LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & The 16 Musicians Of Christmas) And A Full Concert Video!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this past weekend's concert previews, as Sault Michigan hard rock/classic metal band Tarnished played at The Merchants Bar this past Saturday night. The band only announced the show on their Facebook page at 3:04 PM that day, and true to their usual form, The Merch's Facebook page did not advertise this show in advance whatsoever. I profusely apologize for missing this show in our previews, but hopefully Alex, Parker, and Josh melted those faces as promised on Saturday, and I would have covered the gig on the site had it even had one day's notice!

Now, let's dive into some new videos and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and leading off with the latter, do you recall how LopLops Lounge in Sault Ontario used to host a "12 Musicians of Christmas" event every December from 2005-2018? Well, it's back, and has grown to 16 Musicians of Christmas for its return on Friday, December 29th! This event's past installments didn't immediately strike me as SMS-amenable, owing to LopLops' usual music range leaning to folk/indie artists, but this year's will have some familiar faces for punk fans, as Bookclub/ex-Inner City Surfers bandmates Dustin Jones & Mikey Hawdon are among this year's roster!  Dustin's ex-Rising Tide bandmates Liam Seymour & Chris Johns will also be taking part, as will Treble Charger/Pointless guitarist Bill Priddle, Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling, and ex-Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch. Those seven artists alone is a stacked lineup!

The other nine Musicians of Christmas are Frank Deresti, Al Wood, Lindsay Pugh, Cliff Alloy, Shannon Moan, Juliana Regan, Hannah Lindsay, Andree-Ann Dechesne, and Chris Belsito, and the skill between them is also quite high! If past installments of The 12 Musicians of Christmas are anything to go by, musicians will get a three song mini-set of their very own where they will be backed up by select other performers scheduled for the evening, so expect lots of intriguing collaborations throughout. Despite being scheduled for after Christmas, this should be another fun holiday season attraction, so keep it in mind for later this month! This show has a 7:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and a high ticket price of $50 plus taxes/processing fees (a high entry fee is on par with past installments of this special event). and you can buy yours at this link or presumably at the door. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this special event!

Next up, remember how local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck were slated to play at the Delta Hotel's New Year's Eve party on Sunday, December 31st? Well, that has been cancelled for publically unannounced reasons, but fans need not worry, as they have been re-booked for Reggie's Place's New Year's Eve party instead! No word on other holiday frills for attendees who might want to stop by to ring in 2024, but while this will no doubt be less extravagant than what the Delta had planned, it will also be much cheaper at Reggie's than the Delta's $100 ticket price ($100 cheaper, in fact!), so general attendees who just want to rock out with Soundcheck can do so at Reggie's at month's/year's end! This new concert on the 31st has no cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a presumed 9:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and look for more from Soundcheck soon!

We'll close today with our long overdue look at new Sault Michigan hardcore punk quartet The Sole Aggressors' live debut at Bird's Eye Outfitters on August 12th, as per their YouTube channel! Filmed on a stationary camera in front of the stage, this notably features their full lineup, as singer Henry Boucher was not present for their first place set at last month's LSSU Battle of the Bands. The 46 minute set features The Sole Aggressors opening with covers of Black Flag's "Drinking & Driving", "Jealous Again", and "Depression", before covering The Misfits' "Where Eagles Dare". They next played an original song named "Reject", and after covering The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop", they tackled three more originals, namely "No Part", "Streets", and "Kill Thy Neighbour". The Sole Aggressors next covered Black Flag's "Six Pack", followed by another original named "Fool". Three final covers came next, including...

...The Dead Milkmen's "Punk Rock Girl", Minor Threat's "I Don't Wanna Hear It", and an encore of "Six Pack", before closing with an original named "State Of The World". Well recorded video that captures this talented young band well, and while Henry's vocals are not overly loud or rangy yet, the attitude and presence is there, and again, it's great seeing a punk band of any kind in Sault Michigan! Give their full concert video a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Generations, Double Down, And Silent 9!!)

Quite a backlog is developing on the SMS that I blame partially on holiday season commitments (I'm not even in town writing this), so let's try and remedy some of that today with a post solely devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! All involve veteran cover rock bands playing what could end up being their last shows of the year, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have announced their first shows for early 2024, but before then, you can see them at least one more time this month! The band did announce that their final 2023 dates would be private events, but that isn't true in one case, as they will return to The Algonquin Hotel (likely upstairs at The Rockstar Bar) on Friday, December 15th! The event is not a standard concert, rather a fundraising pub for Soo City United girls soccer teams (specifically the teams for next season whose players have 2010 or 2011 birth years). Despite Silent 9 saying that this is private, the Facebook event page is public, and prospective attendees are welcome to buy a ticket to support the local girls soccer program. The holiday theme is via an ugly sweater party, so bring your ugliest Christmas sweater to fit in for the festivities! No word on if there will be a contest for the ugliest one of all or not.

This is presumably a 19+ event, and tickets are on sale for $35 (if you're unable to attend, but wish to support the teams, they recommend $20 donations). Scan the QR code on the poster to be sent to a ticket sale page! This event is not entirely new territory for Silent 9, as they played at the Searchmont Ski Runners' fall social at The Rockstar Bar (which has been opening sporadically for one-off bookings this year) in October, and this appears to be along those lines. Hopefully it goes swimmingly for Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve in a couple of weeks, see above for more details, and look for more on Silent 9's 2024 schedule soon!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will end their recent break from the stage when they return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only on Friday, December 29th! First announced by Shooters in this updated concert calendar posting on their Facebook page on Tuesday, this will be Generations' first show since playing at Jay's early last month, and their first gig at Shooters since mid-October. No word on why they're in the midst of a near two months-long break, but if you want to see the band (sans guitarist Tony Kajnar) before then in bluesier confines, all will be at Soo Blaster one week from Friday as part of this year's Blues For Food fundraiser! Pierre and Tony S. are joining past Generations fill-in guitarist Mike McDonald as part of the one-off Mudfoot Mike & The Muckrakers, with Valerie and fellow fill-in guitarist Michael Yurich among the guest performers. Click here for details on that special event!

Meanwhile, Generations' Shooters show is a one-nighter due to the Dennis Street nightclub's continuation of DJs on most Saturdays. Expect a 9:00 PM-ish start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. If you;ve missed seeing Generations' classic and hard rock cover selection as of late, keep their final show of the year in mind later this month, and do consider attending Blues For Food if you want to support both St. Vincent's Place and the Soup Kitchen at this needy time of year!

Also that same weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will reportedly return to The Esquire Club for concerts on December 29th & 30th! These were announced in a concert calendar post on the venue's Facebook page on Thursday, despite Double Down announcing on their Facebook page on November 21st that their shows at Reggie's on November 24th-25th were their "last gig(s) of 2023". I have no idea whether the Esquire Club bookings came late or if they're incorrect/now cancelled, but if someone publically confirms that Double Down are not playing there at month's end, we will let you know! The band's full lineup will presumably be present if things are a go, as bassist Brad Stephen had to miss their Reggie's concerts this past weekend for unannounced reasons. Sidekicks bassist Dan Beaupre (who played in 100 Gran with singer/guitarist Joel Syrette) filled in for both shows.

Dan's a very skilled bassist with hard rock experience, so I'm sure he fit in just fine with Double Down at Reggie's! If Double Down are playing at The Esquire Club at month's end, it will be their first ever weekend there, after dropping out of planned gigs there in September, but note that the band never promoted the bookings online. We'll let you know if things get clarified the other way, but expect 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details!

Finally for today, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will cap off 2023 by toplining a  New Year's Eve party on Sunday, December 31st at... the Delta Hotel?! Concerts at the waterfront hotel at 208 St. Mary's River Drive are not completely uncommon, as the then-Holiday Inn hosted Bon Soo's Battle of the Bands back in 2007, but it is definitely not a venue used with any regularity for public concerts. On the side of New Year's parties, Soundcheck are no strangers to rocking out on December 31st, having done so at Shooters last year (back when Shooters booked bands on most Saturdays), but this will hew closer to the New Year's party that Soundcheck toplined at The Water Tower Pub in 2019. This ain't just a concert, as paid attendees will get a full course dinner, cocktails, a cash bar, and discount rates on hotel rooms if you are so inclined. Needless to say, attendees will be ringing in 2024 in style!

This 19+ event starts at 5:00 PM with Soundcheck's set beginning and 8:00 PM, and semi-formal/dress attire is encouraged given the locale and amenities. As such, the ticket price is a whopping $100, and limited tickets are available, so contact the Delta A.S.A.P. if this interests you! Granted, this will be above the price range for many, but if you want to go all out for the holiday, this would be a fancy way to do it, and Soundcheck's hard and classic rock covers would be a fine soundtrack throughout! Visit the above links for more details, and look for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Rock For Dimes 2014 Concert Review!!

Hey guys, before we get to our review of Friday night's Rock For Dimes, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert on the site, as local alternative rock cover quartet Lucky 13 played at The Rockstar Bar last night, but the band never plugged it online, and the venue only did on their Facebook group an hour before showtime. We mentioned it on our Facebook page last night to at least address it for fans, but I sincerely apologize for not getting it on the site, and we'd have plugged it in our weekend previews had we heard about it! For what it's worth, the gig wasn't a replacement for the cancelled Whiskey Shits show, as that was going to be downstairs.

Now, to the concert review, as Friday night saw the second annual local installment of Rock For Dimes, the March of Dimes fundraising concert event, which took place at The Delta Waterfront Hotel rather than The Grand Gardens for the first time. I haven't been to this building for a concert since it was the Holiday Inn, back in the last years of the Bon Soo Battle of the Bands, but over the years and since the new owners moved in, things looked very different. The show itself took place at the hotel's Algoma East Ballroom, and in terms of non-musical aspects, there was a 50/50 draw, a door prize draw, a live auction for a guitar from Case's Music, and a number of silent auction prizes. The ballroom was nicely laid out with professional staging, an ongoing slideshow of bands and sponsors, a pleasant ambiance, and pizza, nachos, and drinks on hand for attendees to partake in, which was all a nice touch! Ward 4 councillor and local radio personality Lou Turco was on hand to MC the event, and while he was friendly and seemed happy to be there, you could tell that the bands generally weren't his thing.

The opening band was supposed to be The Damon King Band (the last remaining holdover from the cancelled youth battle of the bands), but they dropped out of the show for unannounced reasons on Thursday. Hopefully all's well with the guys, but it is a shame that every aspect of the youth battle completely eroded away. In their place, local alternative/hard rock quartet Late Shift (accidentally announced as "Last Shift") filled in on short notice, and it was nice to see them jump in, especially with how good their set was! Covering everyone from Led Zeppelin to The Offspring during their 6 song set (including an original song that I think was called "Freight"), the guys showed some good chemistry and talent, with John Barber's impressive vocals shining brightly, and Clint Wilson providing some dependably good bass! Though their shows are sporadic (and they lack an online page), Late Shift impressed, and don't miss them at Coch's Corner this weekend!

Also, as an aside, John was excellent in interacting with some of the younger kids in attendance during and after their set, he was a natural! Yes, this was an all ages event, remember that the battle of the bands would have featured high school-aged acts.

Though The Elements were advertised as the next band, they traded places with local grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith on the lineup for unannounced reasons, but Haggith had a surprise in store, as they've apparently added Beaumont Avenue guitarist Steven Flint (also of Mourning Wood) to their lineup as their new bassist, replacing James White. While a reason hasn't been stated, James told me it was related to his personal schedule, and I'll leave it at that unless the band elaborates. It's not clear yet whether Steven is officially in Haggith now or just filling in, but given that he played with Curtis & Daniel in the similar & dormant band Punch, he fits in just fine! In fact, half of Haggith's six song set was comprised of songs that Punch played live (i.e. "Metal Cage"), which was nice and convenient! The bassist change aside, the guys were tight and energetic, and put in a solid effort as usual, so fans had nothing to worry about!

Local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements were on next after the band trade, and though their set shared surface similarities with Late Shift's (both bands covered Sublime, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Led Zeppelin), they upped the funk rock quota with an entertaining set of their own! If there was any lingering feelings from bassist James White's exit from Haggith, it didn't show in his solid output, while Jesse Cook was predictably very good on guitar, and Rob Speers jumped genres well and made the most of his range! It was nice to see The Elements again, but compared to their surrounding bands, why'd they only play 4 songs? They could have slotted one or two more in, but beggars can't be choosers, and their set was still entertaining and delivered the goods for fans! Keep an eye out for The Elements at more upcoming shows in the coming months!

Newer local cover rock band Mourning Wood came on next, and they're one of three that I'd never seen live before, so how'd they do? Their 5 song set featured covers of Joe Walsh, Billy Idol, AC/DC, Metallica, and Black Crowes songs, with guitarist Terry Eaton generally singing lead on them, aside from bassist Steven Flint handling "Rebel Yell" and drummer T.J. Case singing "Highway To Hell", though across the board, the guys sang each track well! Honestly, Mourning Wood were heavier than I thought they'd be, and while there wasn't a lot of visible energy and movement, these are three very talented musicians who know a number of genres, and it showed well! Terry handled singing and guitar work very well, and while some songs sounded a bit empty without a second guitar, they have a good thing going so far! Stay tuned for more on Mourning Wood on the site this week!

Fifth on Friday was the local progressive/jazz rock quartet Mannapool, who were somewhat of an unknown commodity to many despite being together since 2012. They left a good impression though with a skilled sound that I don't think many people were expecting to see at Rock For Dimes! Playing four originals (I think), the songs went from slower and darker to more upbeat and lively, but all had a technical progressive vibe with good talent all around and solid effect usage. Locally, I'd compare them to Machines Dream, but is it wrong to say that they reminded me of a mix of The Black Keys and Anathema? Though I wasn't familiar with any of the members before hearing of their Toystock involvement, they all showed clear talent, with Josh Ingram's melodic vocals flowing very well, and bassist Michael Dempster kept up solid energy with his playing! Though not a "heavy" band, Mannapool were impressive, and I hope to see them again at Toystock!

Co-headlining this year's Rock For Dimes was local classic/hard rock cover quintet The Thrill Junkies, making their first live concert appearance since January, so 5 songs or not, this was a long time coming! The Turner Up successors covered Lit, The Foo Fighters, and Radiohead before tackling two Weezer songs, and while there was some minor stage rust, these local veterans were in their element, and it showed well! Travis Sharpe's versatile singing was on full display (nice to see him fronting a band again), and both Robert Brown and Jason Nisbet showed their guitar talents throughout their set! This was also the band's first show since Redundant's Rick White replaced Scott McLurg on drums, and he fit in pretty good with The Thrill Junkies, though we'll get more of a sense of the new lineup when they're back playing at bars. Solid comeback for The Thrill Junkies, and don't miss them at Sault Band-O-Rama!

Headlining in their second straight Rock For Dimes set was local punk trio Redundant, who capped the night with a 7 song set of covers and originals that definitely kept the remaining fans going! Encouraging everyone to join them on the floor (the only band to do that), their set featured cameo appearances by two of frontman Justin Langlois' sons, who ran around, talked into extra mics, and added a cute family element to their set! Redundant covered songs from the likes of Rise Against, Operation Ivy, and Weezer with the ease that you'd expect from them, and aside from a brief stoppage to announce silent auction winners, they had good momentum and definitely seemed to be having fun! It should also be noted that bassist James White indicated on stage that their debut album is planned to come out by February, which is the first I've heard of them making one in many months, so we'll have to see if that comes to fruition. If you left early, you missed a solid punk set, but you'll see Redundant again soon!

Though a "jam session" was teased to close the event after Redundant wrapped up, it didn't take place for unannounced reasons. Even without that, I'd call this year's Rock For Dimes a success based on what did occur on Friday, and it was nice to see a variety of local bands join forces to help support The March of Dimes and the United Way! It's just a shame that the youth battle of the bands didn't take place, but if they try it again next year, hopefully they advertise and promote it more locally (or maybe open invitations to adult bands?) SooToday's Donna Hopper was on hand too for coverage of the event, so we definitely await her quality photos and more! Of course, we got lots of photos of each band that you can check out at this link or at our Facebook page, though I apologize for the quality on most, as I didn't want to impose on other fans by getting on the floor to get closer when no one else was.

As for our videos, here's Late Shift covering Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and Sublime's "STP", Haggith playing their song (formerly a Punch original) "Road Rash", The Elements covering The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Hump De Bump", Mourning Wood covering Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell", Mannapool playing an original song whose title wasn't announced (let us know if you know it), The Thrill Junkies covering The Foo Fighters' "My Hero", and Redundant covering Green Day's "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?"!

Late Shift & Haggith

The Elements & Mourning Wood

Mannapool & The Thrill Junkies

Redundant - Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

Rock For Dimes Concert Preview, Inclufing The Battle Of The Bands' Cancellation!!

With a surprisingly busy weekend for concerts on the horizon (unusually so for November), we've broken this weekend's concert previews into three posts: One for Sault Ontario, one for Sault Michigan and potential late notice confirmations, and this first post all about a notable charity concert taking place at a somewhat unfamiliar venue tomorrow night! However, one of two planned shows for the same cause was cancelled yesterday, so read on below for that and all of the details regarding this show!

A special charity concert will take place TOMORROW as part of the second annual Rock For Dimes charity event in Sault Ste. Marie! Moving from The Grand Gardens in March of last year to The Delta Waterfront Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn) at at 208 St Mary's River Drive, this is the local branch of the national Rock For Dimes concert events to raise money for the March of Dimes' charitable work in improving the health of (expecting) mothers and their children, which is a very worthwhile cause! Now, the event was supposed to feature two linked concerts tomorrow, including a headlining lineup of adult bands and a youth battle of the bands at 5:00 PM, but the battle was confirmed to be cancelled via promoter Dennis Ullman on the Facebook event page. The news follows scheduled performers The Pixo Control's exit due to frontman Michael Mikus having a health scare (source here) and a slow public search to find a full lineup of four competing youth bands, as there was only two ever confirmed publically.

This would have been the first local battle of the bands since last year's Viva La Battle, and likely the only Sault Ontario battle of 2014, but at least the later adult bands are still on! Michael will be just fine after what happened, so look for The Pixo Control at Sault Band-O-Rama next week! As a result, the only remaining youth band will open tomorrow's show, which now starts at 7:30 PM, while there will also be presentations, draws, and auctions bookending and in between the bands during both halves of the day. With the changes, there will be 7 bands (up from just two last year) lined up to play tomorrow night, with the existing non-battle acts including local punk trio Redundant (who played at last year's Rock For Dimes), returning local classic/hard rock cover quintet The Thrill Junkies (who last took the stage 10 months ago), newer alternative/jazz rock quartet Mannapool, local country/rock cover trio Mourning Wood, local grunge quartet Haggith, and local funk/alternative rock favourites The Elements, and that's a solid lineup on it's own, even if each band has only half hour long sets!

With the cancellation of the battle of the bands, the opening set at 7:30 PM (originally planned to be the first place encore set) goes to The Damon King Band, so I guess they're the de facto battle winners? I don't know a whole lot on them, but they're definitely a high school aged band, and they may be one and the same as the band Damon and Anthony Boudreau were looking for band members for on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group in September. We'll find out more tomorrow! Note that you could also see this as a preview of next Friday's Sault Band-O-Rama at The Primavera Hall, as all of these bands (save for Mannapool and The Damon King Band) are either playing or have members promoting that event, so keep that angle in mind! Public timeslots have mostly not been posted for the adult concert, but each band was slotted at having 25 minutes (thanks to Redundant drummer Rick White for the info), and a jam session is slated for 11:30 PM to close the show.

Admission tomorrow will be $15 for adults and $5 and a non-perishable food donation for "youth" attendees, while tickets bought for the cancelled battle of the bands will indeed be honoured at the door. If you don't want to buy at the door, you can order tickets online as well at this link, and this show is definitely ALL AGES. For more details, visit the above links and the Facebook event page! Though it is disappointing that we lost the battle of the bands, this is still an intriguing event, and greatly expanded from last year! It'll also be neat to have a concert with hard rock and punk bands at the former Holiday Inn again, which some of you may remember as the host of Bon Soo's old battles of the bands. I definitely plan to come out for Rock For Dimes, as it's got a lot of entertaining bands for a great cause, and for a preview, here's Redundant live at last year's Rock For Dimes!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more Sault Ontario weekend concert previews later today! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rock For Dimes & Battle Of The Bands) And More!!

Before we get to the meat of this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed show on here, as local classic/hard rock quartet RPM returned to the stage to make their Rednecks Saloon debut on October 24th, as per the venue's Facebook page. That completely slipped us by last month, but with RPM lacking an online page that I know of (and already playing only here and there), there were less ways to hear about it. Still, our sincere apologies to the band and their fans, hopefully we hear about their next gigs! Now, here's a stacked new post featuring LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for two linked concerts on the same day that should definitely be followed, plus some more updates!

For the first time since last year's Viva La Battle, Sault Ontario will get a battle of the bands as part of this year's second annual Rock For Dimes fundraiser event this coming Friday! Actually, you'll get TWO concerts on Friday if you wait it out, so here's what you should know! Completely expanded from the first regional Rock For Dimes in March 2013 (where the only bands were Redundant and the sporadically seen RPM), the event moves from The Grand Gardens to The Delta Waterfront Hotel (formerly the Holiday Inn) at 208 St Mary's River Drive this year, but like before, this event is a major fundraiser for the March of Dimes and their ongoing work in improving the health of pregnant women, mothers, and babies, which is a great cause! If last year is any indication, there will also be presentations, draws, and an auction between and bookending the bands to help the effort, and you can visit the above links for more public information on the event in general!

The battle of the bands itself will be at 5:00 PM on Friday, and is geared towards high school and youth bands, with only one band publically confirmed for it at present, that being local alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control. They've been on a solid rise so far since their launch, and here's hoping they put on a good show at the battle on Friday! The other competing bands have not been announced, though a second slot is reportedly going to a band led by a young local musician named Damon King (thanks to Rick White from the later lineup for the info!) I don't have much else on Damon's band yet, but they could be the same metal band that he and former Social Suicide member Anthony Boudreau were looking for musicians for on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group in September. If we hear anything, we'll keep you posted! At last word, promoters are still looking for one more youth band to play the battle, so contact promoters at the Facebook event page for details!

Prizes for winning or placing bands haven't been announced other than to say that the winning band will play an encore set at around 7:30 PM on Friday (thanks again, Rick!), which will lead right into the showcase concert for non-youth bands, of which there are 6. They include local punk trio Redundant (the only returning band from last year's Rock For Dimes), local classic/hard rock cover quintet The Thrill Junkies (in their first live concert set in 10 months), newer alternative/jazz rock quartet Mannapool, local country/rock cover trio Mourning Wood, local grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith, and local funk/alternative rock favourites The Elements, so that's a diverse lineup with some familiar faces! Also, kudos to bassist James White, who will be playing with all three of his current bands (Redundant, The Elements, and Haggith) on Friday! Each band will play a short set on Friday, with battle competitors getting 20 minute sets, and older bands getting 25 minutes each.

A jam session of some type will close this year's Rock For Dimes, and admission for each of the two halves of the night will be $5 for the battle, and $15 for the later bands, and you can buy tickets online "from" individual bands at this link, or presumably at the door. Advertising also notes that a youth ticket plus a toy or food donation will get you entry for the later adult bands, so keep that deal in mind as well, though it may only apply to "youth" attendees. For all current public details, visit the above links! Everything sounds bigger and better for the second local Rock For Dimes event, and it's nice to see so many bands joining together for the cause! The double concert format is a little odd, especially when seeing the adult bands in a battle would be cool, but I get the focus on high school acts for their own battle, and a win would be a nice feather in the cap for their development!

Also, it'll be nice to have a battle of the bands at the former Holiday Inn for the first time since Bon Soo's old battles, so if you miss that annual event, be at The Delta Waterfront Suites THIS FRIDAY! Stay tuned for more public updates as they roll in!

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

• I've switched The Canadian Nightclub's link in our active concert venue listings from their older inactive Facebook group to their more active current Facebook group. Not a huge change, but it helps to have the most accurate updated links on the site!
• Local hardcore punk favourites Destroilet have been forced to drop out of their opening set at The Bear Hunters' CD release concert at The Canadian on November 29th due to "unforseen work circumstances" for an unidentified band member, as per Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie on the Facebook event page on Tuesday. Disappointing, but we'll see the guys again soon, and if you or your band want to open for this big show at month's end, message The Bear Hunters at the above links!
• Local classic metal quartet Project 421 have been announced to fill in for the aforementioned Elements at Sault Band-O-Rama at The Primavera Hall due to bassist James White's work commitments, as per the Facebook event page and a Musicians Wanted Facebook group thread, though this surprisingly won't affect Redundant & Haggith's sets. Disappointing, but don't miss The Elements on Friday at Rock For Dimes, and it's nice to see James' Haggith bandmate Daniel Horton fill in for him with Project 421!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more big news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!