Before we begin this weekend concert preview post (including some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS), just a heads up that the late notice Wyld Stallyns show at The Water Tower Pub last Friday did not occur, as per a post on the venue's Facebook page at 7:39 PM that night, after last weekend's concert preview post went live. Apologies for missing that, but the word did come very late. Hopefully nothing bad happened in the Stallyns camp! Now, here's what you should know for this weekend!
Prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT with a solo headlining gig at the aforementioned Water Tower Pub! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook event page
on Sunday. I believe Tym has played here before, but definitely not
since the pandemic began, so if you want to see this talented frontman
back in action, you can do so TOMORROW! Tym had just taken a month's
hiatus from public concerts, surprisingly last being seen at Reggie's on
April 10th, so if you like his extensive selist and live show, head
north to The Water Tower Pub for all of the action! TOMORROW'S
one-night-only concert has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a
19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym
live!
Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT, not Saturday! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the band's Facebook event page yesterday, and drummer Glen Thomas implied on his personal Facebook page that this was a late booking on request from the venue. No word on why they're playing TOMORROW, when all of the other Shooters gigs have been Saturday nighters since they began hosting bands earlier this year, but if you'd really prefer to see them on a Saturday, be at the Dennis Street nightclub next weekend! As for TOMORROW, Soundcheck's brand of classic and hard rock covers should deliver another knockout punk for their third show at Shooters, so don't miss out! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for details, and here's Soundcheck live!
Moving to previously announced concerts, let's head downtown to Soo Blaster, where Toronto southern hard rock icons White Cowbell Oklahoma will be headlining TOMORROW NIGHT during the kickoff of this year's Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer! After a pandemic-induced break, the LopLops-hosted festival is back at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center this month, so definitely click here for all of the craft brew details if that's your style! White Cowbell Oklahoma (still featuring ex-Detroit guitarist Curtis Faux to my knowledge) were last seen on a local stage when they rocked LopLops in January 2019, and if you're at all familiar with W.C.O., you'll know that their live stage show is to be seen to be believed, and Clem & company should be in fine form for their Soo return after three years! After all, where else will you see power tools & flames amidst the rock? This show has no advertised opening bands.
This 19+ show has a 10:00 PM start time and $25 advance tickets which you can buy at this link, and while nothing has been stated about in-person availability at Soo Blaster, inquire with LopLops if you are at all curious. This should be an explosive concert for fans of White Cowbell Oklahoma and IPAs alike, and their show is definitely worth the price of admission, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's White Cowbell Oklahoma live at Loplops back in 2019!
Finally for today's previews, let's head to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Believe it or not, these will actually be Peril's first shows at any venue since playing at The Rapids Lounge in January (no, they're not local), so while they don't play live as often as their sister band Scarkazm, this should be a prime opportunity once again for old school rock fans to see Jeff, Adam, and Brooks in familiar grounds once again! If you can't come out, Peril will be back at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branch early next month. This talented and frequently seen trio will be on tomorrow and Saturday at 9:00 PM with no cover charges and 21+ age limits as usual for Kewadin's lounge concert bookings. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Peril live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!
Today's news post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at a notable downtown venue that's helping get the local concert scene back in the swing if things in the months ahead, so here's what you should know!
As part of plans to help kickstart the local concert scene after 2 years of damage from the pandemic, Soo Blaster on Queen Street East is launching a concert series there from this month through early June, with seven live events (mostly from musical acts) hitting the stage there. As revealed in this SooToday article from last week, the series kicks off on April 16th with a show by local pop rock cover band The Killer Hooks, while the next two include Canadian rap legend Robbie G on April 20th and touring comedians Kenny Robinson & Darren Frost the next day (tickets for all three are now on sale at this link). We already know about Fort Creek's headlining show at Soo Blaster on May 7th, while the series will end with a show by Fernandez The Hypnotist on June 9th. The other two shows (plus one event not officially part of the series) fit the SMS' coverage range, so if you've been itching to see some more live music, here's what you should know!
First up for hard rock or punk acts at Soo Blaster this year is Vancouver alt-punk quartet The Midnight Echo, who will hit Sault Ste. Marie for the first time on Saturday, April 30th! Coming around the middle of the band's Whatever Happens, Happens Tour of Canada this spring, The Midnight Echo's sound will definitely appeal to fans of locals Northwest in particular, with a pop punk based amped up with atmospheric synth elements and catchy melodies (think like a middle ground between Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves). The Midnight Echo should appeal to a lot of locals with their distinct yet familiar brand of original music, so don't miss out at month's end! No word on admission fees or start times yet, but expect at least $10 tickets based on other shows in Soo Blaster's concert series so far, and this should be a 19+ event. Visit the above links for more on The Midnight Echo!
Next is a show that is not listed in the official concert series reveal on SooToday, but is still a publically attendable concert at Soo Blaster regardless, as Toronto southern hard rock standouts White Cowbell Oklahoma will return to Sault Ste. Marie for their first ever Soo Blaster date on Friday, May 13th! The show proper is the kickoff event for this year's Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer put on by LopLops Lounge, with this year's festival taking place primarily at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center. The festival went on hiatus in 2020 & 2021 for very obvious reasons, but fans of craft beer and IPAs will be glad to know that it is back, so see above for full details on the festival proper! This will be White Cowbell Oklahoma's first Sault date since rocking LopLops in January 2019, and while they can't return there due to that venue's continued closure since the pandemic onset, Soo Blaster should be big enough to contain their wild stage show next month!
As best as I can tell, W.C.O. still feature former Detroit/Maximum RNR guitarist Curtis Faux in their lineup, but the band is usually coy on official band pages about who is currently enlisted. The sparks will literally fly (remember, they use power tools on stage) on May 13th with a 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and $25 advance ticket fee, and you can get tickets at this link (nothing is said about in-person availability, inquire with LopLops if you're curious). White Cowbell Oklahoma's over-the-top, southern fried-yet hard rocking blend of music and showmanship will be more than welcomed in the Soo again, so see above for full details!
Finally, local Tool tribute band Parabol will play their first concert in over two & a half years when they rock Soo Blaster on Saturday, June 4th! Be advised that Parabol have not updated their Facebook page since November, and we will let you know if this show does not occur for one reason or another, but it is listed on the schedule in the above SooToday post. As you may recall, Parabol consist of Redefined, Sense of Truth, Half Past, and Late Shift alumni, and were a popular sight on the local concert scene from late 2018-late 2019, last seen in October of that year at Soo Blaster,. Their original Facebook page was taken down for alleged copyright infringement strikes (they apparently sounded too close to Tool), and the pandemic helped keep them off stage regardless, hence the live hiatus. Hopefully the guys shake off the rust in time to deliver another proficient night full of prog metal classics, and it'll be great to see Parabol back in action!
Attendee details are not public yet, but note that October 2019's Soo Blaster show was a 19+, 10:00 PM affair, and tickets went for $5 in advance or $8 at the door. Visit the above links for continuing details on these and other upcoming concerts at Soo Blaster, and it's great to see that they're getting back into the swing of things for live entertainment! Hopefully other venues aren't too far off, and of course, I do hope everyone is sensible re: the pandemic, as while things are more open, it's not done yet. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
It's now time for our penultimate YouTube Channel Profile of 2021, where we're taking another look at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose contennts are at least 50% devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts. We were spotted a doozy of a channel this month, with literally hundreds of videos to comb through, but any major rock concertgoer locally from the past decade will find a wealth of content within, so here's what you should know!
Owner: Sault Ontario resident and regular local concert attendee Christopher Paci
Channel Timeline:Launched on September 14th, 2010; Videos uploaded from the following month through October 19th, 2021
Channel Summary:After some sporadic personal usage in it's first two years on YouTube with five non-musical uploads, Chris uploaded his first concert videos there in September 2012 following Buckcherry's headlining concert in Sault Michigan that month. From there, he hasn't looked back, uploading well over 750 concert videos over the past 9+ years! This includes events in both Sault Ontario and Sault Michigan, with Canadian shows starting to appear with February 2014's Tragically Hip concert. While videos here are primarily from rock concerts, Chris has also brought his camera to country and hip-hop shows, and while most are from major concerts with touring headliners, he has filmed at select smaller venues and festivals. Why You Should Watch:Chris is a saint for filming all of these videos, and browsing his channel will give you a wealth of concert videos from the 2010s to check out, and often from good places in the crowd! Audio is often scratchy, and Chris doesn't have the accurate song titles for some videos, but given the sheer quantity of what he's uploaded, those are all comparatively minor. For very obvious reasons, Chris has only filmed at one concert since February 2020, but hopefully more notable concerts make their way to the Soo area in 2022, especially with border restrictions loosening!
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
Sebastian Bach - I Remember You LIVE from Kewadin Casino Sault Ste. Marie 20/01/2013: Chris' most popular video is from the original Skid Row frontman's headlining concert at The Dreammakers Theater back in January 2013, and counting that month's Queensryche show at the same venue that Chris also filmed at, four of his five videos to cross 2,000 views are from that month! Some of the commenters are critical of Sebastian's voice on this classic Skid Row ballad, but he sounds serviceable to me, if worn around the edges a bit, and the like/dislike count is good! Chris also filmed Sebastian and his solo band playing "Kicking & Screaming", "18 & Life", and "Monkey Business" at this show, plus one video of local openers 415E (still that band's only publically viewable concert video from any source).
Theatre of Night - What Child Is This - Soo Theatre, December 16, 2017: While most of Chris' videos of local bands were in Sault Ontario for obvious reasons, he films E.U.P. bands on occasion, including via his annual trip to Sault Michigan from 2017-2019 to see local classical metal band Theatre of Night's yearly pre-pandemic Christmas themed concert, which was held at The Soo Theatre in 2017 before moving to Kewadin Casino. Featuring their 2017-only sextet lineup (including then co-vocalist Stacie McCarthy), Theatre of Night were filmed playing "Little Drummer Boy", "The Nutcracker Suite", "Silent Night", "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", "O Holy Night", "Carol of the Bells", and featured here, their set opener "What Child Is This?". Solid renditions of these holiday staples by Craig, Steve, Rachel, Scott, Erik, and Stacie, and it's always nice to see some heavier local bands getting in the Christmas spirit! Even the darker lighting helps the mood!
White Cowbell Oklahoma - Loplops, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario - Jan. 26, 2019: Picking just one video to showcase from Chris' ample Sault Ontario video cache is a daunting task, but I knew I wanted a touring headliner in a more intimate locale, and ideally one I hadn't embedded in a prior post. How does Toronto Southern hard rock band White Cowbell Oklahoma sound? A 9+ minute video of W.C.O. covering Frank Zappa's "Magic Fingers", their crowd pleasing hybrid sound attracted a strong crowd once again, and hopefully they return to our area again! Among his other 6 videos from that night, Chris also shot White Cowbell Oklahoma playing songs like "San Antone", "Cheerleader", "Shot A Gamblin' Man", and "Put The South In Your Mouth".
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! We'll end 2021 in this series with another single randomly selected channel, namely YouTube user DeformedPie, whose channel is mostly comprised of uploads of Woods of Ypres studio tracks! Fittingly timed given that next month is the 10 year anniversary of David Gold's passing, but this channel was completely chosen at random, this is just a coincidence! Look for that on or around Boxing Day, and look for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
Today's post is largely one to play catch-up on recent news and updates, including details on a national music contest, some assorted update, and a new metal song, but let's begin with some new videos from a recent show!
A handful of videos are now online from the White Cowbell Oklahoma show at LopLops Lounge last month! Christopher Paci was on hand to film seven videos of the Toronto southern hard rock veterans in action for his excellent YouTube channel, and these include their songs "San Antone", "Cheerleader", and "Shot A Gamblin' Man", plus their cover of Frank Zappa's "Magic Fingers", a longer song that I can't identify off-hand, and this clip of frontman Clem Clemsen using a flamethrower (you read that right!) Embedded below is their set-closing original "Put The South In Your Mouth", complete with angle-grinding action at the end. Solid videos for fans of their country-tinged hard rock sound, and the fans are clearly into everything! W.C.O.'s crowd favourite and high energy songs are always welcome around here, and you can relive that concert above & below!
Next up, CBC Music's annual Searchlight competition begun it's voting period yesterday, and at least two local acts are in the running! The ultimate prize this year includes the Allan Slaight Juno Master Class, a trip to next month's Juno Awards in London, a week of recording time at the National Music Centre in Calgary, and a chance to perform at this summer's 2019 CBC Music Festival, with airplay and exposure on CBC stations along the way. Compared to the last time Searchlight had a major thumbprint on SMS coverage (2015), things seem very streamlined, with artists seemingly in the same national pool, and you can only search by province or territory for entered bands. You can vote once per day, no registration needed, at this link, and the top 100 acts (50 by CBC's selection committee, 50 by fans) after Valentine's Day will proceed to the next stage on February 20th. As best as I can tell, only two local bands have enterted, so who can you vote for in this contest to find the next great Canadian music act?
As expected, one is local indie/punk quintet Northwest, who are looking to better their 2015 Northern Ontario region semifinal run, but new indie rockers Man Feelings (featuring Bizotic alum B.J. Swire) are also in, as is London musician and former Saultite Andy Chillman, potentially among others with local ties. Not having a CBC Music (formerly CBC Radio 2) station in the market doesn't help for contest advertising locally, but it'd be great to see a local act make a deep run, and you can do your part to help by voting at the above links! Best of luck all around in this first round!
Also today, here's the latest song from local experimental/death metal solo project Awokest's Facebook page, entitled "Machine God of Hate"! Inspired by the Harlan Ellison sci-fi story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", it's not clear how this fits into Awokest's/Chase's prolific album plans, but this will appeal to fans who like his more brutal and aggressive metal material! This has a black or noise metal quality with solid shrieking vocals, and is worth a listen for genre fans, so give it a listen below!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual for these short-form stories, these are in alphabetical order by artist name or event name:
Local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide are recording a music video for their upcoming single "Lost & Found"! Two teaser photos were shared to their Facebook page from the shoot, which confirm that young local filmmakers Avery Obeng and Matt Hroch are behind the camera for this video, The Tide's first since "A Day Will Come" in 2012. It'll be interesting to see how this video stacks up to their prior ones, and stay tuned for updates!
In their first Facebook post of the year, local promoters Six, Two, Oh.
announced that they are already working on the third annual Oh!No
concert festival, which will have some "deadly out of town acts", and
will also feature co-organizing roles from fellow promoters Dryer Fire and Batchewana Bay mobile record store Oosik Records.
No word on further details, but I have no reason to believe that Oh!No
III won't be back at Robbie's Church in Leeburn in early September. Stay
tuned for more on this fast rising festival!
Local goregrind duo Rotopsy have announced another new concert via this Facebook event page,
which will take place on Thursday, May 16th, venue to be announced
(though note the Oddfellows Hall crowd shot as the cover photo.)
Described as "a little shindig with music and other sounds
claiming to also be music", the event name is "Degenerate Bastards Vol.
2", which seems to imply that Crucify the Whore and Chase Wigmore will
at least be playing on this night, though is that it for connections to
their prior split? Stay tuned!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this weekend concert preview post, just a heads up that Joni Radford's final services will take place today at 1:00 PM at the East Korah Maxwell United Church at 4 Fourth Line East, with the graveside placement of her ashes immediately following, while friends and family are invited to attend a celebration of life at The Oddfellows Hall later today. Our source for the above information is Joni's personal Facebook page, as a public obituary is not (yet?) on SooToday. On this difficult day, I hope everyone reflects on Joni's life with all of the zeal and optimism she showed throughout it, and our best thoughts and wishes are still with her family and friends! Also, Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones recorded a tribute song to Joni named "Punk Rock Princess", which was posted to Tidal Records' YouTube channel on Tuesday, and this is a well performed and emotional number that has already received many accolades from those that knew her, and you can give it a listen below. R.I.P. Joni!
Now, let's dive into this weekend's currently announced hard rock concert previews, starting with the continuation of Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly concert arrangement at Gliss Restaurant TOMORROW & SATURDAY, but that's not all, as we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS courtesy of his February schedule, now in our concert listings also! Of course, you can enjoy his acoustic hard and classic rock hits at Gliss on Spring Street this weekend, but he'll be back there on February 1st-2nd, 8th-9th, 15th-16th, and 22nd-23rd, so regulars at this downtown restaurant will be in good musical hands next month as usual! As well, Tym will be playing two traditional Friday night concerts next month, as he'll be at Room 21 on Albert Street West on February 8th, and then at The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road a week later on February 15th. Fans of Tym's unplugged solo act have 10 chances to see him next month, but don't forget about this weekend's Gliss gigs either!
As usual, this weekend's and next month's Gliss shows are 6:00 PM events with no announced age limits or cover charges (but mind the locale), while the Room 21 & Roadhouse gigs next month are 19+ gigs at 10:00 PM with no cover charge. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here, here, and here for more details, and for a preview of this weekend's shows, here's Tym live!
Also this weekend, let's head south for the return of Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril, as they'll return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These will be the first E.U.P. gigs of 2019 for any of Jeff Hudson and Adam Crawford's linked hard rock bands, with Scarkazm not returning to our area for another week, and Project 6 only playing up here on occasion. It's great to see Peril back after a two month break from our region, and their old school brand of metal covers should be welcomed back by St. Ignace faithful tomorrow and/or Saturday! If you can't make these shows, Peril will be back at The Northern Pines Lounge at the end of March, with Soo Kewadin gigs still to be announced. This weekend's concerts have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live in Vanderbilt a few years back!
Finally for today, we'll head back to Sault Ontario, where Toronto southern hard rock sextet White Cowbell Oklahoma will make their long awaited return to the local stage THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at LopLops Lounge! A fan favourite band known for their energetic and theatrical stage shows with fire and power tools thrown in for good measure, we haven't seen W.C.O. in town since they rocked The Rockstar Bar over four years ago, back in November 2014. This will also be their first Soo date since adding former Detroit/Maximum RNR guitarist Curtis Faux to the fold, and it'll be great to see him back in his hometown on Saturday! White Cowbell Oklahoma have a new album and almost 20 years of action to ride back into the Soo this weekend, and if you haven't seen them before, now would be a good time to see their wild live show for yourself! Despite teasers on the Facebook event page, a planned opening band has not been announced at press time.
This show was also hyped earlier this week in a new SooToday article by James Hopkin featuring interview remarks with singer Clem Clemsen, where he discussed expectations for Saturday's concert, their new album, their 20th anniversary, and their ongoing tour. Fun read for fans, but you'll have to come to LopLops for yourself to see if it does actually fold inwards into a seventh dimensional space! Tickets for this 19+ show are $20 at this link and presumably at the door, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. White Cowbell Oklahoma should put on an excellent live show once again, so see above for more details, and here they are live last year!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for another news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
(Updated at 7:12 PM) Before we begin this post, I wanted to note that SooToday's events calendar erroneously lists Reggie's West concerts this weekend from The 3 Day Millionaires, despite that classic/hard rock band's dissolution last summer. Bone Yard have confirmed that they are playing there this weekend anyway, so just a heads up! Now, along with this weekend's previews, let's begin with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, largely on SHORT NOTICE! (To slot in a very late notice announcement without making this post too long, I've reluctantly bumped our Northern Film Showcase write-up to our next post. It will return, I promise!)
Joining his regular ongoing Gliss Restaurant gigs TONIGHT & TOMORROW, local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play Room 21 for the first time this year TONIGHT as well! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show (and four others in later months) via their Facebook event page this morning. Similarly to his Gliss and Roadhouse Bar & Grill gigs, Tym has already confirmed his concert schedule at Room 21 for the first 5/12ths of 2019, as he'll play one (Fishbowl?) Friday a month at the bar above Low & Slow through the end of May. Of course, due to the amount of Tym's announcedconcerts, we will take these a month at a time, so look for future gigs later, but don't miss his Room 21 return TONIGHT! That concert is sandwiched between his usual Gliss matinees, so look for more unplugged evening rock on Spring Street this evening and tomorrow as well! Those two shows are 6:00 PM matinees with no cover or age limit.
As for TONIGHT'S Room 21 show, expect a 10:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. It's great to see Tym staying busy with even more concerts being announced with lots of advance word (TONIGHT aside), so you have ample opportunities to see him in early 2019! Don't miss out at Gliss or Room 21 this weekend, and for a preview, here's Tym live!
Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will reportedly return to The Esquire Club for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via singer/guitarist Terry Eaton's personal Facebook page just this evening (and as is unfortunately too common, neither the band nor venue publically announced the shows online that I've found.) This will be Soundcheck's second concert weekend out of three spent with concerts at this popular Second Line West venue, and despite the late notice, hopefully Terry, Travis, Paul, and Glen have a great weekend full of hard rocking classics TONIGHT & TOMORROW! As usual for their Esquire Club stops, these concerts have 10:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!
Also, Toronto southern hard rock sextet White Cowbell Oklahoma will return to Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, January 26th when they headline at LopLops Lounge! Fans of W.C.O.'s theatrical & hard hitting blend of originals have been waiting over four years for their return, following their Rockstar Bar show in November 2014, and it's great to see them back for a third go-around in the 2010s! In fact, the band has a direct local tie now, as former Detroit/Maximum RNR guitarist Curtis Faux has been a member of White Cowbell Oklahoma for the past two years, so there's a neat bonus for fans in two weeks! With a new album "Seven Years of Sleaze" and the marking of their 20th anniversary as a band this year, expect a great show for their local return! You can read more on the band and this tour via this new Sault Star article by Brian Kelly with frontman Clem Clemsen, which is an entertaining read for longtime fans, so check it out above.
As of this writing, an opening act is still to be announced, but the above Sault Star article hints that "some form of dance entertainment" is expected during the night. This will be a 19+ concert at 9:00 PM, and tickets are $20 at this link and presumably at the door. The relatively short notice is surprising, but if you like your hard rock with fire, angle grinders, and chainsaws, this is a highly recommended concert to help ring in 2019 with, so visit the Facebook event page and the above links for more details!
Finally, let's wrap up this weekend's previews with the return of Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E to the stage after a lengthy hiatus TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino! Fans haven't seen 415E on a local stage since rocking the St. Ignace Kewadin in June 2017, and with an 18 month layoff, how has their set evolved? In any event, their lineup has evolved, and while their Facebook page has not confirmed any names yet, personal Facebook postings heavily indicate that bassist Brett Blackwood & drummer Jason VanLuven have joined the band, replacing Mitch Goetz & Tony Hubbard. Fans may recognize Jason from work with recent rock groups like Paradise Excuse, Chump Change, and Bucksaw, and while Brett is an unknown commodity to me, his father Fran was Clownsack guitarist Butter Cookie as well as a familiar musician out of costume.
If nothing else, the pedigree is there for Brett, and I'm curious to see how he performs! Postponed a week due to scheduling conflicts, this weekend's 415E shows are 9:00 PM events with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. It's great to see Dave and Chris bring a new look 415E back after a long break, and it'll be interesting to see and (hopefully) hear how they do in 2019! Visit the above links for more details, and here's 415E Mk 1.0 live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
We weren't expecting to have a second post tonight, but with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, we couldn't ignore them! Those lead off tonight, but we also have some interesting news regarding a local musician's studio plans, the newest Tuned episode, and more, so here's what you need to know!
Local classic/hard rock cover trio Mourning Wood will rock Reggie's West all weekend with shows TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only just confirmed the concerts this morning via their Facebook event page. Last seen at The Rockstar Bar two weeks ago, these will be Terry, Steven, and T.J.'s first shows at the former Roosevelt Hotel in almost two months, and while we haven't heard from other heavier-leaning bands at this Korah Road venue since Reggie's bought it, the presence of even one non-country centric band is promising! For reference, these are the first Reggie's West shows we've covered in full on here, as Mourning Wood's past gigs there were either before we added them to our coverage, or on even shorter notice than these. There's no announced cover charge either TONIGHT or TOMORROW, 10:00 PM start times are advertised, and you must be 19 to attend. Check the above links for more details, and here's the guys at Toystock in November!
Next up, here's some intriguing news from Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori, who's moving his Toronto recording studio to his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, specifically at The Machine Shop at Mill Square! As outlined in a SooToday article by Donna Hopper on Tuesday, Greig has been working on an incubator to help develop independent bands to be shipped to major labels, and leading from that, has decided to move his studios home and establish a commercial relationship with Algoma University's music department. Interview excerpts with Greig are included, where he doesn't mask his enthusiasm for the Mill Square development at the former St. Mary's Paper site, even saying that "the Sault, believe it or not, is going to become the template for other cities to learn from", and that something is being created that doesn't exist elsewhere.
The new Machine Shop Studio is projected to be fully operational by September for the fall semester at Algoma University, but Greig hopes that it'll be ready for local artists to use in the spring. I applaud him for bringing his studio home to the Soo, and while there's no guarantees on what genres of bands that we might see there, I know there are many local musicians that are optimistic! The Mill Square development has been coming along nicely, and hopefully will be a huge boon for the downtown sector when complete, so see the above links for more info!
Also today, here's what you should know on the latest episode of Tuned, Local2's ongoing webseries that spotlights local musicians and concerts! Posted on Tuesday, this episode (which runs for just over 7 minutes) mostly focuses on the White Cowbell Oklahoma concert at The Rockstar Bar at the end of November, so what can you see in it? Surrounded by clips of the Toronto southern hard rock favourites' set, the aforementioned Donna Hopper interviews frontman Clem C. Clemens on their newest album (and it's unique limited domestic release), their growth and evolution over their run, and their successes in Europe. Solid and fun interview, and I won't dare spoil the non-musical accoutrements filmed during their set, but if you're familiar with a certain prop that West of Hell uses, you'll see that and more! The concert calendar segment afterwards does mention next week's Project 421/Haggith show (also at The Rockstar Bar), before closing with footage from LopLops' 12 Musicians of Christmas event.
This is another quality episode of Tuned, albeit not featuring any footage of openers The Paceshifters, though if you missed the White Cowbell Oklahoma show (like I did due to our Toystock coverage), this will give you a nice sample of the insanity that went down! Check it out at this link, and we'll let you know when the next episode goes online!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:
According to comments on a post by Destroilet bassist Adam Larocque on the VM Radio Battle of the Bands' Facebook event page last week, the local hardcore punk band & local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades are apparently hitting the studio soon to record a split CD! Further details from the band's own pages have yet to be revealed, but we'll keep you guys posted when more is stated!
New Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Ten Kings have announced their planned live debut, which will apparently come on February 27th & 28th at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, but we won't call them on here just yet. Kewadin's entertainment page still lists local classic rock cover band Ricochet for that weekend (as does that band's Facebook page), so is there an error on one band's end? We'll let you know when we hear more!
Pageless new Sault Ontario metal trio Them (featuring Bring The Misery, Revolution, and Infamous alumni) will fill one of the two empty spots at the Blood Shed Productions 11-way split release concert on February 21st, despite not being on the split. They'll be on third-last at 8:30 PM, though the identity of the headline act is still to be confirmed. It'll be interesting to hear how Them sound, so stay tuned for updates on them and this event next month!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and this month's new poll soon! Thanks everyone!
Before we head off to TONIGHT'S Bear Hunters CD release show, here's the rest of the weekend's concert previews, concerning Sunday night concerts in Sault Ontario tomorrow, though we also have some Blood Shed Productions updates to cap things off! Here's what you need to know!
The long anticipated third annual Toystock goes down TOMORROW at The Canadian Nightclub! As has become a recent tradition, local concert promoters Maxx Entertainment are hosting this all day (and ALL AGES) charity concert event to help raise funds and donations to Christmas Cheer, with admission once again being FREE with a donation of a new/slightly used toy or non-perishable food item (though cash is accepted too.) As well, the Stuff-A-Bus will be on site to bring donations to the Christmas Cheer depot, Santa & Mrs. Claus will be present to meet the kids, and there will also be prize draws, so if you loved past installments of Toystock, get ready for tomorrow! Like at the last two Toystocks, 10 bands will grace the stage for 10 hours, and are largely comprised of veteran cover bands, giving fans a chance to see them outside of weekend bar engagements, and it's great to see them all donate their time for this year! Somewhat surprisingly though, seven of the 10 bands this year are Toystock newcomers, so here's who to look out for in descending order!
Local country rock veterans (and Toystock 2012 performers) Bone Yard will headline at 9:00 PM tomorrow, with two bands from the Rock For Dimes fundraiser earlier this month preceding them, those being progressive/jazz rock quartet Mannapool at 8:00 PM and classic/hard rock cover trio Mourning Wood at 7:00 PM. Fellow hard rock cover veterans Lucky 13 will play at 6:00 PM (becoming the only band to play at all 3 Toystocks), with all female classic rock cover quintet Domina returning to the stage at 5:00 PM, and country veterans Thin Ice making their Toystock debut at 4:00 PM. Young local alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control are slated for 3:00 PM, with local country musician Lorrie Bolduc's band Lorrie Lynn & The Sinners on at 2:00 PM, Mike Case's Junior All-Stars returning from last year for a set at 1:00 PM, and local blues band The Stumpy Coldwater Trio opening the day at 12:00 PM. Nice diverse lineup to take in tomorrow, and remember, this is an ALL AGES event, and admission is via donation to Christmas Cheer!
For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Though it is a little odd not seeing Boxcar Junction, Obsession, or
Stiffler's Mom back this year, there's still a great lineup of bands to enjoy TOMORROW, including three or so hard rock bands, and I hope to see you guys there! I missed last year's Toystock due to family commitments, but fingers crossed that I'll be there tomorrow! For a preview, here's Mourning Wood live at March For Dimes!
Finally for the weekend's concert previews is the return of Toronto southern hard rock veterans White Cowbell Oklahoma to Sault Ontario for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Making their first local appearance since headlining at The Grand Theatre in 2010, this show will be in the midst of W.C.O.'s 15th anniversary tour, and if you're familiar with this band, you'll know how exciting their live concerts are! Featuring extended jams, power tool-infused songs, and energetic hard-edged southern rock, White Cowbell Oklahoma should leave a solid impression once again tomorrow night! Dutch alternative hard rock band The Paceshifters will open for W.C.O. tomorrow night with their own old school yet original sound, so be sure to come early for their set! Note that while White Cowbell Oklahoma pages also list Vancouver psychobilly band Big John Bates & the Voodoo Dollz as opening on this tour, they are only on Western Canada dates and not playing in Ontario (source here), despite opening at their local show in 2010.
This show will surprisingly have NO COVER CHARGE tomorrow night, and everything starts at 9:00 PM, but it's still a 19+ event. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I'd like to hit this show up too, but with the length and camera battery drain that I expect Toystock will be, I'm unsure if I can work both shows in. White Cowbell Oklahoma's live concert experience speaks for itself though, so don't miss out if you can help it, and here's the guys live in 2012!
Finally for today, here's some updates from the Blood Shed Productions camp, starting with a new Facebook page for the reunited original version of Brutally Fatal! As you may remember, the death metal duo featuring Revolution frontman Austin McCrae and Crucify The Whore's Ringsnaps Gibson on drums reunited at the Archspire concert in August, but only just launched a new Facebook page on Wednesday (the original one was deleted a few months prior), which also confirms that Austin will remain the band's guitarist rather than bassist, and that "Brutally" is now spelled correctly with two Ls! I still don't really know why Austin spelled it "Brutaly" for so long, but the extra letter does noticeably improve the name! Details on their next show are to be determined, but Tyler's other live two-man band Rotopsy revealed on their Facebook page this week that they have plans to record a full length demo CD next year and will apparently play at the Touch of Death Festival in Cochrane next year, which would be great exposure!
C.T.W.'s Facebook page also hinted yesterday that they and Rotopsy will be playing at a concert of some type late next month, though whether it's an Oddfellows show, a house party, or somewhere else is to be confirmed. Sounds like there's some good developments from the Blood Shed, so follow along above for more, and Brutally Fatal are back in our active band links! That's all for today, but we'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Canadian for The Bear Hunters' CD release party! Thanks everyone!
I know some of you are awaiting fallout from this past weekend's Hardcore Homecoming/Random Killing concert, but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, I didn't want it all to be de-emphasized, so that will very likely lead off tomorrow's post, so don't worry! Also today, we have an archive video find, a recent metal concert video, and another new show for later in the fall, so here's what you need to know!
I'm getting very contradictory reports about bands playing TONIGHT at The Savoy Bar & Nightclub in Sault Michigan, so here's what we currently know. Last night, Rudyard hard rock quintet Exiled (pictured) revealed on short notice that they'll be playing at The Savoy for the first time tonight at 10:00 PM, preceding their motorcycle club party gig tomorrow, but that's not what The Savoy's own Facebook page is advertising. Instead, they're promoting a show to be headlined by Saginaw rap/rock band Redburn with support from Munising metal quartet Infathom, which Redburn's pages are plugging, but not Infathom's (they haven't posted on Facebook in over a month.) Given that Redburn advertised this show on their Facebook page today, I'm inclined to believe that they're playing, and while not confirmed officially, it looks like Exiled have replaced Infathom on the bill, though we'll correct this if need be.
For what it's worth, Redburn aren't a "heavy" band per say, but you don't see this type of sound in the area too often, and it looks like they'll be playing at The Savoy again in December if you're into a full rap show! Regardless of what goes down tonight, keep The Savoy in mind for some live rock!
Moving to a show that we can 100% confirm, Toronto southern hard rock notables White Cowbell Oklahoma will roll through Sault Ontario on Sunday, November 30th during their 15th anniversary tour, as they'll be headlining at The Rockstar Bar! Notorious for their entertaining jam-heavy live concerts (complete with power tools), their country-infused rock originals should be a fun sight back in the Soo for the first time since their well received concert at The Grand Theater four years ago, so don't bypass this one either, and click here for Donna Hopper's entertaining review of that show from SooToday to see what you're in for! The announced openers are The Paceshifters, a hard rock band from The Netherlands who have a grungy yet modern sound that should go over well too, so don't miss them either! For reference, W.C.O.'s own pages advertise Vancouver psychobilly band Big John Bates & the Voodoo Dollz as opening too during their tour (as they did at their 2010 local show), but the local Facebook event page doesn't mention them.
This 19+ concert will begin at 9:00 PM on November 30th, and there will be NO COVER CHARGE, so there's all the more reason to come out! Check the above links for more details, and if you know White Cowbell Oklahoma's reputation and over the top live concert experience, you won't want to miss this one at the end of November! Stay tuned for updates when & if they come in!
Closing today with some new video finds, here's two new clip of Sudbury blackened death metal band Catharcyst from their co-headlining set opening for IDNS at The Oddfellows Hall two weeks ago! Uploaded to the band's YouTube channel today, they're of Catharcyst playing their songs "A Spell Has Been Cast" and (as embedded below) "Terra", both of which being filmed from the band's merchandise table at the far end of the hall. The video quality of these is not good, with dark and grainy lighting and an angle too far to make out much of anything regarding the band or fans, but the audio quality is solid enough! Check out Catharcyst's new videos above & below!
We'll close today with another archive video of local classic/hard rock veterans Havadder, courtesy of the same Nicolet Tavern concert from February 2012 that gave us their Foo Fighters cover that was on the site earlier this week! Same filmer too (YouTube user Danabelle39), but for whatever reason, her videos from this show were split across two channels. The video on her own channel is of Havadder's 2012 lineup covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Runnin' Down A Dream" with frontman Jason Roy on lead vocals, and it's a good cover for fans of the original song, but the vocals can be muffled. Check out the full video below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for Random Killing concert fallout and more in our next post! Thanks everyone!
