Hey guys, it's time for our review of last night's opening half of J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party concert, so what should you know? While night #1 was forced to move upstairs to The Rockstar Bar for the first time due to The Algonquin Pub/Spin Nightclub's Halloween dance party, it was confirmed last night that TONIGHT's second half will return downstairs, with Cherry Crush performing a full solo concert for the season in The Rockstar Bar, so keep that in mind! There was a solid turnout with lots of costumes brought out for the occasion, and though I can't confirm who won the Friday night costume contest, there were many worthy candidates! I was one of the guys with a court jester hat, albeit with real bells. However, the lineup took a hit before showtime, as Toronto groove metal headliners Decatur (the former Caym) were unable to make it to the Soo due to inclement weather and road closures up near Marathon. Very disappointing, but hopefully they can make it here again in the future! Due to the late notice, they were not replaced.
Opening up last night's concert was new local Foo Fighters tribute The Soo Fighters, who are of course a side project from three members of tomorrow night's Rockstar Bar headliners Cherry Crush. Playing a set of 8 classic Foos songs from their debut album (like "This Is A Call") to 2000s material like "The Pretender", their jamming and pre-existing chemistry paid off, and fans responded in kind to these familiar hard and alt-rock classics! Frontman Jules Cote even looked a little like Dave Grohl with the long wig he put on for their set! He and Jeremey Salatuk paired well on guitar, while the Amendolas kept the rhythm up nicely, and if there's anything I can complain about, it's only by wishing that some other favourite Foo Fighters songs made the cut, like "Something From Nothing" or "Let It Die". Also, nice touch in having Mentos (well, "Sootos") on hand for "Big Me"! Solid set, and hopefully we see The Soo Fighters out and about again in the near future!
The mid-point of the show belonged to local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, under the guise of "Spinal Remains" for a set of Misfits covers. This seemed like a slam dunk idea given J.D. and Chris Thompson' past work together in Fitswitch and Frightlight (who covered The Misfits often), and we did get familiar songs from the horror punk legends like "Hybrid Moments", "Dig Up Her Bones", and "Last Caress" during the set's first half! However, Spinal Remains soon gave way to a proper Jack Spades half-set, which is honestly just as well, as it was obvious that the guys weren't firing on all cylinders on this set (remember, Jack Spades don't tend to cover The Misfits live.) However, they made up for it with an explosive stretch of their own originals like "Motorwolf" and "To The Left", plus covers already in their back pocket like "All My Friends Are Dead" and "X". The tribute set idea was a great one, if only they'd had more time to prepare and get the songs down!
Also, special props to bassist Puff the Magic Dra... I mean, Rob Speers, who I'd never seen live before with Jack Spades, and he was a solid fit, with melodic backing vocals where needed! As Spinal Remains, they were fun & engaging but still ripe, while Jack Spades was well done as usual!
With Decatur's withdrawal, local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters took the headlining slot for their long anticipated turn as "Mount Doom", where they covered Swedish death metal notables Amon Amarth's 2008 CD "Twilight of the Thunder God" from front to back! Love the band, that album, and it's artwork, so I was on board! Nicely adorned in their best viking outfits (albeit at various states of dress), Mount Doom tackled everything from the title track to their regular cover to "Embrace of the Endless Ocean", and yes, "Guardians of Asgaard", with the most packed crowd of the night responding very well to the viking metal brutality, including some moshing! The guys welcomed Jack Spades guitarist Daniel Horton as a special guest to fill things out, and he definitely played up the theatrics for the duration, while he and Mitch Sirie kept the riffs and solos flowing, and Nik Deubel looked and sounded the part, even utilizing a drinking horn, hopefully with mead!
Brutal and crushing way to end the night, and kudos to The Bear Hunters and Dan for delivering a classic album in full for a local audience! Fun night of Halloween concert action, and if you can help it, don't miss TONIGHT'S second half for System of a Down, Nirvana, Blink-182, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes tributes! You can check out our photos from the show at this link or via our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's The Soo Fighters covering "All My Life", Spinal Remains/Jack Spades playing both "Halloween" and their own "Fear Corps" (one each to reflect both halves of the set), and Mount Doom playing "No Fear For The Setting Sun"!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's CD review on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
The Halloween weekend is coming quick, but unusually, there isn't a lot of hard rock shows going down this weekend for the occasion compared to past years. That said, there's some big shows going on downtown for fans to partake in and get their costumes ready for, so here's what you should know in rough chronological order!
We'll start this weekend's previews with the talented solo artist whom we started with yesterday, as prolific hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will bring his ongoing weekly concert arrangement back to Gliss Steak & Seafood for three more unplugged matinee gigs TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY to end the month with! No public word on if Tym's shows this weekend will have any Halloween themes, but expect more solid and extensive sets of classic and hard rock covers for patrons and fans alike this weekend, so don't miss out on all of the action at the Quality Inn's house restaurant over the next three evenings! Yes, we will acknowledge Tym's likely November gigs at Gliss next week. As usual for his shows at this downtown locale, expect 6:00 PM start times all three evenings, and there are no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, here's the weekend's main event if you want metal or punk entertainment in the Soo for the Halloween weekend, as local promoter J.D. Pearce (in association with the Northern Superior Brewing Company) is hosting his 13th annual Halloween party concert this weekend! Returning to The Algonquin Pub/Spin Nightclub for the fifth time in six years, he's going even bigger for year #13, with two parties planned for TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT each, so what should you know on both? Toronto groove metal band Decatur (formerly known as Caym) will return to our area with new name in tow as headliners, and they should brutalize fans with the aggressive thrashy sound all over again during their Out of the Sewer Tour! No word on if they'll reprise their "MetalliCaym" set from 2015's local Halloween party, but the opening lineup will handle that side of things, including local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades covering The Misfits under the name "Spinal Remains", which will be right up their alley, so they should hit a home run!
Local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters will tackle Amon Amarth (including the entire "Twilight of the Thunder God" album) tomorrow under the name "Mount Doom", with Jack Spades' Daniel Horton filling in for Josh Stephney in a rare set of theirs with a guest guitarist, so prepare for some face melting from them too! The announced openers are new local Foo Fighters tribute band (and Cherry Crush side project) The Soo Fighters, and it will be interesting to hear them in their second live appearance, so don't be late! This show has an $8 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time, so visit the official Facebook event page for details, and here's Decatur live!
As for Saturday night's second half of the Halloween Party, this all-local lineup is more punk-based, and has more of an unpredictable lineup, so who all is on board? The advertised headliners are hard rock quartet Eclipse in a reprise of last year's "SSM of a Down" tribute set, while a (one-off?) Me First and the Gimme Gimmes tribute band named "You First & The Passive Aggressives" will also take the stage prior. A personal Facebook posting indicates that former Caveman Morrison & Winkstinger bassist Ryan Disano will be in their lineup, alongside trumpet player Will Newfeld, but I can't confirm anything else at press time on this band. Former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci will be joined by Long Shot alum Adam Dawe and former Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick(!) to form the Blink-182 tribute band "Enema of the Soo", while a mystery Nirvana tribute band named "Anavrin" (get it?) are the listed openers, though I know even less on this band.
Note that a planned Sublime tribute set by The Elements under the name "SSMtaria" for Saturday night is still listed on the Facebook event page, but is not on the poster, and the band has not publically acknowledged the party that I have seen, so it appears that they dropped out. If they are still on, we'll let you know! Like with tomorrow's half, Saturday's Halloween party action has a 19+ cover charge, 9:00 PM start time, and despite the all-local lineup, a matching $8 cover, though buy yours online or message J.D. at this link for a discounted full-weekend pass while supplies are available. Also, as this is the Halloween weekend, expect nightly costume contests, with J.D. hinting at Northern Superior Brewing Company gift cards being on hand this weekend, presumably as prizes. Fans dating back to the mid-2000s know the quality & entertainment level of J.D.'s annual Halloween parties, and with double the action this weekend, you won't want to miss out, so get your costumes ready for two nights of tribute metal, punk, and hard rock action! Here's Eclipse covering System of a Down live!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!
Today's post is exclusively devoted to events surrounding some big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this fall over the Halloween weekend! These were announced last month, but I waited to cover them here due to lineup & venue ambiguity that, while not entirely cleared up, has been addressed to a point where we can give it full attention! That said, we're leading off with a new band debuting at this event, unusually so given the propensity for renamed existing or one-off acts, so here's what you should know!
We have a new band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and in a rarity for our area, the band in question is a tribute band named The Soo Fighters! Launching via their Facebook page last month, it should be obvious to readers which band they're paying homage to, so if you're interested in hearing a local band cover Dave Grohl and company, keep tabs on this group! A side project from members of local pop rock cover quartet Cherry Crush, their lineup features singer/guitarist Jules Cote, guitarist John Amendola, and his son Jonny on drums, with their ranks filled out by 3 Day Millionaires guitarist Jeremey Salatuk. Cherry Crush videos of more rock-based songs would be ideal for readers to check out to see what The Soo Fighters have in store, as they do have the chops to handle Foo Fighters classics! To my knowledge, they're just the second local tribute band in our band links, joining 2007-2008 high school Kiss tribute Creatures of the Night.
There's no media online yet of The Soo Fighters, but when can you see them live for the (presumed) first time? How does The Algonquin Pub on Friday, October 27th sound? For his lucky 13th year hosting a Halloween party concert in the Soo, Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce is doubling up with not one, but two Halloween parties on the 27th and Saturday the 28th! Returning to The Algonquin Pub for the fifth time in six years with these events, The Soo Fighters will open the Friday show, which will be headlined by Toronto metal band Decatur, who local fans will better know as 2015 Halloween party headliners Caym! They changed their name early last year, but will still bring a ferocious brand of original metal to the local stage for their first Soo gig in 2 years! Other local openers will include Spinal Remains (a Misfits tribute that, if not a renamed Jack Spades, will be fronted by J.D.) and death metal favourites The Bear Hunters playing an all-Amon Amarth set under the name Mount Doom!
As for the lineup on Saturday, October 28th, there's some more ambiguity on the performers, who appear to be all local. Advertised headliners are local hard rock quartet Eclipse reprising their turn as "SSM of a Down" from last year (any guesses which band they're covering again?) A tribute to noted punk cover band Me First & The Gimme Gimmes are also scheduled under the name You First & The Passive Aggressives, which may be a renamed re-booking from last year, when a Gimmes tribute under the name Hey, What About Us?! (with J.D. singing) were quietly removed as headliners without public acknowledgement. If this is indeed take 2, hopefully they deliver a fun set in October! I believe the opening band that night, a Sublime tribute named SSMTaria, are The Elements, also returning from last year when they covered 1990s songs as The Plaid Martens. Remaining bands include a yet-untitled Blink-182 tribute band and the newly confirmed Anavrin (Nirvana in reverse.)
I have absolutely no idea on if these two are separate local bands adopting a temporary name & tribute set for the night, or if they're new/one-off supergroups, but if we get any confirmation, we'll let you know. Sponsored by the Northern Superior Brewing Company (hence Jack Spades' recent "wolves from the north" teasers), expect costume contests and more seasonal fun for these 19+ concerts, which each have 9:00 PM start times. The admission prices for the shows vary depending on your source, so here's what is currently stated. According to the Facebook event page, admission will be $7 at the door each night, but other sources give the daily price as $10. For the advance tickets (which appear to be for admission on both nights only), the event page says $10 in the description and implies $14 in a comment by J.D., yet the online sale page says that the printable advance tickets are $12.50 ($13.93 with service charges), though the description prices them at $15. Hopefully that covers each angle!
Unless otherwise confirmed, I would prepare for $10 nightly fees and $15 for an advance weekend pass just in case. No matter what, this is shaping up to be J.D.'s biggest Halloween party yet in both quality and quantity, so if you're up for some metal and punk rock action to end October with, you know exactly where to be for a scary good time! Stay tuned for updates as they roll in, and check the above links for more on The Halloween Party, The Soo Fighters, and much more! Thanks everyone!
The mid-point of the show belonged to local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, under the guise of "Spinal Remains" for a set of Misfits covers. This seemed like a slam dunk idea given J.D. and Chris Thompson' past work together in Fitswitch and Frightlight (who covered The Misfits often), and we did get familiar songs from the horror punk legends like "Hybrid Moments", "Dig Up Her Bones", and "Last Caress" during the set's first half! However, Spinal Remains soon gave way to a proper Jack Spades half-set, which is honestly just as well, as it was obvious that the guys weren't firing on all cylinders on this set (remember, Jack Spades don't tend to cover The Misfits live.) However, they made up for it with an explosive stretch of their own originals like "Motorwolf" and "To The Left", plus covers already in their back pocket like "All My Friends Are Dead" and "X". The tribute set idea was a great one, if only they'd had more time to prepare and get the songs down!
