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!

Joni Radford Memorial Concert Previews, Plus More News & Updates!!

Today's SMS post concludes this weekend's concert previews with a massively extended preview of a big memorial show tomorrow night with a very unique angle, but we also have some assorted shorter stories to close things with, with more to come. For now, here's what you should know!

The highly anticipated benefit/memorial punk concert for the late Joni Radford goes down at The Algonquin Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT! Over a month after her passing, and following her lengthy battle with breast cancer, her friends and fans in the local music scene will gather to honour her memory for "Punk Rock Princess - An Evening in the Memory of Joni Radford", with seven local bands joining forces for a celebration she'd surely appreciate. Alongside the music, a slideshow will be showing pictures of her throughout the night, limited sweaters and t-shirts will be on sale, and there will be some form of guest speakers & presentations as well. All concert proceeds (including the $10 tickets/entrance fee) will go to Sault Area Hospital and the St. John’s Ambulance Pet Therapy Program in her name, which are great and fitting causes! Be sure to visit the Facebook event page for all non-musical details. This event is 19+, and as far as I know, admission covers both floors.

Seven bands are scheduled for tomorrow, but in a surprise announcement that only broke publically this week (following scattered personal Facebook hints), the bands will be playing on both floors of The Algonquin Hotel, with 4 bands playing upstairs at The Rockstar Bar and 3 bands playing downstairs at The Algonquin Pub (a.k.a. Spin Nightclub), and the bands will more or less be playing concurrently! That's definitely a unique idea to have a specific multi-level event like this there, and it presents a challenge if you want to see every band, but I will try my best, and thanks to Destroilet's Christian Foisy for his help in the schedule confirmation and timeslots!

Starting our band previews upstairs, the memorial concert will be headlined by online page-less punk quartet The Cover-Up unopposed at 12:00 AM, and might we hear frontman Dustin Jones' "Punk Rock Princess" tribute song to Joni for the occasion? Hardcore punk veterans Destroilet will finally end their 2+ year concert hiatus when they co-headline at The Rockstar Bar half at 11:00 PM, and I'd fully expect their cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" (which Joni guested on in studio) to turn up! Returning co-vocalist Brent Ellis will not be in the lineup. Indie/punk quintet Northwest will deliver their original attack upstairs at 9:00 PM, while the opening band on this floor will be funk/hard rock quartet The Elements. Very solid & punk-heavy lineup at The Rockstar Bar alone, so keep the upstairs entertainment in mind for tomorrow night! I still don't have a public Cover-Up video for a preview, so in lieu of that, here's Destroilet covering "Murderers" live!

Meanwhile, the three bands playing at The Algonquin Pub all have a common thread, namely guitarist Tiffany Stocco, so while she has a long night ahead, at least she can keep her gear on one floor! The closing band on this floor will be punk/metal quintet Jack Spades at 10:30 PM in their first show in 6 months, so they should provide a solid blast for the occasion, and if you're planning to stay downstairs, they'll end in time to see the last two bands upstairs! Local punk trio Stegadeth will co-headline on the bottom floor at 9:30 PM, while Distillers tribute band Coral Fang will play their third public concert set to lead off the night at 8:30 PM (and they're unopposed until The Elements begin at 9:00, so keep that in mind also.) The lineup at The Algonquin Pub is solid as well, so don't bypass either floor tomorrow, and I will see you guys there to help honour Joni the right way! See above for complete details on this huge memorial show, and here's Jack Spades live!



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

• Local death metal veterans The Bear Hunters quietly unveiled the cover art & final track order for their second studio album "The Dead Testament" on their Facebook page on February 17th! The artwork is surprisingly minimalistic, with the band logo and album name on a black textured background, but maybe simple is best? As of the 17th, the design is complete, and "printing shall commence", but when will see this long awaited CD? Keep tabs for updates!
• Dynowaves/ex-Bizotic trumpet player (Francine) Louise Lamothe is looking to join or launch another local band, but in this case, she indicated that she'd love to sing lead and help organize concerts eventually. A genre range wasn't given, but if you're interested in working with Louise, message her at this link or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from yesterday!
• This came to our attention on too short of notice to mention here, but the reunited This Is Your Band On Drugs and the debuting Full-Send (p.k.a. PCxFascist?) quietly dropped out of Tuesday night's Rotopsy-promoted grind/death metal concert at The New American Pub, as per updates on the Facebook event page. Reasons for the withdrawals were not announced, but hopefully nothing bad happened in either camp, and remember that Chase did still play as Awokest. Local rapper Mike "Reeder" Reed-Lecuyer was added to replace one/both acts, and hopefully he added a strong element!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Joni Radford Memorial, Soundcheck, And The Wyld Stallyns!!)

Before we begin this all-LOCAL CONCERT ALERT post (including one on SHORT NOTICE), just a heads up that tomorrow's scheduled Chase Wigmore concert at The Rednecks Saloon has been cancelled, as per the quiet deletion of it's Facebook event page this morning. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but public updates on the show never followed the event's postponement to February 2nd. Very disappointing, especially following the poll that got this show booked, but hopefully we see Chase back out there soon! Now, here's what you should know on all of these new concerts!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this concert was quietly announced on the Sault Music Newsletter's Facebook page on Tuesday (oddly sans a venue calendar for this month), but at least Soundcheck publically acknowledged the show afterward via their own Facebook event page. Preceding their Soolebrity Showcase Saturday gig at The Machine Shop tomorrow night, TONIGHT'S Water Tower Pub show will be Soundcheck's first advertised stop there in four months. If you've missed Terry, Travis, Paul, and Glen at this popular Great Northern Road venue this winter, why not check out their hard rocking covers TONIGHT? This 19+ show has a 9:30 PM start time and no announced cover charge. See the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, local acoustic hard rock trio The Wyld Stallyns will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only on Saturday, February 9th (a.k.a. one week from tomorrow!) Booked through Maxx Entertainment's recent working relationship with the venue, this is advertised as being the band's "debut at The Rockstar Bar", but that's not exactly true. Rob & Jesse played there in February and March of last year (video proof of the former here) before they settled on their permanent name and added Christina Speers on lead vocals, so you could still say this is the first full Wyld Stallyns show there post-name & lineup finalization. In any event, this should be a prime opportunity for fans to check out their hard rocking and often varied selection of covers, with crowd participation presumably likely! Presumably a one nighter due to Friday karaoke, a 10:00 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ show, which has no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Finally, a special tribute concert for the late Joni Radford will take place at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, March 2nd! Entitled "Punk Rock Princess - An Evening in Memory of Joni Radford", the event will  honour Joni's life, courage, and friendship with a night full of local punk music, with all proceeds going to both Sault Area Hospital and the St. John’s Ambulance Pet Therapy Program in her name. Alongside the bands, there will be a picture slideshow on display, tribute t-shirts and sweaters will be on sale, and there will be some level of guest speakers and presentations as well. Visit the Facebook event page for full details on the non-musical elements next month! A performance order has not yet been finalized, but 7 mostly punk bands will take the stage in Joni's memory on March 2nd, all but one in their first publically announced concert of 2019, so who can you see then? In terms of direct Joni links, how does the first live appearance in over 2 years from hardcore punk sextet Destroilet sound?

We last saw Destroilet at the first Guy Thiffault tribute show in December 2016, even longer still with returning co-vocalist Brenton Ellis, and it's great to see them back "later rather than sooner" at last! I'd fully expect Destroilet to break out their cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" next month, which Joni sang backing vocals on in studio. Fans will also see online page-less quartet The Cover-Up (not The Cover-Ups) next month, who may break out frontman Dustin Jones' tribute song "Punk Rock Princess" for good measure, so keep watch for that! Punk trio Stegadeth (the only returning band from Joni's benefit concert last year) will also hit the stage, as will two of Tiffany & Johnny's other bands, namely punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (in their first show in 6 months) and their new Distillers tribute quartet Coral Fang. The lineup will be rounded out by indie-punk quintet Northwest and funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who have been known to cover ska-punk live.

Stellar lineup of some of the best in recent local punk music, so genre fans won't want to miss this lineup next month! Co-presented by Kat Foisy and Case's Music's Carrie Suriano, the Punk Rock Princess tribute show has a $10 entry fee (ticket details forthcoming), a 19+ age limit, and a firm 8:30 PM start time. Whether you knew her as an avid punk concertgoer, bartender, or close friend, before or after her cancer battle, this will be a must-attend event for anyone who knew Joni and was impacted by her loss. I know she'll be there in spirit, so visit the above links for current details on this memorial concert next month, and stay tuned for more news soon. Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & This Weekend's Hard Rock Concert Previews!!

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!

New Videos And More Recent News & Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to send our deepest condolences out to the family and friends of Joni Radford, who passed away early yesterday at the age of 30, after a six year battle with breast cancer. A known punk fan, SMS readers may recognize Joni from her guest backing vocal appearance with local hardcore punk veterans Destroilet on their cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" (as seen on 2015's "Fed Up!" split CD), while this sad news comes just over a year after a benefit concert in her name at The Canadian Nightclub, where Redundant, A Dire Setback, and Stegadeth took the stage to help raise money for medical expenses. I didn't know Joni well, but her courage, determination, and positivity throughout her illness was wonderful to see, especially in light of family health issues I've experienced in recent years, and I'm sure she fought this horrible disease as long as she could. Our best goes out to all that knew her, and stay tuned to local news media for information on services when appropriate. R.I.P. Joni!

Now, today's post is otherwise a catch-up one, with just some assorted recent stories to touch on, starting with a new video from local/Thompson, Manitoba hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith, as shared to his Facebook page yesterday! Shot in "selfie mode", Mike made this video to acknowledge milestones and his already highly eventful month of January 2019, which included his debut music video, his first FM radio appearance, and nearing 500 likes on Facebook, and he encouraged viewers to follow along on social media for what he hopes will be a big year. Nice video that outlines his recent successes, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned at the end for outtakes!



Next up, here's a couple of long overdue hard rock cover videos posted onto local classic rock cover band Obsession's YouTube channel two years ago! We cover this veteran band (featuring singer Valerie Powley, bassist Jim Michaud, and drummer Steve Porco) on the SMS when footage of them tackling heavier songs turned up, and I do apologize for these having to wait so long for coverage on here. Back in January 2017 at The Water Tower Pub, the band made their first concert appearance with ex-That's Chester guitarist Gabe Tessaro, and six videos were posted from that show, including Nick Gilder, Bob Seger, Janis Joplin, and Elle King covers. The other two are heavier, including renditions of Heart's "Barracuda" and, as embedded below, Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz". Audio can be a little muffled, but Obsession sound lively and proficient on these covers, and Valerie's singing is as strong and passionate as ever! Give these and more a look above and below!



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 event name:

• The Fishbowl Festival will indeed return for a fourth year next month, as per their new Facebook page! The Pisces-timed arts & concert festival was a staple event at the now-closed Gore Street Cafe from 2016-2018, and while a host venue hasn't been confirmed for this year, remember that organizer Nicole Dyble and her promotion company Dryer Fire have been highly active since then at the MS Norgoma museum ship. Will we see hard rock or punk concerts back between February 20th & March 20th after being absent last year? Stay tuned for updates, and the festival is now linked with other festivals on the SMS!
• Local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades' 2014 debut EP "The First" was belatedly reviewed by Jon Dunn of the blog Outlaw Review last week, where he positively commented on it's "well placed harmonies with a fast paced driving sound", and he recommended it for people "with eclectic tastes looking for something new but familiar." It's great to see Jack Spades' first album still making fans abroad five years later, so read the whole review at this link!
• After taking a public hiatus from music updates since June 2018, local hard rock solo artist Mike McCleary announced on his Facebook page this month that he is writing and recording again, and apparently already has another EP ready, possibly named "Propaganda Model." He also shared two new songs from his Soundcloud page, namely "The Hand That Feeds" & "Opposite Opus", which both explore heavier metal territory than we've seen from Mike. These sound promising and have a nice fast pace with brutal riffs, but will these be on said EP, and how far along is it? Stay tuned for updates at the above links!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Joni Radford Benefit) & Infathom Concert Videos!!

After our first off day of the new year, we're back with a new post divided between the Twin Saults for two distinct topics: New concert videos from a major recent show, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a big benefit fundraiser next week, so here's what you should know!

The performer lineup has been announced for the Joni Radford benefit concert at The Canadian Nightclub on Saturday, January 13th (exactly one week from today!), and it's an all-punk roster for the cause, as local punk quartet Redundant and trios A Dire Setback and Stegadeth will join forces next week! The lineup was announced by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page on Wednesday, and while he's not promoting this event, he has publically been helping regarding the concert aspect of it. Of course, this event is to support local resident and prior cancer survivor Joni Radford through the return of her breast cancer, with all proceeds going to her and her family while she's off work dealing with this unfortunate re-diagnosis. To that end, the benefit will also feature raffle and 50/50 draws, a silent auction, a door prize, a toonie toss, pizza, and the Northern Axperts cage will also be open for interested patrons.

In terms of the bands, this will be all three's first concert set of 2018, with Redundant notably debuting new second guitarist Yannick Casavant in their first live appearance in well over a year (not counting Justin's solo set at Rock 4 Autism in May), while this will be just the second live appearance of both A Dire Setback and Stegadeth's current lineups. Solid picks all around, and hopefully they rock at their best to help Joni out next week! Presumably a 19+ event with doors opening at 7:00 PM, the ticket will cost are $25, but remember that this is a benefit show towards Joni's cancer battle. Tickets are available from organizers listed on the Facebook event page, as well as at The Upper Deck Bar & Grill above The Canadian, and delivery is available if you can't get out there in these temperatures. And just in case, don't let the parking lot renovations at The Canadian scare you off, the venue is still open and things are coming along there!

I don't know Joni well, but everything I've heard of her has been very positive and encouraging to her character and personality, and if she can beat cancer once, I'm sure she can do it again! Kudos to everyone for helping her out at this time of need, stay tuned for more details on this event next week, and visit the above links for full current information!

We'll close this post with new videos from the Theory of a Deadman concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino last week, though these are not of the headliners. Instead, these are from Munising hard rock quartet Infathom's opening set, so what else is publically available beyond Chris Paci's videos? Well, how does their whole set sound? Filmed by their manager Michael Cole and uploaded to his YouTube channel on New Year's Eve, this marks his first upload there since last year's Alter Bridge concert, and first of Infathom since filming their outdoor Savoy Bar show in the Soo back in July 2014. In this half hour set, Infathom can be seen below playing their original (I think) "Nothing New", Guns 'N Roses' "Civil War", Buckcherry's "Lit Up", Candlebox's "Far Behind", The Beatles' "Come Together" (though it seems to take more from Godsmack's cover), and their originals "Live Tonight" and "Blissful Insanity".

Great angle of the band from the front corner of the stage, Infathom sound good, and I'd love to hear more original songs from them, but they do have a few songs that Dillion's vocal range isn't as suited for (plus, "Lit Up" was missing a lot of the first verse), and the camera's audio clarity isn't always pristine. Also, while the security crew-member is continually in camera range, I can't fault him, as he's just doing his job regardless of who may or may not be filming near him. Give this full set video of Infathom in Sault Ste. Marie a look below, and go straight to specific songs above!



Finally, here's one more Infathom video from the Soo Kewadin branch, this time courtesy of their own Facebook page very shortly after their set wrapped last week, and it's of their closer "Blissful Insanity"! Though the camera angle is very similar to Michael's full-set video, they are definitely from different filmers, as the video below wasn't on a stationary angle and does pan around and zoom a bit. Good audio and video quality, and the filmer does make more of an effort to not film the security, so this is also worth watching below, and hopefully Infathom come back east soon!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!