Before we dive into what is looking like a little busier concert weekend in the Twin Saults, let's look at some news and notes from both sides of the border, including new video uploads, updates on a major recent concert cancellation, and more, so here's what you should know!
To lead off this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this past weekend's round of previews. Given how slight last weekend's hard rock/punk slate was, knowing about this one would have been extremely optimal! This past Saturday, local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos returned to Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room for a one-nighter, after playing their third announced show there in June, but unfortunately, the venue only plugged the gig on their Facebook page that morning and it completely slipped us by. On Dos Amigos' end, the BookcluB side project also never acknowledged the booking on their Facebook page prior. I profusely apologize for missing this show regardless, but acoustic acts do well at the unique setting of the Tap Room, and hopefully Mikey & Dustin had a good show on Saturday! Actually, we can see if they did for ourselves now, as they shared a video from the concert the following day!
The first public video on Dos Amigos' Facebook page (and their first post there of any kind in almost four months), the video sees Mikey & Dustin covering Rancid's "Roots Radical" and doing a solid job of adapting it to a two man unplugged setting! I wish the filmer got more than 24 seconds, but everything sounds and looks good at the Tap Room. and the vertical camera angle isn't as objectionable because both guys are in frame without issue. Give it a watch below, and apologies again for missing this show in last weekend's previews, I'd have happily covered it with even a day's notice!
Next up, here's more on the mid-show cancellation of last month's Ripcordz concert at The Distraction in Sault Ontario! In a follow-up article on SooToday on July 30th, Sault Fire Services public education officer Aaron Gravelle confirmed that the show was cancelled following "a fire safety complaint", with police and fire crews determining that the basement space didn't have sufficient fire/life safety measures in place, and was thusly not approved for use as a concert venue. Fire Services and the city's building division will reportedly work with The Distraction towards ensuring "future building compliance", but whether this means that concerts will return to the East Street nightclub and when, I don't know. In the article, Ripcordz frontman Paul Gott is interviewed in text and in an attached video by contributor and former Honest Job frontman Drew Armstrong, where Paul praised the Soo and small concert venues like The Distraction.
Despite the cancellation, Paul was cordial and respectful on camera about the abbreviated concert and the local scene, let alone the younger generation of punk fans and musicians, and it's a good watch for fans! Unfortunately, I can't embed videos directly embedded onto SooToday (this isn't from YouTube) on the SMS, but give it a watch above, and it includes black & white photos from the local openers' sets!
Finally, let's zip over to Sault Michigan for some relatively rare videos of local classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished's current lineup in action! These actually come from the Fourth of July parade in the Soo last month, where Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron performed on a float once again (the band as a whole has done this for at least three years now). At least two people posted their own copies of the half hour-long parade route to YouTube, one being user onewxone, who was stationed beside the Ashmun Street Bridge. In his video, Tarnished become audible 24:30 into the 30 minute video (which was edited slightly in post-production to reduce the dead air between floats). While in earshot, Tarnished were covering The Go-Gos' "We Got The Beat" and while you only see them on camera for about 25 seconds, you can hear them at varying levels of clarity for two minutes before and afterwards.
Click here to jump straight to Tarnished's spot in the parade, but I won't embed that particular video here because of the sharp stationary angle of the procession. Embedded below is the parade video shot by Sunshine Gregory, who was filming further down the route at the corner of Ashmun and West Portage Avenue, capturing the procession with more of a side view, and not on a tripod. In Sunshine's video, you can first hear Ron's drumming at 24:17, and the guys are covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" at this juncture. Like they did for at least part of last year's July 4th parade, Alex & Josh walked alongside the float while both cameras were rolling, with Chris and Ron performing on the float itself, and you get a better view of that in Sunshine's video given her placement en route. Here, Tarnished are only on camera for 16 seconds, but Sunshine was moving her camera around to better capture what an attendee might see.
You can hear Tarnished finish the song, so they're audible in this parade video for about 80 seconds. The guys sound good on both covers, and Alex was definitely having fun engaging with the crowd from what was captured! If you're curious, the Independence Day parade actually featured two bands, as the E-Free Church's Sault Ste. Marie campus had contemporary Christian performers on their float, which rode down midway through the parade. They had a camera of their own rolling for their own parade video on the float itself, which gives a unique view from the other side, but check out the full parade and Tarnished's performances there above and below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
