Punk Rock Princess Fest Video Showcase!!

Tonight's post is entirely devoted to videos from last week's Joni Radford memorial concert (a.k.a. Punk Rock Princess Fest) at The Algonquin Hotel, as Christopher Paci was on hand to film most bands for his excellent YouTube channel! These were uploaded earlier this week, and Chris got footage of every act except Coral Fang downstairs and Northwest upstairs, which I presume are causalities of the split level format. This was tricky to juggle, so I won't pass judgment on Chris not filming them. To spread things out, I'll hold coverage of Chris' Stegadeth video from The Algonquin Pub half for a future post, but we'll start today with three videos from headlining punk quartet The Cover-Up, who he filmed covering NOFX's "Linoleum", The Supersuckers' "Pretty Fucked Up" (they titled it, not me!), and as embedded below, Social Distortion's "Nickels & Dimes". The audio can be scratchy, but Chris has a good high angle of thi fan favourite (but online page-less) band in action!

The Rockstar Bar crowd's definitely into these covers, judging by the sing-along vocals, and the band has a strong grasp of these punk classics, so fans of The Cover-Up and Dustin and company's back catalog should definitely give these videos a look above & below!



Next up, Chris shot three videos of local hardcore punk veterans Destroilet's return set at The Rockstar Bar, including their original song "Eternal Fire", this song I can't immediately identify (which was shot in the vertical camera angle), and as embedded below, "iBomb". Notably, this song is one of two that night to feature impromptu guest vocals from ex-Detroit/Maximum RNR frontman Brenton Ellis, who is still listed on Destroilet's Facebook biography as their co-vocalist, but didn't participate in the full set like he did for much of 2015. No word if he's still a band member or not, but the dual attack of hardcore punk vocals came through very well here and on "Murderers"! Destroilet's ferocious old school attack was more than welcomed back this past weekend, and the raucous crowd reception made it clear that they were missed locally, and you can see that for yourself via Chris' solid videos above & below!



In a brief detour downstairs to The Algonquin Pub (a.k.a. Spin Nightclub), Chris filmed that floor's headlining punk/metal quintet Jack Spades playing most of their original "Fear Corps" last week, albeit on a vertical camera angle. In spite of that, the video proper is from a nice placement at the corner of the stage, and J.D. Pearce's vocals are clear as day on this well performed rendition! Give it a look below!



We'll close today with the opening band on The Rockstar Bar's lineup, namely funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who Chris filmed playing their original song "G20". The vantage point here is the furthest of all of his videos, so it's not an optimal view of Rob, Jesse, James, and Jonas in action, but the alternating laid back and faster paced music comes through fine for fans of their ska punk material, so give The Elements' video a look below also!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Chris' video of Stegadeth last week, and much more, in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Punk Rock Princess Fest Review!! (Rockstar Bar Half)

It's now time to continue our review of Saturday night's Punk Rock Princess Fest at The Algonquin Hotel, specifically the upstairs lineup at The Rockstar Bar! For my thoughts on the general aspects of the Joni Radford memorial concerts and the bands playing downstairs at The Algonquin Pub, plus videos of those acts, visit the post below this one. Also, just a reminder that due to the simultaneous straddled concerts going on both floors, I did miss portions of the first two bands' sets, so if I missed any Joni tributes or big surprises while I was downstairs, I do apologize.

The first band up on Saturday at The Rockstar Bar was local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who delivered a fun set full of originals and select covers! If you don't see much of The Elements outside of their tribute sets or live band karaoke gigs, you may be surprised to hear that the majority of their set was comprised of originals like "G20" and their new song "Riptide", but they did throw in some Primus and Red Hot Chili Peppers covers early. I don't know how much progress has came on their prior album plans, but the originals remain promising, often skewing to their heavier instincts. Rob Speers' casual aggression suits their songs well, James White's bass work was solid, and Jesse and Jonas always have great chemistry. Solid set overall from The Elements, and if you were downstairs, at least you got to see Rob & Jesse with Jack Spades later on that night!

Second upstairs was advertised as local indie/punk quintet Northwest, but in a surprise, this was a special unplugged set comprised of just singer/guitarist Wayne Watkins & guitarist Mike Yakasovich. If a reason was publically stated for Greg, Mike Smykacz, and Marc's absences, I was on the bottom floor when it was made, and if I looked slightly confused when I got upstairs, it's because my first thought was that they were just doing a soundcheck! As for their actual set, Wayne and Mike Yak performed all four songs from the new "Songs From 2015-2017" EP, plus "Young & Wild" from their debut, and select non-EP tracks like "Burning It Down". Given Northwest's increased genre variance on their new album, it's not a stretch at all that the guys can handle acoustic versions of their songs well, and the guys were a nice match on vocals! While we had no advance word of the acoustic duo set, everything seemed to go over well!

Co-headlining on Saturday was the long awaited return of local hardcore punk veterans Destroilet, as the "later rather than sooner" countdown finally ran out for their first public concert since the Guy Thiffault memorial concert here over two years ago, and just their second show since the "Fed Up!" split release in the fall of 2015. That all said, Destroilet played like they haven't missed a beat, and much like in their active heyday, they are still a very hard band to photograph! Frontman Mike Hull is still a firecracker, and the times he jumped into the crowd are immeasurable. Delays meant that Destroilet's set did not conflict with the end of Jack Spades' downstairs, and this helped produced the best crowd of the night, and the fest's only true mosh pits to such familiar originals like "End Me", "Eternal Fire", and "Lifer" along with select covers, most notably their set-ending version of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" in memory of Joni, who sang backing vocals on their studio cover.

Musically speaking, their raw and fast paced attack was in fine form, with John Conway and Christian Foisy's guitar onslaught a constant threat, Adam Larocque was warmed up well following his set with Coral Fang downstairs, and Matt Waples' drumming kept the rhythm in fine form! No, Brent Ellis didn't sing with Detroilet for the majority of their set, but he did join in on (impromptu?) guest vocals on two songs. The fury and emotion was great to see, and here's hoping we see Destroilet again before 2021!

Finally, your headliners of the Punk Rock Princess Fest were online page-less local punk quartet The Cover-Up, marking the first time I've ever seen this band live in any incarnation. I need to see Dustin Jones-fronted bands more often than I do, but if this was any indication, the guys delivered a fun set of familiar modern punk rock hits, and if my ears weren't deceiving me, a few originals? Sonically, The Cover-Up are closer in tone to The Inner City Surfers than The Rising Tide, but with less of a folk/indie influence, with covered bands including Rancid, NOFX, and Weezer, among many others. Arguably the most impressive cover was seeing the guys cover Green Day's "Jesus of Suburbia", all 9+ minutes of it, which I can't recall another local band attempting! Dustin's natural frontman instincts were ever present, even if he was somewhat quiet between songs early, while it was great to see Marco Pedalino again on guitar, and Marshall Jaaskelainen and Aaron Dunn fit in well on bass & drums!

Extra kudos to The Cover-Up as well for playing on without a hitch despite an incident midway through their set, where an attendee was tackled and restrained by security (almost knocking me over), leading to the cops being called to The Algonquin. I have no idea what led to this or what happened afterward, but at least they controlled the situation, and as it doesn't affect local music, I have no further comment. Overall, Punk Rock Princess Fest was a great time for punk fans, and as a tribute to Joni, who could ask for anything more? If she was here, you know she'd be up front rocking out with the rest of us, and kudos to everyone for playing and attending, and to Carrie Suriano and Kat Foisy for putting this event on, as well as other staff and volunteers! No word on if this will return for a sequel a'la Guy Thiffault's tribute shows, but if Saturday was any indication, it'd definitely be a hit if there is one!

The two floor setup was a challenge to maneuver to see all 7 bands, especially as I don't like missing portions of sets, but between careful scheduling, moving slow on the wet stairs, and my new camera case, I managed well and got photos and videos of each band! As this technically was two concerts under one memorial umbrella, I took 170 photos on Saturday (20 of Northwest, 25 of everyone else), and you can check them all out on our Facebook page and at this link. As for upstairs videos, here's The Elements playing "I Need A Friend", 2/5ths of Northwest playing the new track "We Run", Destroilet et al. covering The Rebel Spell's "Murderers", and The Cover-Up playing (their original?) "Modern World"!









That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the SMS as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

Punk Rock Princess Fest Review!! (Algonquin Pub Half)

Hey guys, it's time at last for our review of last night's Joni Radford memorial concerts, a.k.a. Punk Rock Princess Fest! Due to the unique split-venue nature of the event, I'm going to review the bands playing upstairs at The Rockstar Bar in our next post, with this one focusing on the downstairs action and general concert info. Of course, this event was completely devoted to Joni's memory, with pretty much every TV and screen showing a slideshow of pictures of her and inspirational quotes, which was a great touch to allow everyone to remember her life and good times! T-shirts and sweatshirts were on sale, not unlike the ones from the David Gold memorial shows in 2012, and Joni's own Bad Religion canvas poster was raffled off before The Cover-Up's set upstairs. Event co-promoter and Case's Music owner Carrie Suriano spoke before Destroilet's set to thank everyone for making this event possible and give a toast to Joni, though if other teased presentations and speeches occurred, I was on the wrong floor.

Attendance was excellent, especially for the final two bands upstairs, but from about 9:00-11:00 PM, when bands were actively playing on both floors, the attendance was understandably thinned out as people chose their preferred bar and/or band. It may have been a more impressive group for the long-term if everyone was on one floor, but this felt more like a special event the way it was structured. Thank goodness for the wristbands so I could freely hop between floors! As the Algonquin Pub bands straddled with the first two bands upstairs, I didn't see any of their full sets, so if I missed any special performances or Joni tributes, I completely apologize.

A minor band swap resulted in The Algonquin Pub/Spin Nightclub's first band being local punk trio Stegadeth (the only returning band from Joni's benefit show last year), who got a solid crowd early, possibly helped by mostly playing unopposed. Fans gathered saw a solid set of originals like "Kingdom of Ashes" & "The Wire" alongside covers from the likes of GG Allin, The Dead Kennedys, SNFU, and yes, Bad Religion, among others. Musically, Stegadeth were on form, with Tiffany Stocco nailing some solid riffs, and her and bassist Bill Bennett were a nice compliment, but the vocals were often very muffled. My big takeaway is that Tiffany and Bill should work on their stage presences and between-song banter, as things were a bit stiff (especially compared to Johnny Belanger's energy on drums.) Solid blast of punk overall though for Stegadeth!

Post-lineup switch, the second downstairs band was now Stegadeth's side project Coral Fang, a tribute to Los Angeles punk legends The Distillers. Things didn't change dramatically in tone, as Tiffany and Johnny remained on stage, now joined by A Dire Setback's Chris Nielsen and Destroilet's Adam Larcoque. This was Coral Fang's third public show, but the first time I've seen them live, and fans were treated to renditions of such Distillers songs as "Drain The Blood", "Dismantle Me", "City of Angels", and (of course) "Coral Fang". I am not a Distillers scholar, but from what I know of their songs, I can tell that everyone performed well and tackled these songs with energy and enthusiasm! Adam did seem to be standing a little far from everyone else, and Tiffany should project her voice more to match Brody's intensity on the original songs, but overall, this was a natural extension, and here's hoping we hear more from Coral Fang!

Headlining the bottom floor action was local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, completing Tiffany and Johnny's triple-booking on this night (good thing they didn't have to lug all their gear upstairs!) Their set followed a pseudo-Handsome Sandwich jam by Johnny, Jesse Cook, and Jack Spades bassist Rob Speers, but we soon learned that Jesse was filling in for an absent Daniel Horton on guitar for the set proper. No word on why Dan wasn't there, but it was nice to see Jesse back with his old band for at least one night! Returning to the stage for the first time in six months, Jack Spades picked up where they left off with an explosive set of originals like "Breakneck Speed", "Sewer City Radio" (improvised lyrics and all), and "Crossroads", plus some later fan favourite covers. This set gave us more of Jack Spades' intense and hard hitting sound, with J.D. Pearce at his aggressive top form, and Rob Speers' bass lines came through well! Great way to end things at the Algonquin Pub!

Overall, the musical lineup downstairs was entertaining and delivered in their own ways, and huge kudos to Tiffany and Johnny for pulling triple duty in three different bands, not to mention Rob, Jesse, and Adam playing in different bands on each floor! I hope the Algonquin Pub lineup didn't fly under the radar too much, but if you missed out, I did get photos and videos of all three bands, the latter now available on our Facebook page and at this link (both floors are in that album.) As for videos, here's Stegadeth covering The Rebel Spell's "All We Want", Coral Fang covering The Distillers' "Sick Of It All", and Jack Spades playing "Motorwolf"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of the Rockstar Bar half of Punk Rock Princess Fest in our next post! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Pixo Control), Plus New Videos!!

Here's another news post to open a new week, so what can you find within? New videos from two very different recent concerts, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for a rising young band's next three shows, all with some big developments attached, so here's what you should know!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Pixo Control will indeed play a CD release concert in honour of their debut album "Probably Not" on Saturday, December 12th... two of them, in fact! The band announced on their Facebook page last night that they'll headline two separate concerts at LopLops Lounge that day, the first being an ALL AGES afternoon gig and the latter being a nighttime 19+ show, so fans of all ages will be able to check the guys out and be the first to get a copy of their first CD! Notably, these will be The Pixo Control's first concerts since The Emergency Festival in August, and consequently, just their second & third with new drummer Matthew Thibert (no word as of yet on if he recorded tracks for the album.) Support will come via post-punk quartet Gnaeus (fresh off of their Devil's Night concert at LopLops) and glam/punk trio Caroline Divine (in their first announced concert since July), and both are great fits, so don't miss them on the 12th!

No word yet though on if the openers are playing both shows, or if each band has one each, but we'll treat them as playing both unless said otherwise. Presented by label Tidal Records, each show has a $10 cover charge (it's not clear whether that includes a copy of "Probably Not" or if that's separate from entry), the all ages show is at 2:00 PM, and the 19+ show is at 9:00 PM, both on December 12th. For more details, visit the above links! This is an ambitious idea to play two release shows in the same day, but hopefully The Pixo Control have a successful launch(es) of their debut CD, and we'll keep you posted as extra updates roll in!

Next up, we have another new Pixo Control concert to mention, as they'll apparently be opening for Saskatoon blues rock favourites The Sheepdogs at The Machine Shop at Mill Square on Tuesday, February 9th! While not announced via other sources as of this writing, The Pixo Control's Facebook page indicated that they'd be opening for The Sheepdogs on Saturday. The second February gig in as many years to feature the guys as an opening band (joining this year's Treble Charger concert), this is another huge showcase for Michael, Steve, and Matthew, and hopefully they can make some new fans in February! If you're not familiar with them, The Sheepdogs are well known from hit singles like "Feeling Good" & "The Way It Is" from their platinum self-titled album, and have made lots of fans with their roots & southern rock-influenced originals, so there should be a very solid audience for their Soo debut! Also, the show is definitely on February 9th, SooToday's advertising accidentally has it listed for the 8th.

An 8:00 PM start time is listed for this 19+ concert, and tickets are available for $30 & $35 ($25 early bird tickets are sold out) at this link, so visit the above links for full current details! While The Sheepdogs aren't a "heavy" band, they're very talented and have a great fanbase, and they should rock the house on February 9th (and it's nice to see a big non-country show at The Machine Shop, hopefully there's more to come!) Stay tuned again for updates as we hear them on this and The Pixo Control's release shows!

We'll close today with new videos, including a look at Shot In The Dark Productions' production of The Who's Tommy at The Machine Shop earlier this month, featuring local classic/hard rock quintet That's Chester as the house band! Uploaded by drummer Ric Datson to his YouTube channel yesterday, this is of That's Chester and the cast of Tommy performing The Who's "Pinball Wizard" during one night of the production (which one isn't specified), and it gives a nice five-camera look at arguably the most famous song from Tommy! Greg Simpson does his best Elton John for the rendition, complete with the cast acting and singing in turn, and while everything looks and sounds good, Greg's vocals are very muffled (and note that there's a 31 second intro before the video actually starts.) Excellent crowd, and good details for the set and acting (yes, that is a real pinball machine being lowered in), so hopefully we see more live stage musical productions like this in the future, and yes, more That's Chester concerts! Give everything a look below!



Finally for today, here's a new video find of the aforementioned Caroline Divine from their Rotaryfest afterparty concert at LopLops Lounge on July 18th! Apologies for missing it for this long, it slipped us by in prior Facebook scans. Filmed by attendee Katie Huckson and shared on the band's Facebook page the next day, this is an incomplete video of Brendan, Devin, and Anthony playing one of their originals (title unclear, possibly "Looking For A Fight".) Solid audio and energy to be had from this promising young band in their most recent concert, albeit with dark lighting, so check it out below, and don't miss them back at LopLops on December 12th!


 
That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news and updates this week! Thanks everyone!

Ten Kings Updates, Plus Lots Of Recent Assorted News!!

Believe it or not, this is our first full news post at the SMS without concert previews attached in almost two weeks, but hopefully the news will pick up in short order! Today, we're touching on a number of shorter assorted recent notes, but first, here's a pair of new Sault Michigan video finds, including some updates on a recently dissolved band, so here's what you should know! (Updated on Sunday at 11:08 PM)

Here's the latest on the now-inactive local hard rock quartet Ten Kings, so what should you know on them now? While it's still not public what happened to them, it looks like singer Brandon Carr made use of their St. Ignace Kewadin Casino bookings for this weekend by playing both last night & tonight with half of fellow local hard rockers 415E (guitarist Chris Hubbard and bassist Mitch Goetz), as well as ex-Absolute drummer Justin Lawless. Our sources are personal Facebook posts by Brandon & Chris yesterday. No word on if this is an official new band or not, and if they'd still skew hard rock if they were, but Chris did jokingly muse on if they should call themselves Nixxon Dixxon (his and Brandon's old local band) or Two Weeks Notice (presumably referencing the time they had to get ready following Ten Kings' dissolution.) Whether this is just a one-off group, a Nixxon Dixxon revival, or something brand new, we'll keep an eye on things, and hopefully this weekend's concerts went well!

As for Ten Kings, we had embedded a YouTube video of them covering Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace in August here that was still online when this post went up, but the band member that controlled the account took their YouTube channel down as well yesterday. I wish bands wouldn't erase their existence from the internet like this when they break up, as there are fans that still like and enjoy their material, even if something bad happened behind the scenes, but it is what it is. Hopefully their breakup was amicable, and best of luck again!

Next up, here's a new solo video from ex-Ten Kings guitarist Joe Jenkins' YouTube channel! Uploaded last week, this is of Joe's musical discovery when stacking his guitar pedals, and he definitely seems to like what this produced! Also, this is unique from his past videos that we've shared here, as he talks to the camera about his gear and the pedals' effects on his playing. You get some solid instrumental playing too, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band, album, company, or venue name:

• Former local concert venue Club Princess (a.k.a. The Princess Theatre) has had it's iconic arrow sign taken down amidst ongoing renovations by new owner Marc Muto (yes, the former Lion Ride drummer), who bought the Gore Street location and is planning to reopen it in the future in some form. The sign was removed due to safety concerns and that it was showing it's age, but it will be put in storage towards a possible restoration and return to the building. It's nice to hear that the Princess is being revived, and hopefully the sign returns down the road! Click here for more details!
• According to a post on Mike Haggith & The Din's Facebook page on Thursday,  the band shared the stage with funk/hard rock quartet The Elements (an apparent late addition) and DJ Seith during that night's Jason Michaud fundraiser at The Marconi Hall, without crediting the publically listed Redundant, Project 421, and Eclypse. No word on if those bands dropped out or not, but remember, official event advertising oddly didn't credit the full lineup. Nice of The Elements to rock this benefit too, and hopefully lots was raised to help Jason out!
• The recap article and photos from SooToday's Donna Hopper's coverage of last month's "Fed Up!" split CD release party at The Algonquin Pub can at last been seen at this link! Featuring brief remarks from Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce & Destroilet singer Mike Hull, the article recaps the show and CD, and reiterates plans to release the split in other formats, while the photos (all in black & white) include 7 from headliners The Ripcordz' set & five each of the local bands, including a guest return from the departed Brent Ellis during Destroilet's set. Despite the delay, Donna got some great shots again, so see everything above!
• Local classic metal quintet Project 421 will replace Destroilet on the lineup for the Sabrina Pelchat memorial concert at The Rednecks Saloon on Friday, as per updates to the official Facebook event page yesterday. A reason for Destroilet's exit wasn't announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened, and Project 421 will fit in nicely in their return to the former Nicolet Tavern! Stay tuned for more on this show next week!
• We have moved local grindcore/experimental duo This Is Your Band On Drugs to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The Blood Shed Productions project has not made a public update since being advertised to play at last October's Devil's Night concert at The Oddfellows Hall, which they dropped out of after being on hiatus since last spring due to work commitments. T.I.Y.B.O.D. were an entertaining and creative band in their genre, complete with a demo CD, and hopefully Chase & Nick revive them in the future!
• As you may have seen, there was not a Friday the 13th new music event from Sault Michigan independent metal label Werehold Records yesterday, breaking a streak of six straight Friday the 13th events dating to April 2012. Label owner Jason Mills said in a personal conversation that it was due to many artists on the label having "downtime" as of late, and he didn't want to post new songs from just his own projects. Hopefully things pick back up come the next Friday the 13th in May!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site in the coming week! Thanks everyone!