Here's a new news post for your Tuesday night delectation, so what's on tap? New videos, mostly, with one attached to album news from a prominent solo artist, but let's kick things off with a preview of a special Wednesday night concert featuring out of town talent that you can hopefully check out!
Calgary hard rock quartet Life Like Fire will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT when they headline at The New American Pub as part of an all-touring package of bands! This female fronted group have an edgy yet accessible brand of rock n' roll to bring to Soo fans tomorrow, and if you like bands like New Years Day or Halestorm, you might not want to miss this stop on their ongoing It's Too Spicy Tour if you can help it! In fact, this show is a merger of converging tours, with Life Like Fire sharing the New A stage tomorrow with Powassan, Ontario alt-hard rock band The Long Nines, also making their Sault Ste. Marie debut here. Solid, no-frills melodic rock sound from this rising Northern Ontario group, and they should put in a well received set also, especially with their new single "Northlander" now out! Temagami folk/indie rock solo artist James Crate will open as part of his ongoing dates opening for The Long Nines, and he should set the tone well with his reserved material!
Seemingly promoted in-house (albeit with involvement from The Long Nines' label Ego & Pessimism Records), this 19+ concert has an advertised 8:00 PM start time and a 10:00 PM start time. While the Wednesday night scheduling and lack of local openers may not be optimal for many fans, this should be a solid triple bill of performers, with a little something for every heavy music tolerance level, so consider a trip to The New A tomorrow! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Life Like Fire live!
Next up, here's the latest from prolific local alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, so what's he up to in his current Thompson, Manitoba homebase? You may have caught some of this already in last week's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, but either way, Mike returned to Thompson's annual Nickel Days summer festival on June 22nd for a second solo set, and like last year, he recorded the set for another live album! Similarly to "From The Nickel Stage" (his first album release since the big move), Mike worked with Thompson's The Music Makers to record his whole headlining set, and while Mike disclosed some difficulty with the single tracking technique therein, he does seem pleased with how everything turned out. A sample video was posted on his Facebook page on June 28th featuring Mike's newer original "Come On Home", and the featured image, presumably the album cover, indicates that the live album will be called "Carnival: A Live Spectacle By Mike Haggith."
As precedence for our monthly CD reviews goes to studio albums, I won't immediately review "Carnival" upon release, due to the (hopefully) impending release of his upcoming CD "Bridges", but I can tell you that the audio recording sounds good, and this will be reminiscent of many of Mike's Thompson-era videos, where many of these songs were already in an acoustic setting. Give the live Nickel Days version of "Come On Home" a listen below, and stay tuned for more on "Carnival" & "Bridges"!
Also today, here's a new video from the Slaughter-headlined concert at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino last month, courtesy of attendee/Troy's Trail co-organizer Annette Chandler's YouTube channel on Sunday! Like her videos from 2017's Bret Michaels show in Sault Michigan, this is an untitled clip, but it's actually of opening Pasadena hair metal band Autograph playing their song "Send It To Me." Nice and melodic performance that suits their style well, and the house looks nicely packed for this one, so kudos to Annette for filming this one! Check it out if you want below!
Finally for today, here's a new video of Kinross/Mount Pleasant hard rock solo artist Alex Traynor live at Biggby Coffee in Sault Ste. Marie during his two most recent acoustic matinee gigs there! One is from his Independence Day show there on Thursday, where the ex-Banned frontman and an uncredited guest performer are jamming a familiar instrumental piece for the requisite tips and coffee. Short video on a vertical camera angle, but Alex and the guest sound good together, so check it out below! For what it's worth, the new video that wasn't working during Facebook's outages on July 3rd was actually a re-upload of his Stevie Ray Vaughan cover from March.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Now, let's wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews (late notice possibilities aside), and if you're looking for previews of concerts that had a Friday component, check the post below this one! Today, we're looking at bands who are only playing tomorrow night, but to fill things out, we do have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month to lead things off with! Yes, I am aware of the big rescheduled punk show this fall, stay tuned for more on that in our next proper news post. Now, here's what you should know!
A trifecta of hard rock-centric acts (all local newcomers) are coming to The New American Pub on Wednesday, July 10th, including headlining Calgary hard rock quartet Life Like Fire! Self-described as "a dirty, in your face, female fronted rock n' roll band", Life Like Fire have already attracted some local fans with their heavy hitting yet melodic sound that reminds me somewhat of bands like New Years Day, and if you can make it out for a mid-week concert, L.L.F. would be worth your time next month! Joining them at The New A on this night are Powassan, Ontario alt-hard rock band The Long Nines, who are on a separate Canadian tour, but the two bands' paths cross in the Soo on July 10th, hence the double bill. Ironically also a quartet with a female singer, The Long Nines aren't as heavy as Life Like Fire, but their melodic, to-the-point sound and new single "Northlander" should give them a good base!
The show will be opened by Temagami folk/indie rock solo artist James Crate, who is touring alongside The Long Nines. Much softer launch than you may expect, but James has talent, and he'll set the tone well before things get plugged in on the 10th! Apparently booked in house through The New A (though The Long Nines' label Ego & Pessimism Records will assist in production), this 19+ show has a $10 cover charge and an advertised start time of 8:00 PM. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on this intriguing Wednesday nighter next month!
Next up, let's continue this busy weekend of hard rock concert previews by tackling three Saturday night-only concerts, starting with a huge (and surprisingly affordable) show at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW NIGHT, as Las Vegas glam metal quartet Slaughter will play our area for the third time in the past 11 years! After previously opening for Jackyl in Sault Ontario in 2008 and Stryper in Sault Michigan in 2012, it's time for Slaughter to headline with their familiar blend of originals like "Fly to the Angels", "Up All Night", and "The Wild Life". If you Hair Scare loyalists are up for an hour's drive south to St. Ignace, then you should get a great show from Mark, Dana, Blando, and Zoltan tomorrow! Pasadena glam/hard rock quartet Autograph will also head north for this concert, and with "Turn Up The Radio" and other deep cuts in their repetroire, hair metal junkies should be more than excited to see them on a local stage as well, so don't miss either band then!
Presented by Classic Rock: The Bear (which can be picked up easily in St. Ignace on 95.3 FM), this rare major hard rock show at the St. Ignace Kewadin will be an indoor event at their on-site events center. Tickets for this 8:00 PM concert are surprisingly just $10, and lots are still available, so visit this link, the Sault Kewadin's in-person box office, the St. Ignace Kewadin's gift shop, or 1-800-KEWADIN to get hooked up. At this price, how can glam metal fans in Mackinac Country say no? Slaughter put on a great show in 2008 and 2012, and hopefully there's more of the same tomorrow night, so see above for more details, and here's Slaughter live!
Also TOMORROW NIGHT in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, fans in nearby Eckerman can enjoy Sault Ste. Marie hard rock cover quartet Project 906 as they rock The Strongs Tavern! While this venue in the western half of Chippewa County is definitely a known commodity to Project 906 fans (who last saw them there on New Year's Eve), this will be just their second announced concert since taking a four month break earlier this year due to personal life commitments. A search to get a concert booking for tonight too didn't appear to have a public resolution, but fans can still see Billy, Joe, Dustin, and Tommy back at The Strongs Tavern for one night only. Hopefully the guys deliver a "strong" set of their own tomorrow, and that their open dates in August get filled soon! Tomorrow's concert has a likely 9:00 PM start time, a 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Project 906 live at the aforementioned Strongs Tavern!
Finally for today's previews, we'll head back north to Sault Ontario, where local power rock quartet Re:Born will headline a special going away concert party TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar in honour of long-time roadie, filmer, and supporter Cory Burch! The son of guitarist Blair Burch, Cory has been a steady presence at Project 421 and Re:Born shows since his dad re-entered the scene as an active performer, but he's moving out of province for work reasons in the very near future, hence this concert being announced, so that Re:Born and fans can give him a proper send-off. Cory's a good guy and he's always been very helpful and useful as a fan and roadie over the years, and hopefully this party sets out to achieve it's aims tomorrow before he flies out west! There will be at least two other bands performing, but Re:Born are staying tight-lipped on their identities, other than to guarantee that "it just got a bit louder and heavier", while a looser jam-night atmosphere is to be expected.
While this is a 19+ event with a 10:00 PM start time, Re:Born are not charging a cover to come down, so if you want some free Saturday night entertainment with a proven band and some mystery performers, you could do a lot worse! This should be a fun time before Canada Day festivities kick in, and hopefully Cory has a great time before the big move, so see above for more details, and here's Re:Born live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news over the long weekend, and this month's CD review by Sunday! Thanks everyone!
