two years. To me, this leaves the field wide open, so it's anyone's guess who will win!

And no, Tarnished/Crush frontman Alex Traynor (with or without his poofy white coat) is not playing on THURSDAY despite being on the promotional poster. If things are formatted identically to last year, the 2025 LSSU Battle will be judged by LSSU faculty and a student representative, who all are scoring on one individual criteria apiece, and acts will likely be blocked for 15 minutes apiece, giving room for 3-4 songs each. Prizes for the battles so far were $150 for first place and $50 for second place (both as gift cards), with third place and beyond not announced. Admission on THURSDAY will be $10 for general audiences and $5 for kids 10 and under, while current LSSU students, faculty, and staff will get in for free. A 7:30 PM start time is advertised, and it should be an early night once again given the formatting. While I wish the lineup was announced with a little more notice, there should be a great batch of music in store for attendees!

I'm unsure if I'll be going to this year's battle, but I went last year (here's my review), and the talent base and support for the performers was very encouraging! This year hasn't been the easiest in terms of cross-border relationships with the tariffs and whatnot, but it'd be great to see some Sault Ontarians come across to check out the Yoopers competing on THURSDAY, and best wishes to everyone as they vie for first place! Visit the above links for more on this year's battle, and stay tuned for results and fallout when/if it goes live! Thanks everyone, and good luck!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Bone Yard 225, And Dodge This), Plus An Impending Breakup!!

In today's news post, we have a bunch of end-of-year LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to take note of before 2024 is done, with one of the bands in question reportedly disbanding afterwards, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday morning!

Local acoustic classic/hard rock cover duo Dodge This will return to The Water Tower Pub on Friday, December 27th! The band hasn't confirmed this booking publically at press time, with the venue's concert calendar on their Facebook page doing the honours. Unless something else is announced in the interim (Jason's solo gigs aside), this will be Dodge This' first announced concert since rocking The Dive a couple weeks ago, and their first gig at The Water Tower Pub since November 8th. If you want to enjoy some live rock cover action from some talented local music veterans post-Christmas, a trip to the Great Northern Road nightclub later this month will definitely do the trick! Remember, The Water Tower Pub hosts different nightly acts, with new-ish acoustic duo The Dustcovers playing there on Saturday the 28th. Jamie & Jason (and Jeff?) take the stage at 8:00 PM for this 19+ show with no cover. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Dodge This!

Next up, we have confirmation of two SMS-amenable bands rocking out on New Year's Eve this year, and we'll first head to the YNCU Curling Centre (née the Community First Curling Centre), where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will take the stage on Tuesday, December 31st! The band has not publically confirmed this show yet, but the Anita Boulevard curling rink confirmed it via this Facebook event page on Friday. More details on the event proper are forthcoming, but this is a ticketed event running for $25 a pop (they'll be on sale online at this link in time), but of course, remember that this is a New Year's party with the frills that that entails, including champagne at midnight when we finally begin 2025. Obviously, this would be a 19+ event, and Soundcheck kick things off at 9:00 PM. Importantly, the advertising indicates that this will be "Soundcheck's farewell show", which is definitely big news!

While also not publically corroborated on Soundcheck's Facebook page (which has not seen new updates since October), drummer Glen Thomas has confirmed their impending finality in recent posts on his personal Facebook page. I have not heard a reason for Soundcheck's planned breakup as of this writing, but remember that the band has slowed down their rate of concerts in the past six months, around the time that they ended their run as the weekly jam night hosts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub (at the time, it was said that singer/guitarist Terry Eaton "needs a breather from them"). Soundcheck have been a staple of the weekend nightclub cover circuit since debuting under the temporary moniker Nameus in 2016, and basically merged with the similar Mourning Wood the following year. Though Terry was their only constant member, Soundcheck became a prominent sight locally at bars, festivals, and charity events alike.

Soundcheck have at least three more gigs left this month (including at The Esquire Club next week), but it will be surprising to not have them around in 2025 if what the curling center and Glen are saying is accurate. Soundcheck are a talented and adaptable group of musicians who can entertaining many audiences, as a full four-piece or as a jam trio, and hopefully we'll hear more from Terry, Cameron, Jim, Glen, and their former members in new projects down the line! Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's apparent farewell show in three weeks!

Finally for this news post, let's head downtown to Reggie's Place, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end 2024 by headlining their New Year's party on Tuesday the 31st! While not listed on their website's concert calendar, the band and venue have both confirmed the booking publically on Facebook. Of course, Bone Yard will be rocking Reggie's first with a one-nighter on Friday (preview forthcoming), and have steady bookings over the next three weekends, but a good old fashioned New Year's party will be of note for many, so if you wanna ring in 2025 with Greg, Alex, and Warren's hard rocking southern and classic rock covers (and perhaps their two originals), head to Reggie's in three weeks! No word on potential frills for New Year's Eve, but this 19+ event at 9:30 PM has no cover charge or tickets, so if you want a much cheaper night to party with, keep that in mind, and see above for more details!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

The 2024 Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands Review!!

Here's a rarity for the SMS that I hope won't be so rare in the future: A review of a concert in Sault Michigan! On Thursday, Lake Superior State University hosted their second annual community battle of the bands at the on-campus Arts Center, and after missing last year's (I was seriously planning on hopping the border for it before getting a cold), I saw a golden opportunity to bear witness to my first local battle since the pandemic began! Just nice to see one take place in the E.U.P., there haven't been many compared to Sault Ontario. For readers unfamiliar, the Arts Center is LSSU's theater/auditorium at the far left of campus, roughly opposite their bookstore, and it remains as nicely laid out and professional as it was when I was a student there over a decade ago! Tickets were at a proper booth with concessions, and while the start was delayed a bit, there was a decent turnout in the auditorium for the battle on Thursday night!

By no means was it sold out, but I'd estimate 100-200 people were in attendance, and they were very vocal and loud for all acts! The MC of the battle was Arts Center director and LSSU assistant theater professor Noah Luce, while the four judges included two deans at the university (Mindy McCready and Steven Johnson), Arts Center business manager Melissa St. John, and Jillian Roush, who I believe was a current student representative. In terms of the judging criteria, this battle was handled very differently than others I've seen, as each judge individually handled one metric rather than judging each band on all points. One judge scored solely on originality, stage presence, and preparation each, while Jillian handled the audience vote. To that end, Noah encouraged attendees to cheer as loud as they could for each act after their sets for judging purposes. Acts competing on Thursday had a 15 minute set like last year, meaning that they got to play three or four songs each

Unfortunately, there was a late band withdrawal, as Traverse City hard rock band Sonic Dayze did not perform on Thursday for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing too serious happened, it would have been neat to see them in action! The stage setup for the bands was quite cavernous with lots of room to roam if need be, while the three solo musicians performed with a curtain behind them, and regardless, a projection screen displayed the band's name or logo above or behind them. The first act on Thursday was new local rock band Small Town Society, who united vocalist Holly Sibbald, ex-Double Jack guitarist Melvin Willis, (stand-up!) bassist Chris Bennett, drummer Daniel Jackson, and in a surprise not indicated in advance, veteran local guitarist "Blind" Bob Quinn Musically, the Small Town Society covered three songs, including Radiohead's "Creep" and Hozier's "Too Sweet".

Nothing too heavy, but they were a talented band with some solid professionalism for night #1 together, and Holly sure traveled the stage on most of their set! It was neat seeing Chris break out a big stand-up bass too (shades of The Rising Tide there), and they seemed to get a solid response, but it'll be interesting to see where things go for a longer show! Second was the night's first solo act, namely Kaleb Shannon, a local pop rock singer/guitarist who played four songs, including "Acceptance" and three that he mostly described the origins of, but didn't directly name. Kaleb had a natural ease about him and a good rapport with the audience that masked some of the hiccups between his songs! He has a good voice and writes some direct and honest, but upbeat, lyrics, and he has a bright future! Third up on Thursday was solo performer #2, namely veteran local folk singer/guitarist Kevin Blakeney, who returned from last year's battle for a four song set of his own.

Kevin played songs named "Thank God For The TV", an instrumental that I think he called "Angry Man", and a short song he wrote for his granddaughter named "Butterfly". Kevin's matter-of-fact folk rock was well performed and had a strong grit to it, with his vocals reminding me of a cross between Tom Waits and Mark Knopfler (which is certainly not a bad thing). It's tough to assess solo musicians against bands at a judged battle setting, but he left a distinct impression! Local metal/hard rock band Tarnished were next, though not as fans have seen them live this fall. Rather than have Chris Leask & Ron Suchey back as the rhythm section, Alex & Josh called in Destini Smith & Molly Escherich (more on her in a bit) to fill in for the night. Kudos for supporting young local talent! Tarnished and crew played a three song set, including covers of Cameo's "Word Up" (yes) and Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight"

Notably, frontman Alex Traynor did not play guitar at all, instead singing in his finest fuzzy white coat. Gotta be honest, I wanted to see him shredding along with Josh Fair (exclusively called Josh Tyler here) on Thursday, but his vocals suited the songs well with good energy! Destini's bass wasn't working on their opening song, but she and Molly acquitted themselves well, and Tarnished got fans going well with good audience involvement and some solid rock throughout! After a brief intermission, the battle resumed with the band advertised as Unsure, but it seems that they were unsure about that moniker, and instead performed as "The Undecideds". So, who are they? Well, if you were wondering why 2023 battle winners The Sole Aggressors didn't come back, this band may explain why! As far as I'm aware, Sole Aggressors frontman Calvin Swedene and drummer Isaac Brindley were in The Undecideds.

They were joined by a keyboardist named Frank, as well as Calvin's dad (I think) Jason Swedene on bass. Jason happens to be an arts, letters, and social sciences professor at LSSU, for the record. Unlike the Sole Aggressors, The Undecideds played a reserved indie/alternative sound, but were the only band on Thursday to play an all-original set, with their four songs including ones named "In Heaven" and (I think) "Strawberry Pond", with Frank singing lead on their closer. I do prefer what I've heard of the Sole Aggressors, but the songs here had merit for indie rock fans! I would heavily encourage the guys to work on their stage presences though, as they were very stiff, and their set ended very abruptly without a thank you to the fans. Promising musicians in this group though, and the crowd response was good! The penultimate performer on Thursday was former Tarnished bassist Parker Talentino.

He played three originals (including "Already Been Said" & "Barter") as well as a cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)". Despite a brief technical glitch at the start when there was no microphone for him to use (Noah lent his for the set), Parker performed well with his own brand of alternative rock originals, showing off a good melodic singing voice and a relatability with his lyrics! Definitely a far cry from what he played with Tarnished at this event last year (the 2023 battle was his debut with them), but a strong effort and it came off naturally! Last but not least were Molly & The Other Guys, a one-off(?) live band to support last year's runner-up artist, Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich. She was joined here by former Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber, founding/current Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor on bass, and Exit 808 drummer Jackie Moon.

I'm not one to make a big deal about musician ages, but Molly is twelve years old, and even if you put aside the ample cheering section that came out to support her and The Other Guys (they even brought signs and t-shirts!), her talents were on full display both here and when she drummed with Tarnished! The crew covered Hole's "Celebrity Skin" and Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life" during their three song set, and while the intro to the latter song felt kind of off, everyone performed well, and it was nice to see Nathan shredding with good enthusiasm on stage again! Molly got a strong backing band here, and while her voice did get a bit strained late, she has a very bright future, and again, she's twelve! While judges deliberated and tallied the scores, Noah promoted upcoming Arts Center events, and the prizes were unchanged from last year ($150 for first place, $50 for second, both as gift cards).

The winners of the 2024 Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands are... Molly & The Other Guys, and given the rock attack and fan response, I'm not too shocked by that! It's a solid jump for Molly after finishing second as a mostly solo act last year (fan-only voting acknowledged), and hopefully she rides this momentum well as she develops as a musician! Tarnished claimed second place after missing the podium outright last year, so kudos to Alex and Molly for sweeping both prizes! Like last year, third place was not announced. Everything ended around 10:00 PM, so it was a nice early evening for this all-ages event, and things seemed to go well for all involved! As a relative outsider to Sault Michigan concerts (I really must continue fixing that), there was a lot of strong talent on display from the bands, Kaleb, Kevin, and Parker, and I do hope that the university brings this back next fall!

You can check out our photos from the battle at this link or via our Facebook page, and yes, I did get a video of each band, namely everyone's first song! Given the short sets, that was the easiest way to ensure everyone was filmed, so apologies to Tarnished for filming the one song where Destini's bass wasn't working! If it helps, it wasn't obvious in the moment. In order, here's The Small Town Society covering The Black Keys' "Wild Child", Kaleb Shannon playing an un-introduced original song, Kevin Blakeney playing "Gone Are The Days", Tarnished covering AC/DC's "Highway To Hell", The Undecideds playing an original song that may be named "Sad People Are Beautiful Things", Parker Talentino playing "When I Fall", and Molly & The Other Guys covering Flyleaf's "Fully Alive"!

I hope you guys liked this extended battle of the bands review, and for Sault Ontario readers, don't bypass the bands and musicians in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Its a smaller area, but there's a lot of talented artists who would benefit from getting hits and fans in Canada, let alone attendance at their shows if you've able to cross the border! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Lake Superior State University Battle Of The Bands II)!!

Apologies for this being so delayed to first make the SMS, but the second annual Lake Superior State University battle of the bands will take place on Thursday, October 17th! Around eleven months after the Sault Michigan university's Arts Centre hosted six acts at their inaugural community battle of the bands, things are even bigger for next week's encore edition, with eight acts hitting the stage for unspecified prizes, so who all is playing this year? Only two of last year's performers are returning under the same names, including classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished and local folk musician Kevin Blakeney, neither of which made the podium last year. Obviously, Tarnished will look different this year (with Chris Leask and Ron Suchey currently playing bass and drums), while Kevin hinted on his personal Facebook page when promoting the 2024 battle that "this year, I'm going to go heavy". We will have to see how that goes!

As you may recall, Tarnished's battle set last year was their first public gig with now-ex bassist Parker Talentino, but he will be back this year with a solo set. Parker's own music leans more to acoustic folk/alternative, so a definite leap from what Tarnished play, but it'll be interesting to see how he goes over, especially as a solo musician in a battle of the bands! Of course, that's not disqualifying for an event like this, as seen last year when young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich was edged out for first place by three fan votes, and she will be back to make another run at the top prize, but not solo! Molly had teased plans to get a band together a few months back, and she confirmed last month that she will be fronting Molly & The Other Guys at the battle, so who are "the other guys"?  Molly was seen jamming with former Tarnished/Double Jack guitarist Nathan Webber and her brother Cayd (on drums) in this "Reel" on her Facebook page.

It seems likely that they'll be her bandmates next week, though no word on a possible bassist. The "Reel" sees them solidly covering Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness", and Molly shows some brutal versatility on that part of the song! I can't embed "Reels" here, but you can watch it above. The other four acts scheduled for the battle of the bands are new to me, one being Kaleb Shannon, a local country/rock singer/songwriter who hasn't posted on his Facebook page since last summer. but has an album ("Light My Darkness") on major streaming services. Kaleb is a talented musician with a very distinct voice, but can he outperform the bands, Parker, and Kevin next week? Of the other three bands, one is named Unsure (possibly The Unsure?), and I can't find anything concrete about them on social media. We'll let you know when we hear something! Also playing is Small Town Society, so who are they?

I can tell you that they're the new rock band from former Stoned Ape Evoluton/Double Jack guitarist Melvin Willis, but tags referencing participation in the battle on Facebook that include him may reflect multiple groups, so I'm not going to jump the gun beyond that. Again, I don't know much on Small Town Society, but we'll keep you posted! The last band is Sonic Dayze, and unlike the other two new bands, they have a Facebook page with lots of content, so I will be talking about them very soon with a proper write-up, as they have a lot more to say that I don't want overshadowed by the battle details. Conspicuous by their absence are defending champions The Sole Aggressors, but I don't know if they declined the chance to compete again or if LSSU has it so winning bands can't come back. Last year's third place band (Double Jack, now known as Exit 808) aren't back either, but only one band remember remains from last year.

I'm unsure on some of the finer details of this year's battle, but last year, the winners were decided by a fan vote, bands had 15 minute sets, and the prizes were $150 for first place and $50 for second. Admission is the same as last year, at $10 for general attendees, $5 for kids 10 and under, and free for current LSSU staff or students with valid ID. It's great to see Lake State trying the battle of the bands again (still waiting on a new Sault Ontario one...), and hopefully any kinks from last year have been ironed out in time for Thursday's encore at their Arts Center! Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more details on Sonic Dayze shortly! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Punk Band, Plus More LSSU Battle Of The Bands Fallout!!

On this (American) Thanksgiving eve, we're heading back to Sault Michigan to continue looking at the fallout of a big concert event last week, tied in with a new addition to our band links, so here's what you should know!

In resuming our coverage of the Lake Superior State University battle of the bands from this past Thursday, let's add the winners to our links and full coverage, namely new local punk quartet The Sole Aggressors! While they were already on Instagram and YouTube, it's their new Facebook page that gets them linked on the SMS, though be advised that it was created as a personal account rather than a proper "page", so you have to add them as a friend or follow them rather than "like" them. Oddly, The Sole Aggressors haven't posted their identities online publically at press time, but thanks to an e-mail from the band over the weekend, I can confirm that their lineup consists of singer Henry Boucher, guitarist Brett Siesel, bassist Calvin Swedene, and drummer Isaac Brindley. None are familiar from prior local bands, though most of them get Google hits from their involvement in Sault Area High School sports competition in recent years.

The Sole Aggressors debuted at Bird's Eye Outfitters in August, with the battle at LSSU's Arts Center being just their second concert, and not every band can say that they won a battle of the bands within two gigs of their inception! Yes, it was fan voted, but even if you read that as a popularity contest, they still already have a good following and/or were impressive enough to sway the audience! While not filmed for Molly Escherich's channel (more from her in a bit), a band representative did film The Sole Aggressors' entire set, and partly thanks to punk lending itself to shorter songs, the guys crammed in seven songs into their allotted 15 minutes on Thursday. The set started with original songs named "Reject" & "Kill Thy Neighbor", followed by a trifecta of Black Flag covers ("Six Pack", "Jealous Again", and "Depression"), and two more originals to cap things off with ("State Of The World" & an instrumental named "Fool").

Adding to their surprise victory at the battle is that Henry was unable to perform at the event for unannounced reasons, so Brett handled vocals in his place (reminds me of when the future Bring The Fallen debuted short-handed at a battle of the bands in Sault Ontario and still won it). We'll share their Bird's Eye concert video (featuring Henry) in an upcoming post, but they did pull of a solid set without him on Thursday, and Calvin's loud, crunchy bass was nice to hear too! Seeing teenagers in the E.U.P. playing hardcore punk this capably is extremely welcomed, let alone with originals already, and hopefully The Sole Aggressors have much more ahead, but give their battle set a watch below!

The Sole Aggressors edged out Molly Escherich by three votes to win the battle, and as we already featured her battle set the last time we covered the event, let's jump to the third place finishers, namely new local hard rock quartet Double Jack, who made their live debut on Thursday. Molly's YouTube channel actually got uploaded two different copies of their set (and much more, stay tuned), including the raw vertically shot copy, but I embedded the longer version that was zoomed/cropped to normal landscape orientation to focus on the stage, which looks much better. The last of the six acts to perform at the battle, Double Jack's set started with covers of Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild", Seether's "Gasoline",  and a medley of portions of Metallica's "Master Of Puppets", The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" (coincidentally covered in full by Tarnished earlier that night), and Green Day's "Brain Stew", all with bassist Isaac Royer on lead vocals.

In a surprise at set's end, Molly walked out on stage and jokingly shoved Isaac away before taking over vocals for covers of Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box" & "Wonderwall" Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy". We'll have more from the Double Jack/Molly collaboration soon, but the band sounded good for their debut live gig, no doubt helped by Isaac & Nathan's existing Tarnished chemistry, and Isaac was up to the challenge vocally, though it'll be interesting to see how big his range is. Molly fit in well on plugged in rock songs, and it was a neat bonus to cap the battle of the bands with, so give Double Jack's complete set a watch below!

Finally, local singer/guitarist and Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Kevin Blakeney also competed on Thursday, and like Molly and the Sole Aggressors, he had his set filmed for his own YouTube channel. With Molly also filming Tarnished and Double Jack, that just leaves Heavy Lies The Crown without a public video from their set (that I presently know of), but stay tuned in case one turns up! Kevin was the only performer on Thursday who did not play metal or punk, but seeing as this is a battle of the bands that I was actually planning to attend before catching a cold last week, I'll talk about his set here! Kevin started with original songs named "Gone Are The Days", "Won't You Come With Me", and "Thank God For The TV", before covering Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and (I kid you not) Pinkfong's "Baby Shark". If you like gritty acoustic folk music, you'll take to Kevin's set!

Kevin possesses a distinct, deep & weathered singing voice that will appeal to Tom Waits fans, and while the audio quality on his camera isn't as pristine compared to his battle cohorts, you can tell that he has songwriting talent! Unfortunately, the video was mostly uploaded sideways, and between songs, they put the camera down, leading to black screens and shuffling noises, so be advised of technical quirks. Check it out below!

Whether Heavy Lies The Crown's battle set surfaces in video format or not, we're not quite done with LSSU battle fallout on the SMS, so stay tuned for that in the coming days, but for all of our American readers, have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LSSU Battle Of The Bands Results, Plus Videos From Two Acts!!

As you may know, Lake Superior State University held a fan-voted battle of the bands at their on-campus Arts Center on Thursday, marking the first battle of the bands in either of the Twin Saults since before the since the NLFB Meltdown battle in Sault Ontario in 2017. Oddly, LSSU didn't announce the results online after the fact, but we now know who won and how the competitors did, so who won this rare Sault Michigan battle? New local punk quartet The Sole Aggressors, who took home the $150 cash prize after winning the fan ballot! Apparently, they won by just three votes over rising young Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich (who won $50), while the third place band was reportedly new local hard rock quartet Double Jack. The fact that these three acts made the podium and the more established Heavy Lies The Crown, Kevin Blakeney, and Tarnished did not may be seen as an upset, but remember that this was fan voted.

I'm writing this before I see videos from Thursday, so the actual performances should not be discredited, but many would see a fan-voted battle of the bands with no judges as being a popularity contest and not a true measure of each act/set. Still, this is the first local battle of the bands of any kind in over six years, so I'm just glad that one was held, and hopefully more (from LSSU or otherwise) are held in the future! Videos have turned up from half of the competitors on Thursday, not including The Sole Aggressors, H.L.T.C., or Kevin (yet?), and while Kevin didn't knowingly lean to heavier music in the past, we will have more from the two un-filmed bands on the site next week, and congratulations to The Sole Aggressors for their big win! A lot of our post-battle knowledge comes from Molly Escherich, who posted about it a good deal on her Facebook page and also uploaded videos from it to her YouTube channel!

Molly was actually the first performer at the Arts Center on Thursday, and her entire 15 minute set was filmed for her channel, where she covered Eddie Rabbitt's "Driving My Life Away", Pop Evil's "100 In A 55", System of a Down's "Aerials", and Slipknot's "Snuff", before playing an original song named "We Are Still Here". I severely doubt that this will be the last time we talk about Molly on here (check back for our next Sault Michigan/battle post), but she has a good voice and guitar abilities, and has a natural audience rapport, and it is very encouraging to see someone of her age covering songs like these in the E.U.P.! Check out her set below!

Finally for this post (there's more coming next week), let's skip ahead to the fourth band to play at LSSU on Thursday, namely local classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished, in their first gig with new bassist Parker Talentino, who reportedly joined the band a month ago. As it turns out, frontman Alex Traynor is Molly's guitar instructor, which is neat to learn! Molly (or a friend/family member) filmed Tarnished covering Local H's "Bound For The Floor", Van Halen's "Eruption" (naturally leading directly into their cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me"), and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", which didn't quite take them to their 15 minutes allotted on Thursday, but I can't confirm if the filmer missed a short song before "Bound For The Floor" or not. I also can't confirm why they only played covers, perhaps to ease Parker into live gigs and/or maybe as a play to grab maximum audience attention with familiar songs?

Performance-wise, everyone sounded good, and if this battle had judges, Tarnished would definitely have won brownie points for showmanship and Alex's guitar skill, especially on the "Eruption" solo! Parker seemed to fit in well on bass too, if a little stiff during this mini-set. The Achilles heel with this video was that it was shot vertically, and while that wasn't a problem for Molly, it rendered Alex, Parker, and Josh very tiny in the background, not to mention that Molly's set had zoom and Tarnished's didn't. Still a very strong and heavy performance for classic metal fans, so give Tarnished's battle set a watch for yourselves below!

We'll have more from the battle and Sault Michigan bands in general next week, but that's all for today, and stay tuned for more from Sault Ontario acts next week as well! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Hard Rock Band, LSSU Battle Of The Bands Preview, And More!!

Today's post was supposed to meld a couple of disparate topics, but the more I researched the lead story, the more new details I learned about bands playing this event, so we're basically all in on the first post-pandemic battle of the bands in the Twin Saults in this post! Leading off are details on who one of the competing bands is, and lineup updates on another competing at this event, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local hard rock band to add to our links, and they are Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Double Jack! We alluded to them last week when we first covered TOMORROW NIGHT'S first annual community battle of the bands at Lake Superior State University (where Double Jack will make their live debut), but we now know enough about them to add them to our coverage, as given their lineup, it's a safe bet that they'll be up our alley. This is the new band from ex-Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber & bassist Isaac Royer, who both left that band in August, and it's great to see them sticking together in a new project! They're joined here by ex-Stoned Ape Evolution guitarist Melvin Willis (sans mask) as well as drummer Jackie Moon (real name or Semi-Pro reference, I don't know), and while the band hasn't put their names in writing publically on their Facebook page, personal Facebook posts confirm their lineup. I don't know which member(s) is/are on vocals.

Aside from teasers and the reveal of their mascot in their logo (named "Doug of the Dead"), Double Jack are clearly waiting for their live debut to give away anything re: their live set, but you can be first to learn more tomorrow at Lake Superior State University's first ever community battle of the bands at their on-campus Arts Center! Six local acts will take the stage tomorrow to try to win the $150 top prize ($50 for second place, everyone gets t-shirts for competing), and conveniently, Nathan & Isaac's old band Tarnished will also be competing in the debut of their own new lineup! The guys confirmed on their Facebook page on Tuesday that they have added Parker Talentino as their new bassist, though they have yet to confirm a new rhythm guitarist. While new to our coverage, Parker has a solo Facebook page where he has posted original material with him on vocals & acoustic guitar that you can check out across multiple videos.

While this folksier material is a far cry from Tarnished's sound, he is a talented multi-instrumentalist who will add to the band! Also, Parker appears to be the son of veteran local rock musician Terry Talentino (ex-Chump Change). Tarnished have teased original material and more shows ahead, but come down to LSSU's Arts Center tomorrow to see how Parker does in his first set! Also playing tomorrow night is St. Ignace deathcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown in their first ever public concert in Sault Ste. Marie city limits, giving an all-too rare taste of extreme metal from a local band on the American side of the border, so don't miss them either! The other full band playing tomorrow is new local punk quartet The Sole Aggressors, who debuted at Bird's Eye Outfitters in August (video here), but their online presence is more cryptic, with no proper social media pages beyond Instagram and no publically listed lineup.

Talented young group, especially given that they play hardcore punk in Sault Michigan, which is not common for that side of the border, so don't bypass them tomorrow night either! The battle lineup is rounded out by two solo singer/guitarists, namely Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Kevin Blakeney and rising young Dafter solo artist Molly Escherich. Can one person outperform four 3+ member bands? Find out tomorrow, but solo musicians winning battles of the bands is not impossible! Tomorrow's battle is a fan voted event with no judges, and votes will be cast by putting your ballots in marked boxes for each act. Bands will get 15 minute sets to perform, and the festivities begin tomorrow at 7:00 PM. This is absolutely an all ages event, with tickets running for $10 (adults) or $5 (kids), while current Lake Superior State University students with valid student ID will get in free. 

It's great to see a battle of the bands in Sault Ste. Marie again, let alone on the Michigan side, and while I do prefer a judges panel with criteria to a popularity contest, beggars can't be choosers given how rare battles are across the river. Most of these acts are not mainstays of public concerts in Sault Ste. Marie, so it will be very interesting to see how things go (especially the Tarnished civil war), and I do hope that someone is filming the proceedings! Best of luck to all six acts, and to avoid any favouritism given the event's nature, I'll refrain from a preview video, but all but Double Jack have live performance video online. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Theatre Of Night & The LSSU Battle Of The Bands!!)

With The Soo's Got Talent now in the rear view mirror as an event and a post topic, let's dive back into regular news and notes, via LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for Sault Michigan later this month! Both are big in their own distinct way, so here's what you should know in chronological order!

For the first time since the pandemic, a proper battle of the bands will take place in Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, November 16th! Granted, it is in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, but that will be an extra plus for readers in the E.U.P.! The battle is being put on by Lake Superior State University in their Arts Center next Thursday, and after competitor registrations closed on October 17th (apologies for missing that on here), six regional acts will take to the stage, so who all is competing? Two bands familiar from our coverage are, including local metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished, in what that band is teasing as the debut of their new lineup after playing with fill-in musicians over the past two months. Quite a way to throw the new guys into the fire, but hopefully Alex, Josh, and crew leave a good impression! In their first ever public concert set in Sault Ste. Marie, fans can also check out St. Ignace deathcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown here!

It's great to see H.L.T.C. finally playing in the Soo, and hopefully this is the start of even more shows north of the Mackinac Bridge rather than south of it! We will have more on their new single/music video on the SMS soon. Two more bands that are new to me take to the stage next Thursday, including Double Jack, a debuting rock band who I know nothing definite on aside from one of the band members being named John (if their Facebook contact e-mail is anything to go by). I have a hunch on who might be involved, but I'll wait for public confirmation before jumping the gun. The other band is The Sole Aggressors, a new local punk band (a rare sight from Sault Michigan), who actually debuted at Bird's Eye Outfitters in August and filmed the whole set for their YouTube channel! Like with H.L.T.C.'s new song, I'll save that for an upcoming post, but The Sole Aggressors cover stuff that you never hear in Sault Michigan!

The other two performers next Thursday are solo singer/guitarists, namely Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Kevin Blakeney (click here to see him covering Buffalo Springfield live) and Molly Escherich (click here for recent live videos of hers). Solo musicians can be disadvantaged at battles of the bands, but as Jesse Merineau & M.D. Dunn can confirm from Sault Ontario battles, solo acts can win it all, and it helps that the LSSU battle is fan-voted! Yes, the community will decide who wins rather than judges, with ticket stubs being used to pick the winners via ballot boxes. $150 awaits the winner(s) with $50 for second place, and the winning act will also get their name on a plaque to be displayed at the Arts Center. Acts will get 15 minute sets each to perform. Everything takes place next Thursday at 7:00 PM, and admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids, and free for LSSU students with valid student ID.

Battles of the bands in Sault Michigan aren't unheard of (I remember Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor playing in at least one with his old group Banned), but historically, they are rarer in the E.U.P. than in Sault Ontario. This makes this battle all the neater to see, and hopefully it's a big hit to encourage Lake State to make this an annual event with bigger prize money! Visit the above links for more details on the battle, and kudos to Tarnished for sharing the poster featuring the final competitor lineup on their Facebook page! Best of luck to everyone next week!

Finally for today's all-Sault Michigan post, local classical metal band Theatre of Night will return to the local stage for the first time since the pandemic on Saturday, November 25th when they headline at The Soo Theatre! The first concert we've covered there since their well publicized renovations, this show will be Theatre of Night's first in the E.U.P. since rocking The Dreammaker's Theatre in December 2019, though they did play three shows downstate last year. As per their new Facebook page (their old one got hacked) and website, Theatre of Night will also be playing six public concerts downstate between next weekend and Christmas Eve, with the Soo Theatre gig being show #2 of their fifth Christmas tour (none was held in 2020 or 2021). This will be their first local gig with new bassist Luke Bernard, while in a mild surprise, they have enlisted Marquita Bernard as their new lead singer, replacing Rachel Mender for unannounced reasons.

Hopefully nothing bad happened with Rachel, as her vocals definitely added to the band, but Marquita is a capable musician with teaching experience, and fingers crossed things go well! No word on how she's related to Luke, for the record. This all ages event has no opening bands, a 7:00 PM start time, and admission by donation (they suggest $20). This will be a fun way to kick off the Christmas season, and if you're familiar with Theatre of Night's two Christmas albums and past live dates, you'll know that their metallized carols will draw a strong response! See above for more details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!