LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Silent 9), The Selias Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we begin this otherwise all-Sault Ontario post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in last week's previews, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet The Nameless headlined the Brimley Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9023's annual Veteran's Day ATV ride this past Saturday. While the event was publically attendable, the band did not publicize it in advance, though maybe I should keep better tabs on it, as Project 906 did the honours in 2023 & 2024. I'd have happily covered it had I known or someone had said something, but hopefully The Nameless, veterans, and riders had a great time! Now, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one more weekend preview, and more recent Sault Ontario notes!

While their public concert calendar for 2025 (the Searchmont Ski Runners holiday mixer aside) ends this weekend at The Esquire Club, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have announced their first few 2026 shows via their website's concert calendar, so when can you see them in the new year? Unless something is announced in the interim, their first gig of 2026 will see them headline at the Bon Soo Winter Carnival's opening ceremonies for a second straight year on Friday, February 13th! As far as I am aware, this will take place inside The Machine Shop at Mill Square once again, which is the site of their live concert debut as well, so hopefully this fan-friendly foursome delivers a strong night of covers to kick off Bon Soo 2026 in style! They'll be on at 8:00 PM with admission via a Bon Soo button, and with no announced age limit. For normal nightclub gigs, when can you see Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve afterwards?

As of this writing, their next solo headlining nightclub concert will be on Saturday, March 14th, when they make their debut at Beck's Bar! Kinda surprising that they haven't played there yet, but hopefully the luck of the Irish is on their side for this pre-St. Patrick's Day concert in the west end! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover. We'll hold their September show for a future post given the 10 month gap, but stay tuned for more from Silent 9 when announced, and don't miss them this weekend at The Esquire Club!

Next up, here's one more SMS-amenable weekend concert preview, as Toronto melodic death metal quintet Selias will rock Soo Blaster for a third time in a fourteen month span TOMORROW NIGHT! Previously seen here in September of last year and then again in March (with Spades GT drummer Tyler Reiner in tow for the former), Selias have quickly proven to be a reliable favouite touring attraction for extreme metal fans, and their technically sound but crushing brand of original music should get a solid reception tomorrow, especially given the Saturday timing! Your local openers tomorrow include hard rock quintet HeadF1rst, online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad (now featuring The BAG's Spencer MacGillivray on vocals), and party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty in their first of two Soo Blaster shows this month, preceding the Robbie G hip-hop concert in two weeks.

Of course, The S.S.S. and HeadF1rst respectively opened one of Selias' prior local stops each, so it is neat to see them get an encore! Promoted once again by Heavy North Entertainment, this stop on Selias' Ontario Onslaught tour (in support of their new album "Killkarma") has a 7:00 PM start time, no age limit, and ticket prices of $15 at the venue or at this link.  Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Selias live!

Also today, we have an act to move to our inactive band links, namely local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine. We have not heard of a public update from them since opening for Rory Taillon at Soo Blaster in September of last year, and despite playing shows off and since returning from their last public hiatus in August 2022, they haven't updated their Facebook page in any fashion in over four years. Led by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis with his requisite pink knit ski mask and ultra personal song lyrics, Slumshine initially returned from a year+ break at the 2022 Fringe North Festival, and became regulars of the Sault Ste. Marie Museum-hosted arts & culture event for its most recent three installments, but them and the Rory Taillon show are it for public activity since. Brent has definitely been keeping busy with Ha!ls in the past year, and he has even carried over some Slumshine songs to the full band, so follow them to see what he's up to nowadays!

To close today, here's a very rare video that was posted to social media this week, and it is the only known video filmed at Woods of Ypres' recording sessions for their final album "Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! As you may recall, frontman David Gold and guitarist Joel Violette recorded the album at Beach Road Studios in Goderich, Ontario back in August 2011 with producer Siegfried Meier, who filmed this brief 30 second clip of David tracking drums for "Keeper Of The Ledger" and sent it to Shiver James as part of the work being done on his upcoming biography Deepest Roots: The Woods Of Ypres Story. The video had a fuzzy retro filter put on it that really hampers the video quality (it's hard to even see David behind the kit), but unless there's something in the vault from fall rehearsals, this may be the only video featuring David playing anything from "Woods V" on camera.

Kudos to Siegfried for sending this video after fourteen long years (let alone producing that classic album), and to James for posting it to the book's Facebook page! I'm glad that someone is telling David and the band's story after all these years, so follow the book's progress and the teaser postings above, and here's the video of David playing "Keeper Of The Ledger"!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Selias), More Weekend Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

As promised, this post wraps up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, but we also have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, plus some new videos, so here's what you should know on this Saturday morning!

Toronto melodic death metal quintet Selias will rock Soo Blaster for the third time in fourteen months when they return to Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, November 15th! Local metalheads may recall when Heavy North Entertainment brought Selias here in September of last year in their first relaunch-era concert (with Spades GT drummer Tyler Reiner in tow), before returning sans-Jeeb in March. Getting any original touring band to come here this much this soon is an accomplishment, and Selias are a brutal and proficient band who should appeal to established fans and new ones alike! Touring in support of their new album "Killkarma", Selias will be joined by three local opening bands, including hard rock quintet HeadF1rst (who opened for Selias in March), online page-less metal quintet The Sault Side Squad (who opened for Selias last year), and party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty, who are headlining at Soo Blaster tonight.

Diverse but heavy lineup of local talent before Selias take the stage, so don't miss out next month! Newburgh metalcore band Ascension Blacklist are advertised to be joining Selias on tour on the official poster, but the official Facebook event page does not list them otherwise. We'll let you know if they will indeed be playing in the Soo or not! This all ages concert has doors opening at 6:00 PM and tickets run for $15 plus processing fees at this link, and presumably at the venue or through promoters/openers. Prepare for a true Ontario onslaught at Soo Blaster in mid-November, so visit the above links for more details on Selias' third local stop!

Next up, let's resume this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading to The Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club, where local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will set up shop for another acoustic show TONIGHT! The prolific and talented musician and former Caveman Morrison frontman's busy solo schedule marches on into another night, with tonight's show being his first at the Eagles Club in two weeks. Hopefully there's a good turnout of Steelton and west end fans for his proficient and diverse setlist and talent range this evening as usual! If you miss out, Tym will be back at Aerie #3991 in three weeks, and his next proper show is a Misty's matinee next week. Tonight's concert is at 8:00 PM with no announced age limit or cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live not too long ago!

To close out this weekend's concert previews, let's head to  The Sault Community Theater Centre, where Winnipeg/Las Vegas classic rock tribute band Ikons Of Rock will headline TOMORROW NIGHT! This touring act will call to mind music legends shows in Las Vegas, where musicians impersonate and pay tribute to a wide swath of iconic musicians and bands, with Ikons Of Rock paying tribute to rock legends from the 1970s onward, with Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Queen, Heart, Kiss, and Def Leppard cited among the source acts in their multimedia stage show. Hard to sum things up in under a paragraph, but this will be a fun concert for rock fans, and there is bound to be something to like multiple times over! Alumni of bands like Harlequin and Streetheart also play in the Ikons Of Rock live band. Ticket's for tomorrow's all ages event at 7:30 PM run for $69 (general admission) and $59 (kids & students).

You can buy yours at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall. At press time, the front three rows in the center section are sold out, but there are plenty more seats still on sale (none are being sold in the gallery). Ikons Of Rock have a fun and diverse array of tributes to past and present rock legends, so definitely consider coming out to the former Kiwanis Theater at White Pines Collegiate tomorrow, even on a work/school night! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Ikons Of Rock live!

To close this news post, let's look at new videos that I would have featured here yesterday had classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down's presumably cancelled shows at Reggie's Place still taken place (read Thursday's post below for what we do and don't know about what's going on there). Last week, Double Down set up shop at Beck's Bar for a Saturday nighter with Mid Life Crysis bassist Lori Reinholtz filling in for a laid-up Dan Beaupre (also pictured here is Beck's owner Becky Sawyer), A camera was set up from a high central vantage point aimed downward at the band for three videos posted on their Facebook page, and they were filmed playing the first half of Green Day's "Warning" (with drummer Ric Datson on vocals), Collective Soul's "Precious Declaration" (with guitarist Joel Syrette on vocals), and as embedded below, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "I Hate Myself For Loving You" with Lori on vocals.

Alas, all but "Warning" were uploaded in vertical dimensions with pillarboxing, despite being shot horizontally, and "Warning" was posted first, so I have no idea what happened there. As such, the other two videos are tiny, so maximize a computer window while watching them for best results. Apsect ratio issues aside (let alone the dark lighting at Beck's), everyone performs strongly with professionalism and a good chemistry on the three clips! Lori's singing voice is more melodic than edgy for a Joan Jett cover, but she fits in well with the guys, and kudos to her for helping out while Dan's off, so give these new videos a watch above & below!

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

Selias Concert Videos & 104.3 The Fox Updates!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in our St. Patrick's Day weekend previews, as local classic/hard rock cover duo Dodge This played last night at the Up & Down Lounge at 24 Second Line West. Murphy's Law strikes again, as the hard rock concert with the most blatant holiday themes and frills is the one that the band only announced on their Facebook page four hours before showtime, let alone at a venue that's never crossed our radar before. Apologies again for missing this one, I'd have covered it on here with even a day's notice, but hopefully Dodge This had a solid turnout at the bar/indoor golf lounge!

Today's post otherwise covers some on-air details from one of our local rock radio stations, but leading off, here's videos from Friday night's Selias concert at Soo Blaster! Two videos of the headlining Toronto melodic death metal band's set have publically surfaced on Facebook this weekend, and while both are short, you get a nice little sample of their local encore from them. The longer of the two clips comes from 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook page, with Mike Blair again filming the video from the soundboard. I know he likes to do the "camera zooms out from the soundboard and comes back" thing for their videos, but here, it put too much emphasis on the crowd level on the floor. I couldn't place the song upon checking out this clip (maybe it's new?), but it features a more melodic chorus with clean vocals. What we see and hear sounds good, so see some of what you may have missed from Selias' set on Friday night below!

Next up, the other local Selias video (so far?) actually comes from Selias' own Facebook page, with a band representative filming 18 seconds worth of their set on Friday. The band representative was on the floor, so the video is much closer to the stage and better highlights the audience, but the audio quality isn't quite as crisp as on 705Live's video. Still a solid little teaser, so check it out below, and we'll let you know if other videos from Friday night turn up!

Finally for today, let's discuss some recent programming notes for new Sault Ontario rock radio station 104.3 The Fox! I forgot to mention this at the time, but back on February 13th, they aired a "great albums" program to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of The Black Crowes' "Shake Your Money Maker", with Howard Manshein of the Sunday Night Vinyl Series playing it front to back. This concept is not a regular program that airs at a given time, and didn't get a lot of commercials prior, but keep it in mind if you're listening to CJQM! Also last month, regular local DJ Dan Koo was off air for a week (I never heard if it was due to illness or vacation), and with him being absent, Mitch Belanger from 101.9 The Fox in North Bay was on air for the 2:00-6:00 PM weekday timeslot. On that Saturday from 12:00-6:00 PM, Nick Liard from Q92 in Sudbury filled in for Dan instead.

Now you have an idea how The Fox will deal with talent absences! As for their theme weeks, they've continued unabated since launch, but two of them in recent weeks weren't for a specific band. February 10th-16th was Cover Songs Week, with the Sunday Night Vinyl Series episode on the 16th seeing Howard play David Bowie's covers album "Pin Ups" in full, while March 3rd-9th was Women In Rock Week, ending with Heart's "Dreamboat Annie" playing on the Sunday Night Vinyl Series. Nice to see Rogers change things up every so often for the theme weeks and what gets played on air for them, but I am still surprised that they don't do Canadian acts all that often. The Q104 switch to The Fox in January happened during Rush Week and they haven't spotlighted a domestic band since. Lastly, all Rogers-owned radio stations got new website overhauls last month, The Fox included, so they all have the same design & layout heavily inspired by the Seekr application.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of the new website, as it focuses way more on Seekr than any of Rogers' individual FM stations, and you can't see a full programming schedule or on-air playlist anymore (ironically, the Seekr application still lists that day's schedule). Good thing the old layout was still in effect when I was first covering The Fox, as I had links and more sources to go off of! Hopefully they improve and add to the websites in due cpurse, but if you want to hear exclusive Seekr content, you'll know more about it now! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week continues! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) And The First Half Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

A busy concert weekend is upon us, no doubt accelerated by Monday being St. Patrick's Day, so this weekend's hard rock concert previews have been broken into two posts, possibly three if more late notice gigs turn up. As things proceed, I will note if the shows, bands, or venues have blatantly advertised any Irish themes, frills, or drink specials for the holiday (normally, I want the music to speak for itself, as alcohol is an inferred bonus at licensed bars, but urghabháil an lá!). Today's previews focus on bands playing tomorrow in some description, plus a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, and we'll touch on Saturday's Tarnished, Exit 808, Dirty Musky, and HeadFirst shows in tomorrow's post.

We'll start with that brand new date, as local acoustic singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will bring his solo classic/hard rock covers to The Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club at 246 Wellington Street West for a matinee gig on SATURDAY! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this concert via its Facebook event page on Sunday. Aerie #3991 (beside RJ's Market) came up on the SMS a few times last year when Piecing It Together Shows booked a handful of shows there, but this is the first in a public sense for Tym, who is filling the empty Saturday between two matinees at Misty's Fifties last week and next week. I don't know if there's a raison d'etre for this show beyond just Tym playing his diverse setlist of classic and hard rock hits at another local venue, but the Eagles Club has been hosting occasional Saturday matinees with local country veteran Al Mooney earlier this year, so this isn't new for them.

Hopefully a willing audience heads down to Steelton on SATURDAY for all of Tym's tunes! No word on St. Patrick's Day themes/frills, but the order's Facebook page will likely outline any that would be taking place. This SATURDAY matinee takes place from 2:00-6:00 PM with no announced age limit or cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live a couple of years back! 

Next up, here's some shows that got advance notice, starting with the return of Toronto melodic death metal band Selias to Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT! Less than six months after debuting here in September, this brutal original group will be back for another night of intense and hard hitting music in the lead-off of their Western Canada Annihilation Tour, so if you loved them last fall or missed out, keep tomorrow's action in mind! Spades GT drummer Tyler Reiner (who was in Selias for last year's local date) has since left the band, but we'll have more from them on the SMS soon. Whereas last year's Selias concert had seven opening bands, only three will have the honours tomorrow, including alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (the only returning local band from September), hard rock quintet HeadFirst (whose Shooters date on Saturday will be previewed in tomorrow's post), and folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore. Nice diverse array there!

Promoted once again by Heavy North Entertainment in their first show of 2025 and second one post-relaunch, this ALL AGES show has doors opening at 6:30 PM, and tickets run for $15 in advance through H.N.E., the local openers, or in person at Soo Blaster, and an Eventbrite page for online sales has finally been created as well. The door charge for this show jumps to $20, and none of the official promotional materials point to St. Patrick's Day themes (inquire within if you're curious). This will definitely be the heaviest show of the weekend in the Soo area, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Selias live!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen on Korah Road over the Valentine's Day weekend, they will do the honours for St. Patrick's Day, though be advised that neither the band nor venue have promoted any Irish or green anything on social media (that doesn't automatically mean that nothing is happening, of course). As usual for Generations' recent stops at Jay's, they will be serving as hosts of the Thursday jam night tonight as well, with singer Valerie Powley sitting out once again, though bassist Pierre Anthony Vaillancourt's son/ex-Fluid 5ive bandmate Liam will guest with his dad and the Tonys tonght. Direct promotion for the normal concerts tomorrow and Saturday doesn't credit Liam, but if the guest angle is intriguing (let alone the varied jam night performers), come down to Jay's for tonight's action!

The traditional concerts this weekend (and jam night) are 9:30 PM concerts with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of Generations live at Gateway Casino this past Saturday! Filmed by drummer Tony Santoro's wife Dawn and shared in a batch post on the band's Facebook group, the video sees the band covering Billy Joel's "You May Be Right" with Tony S. on lead vocals and Valerie doing backing vocals & playing tambourine. While the video is sadly vertical, Dawn got solid audio quality here and was able to capture fans dancing on the floor with good energy and enthusiasm, so check out this strong cover below, and don't miss Generations at Jay's!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #1, we'll zip across the border for Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril's return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While we have seen their sister band Scarkazm up here in the interim, these will be Peril's first shows in the E.U.P. of 2025, last rocking either Kewadin Casino in October. Good to see Jeff and crew back for another weekend chock full of classic and hard rock cover action, so keep their returns in mind in St. Ignace over these two nights! I have not seen any firm reference to St. Patrick's Day promotions on the band's or casino's end, but if you're downstate or up to travel, Peril (and Scarkazm) are taking part in a St. Patrick's Day pub crawl in Traverse City on Monday, so click here for details. The St. Ignace Kewadin gigs are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Peril live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

More Recent Kewadin Casino Concert Videos, Double Down Updates, And More!!

Today's post keeps us covering some big news and notes from the last little bit in the twin Saults, and that includes new videos, a big lineup change, and some more shorter updates. However, let's start with some more videos from high profile touring acts in our area, so here's what you should know!

Let's tackle some more recent major concert videos to start this post, and of course, this past weekend's other major headlining concert was the Tesla show at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 28th! Taking place just in time for Kewadin to reopen the Soo branch after the ransomware attack-prompted closure, I haven't found too many YouTube uploaders from this concert, but prolific Sault Ontario concert filmer Christopher Paci's YouTube channel filmed eight videos of the Sacramento hair metal quintet's headlining set, so what all did he film? Videos include Tesla playing "Rock Me To The Top", "Modern Day Cowboy", "Changes", "What You Give", "Love Song", and their covers of Ph. D's "Little Suzi" & The Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs", but embedded below are two songs back to back, namely "Forever More" and "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)".

Solid performances overall, and while some of Jeff's lower register singing sounds slightly off, they have a good sound on their classics! It is neat to see that Tesla still play songs from 2000s albums (like "Forever More"), rather than just leaning on songs from their commercial heyday, so fans who stuck with them well beyond will be rewarded. Chris had a strong close angle of the stage, if from a sharp vantage point, but it accentuates the sea of people in the center section well, and his camera's audio holds up, so check everything out for yourselves above & below!

Next up, Chris was also on hand for Staind frontman Aaron Lewis' solo concert at The Dreammakers Theater in December, but only posted videos from that event onto his YouTube channel on February 27th. This isn't a show that we covered because Aaron's solo output is 100% country music, but he does cover stripped down versions of a handful of Staind songs live, which I have noted when local videos have popped up before. Aaron played at the Soo Kewadin in 2014 and 2021 as well, not to mention Staind's own Kewadin dates in 2006 & 2009, so he has always been good to the E.U.P.! If you know anything about Aaron's country career, you'll know that his solo music is often patriotic and/or quite politically charged, so I'll hold comment on all of that, but click here to see what Chris filmed from his solo catalogue. In terms of Staind covers, he played "It's Been Awhile", "Here & Now", and as embedded below, "Outside".

Aaron and his backing guitarist (playing on his lap, Jeff Healy-style) pair well to give these Staind songs a more reserved, intimate atmosphere, and Chris' camera captures the audio nicely, though this does include a very clear take of the audience singing along with "It's Been Awhile" and "Outside" in particular, as well as Aaron's crowd banter, often during songs. Give his Kewadin videos a watch above and below!

Now let's head north to Sault Ontario for some big news from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down, as they have enlisted Sidekicks bassist Dan Beaupre into their lineup, replacing Brad Stephen. The band announced his addition as "our new bass player" in this video from their concert at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday night. A reason for Brad's departure was not announced, but he hadn't been visibly pictured in the band's social media postings since January. Hopefully nothing too serious happened, especially given his long run in bands with Ric dating back well before Double Down's 2023 inception, and that we see Brad out there again soon! Dan will be familiar to readers from work in bands like Hollow, let alone his work with Griphook and 100 Gran (both alongside Double Down singer/guitarist Joel Syrette), and he's a good guy and very talented bassist, so he will be an asset with Joel, Beej, and Ric going forward!

With The Sidekicks playing at The Water Tower Pub last night, Double Down enlisted Mid Life Crysis/ex-Havadder bassist Lori Reinholtz to fill in at Jay's for night #2. From the Friday concert, Double Down's Facebook page has two brief clips with Dan on bass, including the one linked above of them covering A Flock Of Seagulls' "I Ran (So Far Away)" with drummer Ric Datson on lead vocals, but embedded below is 30 seconds of them covering Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" with Joel on vocals only and Dan's Sidekicks bandmate Steve Cardiff guesting on guitar. Very dark visually, but it's well done, and Steve nails the solo, so check out Double Down's new videos above & 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 venue name:

 

• Local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore has been added as the final opener for the Selias-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on Saturday, as per quiet updates to the Facebook event page last week. Solid choice to ease into things while still providing Chase's requisite intensity! Note that the event page now says that tickets will be $15 in advance (identical to Selias' debut here last fall) or $20 at the door, but an Eventbrite page for advance tickets is not online that I can find, so if you want to save $5, get yours at Soo Blaster or through Heavy North Entertainment or the local openers.
• To promote both their Sault Ontario concert in January & their Shamrock Show set at Three One Three on Ashmun on Saturday, Sault Michigan punk trio The Sole Aggressors shared the presumed setlists for those gigs in photos on their Facebook page. You don't see this often from local bands, so it's a neat window into what to expect! Regarding the teased setlist for this week (nice dog!), it features all thirteen original songs from their Brimley concert in August, plus newer cuts named "Burning Down", "Humans Aren't Ordinary Monkeys", "Heil Artificiality", "Tale Of An American Hero", and "The Same Individiualist". See how everything sounds live this Saturday night at Three One Three!
• Back on Sault Ontario, the roof of the Tarentorus Sports Club's curling rink collapsed on Wednesday, as covered in this SooToday article. No injuries were reported, and while details on the building's future for events aren't clear yet, let alone the cause of the collapse, social media postings indicate that the club has plans in place. This is relevant to the SMS because the Avery Road venue hosted the Band Together To Rock Cancer fundraiser in September, so to hear of the building suffering severe damage like this less than six months later is really surprising. Hopefully the Tarentorus Sports Club can rebuild and/or move forward as best as they can!

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (HeadFirst), A New Local Metal Project, And More!!

Here's a new news post for you guys on this Wednesday evening, and it includes a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the spring, our first look at a new local band, and leading off, an even newer band to check out (with EP!), so with all of that said, here's what you should know!

We have a new solo project to add to our Sault Ontario band links, namely The Realignment Project! This marks the return to original local music of former Dirty Virgin drummer and Riverin frontman Matt Hicks, who we last covered on the SMS in an active band when Riverin posted their last updates in 2014. The Realignment Project hew much closer to Riverin than Matt's better known glam metal band, as they are an industrial metal act. Historically, that's something we never had much of locally, so they immediately stand out from that alone! Matt launched an Instagram page for T.R.P. last month, which has teaser images, AI art, and some short videos, many of which promoting the fact that they released their debut EP "Afterthought" on January 29th! You can buy it on Bandcamp on a "name your price" model, and they also now have a YouTube channel featuring lyric videos for four of the EP's six songs, only omitting "Finger On The Trigger" and "Synthetic".

As this is a brand new album on sale, this will be this month's CD review at the SMS, ending our two month spell of archive album reviews, so while I won't give thoughts on The Realignment Project's music yet, check back in the next week or so. That said, it's great to see Matt back working on new music, and if you were following Riverin in their heyday, you'll definitely want to check out The Realignment Project to hear similar and more fully realized material, so do so at the above links, and here's the lyric video for the EP's opening song "Broken Machine"!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local hard rock quintet HeadFirst have announced a mini-residency of sorts at Shooters Downstairs Lounge that will see them rock the Dennis Street nightclub for three+ upcoming Saturday night gigs! We already knew about their planned shows on March 1st and April 12th via Shooters' own advertising, but the new date will be on Saturday, March 15th, though no word on if it will have any St. Patrick's Day tie-ins. However, these three concerts will be themed across the board, as Shooters will be offering official HeadFirst-branded cocktails, shots, and food items that will only be on sale during these concerts, so click here and here for details on each drink. Fun idea, especially as this is beyond just one themed shot, so keep all of this in mind if you're hungry or thirsty when seeing HeadFirst at Shooters! Red, Raine, Liam, Claire, and Anthony allegedly have "more dates to come" at Shooters, so keep tabs with the band on social media for more concert details as they roll in.

Also, if you buy an official HeadFirst t-shirt, you'll also get a $5-off voucher for one of the drinks, which is a good bonus! In terms of their actual sets, the band will "occasionally be playing a few songs for our next project", with more details coming soon. By "project", are they just making their next CD/EP/album sound more mysterious, or is it something more/beyond just a new album? We'll keep you posted! All three Shooters shows so far have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, but we're not quite done with the raw|lust|hot rockband, as they have been named as one of the local openers for the previously announced Selias concert as Soo Blaster on Friday, March 14th! This is via the official Facebook event page, which also confirms that local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will open as well in their first gig of 2025. At least one more opening act is to be announced, we'll let you know when they are.

Note that Selias' local debut at the same venue in September featured seven opening bands, six being local. Tickets surprisingly aren't on sale for this show yet, but last fall's Selias concert ran for $15. So far, it does seem like next month's concert has more of a varied genre spread (neither A.D.S. nor HeadFirst are full "metal" bands), but with less than a month to go before showtime, hopefully Heavy North Entertainment gets everything in place for a great night of hard hitting music at Soo Blaster! See above for more on this event and HeadFirst's new Shooters dates!

Finally, let's cross the border to look at the first public videos of new Sault Michigan punk trio About:Blank! This union of Tarnished, Lift The Broken, and Midnight Logic alumni debuted at Serious Business' multi-band concert at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley on February 8th, and a bunch of photos from their set can be seen on their Facebook page, confirming that Parker Talentino is their vocalist and bassist. Two videos from that night can be seen on Facebook, both seeing About:Blank playing original songs, one being "Hearse". Despite being shot with the same camera and horizontal orientation, "Hearse" was crammed into a vertical portrait orientation with horrendous pillarboxing, and it was uploaded second (how did that happen?). As such, I've embedded the other song "Fix" below, but it is a lighter and more laid back punk number with a swinging vibe to it. "Hearse" is faster and more all-out, and has pseudo-rap vocals, no less!

It's just two songs so far, but About:Blank seem to be starting off promisingly, and the talent is definitely there! I will say that Parker's clean singing voice is better suited to "Fix", but I'll have to hear more to really judge how he fits in singing on electric material. Check out About:Blank's live debut below, and stay tuned for more from them soon!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Clutch & Selias), 104.3 The Fox Updates, And A 1999 Concert Bootleg!!

Let's dive into some more big news on this Wednesday morning, including a surprise local concert bootleg discovery, programming news from a local radio station, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on both sides of the border, so here's what you should know!

Toronto melodic death metal band Selias will head here for the second time in under six months when they perform at Soo Blaster once again on Friday, March 14th! As local metalheads may recall, Selias headlined Heavy North Entertainment's comeback concert there in September of last year, with next month's show kicking off the band's Western Canadian Annihilation Tour, which hopefully goes well for all involved! H.N.E. are promoting this show, in their first concert booking of 2025 and second since their relaunch. It's worth noting that drummer Tyler Reiner (better known currently from his work with Spades GT) is not pictured in Selias' newest band photographs, implying that he has left their ranks, though hopefully he comes back north with Spades soon! No word yet on opening bands, but in September, Selias were joined by fellow touring metal band Out Of Spite and six local hard rock/metal acts, including some big returnees.

One of those openers was new local technical death metal band Bardo (fronted by Heavy North Entertainment owner Tyler St. Amour), but I have no idea if they're playing next month. We'll let you know when additional bands are confirmed! No word yet on ticket prices or availability therein, but last year, the show was all ages with an early 5:00 PM start time to accommodate the eight band lineup, and tickets ran for $15 online, at Soo Blaster, via local openers, or at a couple of Queen Street East businesses.  There's blanks to fill in ahead, but visit the above links for more on Selias' St. Patrick's Day weekend stop at Soo Blaster next month!

Next up, here's yesterday's big Sault Michigan concert announcement for The Dreammakers Theatre at their Kewadin Casino branch, as Maryland stoner/hard rock quartet Clutch will make their local concert debut on Thursday, June 19th! While not a mainstream rock radio presence, Clutch have carved out a devoted following with their bluesy but hard hitting brand of original rock in the past three decades thanks to fan favourite songs like "Electric Worry", "The Regulator", and "X-Ray Visions", and it will be neat to see them in town this summer! If press releases and news sites like Blabbermouth are to be believed, Clutch will be playing their self-titled 1995 album in full on this tour, so fans of "Spacegrass" will be excited! Openers on the Full Ahead Flank MMXXV Tour will include Nashville southern hard rock quartet Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown and Washington D.C. folk/country singer/guitarist Nate Bergman.

While we're obviously getting heavier as the night progresses, Tyler and Nate have a lot of talent, so don't bypass their sets for some bluesy southern fare! This all ages concert (on Juneteenth, no less) has an 8:00 PM start time, and this one is standing room only, so the seats are gone for the night. Tickets go on sale for $55 USD on Friday at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN, but pre-sale tickets are already available if you have the requisite code. I wouldn't have had Clutch pegged as a band that I expected to rock the Twin Saults in 2025, but this should be a solid concert, and decidedly unique compared to what often comes to the Soo Kewadin, so see above for more details!

Now let's dive into some programming updates from new Sault Ontario rock radio station 104.3 The Fox! The big reveal is that morning drive program The Brock & Dalby Show now has a nighttime version airing weeknights from 8:00-10:00 PM on The Fox and its sister stations in Northeastern Ontario and Kingston. As best as I can gather, this features condensed/select host segments heard in their regular 5:30-9:00 AM timeslot in between music, and it premiered after The Biggs & Barr Show on Monday night. Another note that I didn't bring up when first covering the relaunched CJQM is that Tuesdays have a slight theme, namely "Two For One Tuesday", where two back-to-back songs featuring the same artist (if not always in the same band) will be played on occasion. This is hardly an all-day, every-song theme (like "Twofer Tuesday" is on WRIF in Detroit), but it's something different every so often on Tuesdays!

Lastly, I never mentioned when noting local midday DJ Dan Koo's on-air work that he has a segment of his own called "Dan's Big Three", where he quickly goes through three big local news stories. It sounds like things are going well for the former Q104 in their new format, and I am enjoying the variety that their existence affords in conjunction with Rock 101, so continue tuning into 104.3 FM on your radio dial or online!

Finally, many readers will be aware of concert bootlegs being popular among diehard fans and collectors, and the Soo was not immune to getting them on occasion. Back on July 15th, 1999, Halifax hard rock legends April Wine headlined in Sault Ontario at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, one of their (at least) three local concert stops, including one at Sault Memorial Gardens in 1984 and another at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in 2013. The 1999 show was recorded by rej1064 and remastered by Rocker200, and was first uploaded to the bootleg forum Dimeadozen in 2006, with the YouTube channel Classic Rock Live Concerts posting it publically on Sunday. I won't list the track order here, as you can see it below via the bootleg's back cover, but the hits that you expect April Wine to play were represented in the 17 song set. The audio quality isn't pristine, but you hear enough to get the gist of how April Wine sounded in 1999!

There are some abrupt stops between songs, so I take it that rej1064 was trying to record individual tracks and/or cut down on between-song banter/introductions. Still, 75 minutes of legit local concert audio from 26 years ago is really neat, especially as it predates the YouTube generation where you can readily find full concert streams from the past two decades, and the band sounds good throughout this concert. Check out the full local April Wine bootleg below, and R.I.P. Myles!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Unfortunate Sun) And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this preview post, just a heads up that I'm not covering tomorrow's ARCH Bucket List Ball in this weekend's previews. The hospice charity event at The Machine Shop (which was to feature Bookclub as musical entertainment) is no longer listed on the venue's events page, nor has it been promoted on social media remotely recently by organizers or Bookclub, so I am assuming that it was quietly cancelled. Disappointing news, but support ARCH where you can, and as we continue this weekend's hard rock concert previews, there is a Sault Michigan hospice fundraiser tomorrow that you shouldn't bypass! Here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchants Bar, but they also have some newly confirmed dates to note on here! The Fake Chow successors revealed shows of theirs into early 2025 via this concert calendar poster on their Facebook page earlier today, and while we knew about their fall dates in Rudyard and Hessel already (including that pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday nighter at The Islander Bar), the winter show are new to us. On Saturday, December 14th, the guys are slated to return to The Merch for one night only, and they'll also return to the downtown Soo staple over the International 500 snowmobile race weekend on Friday, January 30th & Saturday, February 1st! I don't know if these shows are officially tied to the I-500 or not (their past pub crawls acknowledged), but playing gigs with all these people in town for that weekend is never a bad idea!

Long before then, Unfortunate Sun will bring their proficient hard rock cover attack to The Merch for the first time tomorrow, so keep this show in mind if you want to enjoy some solid local musicians! All four of their scheduled Merch shows have presumed 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit tomorrow's official Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Unfortunate Sun live!

Next up, if you do want to see live rock music while supporting a local hospice, you should consider coming to Sault Michigan to see hard rock sextet Exit 808 live as the headliners of A Night Of Music TOMORROW NIGHT at Three One Three On Ashmun! Tomorrow's fundraiser is in support of the Hospice of the EUP, and they're just as deserving of support from the community as ARCH is on the Canadian side of the border, so don't bypass this event for the musical and charitable sides of it! Exit 808 will be headlining at the former Back Door alongside three acoustic solo musicians, namely Gabe Menard, country veteran Paul Perry, and Project 906 frontman Billy Bernier (no word on if this will basically be an unplugged 906 set or if he spreads his wings moreso). Presented by Team Century 21 (who are also supporting the Hospice of the EUP during next month's Dancing With The Stars fundraiser), A Night Of Music has a 7:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and $10 cover charge.

Note that it is still not clear which of the three distinct stages inside Three One Three will be hosting this event, but it should be a great time for fans of live local music in the E.U.P., and hopefully Exit 808 will end things with a bang and help raise lots of money for the hospice in the process! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new Facebook video of Exit 808 live at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino last month! The video sees them covering Skid Row's "18 & Life" with Amy Beach on lead vocals and Dillion Semasky backing. It's very fuzzy visually, but at least it's horizontal with clear audio, and the cover isn't badly handled, so give it a watch/listen below!

We'll close this preview post with our extended preview of tomorrow's big metal concert at Soo Blaster in Sault Ontario, which will mark the rebirth of promoters Heavy North Entertainment after a seven year hiatus! For their first show back, they're bringing a very Oddfellows Hall-esque lineup to the stage, and it will be toplined by Toronto melodic death metal quintet Selias in their local debut! Readers should recognize Selias drummer Tyler "Jeeb" Reiner from multiple past local stops with Caym and the Soo's half-own Spades GT, so it will be neat to see him in town for the first time since the Josey Scott concert in August of last year, let along with a much more brutal sound! Note that ex-Spades bassist James Roy Daley also left Selias in July. Barrie blackened death metal trio Out Of Spite will also make their local concert debut as the co-headliners tomorrow night, and their in-your-face original extreme metal onslaught should make lots of fans as well!

Six diverse local bands will open tomorrow's concert, including alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (last seen opening for The Damn Truth at Soo Blaster earlier this month), hard rock quartet Half Past (in their first of two Soo Blaster dates this fall), and the Sault Ste. Marie debut of The Sault Side Squad, the online page-less supergroup that debuted at the all-local metal show in Leeburn in July. New local death metal quartet Bardo will also make their first live appearance here, succeeding frontman/promoter Tyler St. Amour's briefly revived band Them in the process. Bass-less teasers of their more technical sound have been featured on their Facebook page, but how will this union of Fountain of Betrayal and March Into Regression alumni come together in 2024? Grindcore solo project Crucify The Whore (a regular at H.N.E. shows in the 2010s) will also play a rare live concert set tomorrow night as well, so prepare yourselves!

Finally, ex-Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur's long-gestating rap metal project Without Compromise are slated to open tomorrow night. I am way past overdue to talk about the former Less Than Zero more on the SMS, but it'll be interesting to see how Jason (and crew?) sound live! Tickets for this ALL AGES show run for $15, and can be bought via most of the local bands, at Soo Blaster, The Rad Zone, Rest In Pieces Tattoo Studio nearby, or online at this link, and presumably at the door. Given that there are eight bands playing tomorrow, doors open at 5:00 PM. If you miss the 2010s death metal Oddfellows Hall shows, you will not want to miss this one, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Selias live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned tomorrow for the Dany Laj/Handsome Sandwich concert preview, that new concert coming to the Soo next year, and more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Selias & Wax Mannequin!!)

Now that we have escaped four posts of weekend concert previews and gotten this month's Defunct Local Band Profile up on schedule, let's start playing catch-up for the items that lapsed during the past few days and beyond, and we'll start with two big LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know on this Sunday afternoon!

Eighteen days after their well received local return at "Adrian's House", Hamilton "weird folk art punk" solo project Wax Mannequin will return to the Soo on their way back home when they headline at The Whisky Barrel on Sunday, August 25th! It's been a while since we've heard about a concert at the Gore Street nightclub, let alone one with a touring band, but stay tuned for an even bigger outlier there in an upcoming post! Chris Adeney's creative and genre-fluid originals got a solid reception in their relocated return date this past Wednesday, and now setting up shop at a proper downtown venue again, hopefully there's a good crowd to see Wax Mannequin in action once again in two weeks, in spite of also being on a work/school night! Yes, promoters Piecing It Together Shows did post photos from the show on Wednesday on Facebook, albeit solely as "Stories", so they are impossible to share here.

What I saw pointed to a well laid out locale in this downtown backyard with string lighting, but alas, "Stories" can only be viewed once or twice before vanishing forever, and I really have never seen the point of the conceit. Wax Mannequin's return has a 19+ age limit, no cover (thought tips are welcome), and an 8:00 PM start time. It's not unheard of, but certainly not common, to see out-of-town musicians play the Soo going both directions on tour, so if you enjoyed Wax Mannequin on Wednesday or are sad that you missed out, take advantage of the encore! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this concert!

Next up, a big extreme metal show was announced last week that was announced as we was beginning that busy stretch of weekend concert previews, so what should you know here? On Saturday, September 28th, Toronto melodic death metal quintet Selias will make their local concert debut when they headline at Soo Blaster! A relatively new band, Selias (named for guitarist Steve Elias) do feature two familiar faces, as Spades GT bassist & drummer James Roy Daley & Tyler Reiner are in their ranks, so if you've missed them locally since the Josey Scott show last summer, keep this in mind! Granted, Selias are much heavier with harsh vocals and an assortment of extreme metal influences, and they'll definitely get the pit opened up next month! Note that Spades guitarist Daniel Horton guested on bass for a recent Selias gig in Toronto too, and yes, we will have more on recent Spades GT news soon.

Joining Selias on tour are Barrie blackened death metal trio Out Of Spite in their own local debut, and while also relatively new to the GTA metal scene, their intense and distorted brand of in-your-face death metal should be welcomed by local metalheads with open arms! A healthy & diverse roster of local openers includes alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (in their second Soo Blaster show in under two weeks), hard rock quartet Half Past (in their Soo Blaster debut and their first multi-band concert since Hempfest in 2011), new & online page-less hardcore quintet The Sault Side Squad (as seen in Leeburn last month), and grindcore solo project Crucify The Whore, who have only been seen sparingly at public concerts post-pandemic, so it'll be good for old Blood Shed diehards to see Tyler back at a formal public stage! Also returning next month are local death metal/punk band Them in their first public concert set in over seven years!

Singer/guitarist Tyler St. Amour (who is promoting this concert in his first full booking since relaunching his agency Heavy North Entertainment) had announced last month that Them had reunited with a four-piece lineup and "a list of brutal original works", but they have yet to reveal who is joining Tyler in the new lineup. For reference, current HeadFirst drummer Anthony Boudreau was a constant during their original 2014-2017 run, and while they did have stints as a four-piece band, they were best known at the time as a duo. It's great to see Tyler back as a promoter and musician after seven years away, so stay tuned for more on Them 2.0, and they're back in our active band links! The other band playing next month is Without Compromise, the rap metal project formerly known as Less Than Zero, In The Sun, and Failure To Remain, as continuously led by former Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur.

It's been way too long since we've talked about Jason's current project on the SMS, so look for more on them on the site soon, as he has been quite busy, but it will be neat to see him back on a concert stage, though in what form? This ALL AGES show has doors opening at 5:00 PM, and admission will be $15, though they are on sale for $10 online on Eventbrite right now, so click here to buy yours in advance! No word on if the price would be hiked at the door. If you have missed a very Oddfellowsy night of extreme metal and local talent, this show should fill the void very nicely, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!