Sault Pridefest Loud & Proud Family Fun Day Concert Review!!

The day after I saw eight bands in under four hours at Rotaryfest, I headed back downtown for one more free outdoor(-ish) concert yesterday, namely the annual Loud & Proud family fun day that kicks off Sault Pridefest every year, pandemic willing! I can't compare first-hand to how Loud & Proud was at the Bushplane Museum, but yesterday's entertainment was under the big tent of the Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and while it was another warm July afternoon, the shade and provided tables/chairs helped along with drinks and refreshments from vendors! Despite an advertised run-time of 1:00-4:00 PM, musicians didn't begin their formal sets until 2:00 PM, giving attendees lots of time to check out the vendors, crafters, and businesses supporting Pridefest, and of course, I'm fully supportive of the local LGBTQ+ community and the causes they're fighting for, so I was glad to be there! I wish it wasn't so muggy, but that's out of their hands.

After introductions from Sault Pride chair Amanda Zuke, the first band up yesterday was local hard rock quintet HeadFirst, fresh off of their Rotaryfest Stage 2 debut the previous day. I was unable to see them at Clergue Park, but this was a fair make-up date! Their eight song set included six covers, including Joan Jett and Weezer songs with bassist Claire Jeffrey on lead vocals (trading roles with singer Red Jettison), as well as covers of Green Day, The Pixies, and The Flobots. They ended with two originals from their debut EP "Head Trauma", which was indeed on sale in limited physical copies at Pridefest! We'll have more on the EP in the coming days, but they played "Don't Care, Don't Mind" and "Take You Down", the latter seeing guitarist Liam Dinsmore and drummer Anthony Boudreau trading roles. Everyone put in a good and energetic showing for the all-ages audience, and Red was more animated when playing bass here!

Raine Rancourt had some strong lead guitar work, and while I'll hold comment on the originals pending next month's review of "Head Trauma", the guys had a tight set with strong musicianship and some good crowd banter! Of course, if you want to hear a lot more from HeadFirst, including more originals, come see them at Shooters Downstairs Lounge for their EP's proper launch party this Saturday night! In between the musical acts at Loud & Proud, two local drag perfomers came to lip sync and dance throughout the pavilion while interacting with attendees. The two performers were Lana Von Archer (who lip synced to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Robyn's "Dancing On Your Own" and Luke McAnally-Gore-Shadow (who lip synced to Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" and Busted & Hanson's "MMMBop 2.0"), with each doing a song after the first two acts.

I'm very new when it comes to drag, so I apologize if I sound ill informed, but Lana definitely showed off some impressive moves when making her way through the pavilion (those splits and tumbles got a strong fan reaction!), while Luke's dancing was much more casual and jauntier, but still fun all the same, and a perfect fit for a Sault Pride event! The middle performer yesterday was local folk singer/ukeleleist Giimiwan Ikwe, who I have seen perform in less formal settings than this, but never at an advertised & scheduled concert. Giimiwan (who uses they/them pronouns) mostly played acoustic covers of songs by the likes of The Four Tops, Jason Mraz, Tom Petty, and Otis Redding, with their cover of The Animals' "The House Of The Rising Sun" being greatly altered with new & longer lyrics. Only a couple of originals here, including the set closer featuring drumming from their sister and shaker percussion from their daughter.

Giimiwan (whose father is a family friend on my dad's side) sounded good on these minimalistic but authentic performances, with a good singing voice and quality messages to convey, and they added some strong variety and culture to the proceedings! After the last drag performances, Loud & Proud ended with a short five song set by local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty, who don't play live all that often, so it was good to see them back out there! Famous for featuring no guitar at all, they covered songs by Say Anything, Millencolin, and Metric, though I wasn't 100% certain if their set opener was an original or not. Frontman Paul Stanghetta (of Smeltzer and The Fury renown) added some edgy zest to these heavier and more abrasive songs, and now featuring prolific local punk guitarist Mikhal Muto (Vanity First, Hails, et al.) on second bass, the distorted and locally unique sound won over some new fans!

Paul's wife Amanda kept the beat well on drums, and their more aggressive takes on some unexpected covers ended things on a cool note for this reviewer, but I can see why their guitar-devoid sound will be an acquired taste for some. Strong finish, and hopefully we see The A.A. back at it (and with better social media advertising) soon! Overall, this was an entertaining community event that the LGBTQ+ community, allies, and/or music fans in general could find something to like at! I just wish that Sault Pride did a better and more consistent job with advertising the scheduled musicians by name, as they are a pull for attendees to come out, but I only heard about the lineup from the performers themselves. You can see our photos from Loud & Proud at this link or via our Facebook page, and I also shot videos of the three musical acts! I didn't film Lana & Luke because Facebook's copyright bots won't play ball with their backing tracks.

In order, here's HeadFirst covering Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law", Giimiwan Ikwe covering The Steve Miller Band's "The Joker", and The Apocalypse Afterparty covering Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks"!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert fallout by other people/sites on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadFirst!!)

Local hard rock quintet HeadFirst have announced six upcoming concerts that we didn't know about via this concert calendar on their Facebook page on Wednesday, so what should you know for these LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS? Not counting their already-occurred June dates and their Rotaryfest Stage 2 opening set on July 20th, the guys' next brand new show will see them rock The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Sunday, July 21st as part of this year's Sault Pridefest Loud & Proud family fun day! This annual event occasionally (but not always) hosts heavier bands, and while some past installments have been at the Bushplane Museum, things are under the big tent next month. Expect family friendly activities and lots of LGBTQ+ community awareness and inclusion events and vendors on this day, but we await a formal public announcement of the lineup/itinerary.

This will take place rain or shine at 1:00 PM (running until 4:00), it's absolutely all ages, and there is no announced cover charge. Stay tuned for more on Loud & Proud when details roll out! Then on Saturday, July 27th, HeadFirst will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for... their EP release party?! While they did release their single "Don't Care, Don't Mind" last month, this is the first 100% public confirmation that they recorded a formal EP rather than just a one-off single, which is encouraging for fans! As noted in their Facebook post about the new dates, the EP will be called "Head Trauma" and will feature four original songs (I assume "The Walk" is one, but they haven't posted full videos of any other originals live). No word on if physical copies will be on sale, but "extra goodies" will be unveiled at Shooters on the 27th, and the EP will drop on major streaming services the following day. Exciting times for HeadFirst, obviously, so stay tuned for more on "Head Trauma"!

As best as I can tell, the release party remains a 9:30 PM event with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and like normal this year, Shooters hosts DJs on Friday nights, hence why this is a one-nighter. Moving to August, their first date that month (at Shooters on Saturday the 17th) was already announced publically, but it is the leadoff in a string of four straight Saturday nighters for Red, Raine, Liam, Claire, and Anthony, with their next show being at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on August 24th for the first ever ARCH Run! This is the new splinter motorcycle rally being held at Jay's after the Dragonfly Run (née Ride For ARCH) moved to The Grand Gardens. I won't get into the controversy about why the rally split into two competing events on consecutive days, but don't lose sight of the fact that both are fundraisers for the Algoma Regional Community Hospice, and I don't want to discourage anything that will help them.

HeadFirst will be playing from 5:00-6:00 PM on August 24th during the street party outside of the former Roosevelt Hotel, which will feature more live bands, vendors, prizes, and a silent auction, basically like what the Dragonfly Run did at Jay's last year before the schism. A motorcycle rally for the cause is the event's centerpiece, and pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue (members of which played last year as Nicky & The Southpaws) will be the headliners inside Jay's that night. We await fuller details on the live entertainment in and out of Jay's during the ARCH Run, but it's a FREE & ALL AGES event unless pledging for/riding in the rally, and it starts at 10:00 AM. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details! Ending their summer concert slate, the guys will return to the aforementioned Shooters for a show on Saturday, August 31st, which notably falls on the Labour Day long weekend, so don't forget that angle!

Lastly, HeadFirst will play a rare full weekend on Friday, September 6th & Saturday, September 7th when they return to the site of their live debut, namely Reggie's Place, so help the guys kick off the fall concert season then! Their Shooters date the previous week and these Reggie's shows will all be 9:30 PM affairs with no cover charge and 19+ age limits, so if you want some hard rock cover and original action downtown in late summer/early fall, keep these dates in mind! That's all for this single band post, but stay tuned for this month's CD review and more soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Loud & Proud, Soundcheck, And Tym Morrison!!)

At long last, our fourth and final consecutive day of Rotaryfest weekend concert previews has reached its conclusion, as today we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for TODAY to cap things off with, as well as one more new show that, shockingly, has a couple weeks' advance notice! Here's what you should know!

There will indeed be a couple of hard rock acts playing at the Loud & Proud Family Fun Day at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre TODAY as part of this year's Sault Ste. Marie Pridefest! Apologies for the short notice, organizers have not announced a schedule on social media, so huge kudos to ex-Project 421 frontman Blair Burch for inquiring with the right people! Of course, Loud & Proud unites live music, vendors, artists, refreshments, and lots of family entertainment to help support LGBTQ+ empowerment and inclusivity in the area, which is always more than welcomed, so definitely consider a trip to the Bushplane Museum TODAY to show your support!  The 4 hour event will feature sets from hip-hop duo Planet Rock at 4:10 PM, drag performer Bebe Lala at 3:30 PM, local alternative/punk quintet These Magnificent Tentacles at 2:50 PM (capping bassist Mitch Sirie's very busy weekend), ...

...a speech by LGBTQ+ advocate Teddy Syrette (a.k.a. Ozhawa Anung Kwe) at 2:40 PM, rising young punk trio Vanity First at 2:00 PM, and a set by a mystery act named Woodwind at 1:20 PM. As best as I can gather, the Tentacles never advertised their involvement in Loud & Proud online in advance (they often don't as of late), but Vanity First did via this event poster that curiously doesn't detail the Family Fun Day's name/purpose, just the location. Yes, it does list two upcoming events in Goulais River this weekend, I will include them in our next batch of weekend concert previews, but I'll refrain from embedding the poster here because it includes a private address (though publically advertised, one of the shows is at a cottage). As for Loud & Proud proper, it is absolutely FREE & ALL AGES, and inclusivity and outreach are very much encouraged, so don't be shy to come out & enjoy yourself!

I wish organizers had publicized the schedule in advance (thank you again, Blair), but a nice diverse lineup of entertainment is in store at the Bushplane Museum TODAY, so don't miss out on all of the action THIS AFTERNOON, and yes, Magnificent Tentacles fans, I am well aware of the contest they're in right now, I hope to address that on the site this week. It's just so busy for concerts this weekend, but I promise we'll start to make up for lost ground tomorrow! See above for more on Loud & Proud, and here are These Magnificent Tentacles live!

Next up, let's finally close up shop on this weekend's hard rock concert previews, as prolific local singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for a matinee concert THIS AFTERNOON himself! Again, apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page last week. Usually, Tym only plays at Reggie's about once a month, so getting to see him twice in a three week span for their SUNDAY afternoon matinees will be fun for fans and patrons! Believe it or not, Tym has never played Rotaryfest as a solo musician, so if you're game for some classic and hard rock covers from this talented musician after the festival concludes, and can't make The Trading Post on Wednesdays, you know where to be TODAY! As usual for matinees there, this has a 2:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Finally, let's jump ahead(!), as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will play a rare gig in nearby Prince Township on Saturday, July 30th at the Prince Township Outdoor Rink! It is rare for Prince Township (20 minutes west of the Soo) to turn up on the SMS, but their recreation committee has been holding a summer concert series at their rink, and weather-wise, note that the stage is under a pavilion. The band has not confirmed this date on their own Facebook page at press time (given their usual patterns, don't expect them to until the week of), but their brand of often heavy classic covers and select country hits should find a receptive audience in Prince Township at month's end! This 19+ event has an 8:00 PM start time, and unusually for Soundcheck concerts, this one does have a $10 cover charge, but remember that this is a community skating rink, not a nightclub who does this all the time, and admission fees help them host more events.

As for the location, the Prince Township Outdoor Rink is outside of the township's Community Centre at 3042 Second Line West, which is proof that even though Prince is technically separate from the Soo, it's still reasonably close given that Second Line straddles here and there. Should be a fun concert and a change of pace from Soundcheck's usual rotation in city limits, so definitely keep it in mind if you live in the area, and see above for more details! That's all for today, but stay tuned for some actual news that isn't related to imminent concerts tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Re:Born), The Last Of This Weekend's Concert Previews, And More!!

At last, here's our final weekend concert preview post on this packed Rotaryfest weekend! Remember, for previews of Friday and Saturday events not involving Re:Born, check this morning's post, and yesterday second post covers Rotaryfest Stage 1. Now, we have previews of shows with the same headline band this weekend, one being a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, with overdue updates on an upcoming competitive event, so without any further adieu, here's what you should know!

Local power rock quartet Re:Born will be among the performers at this year's Loud & Proud Family Fun Day at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON as part of this year's Sault Pridefest! Apologies for the short notice, the band did publically announce their involvement in this event last month, but we held a formal announcement for the formal reveal of the day's full musical lineup, which has surprisingly not come as of press time. Readers may recall The Din (featuring Re:Born drummer Brandan Glew) playing this event in one of their final concerts two years ago, and now it's the Project 421 successors' turn to rock out at a rare afternoon and ALL AGES set for them! Of course, this is a big annual kick-off event for the local Pridefest events celebrating LGBTQ2SIA culture & awareness, with vendors, games, demonstrations, and varying family friendly entertainment all going down at the Bushplane Museum THIS SUNDAY, so don't miss out on all of the Loud & Proud fun then! 

The lack of a public lineup reveal is very surprising, but Re:Born guitarist Blair Burch told me in a Facebook conversation that the other performers will include solo musician Juliana Cartner (who I know nothing on), hip hop duo Planet Rock, folk rock veteran M.D. Dunn, and a new rock band named Woodwind, with Re:Born headlining at 3:00 PM. Thanks again to Blair for the help! A 12:30 PM start time is advertised for this FREE & ALL AGES event, and it's great to see everyone band together to support Pridefest on SUNDAY and beyond! If you're up for some all ages, mid-day classic metal, you know where to be this weekend!

With that said, Re:Born have one more show coming up for their first ever double header booking on one weekend, as they'll be headlining a more traditional nightttime and 19+ concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar! Marking their first public concert since the Cory Burch farewell show late last month, this event is titled "Brandan's Quarter Century Musical Extravaganza", referencing the show taking place on their esteemed drummer's 25th birthday. No extra frills are advertised beyond having "a few sparkling beverages", but be sure to wish Brandan a happy birthday if you're in attendance! Notably taking place concurrently with the closing acts at Rotaryfest Stage 1 tomorrow, this show could be seen as a festival alternative for those of you craving heavier or more original acts. As such, two Stage 2 bands from 2017 will be the support acts tomorrow night, including alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (who opened for Re:Born last month too) & funk/hard rock quartet The Elements!

Both bands are fine choices to open, especially as you don't see either as much live anymore, so don't miss out on them tomorrow! For what it's worth, LopLops Lounge (who have tended to book Stage 2 bands on Rotaryfest weekend) are hosting both K.I.C.K. tonight and Jack Pine tomorrow, albeit both as opening acts for touring headliners The Road Waves and The Boo Radley Project. As for tomorrow's Re:Born show, this is a 19+ concert with a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more on this metal and punk attack tomorrow night, and here's Re:Born live!

With weekend concert previews finally in the rear view mirror, we'll close today's post with some long overdue updates on the second annual Soo's Got Talent competition, so what's new to report here? Well, the audition dates are now public, as prospective competitors can audition to make the cut for the live shows over the weekends of August 23rd-24th & September 6th-7th. Though the event proper will take place at The Verdi Hall on Queen Street West (due to The Tech's closure), auditions will surprisingly take place at Wacky Wings at 688 Great Northern Road, with donations to the ARCH Hospice encouraged. I assume these are publically attendable (starting at 6:00 PM on Fridays and 4:00 PM on Saturdays), but of course, we can't confirm the lineups. If a performer (musician or otherwise) is selected to go to the live elimination shows, you'll next see them at The Verdi Hall on September 13th, with two more rounds following in the next two weeks, before the finals take place on October 11th.

For reference, singer Daniella Brewer won last year, Tym Morrison made it past the first round, and any sort of entertainment performer will be allowed to audition (magicians, comedians, dancers, you name it.) That said, will we see any metal, hard rock, or punk acts this year? At least one, maybe, as Chase Wigmore expressed interest in auditioning back in April by posting this video onto The Soo's Got Talent Facebook page (apologies for the delay in this making the site.) While he called the video his audition, I assume he'd still have to show up at Wacky's, but the page administrator did enjoy his performance! The monochrome, filtered video features Chase playing an acoustic yet intense alt-folk number that makes good use of his aggressive, passionate vocals and stage presence, and fans of his will want to give it a look below, whether or not we see him at The Verdi Hall this fall!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Jock Tears & Stiffler's Mom), "Trading Faces" Split Details, And The Loud & Proud Preview!!

I am back home from a trip visiting family, and while I wasn't expecting to have a second post on the SMS today, I came home to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know on those, as well as one more new show, an upcoming split's content and release details, and a preview for one more shows this weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom will return to The Esquire Club for headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on the band's Facebook page this morning, and I was on the road back to the Soo for much of the afternoon. After taking a nearly two month break from public concerts, these will be Greg, Mike, and Jon's first advertised shows since their Rotaryfest Stage 1 sets back in July, and first at the Second Line West venue in three months. Despite the very short online notice, this will be another fun weekend of hard rocking cover favourites for fans and Esquire regulars alike, so don't miss Stiffler's Mom's first shows of the fall season TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Expect 10:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits each night. See above for more details, and here's Stiffler's Mom live!



Next up, here's another new show with lots of advance notice, as Vancouver pop punk quartet Jock Tears will make their local concert debut with a headlining date at The Gore Street Cafe on Thursday, October 5th! This gender-equal group meld pop punk with indie and folk rock pretty seamlessly, and they should be a fine fit at the laundromat next month, so keep Jock Tears' short but sweet originals in mind locally next month! The opening act will be local indie/hard rock quartet Bizotic in their first date of the fall season and first Gore Street Cafe stop since July, and they're a solid choice to kick off the evening's action on October 5th, so don't be late for their set! This ALL AGES show is once again a "pay what you can" event, as usual for the landromat, but there is a suggested admission fee of $10 in place. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss the indie-tinged punk and hard rock action next month at The Gore Street Cafe!

Also today, here's new details on the AlgomA/Shit Liver covers split album and joint local concert at The New American Pub on Monday, October 2nd! In terms of "Trading Faces", the whole split saw it's online release as scheduled on Tuesday via both AlgomA's and Shit Liver's Bandcamp pages (each band uploaded the whole thing), and the split is available on both pages via a "name your price" model, so consider paying an amount for their hard work! Of course, cassettes will have a firm cost to be announced, likely on September 17th when the physical release was previously teased, but no later than tour kickoff day on the 22nd. AlgomA's Bandcamp page also confirms the recording dates and studios for each half of the split, each appearing to have been self-recorded at home studios earlier this year, though Shit Liver's version of "Fell Down A Well" sounds like the 2015 version (at least, the first half.) Full tour details can be found at the tour's Facebook event page, whose related links confirm that familiar acts like Buried Out Back and Uncle Ray will join the two local bands on specific dates.

As for the October 2nd date at The New A, what can we now learn about that event? Well, the opening acts will be local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters and extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, who are excellent choices to open the night! The show will start at 9:00 PM flat, and there is a $7 cover charge, not including tapes. Visit that show's Facebook event page for full local details, but buy the "Trading Faces" split at the above links if you can't wait for the tapes, and look for our review of it in the coming weeks!

Finally for today, here's one more concert preview for this weekend, as local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center THIS SUNDAY as musical entertainment for this year's Loud & Proud kick-off event for the Soo's fourth annual Pridefest! The first of six shows in The Din's farewell run of concerts prior to their planned breakup next month,  their set on Sunday is in support of the Sault Pride Community's annual LGBTQ awareness and support festival, and their first of two shows for this year's Pridefest, joining their outdoor family picnic set at the locks in two weeks. Of course, fans may remember seeing the former Mike Haggith & The Din rock the Bushplane Museum in their acid jam days back in 2013, so it's great to see their tighter and more formal sound hit this venue one last time on Sunday, and for a great cause! Their set will be at 2:00 PM, as sandwiched between local performer and singer Tim Murphy's drag show at 1:00 & 3:00 PM, while there will also be children's entertainment and vendors on site.

Events kick off at 12:00 PM on Sunday, and this is a FREE & ALL AGES event, which should be a great way to kick off Pridefest, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details on Loud & Proud, and here's The Din live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of TONIGHT'S Project 421 concert at The Canadian next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Din), Treble Charger Concert Videos, And More!!

With the peak of the summer season now in the rear view mirror, here's our first post of August, and it's full of recent concert videos, assorted updates, and to kick things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month! With all of that said, here's what you should know!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on Sunday, September 10th as a featured musical act during this year's "Loud & Proud" family fun event to kick off the annual Pridefest! Of course, Pridefest is a festival celebrating, raising awareness for, and supporting LGBTQ people, and this family fun event next month will help jump-start everything with children's activities, special guests, local vendors, and more, so visit the official Facebook event page for current details! Fans may recognize the former Mike Haggith & The Din from one of the old Bushplane Musical Madness events in 2013, but that was back in their acid jam days, so keep their return with their current sound in mind during this great community event! Local actor, entertainer, and theatre director Tim Murphy will also perform on September 10th, though it's not clear whether he'll be singing, doing ventriloquism, one of his impersonations, or something else.

This is a FREE & ALL AGES community event, and it has an early run time from 12:00-4:00 PM on September 10th, so feel free to bring the kids! It's great to see The Din sign on to perform at this "Loud and Proud" event and show their pride in the process, so visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details on it and Pridefest, and stay tuned for more from The Din later this week!

Next up, here's the last batch of recent concert videos from Christopher Paci's excellent YouTube channel, as he was on hand for this past Thursday's Treble Charger return show at LopLops Lounge! Chris was hard at work with the camera for the local indie/punk veterans' set, filming eight songs across seven videos, and they include their songs "How She Died", "Brand New Low", "Where Is My Mind", "Drive", "Red", "American Psycho", and as embedded below, two songs from their latest CD "Detox", namely "Hole In Your Head" and "Hundred Million". If you thought there were a lot of fans in camera view for Chris' videos from Mike Mikus' farewell show, then prepare yourself for these, as this was a sold out concert and it easily shows. The camera can be jittery, and you can only really see band members' heads, but the audio's fine, and Treble Charger sounded great in their first public show in two years, so give Chris' videos from Thursday a look above & below, and stay tuned for more!



Chris also filmed opening alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback playing two of their songs, namely their self-titled track and, as embedded below, "Catastrophe", so if you wanted to actually see the guys playing this song on Thursday (unlike in their soundcheck video where the camera fell over), here's your chance! These videos actually have better visuals than Treble Charger's, owing partly due to a smaller crowd on the floor prior to the headliners, though the camera sometimes pans upward a little too much during the performance. Still solid, and quite an event for A.D.S. to kick off, so give their videos a look above and below too!



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

• In some maintenance to our listings of Sault Ontario concert venues, we have moved Cafe Natura, Coch's Corner, The Grand Theater, The Harp Bar & Grill, The Moose Lodge, and The Speak Easy to our inactive venue links, as none has hosted a public hard rock/punk concert in the past year that we know of (open mic nights don't count.) All are still active venues, and hopefully some SMS-coverable shows return to each location down the road!
• Local power pop/hard rock quartet The Noochin' Lanterns have re-emerged in the past month by playing some outdoor pop-up concert sets, including at The Bellevue Park Bandshell on July 22nd (source here) and out at Harmony Beach on July 29th (source here.) Given their intentionally impromptu nature, we haven't been able to cover them here, but if this is a deliberate strategy to draw attention & word of mouth, hopefully it's working to their advantage! No word though on if recent Facebook page teasers involving jamming with guitarist Sarah Jackson mean that she's joined the band full time.
• Downtown bar and country-leaning concert venue Reggie's Place was damaged in a fire in the apartments above the building on Sunday, which you can read more about at this link. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the fire forced evacuation of upstairs residents, and the bar will have to be closed a few days for repairs. The downtown Reggie's is best known to SMS readers as a frequent concert venue for Soundcheck and predecessor band Mourning Wood, though it's not yet known if the fire will impact any Soundcheck gigs there. Keep tabs with local news media for more on the fire!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!