After a delay largely due to a stacked round of weekend concert previews, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again spotlight a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk musicians/concerts! For our last post in this series of the summer, we're looking at the channel of an all-too-brief cover rock band from three years ago that had a lot of promise and in-built chemistry, so here's what you should know!
Owner: A member of 2023 classic/hard rock cover trio The Nostalgic Band, exact identity unclear (possibly Randy, as he was credited for editing videos in the descriptions)
Channel Timeline:Launched on June 9th, 2023; Videos posted that day, three days later, and on August 1st of that year
Channel Summary: This is the
only surviving online source for official content from The Nostalgic Band (f.k.a. Nostalgia), and features three live concert videos of the short-lived group, who featured former Caveman Morrison singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, former Browbeat frontman Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg on bass, and former Nikkfitt drummer Chet Dziergas (note that Randy was in Caveman Morrison from 2012-2013, and he was also a Nikkfitt alum, albeit not when Chet was in that band).
Why You Should Watch: If you liked The Nostalgic Band during their few mid-2023 concert dates, or have missed any of the members on stage in a band since (Tym's frequent acoustic concerts acknowledged), this will be absolutely worth checking out! This group had talent and chemistry, as fans of late-era Caveman Morrison will know, and it's a shame that things ended the way that they did that September. Note that the band's Facebook group was sadly taken down after their breakup, which Randy was wont to do when any of his prior bands folded. You can, however, see some extra footage of this group via this episode of Randy's Rides, his motorcycle-riding webseries.
I DON'T KNOW cover by The NOSTALGIC band: In a sign that Ozzy Osbourne covers were popular for Tym, Randy, and Chet in this band, their other Reggie's video sees them cover "I Don't Know" at another Reggie's concert just two weeks later. Edited by Randy in post-production to include zooms into the stage and individual band members, this is a sound cover that shows off everyone's musical abilities well, even if Chet's head is largely obscured at this angle. The video quality isn't super crisp, but it is nice to see everyone in fuller frame, let alone a full video from a public concert!
Nostalgtic Band Live at the Ranch July 29 2023: In their final and longest upload, we get 37 minutes of the guys at a private outdoor event at "The Ranch" in July 2023, which was (as far as I can recall) cross-posted to their Facebook group before it was taken down. While edited to remove between-song breaks in post-production, the video features their full covers of Deep Purple's "Highway Star", Metallica's "Enter Sandman", Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", Styx's "Too Much Time On My Hands", Bryan Adams' "Summer Of '69", Kiss' "Rock & Roll All Nite", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising", "Bark At The Moon", and Whitesnake's "Slide It In". Despite fuzzy video quality and a somewhat sterile feeling without crowd reactions between songs, these covers are strongly performed with good enthusiasm and vocals from Tym, and it's a shame that The Nostalgtic (sic) Band didn't last longer than four months, but hopefully we see the guys down the line!
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series returns (hopefully on time moreso) next month at around September 26th, but stay tuned next for this month's CD review! Thanks everyone!
We're back with a new news post on this Monday morning, and it's half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and half to bands newly moved to our inactive band links. Here's what you should know!
As is usual for LopLops Lounge (at least in years not ravaged by a pandemic), the Queen Street East nightclub is ramping up their concert slate for the holiday season, partly due to their 20th anniversary and recently announced grand re-opening on a more regular pre-pandemic schedule. These include six newly announced dates in December plus the previously announced Fuller reunion concert on the 28th ($20 tickets are now on sale on Eventbrite!). Of these new shows, two fit the SMS' genre range, starting with online page-less alternative/punk cover quintet Bookclub, who will headline at LopLops on Friday, December 15th! Barring an interim show announcement, this will be Bookclub's first show since frontman Mikey Hawdon's pre-wedding party at Soo Blaster earlier this month, and will be an encore to the Christmas show that they shared with The Wyld Stallyns at LopLops in December 2022.
If a second band (The Stallyns or otherwise) are announced or added for the show next month, we'll let you know, but current Facebook advertising only credits Bookclub. That show was Bookclub's second period, so with a year of gigs since, things should be bigger and better for them on the 15th next month! Tickets run for the oddly specific price of $18 (plus online processing fees if bought on Eventbrite), while 10 person "party ticket" packages are available for $180 that also include (presumably alcoholic) drinks. Things start at the early-ish time of 8:00 PM and this is obviously a 19+ event. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
Next up, the other SMS-amenable LopLops show taking place next month will see local indie punk quintet The Northwest return to the stage on Friday, December 22nd! This will surprisingly be The Northwest's first public concert since the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing in July, and their first in city limits since May. While I don't know why they've been so quiet in 2023, hopefully they deliver a solid night of original favourites as they mark their 10th anniversary together! No word on why all of LopLops' advertising omits the "The" tacked onto The Northwest's name in 2021, but note that the band proper has yet to publically acknowledge this show on their Facebook page. Similarly, personal Facebook postings do indicate that a known local band will be opening for them on December 22nd, but their identity has not been publically confirmed online by them, The Northwest, or the venue at press time.
Both this and the Bookclub show above are 19+ affairs with 8:00 PM start times, but The Northwest show will be a cheaper night out, with $10 tickets (plus the usual added fees) available at this link, and another "party ticket" deal with included drinks available for $100 for a party of 10. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and see above for much more on LopLops' packed concert calendar next month!
We'll close today with two bands moved to our inactive band links, starting with local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters, who have went over one year since their last public activity, last being seen opening for Metallica tribute band Sandman at Soo Blaster in October of last year. After playing two gigs in the fall of 2017, frontman Jules Cote (and his Dave Grohl wig) resurrected The Soo Fighters with a series of new lineups starting in the fall of 2019, with guitarist Wes Greco joining him throughout alongside three different rhythm sections, also later adding backing vocalist Nicole Ambeault. Revival era-concerts also included J.D. Pearce's final Halloween party at The Rockstar Bar in 2019, the 2021 & 2022 Northern Vibe Festivals, and a Rockstar Bar return for Halloween 2021 with their then-sister band Lockdown.
Given the nature of The Soo Fighters, they could theoretically pop up again at any time (especially around Halloween), but it does seem like Jules & Nicole have put more focus on his current pop rock cover bands like Bourbon Blue and Nicky & The Southpaws, not to mention final bassist & drummer Mitch Sirie & Johnny Belanger's work in Handsome Sandwich & The Bear Hunters. Still, despite frequent lineup changes (I counted twelve band members across their seven publically advertised gigs), The Soo Fighters always had a crowd-friendly grasp on Foo Fighters classics, so hopefully we see them again down the line, and R.I.P., Chris!
Finally, the other band moved to our inactive link is local classic metal/hard rock cover trio The Nostalgic Band, who have reportedly dissolved, as per bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg on their Facebook group two weeks ago. Dutch explained that he and drummer Chet Dziergas left the group, but I'll refrain from elaborating here other than nothing that there were personal differences. Originally named Nostalgia, this group reunited Dutch with his old Caveman Morrison bandmate Tym Morrison (in his first full band project in seven years), and proceeded to play a number of gigs on the weekend nightclub circuit between May and September, last seen at Reggie's midway through that month. Despite announcing gigs into 2024 at three different venues, including a weekly jam night series at Reggie's, all of their announced bookings from late September onward were abruptly cancelled.
While Dutch suggested that the group be taken down due to their breakup (he was one to delete Facebook pages of bands that he fronted after they disbanded), Tym leaving the group up may be a sign that he wants to keep it going in some form, but that's just speculation on my part. The Nostalgic Band were a solid group with seemingly good chemistry, and I can only hope that things aren't as bad as they seemed between the guys. Stay tuned for more from Tym, Dutch, and Chet when/if it comes out, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this weekend's concert previews, just a heads up that local classic metal trio The Nostalgic Band have cancelled all of their upcoming concerts, as per their respective Facebook event pages (or deletions thereof) in the past week. Affected dates include tomorrow, November 3rd-4th, and December 8th-9th at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, October 13th & December 22nd at Shooters Downstairs Lounge, October 20th & 21st at Reggie's Place, and the recently announced continuation of their Thursday jam night hosting duties at Reggie's, whose (deleted) Facebook page had them blocked there into 2024. Reasons for the mass cancellations weren't announced, but hopefully things aren't as serious as all of these dates being rapidly called off may suggest. Fingers crossed that we see The Nostalgic Band back on stage when the time is right, as they are a talented group!
Otherwise, let's dive into this weekend's hard rock concert previews, in a relatively quiet weekend that primarily sees cover-centric bands taking the stage on both sides of the border, so here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were announced on the band's Facebook group on the 11th but completely slipped us by at the time. After taking two weekends off (with singer Valerie Powley resuming her judging duties at The Soo's Got Talent in the interim), these will be the Jus' Chillin successors' first shows at Reggie's in three months, which is kind of surprising! They also dropped out of dates there in July due to a scheduling conflict. As such, these will be their first gigs at this Queen Street staple with new guitarist Tony Kajnar. and hopefully he, Valerie, Pierre, and Tony S. deliver a solid weekend of classic and hard rock hits for fans there TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Expect 9:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Generations live!
Next up, let's head down the road to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will make their debut at this Dennis Street nightclub TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen two weeks ago at The Water Tower Pub, this will be the first solo headlining date for the Obsession successors at a downtown locale, and following a positive reception to their prior public and private sets, hopefully Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve keep the good vibes going with their eclectic but often heavy setlist tomorrow! A one-nighter due to Shooters' reported move to having a DJ on Saturdays this fall instead, tomorrow's concert has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the band's Facebook page for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video from a recent private gig of theirs! Well, maybe not "private", but given the nature of it, I didn't want to treat it like anyone could go see it.
On September 9th, Silent 9 served as musical entertainment at the postponed Family Fun Day at (well, outside of) Algoma Steel, which was really not intended for the general public, just plant employees and their families, hence my reticence to cover it here. We can get a glimpse of the festivities via this 90 seconds-long Facebook video of Silent 9 covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" on an outdoor stage, which sounds good with strong vocals and guitar work in particular! The square Instagram dimensions are preferable to a vertical cell phone aspect ratio (watermark acknowledged), but the placement of the filmer doesn't help us see drummer Steve Porco very well. Give it a look for yourself below!
Now let's head south to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock quintet The Nameless will play their first ever (publically announced) headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchants Bar! Last seen at the Sugar Island Music Festival last month (apologies again for missing that on the site), this will be their first concert in city limits since opening for Scotty Austin at The Savoy Bar back in March. The Nameless don't play live all that often, but they do have a talented lineup and have shared the stage on a handful of big multi-band events, so hopefully they leave a good impression at The Merch tomorrow! Everything goes down at 108 West Spruce Street tomorrow at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, click here to watch their full debut concert set last year! I can't embed it here due to copyrighted music over the P.A. at the start of the video.
Finally for today, let's head even further south to St. Ignace, where Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While seen more often in the E.U.P. if you count dates in Luce County and western Chippewa & Mackinac County that are over an hour's drive from the Soo, these will be their first gigs at the St. Ignace Kewadin since May. Not having played closer in the interim, this should be worth attending for fans of Jamie and Rikk's minimalistic but hard hitting brand of hard rock and classic rock covers! These are 9:00 PM events with no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 or older to attend, and if you can't make it to these dates, Fyrbird will be at the Sault Kewadin in two weeks. See above for more details, and here's Fyrbird live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
Before we get into this weekend's concert previews, just a heads up that classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down are not playing at The Esquire Club this weekend, despite being advertised on the venue's fall 2023 concert calendar. A reason for their withdrawal was not announced, but the band never confirmed the bookings on their own Facebook page, and new local pop rock cover quartet Bourbon Blue will be debuting there tomorrow & Saturday night instead. Hopefully nothing bad happened, and that we see Double Down on stage again soon! Now, here's what you should know for this weekend, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page yesterday, and the band has not acknowledged this show on their own Facebook page at press time. By no means a frequent live venue for Bone Yard, we last talked about them and The Water Tower Pub in the same sentence when their (former?) acoustic side project The Bearded Lounge replaced them on short notice back for a gig back in March. Assuming that all is well and that Warren will be available for TOMORROW's concert, hopefully Bone Yard's brand of old school southern and hard rock covers go over swimmingly at this fan favourite central venue! If you're curious, Bone Yard last played at a private outdoor event two weeks ago, with pictures posted to Facebook after the fact.
No word on who's playing at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday night (if anyone), as the venue historically hosts separate live music acts on Fridays and Saturdays. TOMORROW NIGHT's festivities have an early-ish 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Bone Yard live!
Next up, let's head over to Sault Michigan, where Traverse City classic
metal trio Peril's return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino
TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in our area with a rare
outdoor gig in St. Ignace two weeks ago, these will be Jeff, Adam, and
Brooks' first shows at The Rapids Lounge since rocking out there in
July. Should be a good opportunity for Yooper fans to enjoy Peril's
often heavy array of cover rock classics in a familiar locale, so don't
miss out on all of the action this weekend! While we're on the subject, if you can't see these dates from Peril, then your next chances will be on Friday, October 13th & Saturday, October 14th at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace, courtesy of newly announced dates on Kewadin's entertainment page! Their calendar for both the Soo and St. Ignace branches has been updated through Halloween weekend, so stay tuned for details on the other hard rock shows ahead.
Whether you're enjoying Peril's talented brand of hard rock this weekend or next month, these shows all have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for details on all four dates, and here's Peril live a few years back!
Heading back to Sault Ontario, new local classic metal trio The Nostalgic Band will return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Joining these traditional gigs is their first stab at hosting a jam night tonight at the same venue, and while we don't cover jam/open mic nights as "concerts" for our purposes due to their in-built unpredictability, you may want to see how things go at Reggie's tonight from a relatively new house band! These will be Tym, Dutch, and Chet's first shows at this downtown staple in over a month, and hopefully they tear the house down (not literally) with their proficient brand of hard rocking covers! In case you're wondering, frontman Tym Morrison's weekly summer run of acoustic gigs at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post appears to have ended with last Friday's show, as the stage only hosts music seasonally. We'll let you know if Tym returns there in mid-2024!
This weekend's concerts (and jam night tonight) have 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Whether you want to hear the Caveman Morrison successors rock out or have an itch to join/replace them on stage, keep the shows and jam night in mind for your weekend plans! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Nostalgic Band live at Reggie's earlier this year!
Finally for today's concert preview post, we'll zig zag back across the river, as Sault Ste. Marie blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 are slated to return to The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in nearby Brimley for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Be advised that Project 906 have not posted on their Facebook page in over a month, but Bay Mills' website's events calendar actually does advertise when bands play there now, and the 906 show is indeed listed there. Nothing else heavier is scheduled for The Back Bay Grill at the moment, but it's great to see concerts listed there rather than just casino promotions! Last seen at "your perfect up north retreat" in February, this will be Project 906's first gig here since Jason VanLuven came on board behind the drumkit. If you're in Brimley or up for a short drive, don't miss out on Project 906's hard rocking array of covers!
As usual, this one-night-only concert has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and 21+ age limit. Assuming that this show wasn't quietly cancelled given their month+ of Facebook silence, it should be a good one for patrons & fans alike, so see above for more details, and here's Project 906 live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Here's a new news post to check out on this rainy Monday evening, and it includes notes on two bands moved out of our active links, a mid-week concert preview, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next week, so let's get things rolling!
Local classic metal trio The Nostalgic Band will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for one night only on Friday, September 22nd! Announced a few days after their recent array of fall-winter gigs that we covered on the SMS this past Friday, this will be Tym, Dutch, and Chet's first show at the former Reggie's West in almost a month, and it should prove to be another quality opportunity to take in their old school metal and hard rock covers, so don't miss out! No word on why they're not playing on Saturday the 23rd. It is also worth noting that The Nostalgic Band will give a kick at the can at being jam night hosts at Reggie's Place this Thursday, as per this Facebook event page, with a presumably similar format as the Soundcheck-hosted jam nights at Jay's where audience members are encouraged to perform on stage, with or without the house band. The guys certainly have the chops & setlist ready!
Remember that we don't treat jam nights as "concerts" due to their unpredictability by design, but if you like such events as a spectator or possible participant, keep this Thursday's festivities in mind! As for next Friday's show at Jay's, expect a 9:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
Next up, here's our preview of a special Tuesday night concert TOMORROW NIGHT, as St. Albert, Alberta hard rock band Sparrow Blue will make their local debut at Soo Blaster! This fast rising sextet have been turning heads with their classic rock-inspired yet hard edged original sound that they dub "real thick rock n' roll", and they should leave a strong first impression among local fans tomorrow, so don't bypass Sparrow Blue whatsoever! Local support will come by way of hard/alternative rock quintet Handsome Sandwich and their good friends in indie/alternative quartet Man Feelings (they opened for each other's album release concerts, after all), and it will be good to see them share the stage again! Sponsored by Session Cannabis, this 19+ show has an advertised 7:00 PM start time running until 11:30 PM, which will hopefully be amenable to those of you with work or school on Wednesday!
Tickets are $10 in advance (plus tax/processing fees) at this link, with the door price jumping to $15. This should be a fun concert for hard and alternative rock fans, with the three bands on offer delivering a little something for most tastes, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and here's Sparrow Blue live!
Also today, we have two local hard rock bands to move to our inactive band links, the first being veteran local hard rock/ska punk band Tripod The Dog. While their public silence online since reuniting may be explained by their lack of an updated online page (their Facebook group was ran by ex-guitarist Greg Beharriel), the band has not publically surfaced in any form since playing in The Esquire Club's Buckets, Bands, and Birds matinee concert series in May 2022. They were scheduled to return to that venue for two weekends last fall (note the G poking out of the tape on this schedule), but they quietly dropped out of those bookings. After a successful local run from the 1990s-2008 and a well received reunion set at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in 2018, frontman Mark Oliverio fully brought back Tripod The Dog on the weekend cover band circuit with a Rockstar Bar gig in April 2019, primarily playing there & at The Esquire Club.
The pandemic ate up a good chunk of their three years back, and Tripod weren't seen most weeks anyway, but it was nice to have them back on weekends when they had gigs, and hopefully we haven't heard the outright last from Mark and the Amendolas, let alone their many prior members!
Finally, the other band moved to our inactive links is young local hard rock band Sylo, better previously known as Raincourt. We have not heard any public updates from Sylo since they opened for Vanity First at a gig in Harmony Beach last July, with Sylo proper never having their own dedicated online presence beyond renaming their YouTube channel. In their original run as Raincourt since the fall of 2021, they were well publicized with two studio original songs, gigs at White Pines Collegiate and last year's Go Skateboarding Day, and this lengthy interview with original guitarist/namesake Raine Rancourt on The Boar's Nest with Don Lewis, but once Raine left the band at some point in June or July 2022, their social media presence dried up. Note that frontman Elijah Russell released a solo acoustic album named "The Late Great Eli Russell" on major streaming services last month, which turned out well for its genre!
I don't know what happened to Raincourt/Sylo after such a promising few months, possibly accentuated if you went to White Pines and saw them in both this band & The Pine Tones, and while losing Raine was a blow for fans, I was curious to see how Sylo would progress as a group. Raincourt's two original songs were promisingly heavy and didn't indicate that teenagers wrote them, so give them and their live videos a watch/listen above, and hopefully we hear more from Elijah, Raine, Owen, and Jakob soon! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
Here's another new post for your Friday morning reading, and it includes LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE), and some new Van Halen-related guitar covers, so let's get things rolling!
Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his summer series at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post for at least one more week TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only launched a Facebook event page for it early this morning. Like in his past seasonal runs at this venue, Tym only announced dates in advance up to August, with anything in September either announced on late notice or not at all, so TONIGHT's show being confirmed the day of is not shocking. The Mike Case Memorial Stage is definitely seasonal with a closing date in September, so this very well could be it for The Nostalgic Band's frontman there in 2023, but if he does happen to continue things there for another week, we'll let you know if at all possible. You can enjoy Tym's classic and hard rock cover selection TONIGHT at 7:00 PM with no age limits or cover charges.
Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for sunny/clear conditions at 13-14°, and while Tym has called off outdoor shows for being "too cold" due to warmer temperatures than this, the late announcement for what could be his 2023 finale bodes well for it going on, and note that sunset occurs midway through TONIGHT's concert, so the visuals will be increasingly unique! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, Tym's current classic metal cover trio The Nostalgic Band have announced a swath of upcoming concerts via three Facebook event pages covering multiple upcoming dates at three different local nightclubs through the end of the year! Tym, Dutch, and Chet will first return to Reggie's Place next weekend (Friday, September 15th & Saturday, September 16th) before returning there for another weekend on October 20th & 21st, so keep these in mind if you're up for seeing The Nostalgic Band at this Queen Street staple! The week prior, the guys will rock Shooters Downstairs Lounge for the first time (I believe) on Friday, October 13th, with a return booking on Friday, December 22nd (no word on possible seasonal ties for that one). These are both one-nighters, possibly confirming the extension of Shooters' Saturday DJ experiment, but we will keep you posted.
Finally, The Nostalgic Band will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for full weekends on November 3rd-4th and December 8th-9th, so if you'd prefer a west end date or two (or four), keep these gigs in mind! All of these shows are 19+ affairs with no cover charge, and all have 9:30 PM start times except at Shooters (9:00 PM). Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here, here, and here for more details!
We'll close today with some new videos, including a rare sight: local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary performing on camera! Before that however, Mike has kept fans updated as to his recent quiet activity on his Facebook page over the summer. In July, he noted that he suffered a spinal injury and a separate "pretty significant health scare" that left him unable to play guitar for a few months, but he was able to play again at the time. For future plans, Mike hinted that he may make more instrumental music following how his "Fallout From Midnight Tides" EP turned out, while he is also open to collaborating with other artists. He was honest in noting that he has anxiety about performing live, hence why he isn't in a band and rarely performs concerts, but he is working to improve that. Last month, Mike reiterated that there's no timeline on his next material, and explained some of his issues with past songs of his.
He feels that many of his old songs were rushed and he was unhappy with the final product, which may explain why the vast majority of his back catalog was de-listed from streaming services. It sounds like he wants to take his time to make really good music by his standards, so hopefully things progress naturally! As for the video, it features him covering Van Halen's "Panama", and while he doesn't show much expression while playing, he lampshaded why in the description. Solidly done cover that shows off Mike's guitar abilities, and it's good to see that he's back playing guitar again, so give it a look below!
Finally for today, here's one more Eddie Van Halen guitar cover for you, this time his solo from Michael Jackson's "Beat It", courtesy of Silent 9 guitarist Ryan Robb! This was shared from his personal Facebook page to the band's Facebook page on Saturday, and if (like me) you were unfamiliar with Ryan from prior local bands, this will help show how he got the gig with Silent 9, as the solo is very well done! His shirt (which says "Good things are coming") could be a good omen for their headlining debut at The Water Tower Pub tomorrow night, but give his "Beat It" solo cover a look below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
With the Northern Vibe Festival previewed yesterday, let's dive into this weekend's local concert previews within Sault Ste. Marie city limit(s), and as luck would have it, the last weekend of August is mostly comprised of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS as far as heavier-leaning acts go, plus a new video of one of the bands in question. To avoid pushing the new Saturday nighter below to another day-of preview, this preview post is slightly longer than normal, so hopefully everything is covered, and with all of that said, here's what you should know!
Sault Michigan metal band Tarnished will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook page yesterday, and The Merch scarcely advertise shows booked there online. TONIGHT's concert will be Tarnished's first at the West Spruce Street nightclub in just over a month, and will be their third since their lineup split in two earlier this month, though no word on which guitarist & bassist will join Alex & Josh TONIGHT (for reference, last week's shows in Rudyard and Cedarville featured guests Chris Hubbard and Mike East). Remember too that Tarnished started off with Alex & Josh playing two man acoustic gigs, so if all else failed, they could fall back on that. TONIGHT'S gig at The Merch has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Next up, let's head across to Sault Ontario, where local classic metal cover trio The Nostalgic Band will take the stage at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their Facebook event page on Tuesday. Last seen at Reggie's two weeks ago, TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S Jay's dates will be Tym, Dutch, and Chet's first shows at the former Reggie's West in almost a month. Hopefully their old school metal and hard rock covers get another strong reaction this weekend! TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S concerts have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video featuring The Nostalgic Band live! This was shot for bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg's YouTube channel Randy's Rides, and it features footage from two gigs, so what should you know?
Shot on July 27th & 28th, the video features Randy heading to and playing at Jay's on the 27th, and we get under a minute of their cover of Ratt's "Round & Round", preceded by footage of them setting up at the venue. That show was a one-nighter due to a private gig in "the bush" at a local resort's customer appreciation day, and we see the ride up for that and footage of Dutch exploring the area. If you recall their (sadly) deleted video of them covering Deep Purple's "Highway Star" at a private gig, then you will like that this was that gig, and the footage returns here.... partially, as the beginning of a montage of clips from their set that night. I wish that they'd have left the full "Highway Star" video on Facebook (even with the zooming), but it's neat getting full context as to that gig, and the voyage is as fun as the destination! Check it out below, and don't miss The Nostalgic Band back at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TONIGHT & TOMORROW!
Also newly announced for this weekend, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return to Gateway Casino TOMORROW NIGHT for an acoustic gig! Apologies again for the short notice, the band only announced this show on their Facebook page on Wednesday, and at press time, the casino has not acknowledged live entertainment for this weekend on social media. This will be Bone Yard's first stop at the casino since June in a show that was also unplugged, despite initial venue advertising that it was for The Bearded Lounge, their Warren-less acoustic side project. I don't know if this is an intentional choice to switch things up again, or if they've quietly retired The Bearded Lounge in lieu of keeping the Bone Yard name for all gigs and to include Warren in them, but note that The Bearded Lounge did plug the Dragonfly Run (which Bone Yard headlined) on Facebook in July.
If The Bearded Lounge's active status is clarified, we'll let you know, but if you like them, you'll obviously like Bone Yard unplugged TOMORROW NIGHT! Expect an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge at Gateway Casino for this one-nighter. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bone Yard live and unplugged!
We'll close today's weekend concert previews with a show that did have advance notice, as Nostalgic Band frontman Tym Morrison will play the last advertised show of his summer series at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TONIGHT! This is the seventh Friday evening gig of the year for Tym at the outdoor stage way down Great Northern Road, and while there's no listed bookings for September, his series there last year did continue into September for a couple of weeks. We'll let you know when/if he publically extends things again, but the Mike Case stage is definitely seasonal and closes before October. As has usually been the case this summer, Tym's show tonight does precede his Jay's show with The Nostalgic Band TONIGHT, so he'll zip to the west end post-show for more classic/hard rock cover action! Beforehand, he's on at 7:00 PM with no cover or age limit.
Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather in the 18° range with light rain likely in the second half of the show. Tym's show here two weeks ago was cancelled due to rain, and while the forecast tonight is better than what Northern Vibe attendees are expecting an hour east, be prepared just in case. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, whether this is his 2023 finale here or not, and here's Tym live at The Mike Case Stage earlier this year!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
Let's dive into this weekend's concert previews on the site today, but as there are more shows than one post normally covers, we'll bump tomorrow & Saturday night's Bone Yard shows to tomorrow morning's post. Now, here's what you should know to start the weekend off, courtesy of a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
New local classic metal cover trio The Nostalgic Band will return to Reggie's Place for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only confirmed via the venue's Facebook page on Tuesday, with a Facebook event page from the band following. TOMORROW'S show comes just one week after the Caveman Morrison successors played a full weekend at the Queen Street nightclub, and it should prove to be a fun night of old school metal and hard rock covers! I don't know why they're not playing on Saturday too, but note that the band was originally supposed to debut at Tazzi's Cafe & Restauranttonight as a tie-in with the downtown street party (more on that in a second), only for bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg to confirm that "the city cancelled the bands that were going to play". I assume he meant bands scheduled for Tazzi's, if not businesses not officially promoted as hosting bands.
You can enjoy The Nostalgic Band's set at Reggie's TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of the guys playing at Reggie's this past Friday! Posted to their Facebook group by drummer Chet Dziergas' wife Tally, it features the band covering Loverboy's "Working For The Weekend". Not a fan of the song myself, but Tym, Dutch, and Chet handle it well, and the quality is good! Alas, the video was largely uploaded sideways, as Tally rotated it to a preferable horizontal orientation 30 seconds in, but didn't correct the video in post to match. Still a good video if you turn your neck or lay on your side, so give it a watch below!
Next up, we'll move to shows that had advance notice before this week, starting with TONIGHT's second downtown street party from the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association, which takes place on a closed off stretch of Queen Street East between Spring and Dennis Streets! For this one, your official musical entertainment will come courtesy of newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations (fill-in guitarist unclear) and online page-less punk/alternative cover quintet Bookclub, who previously played at the unrelated Street Yourself Street Party from the Summer Moon Festival. Recent promotion for the event from the DTA's Facebook page suggests that they'll be based on "the March Street Stage", which is the slightly misnamed stage in the patio area beside June & Friends Hair Salon at 485 Queen Street East, which is near but not directly on March Street. This is where Darsombra headlined an outdoor show in June.
Family entertainment, games, food/drinks, and local vendors are all to be expected, while Matthew James will also be playing a sanctioned acoustic gig tomorrow outside of Peace Restaurant near GFL Memorial Gardens. Visit the Downtown Association's Facebook page for complete non-musical details on what to expect on Queen Street! Bookclub are the headliners tomorrow, with Generations kicking off the primary musical entertanment at 5:30 PM (Matthew James' Peace set is at 7:00 PM if that interests you). This is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES, and 9&10 News is calling for partly cloudy weather in the 14-19° range tonight. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Bookclub live and outdoors late last year!
Also, Nostalgic Band frontman Tym Morrison's next installment of his weekly summer series of unplugged acoustic gigs at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post goes down TOMORROW! This is his sixth straight Friday playing at the outdoor stage way down Great Northern Road, and the fourth straight where he's double booked with The Nostalgic Band later that same day, so if you want to see both, or would prefer Tym's north/central acoustic festivities a few hours prior, then keep this show in mind! This concert has a 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and no cover, but be advised that 9&10 News is calling for weather in the 19° range with light rain, and Tym has called off outdoor shows for weather before. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video from Tym's first show of this year's Mike Case Stage run early last month!
This was filmed by his Nostalgic Band... bandmate Randy Vanderploeg for his YouTube vlog Randy's Rides, which focuses on his motorcycle riding exploits in the area and the sights and events that he sees. Alongside a clip of a Nostalgic Band show inserted during his ride to The Trading Post (it makes sense in context), Randy greets Tym at the stage at the 2:45 mark, interviews him casually for a little bit about Tym's musical background, and has ice cream from The Big Moose Ice Cream Parlour, before showing a montage of Tym covering Imagine Dragons, Yes, and Cheap Trick songs. Sounds good and well edited for fans of Randy's vlog as well, so check things out below, and don't miss Tym here tomorrow evening!
Finally for today, let's head across the International Bridge, as Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Their first show at this venue since March (their last gig before their spring break & drummer change), this won't actually be a routine concert for 906, as it coincides with this year's Les Cheneaux Islands Antique Wooden Boat Show & Festival of Arts, so The Islander Bar had four nights of live entertainment starting yesterday, with different acts each night (Saturday's performer is musician Lou Thumser, for the record). With a decent crowd visiting for the boat show and related events, hopefully Project 906 have a strong turnout tomorrow for their hard rocking covers! This concert has a 21+ age limit, no cover charge, and 9:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Project 906 live!That's all for now, but look for our Bone Yard previews and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!
