Piecing It Together Shows' Halloween Concert Review, Plus A New Concert Video!!

In this post, we have a review of a Halloween concert from this past weekend, and a video of a separate local show from that same night, so here's what you should know on this Monday evening!

Apologies for the delay in this making the site, but I (in a Calvin & Hobbes costume) was able to go to most of Piecing It Together Shows' Halloween concert a the Fraternal Order of Eagles club at 246 Wellington Street West on Saturday night! Just down the road from the Primavera Hall, the Eagles Club definitely felt like a tale of two venues when we first arrived, with the right half being where the concert was set up and the left being more where Eagles regulars were mingling at the bar and watching the Leafs game, but this got mixed up as the night progressed. Definitely didn't feel like a traditional concert venue (likely because it's not one), but kudos to the Eagles Club for hosting some P.I.T.S. events this year Unfortunately, we were running late for the concert and missed the opening set by local electro/synth musician Owen Kjiersdam, a.k.a. Owen MK, so I do apologize to him for not seeing him live!

Owen did post a brief clip of him (dressed as Jack Skellington) singing on Saturday night on his personal Facebook page, so seek that out if you're curious. It's at the end of a "Reel" that starts with video of him at The Soo's Got Talent's last week. From what little I heard, he was singing with confidence and enthusiasm, but it's not a long watch, so I don't know if things got as intense as the bands ahead in unfilmed portions of the night. I do think he does better when he leans more into how his studio material sounds, but hopefully we see Owen back out there soon!

The middle act last night was hardcore punk/crossover thrash quartet Hails, who unleashed an eleven song set of aggressive and fast-paced original music! With the non-Muto members in costume (albeit with items shed as the set wore on), Ha!ls tore through an eleven song set featuring originals like "Serf City" and "Such Desperate Joy" and a few songs carried over from frontman Brenton Ellis' acoustic solo project Slumshine like "BiPolaris" and "Sole Crusher", though surprisingly, nothing from their EP "Rock & Rolls" (despite it being on sale on CD and cassette). The guys were on brutal form on Saturday, with a very fast and heavy sound that pushes their earlier descriptions of being a skate punk band way to the backburner, with Brent full of confidence and honesty on vocals and bass, while Mikhal & Carmen Muto both shone on guitar with some impressive solos, and Keeghan McAllister kept up well on drums!

I do like how many songs had changes in structure and tempo that made you feel like the song was going to end, but it kept going while still feeling natural (I hope that made sense). The Vanity First side project delivered a brutal set for gathered fans, so don't bypass them if you like thrash metal!

Your headliners on Saturday were Toronto grunge/alternative trio Skoff in their local concert debut, and they definitely delivered a fun set to end the night with! You can see proof in my video of theirs, as a bunch of costumed fans hit the floor to dance and rock out mid-song (fan of the night is whoever was wearing the chicken mask!) It was often hard to hear the vocalist introducing songs, but they played tracks like "Cancel Culture", "F.A.F.O.", and "Let Me Out", sometimes using an old telephone headset as a microphone, which was neat!  While not a fully packed house, assembled fans definitely took to Skoff's aggressive, 1990s inspired sound, and the band was dressed up for the occasion, so everyone definitely had a good time to end the night. Skoff are still a relatively newer band, but their future is bright, and hopefully they come back to the Soo in the near future!

Overall, this was a fun concert and it's nice to see a multi-band show taking place for the Halloween season again! Hopefully there's more along these lines in 2025. You can see our photos and videos of Skoff and Hails (apologies again to Owen MK) at this link or at our Facebook page, but here's our videos of Ha!ls playing the Slunshine holdover "Pink Clouds Of Density" and Skoff playing an original that may be titled something like "Guess When I Die"! Let us know if you can help title it.

We'll close this post with a video from another Saturday night concert, albeit not a public one, as newer Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Dirty Musky posted a video of them at a private birthday party event at Three One Three On Ashmun onto their Facebook page! The video sees Dave, the Blackwoods, and Jamie covering White Zombie's "Thunder Kiss '65", which is awesome just in concept, as Rob/White Zombie isn't tackled much up here! Uploaded in funny vertical dimensions, the lighting isn't fantastic, but this is a well played and lively cover, though Dave's vocals could be a little grittier to better match the original. Check it out for yourselves below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Scarkazm) & More Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's continue with this weekend's hard rock concert previews as we continue the (pre-)Halloween concert slate! Remember, there are venues and bands holding their concerts/parties on Thursday and next weekend, given the proximity to the 31st proper. Also, just a heads up also that Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Dirty Musky are playing a private event at Three One Three On Ashmun tomorrow night, as per their Facebook page, but I won't offer further known details out of respect to the event's non-public nature. Now, here's what you should know for your Saturday night concert plans, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this year!

Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will play their last Eastern Upper Peninsula dates of 2024 when they return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, December 13th & Saturday, December 14th! While not yet confirmed by the casino online, Scarkazm announced the dates via this concert calendar on their Facebook page earlier today, which also covers dates by their sister classic metal/hard rock trio Peril and their acoustic side act Project 6 (no relation). Peril will not be north of the Mackinac Bridge for the rest of the year, and Project 6 scarcely play in the E.U.P. at all, but Scarkazm are ending 2024 with three regional weekends up here, including St Ignace stops next weekend and the Thanksgiving weekend in the Soo. Hopefully next month's and December's Scarkazm shows have more great hard hitting covers in store! As usual, these are 21+ gigs at 9:00 PM with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, we'll pick this weekend's previews back up in Sault Ontario, where local concert promoters Piecing It Together Shows (nee Dryer Fire) will host their Halloween party TOMORROW NIGHT at the Fraternal Order of Eagles club at 246 Wellington Street West! The second concert that Nicole and crew are hosting at the Eagles Club, tomorrow's spooky festivities will be headlined by the local debut of Toronto grunge/punk trio Skoff, whose explosive retro stylings should appeal to early 1990s alternative rock fans, so don't miss this rising young group tomorrow! Joining them are local punk/crossover thrash quartet Hails in their first gig since opening for The Ripcordz last month, and this should be a prime chance for Brent, the Mutos, and Keeghan to unleash their fury on a new venue and audience! Online page-less local electro synth pop artist Owen MK (who debuted at a Dryer Fire event two years ago) will lead off this multi-genre event.

Specifics about the Halloween aspects of tomorrow's concert are not public, but if there's no costume contest, one assumes that costumes are at least encouraged, and hopefully there's some suitably scary decor! Admission is $15 via tickets at this link or $20 at the door. Everything starts at 7:00 PM and this is an all ages event. It's good to see a multi-band Halloween show like this post-pandemic, as there haven't been too many of those, so keep all of the Steelton action in mind tomorrow at the Eagles Club! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Skoff's debut music video! I struggled to find a video of them in concert.

Also, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to Gateway Casino for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of rocking Shooters last week, this will be Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's first show at the downtown casino in just over two months, and hopefully their classic and hard rock cover slate draws another strong reception as usual! What we don't know about tomorrow's concert is if it will be Halloween themed, as Generations have not indicated whatsoever if this show will have any seasonality to it. This is Gateway Casinos' Spooktacular Customer Appreciation week, which includes deals at the on-site Getaway Restaurant and nightly promotions for casino-goers midweek, but I have seen no promotion on the casino's end tying Generations' concert to Halloween at all. Of course, they will be playing on Halloween proper at The Water Tower Pub, but keep posted in case they/the casino clarify tomorrow's plans.

As such, wear costumes to Gateway Casino tomorrow at your discretion, but I can't guarantee that they're encouraged and/or if there will be a costume contest. The concert proper takes place at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

Finally, we'll head south to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for this weekend's last known hard rock concert, as Sault Ste. Marie hard rock quartet Unfortunate Sun will headline the Halloween party at Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter will be the Fake Chow successors' first show at the former Joe's Bar since debuting there with an outdoors gig back in July, and they'll be back there in three weeks if you want to see them in a regular, non-seasonal environment. Unfortunate Sun have fortunately delivered a strong show and gotten a reception to match since debuting, and hopefully they get more of the same in Rudyard tomorrow! Huck's Facebook page confirms that there will be a costume contest tomorrow, so wear your best outfit and you may be rewarded with one of three prizes! No word on other seasonal frills but the venue should be decked out for the occasion, so keep tabs with the band/pub for any possible new details on this show.

Like with Generations in Sault Ontario, Unfortunate Sun take the stage in Rudyard at 8:00 PM (though they're slated to run until midnight, one more hour). This show will be a 21+ affair with no cover charge, and in the unlikely event that Huck's is hosting this outdoors, 9&10 News are calling for partly cloudy skies with temperatures of around 39° Fahrenheit (4° Celsius), which I'd assume would be too chilly. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Unfortunate Sun live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Skoff, Exit 808, And Peril) Plus The Teenage Head Concert Preview!!

(Updated on Sunday at 9:40 AM) To begin this revised post, we have a cancellation to note, as today's Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W on Great Northern Road (which would have featured local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck as musical guests once again) has been cancelled due to today's rainy forecast, as per drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page. It's not clear if there will be a make-up date this fall, as this was to have been the final A&W car show of the year, but given the likely downpour this afternoon, I totally get why the event was called off. Hopefully we see Soundcheck live again soon! 

Now, let's lead off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and a big weekend concert preview, starting with Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril's return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, October 11th and Saturday, October 12th! These are the only new-to-me metal or hard rock shows at either Kewadin branch on the newly updated schedules for both regional Kewadin lounges' entertainment pages, but, I profusely apologize for missing Peril's shows at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin branch yesterday and tonight for coverage on the SMS. I don't know how these slipped me by, other than to say that I am aware that Kewadin hasn't been booking as many hard rock shows at their lounges as of late, and Peril didn't plug this weekend's gigs on their Facebook page until earlier today, after the Friday nighter had already happened. Still, those are excuses, I know.

Given how Peril have been rocking the local Kewadin branches since the SMS launched, I should be keeping track of everything every time, so I apologize again, and hopefully this weekend's shows were huge hits, as will next month's in St. Ignace! These dates have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Do not miss Peril back in the E.U.P. in three weeks, and I apologize again for blanking on covering their Soo dates this weekend! I will definitely be on top of their next Rapids Lounge dates!

Next up, here's two more new shows as we start adding Halloween events to the schedule, and given that October 31st is on a Thursday this year, expect to see seasonal concerts both the week prior and the day after given the timing! In the former's case, Toronto grunge/punk trio Skoff will make their local concert debut on Saturday, October 26th when they headline local promoters Piecing It Together Shows' Halloween party at the Fraternal Order of Eagles club at 246 Wellington Street West! A newer band making waves in Southern Ontario with their raw and explosive sound that early 1990s rock fans will definitely take to, it should be interesting to see how Skoff go over locally, especially given the seasonality and costumes galore! Local support will be provided by crossover thrash quartet Hails (last seen opening for The Ripcordz) alongside electro synth pop musician Owen MK, who debuted for the former Dryer Fire at an all-local event two years ago.

Aside from the scheduling and the promotion of this being a Halloween party, we don't know any further details yet about spooky frills or entertainment beyond the implication of costumes being welcomed, but this is just the second Eagles Club show that P.I.T.S. are trying (the first is next week). This all ages event has a 7:00 PM start time, and tickets run for $15 at this link or $20 at the door. Since the pandemic and the end of J.D.'s Halloween party, multi-band events like those have not been common, so this could fill a void for fans of punk and metal! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this event!

Meanwhile, as Halloween is on a Thursday this year, some bands/promoters will take advantage by hosting their festivities a day late on Friday, November 1st, and one of those will be Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808, who will topline The Merchant's Bar's Halloween party that day! With their next show at Team Century 21's A Night Of Music a week away, the Hallowen gig at The Merch is their next advertised date as of this writing, and there will definitely be a costume contest with prizes for attendees, so don't put your getups away yet! No other specifics yet on what to expect, but of course, Exit 808's dual  vocalist-lead hard rock covers will provide the sound you need as usual! This event has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Exit 808 soon!

Finally, here's the big Sault Ontario concert TONIGHT featuring a touring headliner to wrap up this weekend's concert previews, namely Hamilton punk legends Teenage Head at The Machine Shop! As hyped in this SooToday article from Alex Flood on Tuesday, this concert goes beyond being Teenage Head's first local stop in the internet age, as it's a fundraiser for the Sault Ste. Marie branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. This cause is very important to the band and promoter Ed Lofstrom of Martin's Trailers & Accessories, who is an avid fan of the band's dating back to their early years. Mental health is a serious issue, and it's great to see everyone come together to support such a wonderful charity, and to the extent that Teenage Head are calling this one of the most important shows of their career! Before their garage punk classics like "Let's Shake" and "Some Kinda Fun", Korah Collegiate's student band Mustang Sally will open.

Very atypical choice for openers, but the talent is always there from the current Colts! This show (during Teenage Head's 50th anniversary year, no less) has no age limit, an 8:00 PM start time, and tickets running for $45 at this link (VIP mezzanine tickets run for $60). On a musical and charitable level each, this will be a huge show for old school punk fans, and I hope all goals are exceeded for Ed and Teenage Head tonight! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Teenage Head live!

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