Rust, Bone Yard 225, And Curtis McKenzie Concert Previews!!

Before we begin our second weekend concert preview post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, who passed away yesterday at the age of 74 after being on life support following a fall at his home that led to a brain bleed. Visit your preferred music websites for continuing details on this sad news. A highly influential guitarist who co-wrote many of Kiss' biggest hit songs in the 1970s and early 1980s, and fronted what most considered to be the best of Kiss members' four simultaneous solo albums in 1978, Ace made his own name in the late 1980s and beyond with his own band Frehley's Comet and numerous solo releases, including last year's "10,000 Volts". Ace played two solo concerts in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, including at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in November 2009, before headlining the outdoor '80s Rock Invasion concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin in July of last year.

Of course, Ace was not in the band anymore when Kiss played their two Sault Ste. Marie gigs, but his influence was felt from their setlists to the Spaceman costume taken on by Tommy Thayer, let alone the Kiss tribute bands that have played here. With hits like "Shock Me", "New York Groove", "Rock Soldiers", and "Cold Gin" on his resume as writer and/or singer along with ample guitar credits, Ace will be remembered fondly by the Kiss Army, and blast them loud if you can tonight. R.I.P. Ace!

Today's post otherwise looks at more weekend concert previews in Sault Ontario, and we'll start at Beck's Bar, where former Haggith/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will play their Saturday matinee timeslot TOMORROW! This will be Curt's first unplugged solo date since rocking The Dive Gastro Pub two weeks ago, a date that I regrettably missed covering on here despite teasing that he would be back soon when he announced that there was a scheduling mix-up the previous week and wasn't playing then. I profusely apologize for missing that Dive gig (which was a an outdoor "Patio Play" event), and hopefully he had a great on October 4th! Fans haven't seen Curtis rock out at the former Vibe Lounge since the end of August, so if you want a solid matinee block of alternative and hard rock covers, go west! Tomorrow's show is at 3:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Curt live!

Next up, who's playing the nightcap at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT? Southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will also pull the rare weekend double as the acoustic matinee performer on SUNDAY! One of the few local bands who play both of Beck's usual live band days (Fridays are typically DJ nights, tonight's Joe Mattalo country concert acknowledged), fans of "the dirty three" will have last seen Greg, Alex, and Warren at the Goulais Avenue nightclub in early September. Whether you prefer your Bone Yard in its full electric splendour or would rather see them earlier on and "uncorked", you have options this weekend! Just a reminder, Curtis McKenzie is not "opening" for your local 225 tomorrow, he and Bone Yard have separate four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart, but with no cover, you can hang out and see both if you choose. Tomorrow's concert is at 9:00 PM, Sunday's is a 3:00 PM matinee, and both shows are 19+ affairs. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard 225 live!

Finally for this weekend, we'll head downtown to "The" Soo Blaster, where Sudbury's Rust: A Tribute To Rush will return for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Fittingly now taking place in the wake of the real Rush's reunion tour announcement for 2026, this will be Rust's first local stop since November of last year, though the Kuthy brothers are far from strangers to the Soo, having played here four times with their Def Leppard tribute band Just Leppard, including in April. On this current tour, Rust are playing the album "Moving Pictures" in full and in order during their sets, and with their faithful looking and sounding stage show, fans of the Canadian progressive hard rock legends would be hard pressed to miss Saturday's concert for what should be a solid night of Rush classics! Doors open at 7:30 PM tomorrow for this all ages concert, which has tickets running for $25 online at this link or at the venue, though the door charge will jump to $35. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's the official trailer for this show!

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

Ace Frehley & Great White Full Concert Videos From St. Ignace!!

Now that my two outdoor concert reviews from this past weekend are now up, it's high time to cover some news and media as normal, and while we will be looking at Rotaryfest fallout this week, I can't ignore the main event in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula last week, namely the '80s Rock Invasion outside of the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! If there were less passport-holding hair metal fans for the evening/night bands at Rotaryfest on Saturday, this concert may have been why! Five glam metal acts descended upon St. Ignace for this huge outdoor concert, and you know it was big, as not one, but two attendees filmed founding Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley's headlining set! I had to double check the videos, as the angles seemed very similar, but the two attendees who shot the whole thing were almost side by side. Both are nearly identical for featured content, so I'll only embed one here just to avoid redundancy, but both are timestamped on YouTube.

The slightly longer (but lower quality) video was shot by Jordan's Rock Vault, a YouTube channel that shoots hair metal shows across Michigan and even outside of the state. While I'm not embedding Jordan's video here, kudos to him for filming what he did, as it's still a solid hour+ video for Kiss Army members, and we will end this post with Jordan's other band video from this night! Jordan also clipped out Ace's trademark smoking guitar solo from the full video as a separate upload, so give that a look if you don't want to skip through the full thing. You can't go wrong with Jordan's footage, but embedded here is the higher quality video shot by the YouTube channel of Big Talk, a classic rock podcast that similarly films videos at hair metal shows in and out of Michigan. Both Jordan and Big Talk were in the front row pit to film Ace and his solo band, so what all did they play?

This set was heavy on Kiss classics, and all are Kiss songs unless otherwise stated. In order, Ace & crew played "Shock Me", "Deuce", his new album's title track "10,000 Volts", "Shout It Out Loud", "Love Gun", "Rocket Ride" (with "Hotter Than Hell" interlude), his classic cover of Russ Ballard's "New York Groove" (with "God Of Thunder" intro), his Kiss-era original "Rip It Out", "Detroit Rock City" (followed by a "Love Her All I Can" interlude), "Cold Gin", the aforementioned smoking guitar solo, and "Rock & Roll All Nite". Perhaps wise to his own vocal limitations (and Kiss having multiple singers), Ace's guitarist and bassist take turns on lead vocals for many of the Kiss songs. To a point, I'd rather see Ace play more of his solo material (nothing from "Frehley's Comet"?) than Kiss songs that he wasn't the singer on, but he and his band sound good, and Ace's singing has held up when utilized. He can still shred with the best of them too!

Both videos capture the action from a close and horizontal angle, and you see everything you need to see on stage (the good weather helped in that regard), so do check them out above and below to relive Ace's first E.U.P. show in fifteen years from Saturday night! 

There's more from St. Ignace to come, but to close, let's go back to Jordan's Rock Vault for his other video from Saturday night, as he filmed Los Angeles hair metal band Great White's co-headlining set for another lengthy video! No sign of the other bands from this channel, alas. Notably, Great White's set took place at dusk, so it started in daylight and ended at night, which is a neat transition if you watch the whole thing! In their own first E.U.P. set in fifteen years (Jack Russell's Great White in 2017 aside), you can see them here playing "Desert Moon", "Lady Red Light", "House Of Broken Love", "Stick It", "Gonna Getcha", "Save Your Love", "Rock Me", and finally, their classic cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy". Fans shouldn't have anything to complain about from Great White's set in St. Ignace on Saturday, with everyone performing well to bring their classic singles back, and Brett Carlisle is a quality choice as their current singer that nicely embodies their material!

I should note briefly that original singer Jack Russell (who sang with both Great White versions up here in the past) retired from touring earlier this month after being diagnosed with dementia, and you can get more details here. Our best wishes go out to him in his fight, and it is great that he played in the Soo and St. Ignace when able! As far as hair metal goes, I tend to like bands a little heavier, but Great White put on a solid show for Hair Scare diehards, so check things out above & below!

We will have more from this show in the coming days, but with how backlogged things are now (especially post-Rotaryfest), I'm not immediately making guarantees on when and where. A new post, likely Sault Ontario-centric, hits the site tomorrow. Thanks everyone!

Ace Frehley, Vaegon, and Pridefest Loud & Proud Concert Previews!!

Alright, it's time to finally conclude our previews of this weekend's hard rock, metal, and punk concerts in the Twin Saults and surrounding area! Thanks to Rotaryfest, this weekend is always super busy, but there's a huge show in Michigan's E.U.P. to look at in this post, along with two special Sunday concerts north of the border, so here's what you should know for this weekend's uncovered heavier concerts!

We'll pick things back up with the main event in the Eastern Upper Peninsula this weekend, as the '80s Rock Invasion descends on St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT outside of their Kewadin Casino! If you love hair and glam metal, you will definitely want to make the hour's drive south for this huge outdoor concert, headlined by original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley in his first local date since rocking Sault Michigan way back in 2009. Fans will surely get a full set's worth of Kiss classics and Ace solo hits like "New York Groove" and "Shock Me" tomorrow, so if you're in the Kiss Army, brace yourselves! Also playing up here for the first time since 2009 is Los Angeles hair metal band Great White (the version seen in St. Ignace in 2017 was the now-defunct splinter version led by ex-singer Jack Russell). Guitarist Mark Kendall and most of their classic lineup are keeping the Great White train rolling!

With hits like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "The Angel Song", don't miss their return! Las Vegas glam metal quartet Slaughter will also make their local return in their (at least) fourth concert in our area, last seen here via an indoor headlining date at the St. Ignace Kewadin in 2019. Mark and crew still have the goods, so look for hits like "Fly To The Angels" and "Spend My Life" tomorrow evening! Classic-era Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler and his solo band will make their local debut tomorrow with a set full of GNR hits from his run in the band, so fans will want to see his talented band bring those songs to life tomorrow as well! Opening are all-female Minnesota hair metal band Vixen (of "Edge Of A Broken Heart" fame), who notably switched out singer Lorraine Lewis for former Headpins/Trans-Siberian Orchestra vocalist Rosa Laricchiuta after this concert was announced.

Rosa has a very strong voice (as fans of La Voix know), so don't be late! Also, Steven Adler's band starred in the third and final Friday shoutout video on Kewadin's Facebook page to promote this concert, which notably has all of his band members trading off for the plugs. Results are inconsistent, but it's neat to see everyone involved! No shoutout videos from Ace or Vixen that I am aware of though. This all ages concert takes place tomorrow night at 6:00 PM, and tickets remain on sale at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. Tickets are still on sale in rows 13-15 ($95), rows 16-30 ($85), and in the general admission lawn area ($65). Weather-wise, 9&10 News is currently calling for partly cloudy conditions at 68-76° Fahrenheit tomorrow night with partly cloudy skies, so the bands should beat the potential rain forecast for much of tomorrow afternoon (that's new information in the forecast for you Rotaryfest-goers).

Incidentally, the St. Ignace Kewadin will also welcome Sault Ste. Marie classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished to The Northern Pines Lounge tomorrow night at 9:00 PM, so if you wanna keep the Hair Scare going after Ace's set ends, head inside the casino! Still surprised that they didn't have Tarnished as local openers for the big concert when they'll already be there tomorrow. If you love hair metal, St. Ignace is absolutely the place to be tomorrow night, so visit the above links for more on this stacked lineup of bands, and for a preview, here's Ace Frehley in the Soo last time out!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for two big concerts taking place on SUNDAY, starting with this year's Loud & Proud family fun day as part of day #1 of this year's Sault Pridefest! This annual (pandemic aside) event moves from the Bushplane Museum to the Roberta Bondar Pavilion for an afternoon of family friendly entertainment, including vendors, kids games and activities, refreshments, and much more! Unfortunately, advertising for Loud & Proud's band lineup has never been consistent, as they often don't even mention the scheduled musicians on social media, this year included, but this year will feature three musical acts alongside unspecified drag performers. The acts in question are headlining local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty (who only confirmed their involvement on personal Facebook accounts), singer/guitarist Gimiiwan Ikwe, and the previously confirmed hard rock quintet HeadFirst opening. Thanks to Mikhal Muto from The A.A. for filling in the blanks!

Notably, this will be day #2 of HeadFirst's early release of physical copies of their debut EP "Head Trauma", so if you didn't buy one tomorrow at Rotaryfest for $15, here's your second chance before the wide release next week! Loud & Proud is FREE & ALL AGES, and runs Sunday afternoon from 1:00-4:00 PM. The current weather forecast calls for partly cloudy weather with a high of 23° and no chance of rain, tent acknowledged. If you want to celebrate Sault Pridefest and LGBTQ+ awareness with some entertaining live bands, head down to the Pavilion on Sunday for all of the fun! Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Apocalypse Afterparty live!

Finally, this very busy Rotaryfest concert weekend ends with an extreme bang at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on SUNDAY NIGHT, as they basically revert to The Roosevelt Hotel for the night to host touring technical death metal bands from out west! In their local debuts, metalheads can enjoy Edmonton's Vaegon and Vancouver's Exterminatus on Sunday, and both are sufficiently brutal in their own ways, and your faces will melt if the summer humidity didn't do that already! Do check out both Vaegon and Exterminatus' original groove-inflected material on major streaming services, they'll be a good antidote if you've been wondering why the Soo hasn't had a lot of death or extreme metal bands in the 2020s so far (promoter availability, venue closures, local bands' own evolution, and the pandemic all helped in that). Local openers on Sunday are young local metal trio The BAG in their first show in three months before heading to Leeburn next week.

The guys have been busy in studio as of late, and released a teaser of their new original song "Suckatit" (no spaces) as a "Reel" on their Facebook group yesterday. I can't embed "Reels" here, but the clip is at least framed in post-production to fit the vertical dimensions. Ripping speed metal number in this jam session phase, and the dog definitely seems to be into it, so check it out above! Admission is $10 at the former Rosie on Sunday, this is a 19+ event, and it starts at 8:00 PM. Work/school night or not, definitely consider coming out to this show if you want to encourage Jay's/The BAG to bring more touring metal bands here! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Vaegon live!

I believe that is now officially all for the Rotaryfest weekend metal, hard rock, and punk concert previews! We'll be back at it this weekend with more news and notes in all likelihood, so look for much more news and notes on the SMS in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT ('80s Metal Invasion) Plus Wyld Stallyns Lineup Updates!!

Today's post is largely devoted to a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this summer that you 1980s glam metal fans are definitely not going to want to miss, and we also have some new band lineup announcements to round things out with. Here's what you should know!

A massive hair metal concert (and outdoors, at that) is coming to the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Saturday, July 20th for the '80s Rock Invasion! Presumably formatted identically to the Cheap Trick/Goo Goo Dolls show on the waterfront in August 2021 in terms of staging, this show will be even bigger for scheduled bands, with five name acts coming to St. Ignace for Hair Scare diehards, including the long awaited return of original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley! Last seen at the Sault Michigan Kewadin in 2009, expect the Spaceman himself to break out Kiss and solo classics like "Shock Me", "New York Groove", and "Rock Soldiers" in his first E.U.P, date in almost fifteen years! Two hair metal bands who are no strangers to this part of the world will also be making their way to St. Ignace in July, with Los Angeles' own Great White co-headlining in their local return! Now, Great White are one of those bands that split in two, L.A. Guns style, but this time, we are getting the original band led by original guitarist Mark Kendall.

While this Great White has most of their classic members from the "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" days, you may recall that Jack Russell's Great White (the splinter version featuring their classic singer and bassist) headlined outdoors at the St. Ignace Kewadin back in 2017, so discounting that, the original Great White also have not played here since rocking The Dreammakers Theatre in 2009. A little confusing, but hair metal fans will be right at home with Great White's return in July! The other returning band is Las Vegas glam metal quartet Slaughter, who last played here via an indoor headlining date at the St. Ignace Kewadin in June 2019, preceded by support gigs in both of the Twin Saults in 2008 & 2012. Expect classics like "Fly To The Angels" & "Up All Night" in their (at least) fourth regional concert! Also coming in July is "Appetite For Destruction"-era Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler in his local concert debut!

You may be familiar with Steven's exploits in recent years with bands like Adler's Appetite, but he currently tours under his own name with a solo band playing a set primarily made up of GNR classics from his time in that band. Steven's still got the chops, and he found strong musicians to bring these songs to life, so don't bypass his set either! Opening on July 20th is Minnesota hair metal band Vixen, notable as the biggest all-female group in the genre, and from hit songs like "Edge Of A Broken Heart" and "Cryin'". Only drummer Roxy Petrucci remains from their heyday, but they still deliver some talented hard rock with their current lineup, so don't be late for them kicking things off! Pre-sale for this 6:00 PM & all ages concert kicks off tomorrow, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday. Tickets will start at $65, and if the Cheap Trick show in 2019 is anything to go by, there will likely be two higher tiers.

That show had tickets at $50, $75, and $85 depending on location, with the two higher price points being in seated areas. You can buy yours starting on Friday at this link, at the in-person box office, or by calling 1-800-KEWADIN. Given that this Saturday's Skid Row/Buckcherry concert at the Soo Kewadin sold out (preview forthcoming), I wouldn't take my chances that Ace and crew will have good tickets for long, so get yours A.S.A.P., and visit the above links for more on what will be a huge concert for hair and glam metal fans this summer, especially if the weather cooperates!

Finally, we have big lineup updates from Sault Ontario funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns, as they have a completely new rhythm section! They have enlisted former Id Iota/Far From Fine drummer Blair St. John as their new bassist (replacing Alex White), while former Din/Re:Born drummer Brandan Glew has replaced Derek Turner behind the kit. Blair & Brandan debuted for The Stallyns at The Kiln at Searchmont this past Saturday, though both have sat in as guests with the band before. Reasons for Alex & Derek's departures were not publically announced, but the post on the band's Facebook page announcing the changes painted things in amicable terms, and that "you'll see them around, so keep showing them the love". Hopefully that's true, as Al and Derek are talented musicians who would be assets in newer bands! Blair and Brandan are strong musicians with multi-genre experience, so they'll fit in fine as well!

For what it's worth, The Wyld Stallyns' next concert has been announced on at least one band member's personal Facebook page, but I'll wait for a public announcement from the band or venue before covering it here (unless it doesn't get a public plug thusly, but I do know where & when it is for weekend preview purposes). It is great to see Christina, Rob, Jesse, and Josh re-fill out their lineup, and hopefully we'll hear more from the new-look Wyld Stallyns soon! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Jason Mapes

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, where we once again spotlight a YouTube channel whose content is at least 50% devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk videos, be they from artists or concerts1 This month's randomly selected choice will be slight deja vu from a channel featured in this series back in 2011, but there's even more content in this installment from the band and channel creator each, so here's what you should know on this month's YouTube Channel Profile!
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Jason Mapes (http://www.youtube.com/viciousmusic)

Owner: Former Bad Side guitarist & local radio DJ Jason Mapes, now a Nashville-based solo musician

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 29th, 2006; Videos posted from August 2007 through May 2016

Channel Summary: Originally intended as the official YouTube channel for defunct Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Bad Side's independent label Vicious Music, it later became a personal use channel for guitarist Jason Mapes, focusing many post-2008 videos around his own solo music and other ventures. 31 of Jason's videos are of Bad Side audio tracks, music & live videos, advertisements, interviews, and video diaries, with his 10 non-band videos including 5 solo performances, 2 clips regarding his local radio career, and 3 songs by recent collaborator Rob Jones.

Why You Should Watch: This channel is a must watch source for fans of Bad Side from their mid-late 2000s heyday, with Jason posting lots of media back when he and Melissa ruled the microphones on stage and at Northern Star Broadcasting radio stations! It's also far more substantive of a source for Bad Side videos than the band's actual YouTube channel, where all but one video (among current content) saw an upload on Jason's/Vicious Music's channel as well. Fans curious to hear Jason's music in the 2010s since moving to Tennessee will also get some solid material, if not as prolific as we had previously seen, though activity has not been visible there in over a year.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

Bad Side - Hit Me - mixed by Beau Hill (Ratt/Warrant/Winger): Jason's most viewed video is the music video for Bad Side's song "Hit Me" from their final CD, 2008's "Bad Things Come In Threes...", which is no longer in print but available online via iTunes and Spotify. A solid sing-along number with nice bluesy vocals by singer (and fellow relocated radio DJ) Melissa Krahnke, the well-edited video looks to have been filmed at an uncredited Dreammaker's Theater concert on multiple cameras, and it's a nice way to spice up this quality original, mixed by noted producer Beau Hill! Six more music videos are featured on Jason's channel, including two more tracks from this album and four songs from 2007's "Bad Side II".



Ace Frehley interviewed by Jason Mapes: Jason will still be familiar to many readers as a DJ at Northern Star Broadcasting radio stations 97.9 Classic Rock: The Bear, 99.5 Yes FM, and Talk Radio 1400 in the 2000s, plus a prior stint at Rock 101. In the wake of the massive local radio buyout of February 2010 that led to Northern Star's exit from the U.P. & The Bear's closure, Jason uploaded a demo reel of his on-air work & this audio interview with former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, which aired live on The Bear in advance of Ace's solo Kewadin Casino concert in November 2009. The interview features Jason interviewing Ace about his tour, his new CD "Anomaly", what to expect at the show, his influence on young musicians, and Kiss moving on without him, among other topics. Solid interview that showcases Jason's natural ease as a DJ and interviewer, so fans of Ace/Kiss, and who miss Jason and the local Bear will all want to take notice!



Bad Side - Dig That Hooch Live at Summerfest 2010 Milwaukee: Bad Side's final concert appearance took place at the annual Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June 2010, where they opened for Nonpoint on the CoolTV Rock Stage on the festival's fourth day. This set was the site of two videos on Jason's channel, including a music video for their original song "I Could Make You Want Me", but this full-colour video is a live recording of fellow "B.T.C.I.T." track "Dig That Hooch". Filmed on multiple professional cameras, the guys sound great as usual on this somewhat faster number! I still wish they'd have played one final Soo show before breaking up, but this was a huge stage to go out on, and best of luck to Jason, Melissa, and other former band members in their current ventures!


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we have randomly drawn another stacked YouTube channel to look at next, this time from Sault Ontario goregrind/rap label Blood Shed Productions, featuring numerous audio tracks and live performance clips from their roster, so look or that profile on or around August 26th, and stay tuned for more news and updates soon! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: 9 Pounds Of Brownies & Despisedeyes

Before we dive into this weekend's concert previews, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we kick off a new year for our monthly feature series on randomly selected YouTube channels featuring at least 50% of their videos containing a local metal, hard rock, or punk band/concert relevance! This month's installment features two bands once again, as the first channel that we randomly selected only had two distinct types of videos that fit our coverage, so we added a channel with only one video to full it out. With that said, there's some entertaining videos from both sides of the border to check out, so read on below for this month's profiles!

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9 pounds of brownies (http://www.youtube.com/scub115)

Owner: YouTube user Jacob Cross, formerly of the Charlevoix, Michigan-area metal band 9 Pounds of Brownies

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 21st, 2008; Videos posted from May 2009 until May 2010

Channel Summary: Though intended as an official YouTube channel for his inactive Charlevoix band 9 Pounds of Brownies (with four videos of them featured from shows in 2009 & 2010), Jacob's channel largely features videos from the Ace Frehley-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theatre at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on November 13th, 2009. These include 6 videos from his set, and two from openers 16 Second Stare's set.

Why You Should Watch: Fans of Ace Frehley, Kiss, 16 Second Stare, or this show in general should want to check out Jacob's channel for arguably the largest active source of videos from that concert, and he had a good view of the action! The 9 Pounds of Brownies videos, though not local to the Sault area, do have merit as well for some rising young Northern Michigan musicians, so give them a look as well to see what you think! However, note that Jacob has not visibly updated his channel in over 4 years.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

fox on the run ace frehley @ kewadin 11/13/09: Jacob's six videos from original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley's local concert include him playing his original "Outer Space", and covering Kiss' own "Shout It Out Loud" & "Parasite", Hello's "New York Groove", Black Sabbath's "Snowblind" (in two parts, linked here & here), and as embedded below, Sweet's "Fox On The Run", which has a channel-high total of over 1,700 views. These clips suffer from staticy audio in general, and most aren't of the full songs, but Jacob had a nice close view of Ace, and you'll still notice strong performances!



16 second stare fire in the hole @ kewadin 11/13/09: Jacob's other videos from the Ace Frehley concert were of his openers, Florida hard rock quintet 16 Second Stare, who brought an energetic nu-metal sound to the Soo on this November night over 5 years ago! Their filmed videos were of their originals "Eargazm" and (as embedded below) "Fire In The Hole", and while the audio quality is as patchy as on the Ace videos, Jacob got more diverse camera angles that focused more on each member of the band. If you like modern rock and nu-metal, you should find something to like from 16 Second Stare!


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Despisedeyes' Channel (http://www.youtube.com/despisedeyes)

Owner: An original member of defunct Sault Ontario metal band Despised Eyes (identity unclear), though the channel is credited to the band as a whole

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 4th, 2008; Only video uploaded that day

Channel Summary: The only uploaded video on Despised Eyes' channel was the music video for their song "I'm Myself", which is about being yourself no matter what others may think. Featuring jam session footage and action from a road hockey game, it's well edited but suffers from it's converter program being a trial version, as evidenced by the recurring watermark. Despised Eyes were a work in progress that never played live before falling inactive by 2011, and frontman Mathew Vincent's vocals are shaky and unrefined, but this song showed some promise that members Mike Vincent & Adam Brett realized more fully with their successor band Skull After Betrayl. Note however that Despised Eyes have not visibly updated their channel since this video's upload, but you can hear five more audio demos from this time period at their MySpace page.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! So, what's coming next month in this series? Believe it or not, we'll be looking at two channels again for a third straight month, as the first channel that we randomly selected only has one video total, so we randomly chose one more with only 2 distinct video types to fill it out. With that said, we'll be looking at YouTube user Scott98633225's channel (featuring an audio recording from the mid-1990s local punk band BK), and one of inactive local hardcore punk/classical trio RedD Monkey's channels (featuring most of the songs from their 2 released albums), so look out for all of that on or around February 22nd! That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews either tonight or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

When Might Kiss Be Coming? Plus, Lots Of New Videos, And More!

So, are you guys craving some new local metal news and updates? As always, I've got your fix! Today, we have potential news on a certain postponed major concert, more videos (seems like we're getting piled with those lately) and some cool Kewadin Casino related stuff!! I have more assorted news to tack on to tomorrow's post as well, so keep note of that! Here we go!

So Kiss fans, have you been voting in this month's poll about your current feelings on the upcoming Kiss show? Vote on the right if you haven't yet. I won't publicize vote totals, because I don't want to swing voting in any choice's favour, but if you're voting for "I don't think they're coming at all", this might make you reconsider. Now, because of the December postponement, Kiss guaranteed we'd be getting a concert this summer, right? Well, FINALLY, official band sources (as in, Gene Simmons' Twitter account) have confirmed that Kiss will kick off their next North American tour in August! Gene's latest tweet says "...And yes, KISS is coming to North America again, starting Aug. See you all then. " Sure, a Sault Ste. Marie date isn't explicitly implied, but they have promised they'd be back, and they are a band of the word. Locally, we should know that, because they did play a makeup show in 2006 at Kewadin Casino after backing out in 2005 for that Japanese tour. Mark my words, skeptics, Kiss are coming, they will keep their word, and though maybe the show won't be announced immediately, they will, I have faith! Remember, Gene loves cash, and Kiss fans here will help with that!

Three new videos to share with you guys today, and kicking things off is a clip from the TV series Aux Weekly, which airs on the Canadian specialty channel Aux. And this video features none other than Lion Ride! Now, why would a local band be on a national cable channel? Well, it's because of their participation in The Great Canadian T-Shirt Battle, which took place on March 25th at The Hideout in Toronto! As it turns out, this battle of the bands had more going for it than just giving the top band 200 free t-shirts. The clothing company that put the battle on, Me To We Style, use organic cotton in their clothes and ensure fair wage distribution, as well as donating half their profits to Free The Children! Me To We Style put the battle on due to their affiliation with The Juno Awards and to promote sustainability within the entertainment industry.

Lion Ride themselves appear at 1:29 during some mid-performance clips for about 8 seconds. Then at 2:01, all four official members of Lion Ride are featured for a 16 second interview segment, where drummer Iron Mike Bison talks about the musical benefits this kind of event can have. Nice to see them get this kind of profile, but I have one complaint: Barely any Lion Ride music to hear, just some muffled background music of theirs during the interview. But it's still great to check out, even though they didn't win, they're winners to us! Ignore the ad at the beginning and check it out, hopefully more local bands get exposure like this soon!



Next up, SBD, the new experimental hard rock project from members of No Arrow and The Chintzy Slicks, have launched their very own YouTube channel! SBD videos had previously been hosted on frontman Dann Pichette's YouTube channel, but now those, and much more, have their own home to themselves! And by "much more", I mean 56 videos already! A number were jam session clips uploaded a few months ago, including the excessively fragmented clips of their song "Rock Paper Scissors" from Dann's channel, along with some newer jam stuff uploaded last week. But most excitingly to me is a whole pile of videos from SBD's first ever live concert, from last Friday at Foggy Notions! Looks like the band had a few camera guys filming the show, and as a result, there's tons of clips from the show online, of varying quality and length! Some even have some post-production effects (that mirrored effect in particular), and even some clips from their set breaks, including a performance by "Homeless Harry" outside of Foggy's during one of the breaks!

As for the SBD material itself, sounds good to me! Amongst covers of Pink Floyd, Mystery Machine, and Link Wray, there's lots of intriguing originals with odd titles and experimental trippiness! Some songs are more like No Arrow than I think they'd like to admit, while others try lots of unique stuff! Hard to describe some SBD stuff in ways, but that's a positive comment! It sucks that I missed the show, but thanks to the band for all the video uploads! Click here to check out dozens of SBD clips, and right here, I'll show you their performance of the song "POW! Right In The Kisser" from their debut concert!



My final video is a third demo clip from new local rockers WinkStinger! Once again, we have a video slideshow featuring a fragment of a new song, this time entitled "(Deeeerp)", which was uploaded onto YouTube user joeyvelcro's channel on Saturday! Sounds good too, more of the punk influenced hardcore I'm coming to expect, though this time, there's a slower jazzier interlude in it too, which is interesting! Hopefully we'll see more from WinkStinger in the near future, maybe a MySpace page or a show? If I hear more, I'll be sure to let you guys know! For now though, check out their newest demo clip!



Finally for today, here's a little goodie of sorts that I recently found on Kewadin Casinos' website! If you highlight "Entertainment" on the navigation bar at the top of the page, one of the choices that pops up is "Concert Pictures", and if you click that, you're taken to a photo page with photos and some related captions and info from various concerts/events at The Dreammakers Theater and outdoors, including Saving Abel, Kenny Rogers, MMA legend Dan Severn, Hoobastank, and Keith Urban (did you know his show had a higher attendance than Kiss?!), along with (for us metalheads) Kiss and Staind! These photos are NOT high resolution at all, but it's cool to see Kewadin recognize their past shows! And though I am NOT a fan of country music, the overhead crowd shot from the Keith Urban show is really cool!

That's not all though! Above the photos, it says "If you attended a meet and greet, view our photo page." Click "photo page", and you will get pictures from meet and greets at Kewadin involving bands who performed at The Dreammakers Theatre! I never even knew they had so many meet and greets, why isn't this plugged on their page more often? Well anyway, there are pictures (still none that are high res) from meet and greets with Brenda Lee, Wynonna Judd, and....Ace Frehley! Yes, he had a meet and greet/photo session with fans prior to his November show, and 13 pictures from it are on that page, including a couple faces that look slightly familiar! Nice to see Kewadin recognize their old shows and performers, they should update these pages with newer and older shows as well! Just plug the meet and greets more and make the pictures bigger! See, if you just explore websites more, who knows what you'll find, like all the band links on the SMS!

That's all for now, I have a pile of assorted news to come tomorrow, along with previews of this weekend's Tym Morrison and Nixxon Dixxon shows, so stay tuned for all of that! Rock on!

This Month's SMS Poll, More Ace Frehley Updates, And Woods Of Ypres Tour Info!

Well, it's the 18th of the month once again, so it's time to recap the results of last month's poll, and introduce this month's! As you may remember, last month's poll was "What is your favourite metal concert venue in Sault Ontario?" The results were quite clear, and luckily, there were more votes cast than last time (23)! So here are the results of the poll, and stay tuned after the poll stuff for more updates from the Ace Frehley concert and Woods of Ypres!

Tied for last place were The Bottom's Up Lounge, Madison's Pub, The Outback, The Speakeasy, The Verdi Hall, and "other", none of which received any votes. Most don't surprise me, due mostly to metal inactivity, but I would have assumed The Speakeasy would have gotten at least one vote, they've put on some great concerts in the past year! 5th place went to The Essar Center, which got 13% of the votes. It is nicely set up and has lots of huge concerts (metal or not), but it doesn't have the same appeal that a bar or theater would have for band interaction and more personal stuff. The Oddfellows Hall came in 4th, with 17% of the total. It's got the underground quality to it, and just about anything can happen there in terms of shows, but it's not as nicely set up or as frequent for bookings as some of the top voted venues.

In a tie for second place, with about 22% of the votes each, are The Canadian Nightclub and Coch's Corner, two of the more popular local watering holes, both of which put on some great concerts! I'm honestly surprised The Canadian got the votes it did, as shows aren't as frequent there as at Coch's Corner, and the renovations put a standstill on activity there, but The Canadian is great for shows, I'm happy it got votes too! Coch's Corner, totally agree, I've been a fan of it since my first attended concert there! And in first place, with 26% of the vote, is the The Lock City Grand Theater! Though metal shows there lately haven't been too numerous, The Grand is a beautifully set up venue with alcohol licensing, great sound, and the capacity for some decent name bands! Well deserved #1 choice, here's hoping they'll get to booking more metal real soon!

So there's the results for last month, and now, it's time to discuss this month's poll! And with Three Days Grace returning there next month, as well as some show with some band named Kiss, I figure now is the perfect time to run a poll about The Essar Center, and more specifically, shows that have happened there. Since it's opening in 2006, The Essar Center has played host to numerous major concerts, including four that no doubt qualify as "metal" (and all of which I attended!) So I pose this question to you guys: What was your favourite major metal concert at The Essar Center so far? Here are your choices!

Motley Crue on December 6, 2006: This was actually the very first major concert of any genre at the then-Steelback Center, and what a way to break in concerts at the new arena! I was in attendance, and I had a lot of fun! Motley Crue had a great stage show with pyro, fireworks, video screens, and even strippers dancing in cages (Oh come on, some of you wouldn't mind.) The band sounded as good as they've ever sounded, and the house was full or damn close to it! Would you say the new arena's first show was the best?

Heaven & Hell, Megadeth, and Down on March 20, 2007: It was a glorious spring day when what is essentially the "Mob Rules" lineup of Black Sabbath came to Sault Ontario for one hell of a concert! Ronnie James Dio sounded amazing for a 60-something man, and the rest of the band? Perfection. But that's just my opinion, you may not agree. Thrash legends Megadeth played support, and damn near stole the show themselves! Sludge metal supergroup Down also had a solid opening set, only hampered by Phil Anselmo's voice being shot from a recent illness. Definitely my favourite show there so far, but I ain't voting, you are. What did you guys think?

Three Days Grace, Seether, and Econoline Crush on January 24, 2008: You can debate the "metalness" of Three Days Grace if you choose, but I had fun at this show as well, even if I was a bit lost among a crowd full of teenage girls. Three Days Grace had a very solid set, as did Seether, a band I've only really started listening to since this show! Also gotta love the duets that members of the two bands did together, very nice stuff! Canada's own Econoline Crush opened with their brand of industrial hard rock, which wasn't bad either! I had fun at this show, though it admittedly isn't for everyone. But did you like it?

Jackyl, Slaughter, and The Inner City Surfers on May 24, 2008: This was one hell of a good time, if underattended and overpriced. The $60 tickets scared off a lot of people, but at least we got to move to the floor from the stands because of it! Jackyl were damn entertaining, especially when Jesse James Dupree broke out the chainsaw for "The Lumberjack" and chopped up a stool! Slaughter thoroughly surprised me, they're not just a generic hair metal band, and The Inner City Surfers returned home and played some great punk rock as well! Only some mic issues and a pitifully small crowd affected one of the most fun shows I saw in 2008. What do you think?

So there's your choices, let's see what your favourite show was at The Essar Center so far! The poll's on the left of the page, VOTE TODAY!!! Now, to more news and updates!

Five days after the concert, and things continue to leak in from the Ace Frehley concert at Kewadin Casino! Now, remember when I said that I didn't think there was an opener for Ace's show? How wrong I was, but don't blame me, no local promotion for the concert mentioned an opener. I actually found out about this from YouTube, where user scub115 uploaded 8 video clips from the concert, two of which feature a band called 16 Second Stare. Some added research, and I found out that indeed, 16 Second Stare were Ace Frehley's openers on this tour, but mention of them bypassed local news and radio, and myself too. On my first listen of these guys on MySpace, I'm impressed, hard hitting melodic heavy metal! I wish I would have known about them before now, I feel kinda dumb to miss them! Oh well, I'll show you guys one of scub115's clips of 16 Second Stare from Friday night! Check them out on MySpace too for good quality originals, don't judge your opinion on this video!



And finally for today, it appears as if Woods of Ypres are planning a new tour! According to a new topic on their official forum, Woods frontman David Gold is planning to run the band's first ever American tour in the summer of 2010, as well as returning to some favourite Canadian locations too (Hopefully Sault Ontario is among them!) Gold says that all confirmed dates will appear in that topic, where you can also find info on how to book Woods of Ypres for a concert! Here's hoping they'll be back to this burial ground very soon, Woods of Ypres always impress! And remember to pick up their new album online (with a bonus Necramyth CD) from Century Media Records, or from The End Records for about $15! Well worth the money! My review of it is now just 13 days away!

That is all for today, tomorrow will be a preview post of this weekend's concerts, including two shows each by Tym Morrison and Riot! By Night! And of course, any more news and updates I may have as well will come tomorrow too! Stay tuned for more, thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Caveman Morrison), Rockstar Bar Updates, Woods IV Info, And More!!!

Greetings everyone! Let's kick this post off with, you guessed it, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

It's been a long time coming for me to hear about shows from this band, but it's great to see! Caveman Morrison are back on the live scene! They'll be playing at the newly opened Rockstar Bar (located at The Algonquin Hotel) on December 11th and 12th! I presume both shows begin at 10:00 PM, no cover charge has been announced yet. These are the first Caveman shows I've been able to report on the SMS since their return, and not a moment too soon! As you may remember, Caveman Morrison are the metal cover band fronted by Tym Morrison, who you can catch at some local venues with his acoustic solo sets (including shows this weekend!) These will be the bands' first local shows (to my knowledge) in four months!

I haven't seen these guys in like, forever! Pencil me in as an attendee, I can't pass this up! Also will be nice to check out The Rockstar Bar, it sounds like a nice venue! Get more details on these shows at the Facebook event page! Also, a lineup change for Caveman Morrison, bassist Ryan Disano (ex-Time of Ruin) has left the band, and has been replaced at that position by Rick White, who you may also recognize as guitarist for bands like Frightlight and Fitswitch! For more up-to-date details on Caveman Morrison, visit their official Facebook group, or their official website!

Before I completely drift away from Rockstar Bar talk, their official website has been updated with more upcoming shows, and there's a couple things potentially worth mentioning. It lists a Boxing Day show featuring local hard rockers Half Past. The band has not confirmed this yet, so I won't call it as a concert yet. If confirmed, it will be their first show since Halloween at Coch's Corner, but let's wait for additional word. Also, a show called "Rock of Ages" is scheduled there on December 18th. All it says on the site is it will feature 3 bands playing the best of music from the 60s to 80s. No metal implications there, but if I hear any exciting word from that show either, I'll let you guys know! Either way, great to see them putting the "rock" in "Rockstar Bar"!

Next up, I believe copies of the new Woods of Ypres CD, "Woods IV: The Green Album" should be showing up in your mailboxes today! How do I know this? Because mine came in today!!!! The jewel case was cracked when I opened the package, I guess the bubble wrap failed in protecting it's metalness! No matter, I just swapped a new jewel case and all is well! First thoughts? Well, I'm actually surprised that the Necramyth CD, "Slaughter of the Seoul", was part of the overall packaging, I figured it'd come in a separate jewel case or in a different sleeve. But hey, having both combined outlines the specialness of it! Production quality is really high, especially on the CD labels! And kudos for including lyrics, now I can sing along without sounding like a tool!

Everything looks great, and on first listen, everything sounds great too! I won't talk too much about songs yet (leave that for the December 1st review), but I will confirm this: "Track 17" from Stereo Soul Studios' official website is actually track 15, "My Long Life, In The 'Limbo Union'"! As for the Necramyth bonus CD, I won't give a full review, but I'll share with you guys my thoughts and what to expect. Expect some really brutal death metal with hints of black metal! David Gold pounds the blast beats effectively, and aside from the intro track, it's one brutal relentless assault! Great freebie! Well played and perfect to mosh to! It'd be great to see Necramyth here if it were possible! Get the pre-order with the bonus disc while you still can, it's a good deal!

What to talk about next...oh yeah, Battle of the Bands updates! Just got some clarification on some things we haven't heard yet! The prizes have been announced, and the winning band will recieve $300 and the opportunity to open for Sault natives The Inner City Surfers (featuring Lion Ride frontman Mikey Hawdon on drums) at a show December 22nd, which will also be at The Speakeasy! The second place band will recieve $200, and third place will win $100! The prize money comes from the entrance fees paid by competing bands, so you could win your money back, and then some! The remaining $100 is going to charity! Also, doors for the battle will open at 6:30 PM, and bands will get to play three songs! Remember, there won't be metal bands on the bill unless YOU apply, so get on that! The talent's there, you just have to send an entry in! It's in exactly two weeks, on December 1st, so keep that in mind!

And finally for today, I've found even better video from Friday's Ace Frehley concert! It comes courtesy of Duane Roy, who's uploaded video clips from recent local shows under the online handle "WawaDuane" that I've previously featured on here! The clip below is of Ace Frehley playing his biggest solo hit, "New York Groove", at the show, and the quality's excellent! Duane also let me know that on his YouTube channel, he has a new video up from his trip to see Metallica in Grand Rapids! Also, Duane told me about a book he's written, entitled "Castle Stories: A Rock n' Roll Scrapbook", which documents concerts and the photos of them from concerts at the old Castle Farms in Charlevoix, Michigan! I know my uncle went there to see Ozzy Osbourne back in the day, I bet it's a great read! Thanks to Duane Roy for all this cool info, click the links above for more info, and here's his video of the Ace Frehley concert!



That's all for today, tomorrow I will unveil next month's new poll, and the results from this month's poll! If you think about stuff going on here in December, it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out the general theme! More news to come too, I'm gonna listen to "The Green Album", I'll see you guys tomorrow!

A New Battle Of The Bands, Ace Frehley Updates, Nixxon Dixxon Videos, And More!

How's everyone doing on this fine Sunday? Before I get to some news, let me recommend that you all check out my review of Stillbroke's debut EP, "Never Enough", immediately below this post! It's a good album, well worth your money! But now it's time to update everyone on some news and updates from the Sault-area metal world, and first, something that may interest those of you in a band!

The Algoma Univeristy Students' Union, in cooperation with The United Way, are holding a Battle of the Bands on December 1st! It will be at The Speakeasy, and it will be a fundraiser, with all proceeds going to local charities. Any local bands with recorded material are eligible to enter! Now there's not a lot of detail announced yet, but there will be prizes for the top three bands. Entrance fees, song limits, sign up details, and ticket info are yet to come, but get first word on these details at the official Facebook event page! Some notable local musicians are on the judging panel too, including Gsis Murphy drummer Tony Fabiano & Dustin Jones of Dustin Jones and The Rising Tide!

But why do I mention this on a metal blog? Cause I'm hoping some of you in metal bands might be interested in getting on the lineup for the Battle! Remember, Bring The Fallen, Dirty Virgin, Sue Inside, and Operation: Killdozer all took part in the YMCA-hosted battle in March, with all but one winning prizes! Hopefully there'll be some metal representation for this one too, the talent's there, you just gotta get involved! As soon as I hear more, I'll let you guys know! Stay tuned!

Next up, we have updates from Friday's Ace Frehley concert at Kewadin Casino! SooToday reader Marc Capancioni has submitted a review and photo album from the show to SooToday, and it's overall a positive article! Apparently, Ace had smoke spew from his guitar during one of his solos, just like back in the Kiss days! That would have been a treat to see live! Also, I'm surprised to see that Marc reported a "less than capacity crowd". You'd think with all the Kiss hysteria for their December show that Ace's concert would have sold out! Check out Marc's review at this location, which also has 5 quality photos from the show!

Speaking of Ace Frehley, some videos from the concert have began popping up online! Two YouTube users, KissRocksForever and peacelovebonjovi, have uploaded videos from the show! Both took video from Ace's cover of the Kiss classic "Shout It Out Loud", while KissRocksForever also recorded clips of Ace playing two more Kiss songs, "Love Her All I Can", and "Shock Me"! Quality on all four videos is not great, but hey, I'm just happy people took video! Click on their names to check out their videos, but I'll show you guys one here, so here's peacelovebonjovi's clip of Ace playing "Shout It Out Loud"!



While we're on the subject of videos, there's a few more of a local band online! Sault Michigan's own Nixxon Dixxon recently played shows Halloween weekend at Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace, and YouTube user myangels1266 has uploaded three videos from their show October 31st online, including clips of the band covering Metallica's version of "Whiskey In The Jar", Van Halen's "Atomic Punk", and Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box"! Quality is definitely better than the Ace Frehley videos, though not perfect. Audio's decent though, and it's always great to see clips of Nixxon Dixxon online, as they have loads of talent! I'll show you guys a clip that myangels1266 uploaded, here's their version of "Man In The Box"!



And finally for today, two quick random updates. Sault Ontario natives Detroit have launched an official Facebook group! Nice to see them with a Facebook presence now, hopefully we'll get some cool band updates through there as well! Visit their Facebook group at this location, and remember to go see them on December 29th at Coch's Corner with Destroilet and Talk Shit! Also, I can now clarify that yes, Friday November 13th was the day that "Woods IV: The Green Album" was SHIPPED (Source here.) So the first copies should arrive Monday, I'd assume? We'll have to see, but no matter when it arrives, I can't wait! I'll share details on the album and what the bonus disc is when I get my copy! Review coming around December 1st!

That's all for now, notice the new banner image? Obvious why it's up, I'm happy with how it turned out! Logo on the Facebook page is updated too! Also, I figured the background should be changed to be more SMS-personal, and I like how it looks too! A bit darker and it incorporates the SMS logo too! Hope the change isn't too disliked! Stay tuned for more news in the coming days, including a new SMS poll, "Green Album" updates, and more!