Pop Evil Concert Videos, Plus More From Sault Michigan!!

Before we begin today's all E.U.P. post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this weekend's previews, as local hard rock/metal band Tarnished played a solo headlining gig at The Savoy Nightclub last night. Of course, they were among the openers there for Scotty Austin/Redburn on Thursday night, but the band announced that they were playing "round 2" there on their Facebook page two hours before showtime, and the venue's Facebook page never posted that Tarnished were pulling double duty. Maybe the idea of Tarnished playing last night came together quickly after how things went on Thursday, but I do profusely apologize for missing this show on here, I'd have covered it had I gotten more notice!

That said, The Savoy's Facebook page does have a couple of relevant videos to the big show on Thursday, one being this brief promotional clip from February where Scotty Austin himself plugged the local date. He even mentioned playing in the Soo previously and that Redburn have been up here before (they opened for Saving Abel here in 2015), and little details like that make a video like this seem less cookie cutter and more personal, so kudos! The other video comes from the show proper, as a Savoy staffer(?) filmed who I believe to be opening local hard rock band The Nameless, specifically the (vocal-devoid) last 20 seconds of their third-to-last song. The video quality isn't great, with the filmer panning around quickly to show the packed house more than the band, not to mention the vertical camera angle, so we never see enough of the band with any clarity. If you told me I was wrong and that this was Tarnished, I wouldn't be shocked!

In any event, I don't know off hand what song this is based on the instrumental snippet on offer (The Nameless were covers-centric upon their debut last year, and if this was Tarnished, it doesn't match any of their or Alex's studio originals). For what little we hear, it sounds good, and the solid audience at this early stage is encouraging, so give it a look below, and we'll let you know if more videos turn up!

The rest of today's post is devoted to the Pop Evil-headlined concert at The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on March 17th, as the ever-prolific Christopher Paci's YouTube channel has us covered with videos of all three bands from last week! As far as I have seen so far, Chris is the only person to upload videos from this show on YouTube, at least publically. Yes, I am aware that he filmed videos at the Leash show in Sault Ontario earlier this month, check back for those next week. As for the Pop Evil concert, Chris uploaded 12 videos from that night, including seven of the Muskegon hard rock mainstays' headlining set, those being "Breathe Again", "Torn To Pieces", "Footsteps", "Skeletons", "Dead Reckoning", "Paranoid (Crash & Burn)", and as embedded below, "Eye Of The Storm". The audio quality on his camera/this sound setup is fairly raw, but Chris had a strong central angle of the stage!

You can tell that Pop Evil are very much on their game here with good energy, and if soundboard audio existed, I can tell that it'd be fairly similar to the studio tracks, so fans of Pop Evil's ample rock radio hits should be right at home with these videos above & below!

Phoenix metalcore band The Word Alive were filmed thrice for Chris' channel, including their original songs "Trapped", "Why Am I Like This", and as embedded below, "Nocturnal Future". The same audio quality harshness aside, The Word Alive are well captured here with a nice melodic flavour on their modern aggression, and the stage lighting for their set is accentuated nicely, so check it out below!

Finally, Seattle metalcore band Avoid got two videos from Chris, namely "Song About James" and, as embedded below, their opening two songs "Gator Fest" and "Cowabunga". Avoid's electronic-tinged attack helped get this show off on the right foot with some explosively energetic songs to boot, and I can see how them opening was the best call, so check out their videos above & below, and stay tuned for Chris' Leash videos next week!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scotty Austin & Bone Yard!!)

Two topic post on the SMS tonight, as we have lots of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to look at, including a bigger E.U.P. show for the spring, but let's start with lots of new dates from a familiar local weekend staple!

Local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard have announced their first 2023 concert dates via this concert calendar on their Facebook page earlier today, ending their month+ break in the process! As you can see, four of the first six dates will come at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, which was the site of their last dates of 2022 as well, so if you're itching for some hard rocking classics from Greg, Alex, and Warren, head to the former Rosie on January 27th & 28th, and then on February 17th & 18th! The guys will also return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for concert weekends on February 10th & 11th and then on March 10th & 11th, with next month's gigs being their first at the Dennis Street venue in over three months. The local dates wrap up with stops at Reggie's Place on Queen Street on February 24th & 25th, their first appearances at that downtown staple since early December.

As for the March 3rd & 4th dates, those will see Bone Yard make a rare road trip to Sudbury to play at The Coulson Entertainment Center, which last came up on the SMS when Soundcheck hit the road for gigs there in September. It's always neat seeing local bands make the four hour trek east for gigs in Sudbury, and hopefully Bone Yard make lots of new Boneheads in March! No word on if Bone Yard's gap weekend of February 3rd & 4th is currently open, an intended break, or if their sister band The Bearded Lounge are playing somewhere else that weekend, so stay tuned if we hear of bookings then. As for the ten new local dates, all are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges, and the start times are 8:00 PM at Shooters, 9:00 PM at Reggie's, and 9:30 PM at Jay's. Visit the above links for more details on these new shows, and stay tuned for more from Bone Yard when it rolls in!

Next up, here's a post-pandemic rarity for Sault Michigan: Touring hard rock acts coming to the area, but not to Kewadin Casino, as former Saving Abel frontman Scotty Austin will return to town for a headlining concert at The Savoy Nightclub on Thursday, March 23rd! Now, Scotty is not the singer who fronted Saving Abel on radio hits like "Addicted" and "The Sex Is Good", but he was their lead singer for their last three local dates, including Muddfest in 2019, so if you've frequented modern hard rock and post grunge shows in the Soo, he won't be an unknown commodity. Scotty left Saving Abel in 2021 to pursue a solo career, and will be touring the US extensively this year as part of his King of Rock Tour, so it'll be good to see him back at the site of 2015's Superior Festival that he and Saving Abel headlined! Also neat seeing The Savoy hosting bands again, I can't think of anything major there in years.

Saginaw rap rock band Redburn will make their long awaited return to the Soo as co-headliners, having last played here when they opened for two separate hard rock shows at The Dreammakers Theater in 2015, Saving Abel among them. Nu-metal fans should be excited to see Redburn back in the area in two months! Female fronted New Munster, Wisconsin hard rock quartet The Almas will make their local debut on this bill as well, and their up-tempo, direct brand of originals should be a welcome addition on March 23rd, while local hard rock quartet Tarnished will set the tone in their Savoy debut, and you know they'll bring their A-game for this one! "N More" are also credited on the Facebook event page, so if additional acts are added to the event, we'll let you know. Presented by Blowout Biker Promotions, this 21+ event has an 8:00 PM start time, and tickets will run for $15 if you believe Tarnished's Facebook page (no word on a hike at the door).

If 2015's Superior Festival is anything to go by, tickets should be on sale at The Savoy at 117 West Portage Avenue, and perhaps through Tarnished, but there have not been firm statements about ticket availability at press time (though this show will be cheaper than the Superior Festival was). Mid-range hard rock events with touring acts not at Kewadin are a rarity in Sault Michigan, so take advantage of this one if you want more like this to stop there, and many hard rock tastes should find something to like between Scotty and the opening bands! Visit the official Facebook event page for continuing details, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week continues! Thanks everyone!