Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven Concert Video Showcase (Part 1!!)

Have you been wondering where our coverage of last week's Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven concert at GFL Memorial Gardens has been? So have I, but compared to Triumph & April Wine at the arena last month, videos have been surprisingly harder to come by, and barring belated videos being posted from that night, I'll be lucky to fill two posts. Despite the relative lack of videos, the show was a huge hit with a sold-out audience (I'm told that The Sheepdogs drew well that night at The Machine Shop too!), and Kenneth Armstrong from SooToday got 12 solid photos of the headlining Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet's set for this article! Nothing of Finger Eleven or Royal Tusk though. We'll highlight uploads from three filmers today, starting with Three Days Grace's set-opener "Dominate", which was one of five songs from their new dual-singer album "Alienation" to be played last week.

This was filmed by YouTube user MsSawfiler (who also filmed one Triumph video last month), and if you need context as to why the video screen has a random kid on it at the start, Three Days Grace literally preceded their set with an old Station Mall commercial! You can see fan-shot video of just that moment on (where else) Station Mall's Facebook page. As for the song itself, this is a well shot video (helped by Ms. Sawfiler being right along the extended stage walkway), so Matt and Adam get nice and close! The audio is a little muffled here, but it's a quality first look at Three Days Grace's first song, so check it out for yourselves below!

The most prolific filmer (so far?) of Three Days Grace was YouTube user MasonTheGoat, who also filmed at last year's Our Lady Peace concert at the Gardens, and he shot seven videos of the headliners last week! Again, nothing of the openers. Mason filmed 3.D.G. playing "Break", "Pain", "Kill Me Fast", "Apologies", "Don't Wanna Go Home Tonight", "Never Too Late" (which was his only vertically shot video), and as embedded below, "World So Cold". If you're curious, of the 17 pre-"Alienation" original songs in that night's setlist (according to Setlist.fm), 11 were from their first four albums with Adam Gontier on vocals, and 6 were from the three albums after Matt Walst replaced him, with the other singer providing backing vocals or follow-up verses as needed. They also played three covers, two in the acoustic portion (more on that in a bit) and a rendition of 3 Doors Down's ballad "Here Without You".

Mason was in the stands for this concert, and while not close to the stage, he zoomed in a bit, and he had a good side-stage vantage point that lets us see the crowd levels well. The stage lighting is really accentuated from where he was too! Audio is somewhat quiet (though not as muffled), but given where he was seated, you can't complaint too much, so give Mason's videos a watch above and below as well!

Today's last videos actually come from 104.3 The Fox's Facebook page, and much like at the Triumph show, a representative of the Sault Ontario rock radio station included short videos from the show in a batch post alongside a handful of photos. Five of their six videos were of Three Days Grace, including clips of them playing "Dominate", "Animal I Have Become", 10 seconds of the crowd chanting the band's name, and "Kill Me Fast", but embedded below is 31 seconds of them playing "Lost In You" during the acoustic break, which is set around a faux campfire on this tour (you may recall seeing a contest from The Fox to win a chance to be on stage for it, hence the onlookers!). During this stretch, they also played "Lifetime" and a medley, the latter of which included a cover of "Porn Star Dancing" by Matt's old band My Darkest Days (it would be interesting to hear how that came across in an unplugged setting!)

Alas, they don't cover Saint Asonia at all in return ("Better Place" is too good of a song to leave untouched, but that's just me). Like with The Fox's Triumph videos, these are all vertical, and were clearly shot from the stands, but they zoom in a lot to capture the action while it lasts, and the campfire motif is well done for a palate cleanser! Give these a watch above & below, and hopefully longer (and horizontal) videos of the campfire songs surface!

Finally, let's take a look at (surprisingly) the only public video that I have found from Finger Eleven's support set, which was also included in 104.3 The Fox's aforementioned batch post. This sees the Burlington alt-hard rock quintet playing "Together Right" from their 2023 greatest hits album, and it's a decent quality performance that accentuates the stage well despite the verticality of the aspect ratio! Scott does seem to be straining his voice a bit, but the energy and enthusiasm are clearly there, so give this video a watch below, and hopefully more turn up!

We do have a little bit more from the Three Days Grace (and Triumph) concerts to come, so stay tuned for all of that and more on the SMS as the month of May rolls along! Thanks everyone!

The Three Days Grace/Finger Eleven Concert Preview, An Inactive Band Note, And A New Soundcheck Video!!

Let's take a look at some news and notes on this Monday evening, including our extended preview of a major concert tomorrow, a band newly moved to our inactive links, and a surprise live concert video find, so with all of that said, here's what you should know!

We'll start with today with a huge concert preview for TOMORROW NIGHT, as Norwood, Ontario hard rock icons Three Days Grace and Burlington alternative/hard rock quintet Finger Eleven will return to the Soo at GFL Memorial Gardens! For Three Days Grace, this will be their third time at the arena, and first since headlining there in December 2009, and of course, this is their first local date with ex-My Darkest Days singer Matt Walst on vocals, notably with original frontman Adam Gontier returning to the band in 2024 to give them two lead singers. The two do share vocals throughout the night, so if you wanted to hear Adam do "I Am Machine, or Matt do "Animal I Have Become", let alone new stuff like "Apologies", this is your chance! As for Finger Eleven, local fans last saw them opening for I Mother Earth at The Machine Shop in 2018, and this will mark (at least) their fifth concert appearance here, and first at the former Essar Center.

In the almost eight years since we last saw Finger Eleven here, they have kept touring and released their new album "Last Night On Earth" last year, so expect classics like "First Time" and "Falling On" along with newer cuts like "Adrenaline" as the take the stage! Opening the proceedings tomorrow are Edmonton hard rock quartet Royal Tusk in their local debut, and they've been slowly gaining traction on domestic rock radio with songs like "Head Up" and "Hated" from their new album "Altruistic", so don't sleep on their accessible but hard hitting original sound tomorrow! This stop on Three Days Grace's Alienation Tour is brought to you by Live Nation, and while neither local rock radio station is a presenting sponsor, both have had ticket giveaway contests. A 7:00 PM start time is advertised for this all ages concert, and limited tickets are still available at this link or at the in-person box office, starting at $116.50 in section 119.

Other sections and general/floor seating will run $157.25, but there's not many left. VIP passes are also available, so see above if you're so inclined. The sixteen years long wait for Three Days Grace alone will be cause for excitement, but add in Finger Eleven's return and Royal Tusk, and you've got one hell of a Tuesday night out, so don't miss out on all of tomorrow's action in spite of the work/school night scheduling! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Three Days Grace live!

Next up, I have reluctantly moved local alternative/hard rock band Handsome Sandwich to our inactive band links. While not at our one year inactivity threshold, I'm now inclined to believe that they quietly disbanded in late 2025, thanks in part to their "Collage" EP's abrupt release in September, their lack of any public updates since, and most members currently focusing on new projects. After a year's hiatus during the pandemic, guitarist Jesse Cook & drummer Johnny Belanger brought Handsome Sandwich back in the summer of 2021, but not as the genre-less cover trio that fans had known since 2017. Now with singer Taylor Emlaw in their ranks, they became favourites at local concerts for the next four years, including two Rotaryfest Stage 2 sets, tour runs in Southeastern Ontario, and their 2023 release party for "Deconstructed" at The Loft.

The band last played live at the Northern Vibe Festival in August. Since then, Johnny has been playing with ex-guitarists in both Eden Plague and The Golden Scoundrels while also joining the revived Stiffler's Mom offshoot Wheelhouse, Taylor is working on a new project with HeadFirst alum Raine Rancourt, and bassist Rafael Medina has moved back to his native Colombia, where he has joined the band Adios Celeste. Handsome Sandwich had a good eight year run locally in two very different halves, and they stood apart musically with a fun alt-rock sound and pointed lyrics. Best of luck to everyone (including James, Mitch, and Brandon) in the future!

We'll close today with a new/old video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck that made its way to YouTube in September of last year! This was uploaded to former drummer Glen Thomas' personal YouTube channel shortly before the band reunited without him, and it comes from Soundcheck's set at Toystock at the Grand Gardens in November 2022. In their fourth of five consecutive Toystock sets, Soundcheck were represented here by Glen alongside founding guitarist Terry Eaton, singer Cameron Oliver (who is not playing guitar here at all), and guest bassist Rob Gilmar, who frequently sat in for Paul Belair in the early 2020s (Jim Michaud would join the band permanently a few months after this gig). Soundcheck were filmed here by an uncredited attendee covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" and Big & Rich's "Save A Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" to close their set.

Alas, this video was shot vertically, but we do get the unique visual of the filmer walking to the stage early on, and they do focus on Cameron as he roams the stage on the latter cover (also note the uncredited guest singer on "Save A Horse"). I admittedly don't have love for either of these cover choices, but the performances are lively and the crowd was receptive, so fans of the 2019-2025 Cameron era of Soundcheck will want to give these covers a watch below, and best of luck to Cameron in Nashville!

That's all for now, but definitely stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Three Days Grace) & Exit 808 Updates!!

No, I didn't forget the big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from yesterday morning, so here's what you should know about that, as well as some updates from a local band's recent Halloween gig!

Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet Three Days Grace will make their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie on Tuesday, April 28th at GFL Memorial Gardens! Announced yesterday morning as part of the band's world tour in support of their new album "Alienation", this will be Three Days Grace's first appearance in the Soo since headlining at what was then the Essar Centre in December 2009, and third total after debuting at the downtown arena in January 2008. Of course, in that sixteen year gap since we last saw them, singer Adam Gontier left the band and was replaced by bassist Brad Walst's brother Matt, only for Adam to return full time last year with Matt sticking around, giving 3DG two frontmen. We never saw Three Days Grace with Matt Walst as the sole singer here, but they kept on racking up rock radio hits with him like "Painkiller", "The Mountain", and "So Called Life", so how will they sound with Adam singing too?

This won't be Matt's first time performing in the area though, as he fronted his old band My Darkest Days (of "Porn Star Dancing" fame) at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in April 2012, while Adam fronted his own band Saint Asonia at The Dreammakers Theatre in February of last year, shortly before he rejoined Three Days Grace. No matter which singer/era of the band you prefer, it's awesome to see Three Days Grace coming back to the Gardens, especially with current hits like "Mayday" and "Apologies" in their back pocket, so don't miss out in five months' time! Joining them for most of the Canadian leg of the tour is Burlington alt-hard rock quintet Finger Eleven, in their first local concert appearance since opening for I Mother Earth at The Machine Shop back in April 2018, and their (at least) fifth total here, each one at a different venue. Since we last saw them, they just released their new album "Last Night On Earth".

Fans can expect a set full of classics like "Paralyzer", "One Thing", and "Good Times" in Finger Eleven's return to the Soo after eight years, so don't bypass them either! Edmonton hard rock quartet Royal Tusk will make their local debut as the opening act in April, and they have been building decent momentum with their radio-friendly brand of metal originals like "Aftermath" and "First Time" (no relation to the Finger Eleven song of the same name), and they should set things off on the right foot in the spring! No word on whether Rock 101 or 104.3 The Fox will be the presenting radio sponsor for this Live Nation concert, but both local rock stations have announced ticket giveaway contests. Public on-sale tickets go live at the in-person box office or online at this link on Friday at 10:00 AM, and tickets will start at $55 with VIP packages also being available. This will absolutely be an all ages concert, and a 7:00 PM start time is advertised.

Tuesday nighter or not, this will be a huge concert for local hard rock fans, and even if Three Days Grace were coming solo, the sixteen+ year wait alone (and all of the hits they've released since) will ensure a strong reception in twenty-four weeks' time! Visit the above links for much more on Three Days Grace and Finger Eleven's show at the Gardens next year, and get your tickets A.S.A.P., as they are guaranteed to move quick!

Let's close today with some new updates from Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808, starting with the clarification on their Facebook page that bassist Blaze Beairl was definitely at their Halloween weekend "Fright Night On The Bay" concert at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on November 1st. While not seen in videos from the event, they did share pictures featuring him in costume as a rapper, and as it turns out, he was trading off with new band member Brad Pringle throughout the night. Whether the two will juggle/alternate bass indefinitely or if Blaze will hop on other instruments in the future, I don't know, but as the band said, "(we) love our teenagers on stage!". Of note, singer Dillion Semasky appeared to have a mad scientist costume for part of the night but he did not have the coat on in the videos. Speaking of which, we have a new video to share with Blaze on bass, so what should you know there?

Uploaded to their Facebook page on Friday, this Brad and Amy-less cover of AC/DC's "T.N.T." also features guest singer Molly Escherich (as the other two videos did), and has her and Dillion trading verses. Filmed from a strong horizontal angle (if only for 39 seconds), this cover is well handled with the two singers adapting well without cloning Bon's vocal style! No word on how bar patrons were reacting to game 7 of the World Series, but if any Sault Ontarians were in attendance, I feel your pain! Check out Exit 808's AC/DC cover below, and stay tuned for more from them soon!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & I Mother Earth/Finger Eleven Concert Videos!!

Happy Mother's Day to all of our moms who follow the site (I know there's a few of you out there!) The fact that much of this post deals with a band named I Mother Earth is purely coincidental, but we have lots of concert videos to look at today, and to start, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (some on short notice), so here's what you should know!

Former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will bring his acoustic solo show back to Mark's Breakfast Plus at the Market Mall for early-week matinees TOMORROW, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, and on Monday-Wednesday, June 11th, 12th, and 13th! Apologies for the short notice on this week's shows, they were only announced via their Facebook event page yesterday (all six shows share it.) After having just played the former Kackleberry's Cafe a couple of weeks back, this run of shows will see Tym Morrison play the second full week of this and next month, with six evenings of fan favourite and often heavy covers in store in the west end, so keep these in mind for your supper-time entertainment TOMORROW through WEDNESDAY, and then next month! No word yet on if this scheduling will maintain in July, but if it does, he'd play Mark's from July 9th-11th.

If you missed Tym at Friday's finger food-featured concert at Room 21, you'll get a quicker than expected encore at this other frequent recent venue of his! All six of these Mark's Breakfast Plus shows (TOMORROW, TUESDAY, and WEDNESDAY included) are 4:00 PM affairs with no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale, this is a restaurant first. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!



To round out today's post, let's feature some long awaited videos from last month's I Mother Earth/Finger Eleven concert at The Machine Shop, courtesy of frequent local concert attendee Christopher Paci's YouTube channel on Tuesday! I'm not sure why these videos took this long to make his channel, but better late than never, and we all know Chris' work is excellent by now! We usually go in descending order by lineup placement when featuring videos like this, but I'll reverse things given how the two bands joined forces to close the night. Chris didn't post anything from the acoustic pre-show or J.J. Thompson's opening set, but he did get 7 videos of Burlington hard rock quintet Finger Eleven in action, including of their songs "First Time", "Living in a Dream", "One Thing", "Falling On", "Drag You Down", "Paralyzer", and as embedded below, their set-opener "Above". While not super close to the stage, Chris has a good & central view!

As noted in our prior thoughts on videos from this concert, Finger Eleven sounded great, especially on their older and heavier material, and Scott's voice is as solid as ever! I'm sure it was a thrill for local fans to finally hear "Paralyzer"-era songs on a local stage too, of course. Nice work from Chris once again, so check out "Above" below, and their other songs above!

Likewise, Chris also filmed 7 videos of headlining Toronto alt-hard rock band I Mother Earth's set last month, filming them playing their songs "Used To Be Alright", "Raspberry", "Undone", "Summertime in the Void", "One More Astronaut", "Rain Will Fall", and as embedded below, their opener "Not Quite Sonic" (complete with spoken interlude from Edwin.) The camera work here is a little shakier, but the performances here are solid, if only marred by some muddy vocals, but long-time I.M.E. fans were right at home at The Machine Shop! Note that later songs from their set were filmed from a sharper angle to our left/the stage's right, but the camera quality is no different otherwise. Give "Not Quite Sonic" a look below, and see more from I Mother Earth's set above!



Finally, Chris shot two videos of I Mother Earth & Finger Eleven's joint encore, including the two bands playing I.M.E.'s "Levitate", but embedded below is their combined rendition of Finger Eleven's own "Good Times" (no Supertramp cover here.) These had to be a thrill for fans of both bands, especially in a more intimate live setting, but when you have 9 band members plus I.M.E.'s touring musicians playing the same song at once, the instruments and sounds do admittedly get cluttered up. The spectacle of it all is absolutely there, but I'd rather hear both songs with just one band, not two at once. Maybe I'm wrong though, so see for yourself below and above!



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

I Mother Earth/Finger Eleven Concert Fallout & Videos!!

Today's post is entirely devoted to fallout from Wednesday night's I Mother Earth/Finger Eleven concert at The Machine Shop, which appears to have gotten rave reviews from attending fans so far! SooToday's Donna Hopper and Sault Online's Riley Smith were both on hand to cover the festivities, with 29 and 30 photos respectively making each local news website, which look very solid on both ends! Donna got 10 photos of I Mother Earth, 8 of Finger Eleven, 7 from the pre-show acoustic set by both bands, 3 of opener/Q&A session MC J.J. Thompson, and 1 of Rock 101 morning show host Scott Cook, who emceed the concert proper. Riley's shots (some overhead) include 6 of Finger Eleven, 5 of I Mother Earth, 13 from their show-ending joint encore, 5 of attendees, and 1 of The Boiler Room, the venue's new on-site bar (though Riley did not get any shots of J.J. or the acoustic pre-show.) Donna's article outlines songs played on Wednesday and some of the remarks from the bands on stage, while Riley's features remarks from Finger Eleven drummer Steve Molella.

Both articles are well detailed with quality pictures, so see the above links to give both a look! Now, to currently posted public videos from Wednesday night, starting with videos from YouTube user BBBBBBBBeast, who got one video of both featured bands. Firstly, this 4:34 clip is actually a compilation cobbled together from Toronto alt-hard rock quartet I Mother Earth's headlining set, including snippets of their songs "Raspberry", "One More Astronaut", and "Rain Will Fall", before showing them and Finger Eleven's joint encore as they played I.M.E.'s "Levitate", Finger Eleven's "Good Times", and a cover of Supertramp's "Bloody Well Right". The audio quality is fantastic on these clips, and I like the bluish tinge on the video, though the vertical camera angle is unfortunate, and you can't do too much about the fans' heads. I just wish that he had included more of certain songs in the editing process ("Rain Will Fall" only got 15 seconds!) Give this one a look below!



BBBBBBBBeast (why so many Bs?) also filmed two songs from Burlington hard rock quintet Finger Eleven's preceding set on Wendesday, those being "One Thing" and "Drag You Down". He must prefer their older, pre-"Paralyzer" music, which I can relate to! This video has equally excellent audio quality, but now with a more central, further away camera angle and a monochrome colour filter. In this case, the visuals work on the former song, as it's video was in black & white, but less so the latter. With no public videos surviving at present from their 2004 show here, it's nice to see some vintage Finger Eleven songs in solid quality online, so check them out below also!



The other two currently posted videos from this show come via presenting sponsor Rock 101's Facebook page, as a staffer filmed two Finger Eleven-involved songs before the concert proper began. One is a 33 second clip of Finger Eleven (minus singer Scott Anderson) playing their newer song "Living in a Dream" during their soundcheck, which sounds fine in this instrumental format! The other video, which is embedded below, is of Finger Eleven and I Mother Earth (I Mother Eleven?) covering Christopher Cross' "Ride Like The Wind" during the acoustic pre-show on Wednesday evening. Very unexpected cover, but for it's also short runtime, the song appears to turn out well enough! Donna noted in her SooToday article that the two bands also covered America, The Kinks, and Peter Gabriel during this unplugged set, which is surprising, but it does show the two bands' range & diversity, so give this video a look below as well!



As someone who strongly prefers older Finger Eleven (no "Stay In Shadow" on Wednesday?) and is admittedly selective on I.M.E. favourites, I reluctantly passed on going given the ticket prices, but I'm very glad the show was a huge hit! Hopefully this and Big Wreck will help encourage even more hard rock and metal bands to play The Machine Shop! Stay tuned for more fallout from this concert when and/if it comes in, and for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Infathom & Project 906), Plus Our I Mother Earth/Finger Eleven Concert Preview!!

I hope everyone's staying safe and warm during this snowy Monday! Today's news post is half devoted to a big mid-week concert preview and new updates therein, but we'll lead off with some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the Eastern U.P. in the coming months, one with a related missed show apology, so here's what you should know!

Munising, Michigan hard rock quartet Infathom will return to the Eastern U.P. for a show at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on Saturday, May 26th! This will mark Infathom's first concert appearance in our area since opening for Theory of a Deadman in December, but it will be their Back Bay Grill debut, as well as their first headlining concert and Brimley stop since headlining at Pickles Bar & Grill on November 4th, a show that we regrettably missed to cover on the site at the time. Profuse apologies for that, we'd have gladly covered it had it not fallen through the cracks last fall! For what it's worth, that show coincided with frontman Dillion Semasky's 25th birthday party, so hopefully it was a blast for him and everyone in attendance! Infathom have been playing out east a little more frequently in the last couple of years, so don't bypass their heavy rock attack at Bay Mills' waterfront nightclub late next month!

This one night only concert has a 10:00 PM start time, a 21+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. It's great to have Infathom back in our neck of the woods next month, so if you're up for some explosive covers and originals from this rising quartet, head down to Brimley on May 26th! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and apologies again for missing their Pickles show in November!

Next up, local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 are themselves scheduled to return to The Back Bay Grill and Games later this year, as Bay Mills' concert calendar lists them as playing Saturday night gigs on June 16th, August 11th, and December 8th! Arguably the most familiar band in our main coverage to play at this venue, fans will have last seen Billy, Joe, and Dustin there in August of last year, with June's show there being their first Back Bay stop with their current lineup. We haven't heard much from Project 906 since the Musicians Competition at the Superior Cafe late last month, and they haven't confirmed these new Brimley shows publically yet, but hopefully they deliver with a solid night of hard rocking favourites at these three upcoming one-nighters! Like with the Infathom show next month, expect these to be 21+ gigs with no cover and 10:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for current and continuing details!

Also today, here's our preview of a huge concert hitting The Machine Shop in Sault Ontario THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT, as I Mother Earth and Finger Eleven will unite for a high impact night of Ontario-bred, Juno Award-winning hard rock! Fans should recognize I Mother Earth for hit songs like "One More Astronaut" and "Summertime in the Void" in their mid-late 1990s heyday, and with Edwin back in the fold, their multi-platinum brand of hard rock hits should be welcomed back to the local stage for the first time since the Club Princess days! It hasn't been as long to see Finger Eleven on the local stage, with that band last seen here headlining at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion back in 2004 (only 14 years ago), but now with hits like "Paralyzer" and "Pieces Fit" joining classics like "First Time" and "Above" in their repertoire, fans old and new should find something to like in their own long awaited return to the Soo! Note that both bands will participate in a question & answer session and acoustic pre-show set as well on Wednesday for an additional fee, which is an intriguing bonus!

Also, a late opener confirmation was made on the Facebook event page this afternoon, as Peterborough folk rock musician J.J. Thompson (frontman of the band J.J. & The Pillars) has joined I.M.E. and Finger Eleven for their Ontario dates. Bit of a sonic departure, but J.J. is a solid musician and should prove to be an effective bridge between the acoustic pre-set and the main event! This (unfortunately) 19+ concert has an oddly specific start time of 8:50 PM, while the acoustic set/Q&A session will start at 7:00 PM. Not counting online service fees, tickets are $40 for general admission and $60 for both the show and the unplugged/Q&A package, and you can buy them at this link and at the in-person box offices at The Machine Shop and Station Mall. This show's already got huge buzz around it, especially given both bands' long waits to come back & their extensive array of familiar songs, so don't miss out on Wednesday! For a preview, here's the two bands together in a concert encore last year (might we get something similar?)



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (I Mother Earth & Redundant), Live705 Updates, And More!!

Here's a big news post for your Tuesday delectation, and with other big news and announcements piling on, there was no need to delay things! Today's post features some assorted shorter items,

Three local punk bands will unite for Punk Covers Night at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, March 3rd! A presentation of Tidal Records, this show's lineup will include veteran punk favourites Redundant in a rare LopLops appearance from them, and they definitely know their share of punk classics! While this is a covers-centric show, might we hear originals from their long-awaited debut EP, currently in progress at Tidal's own Mission Control Studios? Sporadically seen punk cover quartet The Cover-Up will play their first publically advertised concert in three years next month, with frontman/Tidal Records head Dustin Jones & ex-Lion Ride guitarist Marco Pedalino now joined by Dustin's Rising Tide bandmate Marshall Jaaskelainen & K.I.C.K. drummer Aaron Dunn, replacing Clint Wilson and Mike Yorke respectively, as per personal Facebook postings. Reasons for the lineup changes haven't been publically announced, but remember that The Cover-Up don't have any known band pages on Facebook or elsewhere. Solid and familiar choices for Tidal loyalists, and they should deliver a fun set!

The third advertised band is The Bananas Guerrillas, and while the name is new to the site, this band is either a renaming of or successor to Enema of the Soo, the Blink-182 tribute from the Halloween Party events at The Algonquin last year. If the lineup's identical, look for ex-Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci, ex-Long Shot bassist Adam Dawe, and ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick in this band. No online pages yet, but they have an intriguing lineup! A $5 cover is in effect for this 19+ concert, whose doors open at 8:00 PM on March 3rd. Visit the above links for more details, and look for a high impact night of punk rock at LopLops next month!

Next up, here's a huge show announcement for The Machine Shop on Wednesday, April 18th, as Juno award winning, multi-platinum-selling Ontario hard rock bands I Mother Earth and Finger Eleven will co-headline this already highly anticipated show! Best known for hit singles like "One More Astronaut", 'So Gently We Go", and "Another Sunday", this will be a long anticipated gig for fans of I Mother Earth's alternative and prog-tinged hard rock sound (they last played here at Club Princess, so there's an idea of the wait!) This will be I.M.E.'s first show here with Salads bassist Chuck Dailey in place of Bruce Gordon, while it'll mark frontman Edwin Ghazal's return after his 2 prior stops here with Crash Karma. As for Finger Eleven, this will mark their first stop here since headlining at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion back in 2004, and their first Soo gig since having their biggest chart success with the dance rocker "Paralyzer", so look for that and other hits like "One Thing" & "Living in a Dream" in a couple of months' time!

Also, this will be Finger Eleven's first local show since Steve Molella replaced Rich Beddoe on drums. Tickets are $40 for this ALL AGES concert, which has an advertised start time of 8:20 PM, and tickets will go on sale TOMORROW at 10:00 AM at this link and at the in-person box offices at The Machine Shop and Station Mall. Fittingly announced the day of tonight's Big Wreck concert at the same venue, it's great to see The Machine Shop booking more non-country acts, and with this double whammy of Canadian hard rock, I know the buzz will only build in the next two months! Visit the official Facebook event page for current and future details as they come in!

Also today, here's the latest from local concert promoters Live705's Facebook page, starting with a post on January 20th where they held a "roll call" for bands that would be interested in playing future shows of theirs, or to be "placed on our talent list" if they're contacted with information about band-for-hire slots. No word yet on when Live705 will end their concert promotion hiatus (they teased the summer), but send your band's name, contact info, description, lineup, and available links to Live705 above if you're interested! With that said, a Live705 representative was in attendance for Elements bandmates Rob Speers & Jesse Cook's acoustic concert at The Rockstar Bar on Friday, and this is an unplugged cover of Tom Petty's "You Don't Know How It Feels" alongside Rob's Jack Spades bandmates Daniel Horton and Johnny Belanger on guest guitar and percussion. The vertical footage doesn't help, especially at this sharp angle, but it's a solid rendition of this roots rock classic! Give it a look below, and I wonder why there were so many balloons?



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

• The aforementioned Daniel Horton is thinking about starting a new side project that would play originals and select covers. Influences would include bands ranging from Breaking Benjamin and Chevelle to A Perfect Circle and Tool, among others. No word on what instrument Daniel would primarily play (he's usually a guitarist, but was the bassist in Project 421), so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Thursday if you're interested in more details!
• Former A Dire Setback/A Fall From Innocence singer Larry Babic is looking to get back into the scene, and is interested in jamming with other musicians. He is currently learning to play guitar as well, he cited bands like Taking Back Sunday and Tiny Moving Parts as some of his favourite current bands, he likes "making sad lyrics", and he indicated that he loves doing promo work. If you're interested in jamming with Larry, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Friday!
• Sykotyk Rampage's Facebook page has quietly returned after being briefly deactivated late last month, so we can quote the posts there that acknowledged their hiatus. On January 16th, the band said "Sorry we have been out of the loop, but we will be back with more", and "we should be getting together soon so we can bring the sweet creativeness to all of you.", while thanking fans for the love & likes. This isn't a firm declaration of imminent activity, so we'll leave them in our inactive band links for now, but I know fans of the crash are hoping that Sykotyk Rampage come back in full force in 2018!

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