LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & The First Of Our Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

A typically busy Halloween weekend is upon us for hard rock and punk concerts, so let's dive right into our concert previews! To spread things out, we are holding our previews of Saturday-only events (namely the Wyld Stallyns' gig and Frightlight's reunion) for tomorrow's post, while remember that the Devil's Night Oddfellows Hall concert on Tuesday was cancelled earlier this month. Now, here's what you should know to start the weekend, leading off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Reggie's West TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT as part of that venue's Halloween weekend festivities! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their Facebook event page on Monday. While Soundcheck played outside of the former Roosevelt Hotel during the Ride For ARCH street party in August, these will surprisingly be Soundcheck's first ever concerts inside the venue, not counting their predecessors Mourning Wood's shows there. Bassist Paul Belair and drummer Glen Thomas are also presumably back in the fold after missing last week's Esquire Club one-nighter, so here's a second (and third) chance in the west end TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY! Given the seasonal setting, Halloween costumes are encouraged both nights, but the formal costume contest (prizes unclear) will be on SATURDAY, so keep that in mind if you're interested in competing.

A 9:30 PM start time is advertised for both nights, and these are definitely 19+ gigs with no cover charges. These don't feel like Soundcheck's first gigs at the Reggievelt proper, but their familiar hard rock classics should draw a fun crowd over the Halloween weekend, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!



Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts with a long awaited punk show TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, as California punk rock veterans Ten Foot Pole will hit Sault Ontario for a show years in the making for many fans! Underground favourites from popular originals like "Never Look Back" & "Racer X", among many others, Ten Foot Pole's melodic skate punk sound won them many fans locally over the past 20 years, and it'll be great to see them rock the Soo with old standards and tracks from their new CD "Setlist" tonight! Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will open in their first concert since the Michale Graves cancellation, while veteran punk trio Redundant will hit the stage for their first local concert since the release of their debut EP in July, making this their de facto release party. Redundant are also joining Ten Foot Pole for their other Northern Ontario gigs this tour, having opened for them on Tuesday, and with their Thunder Bay debut coming tomorrow night. Huge opportunity to be sure, hopefully all three dates are big hits!

This concert is the first of three this weekend promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, and while there is no overt Halloween theme tonight, he will assuredly make up for that in the shows to come. Also, note that this concert was moved from the relaunched Harp Pub & Grill to the larger and more electric-friendly Rockstar Bar three weeks ago, despite The Harp remaining on the online ticket site. Admission is $15 via that link and presumably at the door, you must be 19 or older to attend, and a 9:30 PM start time is advertised. This should be a huge show for punk fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Ten Foot Pole live!



Also this weekend, we'll stick with J.D.'s busy slate of concerts, as his annual Halloween party returns for it's 14th straight year TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub! Alternately named "The Howling" this year, we'll only focus on tomorrow's concert here, with Saturday's coming in our next news post. Originally scheduled for Soo Blaster, these concerts were moved back to more familiar confines shortly afterward, returning his party to The Algonquin Hotel for the fifth straight year and sixth in seven years. As has been the case since 2015, this year's Halloween party is tribute band themed, and tomorrow's show will see (unnamed) tribute sets to The Distillers, H.I.M., and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Unusually, all three will be represented by the same band, a one-off group comprised of Jack Spades/Stegadeth bandmates Tiffany Stocco and Johnny Belanger alongside A Dire Setback frontman Chris Nielsen & Destroilet bassist Adam Larocque.

How will they handle three very different bands on the same night, and how far will they go to look like the three bands for the occasion? Find out tomorrow! Admission for this 19+ concert is $10 unless you buy a full weekend pass for $15, which will also get you into Saturday's second Halloween party, preview forthcoming. Of course, Halloween frills are expected both nights, and costumes are encouraged, but personal Facebook postings indicate that the costume contest proper will take place on Saturday only. This should be a fun concert to keep the punk rock action going in full force, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll cap off today's preview post with a trip to Hessel, Michigan, where Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Runway Bar for their annual Halloween weekend concert TOMORROW NIGHT! With frontman Alex Traynor's work on his debut solo EP, a handful of Manistique & solo gigs, and E.U.P. Kewadin Casinos "going in a different direction", this will be Banned's first regional concert since their Kinross Speedpark gig early last month, as well as their first public gig in Hessel since February. Alex, Don, and Wayne's fan friendly range of covers should go over well at The Runway Bar again tomorrow, so if you're in the area, this would be a solid way to enjoy the Halloween season! Again, expect Halloween frills and themes galor tomorrow, and there will be a costume contest at midnight, as per the venue's Facebook page. A 9:00 PM start time is advertised for this concert, which has a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Banned live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Howling night #2 and Wyld Stallyns previews next, plus more news and notes! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Ten Foot Pole), Plus Peril & Project 906 Concert Previews!!

Here's our final post of August 2018 (luckily a busier month than recently usual), and it includes our last concert previews of this weekend, and leading off, our long awaited LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a major punk show hitting a central venue we haven't heard much from in years, so here's what you should know! (Edited on Saturday at 1:33 AM to replace the assorted short story write-up with the Project 906 preview, which was accidentally left out in this post's original version, in order to keep this post at a similar length. The short stories will return un-edited in a post next week.)

California punk rock veterans Ten Foot Pole will headline in Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, October 25th at a rare non-acoustic concert at The Harp Bar & Grill! Mainstays of the American punk scene since the 1990s, Ten Foot Pole have a devoted following from memorable melodic punk tracks like "A.D.D.", "The Getaway", and "Never Look Back", and it'll be very interesting to see them on local soil this fall! Local punk trio Redundant are advertised to open in their first local concert appearance since the release of their debut EP, as part of a mini-tour run supporting Ten Foot Pole on their three Northern Ontario dates, as per their Facebook page. Great opportunity for the guys, but will this be considered Redundant's de facto local CD release concert? Fellow local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' logo is used as the Facebook event page's cover photo, which implies their involvement too, but their name is not included with Redundant's among the openers, and at least one more band is allegedly to be announced.

And yes, this show is definitely at The Harp, marking the first non-acoustic concert that we've covered there since the former Madison's Pub re-opened under it's new ownership & theme in 2013, so we'll have to see how things shape up at 701 Pine Street in two months! Given the relatively small size of The Harp, this concert (promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce) only guarantees 50 advance tickets, which cost $15 at this link, though no word on in-person availability. This is a 19+ show with a 9:30 PM start time, and no, this is not J.D.'s annual Halloween Party event. That has been separately teased in personal Facebook postings, and while we await a public announcement on the bands and location, I would expect the show(s) to be on October 26th & 27th. I'm not a scholar of Ten Foot Pole, but they have been a familiar presence among punk contacts for years, and they have a fun sound that should get a solid audience, so see above for more details!

Next up, here's our last hard rock concert previews for this weekend (barring super late notice confirmations), starting with Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril's return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Despite being advertised as taking place at The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie on their Reverbnation page, Peril's Facebook page has since changed the venue to St. Ignace's Kewadin branch, though I don't know whether this was a mistake on Peril's part or if the shows were moved south. In any event, apologies for the short notice on the venue change! These shows will be Peril's first in St. Ignace since June, and their hard hitting classic covers should be a fun soundtrack for the weekend there, sso keep these in mind if you're in the E.U.P.! Expect 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Peril live!

Finally for today, here's one more weekend concert preview post (apologies for this missing this post's original version), as local hard rock cover quartet Project 906 will kick off September with a one night only concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley! While not recently plugged on 906's Facebook page, the band acknowledged this show back in July, and it is listed on the casino's event calendar. Last seen in the Soo three weeks ago, this will be the second of three scheduled gigs for this popular local attraction at "your perfect up north retreat" in 2018, following their Back Bay show in June, with one more lined up for December. Project 906's tried and tested hard rock covers should find a receptive audience at this waterfront nightclub, so don't miss out tomorrow for all of the action! This 21+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Project 906 live in concert earlier this summer!



That's all for this month, but stay tuned for our newest "Where Are The New Albums?" post on Sunday! Thanks everyone!