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!
Here's a stacked news post for your Friday evening, and it includes early details on a popular local business' new home, lots of video footage from a big recent concert, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a name band in a somewhat unexpected venue in the spring! Here's what you should know!
Platinum-selling Anaheim, California hard rock quintet Buckcherry will make their Sault Ontario debut when they headline at Soo Blaster (not Blasters) on Wednesday, May 13th! Best known for hit songs like "Sorry", "Lit Up", and "Crazy Bitch", this will be Buckcherry's (at least) fourth local concert appearance total, following headlining dates at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in 2011 & 2012, and their outdoor set opening for Pop Evil there in August. Scope-wise, this is a much more intimate concert, but that appears to be by design, given the locales of the other stops on their Eastern Canada tour run that month. I'm not a massive Buckcherry fan, but they've been good to the area in the past decade, and they should have no problem getting a strong crowd to Soo Blaster in three months with their party hard rock hits! At least one opening band is to be announced, and Ottawa promoters The Diamond Mine Agency are looking for musicians interested in the opportunity, so e-mail thediamondmineagency@gmail.com for details.
And yes, I am well aware of the connections to be made to the cancelled Rock The Border Festival in Sault Ontario in June 2017, which would have been headlined by Josh & Stevie's rap rock side project Josh Todd & The Conflict. These are completely different established promoters, and I haven't heard anything worrying from them or their recent tours elsewhere. This 19+ concert has an 8:00 PM start time, and tickets are now on sale at this link for $40 plus service fees, which is comparable to premium seating last year. This should be a huge show for Buckcherry fans to see them up close, so visit the official Facebook event page for continuing details!
Next up, we have lots of videos to get to from the Theory of a Deadman-headlined concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre on Sunday, courtesy of Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel once again! He labelled all of these as taking place at the Kiwanis Theatre (shortening the venue's old sponsored name), but that's no big deal, I still call it the Kiwanis more often than not. Chris shot 10 videos of the British Columbia hard rock/post grunge quartet's set on Sunday, including of their songs "Rx (Medicate)", "Santa Monica", "World Keeps Spinning", "Straight Jacket", "History of Violence", "Nothing Could Come Between Us", "Angel", "Bitch Came Back", "Lowlife", and as embedded below, their set-closer "Bad Girlfriend". It's good for fans that they still play their old hits despite their softer last two albums, but if you like the latter, you're in good hands! Chris was in further away seats than normal for shows he films at, so these videos can be blurry and have over-exposed lighting.
Also, the audio on these tends to be fairly muffled, but they're all very listenable, especially the newer tracks. Old or new sound, I'm not a major fan of Theory (of a Deadman), but fans will enjoy these videos, which cover more than half of their set. Check them out above and below!
While we're on the subject, did you know that this concert had an opening band?! Local advertising never confirmed this, and unless you follow the openers on social media, I can fully understand you guys not knowing! Reminds me of the Ace Frehley's Sault Michigan concert in 2009 in that respect, but I do apologize for letting that slip by! The openers on Sunday and on Theory's ongoing Canadian tour are newer Saskatoon rock trio W3apons, who did play at LopLops last May, a show we didn't cover on here because their available songs then didn't skew towards hard rock. Chris filmed W3apons playing this untitled original (which does have a heavier bite to it), their song "Off The Top Of My Heart", and as embedded below, a surprise cover of Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls on Parade".W3apons have a good sound, sort of an alternative/power pop hybrid that I can see fitting well with modern-day Theory in particular, so give their videos a look above & below as well!
Lastly, I wanted to give some early thoughts on the new Rad Zone location, now that it's been open for the past week! Of course, the local record/video games/skate/etc. store left The Wellington Square Mall last month, preceding their move to the former Foch Cleaners building at 721 Queen Street East. As of my first visit, they hadn't put up proper signage, but the front room currently holds DVDs and VHS tapes, the main second room holds records, CDs, video games, comic books, box sets, and collectibles, and the back third room comprises more records and the relocated Hole In The Wall Bookstore (not sure if that name will be used there still.) So far, everything on the sales floor so far is well laid out, but the new location is a little smaller, and the brick walls of the building may complicate adding new shelves. As of when I was in, cassette tapes and local albums were not on the floor, but I hope they can find efficient space for both, especially the local albums! I spent $30 worth on records and movies, and with a downtown location near more relevant local businesses, I know I'll be in more often!
The new location without mall hours allows The Rad Zone to close later for special events, such as tonight's Vinyl Listening Party hosted by DJ Seith (click here for details), so that's a plus! Of course, congratulations to Monk, Mel, and Evan on getting everything moved and back in business in such quick time, and check out their Facebook page for relevant updates, including recent videos related to the big move, such as this fast-motion preview video of the new store's layout, courtesy of Shaw Spotlight correspondent Christian Lemay. Well done, though have the pause button ready!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
(Updated at 4:07 PM) As promised, here's the second half of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, and again, these all had advance notice! To fill things out, I have added details on some new videos from a prominent local solo artist, but here's what you should know for the remainder of your concert plans over the Valentine's Day weekend!
We'll start in St. Ignace, Michigan, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return for shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino branch! Playing just their third and fourth concerts of 2020 this weekend (following their Soo Kewadin stops last month), these will be Peril's first bookings at the St. Ignace Kewadin since November, and this veteran group should have another solid pair of hard rocking covers in store for Yooper fans tonight and tomorrow! No word on if they'll have any Valentine's Day song selections in their repertoire, but it would make sense for at least tonight. Both of these shows have no announced cover charges and 9:00 PM start times, and as usual, these have age limits of 21 or older. For more details on this weekend's Peril concerts, visit the above links, and for a preview, here they are live!
Next up, we'll head slightly north to The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for that venue's first major touring hard rock concert of the 2020s, albeit in acoustic format, as Mr. Big frontman Eric Martin and Trixter bassist P.J. Farley will hit the stage TOMORROW NIGHT! Hair metal fans will know Eric from his vocals on Mr. Big hits like "To Be With You" & "Just Take My Heart", but this will be a stripped down unplugged concert with him also playing guitar, much like his recent solo shows have been elsewhere. On this night, P.J. Farley will accompany him on bass (might they tackle some Trixter classics?), while Eric's Facebook page reveals that Nashville freelance artist and percussionist Ben Hans will also guest with them on Saturday. This will be a big change of pace from Kewadin's usual hair metal concerts, but Eric, P.J., and Ben have the musical chops to make this a can't miss attraction for genre fans!
Also, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge this Facebook teaser video to hype this concert, courtesy of Fozzy frontman and AEW Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho (yes, that Chris Jericho.) He missed the plural in the venue name, but never mind, it's Y2J! This 8:00 PM and all ages concert has tickets for just $12.50 ($15 for premium closer seats), and you can buy them at 1-800-KEWADIN, this link, and at the in-person box office. This will be a nice appetizer before The Hair Scare Live next weekend, so see above for more details, and here's Eric Martin in concert!
Lastly for this weekend, let's go back to Sault Ontario for a huge concert THIS SUNDAY NIGHT at The Sault Community Theatre Center, as British Columbia hard rock/post-grunge quartet Theory of a Deadman will make their long awaited Sault Ontario return on this night! While we haven't seen Theory on this side of the border since they opened for Seven Mary Three at the Princess way back in 2000 (thanks, Alex!), Sault Michiganders got the privilege thrice between 2012 & 2017 at The Dreammakers Theater, so if you couldn't see them across then, head to the former Kiwanis Theatre at White Pines Collegiate on Sunday! Touring in support of their new album "Say Nothing" (featuring the rock radio hit "History of Violence"), their new stuff continues down their more varied pop rock path compared to their earlier post-grunge/Nickelback lite material, but expect to hear older hits like "Bad Girlfriend", "Santa Monica", and "Lowlife" during the set as well! No opening acts are advertised. Presented by SL Concerts, this all ages event has a 7:30 PM start time.
As for tickets, I believe they are sold out online, but they were going for $52 presale, and you may want to visit the Sault Community Theatre's box office at the Station Mall or call (705) 945-7299 to inquire about any openings, or check the secondary market. I'm not a huge Theory of a Deadman fan, but I admire their diversity as of late and willingness to expand their sound, and I know they have a lot of fans in Sault Ontario who are highly anticipating this concert! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Theory of a Deadman live at Kewadin Casino!
We'll close today with new videos from prolific local folk punk/metal solo musician Chase Wigmore's Facebook page, which has shared four solo acoustic performance clips in the past few days. In these,he tackles existing originals of his, including "Rites of the Wendigo", "Scabies", "Live To Work/Wear & Tear", and as embedded below, "Psychic Driving." These all appear to have been filmed on the same day, and they all capture Chase's intense and irreverent vocal & guitar work very well, with lots of solid musicianship to go around! His fast, ultra-direct playing is especially fun to see. Give these a look above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
Another week, another batch of pre-Friday unplugged hard rock concerts to tackle on the site, so we're again stretching out our weekend concert previews. Tomorrow will feature Scarkazm, Bon Jovi Forever, Soundcheck, and Fluid 5ive in one post, and our last round of Soo's Got Talent coverage in another, while we'll cover Saturday's Femur concert and Arts Against Homelessness on Friday. Busy stretch once again, so keep tabs in the coming days! Along with the mid-week concert previews, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), and a local musician's big album updates, so here's what you should know!
Joining his previously announced shows TOMORROW at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery and FRIDAY & SATURDAY at Gliss Restaurant, prolific local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will also return to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road THIS FRIDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via this Facebook event page yesterday. FRIDAY'S Roadhouse show will be his first of the fall at this popular east end tavern, and he created that event page to elaborate his upcoming Friday night schedule there, with a now-deleted event page only listing dates there in November, February, and March. Well, the shows there this week and in December & January are newly confirmed, so keep those in mind, but again, we'll cover them month by month due to his always prolific scheduling. Meanwhile, his previously announced Gliss run marches on this week as usual, and his seasonal engagement at Thomson Farms continues tomorrow at their on-site Wine Barn as his run there enters it's final month, so keep those previously announced gigs in mind too!
Expect a 5:00 PM start time tomorrow at Thomson Farms, 6:00 PM this weekend at Gliss, and 10:00 PM on FRIDAY at The Roadhouse. None of these shows have an announced cover charge, and expect the Roadhouse show to be 19+. Tym's skilled and fan-friendly blend of covers should go over well at all four of these concerts, so keep all three in mind for east end, downtown, and west end entertainment! Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here, here, and here for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, British Columbia hard rock/post-grunge quartet Theory of a Deadman will return to our area for a headlining concert on February 16th at... The Sault Community Theatre Center?! It's not every day that you hear of a major touring rock band headlining at White Pines Collegiate's on-site theatre (at 1007 Trunk Road), but it is a nice and high-end events centre that you think would see more usage in this regard. Of course, Theory (of a Deadman) are no strangers to our area, following headlining dates at Kewadin Casino in Sault Michigan in 2012, 2015, and 2017, but this will be their first time playing live in Sault Ontario. If you weren't able to hear them play such radio hits as "Santa Monica", 'Bad Girlfriend", and "Rx (Medicate)" across the river, then Canadian fans will have a passport-free chance to see them here in 2020! No word as of yet on an opening band. Presented by SL Concerts, tickets go on sale on Friday at The Sault Community Theatre's box office at the Station Mall or at (705) 945-7299.
I reckon this will be an all ages event, and a 7:30 PM start time is advertised. As for prices, the pre-sale tickets are currently going for a flat $52, but I don't know if that will maintain for general attendees come Friday. I am very curious to see how this show does, especially at a venue like the former Kiwanis Theatre that we don't see used for rock concerts all that often, but Theory have lots of hits and a built-in fanbase! Visit the above links and the official Facebook event page for more details!
Moving back to our previews with mid-week elements, Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished will kickstart a busy week with another acoustic two-man matinee TODAY at the Sault Ste. Marie Farmers Market, before returning for another "every Thursday" gig at Biggby Coffee TOMORROW MORNING! Continuing their Tym-esque run of acoustic matinee shows at otherwise atypical locations, today's Farmers Market set at Ashmun & Portage should provide more solid entertainment for patrons and fans alike, while their morning concert for tips and coffee at the chain coffee-shop should do more of the same for early risers! These shows will serve as the warm-up for their big road trip to Mount Pleasant for a show at the Soaring Eagle Casino there, so best of luck to him, Josh, and Tommy(?) on the road! As for their local gigs, they'll be at the Farmers Market today at 4:00 PM and at Biggby Coffee tomorrow at 10:30 AM. These are FREE & ALL AGES, but mind the locales. See above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Finally, remember how Sault Ontario/Thompson, Manitoba solo artist Mike Haggith had teased a new album named "If Ever Comes The Day" on his Facebook page last month? Well, Mike addressed what was going on in this Facebook video from September 23rd (apologies for the delay), confirming that his upcoming studio album "Bridges" has been completely recorded for over a year and is still planned for release, but it has "been sitting on the mixing board for quite a while", and Mike admitted that this is "kind of out of my hands." However, Mike has been busy writing new material as of late towards "If Ever Comes The Day", which he indicated would be released before "Bridges" due to it's quick recording pace, though acknowledged craziness in his personal life could be a factor too. Mike also addressed his planned live album "Carnival" (from this year's Nickel Days festival in Thompson), saying that he plans to mothball it for now as well.
In that case, it's due to that concert containing new songs from the new CD that aren't fully representative of their final copies, preferring to release the studio versions first/only, though he hopes to at least share a couple of standalone songs. No word on the "A Place Of Our Own" remaster, but it's great to hear honest updates, even if some of the reasoning (re: the "Bridges" delay) is a little vague unless you know Mike personally. We'll have more to share soon regarding "If Ever Comes The Day", but give his full announcement video a look below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next, followed by more concert previews! Thanks everyone!
Here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again spotlight YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and punk artists and concerts, in order to showcase them for current readers and encourage them to watch and subscribe along with them! This month's first randomly chosen channel only had a single video, so we randomly picked one more to fill things out, and as luck would have it, both were Sault Michigan concert filmers at some major recent hard rock events. Without any further adieu, here's what you should know on both!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jolene Barens (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNrEyqU1RvChv1W3TGamiXQ)
Owner:Sault Michigan-area resident Jolene Barens
Channel Timeline:Launched on April 24th, 2017; Only video posted on December 31st of that year
Channel Summary:Jolene's only upload is of British Columbia hard rock/post grunge quartet Theory of a Deadman playing their hit single 'Bad Girlfriend" during their headlining concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on December 30th, 2017, though despite the video's name, there's no sign of openers Infathom. The 2 minute clip also includes frontman Tyler Connolly mentioning to the crowd that Theory intend to return to the Soo "next year", but nothing firm has been publically stated to that end. While the vertical camera angle & overexposed lighting don't add any favours, Jolene got solid audio on this rock radio favourite! However, note that Jolene hasn't visibly used this channel in 2018. Visit this link for more videos from this concert, among other YouTube channels.
Channel Timeline:Launched on May 27th, 2009; Videos posted from the following day through September 10th, 2013
Channel Summary:Initially a personal use channel featuring two 2009 videos about his Ion XE paintball gun and one with Halo 3 gameplay tips, Dan resumed use of his channel in 2013 for concert video postings, courtesy of seven videos from that year's Shinedown and Pop Evil concerts in Sault Ste. Marie. Dan's last video is of In This Moment playing at the Allegan County Fair in the Lower Peninsula that September
Why You Should Watch:Dan's channel is worth a watch for fans of recent Kewadin Casino hard rock shows from Allstar Promotions, with him getting a solid angle of both bands at these well received concerts! As for his non-local concert videos, the paintball gun videos should be interesting uploads for fans, the Halo video has a good response from gamers, and the In This Moment video isn't bad either, despite it's vertical orientation. Note however that Dan hasn't visibly used this channel in five years.
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out
Shinedown - Simple Man: Dan's first two concert videos were from Jacksonville hard rock quartet Shinedown's headlining concert at The Dreammaker's Theater in July 2013, as he filmed their original song "I'll Follow You" and, as featured here, their acclaimed cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", as preceded by a number of teased separate covers. While the audio quality is good for these softer performances, Dan never zooms the camera, which is a shame given the speaker's placement, and he did apologize for the shaky quality. Solid view otherwise from this well received concert, and there are more Shinedown videos from their local stop on other channels if you want more footage!
Pop Evil - 100 in a 55: Dan's other Sault Kewadin concert videos come from the Pop Evil-headlined concert that August, which served as a benefit for local teen Jessica Jorgensen during her battle with leukemia. His five videos include the Muskegon hard rock quartet playing their songs "Hero", "Boss's Daughter", "Monster You Made", "Last Man Standing", and as embedded below, "100 in a 55", which is the most viewed concert video on Dan's channel. Filmed from a similar sharp angle as his Shinedown clips (but closer), the stability effect added in post can be distracting, but the audio tends to be reliable, especially on heavier tracks, and fans will be right at home with these clips! Yes, other attendees did post videos from this show on YouTube.
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series is slated to return on or around September 26th, and like this month, we will be spotlighting multiple channels again, as our first randomly selected channel only has 4 videos, all from the same concert, so we randomly chose one more to fill it out. As such, we will be looking at the channels of users tokenfinn (featuring videos from 2007's outdoor Kiss concert in Sault Michigan) and veteran local guitarist Tony Marcello (featuring hard rock covers by his old bands The Killer Hooks & Midpoint.) Give that a look next month, and stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review this week! Thanks everyone!
Our first news post of 2018 has quickly turned into a video showcase post from the Theory of a Deadman concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino from Saturday night, and with more videos yet to come from this concert, let's get this rolling before we fall behind! As you may recall, Saturday's return of the British Columbia hard rock/post grunge quartet was a legitimate sell-out event, and there are lots of videos to share from it, including more from Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, as he filmed 13 videos from the show, all but 2 from the headliners' set! Chris filmed them playing "Lowlife", "Straight Jacket", "Hurricane", a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (only featuring frontman Tyler Connolly), "Bitch Came Back", "Echoes", "Angel", "Hate My Life", "Rx (Medicate)", their set-closer "Bad Girlfriend", and as embedded below, an extended version of their early ballad "Santa Monica".
While I'm not a massive fan of Theory (of a Deadman), they're on point from their last shows here and sound faithful to the original albums for the most part, which fans should appreciate for their usual post-grunge sound and/or their softer, more reserved new material, and Tyler is good and engaging with the fans! Chris has a good, relatively central angle of the band, and while attendee heads can get in the way, this is far from the worst example of that. Give Chris' videos a look above and below, and stay tuned for more from his channel at post's end!
Next up, here's a video of Theory playing "Bad Girlfriend" to end their set on Saturday night! Courtesy of YouTube user Jolene Barens' new channel, this video notably features an acknowledgement pre-song from Tyler that they intend to return to Sault Ste. Marie "next year". Does that mean 2018, as the show was just prior to New Year's, or 2019? Time will tell, but given this show's success, it doesn't surprise me that they want to come back! Unfortunately filmed on a vertical angle, the lighting is overexposed from this angle, but the audio's decent, and she did catch the intro that didn't make Chris' copy of the song, so give it a look below also! (Note that this clip does not feature any footage of Infathom's opening set, despite what the title may imply.
Lastly for currently known Theory of a Deadman videos, here's one from local rock radio station Rock 101's Facebook page, as posted on Saturday night! A few of The Sault's Rock Station's on-air personalities were in attendance for this show, and one of them filmed the guys playing their current hit "Rx (Medicate)" during their encore. Another vertical cell phone camera video (this time from beside the stage), this captures this song well, and while it's not many established fans' cup of tea, at least it's original and an attempt to expand their range, which I can appreciate! Check it out below, and hopefully 101.3 FM films more footage at upcoming concerts!
We'll close today's post by featuring a pair of videos from Munising hard rock quartet Infathom's opening set on Sunday, and while there are multiple videos online of theirs from this past weekend, we'll only touch on the aforementioned Chris Paci's footage today to come full circle in this post! Chris filmed them playing their original "Live Tonight" (with bassist Keegan Nebel on lead vocals) and, as embedded below, a cover of Guns N' Roses "Civil War" with Dillion singing lead. The former is an energetic hard rocker that Keegan acclimated well to vocally, while the latter cover is a solid rendition, especially on the softer verses, though Dillion doesn't try to hit Axl's heights on the choruses. Infathom don't get out east nearly enough, so hopefully this show helped get them lots of new fans in the Soo area! Give them a look above and below, and stay tuned for more from Infathom's set soon!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Here's another new post for your Thursday morning, and while we're mostly tackling this weekend's final slate of hard rock concert previews for 2017, we also have a new album release and a new video upload to round things out! Note that we are holding our preview of Soundcheck's New Year's Eve concert at The Esquire Club for our next news post due to it's Sunday night placement, so we can cover it closer to showtime. Now, here's what you should know for this weekend's concerts before the 31st!
We'll start with the final regular weekly concerts of 2017 for former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison, who will return to Gliss Steak & Seafood for another matinee trifecta TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! A continually reliable sight over a fairly quiet weekend to end the year (at least for hard rock shows in the area), Tym's skilled and well-tested brand of acoustic hard rock covers should provide another entertaining weekend of music over the next few evenings! Note that there isn't a Facebook event page for these shows as of this writing, but the shows are advertised on SooToday's event calendar. Also, while Gliss is holding a New Year's party again on Sunday night, the musical performer for that will be The Paul Dellavedova Band for a third straight year, so keep that in mind if you want to end 2017 with the blues! As for Tym's threepeat of unplugged shows from tonight through Saturday, expect 6:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and no age limit. See above for details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, let's head to the E.U.P. for the final major original hard rock show in the area for 2017, as British Columbia hard rock/post-grunge quartet Theory of a Deadman will return to The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Previously seen at this venue with headlining dates in 2012 & 2015, this platinum selling band (alternately known just as Theory in recent materials) are touring in support of their softer new album "Wake Up Call", and with familiar songs like "Lowlife", "Santa Monica", and "Rx (Medicate)", there should be something for fans across their run on Saturday! The openers will be Munising hard rock quartet Infathom (featuring former Soo resident Dillion Semasky on vocals), in their first concert appearance in the E.U.P. since playing in Brimley last March. Huge opportunity for Infathom, and hopefully they make a big impression on the big stage in a couple of nights' time! This show is presented once again by Allstar Promotions, so kudos for getting them back here!
Tickets for this show were $34.50, but the show is advertised as being sold out, so I'd recommend calling 1-800-KEWADIN in case anything opens up in the next few days. The concert proper starts at 7:00 PM on Saturday, and there are no announced age limits. While I'm admittedly not a huge Theory (of a Deadman) fan, I appreciate them taking a risk with a more original sound on this new album, and hopefully it's as big of a hit as the sold-out tickets imply! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Theory live earlier this year!
Also today, here's a surprise new album release, as Dafter hard rock singer/guitarist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton quietly released his 23rd solo album "Assassins" on December 11th! His first solo album since August's "The Dogs Are Watching" (which curiously still isn't on his Bandcamp page), this album is his tenth to primarily function as a score for use in movies, TV, or video games, so fans hoping for a true follow-up to his last traditional album "In Your Face" will have to look to 2018 for the next one, maybe. Ken describes the album as being about the title characters being sent to kill a girl who knows too much about them, and whose father is also a former colleague of theirs, which contrasts the album's peculiar subtitle on Sweetkenny's website ("A Comedy Album"?!) You can buy "Assassins" digitally for $7 on Bandcamp, among other sources for varying prices seen at the above links. I'll hold comments on the album towards a potential album review, but fans of his scores will want to give "Assassins" a listen at the above links!
In terms of a SweetKenny album review... if you're wondering why we didn't review "The Dogs Are Watching" in November given the end of our 6 month anti-bias buffer (post-"Epic"), it's because I honestly forgot about it. To make up for that, I will review a SweetKenny album on the site to start 2017, and I am going to stick with "The Dogs Are Watching", due to it's still recent release, and it being slightly heavier than both "Assassins' & his next album "Escape of the Desert Rat", which can be streamed on his website in advance of it's January 10th release. Stay tuned for more on that album next month, plus our next SweetKenny CD review!
Finally for today, here's a new video from Sault Ontario hard rock solo artist Mike McCleary's YouTube channel, as uploaded last week! A nicely edited music video for his song "Be The One", this features lots of interesting visuals that allude to the lyrics (displayed on screen), this has a gritty yet upbeat sound that showcases his musical diversity well, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Mike's solo project!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of last night's Guy Thiffault memorial concert on the site next! Thanks everyone!
As promised, here's an all-Sault Michigan post for your Tuesday afternoon reading, and within this post, we have some new video postings from the last while, and leading off, some big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for in a couple of months. Here's what you should know!
Local classical metal project Theatre of Night have announced the first dates for their Christmas tour, and they will indeed hit Sault Ste. Marie for one show, as they'll make a rare local concert appearance on Saturday, December 16th at The Soo Theatre at 534 Ashmun Street! This was confirmed via a Reverbnation event posting shared on their Facebook page, while the tour will first hit Midlothian, Illinois (outside of Chicago) for two dates the previous weekend, so click here for details on those surprise out-of-state concerts. As per the Reverbnation listing, the Soo Theatre stop will be an ALL AGES licensed event, with a 7:00 PM start time, a $10 admission fee for adults, and a $5 for children, while half of all proceeds will go to the venue's Raise the Roof campaign to fund theatre renovations. Four and a half years since their last public concert, it's awesome to see Craig and Steve bring Theatre of Night back to a local stage, complete with a full backing band this time around!
We'll let you know more about the Christmas tour when it comes in, but with "Christmas Night" selections and new carols, this will be a seasonally heavy time in two months! Before we move on, a new preview video was shared from keyboardist Craig Harrison's personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook page two weeks ago, which just features a slideshow of recording computer photos with Snapchat-esque captions, and brief video footage of Craig playing "Silent Night" and some rehearsal jamming. Not a whole not new here, and despite what the video still implies, Craig doesn't speak to the camera, but it's another nice preview, so check it out below!
Next up, here's almost certainly the final major hard rock concert of 2017 in the area, as British Columbia hard rock/post-grunge quartet Theory of a Deadman will return to The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Saturday, December 30th! As first announced on Scott & Brian in the Morning on Rock 101 on Monday, this will be the third local stop from these radio regulars at the Soo Kewadin, having previously headlined there in 2012 and 2015, and will see the band touring in support of their upcoming album "Wake Up Call". With hit songs like "Bad Girlfriend", "Lowlife", and their newest "Rx (Medicate)" in their repertoire, they should get another strong reaction from fans at year's end, even if some dislike the new album's softer sound, so keep this one in mind over the holidays! At press time, a potential opening band hasn't been announced, we'll let you know if one is confirmed.
Promoted by Allstar Promotions once again, this all ages concert at 7:00 PM will see tickets go on sale on Thursday (source here), and while I saw a reference online to $34.50 ticket prices, I can't 100% confirm that with a link at the moment, so check back at appropriate sources for final word. In any event, tickets will be available at this link, 1-800-KEWADIN, and at the in-person box office. Stay tuned for more updates on Theory of a Deadman's year-end show here as they roll in!
While we're on the subject of upcoming Dreammaker's Theater concerts from local favourites, Bret Michaels himself recorded a teaser video for his upcoming concert at the Soo Kewadin on November 25th! Posted by Kewadin's Facebook page to this show's event page two weeks ago, the 22 second video features the Poison frontman hyping up the Thanksgiving weekend concert, which will feature "three generations of us, celebrating and partying over the holidays". Short but sweet, and nice coverage for his sixth regional concert, so check it out below, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!
Finally for today, here's the newest video postings to local music/record store Crooked Music's Facebook page from last week! One video just showcases guitars on sale on the wall for their Friday the 13th sale (13% off!), but the other features co-owner/Half Stupid alum Zac Crook testing out a new Stratocaster guitar with custom parts, even explaining it's setup to the viewer. Informative overall, while Zac also showcases some bluesy guitar work for good measure to bookend things, so give it a look below, and stop by Crooked Music on Ashmun Street for your musical needs!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes tomorrow on the Sault Metal Scene! Thanks everyone!
After an admittedly slow weekend, we're back with what should be an active week on the SMS, starting with this all-video post! One video is from this side of the border, but we'll start with a trifecta of videos from YouTube user Dwayne Lehn's channel, all belated uploads from early-2010s concerts at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino. You may recall Dwayne from filming a pair of videos from Shinedown's concert at Kewadin in 2013, but for one reason or another, these three videos didn't make it online until yesterday. Better late than never, so kudos to Dwayne for finally putting these up! First is a video of British Columbia hard rock/post-grunge quartet Theory of a Deadman playing their song "Lowlife" at the casino in November 2012 (it's definitely not from their 2015 show here), and this might be the best video I've seen from one of their local concerts!
Dwayne was front row center or very close to there, with frontman Tyler Connolly in prime view, and the band handle this hit song of theirs nicely! If you're a fan of Theory of a Deadman, this is well worth your time, whether you were at this concert or not, so give this video a look below!
Next up, Dwayne posted this video of former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach covering his old band's classic "18 & Life" during his headlining show at the Soo Kewadin in January 2013! Unlike the Theory of a Deadman clip, this is filmed side-stage, and while Sebastian and band sound good, the audio has staticy bass. Give this belated but entertaining ballad a look below!
Finally for Dwayne's "new" Dreammaker's Theater video postings, we're going even older with a video of Sacramento hair metal legends Tesla playing their ballad "Love Song" in Sault Michigan in June 2010! While Tesla did play here in 2013 (closer to when Dwayne filmed his other local concert videos), this is absolutely from the 2010 show, their third of four here. Again, this is a side-stage video, which does no favours to the dark mood lighting, but Tesla sound fine here, and Jeff Keith even makes his way to Dwayne's end of the theater for a spell! Check out his Tesla video below, and see more above!
Finally for today, here's a new video of the one-off Bin Hawdon & The Taliband reunion set from last month's Guy Thiffault tribute concert at The Rockstar Bar! Filmed by attendee Amber Sharp with a GoPro camera, this was uploaded to frontman Mikey Hawdon's new YouTube channel (which apparently succeeded his old mykawdon channel) on Friday. A cover of Diesel Boy's "Titty Twister" (that's it's name, don't shoot the messenger), this is a solid video with a nice angle from Mikey's side of the stage, complete with some fans singing along, but the audio is somewhat muffled. Give this new Bin Hawdon & The Taliband video a look below, and hopefully it's not another 8 years for their next concert!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!
After a couple of quiet days (the calm before the Rotaryfest storm?), here's a new news post that largely looks at videos from Friday night's Theory Of A Deadman concert at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, but there's some assorted Sault Ontario notes at the end to round things out! Fittingly, the videos from Friday's show are all from YouTube user Christopher Paci's channel, which was also the source of almost all of the P.O.D. and Anvil videos that we've seen. Chris often has his camera for big Kewadin Casino concerts and select Sault Ontario events, so kudos to him for all of the footage that he's gotten in the last few years! Chris filmed eleven videos of all three bands on Friday, so let's start with the headliners, British Columbia hard rock quartet Theory of a Deadman, who were the subject of 7 of Chris' videos, including their songs "Angel", "Savages", "All Or Nothing", "Santa Monica", "Not Meant To Be", "So Happy", and as embedded below, "Bad Girlfriend".
The videos can be shaky at some angles, and the scratchy audio on heavier songs does return, but the band sounds generally good if you're a T.O.A.D. fan! Frontman Tyler Connolly does seem to be lacking some energy vocally, but see what you think above and below!
Three of Christopher's videos come from the opening set by Missouri hard rock quintet Shaman's Harvest, including their songs "Country As Fuck", "Dangerous", and as embedded below, "Devil's Gift". Nice Southern rock-tinged sound while still remaining heavy, and Nathan Hunt has a perfect voice for their songs, so check out their videos above and below!
The last of Chris' videos is of local hard rock quartet Ten Kings (with guest bassist Chris Hubbard) covering Audioslave's "Show Me How To Live". By far the longest and most substantial video of Ten Kings that we've seen yet, it's not a bad rendition of my favourite Audioslave song, with Brandon Carr taking his vocal range to some points we don't often see! Solidly done, so give their video a look below!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items, all from Sault Ontario, and like usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
Former Chronic Demonic singer Sabrina Strange (credited as Riina Rampage) reemerged in the cover photo of last week's Sault This Week as a busking performer alongside Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda on the boardwalk downtown. Nice to see her back in music, hopefully we hear more soon! Note that she did briefly have a post looking for black metal musicians on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, complete with unlisted videos of her performing, but they've since been deleted for unannounced reasons.
Local goregrind duo Rotopsy have finally posted their entire recent album onto their Bandcamp page! Select songs from the album (whose title may be seen as offensive) were previously posted there, but now you can stream all 16 songs (all but one under 3 minutes) there for free, and buy them at any price you want! Get your grind fix at the above links!
Former Sneaky Pete singer/drummer Mike Oakley shared another rehearsal clip of the defunct classic/hard rock quartet covering The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" onto his personal Soundcloud page last month! It sounds a little off without female backing vocals, but it has the grit and talent that they always showed in their run, so check it out above!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a stacked lineup of weekend concert previews next, with at least three full posts of them to come, including one all about Rotaryfest! Thanks everyone!
Another busy concert weekend is upon us, so let's kick things off with today's first concert preview post for this weekend, mostly touching on shows taking place today or tomorrow, with Saturday-only shows and late notice confirmations to follow! Today, we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and other previews, including another major Kewadin Casino concert, so here's what you should know!
Local hard/acid rock trio Mike Haggth & The Din will fill in for Project 421 in TOMORROW'S concert with glam/power pop trio Caroline Divine at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced on Monday via it's Facebook event page, so we held it for this weekend's previews. Originally, this show was to reunite recent Summer Bash participants Project 421 & Caroline Divine, with the other two bands (Long Shot & Stereo North) fittingly following next week. However, a personal matter involving a member of Project 421 has forced their withdrawal, so Mike & The Din will be replacing them for both TOMORROW'S Rockstar Bar show and Saturday's Out Of The Ruins show at The Rednecks Saloon (which we'll preview on the site tomorrow.) Nice of the guys to fill in on short notice, and while I do know why Project 421 out, I won't go into more detail out of respect to the situation (it's not relating to any band strife though.)
I believe this will be The Din's Rockstar Bar debut, and Caroline Divine have quickly been making waves since their debut, so this should be a solid night of music! No word on who's playing at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, but TOMORROW'S 19+ concert will start at 10:30 PM, and bring $5 or so in the event there's a cover. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Mike & The Din live at The Speak Easy!
Moving to previously announced concerts, local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will keep his recent busy stretch going at both The Harp Bar & Grill and Gliss Steak & Seafood, with his new arrangement at Gliss continuing TONIGHT only, before hitting The Harp TOMORROW only! No word on why Tym's only at Gliss tonight rather than Friday & Saturday also (like he's had in recent weeks), but he's very likely not playing at The Harp on Saturday due to their broadcast of UFC 189, as is usual when The Harp broadcasts a UFC pay per view. In any event, Tym's hard rock covers should play well in his dual weekly concert arrangements, so whether you want some Thursday matinee action during supper time, or Friday night entertainment at a local bar, you have options for this week even with the pared down schedule! Neither show has an announced cover charge (but remember that Gliss is a restaurant), and while that show has a 6:00 PM start time and no announced age limit, tomorrow's Harp show will be a 19+ affair starting at 10:00 PM. Click here & here for more details, and here's Tym live at Mill Square!
In a brief detour to Sault Michigan, the second major Kewadin Casino hard rock concert in a week will go down TOMORROW NIGHT, when British Columbia hard rock quartet Theory of a Deadman return to our area for a headlining concert at The Dreammaker's Theater! Last seen headlining there in 2012, Theory of a Deadman are well known for hits like "Nothing Could Come Between Us" & "Bad Girlfriend", and have sold three platinum albums in Canada alone, so their familiar hard rock & post-grunge originals should get a solid reception tomorrow night! Missouri hard rock quintet Shaman's Harvest will join them tomorrow, and they have some familiar rock radio hits of their own like "Dragonfly" & "Dangeorous", so check out their modern and edgy sound as well if you get a chance! Local support will come via local hard rock quartet Ten Kings in the biggest show of their young run, but they'll feature guest bassist Chris Hubbard (415E) in place of Barney Gravelle due to out of town commitments, giving fans a one night reunion of Chris & his former Nixxon Dixxon bandmate Brandon Carr, so keep that in mind too!
This ALL AGES concert is the third from Allstar Promotions since their local resurgence, but the first in their usual modern rock wheelhouse since 2013. Tickets are still available for $36.50 from the fourth row & back at the in-person box office, this link, or at 1-800-KEWADIN, but note that center section seating is sold out. Click here and see the above links for info on some giveaway contests, and to get more details on the show! Sounds like there will be a great turnout for Theory of a Deadman's second local show, and they have their fair share of hits, so stay tuned for fallout on this show as it comes in, and here's T.O.A.D. live last fall!
We'll close back in Sault Ontario, where Toronto folk/punk trio Stinkbox will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at The Gore Street Cafe! Not unlike our recent Out Of Town Profile subject The Sunk'n City Gypsys, Stinkbox blend a punk attitude and energy with folk and roots rock, complete with unique instruments like a tin canjolele and double bass, and they should find fans in a variety of backgrounds tomorrow night! Support will come via Toronto folk musician Caela Butt, who is a talented artist in her own right, and should get a nice response from folk and alternative fans in attendance! Ye Olde Mold Pickers frontwoman Rihkee Strap will open the show for some local supporting content, and it's nice to see her back in town, so don't be late! Note that a previously advertised solo set from Honest Job frontman Mister Tahti has been removed from the lineup.
This show will have admission in a "pay what you can model", though promoters recommend $5. Everything starts at 7:00 PM, and there's no announced age limits. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Nice marriage of styles for this Gore Street Cafe show, so keep it in mind for TOMORROW if you like folk and/or punk! For a preview, here's Stinbox live in February!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile and more weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
Before we kick off today's post, just an apology for yet another missed Mourning Wood concert, as the local classic/hard rock trio played at Reggie's West last night. The show wasn't plugged on their Facebook page, and frontman Terry Eaton's mention of it on his personal Facebook page came too late for us to post about it here (if they played Friday too, there was no visible mention of it.) Apologies again, we'd have plugged it if there was advance word! Now, today's post features some new video finds, some assorted updates, and first, big updates for an upcoming Sault Michigan show, so here's what you should know!
Local hard rock quartet Ten Kings have reportedly been added as late local openers for THIS FRIDAY'S Theory of a Deadman/Shaman's Harvest concert at The Dreammaker's Theatre at The Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! While promoters Allstar Promotions have yet to confirm their involvement that I've seen, the band revealed that they'd be opening the show on their Facebook page on Thursday. This will be the band's biggest concert stage by far since their debut, but it won't be with their full lineup, as bassist Barney Gravelle will be out of town this coming weekend, and will be forced to miss the show. Unfortunate timing, but Ten Kings have a familiar replacement, as 415E guitarist Chris Hubbard will be filling in for Barney on Friday, which will reunite Chris with his former Nixxon Dixxon bandmate Brandon Carr! If you've missed Nixxon Dixxon in the past 5 years, this will be a nice treat, especially with their own past Dreammaker's Theatre experience!
There are tickets still available for this Friday's show from the third row & back for $36.50, so click here, call 1-800-KEWADIN, or visit the in person box office to get hooked up, and visit Allstar Promotions' Facebook page for details on how to enter to win backstage passes or a guitar from Theory of a Deadman! Stay tuned for our preview of this show later this week!
Next up, here's some info on one of the latest episodes of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper! Remember, Local2's video host doesn't allow external embedding, so I can't embed it below. Posted on June 25th, this episode is from last month's Lopstock II at LopLops Lounge (albeit separate from the previous Id Iota episode), and it is uniquely based around an audio recording of Donna interviewing Lopstock promoter/Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick, as set to still photos of Aldous, Id Iota, and Caroline Divine's sets, plus the poster and venue, with no substantial audio from the actual concert. In the interview, Brendan talks about why he created the event, what Lopstock brings to the table, why they broke the event into two distinct blocks with a break in between, and what he's hoping for future installments. It's a solid & informative listen, and it's well edited, but why only audio? Give the new Tuned episode a look above, and stay tuned for info on the next episode this week!
Also, while we wait for videos from Friday night's P.O.D. concert at the aforementioned Soo Kewadin, here's some videos of Traverse City metal trio Peril live at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! Uploaded to drummer/Bad Side alum Brooks Elliott's YouTube channel in March, these are the first Peril videos that I've seen from one of their Eastern U.P. gigs, and they include covers of Kid Rock's "So Hott", Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend", Winger's "Easy Come Easy Go", and as embedded below, Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" (which Brooks uploaded twice.) Filmed by an uncredited attendee, the videos aren't bad, with Peril generally handling the covers well, but it is somewhat unexpected to hear a band cover both Marilyn Manson AND Loverboy in the same night! The videos are a little shaky, but Peril are on their game, and it's nice to finally see videos from a local concert! Give these Peril videos a look!
Finally for today's post, here's a new video from local hard rock/alternative trio The Pixo Control! A short video uploaded to their Instagram page last week, the video was apparently posted to mark the conclusion of the recording sessions for their debut album, with the video featuring bassist Steve Edwards' resemblance that day to AC/DC's Angus Young, and recording of hand claps for the album to be released. Great to see, so stay tuned for updates, and don't miss The Pixo Control in their Rotaryfest Second Stage debut in a few weeks!
