Today's post is entirely devoted to videos from the Archelon-headlined Rockstar Bar concert from this past Saturday night, as debuting/opening local power rock quintet Re:Born's Facebook page has uploaded videos from each band's set! I believe these were shot (at least in part) by guitarist Blair Burch's son Cory, who I recall filming during the show. Better quality than my videos overall, and he got closer to the bands, which is helpful! Remember, I don't like getting closer to the bands if no one's really on the floor, as I don't want to be "that guy" blocking everyone's view. Re:Born's video of Archelon is of the headlining Sudbury groove/death metal quintet playing their song "Path to Darkness", which captures their brutal onslaught nicely, if with slightly staticy audio, and it's nice to see a vibrant fan response up front! Give it a look below!
Next up, Re:Born's channel also posted this video Hamilton punk/grunge trio Doors & Fours playing their song 'Take Your Life Away" on Saturday night, which is coincidentally the song I filmed for our review of this concert. That said, this is a higher quality version of this song, and comparatively a more reserved track than Doors & Fours chaotic, all-business set tended to contain! Give it a look below as well!
Moving to the locals, we also have a new video of Jack Spades playing their original song "Motorwolf", and in a surprise occurence that I forgot to mention in our review, the opening yell of the song's title was done by frontman J.D. Pearce rather than another past or present band member, as they're more typically known for. Energetic and suitably high impact rendition from this fan favourite punk/metal quintet, so check out their new lineup in action below!
And finally, Re:Born themselves were filmed twice for their channel, including their renditions of "Reckoning Day" & "Breaking the Law" by Megadeth and Judas Priest respectively, and asembedded below, their covers of AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" & predecessors Project 421's "Running Away". Very solid debut for this new band, and Robert Nevitt has the pipes despite a lack of band experience until now, so hopefully they keep on an upward trajectory in 2018! Check our Re-Born's first official live videos above and below, and stay tuned for more from them!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
After a delay due to personal commitments, here's our review of Saturday night's Archelon/Doors & Fours concert at The Rockstar Bar! Nice to finally get back out to a show after a little too long, but unfortunately, the crowd was only about medium capacity. The fans that did make it out were vocal and invested, however, and by the end of the night, the floor was getting reasonably packed, which was nice to see! Now, onto the bands!
Opening this show were the debuting Re:Born, the new power rock quintet from Project 421, Eclipse, and Din alumni, so how'd they sound for their first public outing? So far, so good, in my opinion! Playing a set familiar to 421 diehards with originals like "No One Rides For Free" & "Into The Darkness" joining Iron Maiden and Diamond Head renditions, this new band also broke out a few new covers not done by the old band, including some AC/DC and Scorpions classics. Of course, Blair Burch and Frank McGillivray's pre-existing chemistry was on full display, Fred Dunn's bass work fit in well, and Brandan Glew's acclimiating nicely to this heavier sound (though the bass drum could be a little loud.) The great unknown here was with singer Robert Nevitt, who was making his debut in any band on Saturday, and while he needs to engage wit the crowd a little more and loosen up a bit, his voice is solid! I can see him handling hair metal covers with ease, and while I don't expect they're going that route, Re:Born are off to a solid start!
Despite being an out of town group, Hamilton grunge/punk trio Doors & Fours played next in their local concert debut (also a makeup date of sorts after dropping out of a show here last fall), and they made up for lost time with an entertaining and heavy set! Intense is one way to describe it, with the guys staying very focused and in the groove, uttering not one word to the crowd between songs, not even to announce a title. This does create a disconnect with the fans, but at the same time, Doors & Fours definitely held fans' early attention with songs like their new single "So Hard", and with their chaotic, always-in-motion stage presence, they were hard to keep eyes off of! Frontman Adam Peach could morph from a hardcore scream to a grunge throwback style with relative ease, and Rene Thivierge and Cody McAleney were well matched rhythmically for their set! It'd be nice to see Doors & Fours give and take more with the crowd, but hopefully this isn't the only time we see them on a local concert bill!
Co-headlining on Saturday were local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades in their first public concert of 2018, and just their second show with their current lineup, and fans were treated to another entertaining, high impact set from this favourite group! Their set was mostly business as usual, with originals like "Fear Corps" and "Breakneck Speed" dotted with covers of acts like Turbonegro and The Ripcordz, but there was one new song unveiled on this night, a more upbeat punk number called "Sewer City Radio" which seemed to go over well! That song aside, there were no true "surprises", but Jack Spades delivered a quality set, with J.D. Pearce's voice on point no matter where in the venue he was (even on a chair for a stretch!) Tiffany Stocco and Johnny Belanger are fully back in the groove after coming back late last year, Daniel Horton shone on lead guitar, and Rob Speers' bass skills fit in just fine also! Here's to more planet-jacking from Jack Spades in this new year!
And finally, your headliners were Sudbury groove metal quintet Archelon in their first local concert appearance since October 2014! Compared to that Halloween themed, covers-heavy set, this fast-rising group has matured but kept a positive, face melting spirit that encouraged the most fans onto the floor of the evening, which was welcome to see at last! Playing numerous selections from their "Bound By Bloodlines" like "LifeDebt" along with non-album tracks like "Path of Darkness", the guys brutalized the Rockstar Bar stage (I'm honestly surprised this wasn't downstairs!), with their sound touching on elements of death, groove, and thrash with aplomb, and Bobby Cobras' vocals were well suited all around! Brady McCoy made good use of his beautiful Dean Razorback once again, and he was a good match with Patrick Mallette in this department too! Archelon have grown a lot since we last saw them, and hopefully they get a much better turnout when they come back!
Overall, this was a very solid concert from all four bands, and hopefully J.D. has much more in the works as the year rolls along! ou can check out our photos from Saturday night at this link or via our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's Re:Born covering Megadeth's "Reckoning Day", Doors & Fours playing "Take Your Life Away", Jack Spades playing "Sewer City Radio", and Archelon playing "Light Side" (and yes, I know that other videos from this show have been posted publically by other attendees, we will touch on them this week in upcoming posts!)
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
In what may just be the calm before the St. Patrick's Day storm, this weekend's concert previews are very slight in number, with only two batches of hard rock shows to cover this weekend that have advance notice. To fill things out, we have a new-ish radio interview with a prominent local band, and some assorted Sault Michigan stories, so here's what you should know!
We'll start today's shorter than usual batch of concert previews with the return of prolific local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison to Gliss Steak & Seafood for another pair of unplugged gigs TONIGHT & TOMORROW! As his long-term weekly arrangement at The Quality Inn's house restaurant marches on, Tym should have another solid pair of shows in store for fans and patrons alike, so keep an eye out for his skilled blend of classic and hard rock covers over these next two evenings! Note that Tym played Gliss yesterday as well on special request (if that was a public show, our apologies for missing it), while he has also confirmed that his hosting of open mic nights at The Canadian will continue on Thursdays rather than Wednesdays starting next week through at least May 24th, so keep the date change in mind if you like open mic nights! As usual for Tym's Gliss matinees, expect a 6:00 PM start time tonight and tomorrow.
Also, remember that while there are no announced cover charges or age limits, mind the locale, this isn't a traditional nightclub venue. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on these and upcoming Tym Morrison shows at Gliss, and here he is live a few years back!
Next up, here's this weekend's only other previously announced hard rock show, and it's a big one for metal fans, as Sudbury death/thrash metal band Archelon will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a headlining date at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Almost 3½ years removed from their Oddfellows Hall concert on Devil's Night 2014, this show could be seen as a delayed final stop from theirs and locals Jack Spades' joint Northern Ontario tour last fall, which didn't have a Soo concert scheduled. Archelon's brutal onslaught should be welcomed back to the local stage tomorrow, so don't miss out on their original tracks then! The aforementioned Jack Spades are the advertised co-headliners in their first concert appearance of 2018, and their second since Tiffany and Johnny returned to their lineup, so look for more high impact metal-tinged punk from them! Might there be a new song to look forward to?! Hamilton punk/grunge trio Doors & Fours will also perform on Saturday in a makeup date of sorts following their drop-out of a headlining show here in November, also with Jack Spades.
No word on why they're playing between locals, but Doors & Fours old school-inspired hybrid sound should garner a solid audience of their own tomorrow night! The openers are new local power rock quintet (and Project 421 successors) Re:Born in their public concert debut, so how will Robert, Blair, Frank, Fred, and Brandan sound in their first live go-around? Find out tomorrow night! This show has a $7 cover charge, 10:00 PM start time, and 19+ age limit, and while the genres on display seem more suited for The Algonquin Pub downstairs, all advertising indicates it's upstairs. This should be a great night of metal and punk action, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Archelon live!
Also today, here's a new YouTube find for fans of local/Toronto indie punk veterans Treble Charger, namely an interview with singer/guitarist Greig Nori and then-bassist Rosie Martin on Calgary rock station CJAY 92 back in December 2000! Uploaded to YouTube user Colin MacDonald's channel yesterday, the interview was conducted by CJAY personality Stone Malone, the interview took place during Treble Charger's tour stop in Calgary on December 4th, 2000 alongside Eve 6 and Gob. In the interview, Greig and Rosie talk about how the tour is going, their beginnings as a band, their then-new album "Wide Awake Bored", working with producer Matt Hyde, tour experiences in the United States, their pinball-inspired website, their new music video for "Brand New Low", members' loves & hates, and more (Stone also throws to "Brand New Low" and "Funny", but both tracks and the commercial break are clipped out, likely for copyright reasons regarding the songs.)
Despite a 17+ year wait to see this interview come online, it's a fun listen, and both Greig and Rosie are completely at ease and having a lot of fun bantering and reminiscing with Stone (even joking that they'd be CJAY's new morning hosts), so this is definitely worth listening for Treble Charger fans! Do so below, and hopefully we hear more from Treble Charger in 2018!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, all relating to Sault Michigan in some respect! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by venue, station, or program name:
Classic Rock: The Bear in Cheboygan (WCHY 97.7 FM) is moving to 95.3 FM on a 5X stronger signal on Tuesday, as per their Facebook page! The move appears to involve the purchase of or trade for existing country station WWSS 95.3 FM in Tuscarora Township (which shares ownership with the Eagle classic hits stations in our market.) Though 95.3 is a much stronger signal, Tuscarora is a half hour south of Cheboygan, so how well will The Bear pick up in the Soo now, especially compared to KLT? We'll find out next week!
In a name change for our "Other Sault Michigan Links", I have reverted the name of Rock 101's weekday morning drive program back to Scott Cook In The Morning, following co-host Brian Davie's second departure last year. To my knowledge, an online statement wasn't made regarding his exit, but on-air promotion of the show doesn't list Brian anymore, and I haven't heard him on air in months. Hopefully nothing bad happened, it was nice to have him back!
A second musicians competition will be held at the Superior Cafe (inside Bird's Eye Outfitters on the former Golanka's Bar site) in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, March 27th! Ground rules are basically identical to January's competition, with gift cards awaiting the winning acts (bands and solo artists welcomed), so visit the official Facebook event page for details! For reference, 9 acts competed in January, including winning alternative quintet Midnight Logic and half of Project 906, among others.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!
A quiet start to the month has been noticeable so far, but we have a full news post for you guys on this Wednesday, so what's here to check out? Some assorted recent news and notes, new videos from each side of the border, and leading off, a long awaited new album, so here's what you should know!
After an almost three year wait, local acoustic punk project Telephone & Address have finally released their fifth official album "Monster", courtesy of their Bandcamp page on Saturday! Frontman Christopher Shoust first announced this album on their Facebook page back in March 2015, but monetary concerns were partially cited for it's delayed release, and the later-recorded "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been..." would go on sale first in late 2016. Presumably released through Harmisntus Productions again, "Monster" features 13 songs, including the previously unveiled "I Can Bleed", and the album resembles "Are You Now..." in musical style, including full instrumentation and drums. That said, I believe this was recorded well before new drummer Jackson Reed signed on, and while no credits are given on Bandcamp, Chris did hint at productional involvement from AlgomA's Jamie Vincent back in 2015, so keep that in mind just in case.
No word yet on a physical release of "Monster", with or without their usual cardboard casing, but Telephone & Address next play live at The New A on March 18th, so check there in case CDs are on sale. Bandcamp copies of "Monster" are on sale for $10, while physical copies of their prior albums tended to go for $15. It's great to finally see this album released, and between this and Mike McCleary's "Weight of the Truth", our next two album reviews are set, but in what order? And will the long-delayed "Early Tapes" be next, or a full album with Jackson drumming? Buy "Monster" at the above links, and stay tuned for updates!
Next up, here's the latest from local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, starting with a few new tour dates of theirs in Southern Ontario! Confirmation of their spring tour dates (including a hoped local return) are still forthcoming, but the guys will join Toronto grindcore project Truth of All Death for shows in St. Catharine's and Hamilton later this month, albeit missing that band's other three shows on this run. Great to see the guys keeping busy, so look for them this month in Southern Ontario via the gigs listed on their Facebook page! To tease their February shows (including four with Cruel Bloom, starting tomorrow in Owen Sound), Shit Liver posted this video to their Facebook page yesterday featuring the 16 second intro to an original song from a recent jam session. Tinted in a bluish monochrome, the guys lampshaded the clip's "horrible audio quality", but given their extreme sound and the opening's heavy focus on Matt's drumming, it's not bad at all for what it is. Give Shit Liver's new video a look below!
Also today, here's a new-ish instrumental track from Sault Michigan metal project Life's Eclipse, courtesy of their label Werehold Records' YouTube channel! Uploaded last week, this is a partial revision of "Evil Star" from their unreleased 1998 album "Deeper In The Woods", though now featuring frontman Jason Mills playing his new 8 string guitar. Very solid performance, and the new guitar slides in nicely to the original, so fans of hard hitting groove-inspired metal should take to this one! Give Life's Eclipse's new/old song a listen below, and stay tuned for more from the Werehold camp!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:
Hamilton, Ontario punk/grunge trio Doors & Fours have been added to the previously announced Archelon concert at The Rockstar Bar on March 10th, as per the official Facebook event page on Sunday. This will be a makeup date of sorts for Doors & Fours, who were forced to drop out of a headlining Algonquin Pub concert in November (also to have featured Jack Spades opening) due to their tour vehicle breaking down, so don't miss their long awaited local debut next month!
The Gore Street Cafe will host their third annual Fishbowl Festival of Community, Food, Arts, and Culture from February 20th-March 5th (again during the Pisces stretch of the astrological calendar), and there are lots of varied events announced for it already that you can read up on a the Facebook event page! At press time, no events have been announced that visibly include hard rock or punk acts, but if you want to organize or play on one, contact the venue at gorestreetcafe@gmail.com. Best of luck for year #3!
Musical acts are being sought for the Walk for ALS on Saturday, June 2nd at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion. I have no idea if organizers would be interested in heavier or original acts, but fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease is a a great charitable cause to support. If you're interested in more details, message co-organizer Brigitte Labby at blabby@als.ca or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
I apologize for things being slow around here this month, November doesn't usually crash this hard for news after Halloween! That said, we have a full news post for your pre-Thanksgiving enjoyment, and it includes some assorted updates, extra info on our most recent CD review topic, and leading off, here's a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE!
Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned will play a special Wednesday night concert TONIGHT at the Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via it's Facebook event page on Sunday. Alex, Don, and Wayne will be making very rare appearances at the local bowling alley's Sportsman's Lounge TONIGHT, with us last covering a Dondee stop from them in December 2015, so regulars and local fans will be overdue to take in this talented group at the South Mackinac Trail location! No word on why they're playing mid-week at the Dondee, but it could be related to holiday plans and/or venue closures over the forthcoming U.S. Thanksgiving weekend. If you're up for some pre-turkey hard and classic rock favourites, you know where to be TONIGHT! An early 8:00 PM start time is in effect for this 21+ show, which has no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Banned live a few years back!
Next up, here's a Sault Ontario show with lots of advance notice, as local alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota will return to the stage on Tuesday, December 26th (a.k.a. Boxing Day) when they open for local/Montreal pop rock solo artist Mike Mikus in his CD release party at LopLops Lounge! This show will end a 5 month hiatus from the local stage for both acts, each having played here last on July 15th, when each played at Rotaryfest's Stage 2 and then at Mike's local farewell show at LopLops. However, the former Pixo Control frontman will be home for the holidays to launch his self-titled debut solo album, so if you want to hear his current sound again and/or pick up his new CD and merchandise, be at LopLops on Boxing Night! It's also great to see Id Iota return from the studio with more of their fan favourite hard rock and funk-influenced originals, so keep their return in mind also! Another Stage 2 act from this year will open next month, namely indie/pop duo All Us Others, so keep their rising and talented sound in mind also!
All Us Others will kick off this 19+ concert at 10:00 PM, and admission will be $10 at the door, but you'll get a digital download copy of Mike's CD if you pay $15 (no word as of yet on CD prices though.) This sounds like a great way to welcome Mike back home (if briefly) and to support his current solo project, and there should be lots of familiar faces and tunes all night on Boxing Day, so visit the official Facebook event page for current details!
Next up, I wanted to acknowledge a recent archive local metal album that I picked up a few months back, and if you saw our review of it from Monday, it won't be a surprise! The album in question is defunct local metal quintet Amethyst's self-titled cassette tape EP from way back in 1990, which was a lucky find at The Rad Zone, and given the band's stature and the tape's current rarity, it was worth the $25 price! I won't rehash much of what was in our review (again, check the post below), but the packaging was well put together for an independent cassette tape release, and the sound quality has held up in the past 27 years! The packaging includes a picture of Amethyst in a guitar surrounded by autographs from fans and friends, front cover artwork by Sean DeCourcy, full credits for performers, writers, and producers, and thanks to their supporters. This was one of those albums that I always hoping to track down, so it's great that I found this one, let alone on the same trip where I found Infrastrate's EP, which is just convenient luck!
In terms of streaming the whole album, you can hear our uploads of "Midnight Queen", "Waste of Time", the original version of "Sky", "Rock First, Roll Later", and the amusing bonus cover of "The Infernal Galop" (a.k.a. the can-can song) at these links, and hopefully the "Waste of Time" video resurfaces in the future also! Amethyst were a very solid band and a highlight of the local scene in the early 1990s, so give their debut EP a listen above & below, and stay tuned for our "Suburban Dream" CD review next!
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:
Hamilton punk/grunge trio Doors & Fours were unfortunately unable to headline at The Algonquin Pub on Saturday, November 11th due to their tour vehicle breaking down while on the road. As a result, local openers Jack Spades & Stegadeth played on with unspecified "surprise guests", though no public word on who they were. As they say, "the show must go on", and hopefully things went over well!
Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 announced on their Facebook page on Monday that they will be "taking a bit of a hiatus" after their December 22nd weekend shows in St. Ignace so they can learn new sets, and that "it may be a bit before we are back", but "we are gonna blow your socks off" when they return. At least we have a heads up, and hopefully the planned break is fruitful for 2018 concert plans!
Band Camp Rejects bassist Ryan Bell is looking for a singer and/or keyboardist for a current band project that he's working on, that would play classic rock and blues music. I do not 100% know on if this is for The Band Camp Rejects or a new band, but note that the BCRs haven't played a public show since February, and in another Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from June, he was looking for guitarists in what could be the same band. If you're interested in trying out, message Ryan at this link or above!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
As promised, our preview of this weekend's Doors & Fours concert is now back on the site, and to fill things out, we have some assorted recent news and notes, a surpsise throwback to channel 48 almost 13 years ago, and leading off, here's some new LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will end a three month concert hiatus when they return to The Esquire Club for shows on Friday, November 17th & Saturday, November 18th (yes, next week!) After taking a few months off, with a handful of concert cancellations in between, it's great to see the Mourning Wood successors back in advance of their Toystock debut in a couple of weeks, so be sure to welcome this fan favourite band back next week! Soundcheck also hopes to have new tunes added into their setlist for these shows, their first at The Esquire Club since Rotaryfest weekend. As usual for their stops at this west end venue, expect 9:30 PM start times next Friday and Saturday, there are no announced cover charges, and you must be 19 or older to attend. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and look for more in our preview next week!
Next up, here's our delayed preview of the other big concert at The
Algonquin Hotel, THIS
SATURDAY NIGHT, where fans can check out the local debut of Hamilton punk/grunge trio Doors & Fours downstairs at The Algonquin Pub/Spin Nightclub! Attentive fans may recognize Doors & Fours from sharing the stage with local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades
in Hamilton back in July, so it's cool to see the inverse happen as
they come north on Saturday! With a grungy but heavy sound that will
remind listeners of the 1990s, Doors & Fours are definitely
worth checking out, so keep them in mind for some hard hitting original
action this weekend! Jack Spades will open this show in their first
local stop since their Wolves on Parade tour of Northern Ontario with
Archelon and The Elements, while local punk trio Stegadeth
were quietly confirmed recently as the second opening band on Saturday,
marking their first set since opening for The Ripcordz last month.
Solid choice, and they should set the tone well!
Coming
midway through Doors & Fours' Canadian tour this fall, Saturday
night's concert (promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce) has a
19+ age limit and 9:00 PM start time, and while there has surprisingly
not been an announced cover charge, bring at least $5 just in case.
Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Doors & Fours live!
Also today, here's a bit of a change of pace from our usual coverage. In recent searches of SMS-relevant videos on YouTube, I recently came across a new posting of an episode of the 1999-2005 Comedy Network original series Kevin Spencer, with the episode name "Treble Charger". This isn't just the name, the local/Toronto indie/punk quartet voiced themselves in this episode, and I never knew about it until this year! If you're not familiar with the series, it was very much an adult cartoon about a delinquent teenager and his white trash parents. The episode in question aired in January 2005 during the show's seventh season (though early in the band's original hiatus), and it's about Kevin winning a contest from a MuchMusic-esque station to hang out with and interview a band of his choice (Treble Charger), though nothing goes according to plan, especially with his parents tagging along. The band was voiced here by their 2003-2004 lineup, including then-guitarist Devin Bronson in place of Bill Priddle.
I will not embed the episode here due to it's explicit content, but I might as well give a brief review. Crude animation & even cruder humour, but it has a few amusing moments, especially from Kevin's narrator, the "April Wine room", and some of the inside remarks on the music industry & personalities covering it. Treble Charger themselves get lots of screen time, as do their friends-turned-enemies in Sum 41 (also voicing themselves), while clips from "American Psycho", "Brand New Low", and "Wear Me Down" can be heard throughout. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if you like adult humour, this & many more episodes can be found on YouTube!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:
Local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters did play the Special Ops show at The Rockstar Bar last week after all! Frontman Nik Deubel confirmed on the Facebook event page that the scheduling conflict that came up for "one of us" was delayed a day, allowing them back on the bill, while a personal Facebook posting noted that they played last that night. Hopefully the show was a hit!
In case you haven't been following the municipal elections in Sault Michigan, City Commissioner and former Rock 101/The Bear DJ Ray Bauer lost the mayoral election to incumbent mayor Anthony Bosbous on Tuesday. Ray pulled in almost a third of the vote, against Mayor Bosbous' healthy majority of over 61%, continuing his run as Sault Michigan's longest serving mayor. Congratulations are in order, as with Ray on running a good campaign! Click here for more from local news media on Tuesday's elections.
Timeslots for this year's Toystock at The Northern Grand Gardens on November 26th were revealed via the Facebook event page earlier this week, which confirm that Bone Yard and The Peace Vibe will headline once again, while The 3 Day Millionares & Soundcheck will bring the hard rock at 4:00 & 3:00 PM. Also confirmed there is the exit of blues rock band Mojo from the event, who were replaced by guitarist Alex D'Ettore's acoustic country duo The Bearded Lounge.
With all of Mojo playing in Bone Yard that night, an afternoon
scheduling conflict for Brad or Ric is likely to blame for the change,
but don't miss everyone in over two weeks!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone
Here's another new post for you guys on this rainy Tuesday, so what's new to report before Halloween weekend? Mostly some new LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), but there's also a new video and a lineup addition to take note of, which you can do below!
In advance of his usual Gliss Steak & Seafood gigs (to be covered with this weekend's concert previews), former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to Mark's Breakfast Plus for a special mid-week matinee concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced one week ago via it's official Facebook event page, but we didn't have time to slide it into a post before it got too soon to cover it twice. Yes, this is a Wednesday nighter, which may sound odd for his constant stream of solo gigs, but remember that his prior shows at the Market Mall restaurant were on Monday and Tuesday evenings, so non-weekend gigs there appear to be the norm. In any event, if you want some hard rocking music at dinner-time, you have a west end option at the former Kackleberry's TOMORROW, with Gliss shows to follow! This one has a 6:00 PM start time with no announced cover charge or age limit. See above for more details, and here's Tym live a few years back!
Next up, here's a few more newly announced shows with lots of advance notice, starting with the local debut of Hamilton punk/grunge trio Doors & Fours, who will headline at The Algonquin Pub on Saturday, November 11th! If this band rings a bell, it may be from local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades playing with them and past local headliners Big Brother in Hamilton back on July 11th, so prepare for a local encore four months later as Doors & Fours hit the midpoint of the ongoing Canadian tour! These guys have a solid and distorted sound that definitely has that early 90s grunge vibe while still containing heavier stretches, and they should be well received here next month! The aforementioned Jack Spades will return the favour as openers in 2½ weeks for their own exlposive original attack, while at least one more opening band is to be announced. Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, a cover charge has yet to be announced for this 19+ show, which takes place at 9:00 PM. Visit the official Facebook event page for details, and stay tuned for updates!
Finally for today's new show announcements, local indie/hard rock quartet Vol. will return to the stage on Friday, November 17th when they are among the openers for the return of Saskatchewan southern rockers Johnny 2 Fingers & The Deformities at LopLops Lounge! This will be Vol.'s first show since next week's Special Ops concert (more on that in the coming days), while it will also be their third with their teased fourth band member, that being keyboardist Mikaela Murtonen, who debuted at this weekend's Dirtfight concert, and was a prior bandmate of bassist Shane Storozuk's in the band Aldous. No media is online of the expanded lineup yet, but it will be interesting to hear how Mikaela fits in with Vol.! As for the rest of the performers, headliners Johnny 2 Fingers & The Deformities will be making their third local concert appearance, after previously playing here twice last fall (once at LopLops), so look for more southern fried boogie rock from them on the 17th! Montreal alt-folk rock quintet The Union Thugs will also hit the Soo for this concert, so prepare for some accordion-infused rock from them!
Local folk solo project Shit Creek Survivor will also open this one next month, and it's nice to see Jacob staying busy in the lead-up to his own album release! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh., this 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time, and while there is no advertised cover charge, last year's Deformities show at LopLops had a $5 cover. This should be a fun concert with a nice variance of sounds from the four scheduled acts, so visit the official Facebook event page for current and continuing updates!
To end this post, here's a surprise: A new solo peformance video from former ApocalyptiCDistroyeR frontman Jesse Middaugh! 3½ years removed from his last video upload on his/the band's YouTube channel (and just the second performance video there since 2012), Jesse posted this video of him performing a new original instrumental on Thursday, and while the video is incredibly grainy, it has a good rhythm to it that would be interesting to hear filled out! ApocalyptiCDistroyeR were not cited in the title or description, so I won't consider them active again on the SMS (yet?), but give Jesse's new video a look below, and watch closely for a cameo from a cat!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for Halloween weekend concert previews and more soon! Thanks everyone!
Today's post is entirely devoted to videos from the Archelon-headlined Rockstar Bar concert from this past Saturday night, as debuting/opening local power rock quintet Re:Born's Facebook page has uploaded videos from each band's set! I believe these were shot (at least in part) by guitarist Blair Burch's son Cory, who I recall filming during the show. Better quality than my videos overall, and he got closer to the bands, which is helpful! Remember, I don't like getting closer to the bands if no one's really on the floor, as I don't want to be "that guy" blocking everyone's view. Re:Born's video of Archelon is of the headlining Sudbury groove/death metal quintet playing their song "Path to Darkness", which captures their brutal onslaught nicely, if with slightly staticy audio, and it's nice to see a vibrant fan response up front! Give it a look below!
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