The 2026 Superior Whitefish Festival Battle Of The Bands Review!!

It's been way too long since I've made the point of crossing the border to see and review a concert in Sault Michigan or the Eastern Upper Peninsula, and with last night harbouring the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands, that seemed like as good a reason as any! I made the half hour drive southwest to Brimley (nice country drive there), and for context, the festival was set up not far down the road from Bay Mills Resort & Casino, and you also passed Pickles Bar & Grill en route. While I didn't take part in the bulk of the non-concert festivities, the layout by the Riverview Park & Campground saw food trucks, vendors, and tents bordering an open area for games and activities to take place. Like last year, bands performed under a large white tent that had room for some attendees to be under in case of inclement weather, though many were happy to sit and watch outside.

Skies were cloudy and overcast all evening, but there was zero precipitation, and temperatures were reasonable. The battle format saw bands play 45 minute sets with 15 minutes for teardown and setup, and all got a "one song left" warning from the sound guys (there was no dedicated battle MC, but there were PA announcements regarding festival events, last call for whitefish meals and drink sales, and the battle awards). The battle was judged, but there was no announcement made concerning judging criteria or who was on the judges panel. Good crowd of people too, and there was a real community/family aspect to who stuck around all night!

The opening set at 7:00 PM went to local southern rock/country duo Blood, Sweat, and Beers, who were playing their first show in 2½ years last night. This is the old/new band from former Fake Chow/Unfortunate Sun singer Skip Parish, who was joined on guitar by his brother Stephen, and their set definitely leaned away from the rock covers from Skip's recent band work. The all-covers set saw them tackle songs by Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mellencamp, Deana Carter, The Eagles, Zach Bryan, Eddie Rabbitt, Post Malone, and Steve Earle. I'm not a big southern rock or country guy (let alone The Eagles), and I do think Skip's vocal range suits rock more, but the Parish brothers had a good sound going and a fun camaraderie! I especially liked Stephen's stage presence, coming off amusingly aloof and oblivious to the setlist and what was happening. Nice and casual southern fried unplugged set to lead off!

Second up last night was local punk/hard rock duo About:Blank, who were the only band present with any substantial inclusion of original songs, playing nine of their own tracks here, including "Shedding Skin", "Tread On", "Peaches", and "Run & Hide". A mix of familiar and unfamiliar acts were covered also, including Adult Books, Green Day, Turnstile, and The Orwells. I did see Parker Talentino solo at the LSSU Battle of the Bands in 2024, but in a full band setup (current duo lineup acknowledged), About:Blank delivered a set that had a lot of nods to early 1990s grunge with punk and hardcore influences, including some screaming for effect. He and drummer Kade DesArmo paired well for a chaotic but well composed batch of songs, including when Parker switched to bass for their closer "Unheard" (with its very "Barracuda"-ish riff). Good stuff, and hopefully we hear more from About:Blank before long!

The third band last night was reunited local classic/pop rock cover quartet The Whole Shabang, with singer Candy Fultz and her husband Lawrence (on guitar) back alongside bassist Mitchell Willis. On drums here was Mark Livermore, who was recently seen in The Chris Barker Band. Playing their own first show in two years, The Whole Shabang covered songs by Trick Pony, The Neon Trees, Robert Palmer, Billy Joel, Elle King, The Cranberries, Aretha Franklin, Radiohead, and Gretchen Wilson, for a set that really was a jack of all trades range of covers (dare I say, "the whole shabang"?). There was a hang-up when they restarted "Respect" after Candy got her foot caught in the microphone cord, but they had a fun and lively sound with everyone performing well, and lots of dancers hit the front of the stage, which is quite welcomed! You'd never guess they'd been inactive for as long as they were!

Closing the battle past sunset were The 8th Fire, who are the new local hard rock band from Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich alongside her former Other Guys bandmate Jackie Moon (ex-Exit 808) on drums, plus Proiect 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins on guitar. We'll have more on them in an upcoming post, but they look to be more than just a short term band made for a battle, as there are 8th Fire t-shirts! No word on what the first seven fires were though. Molly actually kicked off the set with an original country song about a perfect boat day with her dad, but the full-band songs were all covers, where they tackled Redbone, The Doobie Brothers, Green Day, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Judas Priest, and Ozzy Osbourne. Joe even took over lead vocals for a cover of Seven Mary Three's "Cumbersome", and killed it on guitar, especially on "Mr. Crowley" (including playing behind his head at one point!) If only we had gotten that Project 1327 crossover!

Molly has improved vocally since I last saw her in person at the 2024 LSSU Battle, and while some songs were still out of her range, she adjusted well (and remember, she is fourteen years old). Jackie drummed well with enthusiasm, and Molly's bass work was strong, though Joe did break a guitar string late in "Billie Jean". Not a bad debut set at all, and hopefully we hear more from The 8th Fire before Molly heads back to Interlochen!

After judges' deliberations, the PA announcer revealed the winners of the battle, and the $1,000 first place prize went to.... The Whole Shabang! The 8th Fire debuted with a $750 second place finish, while About:Blank won $500 for third place, and Blood, Sweat, and Beers claimed $250 in fourth place (so everyone got something for showing up). The Whole Shabang also earned the right to play a bonus set (or as the announcer called it, a "jam sesh") in the 11:00 PM hour, but I didn't stay for that, owing to a combo of depleting camera batteries and the half hour drive back to Sault Ontario. I don't know what the judges criteria amounted to for the battle proper, but the order did fall in line with who had the biggest and fullest live band presentations, not to mention the crowd engagement levels. I will say that I don't think originality was supremely high as a criterion for the judges, as About:Blank would have ran away with that.

Still, this was a triumphant return gig for The Whole Shabang (they look ready to play regular shows again instantly), and kudos to everyone for an entertaining night of live music! No word on if the LSSU Battle will return for year #4 this fall or not, we'll keep you posted, but I do need to come across to the EUP for more concerts already! You can check out our photos from last night at this link or at our Facebook page, and here's Blood, Sweat, And Beers covering Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason", About:Blank playing "Dilletante", The Whole Shabang covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See" (with flute!), and The 8th Fire covering Hole's "Malibu"!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for much more on the SMS this week, feature posts and regular news posts alike! Thanks everyone!

The Superior Whitefish Festival Battle Of The Bands Preview!!

Next up as we wind down this weekend's concert previews is a road trip 20 minutes southwest to Brimley, Michigan, where the second annual Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands goes down TOMORROW NIGHT! I completely missed last year's for coverage on here until after the fact, and I'm not letting year #2 slip past me, especially as this is shaping up to be another intriguing event! As you may recall, the Superior Whitefish Festival returned after a decade+ hiatus last year, and they had a battle of the bands to help end the festivities, which was won by Tarnished's then-new and all-original spinoff band Crush. While five acts played last year, only four are doing so tomorrow night, but the prizes are still the same, with a whopping $1,000 going to the first place band, as well as the right to play an encore set at night's end! Second-fourth place will receive $750, $500, and $250 apiece, meaning that everyone gets $250 to just show up. That's not a raw deal!

The Superior Whitefish Festival is brought to you again by the Bay Mills Indian Community, and honours the importance of whitefish in Anishinaabe communities. It will feature whitefish meals alongside with local vendors, family entertainment, competitions, and cultural displays, so visit the official Facebook event page and the host links for non-musical details. Everything goes down tomorrow at 12099 West Lakeshore Drive (near the Riverview Park & Campground), and if the battle is staged similarly to last year, there will be a large tent for bands to play under with space for attendees. Unusually compared to other local battles (even compared to last year) is that competing bands have one hour timeslots, and while I have not seen confirmation as to whether a judges panel, an audience vote, or another method determines the winners, you will have ample time to assess!

The Bay Mills Indians Community Tribal Chairperson Facebook group has a schedule of all events posted, confirming set times for tomorrow's battle, including that the opening band at 7:00 PM will be Blood, Sweat, And Beers, who are a revival of former Fake Chow/Unfortunate Sun frontman Skip Parish's old band with his brother Stephen. They get sporadic mentions on personal Facebook postings, and played occasional shows in Brimley and Hulbert Township in 2024 and 2025, the former being acoustic. Will that be the form that they take tomorrow evening? The 8:00 PM set belongs to local punk/hard rock band About:Blank, who played at the pre-battle Music In The Park concert at the Whitefish Festival last year, and were competitors at last fall's Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands. Recent promotion on their Facebook page indicates that they will play tomorrow night as a duo.

They never did confirm Jon Stone by name as a permanent band member, so the video of him playing with Parker & Kade must have been on a guest basis. Regardless, will About:Blank keep up their recent live momentum? Reunited local cover rock band The Whole Shabang will play their first show in almost two years as the 9:00 PM band, and while not familiar from our coverage, their lineup at least used to feature Stoned Ape Evolution alum John Napoletano, while Candace Fultz was their lead singer. Infrequently seen on the stage as recently as 2024, what do they play, and do they indeed provide "the whole shabang"? Find out tomorrow! Last up at 10:00 PM is Dafter singer/guitarist and Interlochen Academy student Molly Escherich, who you may recall fronting The Other Guys to victory in 2024's LSSU Battle and also competing in last year's Superior Whitefish Battle. Molly will be fronting a new band named The 8th Fire tomorrow though.

The 8th Fire actually have a Facebook page (something that The Other Guys never had), which implies that we'll be seeing Molly and them again, but who all is in the band, what do they play, and do they hew close to the hard rock-leaning stuff that Molly has played in full band settings previously? And Molly is just fourteen years old, but plays at a level well beyond her age, so don't sleep on them tomorrow night! Note that I read on personal Facebook shares that local folk musician Kevin Blakeney wanted to sign up to compete again this year, but organizers opted to exclusively host full bands this year (he and Kaleb "NDN Summer" Shannon played solo sets in last year's battle, where Kaleb finished in second with Kevin in fourth). If you're curious, the day opens with the acoustic-leaning Music In The Park concert, which includes veteran duo Whistle & Fish at 5:00 PM, Seth Haske at 4:00 PM, ...

...Molly Escherich solo at 3:00 PM, Mark Bowen at 2:00 PM, and "Family Band" (credited to "Christian P" in the schedule) at 1:00 PM. I am not seeing anything about an admission fee for the Whitefish Festival, but it is absolutely an all ages event, and it is expected to end at midnight, given that the battle winners will be playing a bonus set at 11:00 PM. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies turning into rain by Molly's set, so hopefully the tent is big and well covered just in case! Temperatures for the battle will be 66-73° tomorrow evening (19-23° Celsius). This battle looks well formatted with great prizes again, and it still amazes me that the EUP is eating Sault Ontario's lunch in terms of actually hosting battles successfully in the 2020s, so best of luck to all four bands tomorrow night, visit the above links for full details on the Superior Whitefish Festival, and we'll let you know when results come out! Thanks everyone!

Mean Bikini Concert Preview, Plus Spades GT Updates!!

Hey guys, just a heads up that my primary computer is having issues outputting sound, so I've had to use my phone and/or a backup laptop for listening to things addressed in today's post. I sincerely hope that this isn't a prolonged issue, but if anything seems amiss from normal coverage, that is why. Now, we have a mid-week concert preview and some more recent news items to address tonight, so here's what you should know!

Punk fans who don't mind seeing a live concert on a school/work night may want to stop by The Speak Easy at Algoma University TOMORROW NIGHT, where Cumberland, British Columbia skate/hardcore punk quartet Mean Bikini will make their local debut! A unique and somewhat politically charged band who uniquely have a half non-binary lineup, this newer group should definitely turn heads with their upbeat and high energy brand of punk rock originals, so don't sleep on Mean Bikini despite the Wednesday night timing! Online page-less (Instagram aside) local folk punk solo project Agnosticism will open in their first show of the fall, so if you're interested in seeing Vanity First/Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto's unplugged exploits, be there nice and early tomorrow! Promoted by Dryer Fire, it has since been confirmed that this 7:00 PM show will be all ages, so don't worry about the student ID exemption here!

Furthermore, despite initially having an admission fee of $10 in advance ($15 at the door), Dryer Fire have announced that this show is FREE thanks to support from the Algoma University Student Union, so keep that in mind! We haven't seen a public punk/metal concert at The Speak Easy in over five years, with a pandemic and heavy renovations happening in the interim, so it'll be interesting to hear how tomorrow's show goes over! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Mean Bikini live!

Next up, here's the latest from local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT, so what have they been up to over the past month? On September 1st, their new album "Sewer City Radio" got a perfect 5/5 review by John Haseltine of Metal-Rules.com in their "Quick Jabs" series of brief new album reviews. John highly praised the "highly infectious tracks" as being "heavy thrashy rock with that pop-punk feel", and while he's not quite right about calling this their "debut album" (someone send him "The First"!), the praise was well deserved! A week later, the former Jack Spades posted a "Reel" on their Facebook page where frontman J.D. Pearce kinda covers Alanis Morrissette's "You Oughta Know".... kinda! You have to watch it to get the joke. Another "Reel" made its way there on the 17th where drummer Tyler Reiner showed off their new "Sewer City Radio" t-shirts that are now on sale.

The shirts actually show a radio station graphic, so there's a new interpretation! Spades GT's most recent show saw them and other bands open for Random Killing (a band Saultites know very well) at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto on Saturday night, which J.D. and Daniel plugged in two separate "Reels" linked here & here (nothing major to report in either, though J.D.'s has glitchy video effects). Daniel posted another "Reel" on Sunday to thank everyone who came to see them at The Bovine, and he noted there that Aidan Grossman of the The Grossman Film Group was filming their set for an upcoming docuseries. Aidan had filmed Spades GT when they opened for Anvil in Toronto in May of last year, and the footage was excellent despite the longer raw video never being posted online. This bodes very well assuming that the docuseries plans go according to plan, and hopefully it does!

One more "Reel" was posted earlier today featuring some of Aidan's footage, and true to form from last year, the quality is very good as we see (most of) Spades playing at The Bovine and talking to the camera beforehand, but why was this uploaded as a "Reel"? Aidan's footage is in landscape orientation (16:9) whereas "Reels" are permanently vertical! I recommend watching in full screen on a computer if you can, and true to form, I can't embed it here. Photos from the Toronto show (which guitarist Jay Sarrazin was absent for) were also posted to Facebook. In terms of new shows, Spades GT have added to their Toronto concert opening for Anvil with dates opening for the "Metal On Metal" icons in Sudbury at The Coulson Entertainment Centre on October 26th & at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie on November 9th (the Pembroke show listed on this poster does not feature Spades GT).

Alas, no Soo date, but it'll be neat for locals there to see both bands, and for father & son Reiner to share the same stage on these nights! Finally, their newest announced show will take them back to The Atria in Oshawa on October 28th when they and eight other bands will open for Random Killing again at the twelfth "In Crust We Trust" concert there. Spades opened for Drew & crew at The Atria in July as well, so this will be a familiar night even moreso if you're in the area! Now we're caught up on what Spades GT have been up to this month, but stay tuned for more on the site soon, including this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Wednesday Concert Previews, Plus Soundcheck/Obsession Concert Videos!!

It's unusual where two concerts that cross our radar take place on a Wednesday, let alone both outdoors, so let's preview those to start this Tuesday evening post, which is capped off with live videos from a unique recent concert. Here's what you should know!

We'll start with Tidal Records' ninth annual Go Skateboarding Day festivities at Queen Elizabeth Park outside of The John Rhodes Centre TOMORROW, and for a seventh year, live music will be on tap for skaters and fans to enjoy! Along with the skating, refreshments, vendors, and games, four local bands will take to the stage atop the big ramp tomorrow, all new to Go Skate Day, with online page-less punk trio Hails (featuring These Magnificent Tentacles & Vanity First alumni) headlining. Their sound is tailor-made for extreme sports like this, so they're a fine pick! Support bands include also-online-pageless alternative/punk quintet Bookclub (featuring event organizer/ex-Cover-Up frontman Dustin Jones), rap collective Sound Syndicate (featuring ex-As It Stands singer Justin "Nadj" Pregent), and young local metal trio The BAG. Nice array of current music for all tastes, including rap for the first time since 2016, so keep this event in mind!

Whether you're skateboarding or not, Go Skate Day is FREE and ALL AGES, and a 4:00 PM start time is advertised. Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny conditions in the 25° range, so unless you hate summer, this should be optimal for both skating and seeing an outdoor concert. Go Skateboarding Day is always June 21st, so the Wednesday timing won't be ideal for many on work/school schedules, but at least it'll be an early event with good weather, and hopefully a solid array of established and new skateboarders turn up for all of the fun, let alone the music! See above for more details, and in lieu of a public video of Hails, here's Bookclub live!

Next up, there's more hard rock-leaning live music taking place outdoors downtown TOMORROW, as Baltimore, Maryland psychedelic hard rock duo Darsombra will return to the Soo for a special gig at a pop-up stage on March Street! The second and final concert in Dryer Fire's summer concert series that crosses our genre radar, this will be Darsombra's third local appearance, following indoor gigs at separate venues in 2017 & 2019. Given their audio/visual presentation and extended jams in their set, it will be interesting to see how Darsombra do in an outdoor setting, though at least by the time their set is slated to begin at 9:45 PM, it will be getting darker! Local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore will open tomorrow, presumably in acoustic folk punk confines, and his guitar wizardry should be more than welcomed by fans, especially following his Dryer Fire set opening for Hails in March!

As best as I can gather, this show will be held at or near the corner of March Street and Queen Street East (somewhere near The Queen's Tarts), and was moved from the Bellevue Park Bandshell for unannounced reasons. This is also a FREE & ALL AGES concert (the crowd-funding campaign worked!) with Chase opening at 8:30 PM, preceded by a local vendor's market with food by Jiggs & Reels at 6:30 PM. 9&10 News is calling for sunny-clear skies at this later point tomorrow, with temperatures in the low 20s Celsius. Should be a very memorable show on musical and visual fronts, as Darsombra have to be seen to be fully appreciated, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here they are live!

Now let's look at a bunch of videos from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's special Esquire Club show on Saturday, June 10th alongside three former Obsession singers! Drummer Glen Thomas uploaded nine videos from the gig to his YouTube channel last week, all labelled as "Soundcheck with (the) Obsession Angels" (presumably as there were three of them, like Charlie's Angels). A commemoration for the 18 year run of Obsession (featuring Soundcheck bassist Jim Michaud), the videos show Soundcheck playing alongside Obsession's first three lead frontwomen (Kim Liguori, Lorrie Lynn Bolduc, and Valerie Powley), who appear to have sung together on stage for the duration rather than trade off for solo songs. Seven people on stage must have gotten crowded! The nine videos include renditions of April Wine's version of Hot Chocolate's "You Could Have Been A Lady", ...

Nick Gilder's "Hot Child In The City",  Electric Light Orchestra's "Rock N' Roll Is King", The Eagles' "Heartache Tonight", two different versions of Shania Twain's "(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!" (this one and an updated version with multiple camera angles), Trooper's "Raise A Little Hell", and Janis Joplin's version of Roger Miller's "Me & Bobby McGee", which also had the two upload treatment by Glen, but this time, both versions were composites from multiple camera angles (this is the original, the final updated copy is below). Mileage varies, but it is clear that Soundcheck didn't know all of these songs equally. Still, it is fun seeing them rock out in a relatively unique setting like this, and the ladies pair up well together! You can see why they all were remembered from their tenures in Obsession, though it would have been nice to see their final singer Jessica Amadio also involved here.

Credit to Glen for going the extra mile for the Shania and Janis covers by cobbling together available video footage (as best as I can tell, none uploaded publically on their own elsewhere) so we can see lots of angles of Soundcheck, the Obsession singers, and the audience in action, and even if some footage was vertical, he at least tiled it over horizontal clips! Give everyone tackling "Me & Bobby McGee" a watch below, and look for more from Soundcheck when we hear it!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for formal weekend concert previews on Thursday, and more news and notes otherwise soon! Thanks everyone!

A Renamed Local Band, Their New EP, And Much More News & Notes!!

Before we begin today's news post, I wanted to apologize for not one, but two missed concerts in this weekend's concert previews. Firstly, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard played an unplugged concert at Gateway Casino last night, a show that was only announced on the venue's Facebook page yesterday afternoon. Bone Yard did not promote this show on their Facebook page, and this weekend was left blank in their summer concert calendar, otherwise full for another four weekends, leading me to believe that this concert truly came together on late notice. Interestingly, it was originally advertised for their acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge, who last played live at the casino in March, but was later revised to specify that this was "Bone Yard unplugged". Is this in deference to bassist Warren Reville being present, or have The Bearded Lounge been folded in favour of just using the Bone Yard name across the board?

If the former, no reason has been given for the unplugged switch, but the full electric band will be back at the Queen Street Cruise this coming weekend! The other missed show is from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, who did indeed play a standard concert at The Esquire Club on Friday night before their special gig with three former Obsession singers last night. Initial advertising focused only on the Saturday nighter with guests, and Soundcheck only confirmed that they were playing on Friday too via their Facebook page at 4:24 PM that day. I profusely apologize for missing both bands' shows, I'd have covered them had they gotten more reasonable advance notice, but hopefully they were hits!

Today's post otherwise features some assorted recent updates, and leading off, a surprise band revival, as local progressive metal band Kraken Mara are back, and have a new name to show for it! Only explained by saying "we've shuffled some things around", their new name is Convergence, as per their Facebook page yesterday, and their social media links are changed to match. In case you forgot, the former Kraken Mara was the long-gestating project from ex-Late & Loud guitarist Brendan Christie and his brother-in-law Jake Valois that was first active in fits & starts from 2015-2018 before resurfacing in 2021 with new EPs (yes, plural) that were streamable but, despite appearances, not buyable from their Wix website, which was oddly the only place where you could access them. While not hyped up on Facebook, Kraken Mara Convergence have finally posted an EP for sale that actually works on Wix, named "One"!

Originally, they had eight songs across two EPs named "Press Start" & "Game Over" that you could stream on Wix in the summer of 2021, but they have been condensed down into this five-track EP, with three prior songs ("Vibe Check" & "Minmaj" from the former and "Escort Mission" from the latter) not present (maybe on "Two"?). Notably, Kelowna, B.C.-based drummer Cliff Aubut is only credited on "The Woodward" this time out, but he is still listed as a session performer on the "About" page on Wix, as well a name we haven't heard much about locally in years, namely former State of Misery/Valentine's Day Massacre singer Steve Rhodes! Steve moved to London with The V.D.M. back in 2012, and has surprisingly not played a local date with his more recent Southern Ontario bands like D3athcharg3r or Prosector. He is not on the Convergence EP, but it'd be great to hear Steve's screaming vocals again in a local context!

"Many others" are teased as collaborators, but not named. At present, this EP is available exclusively on Wix for $9.99 (despite individual tracks costing $1 each), and can be streamed for free there as well. Note that it was produced & mastered at the band's own Yellow Room Studios, but how much of that work is new this year, I can't say. Yes, I do plan to review "One" on the SMS, but alas, we have quite a backlog for our monthly CD reviews, so it won't hit the site until October, as we're booked solid for four months. Still, it's great to see Brendan & Jake back yet again, and hopefully their djent-heavy, ultra technical brand of prog metal takes off as intended in 2023! See and hear much more at the above links!

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 Darsombra-headlined concert from Dryer Fire on Wednesday, June 21st has been moved from the Bellevue Park Bandshell to.... the March Street Stage? A reason for the move was not announced, but this was clarified in Facebook advertising since May 14th, and the new locale will also feature a local vendors market featuring food by Jiggs & Reels Catering from 6:30 PM onward that day. Oddly, they did not specify where on March Street that this pop-up stage will be located, but the event page defaults to the Downtown Association offices, so closer to Queen Street East would be my guess. See above for more on this FREE summer solstice concert!
• We now know who Rotaryfest Stage 1 performers Lands & Forest (not Land & Forest) are, based on personal Facebook posts, and they are a blues/rockabilly quartet featuring Johnny & The Revelators alumni Jason Gasparetto and twins Byron & Marshall Jaaskelainen (the latter of Rising Tide fame), plus Marshall's old Barn Board Trio bandmate Jaime Jacques. This group debuted at The Water Tower Pub last night, and while not a hard rock act, it's good to know who they are! Their Rotaryfest set will be on Saturday, July 15th at 2:15 PM.
  
• I have moved local Tool tribute band Parabol back to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band has not issued any public statements or played live since their headlining gig at Soo Blaster on June 4th last year, which is their only concert in the past 3½ years, pandemic acknowledged. Parabol were never a frequent presence on stage, so the potential of them coming back out of the blue for a big headlining date is definitely out there, but best of luck to John, Steve, Al, and Anthony in whatever's next! 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (i.o), A New-Ish Solo Project, New Videos, And More!!

Here's a new news post on this Sunday morning featuring some new videos, a new-ish band to tell you guys about, and a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with some intriguing styles on display, so here's what you should know to kick off another week!

Victoria, British Columbia experimental noise project i.o and new-ish local emo/folk punk solo project Agnosticism will join forces for a concert TOMORROW NIGHT at... The Drawing Club? This is a new arts space at 128 Bruce Street that primarily serves as a community hotspot for artistic expression (click here for more on their mission), but they have been sporadically booking live music in 2023, with TOMORROW'S concert being part of Dryer Fire's summer concert series that was announced in April. As such, apologies for the short notice, I had no idea that any bands on this event would cross into the SMS' primary coverage. Led by drummer Max Patterson, i.o are a hard band to look up online based on their name alone, but their chaotic drum-led brand of instrumental noise rock will certainly be an intense change of pace, so do give them a listen before TOMORROW NIGHT!

If you want to read more on who Agnosticism are, read on below, but to wrap up previewing this concert proper, the opening act will be local/Toronto outsider folk musician Shae Tull (good to see her back in town!) This all ages concert begins TOMORROW at The Drawing Club (where Dryer Fire's 2019 pop-up venue was) at 7:30 PM. While the advertised admission fee is $15, "no one (will be) turned away for lack of funds", so keep that in mind. Tickets are on sale in advance at this link. This will certainly be an eclectic concert that builds in intensity quite rapidly, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's i.o live! Trust me on this, Max puts on quite a show!

As for Agnosticism, they are a solo project from Vanity First/Hails guitarist Mikhal Muto, with him on vocals & acoustic guitar in folk punk trappings that fans of Chase Wigmore's will especially be interested in! We've never considered Instagram pages to be "official" as far as local band pages go on social media, as they're so personal & picture-driven by design, but you can see Mikhal performing as Agnosticism on their Instagram page, including an impromptu live performance at the Fishbowl Festival earlier this year. As it turns out, Agnosticism have quietly been active since 2021, and Mikhal actually put out a debut album for the project on major streaming services last October, entitled "Happy Pills"! He should have had an account on Facebook or something for Agnosticism, as that way, I would have talked about this well before now! You can hear all 12 songs on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, plus their YouTube channel.

There are some standalone singles available above too, while the YouTube channel also has some early Vanity First covers (apparently, Agnosticism was their original name before things splintered into two projects), and one live video, venue unclear. Yes, this album is on sale on iTunes for $9.99, if you want to buy full mp3 copies, but as it's no longer "new", it doesn't get priority for an imminent monthly review on the SMS. When our backlog clears out though, it can easily slot in to tie in with a month where one of Mikhal's bands is playing live! This includes Hails, who (like Agnosticism) only seem to exist on social media via an Instragram page, despite being Vanity First with a different frontman (Brenton Ellis rather than Andrew Beggs). For the record, Hails have even less posted on Instagram than Agnosticism, only uploading pictures that primarily focus on Brent's artistic side.

From what I have seen and heard of Agnosticism, it's clear that Mikhal gets folk punk well and subgenre fans will be right at home with the lyric driven, direct, and unpolished songs on offer! He is a talented guitarist, and while his vocals may be underutilized to an extent on acoustic songs like this, it is supposed to be a separate project from his bands and it comes through well, though existing folk punk fans will have more to like from the off. Give Mikhal's live performance of "Unholy Matrihomie" (sic) a watch below, and stay tuned for more from all three of his current projects!

We'll close today with some new videos from new local hard rock quartet Far From Fine's Facebook page, specifically from their studio time late last month at Mission Control Studios! On Tuesday, they posted two videos of guitarist Mitch Sirie and bassist Matt Fronzi tracking material towards their planned debut album, and while both are short clips hovering around 30 seconds in length, they are our first glimpse of their original material! Click here for Mitch's slightly shorter video, which has him playing a guitar solo. I'm unsure if these are different songs, but Matt's video sounds quite punky, and Mitch's solo seems more dramatic. Promising regardless, so give them a watch above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Molten Imp, Slumshine, And Soundcheck), And Esquire Club Concert Details!!

Today's post was going to be totally different, but some interesting LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS dropped for the fall from two sources, namely Second Line West venue The Esquire Club and local promoters Dryer Fire! The former reflects The Esquire's return to proper nighttime weekend concerts from local cover bands after months of pandemic-influenced matinee gigs, while Dryer Fire have four currently announced shows for the fall at three different downtown venues. Genres vary wildly on both fronts, but here's what you should know on their hard rock/punk-featured gigs ahead!

We'll start with Dryer Fire, who have booked the recently revived art punk solo project Slumshine to open for British Columbia folk solo project Ghostly Hounds on Saturday, September 17th! This show will take place at Dryer Fire's temporary venue at 285 Wilson Street, with Nicole extending the lease there into October (more on the second fall show there in a bit). Slumshine just returned to the stage for the first time post-pandemic at the Sault Ste. Marie Museum this past weekend, but one presumes there won't be the same capacity restrictions at 285 Wilson on multiple fronts, so this could be the first chance many of you have to see Brent & his pink ski mask on a public stage in over 2 years! While Ghostly Hounds don't play punk up front, there are darker thematic elements on display, and they should entertain with their personal take on acoustic folk next month in their local debut!

This presumably all ages concert has $15 advance tickets that you can buy online at this link, while the door price jumps to $20. Regardless, doors open at 7:00 PM. Should be an entertaining show for fans of unplugged folk rock hitting multiple genres on the way, so keep this one in mind, and visit the official Facebook event page for more details! The next two Dryer Fire shows don't have hard rock or punk acts, but note that ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno's solo folk project Penno Cash will open for Zachary Lucky at The Elks Hall on September 20th (details here).

Next up, let's leap to The Esquire Club, who have announced a full band schedule through mid-December for weekend nighttime cover band action, and they first dip into primarily heavier waters on Friday, September 23rd & Saturday, September 24th when classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck make their return to this popular venue! Soundcheck were not part of the rotation for The Esquire Club's "Buckets, Bands, and Birds" matinee series earlier this year, so this will be their first set of concerts there since November 2021. Good to see Terry, Cameron, Paul/Rob, and Glen back at a relatively fresh venue, at least as far as recent bookings go, and hopefully their hard rocking covers find a strong audience there next month! Note that in a comment on the Facebook picture of the schedule, singer/guitarist Terry Eaton implied that Soundcheck were at least in talks to return there on November 4th & 5th as well, but are not listed to play those dates.

If the poster is any indication, pop rock cover quartet L!me will be playing that weekend instead, but we'll let you know if the poster is in error or not, especially as Soundcheck only have the one weekend booked there otherwise. Bands playing at The Esquire Club this fall are starting at 9:30 PM nightly with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and look for more from Soundcheck soon!

We'll next head back downtown to 285 Wilson Street for the final of Dryer Fire's fall concert series (as of today, at least), where local industrial metal solo project Molten Imp will make their live concert debut on Friday, October 21st as one of the openers for Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface! Local fans will be no stranger to Garbageface from four regional concert appearances in the late 2010s at both Live705 events and at the former Oh!No festival in Leeburn, and his intense, distinctive brand of hip hop should be welcomed back by fans! Like in Garbageface's prior local stops, this is very much a mixed genre show, but how will Boyd Rendell present Molten Imp as a live act, both as a solo artist now and given the soundscapes he programs? It'll be interesting to find out! Yes, this is the show teased on Molten Imp's Facebook page, and will mark Boyd's first live concert set since AlgomA's final gig in 2019. 

The other scheduled performer on October 21st is Owen MK, a local "dark synth pop" artist who I've never heard of and can't find an online page for. I'll let you guys know if anything else surfaces, but Owen's presence adds to the genre free-for-all! Same as the Ghostly Hounds/Slumshine gig, expect no age limit, doors opening at 7:00 PM, $15 tickets at this link, and $20 door admission. Visit the above links for more details on this and other Dryer Fire-booked events hitting the Soo this fall!

Finally for today, let's take one more look at The Esquire Club's late 2022 concert schedule! First off, if you don't know who Buzzsaw Jaw (playing there next month and in December) are, I do know that they are the current band from former Stiffler's Mom bandmates Michael Davies & Jon Ferguson. Whether they play heavier songs on average or not, I don't know (I can't find an online page for them yet), but keep that band in mind! You may also have seen that local classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession (now featuring Jess Amodio on vocals) are booked for two weekends ahead there, but the band already confirmed those dates on their website and we listed them already from there. Also, the poster clearly shows the weekends of October 7th-8th & November 18th-19th as having a replaced band with the original band name taped over, but a G is poking out from the November listing.

I may be wrong, but this does look like Tripod The Dog were originally booked for one/both weekends (Mark and crew had mainly been seen at The Esquire Club in the pandemic era), but according to the poster's Facebook caption, "one of the bands cancelled dates". If this was Tripod, hopefully nothing bad happened, and that we see them back on stage in due course! You'll note that the November 18th weekend gigs do have a replacement actively covered on the SMS, but we'll cover those shows in an upcoming post, as this one has been going on a bit long already. See above for much more from Dryer Fire & The Esquire Club, and that's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Mid-Week Concert Previews!!

The pandemic is definitely not what it was, given how busy the SMS has been for posts as of late, and that we have enough mid-week concerts taking place tomorrow and on Thursday to warrant a special mid-week concert preview post today! We'll start with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison will indeed play at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post for a third straight Wednesday concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook event page yesterday. With three straight late notice Wednesday concerts announced thusly, a pattern is established, and while he hasn't firmly stated this publically, it does appear that Tym has an arrangement to play weekly at The Mike Case Memorial Stage, not unlike his pre-pandemic agreements at Gliss and elsewhere. No word on how long we'll see Tym weekly at The Trading Post, but note that the stage only operates through September on a seasonal basis. As we did for Tym's prior weekly arrangements at indoor venues, I'll approach his presumed future Mike Case Stage gigs month-by-month, so I've added June 22nd and 29th to our concert calendar until/unless otherwise stated.

In any event, Tym's prolific and proficient brand of hard rocking vocal/guitar covers should deliver a fun couple of hours for fans TOMORROW NIGHT and likely on Wednesdays to come, so don't miss out! TOMORROW'S and other Wednesday night shows have 7:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and no age limits, but be advised that 9&10 News is calling for scattered thunderstorms from around 8:00 PM onward (the show is slated to end at 9:00). See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, let's preview two more mid-week concerts in Sault Ste. Marie, both getting lots of advance notice, starting with the local debut of British Columbia post-punk quartet Blessed when they headline at Dryer Fire's temporary pop-up venue at 285 Wilson Street TOMORROW NIGHT! Old fans of the late lamented Gnaeus will want to site up and take notice of Blessed and their indie/art rock-tinged brand of original post punk, complete with Talking Heads-influenced vocals, and they should be an intriguing early attraction in Dryer Fire's summer concert series! Local "triumphant rock" quintet These Magnificent Tenatacles will bring their alternative and punk hybrid attack to the stage as openers tomorrow, marking their third live appearance since expanding their lineup, and their second at 285 Wilson. The Tentacles have been making positive waves locally this year, and seeing as two of their new band members are Gnaeus alums, they will fit even better!

Tickets for this ALL AGES, 7:00 PM show will run you $10 at this link and presumably at the door. Barring a late show announcement or band switch, this will be the most punk/hard rock-friendly show Dryer Fire has all summer, so if you can make it to 285 Wilson (near The Breakfast Pig) tomorrow, you should get a strong night of talented live music! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Blessed live!

Lastly for this atypical batch of mid-week concert previews (we'll start addressing the Friday-Sunday crowd in a couple of days), local indie punk quintet The Northwest will take the stage for the first time since December 2019 (and since becoming The Northwest) when they open for Toronto alt-country trio Elliott Brood at the re-opened LopLops Lounge on THURSDAY NIGHT! A lot has changed and improved for Wayne, Greg, the Mikes, and Marc since the pandemic began, but a lot of patience and hard work led to the release of their third EP "All In" last week, with this show serving as the de facto release party. I can't confirm if they are imminently selling physical copies (their last two EPs were strictly digital), but this will be your first chance to hear these songs live regardless! Curiously, The Northwest still have not confirmed their involvement in this show on their Facebook page or the official Facebook event page, but members' personal Facebook accounts have been plugging this one a great deal.

As for the headliners, Elliott Brood are a Juno winning group whose brand of dark country & roots rock originals have been seen multiple times (generally at LopLops) in the Soo area since the 2000s, most recently at 2018's Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing. While not a hard rock or punk act, Elliott Brood are a talented outfit who may provide a more amenable sound for readers who don't like traditional country music, so don't bypass them if you're not familiar with them already! Thursday's concert will be the first held inside LopLops on Queen Street East since they were forced to close in March 2020 for very obvious reasons. Stephen & crew stayed active with craft beer deliveries and promoting off-site events, but being back in their home base will be awesome, and hopefully this show is a huge hit to kick things off again! A thankfully early 7:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ event.

Advance tickets cost $32.84, and you can buy them at this link and presumably at the door. This show is a big deal whether you're a fan of Elliott Brood, The Northwest, LopLops, or any combination therein, and while the Thursday scheduling isn't ideal, hopefully a sizeable crowd turns out for all of the action in a couple of days! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's (The) Northwest live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Blessed & The Northwest), New Videos, And More!!

Keeping our steady stream of regular posts going as the month of June rolls along, we have some new videos to check out today, plus updates on an upcoming CD release, and the latter ties into one of two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next week, so here's what you should know!

Abbotsford, British Columbia art-rock/post-punk quartet Blessed will make their local concert debut on Wednesday, June 15th when they headline at Dryer Fire's temporary pop-up venue at 285 Wilson Street!  Of course, "post-punk" and what many would traditionally call "punk" don't have a lot of obvious modern links, but Blessed's upbeat wall-of-noise approach and Talking Heads-inspired rhythms and vocals should appeal to a wide array of listeners next Wednesday, so definitely give them a listen to see what you think! Be advised that their newest EP is solely of remixes. Local punk/alternative quintet These Magnificent Tentacles will open in their third show with this lineup, and first appearance at 285 Wilson since the open house last month, and with 2 members of the band coming from the now-defunct local post punk stalwarts Gnaeus, their inclusion makes a lot of sense!

While this concert is technically part of Dryer Fire's summer concert series, it was only publically announced yesterday as a "bonus show", hence why we're only mentioning it now. This all ages event has a 7:00 PM start time, and admission runs for $10 at this link or presumably at the door. Of all of Dryer Fire's shows this summer, this one next Wednesday is the most punk-leaning, so we're starting with a bang in that regard, and visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

Next up, local indie punk quintet The Northwest will play their first public concert set of the year when they open for Juno Award winning Toronto alt-country trio Elliott Brood on Thursday, June 16th at the re-opening LopLops Lounge! Last seen at the same venue in December 2019 (you can probably guess why they haven't played live for 2+ years), this will be The Northwest's first show since tacking "The" to the beginning of their name, but more importantly, it will be the de facto release party for their brand new EP "All In", which is full steam ahead for its public release on Friday! This is the cover art, and you can pre-save it on Spotify at this link, but the band has not firmly stated if the EP will be available in physical copies or on paid mp3 download platforms at press time. If they had to take such a long break (planned or not), The Northwest are returning with a bang, and expect to hear new and old original favourites then!

Be advised that official public online sources have not confirmed The Northwest as opening, but guitarist Greg Callaghan revealed the news on his personal Facebook page yesterday, so they may be a late addition (the show was announced with just Elliott Brood last month). Speaking of Elliott Brood, while not a metal/punk act, their dark brand of "death country" has been entertaining audiences for two decades, including at multiple local dates (mostly at LopLops), last playing in our area at the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing in July 2018. If you're not a country fan, Elliott Brood may be an exception to the rule, so don't bypass them! As for LopLops, the popular Queen Street East venue has remained active during the pandemic with craft beer deliveries and hosting events off-site, but they closed their actual doors to the public in March 2020, so this should be a great way to come back!

An early 7:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ show (good thing too, given the Thursday scheduling), and with Elliott Brood's existing profile, tickets next Thursday will run for $32.84, and you can buy them at this link and presumably at the door. Whether you're in this for the alternative country or alternative punk, this double bill should deliver the goods next Thursday, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Finally for today, let's get caught up on a couple of new videos from local/Barrie crossover thrash quartet Spades GT's Facebook page from last month! Both promotional clips for when the former Jack Spades opened for Anvil (more on them soon) in Toronto, one is a jokey video made by guitarist Daniel Horton where he used a website named www.talkobamato.me to use clips of former U.S. President Barack Obama's speeches to make him promote the Toronto concert, leading into clips of Spades GT's post-relaunch debut and fake videos of Obama dancing set to the studio version of "Rise". If you recall Jimmy Fallon's bit where he made NBC News anchor Brian Williams "rap", it's edited similarly, albeit by a program reading your text, not staff. Cute idea, but the speech goes so fast, it can be hard to hear what Obama is "saying". At least it's not overtly political or leaning toward any heavily partisan opinions!

Embedded below is their newest video, which is actually embeddable publically (Daniel's video isn't as it has longer audio to content match). This was uploaded the day of the Anvil concert, and features all four current members of Spades GT outside seemingly preparing to enter their vehicle to the venue, before jumping to studio audio and relevant posters/logos. Short but effective promotion, so give it a look below, see more above, and stay tuned for more from Spades GT when it rolls in!

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