A New Addition To Our Band Links, Molten Imp Updates, And New Videos!!

After our long write-up on Thursdsay's LSSU battle, let's dive back into Sault Ontario to look at recent updates from bands north of the border, including new concert videos, the latest from a metal solo project, and leading off, a newer acoustic band. Here's what you should know!

We have a new local classic/hard rock band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are Dodge This, the new acoustic band from former Phatstick frontman Jason Taillefer and former Havadder/Band Camp Rejects guitarist Jamie July! Jamie's brother Jeff also appears at some gigs playing percussion on a cajon. An extension of Jason's return to local acoustic concerts in 2024 (most notably at The Dive Gastro Pub), the Dodge This name first crossed my radar in late August when they co-headlined the ARCH Run outside of Jay's Piston Broke Pub, with Jamie launching an official Facebook page for the project in early September, though he & Jason had played shows prior to the ARCH Run without an advertised project name. As well as at The Dive, you may have seen Dodge This at The Water Tower Pub on September 7th and October 5th, as well as at McCauley's Restaurant in Goulais River.

Described on Facebook as "not looking to get rich, just doing what we love", Jamie has posted six videos of Dodge This on their Facebook page, including three from their September date at The Water Tower Pub of them covering The Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy", Collective Soul's "December", and America's "A Horse With No Name". Jeff was present on cajon for this show, and while the covers are sound (if vertically shot), the harsh blue lighting of The Water Tower Pub will impair what you see. It's good mood lighting in person, but not the best for filming videos. The other three come from their gig at McCauley's (sans Jeff), including just Jamie covering Zach Bryan's "Something In The Orange", and two of him and Jay both tackling Chris Cornell songs, namely Soundgarden's "Fell On Black Days" and, as embedded below, Temple Of The Dog's "Hunger Strike". 

While these videos were also filmed vertically, the quality isn't bad, and Jason and Jamie play off of each other well in concert, with Jamie deploying some good melodic singing where needed. Jason can still unleash some impressive heavier vocals too, as heard on the Chris Cornell parts on "Hunger Strike"! If I was running McCauley's though, I'd use the TV monitor behind them to at least display the Dodge This logo for visual effect, though I don't know if they host live music that often. Stay tuned for more from Dodge This when we hear it, and check them out above & below!

Next up, here's the latest from a band we haven't covered on the SMS in way too long, namely local industrial metal solo project Molten Imp! At some point in the past year, project leader/former AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell took down their Facebook page, and as best as I can tell, their primary online presence is via a new Bandcamp page (their old one was taken down too). On the new Bandcamp page, Boyd describes Molten Imp as "the sound that comes from a damp basement near a steel plant" and hopes to "carve out its own niche in the industrial metal/noise scene with a folding pocket knife". Molten Imp's posted content now on Bandcamp include their digital singles collected as the "Bloom Closing"  complilation with bonus tracks in October of last year, as well as their half of the "Pyrolytic Punishment" split with Crucify The Whore. However, Molten Imp did release a new song on Bandcamp in June, so what should you know about that?

Entitled "Diesel On The Steamship I & II" (it is one 9+ minute file), this is an industrial noise instrumental. You have to have an appreciation for noise music to get into this, methinks, but it makes a good use of distorted effects and a mechanical theme across its runtime, and it's good to see that Boyd is still actively making music, if with less of an online presence! Check out more music from Molten Imp above!

Finally, here's a new video from last night's Blood Opera-headlined Steel City Nerdcon afterparty at Soo Blaster! This comes from 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook page, with Mike filming the action from the soundboard. The 40 seconds long clip sees the Toronto "zombie glam/dead metal" band playing their song "Brundlefly", inspired by David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly. Solid turnout (if with very blue lighting) at Soo Blaster, though at this point in the set, their full horror movie/theatrical aesthetic wasn't on display beyond their punk-influenced stage attire. Fun for what we hear, so check it out below, and hopefully more videos surface!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard, Generations, Soundcheck, And Tym Morrison) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

To cap off another month at the SMS, we have our first weekend concert previews for March 2024 on this Leap Day, mostly comprised of SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! A new video is also tucked in, but due to the amount of shows this weekend, I'm holding our previews of the Oz concerts in Sault Michigan for tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know to bring March in like a lion!

Joining his previously announced gig at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY, local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will return to Tazzi's Bar & Restaurant TOMORROW NIGHT as well! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook event page on Monday. For a second straight week, Tym will be playing the same two venues on identical days of the week, so if you'd rather see him downtown at the Queen Street East nightclub or in the west end at the Second Line West mainstay, you know where to be TOMORROW and/or Saturday! Note that his show at Misty's Fifties is technically the next one in his bi-weekly arrangement there, though they did book him last Saturday in what was originally supposed to be an off week. These shows are both 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges, and while TOMORROW'S return to Tazzi's is at 8:00 PM, his Misty's shows are always 4:00 PM matinees. Click here and see above for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW NIGHT for their second annual 1980s-themed party! Again, apologies for the short notice, we first heard about this show via Jay's Facebook page this past Saturday. As we saw earlier this year with the return of a Hawaiian party (also featuring Soundcheck), Jay's is no stranger to booking special themed concerts during the winter, so hopefully there's sizeable crowd TOMORROW! For the occasion, 1980s-themed costumes are encouraged (there will be a costume contest), and one assumes that Soundcheck will have sets full of covers leaning towards songs from that decade, so don't miss out on all of the '80s action! Singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver will be back TOMORROW after missing their Esquire Club gig on the 17th while on vacation, and Soundcheck (minus Cameron) are hosting the Thursday jam night tonight as usual.

However, Soundcheck are not playing at Jay's on Saturday night, though drummer Glen Thomas will still be performing there with his other active live band, classic country cover band Out & Out Country. If you're curious, Jay's is trying a western themed night on Saturday like the '80s party. Soundcheck are on at 9:30 PM TOMORROW, there's no announced cover charge, and it is a 19+ event. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Also this weekend, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to the stage with shows TOMORROW NIGHT at The Water Tower Pub and SATURDAY NIGHT at Shooters Downstairs Lounge! Apologies again for the short notice, drummer Tony Santoro quietly announced both on the band's Facebook group on February 11th when thanking everyone for seeing them at Jay's that weekend. Generations have been playing very sporadically this winter, so whether you're more inclined to see them TOMORROW centrally or SATURDAY downtown, you have options to see Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre back on stage with their old school rock cover attack! The split bookings are due to The Water Tower Pub traditionally hosting different nightly acts (I haven't heard who's playing there on Saturday) and Shooters now hosting DJ nights on Fridays. Expect an 8:00 PM start time TOMORROW NIGHT and 9:30 PM on SATURDAY NIGHT.

Both shows are 19+ events with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video of Generations live at Jay's on February 9th! Filmed/uploaded by Tony Santoro's wife Dawn for the band's Facebook group, it features Generations covering the Janis Joplin version of Roger Miller's "Me & Bobby McGee", and given Valerie's vocal abilities and Janis Joplin fandom, this is a 100% natural cover choice! Unfortunately, it was shot vertically (which also highlights how quiet the floor was at this point in the night), but it is solidly performed overall, so check it out for yourself below!

Finally for today, here's previews of shows that had advance notice that I was able to catch, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Relatively rare stops at the Second Line West nightclub for Greg, Alex, and Warren, these are Bone Yard's only scheduled concerts at The Esquire Club in the first half of 2024, having last played there over the New Year's weekend. Hopefully this weekend's shows get another strong turnout for their classic and southern hard rock cover slate, so don't miss out on all of the action, possibly with merchandise and their shot too? While we're on the subject, the band confirmed in a comment on their Facebook page's post from this past Sunday that they will be back at The Water Tower Pub on Friday, April 5th, so if you've missed them there, keep that show in mind as well! It will likely be unplugged as usual for that venue.

We also await a likely schedule posting for the rest of March on Bone Yard's end, so stay tuned for word on their next dates. This weekend's Esquire Club shows have 9:30 PM start times, the likely "uncorked" show at The Water Tower Pub next month will be at 8:00 PM, and expect 19+ age limits and no cover charges across the board. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard live!

That's all for today, but look for our Oz previews and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & Sault Ontario Hard Rock Weekend Concert Previews!!

For the last concert weekend of February 2024, we again have too many concerts for one post, so I'm bumping Sault Michigan/E.U.P. concerts to tomorrow's post, as the ones we currently know about (Saint Asonia/Black Stone Cherry and Tarnished) are both on Saturday. Don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you should know north of the border, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Tazzi's Pub & Restaurant TOMORROW NIGHT, before playing another acoustic matinee concert at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice on both gigs, they were only announced via their respective Facebook event pages linked here and here yesterday. The current live venues du jour for Tym's acoustic solo act, TOMORROW's show at Tazzi's will be his first at the intimate Queen Street East venue since their fancy Valentine's dinner two weeks ago, and his first standard admission gig there of 2024.  Meanwhile, west end fans are already spoiled by Tym's recent announcement of a bi-weekly arrangement at Misty's Fifties, but this was supposed to be an off week in the rotation, so adding an extra show there on SATURDAY will hopefully keep the good vibes rolling for fans of his unplugged hard and classic rock hits!

These presumed 19+ concerts have no announced cover charges, and while TOMORROW'S gig at Tazzi's has an 8:00 PM start time, the SATURDAY matinee at Misty's takes place at 4:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on Tym's busy weekend of acoustic concerts, and here he is live!

Next up, here's some shows that had advance notice, starting with the return of local hard rock trio Sylo to the public concert stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Distraction! After a year and a half's hiatus, this will be the former Raincourt's first live set since their headlining gig at Reggie's Place back in August 2022, though you may have seen frontman Eli Russell since with his solo project. This will also be their first live appearance since enlisting Alder Devries as their new second guitarist (replacing the long since departed Raine Rancourt), as per a quiet update to their Instagram page. I'm not familiar with Alder musically, but he is/was a White Pines Collegiate student (like his new bandmates), he has stage musical experience, and while he has a minor footprint online as a guitarist, much of his posts and media are either taken down or private. Hopefully he fits in well with Sylo tomorrow, and come on down to the East Street venue for a first look!

Local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty will open in their first show of 2024, so be early for their upbeat guitar-less brand of hard hitting originals and covers! This all ages concert has doors opening at 5:00 PM tomorrow, and while admission is "pay what you can" as usual for The Distraction, $5 is suggested. Unless you saw Sylo's couple of mid-2022 gigs post name/lineup change, they'll be a bit of a mystery to many, but they're a talented young group, so definitely consider coming down to The Distraction for all of the festivities tomorrow night, complete with The A.A.'s intensity! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's one of Sylo's original songs from their first run!

Also this weekend, fans can see the aforementioned Raine Rancourt and his current hard rock band HeadFirst in that band's debut appearances at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fresh off of their first Shooters concert this past Saturday, HeadFirst are going west (...young man) to the former Roosevelt Hotel/Reggie's West, where their classic-leaning array of rock covers should find a receptive audience across both nights! They will be back here at the end of March, if you can't make it this weekend or want an encore. As usual for concert at Jay's, both tomorrow's and Saturday's festivities begin at 9:30 PM, while these are both 19+ events, and neither has an announced cover charge. HeadFirst have showcased a strong maturity and diverse setlist, with a fun stage presence from Red to boot, so look for much more of the same from this fast rising band at Jay's this weekend! See above for more details, and here they are live at Shooters this past weekend!

Finally for today's previews, we'll head to The Water Tower Pub, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will return for another unplugged concert on SATURDAY NIGHT! While their new jam session hosting run at Reggie's Place may have broken things up depending on how you view such events, their "uncorked" show at the Great Northern Road nightclub will be Bone Yard's second straight traditional concert in their acoustic format, following their Gateway Casino concert this past Saturday. If you're up for Bone Yard's stripped down brand of southern fried classic & hard rock covers, head to this popular & upscale northern venue on Saturday! As is traditional for The Water Tower Pub, this is a one nighter, as they host different musicians every night, with blues rockers Smokehouse playing there tomorrow instead. Saturday night's action begins at 8:00 PM, there's no cover charge, and you must be 19 or older to attend. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard live and uncorked a few months back!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Sault Michigan concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

More Weekend Concert Previews, A New Battle Of The Bands, And More!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck were slated to play at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tomorrow night (a show that they nor the venue had publically announced before today), but it has been cancelled due to half of the band falling ill, as per drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page. Hopefully everyone gets better soon, it's unusual to hear of Soundcheck cancelling a date, though maybe this explains why they dropped out of jam night at Jay's yesterday? This post otherwise concludes this weekend's concert previews, along with a new event announcement and some assorted updates, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Their second and third concerts of 2024, and first at The Esquire Club since that venue's Halloween party last fall, these will be the the band's first gigs in a run of monthly weekends at the Second Line West locale running through May. If you're up for Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve's hard rocking cover array, you know where to go this weekend! As usual for their Esquire Club stops, expect 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges tonight and tomorrow night, and if you can't make it, Silent 9 will be back here on March 8th & 9th. Don't miss out on Silent 9's concerts this weekend for some fan friendly and often heavy covers, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live at The Esquire Club for Halloween last year!

Next up, we'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews at Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant TOMORROW NIGHT, where local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will topline their special Valentine's Day weekend dinner! While Tym started playing occasional acoustic concerts at the Queen Street East cafe last summer, this is not a standard event, as it's a ticketed deal that you must reserve tickets for to attend, either by phone or in person. Attendees, presumably hoped to be couples given the occasion, will get Italian cuisine for dinner, plus pre-meal cocktails, and while Tazzi's hasn't publically indicated that Tym will be performing, he confirmed the gig via his own Facebook event page. Tym is no stranger to non-traditional gigs and venues, and he definitely has a lot of songs fitting a more romantic persuasion in his setlist, so if you are planning a date, this might be worth a look!

This presumably 19+ event has a 6:30 PM start time (dinner at 7:00 PM, Tym at 8:00 PM), and while this is a ticketed event, Tazzi's has not announced the price for attendees (given their entree prices, expect to pay at least $40 for a couple). Call Tazzi's or head there to book if you want to attend, see the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Also today, here's a surprise announcement: Jay's Piston Broke Pub is hosting a battle of the bands later this year! While there was one in Sault Michigan in November, this will be the first true battle of the bands in Sault Ontario since the NLFB Meltdown battle at LopLops in 2017, so that gap alone will make this a noteworthy event! The former Roosevelt Hotel did host the one-night Battle For The Blood (won by Winkstinger) back in 2012, but this is planned to be a multi-night battle on consecutive Wednesdays, not unlike the Rockstar Bar and VM Radio battles of the mid-2010s. We don't yet know the dates, scope, format, or prizes yet, let alone if it will have judges or be entirely fan voted, but the plan for the first place winners is for Jay's to match the band entry fees to come up with the top prize. Bands can register for the battle for $50 in person at the Korah Road nightclub, so do so A.S.A.P. just in case!

There are a lot of unknowns yet, not helped by the fact that Jay's only scarcely hosts bands primarily known for original music (granted, it was like that as Reggie's West too), but I am very curious to see how this shakes out, and after seven long years since we last saw an honest-to-goodness battle of the bands in city limits (not counting talent/singing competitions), think of the newer crop of local bands who could theoretically enter! Click here or above for more details on how you can enter!

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:

 

• This can't be embedded here, as it's a "Reel", but local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard shared a "Reel" onto their Facebook page on January 25th of them playing the end of ZZ Top's "La Grange" at Jay's! The date wasn't given, but Bone Yard last played at Jay's over the December 1st weekend. Filmed/uploaded by attendee Marcy Catherine before being shared by the band, it's a fun clip (vertical angle aside) that shows Alex & Warren jamming on the floor with some attendees, so give it a look above, and don't miss them at Reggie's TONIGHT & TOMORROW!
• In another "Reel" that I can't embed here, local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich posted a brief video clip of them playing "Stick Up" at the Lower Town Brewery in Ottawa during their southeastern Ontario tour last month on their Facebook page! The impromptu open mic performance did not feature guitarist Mitch Sirie or bassist Rafael Medina, with former Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch filling in for Mitch (no word on why there were absences or if they extended to their proper concerts last month). Fun rendition that is well applied to unplugged gear, but why is this a "Reel"? It wasn't shot vertically nor cropped to fit, and look at the pillarboxing as a result!
• Algoma University's music program's Facebook page has confirmed that Lake Effect frontman Frank Deresti and Pointless/Fuller drummer David Peredun will serve as the rhythm section for Treble Charger's reunion concert at The Machine Shop on March 7th! As such, they will take over for session bassist Darcy Yates & drummer Ian McKay in those roles. Bill Priddle has played with Frank at numerous gigs, and David is a member of his most recent live bands, so this will be a huge feather in their respective caps! Student bands, presumably all linked to the university, will open the proceedings for this music program fundraiser. Click here to get your tickets for what will be a huge night!
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Tym Morrison, And The Nameless) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

An unusually busy concert weekend greets us to start February 2024, partly thanks to this being the I-500 weekend across, so we'll have to break up this weekend's previews into two posts! As such, we'll look at the previously announced Jackal Blood, Half Past, and Rhythm & Brews shows in our next post, hitting the site tonight or tomorrow morning, so don't worry, they are coming! Now, let's lead off this weekend's previews with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE!

Sault Michigan hard rock quintet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their respective Facebook event pages (linked here & here) on Tuesday, and The Merch has not confirmed the bookings on their Facebook page at press time. Of course, this is the weekend of the International 500 snowmobile race, of which The Merch is taking part in the annual pub crawl tonight, so there may be a busier crowd at the West Spruce Street nightclub for The Nameless' hard rocking cover array TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY NIGHT! As usual for their frequent Merch gigs, expect 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and click here for an unembeddable full concert video of theirs from 2022!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Tuesday, with the band not confirming them on theirs to match as of this writing. These will be Soundcheck's first concerts at Reggie's of 2024, last playing there for their New Year's Eve party, and they should prove to be another solid opportunity to enjoy Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen's classic and hard rock covers in a familiar downtown locale, so don't miss out TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Like in their prior stops at Reggie's, this weekend's shows have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges. For more details, visit the above links, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live in concert last year!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Misty's Fifties for an acoustic matinee concert on SATURDAY, after previously playing there this past Saturday! I profusely apologize for missing last week's show, and for the short notice on THIS SATURDAY's, as I only noticed the Facebook event page covering both dates earlier this week. Misty's Fifties is still a relatively unfamiliar venue for us (Tym only just debuted his solo act there in December), but Tym is no stranger to playing locales that otherwise don't typically host hard rock acts, and this isn't all for him in terms of scheduled dates! If his unplugged classic and hard rock covers fit your idea of Valentine's Day entertainment, then he has two shows to match this month, starting with his first show at Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant of the year on Saturday, February 10th when he serves as musical entertainment for their Valentine's dinner!

Tym isn't promoted on Tazzi's Facebook page as being involved, but this is a special ticketed event that you have to call/message them for details on, so do so above if this seems like your kind of night out! Meanwhile, Tym will be back at Misty's Fifties for a special mid-week gig on Valentine's Day proper (Wednesday, February 14th), so keep that in mind for musical and/or romantic ideas as well! The Misty's gigs (last week's included, apologies again) are all 19+ affairs with no cover and start at 4:00 PM on SATURDAY and 5:00 PM on the 14th, while the Tazzi's show on the 10th is at 8:00 PM. Visit the above links for more on Tym's February slate, and here he is live!

Finally for today's previews, we'll stay in the west end for a rare multi-band concert at The Esquire Club, as metal trio The BAG and punk trio Vanity First will join forces for the second time in a week TOMORROW NIGHT! Fans may recall seeing the two bands together at The Distraction this past Saturday, but here, The BAG and Vanity will take their talents to this Second Line West staple, which I believe will be a first for Vanity... First (The BAG have played here multiple times). Whether this show is a plus for location, timing, and/or just an encore chance to see these two rising young bands, you know where to go tomorrow to see them in action again, with originals and covers in tow for both! This is a one nighter, and if there's live music at The Esquire Club on Saturday, then I haven't seen any public advertising on who's playing that night (also, venue advertising only lists The BAG, but Vanity First are 100% opening).

A 9:30 PM start time is in effect for this 19+ concert, which has no advertised cover charge. Hopefully this show goes well and encourages The Esquire Club to bring in more original bands, let alone multi-band events, so visit the above links for more details, and here's The BAG live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

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

Another concert weekend is upon us (it's already started if you count tonight's battle of the bands in Sault Michigan that we previewed yesterday), and luckily, things are busier on the hard rock side of things than they were last week! So much so that there's too many concerts for one post, so Saturday's Apocalypse Afterparty-headlined show at Soo Blaster will instead be previewed in our next post hitting the site tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know to start off the weekend, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant on Queen Street East for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page in the past week, with the venue first plugging it on their Facebook page on Monday. This will be Tym's first publically advertised concert since the breakup of The Nostalgic Band in September, and since the end of his seasonal run at The Trading Post earlier that same month, while he last played an announced gig at Tazzi's back in June. It's good to see Tym back out there in his acoustic element, and if his past Tazzi's concerts are anything to go by, hopefully he has a good turnout for his unplugged classic and hard rock hits TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be an 8:00 PM affair with no cover and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's a new video of Tym live!

Live-streamed by the venue's Facebook page from Tym's show at Tazzi's on April 21st, this unlabelled video has Tym covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive". Strong (if abbreviated) cover that suits an unplugged setting nicely, and Tym sings it better than Jon himself on the last Bon Jovi tour! Yes, the video is vertical, but that's fine for a solo performer like this. Give it a look below, and don't miss Tym back here TOMORROW!

Next up, here's some shows that did have advance notice, starting with newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! The last show announced by the group back in this Facebook calendar picture back in August (though more dates are coming), this will be their first stop at the Dennis Street nightclub in almost two months. Hopefully Silent 9 deliver a fun night of classic, hard, and pop rock covers for fans downtown tomorrow! Re: their website's concert calendar, 2023 ends with apparent private gigs that don't have listed addresses, but we'll let you know if any end up being public/ticketed events. A one-nighter due to Shooters hosting DJs on most Saturdays this fall, tomorrow's show has a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new live concert video!

The second video uploaded from Silent 9's Halloween party at The Esquire Club last month, this was belatedly uploaded to their Facebook page on Saturday, and features the band covering Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". As usual for their official video postings, it's abbreviated (44 seconds long), but it's a good quality recording, and horizontally shot for good measure, with "Wednesday" and crew delivering a solid rendition of this 2000s rock hit! Give it a watch below, and look for more from  at Shooters tonight!

Also this weekend, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Bone Yard do not frequently play at this Second Line West staple, but this weekend's shows will see them replacing the previously advertised RPM (source here) as the next live band there. While these will be standard plugged in gigs for Bone Yard, they are teasing having new t-shirts for sale, as well as new official coffee mugs that were plugged via this Facebook video featuring the guys (sans guitarist Alex D'Ettore) waking up and enjoying a cup of coffee as only they can. Alex kinda also participated in the video but I won't spoil how they include him. Amusing promotion, and hopefully they move some mugs this weekend! These 9:30 PM concerts have 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's some new live videos from Bone Yard too!

A band representative live-streamed four videos from their acoustic gig at The Water Tower Pub on November 4th onto their Facebook page, where you can see Greg, Alex, and Warren covering The Charlie Daniels Band's "Long Haired Country Boy" (with Alex on vocals), Kid Rock's "All Summer Long", an instrumental section of what I believe is Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", and as embedded below, a 9+ minute video featuring Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" & Cinderella's "Shelter Me". The vertical camera angle is not ideal here, but they panned and zoomed where needed, and The Bearded Lounge Bone Yard sound good on these varied covers, so check them out for yourselves above & below!

We'll close this preview post by heading to Sault Michigan, where Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in our coverage range (an hour's drive from Sault Ste. Marie) when they rocked the St. Ignace Kewadin in September, these will be Jamie & Rikk's first shows in the Soo since April, after they were erroneously listed for gigs at The Rapids Lounge last month on the venue's end. This hard-touring two man band should have a hard hitting attack of covers in store for Eastern U.P. fans this weekend, so don't miss out on all of the action tomorrow and/or Saturday! These shows have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Fyrbird live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the Apocalypse Afterparty preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck, Tym Morrison, And Nostalgia), And Weekend Concert Previews!!

A new month is upon us, so let's kick things off with some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and weekend concert previews, so here's what you should know on this warm June evening!

Nostalgia frontman Tym Morrison will bring his unplugged classic/hard rock show back to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant on Queen Street east for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via his Facebook event page this past Friday. After a month+ break from solo gigs, Tym will revert to his recent standby of solo covers with lots of multi-tracked effects and pedals to get a bigger sound out of everything, and after things went well at his spring gigs at Tazzi's, hopefully fans get more of the same hard rocking entertainment from him there TOMORROW! As usual for his gigs at Tazzi's (just seconds from Reggie's), expect an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on TOMORROW'S concert, and here's Tym live!

Next up, Tym's aforementioned new hard rock cover trio Nostalgia will play their second and third concerts when they return to Reggie's Place on Friday, June 9th & Saturday, June 10th! After a successful debut gig there last Friday, this new band (featuring Tym, Browbeat/Caveman Morrison alum Dutch Vanderploeg on bass, and ex-Nikkfitt drummer Chet Dziergas) should provide fans with another fun night or two of classic-leaning hard rock and metal hits next weekend! Note that Nostalgia have yet to visibly make an online page separate from Tym's solo Facebook group, and they have not posted media from their first show yet either. Expect 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits at Reggie's next weekend. Visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Also, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for an apparent one-nighter on Friday, June 16th! The band has yet to confirm this gig publically, but it was announced by the venue with this Facebook event page, one of many that they put up this week for concerts this month (Bone Yard already confirmed their shows the following week there). This will be Soundcheck's first show at the Dennis Street nightclub since early last month, and it should be a solid chance to fans to check out their hard and classic rock covers with the summer season in full swing! Again, this appears to be a one-night-only gig, as Shooters' wave of June event pages have been for each individual night without doubling up two shows in one event page, and there is none for Saturday the 17th, not even for a different band. We'll let you know if that omission was in error and/or if another band is confirmed!

As usual for their Shooters stops, you can see Terry, Cameron, Jim, and Glen on Friday the 16th at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and if you're going to miss them at jam night at Jay's tonight, they will have fitting replacements!

Finally, this weekend's only announced hard rock concerts that I'm aware of (Tym Morrison aside) come at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard will hit the stage for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Well, "one night only" in the sense of a traditional concert, but they will be at Jay's tonight subbing in for Soundcheck for the the first of three times this summer during Jay's Thursday jam nights! If Bone Yard are scheduled this summer at the former Reggie's West, then they're leading the jam night charge in those weeks, so keep that in mind if you're into such events! Again, we don't cover jam nights as "concerts" for our purposes due to their unpredictability by design. Bone Yard have been busy in the studio since their last gigs at Shooters three weeks ago, so look for some solid hard rocking tunes from Greg, Alex, and Warren tomorrow night as they kick off their summer slate!

A one nighter due to a private booking elsewhere on Saturday night (new local pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue will be playing at Jay's on Saturday instead), tomorrow's standard concert from Bone Yard will have a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more on Bone Yard's next concert (and jam night duties), and here they are live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for either this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, or news on new album releases! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison), New Concert Videos, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this weekend's very quiet hard rock concert previews, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck returned to The Esquire Club for a show last night. The band only announced this concert via their Facebook page at 3:08 PM yesterday (less than 7 hours before showtime), and The Esquire Club's Facebook page never confirmed the show period. If Soundcheck played there on Friday night, no one announced it that I have found. Be advised that bassist Jim Michaud's old band Obsession had planned to play at Shooters this weekend before they broke up in February, so last night's Esquire Club booking was not inherited from that band. If you're following the former Obsession's announced 2023 concert calendar, then the next of those dates that Jim could theoretically take over with Soundcheck would be April 21st & 22nd at The Esquire Club.

In any event, last night's apparent Soundcheck one-nighter was held once the venue got the snow from yesterday's storm dealt with (they were closed until 6:00 PM), and it coincided with singer/guitarist Terry Eaton's birthday. Happy belated birthday, of course! I profusely apologize for missing this show on the SMS, but the late notice combined with a quiet concert weekend and the storm didn't have me thinking anything would pop up, let alone with time to make up a post. Hopefully it was a blast in spite of Mother Nature, and stay tuned for previews of Soundcheck's next late notice shows this weekend later in the week!

Now, today's post otherwise features a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with ample notice for later this month, plus some new concert videos, and let's start with that new show, as local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant at 478 Queen Street East for one night only on Friday, April 21st! This will be Tym's third show at the restaurant just down the road from Reggie's Place following his St. Patrick's Day weekend gigs there last month, and clearly those went well for Tazzi's to bring him back for another go-around! Tazzi's has primarily focused on acoustic-leaning solo acts on Friday nights since beginning their live music experiment, and hopefully Tym's unplugged classic and hard rock covers go over well as usual there!

Like last month, this show has a 19+ age limit, no cover, and an 8:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more from Tym when it rolls in!

We'll close today with new videos from a pair of major hard rock concerts in each of the Twin Saults, as posted to YouTube last month! YouTube user Brian S has recently been uploading videos from three different concerts that he attended to his channel, including the Skillet/Theory of a Deadman/Saint Asonia show in Mount Pleasant, Michigan last month, but his newest two are from the Pop Evil-headlined show at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on March 17th! The videos are all of the headlining Muskegon hard rock band, and they feature their hits "Deal With The Devil", "Torn To Pieces", and as embedded below, "Footsteps". Alas, all but "Torn To Pieces" were shot vertically, but Brian had a decent angle of the stage, and while not close to it, he zoomed in and made use of his camera's solid visual quality to capture these songs nicely with good lighting!

Audio quality is pretty solid on these too, if a little muffled, but if you're a fan of Pop Evil's modern hard rock singles, you will like how Leigh and crew translate these songs to a live set so seamlessly! Give these a look above and below, and we'll let you know if more Pop Evil videos surface!

Finally, while Brian's Theory of a Deadman videos are primarily from the aforementioned Mount Pleasant show last month, he was in attendance for the Burnaby, B.C. hard rock/post grunge band's headlining date at the Sault Community Theatre Centre in Sault Ontario in February 2020, belatedly uploading this video of their older ballad "All or Nothing", complete with Tyler starting on piano before moving to just vocals and interacting with front row attendees. I'm not a huge Theory (of a Deadman) fan, but Brian got an even better video for angle, position, and quality here, and this performance was definitely well recieved in one of the final major hard rock shows here pre-lockdown, so check it out for yourselves below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Queen: It's A Kinda Magic), The Fishbowl Festival Closing Party Preview, And More!!

After surviving the St. Patrick's Day concert weekend with no hard rock or punk stone left unturned (with one exception addressed below), we're back with a new news post on this Sunday morning, including new live concert videos and a preview of a rare Monday night concert. However, let's lead off with a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this spring!

Almost one year removed from their pandemic-delayed local debut, Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will return to the Sault Community Theatre Centre on Sunday, May 21st during their 2023 Canadian tour! This one seems to have flown under the radar for where I research concerts, as I only learned about it yesterday via physical advertising at Station Mall, but it's great to see Queen: It's A Kinda Magic coming back to the Soo, especially given how well tickets sold for last year's concert despite being postponed twice across two years! Fans of Queen will be in good hands in May via this band's faithful approach to their 1980s stage show and clear talents in replicating Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger's music, so don't miss this one if you're a fan! Tickets for this show run for $72 (adults), $43 (kids 12 and under), and $67 apiece in a group of 6+ adults, though all three pricepoints are $10 higher than last year.

Plenty of tickets are still available from the third row & back in the center section, and in all rows in the left/right sections, and you can buy yours at this link or at the Station Mall's box office, though do act quick as It's A Kinda Magic sold very well last year. If you're a fan of Queen and you do indeed want it all, you should get your money's worth at the former Kiwanis Theatre, so visit the above links for more on all of the action in two months!

Next up, here's our preview of a special Monday night concert TOMORROW, as local party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty will headline the Fishbowl Festival's closing party at 674 Queen Street East wine bar/restaurant Broers Jansen! The first concert we've ever covered at the former Wine Barrel, they'll play host to the final event in the post-pandemic return of the full-scale Fishbowl Festival (ending when it does because of when Pisces ends in the astrological calendar), with Paul and Amanda bringing their eclectic rap rock stylings back for a relatively rare live set. Hopefully their lively brand of originals & covers cap off the Fishbowl Festival right! Support will come via folk rock mainstay Brian Tremblay (no sign of The Sinister Hearts) and online page-less dark synth pop solo artist OwenMK. This 19+ concert has a 6:30 PM start time with Brian playing at 7:30 & The Apocalypse Afterparty headlining at 8:30 PM.

Tickets run for $10 (on a limited basis, likely due to the size of Broers Jansen), so if you don't want to take a chance on paying at the door, click here to order yours in advance. Broers Jansen will also be offering snacks & drinks for purchase if you are so inclined. This should be a fun way to cap off the Fishbowl Festival, especially after the long pandemic road to get here, so kudos to Nicole and everyone else involved with its return, and least for a Monday nighter, it'll end early if you have work or school on Tuesday morning! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's The Apocalypse Afterparty live!

We'll close with some videos from this past weekend (none from Pop Evil yet, surprisingly), but we'll lead off there with an apology for a missed concert in this past weekend's concert previews, as local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison actually played last night at Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant as well as Friday night. This was never announced by the venue's Facebook page, but Tym revealed on his personal Facebook page that they asked him back for a second straight night, so clearly the Friday gig went well! Alas, if you didn't see his personal posting (or possible physical advertising at Tazzi's), this will have flown under the radar, but apologies again, I'd have covered it had I known! As for that video, Tazzi's filmed Tym at his publically advertised show on St. Patrick's Day for Facebook, where you can see him playing 85 seconds worth of a familiar instrumental (alas, I'm not good with naming songs like this).

Usually, videos from Tym's shows that surface publically involve vocals, so this is an interesting change of pace, and it lets you get more of a look at his guitar skill and the extra production and effects that he puts into his live show so it's not just an vocal/acoustic guitar performance. Yes, the video is vertical, but as it's of one guy, it's not so bad, and you get to see how Tazzi's looks as a venue as such. Check it out below, and apologies again for missing his show there last night! 

Finally, the other new video is also from a venue's Facebook page of a concert this weekend, specifically of local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last night, and remember how I said that I'm not good at identifying many instrumentals? Yeah, this is another case of that! It's good to see the band back at full strength after their three week break, and the 20 second clip sounds nice while it lasts, but the vertical camera angle does it no favours, especially from the filmer's vantage point with the dreaded post on the old Rosie/Reggie's West stage getting in Greg's way. Still neat to see more footage, so check it out below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Handsome Sandwich And Tym Morrison) & The Leash Concert Preview!!

As promised, we're wrapping up this weekend's hard rock concert previews in this post (barring anything on super late notice), but leading off are a couple of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at two relatively unfamiliar venues as the SMS goes, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the live stage on Friday, March 17th when he debuts at... Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant?! If you're unfamiliar, Tazzi's is located at 478 Queen Street East (just down the road from Reggie's Place) and it's by no means new to the Soo, having been open since at least 2008, but they've only really been getting into live music bookings since last summer. They typically bring in acoustic country and classic rock solo acts, and often film them for their Facebook page, so keep that in mind! Tym appears to be the latest to give Tazzi's a whirl, and will be doing so on St. Patrick's Day, but I have no idea if they go all out for that holiday or not there (be advised that Tazzi's has not promoted Tym as playing yet). Concerts at Tazzi's have early 8:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 19+ age limits. Visit Tym's official Facebook event page for more details on this hard rocking debut!

Next up, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's album release party for their debut album "Deconstructed" will take place on Saturday, May 6th (not May 5th) at.... The Loft?! Yes, another new-ish venue for our coverage, as The Loft is the concert venue opened in 2021 on the third floor of the Algoma Conservatory of Music at 75 Huron Street (the former St. Mary's Paper office), and is actually managed by Treble Charger frontman Greig Nori, who also runs the recording studio on the same floor. You can read all about The Loft's specifications, atmosphere, and amenities at this link, and most tantalizingly for casual fans is that The Loft has HD cameras by default and is wired straight to the recording studio if bands want to have concert sets recorded. In fact, Handsome Sandwich confirmed that this set will be "live recorded", so whether audio or video, keep that in mind!

The show proper will be Handsome Sandwich's first of 2023 (unless they announce anything beforehand), and they plan to perform both the entire "Deconstructed" album alongside new songs not on the album that night. Indie rock quartet Man Feelings will open in their own first concert of the year, and while not as heavy as the Sandwich can get, hopefully the guys deliver their entertaining originals with zest to kick off the evening! No word on if their set is getting recorded/filmed too or not. Tickets will run $25 for this show (if physical CDs are being sold, I don't know what they will cost individually), and there will be a cash bar on site. You can buy yours at this link, but be advised that The Loft advertises a capacity of 180 people for concerts, so get yours A.S.A.P. just in case! A 7:00 PM start time is advertised, and there is no stated age limit. Colour me impressed by the scale and setting for the release party!

I had known about what Greig and everyone at the Conservatory was doing for a couple of years, but concerts at The Loft so far have more leaned more towards what you'd see at LopLops or on CBC Music (certainly not a criticism), hence why it took us this long to mention it in any detail. Given Handsome Sandwich's existing ties with Treble Charger's Bill Priddle (who produced the album), that can't have hurt for connecting the right dots! The long wait for the album release continues (remember, they had May 6th announced as the date last fall), so definitely visit the above links for more details on this show and to buy your tickets, as it will be quite a concert from the setting and atmosphere alone!

Finally for today, here's that final concert preview for this weekend, as Hamilton-based Pearl Jam tribute band Leash will hit Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT in their first ever local appearance! The first of two touring hard rock tribute bands scheduled at Soo Blaster in the spring months (joining Kiss tribute Destroyer next month), Leash deliver a very proficient brand of Pearl Jam's distinct grunge & alternative classics, and while the vocals aren't a 100% match, genre fans should get their money's worth tomorrow! In a late confirmation on Monday, local punk trio Vanity First will serve as local openers tomorrow in their first announced concert set of 2023, and first set at Soo Blaster since opening for Gutter Creek in September. Vanity First aren't a perfect genre match, but they weren't for Gutter Creek either, and this should give them a solid audience to deliver their up-tempo originals and covers to once again, so don't be late!

A 19+ concert as you may expect, tomorrow's festivities have doors opening at 7:00 PM, and tickets run for $25 in advance at this link or $30 at the door (a $320 VIP table package is also on sale at the online ticket link). If you like seeing talented touring tribute bands in the Soo, and want to see a different range of them compared to what usually stops in town, coming out to see Leash would definitely be a good idea, so come enjoy Seattle by way of Hamilton tomorrow night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Leash playing multiple songs live!

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