LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 906), More Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

(Updated at 5:51 PM) One more post before we end the month, and with a matinee show today to preview, let's not dilly dally before it gets too late! Along with remaining hard rock concert previews for this weekend, a new video, and some assorted updates, we're leading off with another SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

Local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on their Facebook page on Saturday, with a Facebook event page only following yesterday. Fresh off of a well received show in Eckerman this past Saturday, TOMORROW'S concert will be Project 906's first show in memory at the 108 West Spruce Street nightclub, which only sporadically hosts heavier bands but did welcome Tarnished (more on them in a bit) earlier this year. Always good to see 906 in Sault Ste. Marie city limits, and hopefully their hard rocking covers find a solid downtown audience TOMORROW! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new live video (well, one of them) of Project 906 at The Strongs Tavern in Eckerman this past Saturday night!

Two videos from the same filmer were actually shared on the band's Facebook page earlier this week (one posted there outright, one shared from guitarist Joe Jenkins' personal Facebook page), and they include a minute of the instrumental jam from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and as embedded below, a full cover of Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer", complete with more of a guitar solo than the original song had. I'm more of a fan of the Ataris cover myself, but 906 put their own spin on this classic rock staple with good energy, and the filmer had a nice and close angle of the band on both videos! Give them a look above & below, and don't miss Project 906 at The Merch TOMORROW!

Next up, let's preview two shows taking place TONIGHT that had lots of advance notice, starting with local hard rock quartet Tarnished's debut at Northern Light Cannabis Co. in nearby Dafter! Concerts at cannabis dispensaries are not common for the SMS to cover, but this isn't completely out of left field, as Tarnished had teased possibly playing there in July. Tonight's show coincides with Northern Light's existing weekly Fire Up Fridaze celebration, including an open consumption lounge, board games, and product discounts, so definitely keep all of that in mind if you are a marijuana user who also happens to like Tarnished's hard rock covers & originals! The first tribally owned cannabis provisioning center in the state, Northern Light Cannabis Co. is located at 2736 West M-28 in Dafter (15 minutes south of the Soo). This is obviously a 21+ event (you must show valid photo ID), and there is no advertised cover charge.

Official advertising gives a 12:00 PM start time, but that reflects Fire Up Fridaze specifically, not Tarnished's set, which the band has confirmed will begin at 4:00 PM (still a matinee though). Note that the Facebook event page credits "Gene Check" as also appearing today to provide information on the cannabis industry in the E.U.P., so crediting him thusly implies that he'll be speaking on stage before/during the band's set. It will be very interesting to hear how things go for Tarnished at a very atypical venue, but a lot is planned with and aside from the music, so see above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, let's jump north to Sault Ontario, where local rap/metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty will hit Soo Blaster TONIGHT as mildly surprising openers for American underground rap icon Tech N9ne! Last seen at Glambition in June, tonight's show will return The A.A. to their old Soo's Got Talent platform with their locally distinct brand of drum-and-bass rap rock, and hopefully they set the tone well! In fact, they're one of many local openers on the final poster that has been circulating on local rap Faebook accounts, more in a second. Of course, Tech N9ne is the featured attraction here, a hip hop legend from songs like "Face Off" & "Like I Ain't" whose hardcore stylings and skilled rhymes should not be bypassed by genre fans tonight! Tech N9ne's fellow Strange Music rapper King Iso and Guelph MC Robbie G will also open this show, and both are ALSO talented artists!

The other advertised local openers include Strangers, MJR League, Conika, Lumberjack Pat, and Bold Noize, and while I don't know some names, look for some fast rising local hip hop to start the evening! A co-presentation of The Diamond Mine Agency, this 19+ show has an 8:00 PM start time, and tickets run from $51-$57 7 on Eventbrite or at the door, with VIP packages also available at this link. This is more of a rap show than a rock one, but The Apocalypse Afterparty will inject a little of that flavour into the proceedings before ceding the stage, and this should be a fun time for anyone into hip hop, especially given Tech N9ne's profile! See above for more details, and here's The A.A. live a couple of years ago!

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:

• Local cybergrind/gorenoise solo project Malignant Neoplasm have revealed that they have a by-demand compilation of their eight (or ten) albums now on sale on a "pay what you can" model, as per their Facebook page on September 16th. No word on future activity otherwise, as they haven't been up to a lot publically since releasing "Hugz" in April of last year, but hopefully Tyler has some more music up his varied sleeves, and contact him if you want the MxNx compilation!
  
• Local/Barrie punk/metal band Spades GT will open for Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz and Hamilton punk band Artificial Dissemination (both of which the former Jack Spades have opened for in the Soo) tomorrow night at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie! Shame this isn't local, it's been too long since The Ripcordz played here. Spades GT have revealed on Facebook that tomorrow's show will be their last of 2022 before apparently hitting the studio, which should be exciting, so stay tuned for updates!
  
• This entirely slipped me by during our Rotaryfest coverage, but local funk/hard rock quintet The Wyld Stallyns & guest saxophonist Josh Norling were photographed by The Sault Star's Brian Kelly for two photos shared online at this link, alongside pictures from fellow Thursday performers Flathead Ford and The Northern Jazz Ensemble. Solid pictures, too bad there weren't more shared of the bands! Give them a look above, and don't miss The Wyld Stallyns at Shooters TONIGHT!
   

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Tym Morrison), Slumshine/Ghostly Hounds Preview, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, yet another concert cancellation to take note of, this time for a short notice gig we hadn't yet covered on the SMS. Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck were supposed to return to the A&W at 659 Great Northern Road tomorrow as part of the planned Cruisin' The Dub charity car show, but it was reportedly cancelled due to tomorrow's poor weather forecast, as per drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page. Truth be told, 9&10 News are currently calling for thunderstorms all day, so clearly this is a "better safe than sorry" approach, especially given how Soundcheck were rained out after an hour the last time they played an A&W car show gig.

Look for Soundcheck back on stage next week, but as for today's post, we have the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews (one being a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), and we'll start there, as local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for a matinee concert TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page earlier today. If you want an indoor respite for some live cover action on TOMORROW, this will do the trick, with this being Tym's first announced show since his apparent 2022 finale at The Mike Case Memorial Stage last week. Should be a solid concert for fans of his unplugged classic and hard rock covers, so don't miss this Sunday matinee despite the late notice! This show has a 3:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's one more LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will make their debut at Northern Light Cannabis Co.(?!) in nearby Dafter on Friday, September 30th! Not every day you hear of a local band playing at a marijuana dispensary, but this is hardly a new proposition for Tarnished, who had previously planned to play there back in July, only for the show to be cancelled without ever being 100% publically finalized. How a live band will go over at Northern Light (Michigan's first tribally-owned provisioning center) is to be determined, but the show coincides with the dispensary's Fire Up Fridaze events, including an open consumption lounge, board games, and product discounts. Located at 2736 West M-28 in Dafter (15 minutes south of the Soo) this 21+ event has no cover charge, and I'm unsure when exactly Tarnished's set begins given the event timeframe of 12:00-8:00 PM.

That seems inflated to match the Fire Up Fridaze timeframe, and Tarnished's solo gigs usually have them blocked for four hours, so I'd expect this to be a 4:00 PM matinee, but we'll let you know if that was an incorrect guess. Given the venue, this show will surely play more towards active marijuana users than people who don't partake, but it'll definitely be a unique locale for Tarnished's hard rocking covers & originals at month's end, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Back to Sault Ontario now for one last weekend concert preview, this time with plenty of advance notice, as local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine will open for British Columbia folk solo project Ghostly Hounds at Dryer Fire's temporary rental venue at 285 Wilson Street TONIGHT! This is effectively a sequel to a September 2017 concert that both acts played at the former Gore Street Cafe, so it is neat to see Brent and Francesca pairing up on a local stage with Nicole promoting once again! Unlike there, Ghostly Hounds are a solo act now, and their darker, highly personal brand of folk rock should fit the Dryer Fire oeuvre well tonight! Slumshine had just returned to the stage for the first time in well over two years at the Sault Ste. Marie Museum during Fringe North, but attendance was highly restricted over pandemic safeguards there, so hopefully Brent's ski mask-clad originals find a solid audience here!

Tonight's all ages concert has a 7:00 PM start time, and admission runs for $15 in advance at this link or $20 at the door (a sharp increase from 2017, where it was a $10 or "pay what you can" affair). Not the heaviest show out there, but Ghostly Hounds honest and affecting originals and Slumshine's unplugged punk stylings should keep Wilson Street rocking tonight, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Slumshine live!

Finally for today, here's the latest from revived local hard rock quartet Half Past! After seven months of public dormancy aside from a couple of picture uploads, they posted the Facebook video embedded below on August 28th, giving us our first new audio of the band's current lineup, here covering Chevelle's "Joyride (Omen)". It's not an overly polished cover, but Jordan Rains handles the vocals well, and new drummer Jamie Labreche fits in throughout! Nice hearing a local band covering Chevelle too, you don't see them tackled a lot. Be advised that a Facebook page surfaced last week for a different band featuring Jamie and bassist Arthur Lacasse named Fade Out, with them joined by singer Drew Borchardt and former Fitswitch guitarist Lee Slater. That band's Facebook page was launched after the Half Past video went online, so I don't know if Fade Out is an entirely separate project or if Art & Jamie left.

In any event, Fade Out played a private event earlier this month where they covered Weezer's "Say It Ain't So", with Jamie using his Half Past (or "Past Half") drumkit for the gig, and the video is up to watch. Not a bad rendition! Again, no word on what Fade Out's existence means for Half Past, let alone if Fade Out lean heavier in their set, but get the early details above, and give Half Past's Chevelle cover a listen below!

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

An Archive Local Hard Album Upload, A New Live-Streamed Concert, And More!!

Here's a new post to check out on this Saturday morning, and it includes some new videos from some familiar faces we haven't seen much of as of late, but leading off, here is a surprise local album discovery that hard rock fans of two decades ago may be very curious about!

The only(?) studio album for early-mid 2000s local hard rock quartet Redefined has finally surfaced in full online! The Oh!No Collective's Alex Moore uploaded his CD copy to his YouTube channel (which also hosts Stiffler's Mom's demo EP) yesterday, so huge thanks to him for posting it and letting me know about it in the first place! Entitled "Risk & Uncertainty", this album was independently released circa 2002, and features their classic lineup, including Parabol singer John Barber, Fort Creek guitarist Matt Sibilo, former Swamped bassist Josh St. Amour, and My Son The Hurricane drummer Danno O'Shea. The first 8 songs were recorded (locally?) at Eater Island Studio, while the last two were done at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga. Curiously, the album's liner notes do not list the 10 songs by their titles, but an archived copy of their old Geocities website features each track's lyrics, so I was able to get these to Alex, and alas, the site back-up didn't have flames or loud noises.

Note that track #3 ("M.T. Bundies") was included on Foggy Notions' 2003's "Foggy Style" compilation album. I now have everything ready for an eventual review of "Risk & Uncertainty" on the SMS, but will it be any time soon? I have no idea, but if members are playing live in some form in the near term, that could be a good sign. Give Redefined's CD a listen below for some early 2000s alternative and Tool-influenced hard rock action!

Next up, remember Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s "Songs & A Six-Pack" live-streamed Facebook concert series from the spring? Well, it's back in a couple of ways! On July 21st, the series abruptly resumed after a two month hiatus via an outdoor set from Ottawa folk musician John Allaire, described as being held on "the Gowans Imperial Pub patio". John's a very talented musician, so if you like folk, give his hour+ set a watch at this link! The other new installment of "Songs & A Six-Pack" took place last night, and is actually a make-up date of sorts, as this one features local acoustic hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns! You may recall their severely abbreviated set in episode #4 of "Songs & A Six-Pack" in April, which ended after just 13 minutes and two songs due to technical difficulties, so it is great to see the brewery and band coming together for a do-over! Unlike last time, guitarist Jesse Cook isn't stuck outside, but drummer Jonas Gasperas is nowhere to be found for unannounced reasons

The set proper starts with this 9 minute video, which mostly features setup and talking with the live viewers, and while they do cover Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" with Rob Speers on lead vocals, the guitars are inaudible. Unlike in April, The Stallyns do launch a new live-stream feed afterwards (as embedded below), where they opted to switch to a cell phone camera. This may seem like a step down from their stationary setup, especially with the vertical camera angle that doesn't show Jesse, but at least the phone can pick up the guitars! This video features The Wyld Stallyns covering The Steve Miller Band's "Jet Airliner", Huey Lewis & The News' "If This Is It", Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive", Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Against The Wind", Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River", The Lonely Island's "Dick In A Box", Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time", Skid Row's "18 & Life", David Bowie's "Let's Dance", and The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter"

Christina Speers sings lead on the Bon Jovi, Timberlake, Skid Row, and Bowie covers, Rob handles Steve Miller and Bob Seger, and they share lead vocals on the rest. Overall, this was a good set with a nice array of tunes to hear, and the Speers and Jesse were clearly having a lot of fun, but there didn't seem to be as many plugs for Northern Superior's beer selection as in other "Songs & A Six-Pack" episodes. Check out the whole live-stream above and below, and hopefully The Wyld Stallyns return to the stage at some point!



Finally for today, have you been wondering about the delayed next installment of local/Thompson, Manitoba solo musician Mike Haggith's #LockdownLive at-home concerts? Well, Mike finally updated everyone to the imminent plans via this Facebook video uploaded yesterday (and embedded below), where he confirmed that the renovations that postponed #LockdownLive XIV last month have concluded, and episode #14 will go live on Friday, August 28th at 7:30 PM! Mike didn't reveal a theme for the episode, but he did tease that it will have new and old songs, plus updates on new studio work. Give the video a watch below for more updates!



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

Northern Superior's Latest Songs & A Six-Pack Concert, Show Cancellations, And More!!

On this 55th straight day of SMS posts, we have new videos to check out from some familiar veteran faces, but let's lead off with some more updates to our concert calendar, albeit negative ones as usual. We'll start in Michigan, where Kewadin Casino announced on their Facebook page yesterday that their branches will all remain closed through the end of the month, with June 1st tentatively slated to be their re-opening date. As such, this wipes out the final May concerts we listed in the E.U.P., namely the May 29th weekend shows from Peril in the Soo and Highway 63 in St. Ignace. In Sault Ontario, nothing that we currently have listed has been visibly cancelled by the bands or promoters on social media, but I am reluctantly delisting the Anti-Queens concert at The Rockstar Bar on May 23rd, as everything around it this month has been called off, and many of The Anti-Queens later concert dates are getting postponed or cancelled elsewhere.

For full disclosure, the local show has not been publically cancelled by the band, promoter, or venue, but the likelihood of this concert and no others in May taking place seems slim-to-none, and there are definitely more cancellations and postponements ahead. If I happen to be wrong, I will redact this, but these are funny times that we're living in right now.

Next up, Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s sixth weekly "Songs & A Six-Pack" live-stream concert took place last night, and this week's host was Bone Yard frontman and (Choose) Maxx Entertainment head Greg Simpson! For the record, last week's show was headlined by country musician Brendan Hodgson, so genre fans will definitely want to check that one out at this link. Simultaneously, Greg's performance is the de facto sequel to his "Songs From The Smoke Room" live-stream last month, with it's planned follow-up on April 8th cancelled on short notice due to his father-in-law being in the hospital, which he acknowledged in last night's video, but thankfully, he is doing better now. Of course, it's great to see Greg back in the smoke room for more covers, albeit with Northern Superior advertising and plugs thrown in! Like last month, this set is more reflective of Greg's past work in classic/hard rock bands.

The 82 minute video starts with his slowed down acoustic cover of Kiss' "Rock & Roll All Nite", before moving to renditions of Kris Kristofferson's "Me & Bobby McGee", Black Label Society's "Spoke In The Wheel", Kid Rock's "All Summer Long", Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", The Tragically Hip's "Fiddler's Green", Cinderella's "Shelter Me", Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up", Ray LaMontagne's "Jolene", The Band's "The Weight", Jamey Johnson's "High Cost of Living", The Barenaked Ladies' "The Old Apartment", Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain", The Five Man Electric Band's "Signs", and Guns N' Roses' "Used To Love Her". If you get deja vu from Greg's live-stream last month, then I cannot blame you whatsoever, as only two songs from that set ("Wheat Kings" & "I Took A Pill In Ibiza") were not reprised last night, and only the last five covers were brand new.

That all said, this is still an entertaining concert set, and Greg injects a lot of these songs with good energy and optimism, complete with more entertaining banter with his wife Kerry, helping out off-camera once again. Hopefully there's more on the horizon from Greg, but give his "Songs & A Six-Pack From The Smoke Room" a watch below!

Finally, here's a newly shared video of Greg's old classic/hard rock cover band That's Chester, albeit before he joined the group! This comes from Rotaryfest's main stage at Clergue Park in July 2006, and was uploaded onto drummer Ric Datson's YouTube channel on Tuesday. This features That's Chester with their original frontman Richard Fullerton (now of the Ottawa-based Led Zeppelin tribute band Mothership), and the video opens with an amusing intro by MC/local radio DJ James Warner-Smith where the guys get introduced as the "next" band in an increasingly silly list of musicians, and we even hear their early stage names too (all have "Chester" in them). Musically speaking, you can see Ritch, Eugene, Gabe, Aubrey, and Ric cover a number of different songs, though these were edited into a clip montage in post-production, so no full songs are presented. Fans will hear Sammy Hagar, The Tragically Hip, and AC/DC songs, among others.

I wish the song fragments were at least longer, and the editing quality gives me the impression that this isn't a brand new video, but it's nice to hear the original That's Chester lineup at their height before Richard left! Everyone sounds good, so fans of theirs would be well served to give this video a watch, and visit Ric's YouTube channel for more archive video uploads of his!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

More New Live-Streamed Concerts & Cover Videos!!

In our 41st straight day of new SMS posts, we're dipping into the video well once again, with new covers and live-streams for your viewing pleasure, so here's what you should know!

The fourth installment of Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s "Songs & A Six-Pack" live-streamed concert series took place last night, and this time, the host musicians were local acoustic hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns! Despite originally planning to play as a Speers-only duo (jokingly named "The Myld Stallyns") due to social distancing, they made due by getting guitarist Jesse Cook and drummer Jonas Gasperas to join in, albeit miced up outside of their home. The verbiage in the video and on their Facebook page ("half the band can still be fun, right?") is about as close to official as I have seen online that Jonas is officially a Stallyn, as their Facebook "About" page still doesn't list him in the band. In fact, their sister band The Elements don't list him yet either, but he's a natural fit to their live repertoire! As for the live-stream proper, this follows the third installment hosted by Jay Case last week, so if you haven't seen it, click here to watch his entertaining set.

The original plan was for this live-stream to be an hour or so long once again, but the video only runs for 13:41 due to technical difficulties, and if it was resumed, the remainder of the set was not posted on the band's Facebook page. We do get to hear The Stallyns cover Pharrell Williams' "Happy" and Prince's "Kiss" though, and plug some Northern Superior beer, albeit with some audio warping on the camera end. Everyone sounds good and enthusiastic while it lasts, and hopefully they get a chance to do an encore when the glitches are worked out! Watch what was filmed below!

Next up, let's head to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock band Tarnished performed two more short-handed live-streamed concerts on their Facebook page on Thursday and yesterday as scheduled! Unfortunately, the audio issues that plagued their first five live-streamed shows are still present, and honestly, even worse than on Tuesday, though your mileage may vary depending on your device or audio setup. For me, Audacity was required again to amplify the recordings so I could even hear Alex talking between songs, alas. Thursday's stream is largely a solo affair while Josh Fair works on the audio behind the scenes, while frontman Alex Traynor plays solo covers, including of Matchbox Twenty's "Push", Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive", REO Speedwagon's "Take It On The Run", Darius Rucker's "Wagon Wheel", Matchbox Twenty's "Unwell", Santana's "Smooth", Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman", REO Speedwagon's "Ride The Storm Out", ...

...and Days Of The New's "Touch, Peel, and Stand", before Josh rejoins Alex on camera for covers of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long", Incubus' "Drive", and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Mary Jane's Last Dance." No original songs here, but a nice variety of covers, and if you like Rob Thomas, this one will suit your mood! Again, the audio quality is a massive liability, at least at my laptop with external speakers. Embedded below is yesterday's live-streamed concert, which features Josh on every song, and has slightly louder audio, but the sound quality still is not comparable to other recent local hard rock live-streams. In order, the guys cover Warrant's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", Alex's own solo song "Send My Soul Away", Ed Sheeran's "Don't", Oasis' "Wonderwall", Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'", Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock and Roll", and Stone Sour's "Through Glass", before playing their original "Shortcut", which will be on their debut EP.

The guys did note beforehand that the EP proper will be named "Down To The Wire", which is also the name of a track heard in one of last week's live-streams. Yesterday's remaining covers include Skid Row's "18 & Life", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary", Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love", Cameo's "Word Up", Everlast's "What It's Like", and Greg Kihn's "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)". With slightly better audio, two originals, and a heavier setlist than on Thursday, this is my favourite of the two live-streams, so fans will want to give it a look below, but see more above, and might more be coming next week?



Finally for today, let's return to Sault Ontario for the latest cover songs by new local acoustic hard rock duo The Isolation Sessions, all via guitarist Arthur Lacasse's YouTube channel earlier this month! Alongside a YouTube copy of their "Plastic Man" cover, the channel includes two renditions of Three Days Grace's "Never Too Late", with one recorded before social distancing and one afterwards with singer Jordan Rains framed picture-in-picture. Despite the unplugged setting, I think they play that one a little too reserved, especially with the chorus not being sung in full voice until later on, but it's still effectively done. Embedded below is their cover of Highly Suspect's "Little One" (recorded before social distancing), which Art seems to adapt to this format in a more natural way, and Jordan's vocals are dialed in extra well here. Promising covers so far, so give these a watch above and below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), Awokest's New Song, And Much More!!

Today's news post (possibly our final of the month) is half devoted to lots of assorted shorter stories as of late, but we also have a new video upload to take note of, and first off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TOMORROW, giving this weekend at least one SMS-fitting concert to cover! Things will be busier in October, I guarantee it. Here's what you should know!

On this unusually quiet concert weekend, we do have one hard rock show to take note of, as local acoustic singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will be playing TOMORROW at the Fall Fest at... Scott Coffee Co.?! Apologies for the short notice, neither Tym nor the venue have publically confirmed his involvement, though he is mentioned in personal Facebook advertising. This special event will be taking place at the coffee shop at Lowe's Plaza at 248 Northern Avenue (beside Golden Dragon), and Scott Coffee Co. will have free samples and seasonal blends ready for patrons, while there will be face painting, a vintage clothing sale, and a used book sale from the Friends of the Library Bookstore at the Centennial Library downtown, so keep those aspects in mind for TOMORROW! Tym is cited as performing at the Fall Fest alongside at least two other solo acts, namely indie standout Jackson Reed and folk/jazz veteran Britta Wölfert (whose personal Facebook page confirmed the lineup.) Solid and diverse array of performers, so look for all three inside (outside?) of Scott Coffee Co. TOMORROW!

A special early start time of 4:00 PM is in effect for TOMORROW'S Fall Fest, and while I can't confirm when Tym's set will be, the event is advertised to end at 9:00 PM. This is n ALL AGES event with no announced cover charge, so if you're up for some seasonal coffee, local vendors, and live music, swing by Scott Coffee Co. TOMORROW, even if you're already shopping or just curious! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live! (FYI, he's not playing at La Terrazza Franzisi in Richards Landing this weekend, that restaurant closed for the season after last weekend.)



Next up, here's a new "EP" from new local grindcore solo project Awokest's YouTube channel, as uploaded there two weeks ago. This appears to be one 10+ minute song rather than a traditional EP, and it has an incredibly long name to match (too long for the video's title!) It'd be easier to just call it "Screams of the Primordial Lord...", which saves 38 words. The music on display here is of the instrumental cyber-noise variety, with heavily processed vocals in the background. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but you can't say it's not original locally, so give Awokest's new song a listen!



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

• New local jazz/hip-hop quartet Bom Kronik have been added as a second opening act at the Faps concert at LopLops Lounge on Wednesday, as per a quiet update to the Facebook event page. Local rap followers may have seen this band open for Naughty By Nature in July, and their lineup is comprised of vocalist Conika (who's still advertised with a solo set) alongside Honest Job's Mister Tahti on keyboard, Strange Coyotes bassist James Watterworth, and ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick. Eclectic and talented lineup, so look for some intriguing tunes from Bom Kronik before The Faps' noise-punk attack, and stay tuned for our preview!
• Hudson Street adult nightclub & occasional concert venue Studio 10 formally changed it's name to The Dime in June, following a two month period of renovations, as per it's Facebook group and radio advertising. The name change goes along with the venue's "new look" and "great vibes", though I believe The Dime was an informal nickname used by some regulars already. SMS readers will best know Studio 10 as the site for a few late-era Havadder concerts, and we'll let you know if live bands return to The Dime!
• If you've noticed a Facebook event page floating around advertising a Jackyl concert at The Machine Shop on December 14th, be advised that the show is not taking place in Sault Ste. Marie. The show is actually taking place in Flint, Michigan (4 hours south of here), where they also have a concert venue named The Machine Shop that long predates ours in that usage. Similar confusion arose regarding Devildriver's show in Flint in November. It'd be great to welcome Jackyl back to Sault Ontario, but alas, not yet!
• Following the brief advertising of J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween party concerts at Soo Blaster, the Queen Street sports bar/arcade have announced their final Halloween events for the same days, via the Facebook event pages linked here and here. Friday's will be a dance party with live DJs, while Saturday's will feature rappers, including familiar names like the aforementioned Conika, Rick-E, and Kodex. I don't know whether these events are due to or the cause of J.D.'s concerts moving to The Algonquin Pub, but keep them in mind if you want some turntable mixes or hip hop for Halloween!
• Sykotyk Rampage have belatedly posted their last 31 studio albums for sale on their Reverbnation page, after originally going online as free streaming copies only. This includes everything from 2011's "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Intellect" to 2016's "Sanctuarium", joining their prior releases and their newest album "Live At The Paris Hilton" in having $9.99 or $10 sale copies. It's great to see the option finally available, so visit the above links to pick up these albums if you are so inclined to buy tons of original crash music! Yes, we could review these on the site down the line.
• Toystock is returning for a seventh annual installment on Sunday, November 25th! As per organizers Choose Maxx's Facebook page, the Christmas Cheer fundraiser concert will return to The Grand Gardens North for it's fourth straight year, with appearances from Santa Claus and Mr. Bon Soo planned alongside kids entertainment, plus another stacked musical lineup. Performers have not been announced yet, but the last 6 Toystocks have proudly featured "10 bands in 10 hours", and I'd be shocked if Bone Yard weren't involved, given that they've only missed one installment. Stay tuned for the lineup reveal when announced!

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