LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Silent Nine & Greg Simpson), The Crazy Babies Concert Preview, And More!!

Possibly due to the long weekend ahead, this weekend's hard rock concert previews are pretty quiet, but we still have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to touch on, so here's what you should know for this weekend as well as a new live-streamed video from a local band's recent gig on the road!

Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg Simpson will return to the stage when he debuts at The Dive Gastro Pub TONIGHT before serving as the acoustic matinee performer at Beck's Bar on SUNDAY! Apologies for the short notice, both shows were only announced via the venues' respective Facebook pages yesterday and on Monday respectively. Fans haven't seen "the ranting rockstar" on a public stage since Bone Yard's acoustic St. Patrick's Day gig at Smitty's, and with your local 225's indefinite break still ongoing (our best wishes are still with Alex and family), it looks like Greg is ready to hit the stage again in the interim, with these shows likely to be similar to Bone Yard's "uncorked" acoustic gigs, albeit sans Alex and Warren. Take The Dive's AI poster claim of "live DJ / singer vibes all night" with a grain of salt, but as usual for non-summer gigs at The Dive, TONIGHT's "Think It Over Thursday" show will be indoors in "the naughty corner".

As for SUNDAY at Beck's, this does seem like it might be a replacement for a planned Bone Yard matinee gig there. Note that they're not hosting a band on Saturday. rather a blacklight dance party featuring DJ Dark Mark, so were Bone Yard supposed to play the double shot there like they have before? In any event, TONIGHT'S Dive show downtown is at 9:00 PM, SUNDAY'S Beck's show (which coincides with a euchre tournament) is at 3:00 PM, and both have 19+ age limits and no cover. Good to see Greg back at it after a couple of months away from the stage, so expect "uncorked" southern hard rock covers at both venues ahead! Visit the above links for more details, and we'll let you know if solo videos of Greg live surface publically!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will return to the public stage on SATURDAY NIGHT at DeMarco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this concert via their Facebook page on Monday, though it was quietly added to their website's concert calendar in recent weeks. After taking April off, this will be Silent 9's first show since rocking Beck's Bar two months ago, but it won't be their debut at the Boots & Saddles, as they made the drive deep into the west end for at least one private gig in January. Like in recent years, the band is taking the summer off from standard bar gigs, instead focusing on festivals and private events, so if you want to see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve rock out in a nightclub, and you're in the area/up for the drive, keep SATURDAY'S show in mind! This is an 8:00 PM and 19+ show with no cover. See above for more details, and here's Silent 9 live!

Lastly for known hard rock concerts this weekend is the local debut of Toronto-based Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Crazy Babies on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Full Throttle Saloon! Apologies for erroneously crediting them as being the Detroit-based Ozzy ReBourne in our initial coverage, Ozzy tribute band marketing confused me a bit at the time. The first real stab at hosting a touring headiner at the former Primavera Hall, this tribute to Ozzy's solo career and Black Sabbath work has received acclaim in their travels for their faithful stage show and Rod Clarke's closely matched vocals, so definitely keep this show in mind if you love the Prince of Darkness! Local support will come by way of classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush, who are no strangers to the Full Throttle Saloon or as openers for a touring tribute band, so don't be late for their 1980s-leaning sets! They are playing sets before Crazy Babies' set and afterwards at midnight.

Now, this 19+ concert takes place at 9:00 PM on Saturday, but tickets cost $70 in advance at this link, at the saloon, or by calling them, and there will reportedly be no admission at the door. The high cost of tickets (higher than Triumph & April Wine at the Gardens!) has not gone unnoticed on social media, and while I won't pass judgment as to how the venue/headliners landed on that number, I just hope the show meets or exceeds expectations for turnout. Visit the above links for more on what should be a fun night for Ozzy and Sabbath fans, and for a preview, here are the Crazy Babies live!

Finally for today, here's a new live-streamed video from Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush's Facebook page! This comes from their most recent gig, which saw them head downstate to open for Tribe989 at The Ann Arbor Music Festival at The Blind Pig this past Friday. Like at their show at The Merch last month, the Tarnished splinter group live-streamed it for local fans to check out, but as Facebook's current rules for live-streamed videos mean that they'll be deleted after a month, you guys have until around June 1st to see it unless Crush convert it or re-upload it as a regular video. You can tell it's a live-stream though because the 50 minute video doesn't start until 9:30 in, so skip there unless you want to observe them setting up. Their set features the guys playing "SDR&R", "Fire", "Intoxicated", "Hey You", their covers of AC/DC's "Big Balls" and Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!", ...

..."Capitol Gain", "Too Close",  the original not introduced by name that may be titled "Fuck It", and an original that wasn't in the Merch livestreams that I think is named "Call It A Night" (Alex sang lead on that one). Alas, this video was shot vertically, and attendees can block the view for parts of the set, but the audio is clear and Crush show a good sense of humour and rapport with the Metro Detroit fans! They're actually opening for Tribe989 downstate again tomorrow (in Battle Creek, click here for details), but give their Ann Arbor video a watch this month while you can!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dr. Feelgood & Quite Frankly), The Trews Concert Preview, And More!!

Hopefully everyone is inside while this snow comes down! For this news post, we have our preview of a big concert tomorrow night, updates from local terrestrial radio, and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, so here's what you should know!

Reunited local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly have announced four upcoming concerts at four differtent venues for the spring! While they are taking this month off, Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe will pick things back up on March 28th at De Marco's Boots & Saddles Roadhouse, marking the first time we've ever covered a show there. Located at 2667 Second Line West (deep in the west end, 5 minutes north of the airport), you may recall Silent 9 playing a private gig there last month, but it historically hasn't been a haven for hard rock-leaning bands, so hopefully Quite Frankly leave a good impression next month! After taking the Easter weekend off, they will return to The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, April 11th, while they will rock Gateway Casino for the first time two weeks later on April 25th! Lastly, they'll return to Beck's Bar on Friday, May 1st, as the former Vibe Lounge continues occasionally booking bands on Fridays rather than DJs.

None of these venues are known to book bands on consecutive nights, just to clarify. All are 19+ events with no announced cover charges, and all are 8:00 PM affairs except the Beck's show (at 9:00 PM). It's great to see Quite Frankly finally start ramping up their live bookings, and hopefully these shows go over well for the band and attendees alike! Visit the band's Facebook page for more details on these concerts!

Next up, Niagara Falls-based Motley Crue tribute band Dr. Feelgood will make their local concert debut on Saturday, June 20th when they rock The Sault Community Theatre Centre! Newly announced yesterday via the White Pines-based theatre's Facebook page, hair metal fans will definitely want to circle this date on their calendars, as Dr. Feelgood do a strong job of bringing Motley Crue's classic singles to life on the big stage, which they have done across Canada for over two decades. Seeing as it'll be 20 years since the real band's local concert took place later this year, this is a fitting way to enjoy the next best thing! An 8:00 PM start time is advertised for this all ages concert, and tickets will run for $61.02 (adults), $49.72 (seniors aged 65+ and students aged 13-21), or $22.60 (kids aged 6-13) , with children under 6 being free. Buy yours online at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall, and visit the above links for more details!

Also, here's a special mid-week concert preview, as Juno-nominated Nova Scotia alternative/hard rock quintet The Trews will return to the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT as headliners at The Machine Shop! Last seen in our area at the 2024 Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island, this will be their first gig in city limits since opening for Marianas Trench here in 2022 and their first headlining show here since 2009 (and if you don't count that acoustic tour, 2008). Of course, since we last saw The Trews up here, 104.3 The Fox debuted on the FM dial, meaning that their hit singles like "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me", "Tired Of Waiting", and cuts from their new album "Bloody Light" get a lot more local airplay than they did, so there should be a solid turnout tomorrow despite the Wednesday scheduling! While not well advertised in the lead-up, this tour does have an opening act, namely southern/roots rock quintet Eddy & The Dirty Boys in their local debut.

While a relatively new band, Eddy & The Dirty Boys are actually a side project from three members of Kingston rock band The Glorious Sons, their genre-blurring sound has been making waves in recent months, and they should set the tone well tomorrow! This all ages concert goes down tomorrow at 8:00 PM, and general admission tickets remain on sale at this link, at the Station Mall box office, or at the Gelato Mill (located nearby at Mill Square) for $40, while $60 VIP passes are also available that will get you access to an acoustic pre-show from both bands, a meet & greet, and more perks. This should be a huge concert, so visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Trews live at GFL Memorial Gardens in 2022!

Finally for today, some potentially major news from local radio came out last week via this Inside Radio article, as later covered by Carol Martin of SooToday's Sault Michigan sister website SooLeader. Apparently, local radio company Sovereign Communications is at risk of losing its seven active broadcast licenses (Rock 101 among them) in the next 60 days, and thusly having the stations go off air on FM and AM, if they don't make overdue fees, interest, and penalty payments to the Federal Communications Commission, currently adding up to over $37,000 USD. SooLeader also reported that Sovereign owes over $10,000 in rent for its city-owned broadcast tower in Sault Ste. Marie. A repayment agreement with city council has been agreed to, but the article doesn't outline the status of the money owed to the FCC, though according to Inside Radio, they could appeal to try to waive or defer the owed fees.

I won't speak on matters that I'm not privy to, but it'd be a massive blow, even if temporary, to lose Sovereign stations on the FM and AM dials. After all, Sovereign has collectively owned Rock 101, 99.5 Yes FM, Oldies 93, Country 105, 1230 WSOO, News Talk 1400, and WNBY 1450 in this market since 2010, and the only other truly local station in Sault Michigan that isn't repeated from elsewhere is classic hits station 95.1 The Bridge. Rock 101's Scott Cook struck an optimistic tone in the SooToday comment section, so hopefully Sovereign sorts everything out soon! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!