LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Poutine Feast), New Videos, And More!!

Happy Father's Day to all of our dad readers! Today's post is half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS regarding a popular downtown festival in a couple of weeks, while we also have some recent concert videos and assorted updates to touch on, so here's what you should know!

Live music will return to the Sault Ste. Marie Poutine Feast over the Canada Day long weekend, and while a full performer schedule across all four days (Thursday, June 29th-Sunday, July 2nd) is not yet out, two SMS-leaning bands are confirmed for this year's itinerary, starting with funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns outside of the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site at 800 Bay Street on Thursday the 29th! The Stallyns played last year's festivities as the Thursday morning openers, but they have been bumped way up to evening headliners at 6:00 PM, which is a change from last year, where only the Friday and Saturday programs had bands that late. It's worth noting that singer Christina Speers' new disco tribute band The Saturday Nights will also be playing at the Poutine Feast this year, but they have not publically stated the day or timeslot. We'll let you know when/if organizers release the full schedule (they did last year, in any event!)

The Stallyns confirmed their involvement via this Facebook page, as did the other known band playing at the Poutine Feast this year, namely local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich! About one year after members of the two bands joined forces for early July gigs under the Stallyns banner (The Wyld Sandwych?), Handsome Sandwich will make their standalone Poutine Feast debut as the headliners on Sunday, July 2nd at 4:00 PM! Be advised that the band gave their timeslot as 4:00-7:00 PM, but the Poutine Feast's own advertising says that the festival ends that day at 6:00 PM. One of them is right! This will be Handsome Sandwich's first show since the Soo Soundcheck event earlier this month, and hopefully they prove to be a fitting soundtrack to cap off the Poutine Feast! No word on other bands playing this year, but the timeslot spacing would imply three bands daily except for two on the shorter Sunday program.

Of course, the main portion of the Poutine Feast is the poutine, with many kinds on sale from a bunch of food trucks all weekend long, so if you love fries drenched in gravy & cheese curds (or anything else), head down to the Old Stone House for all of that, with music to match! The daily programs begin at 11:00 AM across all four days, this is absolutely all ages, and admission is free assuming you don't buy any food. Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for continuing updates on this year's Poutine Feast as they roll in!

Next up, here's our long-awaited write-up on videos from the Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tribute concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre on May 21st, courtesy of Christopher Paci's great YouTube channel! Again, apologies for the nearly month-long delay in these making the site, but now we're caught up for his heavier concert videos (assuming he wasn't filming at something this weekend!). Chris shot eight videos of the Australian Queen tribute band playing the classic songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions", "Under Pressure", "I Want To Break Free" (featuring singer Dominic Warren heading out into the crowd), "Bicycle Race", "Another One Bites The Dust", "Radio Ga Ga", and as embedded below, "Bohemian Rhapsody". Always impressive seeing a band tackle the entire version of that song, even the "scaramouche" part, which the real Queen used a pre-recorded track of because it was hard to replicate.

Chris has gotten clearer videos compared to these, and the audio can be soft at times and scratchy at others, but he has a good view from the right of the stage to capture It's A Kinda Magic's very professional stage set-up and high attention to detail! You can tell that this tribute had the Queen look and sound down pat, so fans of the British hard rock legends will have been right at home, and you can tell by the audience reception! Give Chris' videos from last month a look above and below!

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:

 

• Former Rising Tide/Lake Effect drummer Chris Johns filled in for Tony Santoro behind the kit when Generations played at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last night due to unspecified "prior commitments", according to the band's Facebook group. Fan-shot photos have already made their way there, and hopefully Chris fit in well with Generations for the night!
• The one-off reunion of local classic/hard rock cover band That's Chester at Rotaryfest on July 15th will feature original singer Richard Fullerton as their lead singer for the evening, according to the band's Facebook page! Ritch had made guest appearances with That's Chester in their last two Rotaryfest gigs in 2016 & 2018, but he appears to have fully replaced Greg Simpson for this show, making this the first Rotaryfest without Greg fronting a band since 2009. No reason was given for the switch, but fans of mid-2000s That's Chester will be glad to see Ritch back from Ottawa for the night! Dan Belanger will return as rhythm guitarist in lieu of the late Eugene Orlando.
• To promote last night's Soo Blaster concert, local punk trio Vanity First and rap/party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty were spotlighted in this SooToday news release! No big scoops here unless you weren't familiar with The A.A.'s fluidity for inviting guest musicians on stage (never guitarists, the band has never had them), but we do learn here that Vanity First were originally a quintet named Five Angry Women before eventually changing their name to Vanity (First) and paring their lineup down. One ex-band member is bassist Nick McClelland, but I don't know who the other one was. Good promotion for the concert, so check it out above!
  

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bookclub), The Queen Tribute Concert Preview, And New Videos!!

Packed news post on this Saturday night over the Victoria Day long weekend, including new videos and related updates, the last preview for this weekend's hard rock/punk slate, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month! Here's what you should know!

Online page-less local alternative/punk cover quintet Bookclub will return to the stage on Friday, June 16th for an outdoor set at the corner of Queen Street East and Gore Street as part of the third annual Summer Moon Festival! If you're unaware of this event, the S.M.F. is an annual arts festival that grew from outdoor murals amid pandemic restrictions in 2021 to a full scale festival with arts and music events at multiple downtown locations over the Father's Day weekend next month, so definitely visit the official website for complete details on the Summer Moon Festival itinerary this year! Live music debuted at this festival last year, and while the vast majority of the artists don't fit our active coverage, Bookclub will provide a rock respite during the Street Yourselves Street Party on the 16th alongside a meet & greet session with muralists who painted in the area, a mini-comic/collector's convention, and vendors from restaurants in the area of the street party proper.

Bookclub will be joined by local roots rock veterans The Hustle Brothers for the street party, and in a mild surprise, The Wyld Stallyns will not play at the Summer Moon Festival at all, which (I believe) is a first for a Bookclub gig. As far as the Street Yourselves Street Party goes, this is an all ages event at 8:00 PM with no cover charge, and bars in the vicinity of the stage will be open. Weather permitting, this should be fun for outdoor concertgoers, so visit the above links for more detail!

Next up, we'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading east to the Sault Community Theatre Centre, where Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will return for another high profile local concert TOMORROW NIGHT! As Queen fans may recall, this tribute played here in May of last year to a strong turnout, despite being postponed twice across an almost two year span due to the pandemic. Assuming that there isn't another deadly pandemic breaking out this weekend, this Sunday's concert should hold, and if you saw Queen: It's A Kinda Magic last year, you'll know that their faithful looking and sounding stage show will deliver the goods compared to what you know of Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger's heyday, particularly their 1986 world tour! While selling well like last year, tickets are still available from the fourth row and back (side sections) and the eleventh row and back (centre section).

Tickets for this all ages & 7:00 PM concert are available at this link or at the S.C.T.C. box office at Station Mall for $72 (adults), $43 (kids 12 and under), and $67 apiece in a group of 6+ adults, price points all being $10 higher than last year. Hopefully things go just as well for this bohemian rhapsody of rock classics from Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tomorrow night, so visit the above links for more on their returne, and here they are live!

Staying in the realm of new videos, I was unable to attend the Dayglo Abortions/Random Killing concert at Soo Blaster last night due to a trip, but we can get a glimpse of the headlining Victoria, B.C. hardcore punk band's set via the video below! Uploaded to promoters Live705's Facebook page earlier today, this 6 minute clip captures three songs from The Dayglos' set, though there's not much in the way of breaks between them, so note that when checking this out. It features most of "Two Dogs Fucking", "My Girl", and "Dog Farts", and don't shoot the messenger, I didn't title these songs! While unfortunately shot vertically, and including an odd aside where the filmer left the bar proper during "Dog Farts" (did he take the suggestion if he wanted to work or not?!), the video comes through nicely and was shot with good stable views of the stage and even some of the fans! I like the video projection behind the drumkit too.

Murray's vocals can be hard to hear, complicating my work identifying the songs, but fans of The Dayglo Abortions will take to this video below, and we'll let you know if any more footage from last night turns up!

We'll close with some updates from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, starting with the reveal that they are shooting their first ever music video! The former Jack Spades didn't make one for their local output, but despite their bigger platform in the GTA, they did call home to get this video done, specifically bringing in ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno's Spacebag Productions for the shoot! He's also filming a video for guitarist Daniel Horton's other current band The Fast Life while in town. Lots of teaser images from the set have been shared on the band's Facebook page, indicating that they're playing in a (well lit) barn, with a plotline involving an axe wielding maniac (played by bassist James Roy Daley) stalking a female victim. Based on the video plot, it seems likely that the song in question will be "Final Girl". It'll be interesting to see how the final product looks, presumably before June 2nd!

Before wrapping things up, the band released one more advance single from their forthcoming album "Sewer City Radio" to their YouTube Music channel on Thursday! The song in question is "XS" (as in "excess"), which is the track featuring Fast Life frontman Andrew Moorehouse on a guest verse. I'll hold comment on the song pending our eventual album review, but the band said that it is a "lil (sic) something different for us", so judge for yourself below, and stay tuned for more from Spades GT!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Victoria Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Victoria Day (a.k.a. May 2-4) long weekend is drawing near, so let's preview most of this weekend's hard rock and punk concerts, though due to the amount, Sunday's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic concert will be previewed in our next news post. Here's what you should know, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for traditional concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows on their Facebook page this afternoon, with the venue only following suit after Soundcheck first announced them. Yes, these shows follow their usual Thursday night hosting duties at the former Reggie's West tonight, but those are typically sans-Cameron and we've never treated them as concerts for our purposes due to their unpredictability by design. Fresh off of Esquire Club gigs last week, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will be Soundcheck's first standard concerts at Jay's since the Bring Back Summer party three weeks ago, and will be their first gigs since Jay's underwent a renovation of some type to the stage area, so it'll be interesting to see what's different compared to the old Rosie days!

For the record, no holiday/long weekend-related themes are suggested for TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY. These shows have no cover charges, 9:30 PM start times, and 19+ age limits as usual, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, we'll move to shows with advance notice, like the highly anticipated return of two legendary hardcore punk bands, as Victoria, British Columbia's own The Dayglo Abortions and Toronto mainstays Random Killing will make their respective Soo Blaster debuts TOMORROW NIGHT! Local fans have been waiting nearly a decade since the last Dayglo set in Sault Ste. Marie (September 2013 at what's now Jay's), so if you're up for another blast of old school punk from The Cretin and company, including cuts from their new album "Upside Down World", head downtown tomorrow! As for Random Killing and their Saultite frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley, we last saw them at The Rockstar Bar in July 2019, and it will be great to have them back for another hardcore homecoming of sorts tomorrow, with their own new album "Bring Out Your Dead" also fresh to deliver songs from to the Soo Blaster faithful! Vancouver garage/noise trio Motorama will make their local debut tomorrow as well.

Not a hardcore punk band, but they will help get things on the right foot with their hybrid sound! Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will play their first local date of 2023 as the openers in a rare Sault Ste. Marie set post-pandemic, and with usual Dayglo/Random Killing promoter J.D. Pearce moved out of town, their promotion company Live705 have reemerged to put this show on. Great to see A Dire Setback & Live705 back, and this should do well for them! This 19+ concert has an 8:00 PM start time and $20 tickets that you can buy at this link and at the door while available. Hopefully this is a huge show for all involved, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here are The Dayglo Abortions live!

Also, let's head a little further downtown to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where local punk trio Vanity First will make their first appearances TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Following a one-off test of the conceit at Reggie's last month, these will be solo headlining dates akin to cover-centric bands who play on the weekend nightclub circuit, so expect lots of covers along with Andrew, Mikhal, and Keeghan's established originals this weekend! Nothing else too shocking to report for these gigs, but whether you're going to the Dayglos' concert or to see Vanity First tomorrow, punk fans will have a lot to like this weekend! These concerts have 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details on Vanity's Shooters debuts this weekend, and here they are live!

Finally, we'll head back up Queen Street East, let's next preview new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' gigs at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This union of the final Jus' Chillin lineup and ex-Obsession singer Valerie Powley last took to the stage at The Esquire Club late last month, and they have gotten a good reception for their initial gigs this spring, so hopefully they set things off on the right foot on this holiday long weekend! If you can't make this weekend's shows, or would prefer to see them in the west end, Generations will be back at The Esquire Club next week. Tomorrow & Saturday's Generations concerts have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. With the talent and skill level on display from Generations, classic and hard rock fans should find something to like here, so don't miss out at Reggie's this weekend, and here they are live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes (and the Queen tribute preview) on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Queen: It's A Kinda Magic), The Fishbowl Festival Closing Party Preview, And More!!

After surviving the St. Patrick's Day concert weekend with no hard rock or punk stone left unturned (with one exception addressed below), we're back with a new news post on this Sunday morning, including new live concert videos and a preview of a rare Monday night concert. However, let's lead off with a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this spring!

Almost one year removed from their pandemic-delayed local debut, Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will return to the Sault Community Theatre Centre on Sunday, May 21st during their 2023 Canadian tour! This one seems to have flown under the radar for where I research concerts, as I only learned about it yesterday via physical advertising at Station Mall, but it's great to see Queen: It's A Kinda Magic coming back to the Soo, especially given how well tickets sold for last year's concert despite being postponed twice across two years! Fans of Queen will be in good hands in May via this band's faithful approach to their 1980s stage show and clear talents in replicating Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger's music, so don't miss this one if you're a fan! Tickets for this show run for $72 (adults), $43 (kids 12 and under), and $67 apiece in a group of 6+ adults, though all three pricepoints are $10 higher than last year.

Plenty of tickets are still available from the third row & back in the center section, and in all rows in the left/right sections, and you can buy yours at this link or at the Station Mall's box office, though do act quick as It's A Kinda Magic sold very well last year. If you're a fan of Queen and you do indeed want it all, you should get your money's worth at the former Kiwanis Theatre, so visit the above links for more on all of the action in two months!

Next up, here's our preview of a special Monday night concert TOMORROW, as local party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty will headline the Fishbowl Festival's closing party at 674 Queen Street East wine bar/restaurant Broers Jansen! The first concert we've ever covered at the former Wine Barrel, they'll play host to the final event in the post-pandemic return of the full-scale Fishbowl Festival (ending when it does because of when Pisces ends in the astrological calendar), with Paul and Amanda bringing their eclectic rap rock stylings back for a relatively rare live set. Hopefully their lively brand of originals & covers cap off the Fishbowl Festival right! Support will come via folk rock mainstay Brian Tremblay (no sign of The Sinister Hearts) and online page-less dark synth pop solo artist OwenMK. This 19+ concert has a 6:30 PM start time with Brian playing at 7:30 & The Apocalypse Afterparty headlining at 8:30 PM.

Tickets run for $10 (on a limited basis, likely due to the size of Broers Jansen), so if you don't want to take a chance on paying at the door, click here to order yours in advance. Broers Jansen will also be offering snacks & drinks for purchase if you are so inclined. This should be a fun way to cap off the Fishbowl Festival, especially after the long pandemic road to get here, so kudos to Nicole and everyone else involved with its return, and least for a Monday nighter, it'll end early if you have work or school on Tuesday morning! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's The Apocalypse Afterparty live!

We'll close with some videos from this past weekend (none from Pop Evil yet, surprisingly), but we'll lead off there with an apology for a missed concert in this past weekend's concert previews, as local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison actually played last night at Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant as well as Friday night. This was never announced by the venue's Facebook page, but Tym revealed on his personal Facebook page that they asked him back for a second straight night, so clearly the Friday gig went well! Alas, if you didn't see his personal posting (or possible physical advertising at Tazzi's), this will have flown under the radar, but apologies again, I'd have covered it had I known! As for that video, Tazzi's filmed Tym at his publically advertised show on St. Patrick's Day for Facebook, where you can see him playing 85 seconds worth of a familiar instrumental (alas, I'm not good with naming songs like this).

Usually, videos from Tym's shows that surface publically involve vocals, so this is an interesting change of pace, and it lets you get more of a look at his guitar skill and the extra production and effects that he puts into his live show so it's not just an vocal/acoustic guitar performance. Yes, the video is vertical, but as it's of one guy, it's not so bad, and you get to see how Tazzi's looks as a venue as such. Check it out below, and apologies again for missing his show there last night! 

Finally, the other new video is also from a venue's Facebook page of a concert this weekend, specifically of local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last night, and remember how I said that I'm not good at identifying many instrumentals? Yeah, this is another case of that! It's good to see the band back at full strength after their three week break, and the 20 second clip sounds nice while it lasts, but the vertical camera angle does it no favours, especially from the filmer's vantage point with the dreaded post on the old Rosie/Reggie's West stage getting in Greg's way. Still neat to see more footage, so check it out below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tarnished) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

With the Victoria Day long weekend (or May 2-4 weekend, if you prefer) almost upon us, let's dive into this weekend's concert previews! Not a packed number of concerts for hard rock acts this weekend, but there's a big show on Sunday to check out, and let's lead off with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in the E.U.P.!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to the stage for a concert TONIGHT at The Brickyard Bar & Grill in nearby Rudyard! Apologies for the short notice, which Tarnished themselves acknowledged, but the venue actually announced the show back on May 3rd on their own Facebook page. In case you're unfamiliar, The Brickyard was better known as Dan's Place and occasionally hosted hard rock concerts into the mid-2010s, before re-opening with new name & ownership in 2019. After the usual pandemic hiatus, they have recently began hosting live music again on weekends, with Tarnished's show TONIGHT being their first since rocking the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in March. No word on where they've been over the spring, but hopefully Alex, Nathan, Isaac, and Josh shake off any stage rust in time to rock The Brickyard TONIGHT!

This concert (located at 18794 South Tilson Road, a half hour southwest of the Soo) has an 8:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. Despite the late notice on the band's behalf, hopefully TONIGHT's concert is a hit at a relatively new-ish venue for Tarnished, and I'll definitely keep more of an eye on The Brickyard as the year progresses! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts in Sault Ontario, starting with local ska/hard rock veterans Tripod The Dog's third and final stop in The Esquire Club's Buckets, Bands, and Birds series of Saturday matinee concerts TOMORROW! As regrettably missed for coverage on here at the time (apologies again), Tripod fans were able to see Mark and the Amendolas at this popular Second Line West nightclub on March 26th & April 16th, with tomorrow's show ending their run of monthly gigs here before the series concludes without a Tripod the Dog show in June, with regular nighttime weekend gigs expected to return in the fall, pandemic willing. In the Buckets, Bands, and Birds series, expect beer & buffalo wing specials if you go for such things, but remember that the matinee timing will be more amenable to supper-time anyway. Hopefully Tripod The Dog entertain with their well established rock hits tomorrow!

As is the case with other shows in The Esquire Club's Saturday matinee series, this concert has a 3:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and while a 19+ age limit would make sense given the locale, the early timing may be of note if you want to inquire within. Visit the above links for more details, and in lieu of a live video of Tripod the Dog, here's an original song of theirs!

Later on TOMORROW NIGHT, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for the second time in just over a week! After an atypical Friday nighter at the Dennis Street nightclub last week, fans and patrons alike will be able to see Terry, Cameron, Paul (or Rob?), and Glen in action once again with their diverse and often hard rocking brand of covers, so consider a downtown trip tomorrow for Souncheck's wide array of familiar tunes! Yes, Soundcheck also hosted their weekly Reggie's West open mic night yesterday, something we traditionally don't cover as a "concert" on here. Saturday's Shooters show has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and 19+ age limit, as usual for their 2022 shows at this venue. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Soundcheck live at Shooters!

Finally for this weekend, let's head to the Sault Community Theater Center, where Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will finally take the stage THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! While not as prominently covered as Black Label Society's pandemic saga to get a local booking, Queen: It's A Kinda Magic have had multiple dates locked in at the former Kiwanis Theatre, initially in June 2020 before being pushed to June 2021, and ultimately this Sunday. Kudos to the band & their management for sticking with the Soo through all of the highs and lows of the pandemic, and hopefully nothing goes awry again beforehand! This stop on their current Canadian tour should provide an ample opportunity for Queen fans to see a very faithful tribute to Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger that has received numerous plaudits for their visual presentation and close take on Queen's unmistakable sound (specifically from their 1986 world tour), so come on down for all of the action!

Note that the S.C.T.C. advertising says that It's A Kinda Magic are "back by popular demand", presumably referencing the pandemic rescheduling, as I don't think they've played here. Tickets for this all ages show run for $62 (adults) or $33 (kids 12 and under), with $57 discounted rates for those in a group of 6, and I believe tickets held from the 2020 and 2021 dates will be honoured on Sunday. Ticket sales have been good for this one, with the closest seating available at press time being in the eighth row, so keep that in mind. Click here or visit the in-person box office at the Station Mall to get your tickets. Should be a great time for Queen fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Q.I.A.K.M. live!

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

Toystock & Tarnished Updates, Plus More News & Notes!!

Here is our newest post on the SMS, keeping with our recent schedule of having a new SMS post every three days due to a lack of new material. At the moment, I am forecasting this month's YouTube Channel Profile hitting the site on Wednesday, but if I catch word of any short notice concerts for the upcoming weekend, I could bump the feature post ahead to likely end this very slow month. Time will tell, but let's kick things off with a big concert cancellation, followed by some more recent updates!

Despite an optimistic teaser post on their Facebook page on November 4th, the ninth annual Toystock charity concert has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a post shared from organizer/performer Greg Simpson's personal Facebook page yesterday, he noted that they were looking into hosting Toystock as a live-streamed event with one band playing online each day over a 10 day span, but fears from organizers and performers of coronavirus case increases, restrictions on indoor gathering allowances, and a potential second lockdown have led to this decision, as well as the reality of fundraising websites needing to take a percentage of donations. I fully understand Greg and company's call, especially if it hinders their ability to entertain while also facilitating Christmas Cheer donations as usual. That said, Greg promises to bring back "the biggest and best Toystock event yet" in 2021, and he strongly encourages everyone to donate new/unopened items to Christmas Cheer.

Were it not for COVID-19, Toystock IX likely would have been held this coming Sunday at The Grand Gardens North, FYI. This is definitely a disappointing announcement, but if you can't give Toystock your all for the great cause it supports, especially as a kick-off to Christmas season, postponing it to next year does make sense in that way. See above for more details on the Toystock cancellation, and donate what you can for Christmas Cheer to make the holidays brighter for those in need!

Next up, here's the latest from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished, starting with the launch of their own YouTube channel! So far, there are four videos uploaded there, all re-shares from Facebook, including the previously seen behind-the-scenes clip from the "Metalyn" music video shoot. The most substantial of the others is embedded below, and it relates to a new merchandise give-away contest that the guys started last week, as teased via a series of Facebook page-exclusive videos. These were all short and primarily feature new pictures of band members alongside a lot of post-production clip-art and logos, with last Sunday's video's description noting that it has a "victory selfie from finishing recording at our studio." Did they record more studio material, or is this referencing work on the music video? Only one of the teaser clips actually has motion, namely the last one featuring a pan and scan of wintry conditions before bassist Josh Fair hypes the giveaway.

That all said, what should you know about the actual merch give-away? In the video, Tarnished (minus Gary) announced that they will hold draws starting on Wednesday, December 2nd for five merchandise bundles, and you can enter by liking, sharing, and/or commenting on the video, which will count for up to three entries. The five bundles will include signed copies of their debut CD "Down To The Wire" and frontman Alex Traynor's solo album "Crazy World", t-shirts, wristbands, and/or guitar picks, with one winner getting everything, and they'll do another set of giveaways if the video is shared 10,000 times. This sounds like a fun idea during this low point of the pandemic, and it may be a remedy for Tarnished to disperse some of their merchandise when they can't sell it live. In a follow-up "After Hours" video, you can see Alex, Josh, and Nathan jokingly discussing what their next plans are, albeit with some honesty about the pandemic-hit 2020 calendar.

There are more videos from Tarnished's Facebook and YouTube pages to share here, but to spread things out and ensure content for posts next week, I'll hold them for now. Tarnished are doing what they can to keep up fan interest at a rough point in the pandemic, and this contest should definitely help, so get more details on their current activity above & below!

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

• Local hard rock solo project Hubbard announced on their Facebook page last month that they have "been fine-tuning a lot of songs in the past few weeks", that there is "fun stuff to come next year", and to "stick around for new music". Given Chris' pedigree as a guitarist and his familiar local band work, the sporadic updates from his solo work are very surprising, but fingers crossed we hear more of his new original content in the near future!
  
• Back on June 1st, The Sault Community Theatre Centre's Facebook page announced that the Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tribute concert in Sault Ontario has been rescheduled for Wednesday, June 2nd of next year, exactly 50 weeks from the original June 17th date, obviously called off due to COVID-19. Hopefully the new date holds up, as this tribute band deliver the goods! Tickets bought for the original date should be honoured, and contact the S.C.T.C. box office for details on refunds if so desired.
• Local punk trio Redundant announced on their Facebook page on November 1st that they "spent some time writing tonight" and have "new songs coming your way", while later asking fans to suggest songs that they should cover. Nice to see that the guys are staying busy this fall, and hopefully the fruits of their labour will turn up at some point soon! See above for more details!
  

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile by Wednesday, unless there's some concerts to preview! Thanks everyone!

Upcoming Concert Statuses, A New Live-Streamed Concert, And More!!

A new month is upon us, so let's kick things off with our 47th straight daily post at the SMS, though we might as well address the ongoing concert cancellation & postponement slate to start. Given the pessimistic reports about the future of concerts in general in 2020, you could infer a lot more than this, but these are just shows to firmly be called off by the bands or promoters online. For one, the Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tribute concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre on June 17th has been postponed, so click here or contact the former Kiwanis Theatre for details on refunds. On April 16th, Hamilton hardcore punk band Pantychrist announced on their Facebook page that their upcoming tour (including the Rockstar Bar stop on June 1st) "is not looking good", and while they stopped short of calling dates off then, they promised to keep fans updated. As of this writing, other local hard rock/punk concerts through June 2020 have not visibly been cancelled on social media, though expect that to change.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford did advise last week that concerts will "continue to be restricted for the foreseeable future" (source here), and I'm not getting into the divisive back-and-forth in Michigan right now, but I will keep you guys posted as word rolls in on upcoming concerts, as I don't think we're anywhere near done for concert cancellations this year, sadly.

Next up, local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison's ninth live-streamed concert took place on his YouTube channel yesterday, and after the technical difficulties with the video stopped Tuesday's show midway through, things seem to be resolved, judging by the 2+ hour runtime! This time, we only have to wait 80 seconds for the actual show to begin, which Tym prefaces by talking about the electric acoustic guitar he used last night and the restoration work done on it, which also comes up later between songs. His set includes renditions of Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart", Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle", The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You", Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love", John Lennon's "Imagine" (with altered lyrics reflecting Tym's Christianity), Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive", Alan Jackson's "Chattahoochee", White Lion's "When The Children Cry", Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'", ...

...Little Texas' "What Might Have Been", Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better", Extreme's "More Than Words", The Beatles' "Blackbird", Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", Night Ranger's "Sister Christian", Skid Row's "I Remember You" (well, part of it), Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train", The Beatles' "Lady Madonna", Extreme's "Hole Hearted", his own original "The Hard Stone", Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69", Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed", Lonestar's "Amazed", The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Fishin In' The Dark", and Journey's "Open Arms". With four exceptions, every song from Tym's abbreviated Tuesday show returned here, so if you want to see those songs with smooth video quality, keep this one in mind! As usual, Tym's performances are great, especially for fans of the covered songs, including more of a Beatles this time, so give everything a watch below, and look for his likely 10th & 11th live-streamed concerts next week!

We'll close today with an update video from local/Thompson, Manitoba solo alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's Facebook page yesterday, which starts with the news that this year's Nickel Days festival (basically Thomspon's Rotaryfest equivalent) and the Blueberry Jam Music Gathering in Flin Flon, Manitoba have both been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, Mike was slated for both events, and he had played at Nickel Fest the last two years, so this is a bummer for him & fans out west! The rest of the video is good news, as he plugged tomorrow's #LockdownLive concert at home (which will be themed around covers that impacted Mike in the past) and his planned "If Ever Comes The Day" at-home release show on May 15th, with the #LockdownLive series tentatively scheduled for every Saturday until he's back to work. Tune in tomorrow night on his Facebook page for "The Cover Story", and watch the full update video below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Queen: It's A Kinda Magic, Peril, 415E, And Highway 63!!)

Much like on Monday, our newest post is largely devoted to Sault Michigan-area updates, with a Sault Ontario story ending things, but instead of videos, this has only LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! The Eastern U.P. ones concern the new concert announcements on Kewadin Casino's entertainment pages, as we now know of currently booked acts at The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie and The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace through early July. There are more to touch on, courtesy of surprise touring hard rock bands from afar, but visit the above links for heads-up on those events and others from non-hard rock acts. Now, here's what you should know!

We'll start with local hard rock quartet 415E, who have two announced concert weekends in the first half of 2019, one at each Kewadin branch! Firstly, you can see them at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on January 24th & 25th, before they play their first announced Sault Ste. Marie dates of 2020 on May 8th & 9th. This month's St. Ignace gigs will be their first there since July, while May's Soo dates will be their first in their hometown since New Year's Eve. The former Hubbard-Menard Band had a very quiet 2019, with only 5 publically announced gigs, so it is encouraging to see them almost match that in the first half of 2020 alone, and hopefully all four shows have great turnouts! You can check out their Van Halen-influenced cover selection on these nights at 9:00 PM with no cover charges and 21+ age limits, as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and hopefully we hear more updates from 415E (and Hubbard) in the near future!

Next up, Traverse City classic metal trio Peril have three regional Kewadin weekends of their own lined up for early 2019! We covered their sister band Scarkazm's Kewadin concerts during this timeframe in our weekend concert preview post on Thursday. Local fans will first be able to see Jeff, Adam, and Brooks on February 14th & 15th when they rock The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace, while they will head north to The Rapids Lounge in Sault Ste. Marie on May 29th & 30th, with a return to the St. Ignace Kewadin planned for two weeks later on June 12th & 13th. The St. Ignace gigs next month will be Peril's first there in three months, but Soo fans will have waited eight months between Rapids Lounge weekends. It's great to see Peril (and Scarkazm) keep up their regular schedule in the E.U.P., so don't miss their old school cover attack at the above dates! Like with 415E, these are 9:00 PM & 21+ gigs with no cover. See above for more details!

Lastly for the regular local/Northern Michigan hard rock acts with new Kewadin Casino lounge bookings is Sault Ste. Marie classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63, who have four concert weekends booked through July, two at each location! The Jager/Monkey's Uncle successors will return to The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on March 6th & 7th, before playing two weekends at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace in May, as they're booked there on May 1st & 2nd, and then on the 29th & 30th. They'll close these announced dates back at The Northern Pines Lounge on July 3rd & 4th. For what it's worth, their new side-project Mackinaw Trail are not among the announced Kewadin lounge acts during this timeframe. Highway 63's old school blend of covers should go over just fine at both Kewadin branches, so don't miss the Switzers & company this spring and beyond! Again, these are 21+ gigs with no cover and 9:00 PM start times. Get more details at the above links!

We'll close today's post with a new concert announcement in Sault Ontario, where Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will make their local concert debut on Wednesday, June 17th at the Sault Community Theater Center! An acclaimed, internationally performing band who faithfully recreate the concerts Queen played on their 1986 world tour, Q.I.A.K.M. do appear to live up to their hype in live videos that I've seen, so Queen fans should have a ball with this stage show this summer! It's definitely a good time to be a Queen fan locally, given the success of last year's St. Mary's production of the We Will Rock You musical, plus the touring version later this month, and now a full tribute concert. Tickets for this 8:00 PM event run for $62 a piece for adults, $33 for kids 12 and under, and a group rate for $57 a piece is also available. Get yours at this link or at the Station Mall's box office, and see more from Queen: It's A Kinda Magic at the above links!

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

Treble Charger - "Maybe It's Me" CD Review!!

It's now time for our 118th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and this month, we are reluctantly breaking our year+ streak of new album reviews as the metal, hard rock, and punk release calendar slows down. As such, we're looking at local/Toronto indie punk quartet Treble Charger's gold-selling third album "Maybe It's Me" in our first archive CD review since 2017! Preference for archive reviews on the SMS goes to albums featuring artists who played locally in the current month, and fittingly, guitarist Bill Priddle played at The Water Tower Pub two weeks ago. "Maybe It's Me" was released through Smokin' Worm Records on May 13th, 1997 (also on Vik Records that year and through RCA in the U.S.), and it was recorded at multiple studios in Boston and Toronto with producer Lou Giordano, with mixing by him & Tom Lord-Alge, and mastering by Ted Jensen. Like it's predecessor "Self-Title", Treble Charger received a Juno Award nomination for Best Alternative Album in 1998.

As on their first two albums, Treble Charger are represented here by singer/guitarists Greig Nori and Bill Priddle once again, alongside then-bassist Rosie Martin. Drums are largely provided here by session drummer Mike Levesque due the departure of Morris Palter early in the recording sessions, though Morris drums on 4 tracks. While he is featured in the album's liner notes & music videos, Trevor McGregor joined the band after recording ended. CD copies of "Maybe It's Me" can be found at record stores still, but for a sure thing, online copies of the original album are available on services like iTunes and Spotify, among others. Song names are linked below to YouTube copies, but consider buying the album to support Treble Charger's work! Featuring 13 songs running for about 50 minutes in length, let's begin our third Treble Charger album review with it's first song & single!

The CD opens with "Friend of Mine", which seems to be about not following someone's example and not reinforcing their behaviour by being friendly to them. A #9 hit on the Canadian Rock/Alternative charts, this has a Weezer-esque sound that at least shows slight progression towards their later punk material. The guitar work is strong and melodic, and the percussion is steady, but Greig's singing strikes me as a little monotone, without the anger and annoyance that the lyrics seem to point towards. The sudden fade-out isn't optimal either, but it's a good track for what it is! Second is "How She Died", which also hit the top 20 of the Canadian alternative charts. Seemingly a response to the suicide of a loved one, the song proper has a surprisingly upbeat melody, including a bit of vocal aggression on the choruses. Rosie's bass work is solid, and the energy overall is amped up, even showing a bit of a guitar solo late. If it was up to me, "How She Died" should have opened the album, but it's an early highlight on "Maybe It's Me"!

Next is the album's shortest song, "Stupid Things To Say", which is the first song with Bill on lead vocals. Containing seemingly apathetic lyrics about not being in the right frame of mind to hear another person talking, this song is more along the trajectory of their first two albums, though is it wrong to hear a Foo Fighters glimmer on this? Like on "Friend of Mine", the vocal annoyance and displeasure doesn't jive with the singing style, but the song is well performed, if leisurely. A pleasant listen, but punk fans may want to look elsewhere. That's followed by "Kareen", which may or may not reference the spiritual double of humans known as a "Qareen" from Islamic culture. Greig's back on vocals here for this number, which has a harder-edged alternative sound, and is somewhat darker in tone than we usually see from Treble Charger. The vocals contrast well with the instruments, and Mike's drumming is a good match, though the bridge feels like a few different songs stitched together. Very solid and mature track with a nice rhythm!

Fifth is a re-recording of "Red", which was their first single on their 1994 debut album "nc17", and like on that version, also received it's own newly recorded music video. Despite running for 30 seconds less and cutting half of the lyrics, this is actually the longest song on "Maybe It's Me". The remake benefits from stronger production and beefier instrumentation, losing it's more acoustically-inclined nature from three years prior. On a CD of transition for Treble Charger, this reflect their old indie rock sound very well, and Bill's earnest, soft singing is still a fine fit. I prefer this version for it's production & more rock-based nature, but you may well disagree! This version also made the top #20 on the Canadian rock charts.

Next is "Fade", which is another song alluding to personal differences, this time how one can finally avoid a former friend or lover (as far as I can gather.) Again, the lyrical themes don't mesh with the soft singing from Greig, but the upbeat power pop melody works well in the chorus, especially compared to the somewhat listless opening verses. The song improves with time, and hits a home run for involvement and enthusiasm (lyrical dissonance aside) in the last stanza, and that helps save the track overall for me! Song #7 is "Ever She Flows", another song that seemingly talks about issues between lovers and not understanding each other. The first of 4 songs with Morris on drums, the dream-like verses contrast well with the more punchy choruses, with Bill's singing a steady constant throughout, and the guitar work is really strong! Just for my own preferences, this isn't my favourite song on the CD, but fans of their first 2 albums will be right at home.

Afterwards, we have "Forever Knowing", which has themes about waiting for a loved one, and no song better matches the lyrics so far than this one, except maybe "Red". Another song with Weezer glimmers, this is has a nice dreamy power pop sound with Bill's nicely tuned singing and well suited guitar work, and Rosie's bass adds the right amount of thump to the instrumentation. Like on it's predecessor, this isn't the style of Treble Charger I prefer, but it's a fine fit for fans of their indie rock side! Ninth is "Mercury Smile" (with Greig on vocals & Morris on drums), which returns to allusions of strained relationships, but with a lot of extra visualization. The song seems like it'd be a softer indie rock song at first, but it amps up into full on alt-rock intensity after the opening verse, and Greig and Bill compliment each other well on guitar! I am not a fan of the owl hooting vocals late, but before then, this delivers enough rock to go around!

The tenth track is "Christ Is On The Lawn", also with Morris behind the kit, while producer Lou Giordano provides a guest guitar solo. A very symbolic song about loss and moving on, this is probably the quietest and most reserved song on "Maybe It's Me", with everyone performing at a very delicate and deliberate pace. It's an affecting song that would play very well in an acoustic setting, and Bill shows real emotion, but if you want to hear Treble Charger at a heavier and more rock-based level, you'll want to steer clear of it. I don't prefer this track, but it's very well done! Next is "Scatterbrain", which is lyrically about trying to comprehend changes in a loved one's behaviour. You may expect this song to have a ska-punk bent, based on guest performances by tenor saxophonist Coleen Allen, trombonist Stephen Donald, and trumpeter Sarah McElcheran, but their involvement just gives some backing zest to the song, and there's no discernible reggae influence aside from the presence of a horn section.

The song proper is lively, well paced, and energetic, and Greig's singing showcases a bit more range and energy than we've seen. He, Bill, Rosie, and Mike compliment each other well, and while this doesn't have the grit and attitude to come on later albums, this has a strong rock base and energy that fans should be able to get behind! Honestly, the guest horn players could have been a little louder too, they're easy to miss on low volume.

Second last on the album is "Takes Me Down", which is Mike's last song on drums. A short song that really has that punk influence in it's sound, the lyrics here reference frustration and anger, but trying to keep it in and let things slide... for now. Vocals (and a nice Spanish guitar break) actually come from Bill here, which is mildly surprising given the tone, and I'd honestly have switched his lead vocals with Greig's backing singing, as it feels like they switched roles in studio for a song of this style. The pacing and riffs work well, and Rosie fits in really well, but the vocal dissonance and the abrupt ending do give it a few marks. The CD closes with "Left Feeling Odd" (with Morris on drums), which seems to be about seeing a man lying on the ground, causing the title emotion. A return to indie rock territory, this is a reserved and plain song that doesn't feel as odd as Bill felt, but it's not especially memorable compared to it's predecessors. Not how I'd end the album, but it'll get the job done for early fans!

So, what are my final thoughts on Treble Charger's third album? Overall, I think this was their best album to date, and it served as an important bridge from their early indie rock era to their pop punk work that gave them their commercial peak. While the most "rocking" songs on "Maybe It's Me" don't overtly have a punk attitude, there's a clear emphasis on faster and heavier power pop material, and as noted earlier, I can see where Weezer and The Foo Fighters may have been influences. The songs sung by Bill tend to skew more to their old stuff, but Greig's material tends to be where their sound is expanding. Both have solid voices, and their guitar work compliments each other well, while Rosie's bass work was a reliable constant, and both Mike and Morris drummed well throughout! I will say that Mike seemed more suited to their more aggressive songs. Tracks like "How She Died", "Kareen", and "Scatterbrain" were among my favourites.

My biggest complaint is that vocals often weren't a great match for the lyrical themes (primarily about relationship strife and anger), often coming across as too soft and melodic. The occasional abrupt ending was present too, and the owl hooting on "Mercury Smile" did nothing for me, but as the bridge of Treble Charger eras, this has a little something for everyone, and whether you like "Even Grable" or "Hundred Million", this album will work for either side! Buy or stream "Maybe It's Me" at the above links! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, but what's coming on the site next month? At present, I don't know, but here's what I can tell you. A new album would, of course, take precedence, and you can see what may be coming out soon in our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post on Thursday. If nothing new comes on sale to review, an archive review is very likely, perhaps of a Dustin Jones project to tie in with his Music 4 Kayge set.

In any event, stay tuned for much more on the site as we enter May 2019, including a new news post featuring a big concert announcement next! Thanks everyone!