LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Switchfoot & Sandman), The Dopethrone Concert Preview, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this weekend's previews, as Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished returned to The Driftwood Sports Bar in St. Ignace last night. While the venue (which doesn't regularly host live bands) had been promoting the show for over two weeks, Tarnished only announced the show on under three hours notice on their Facebook page, blaming this on frontman Alex Traynor forgetting "to hit 'Post'". Tarnished haven't announced a booking on more than three days notice since (ironically) their Halloween show at The Driftwood last year, so I can't be too shocked, but I do apologize, and hopefully the concert was a hit for the band & attendees alike!

Now, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and an SMS-adjacent event's return, and we'll start with Toronto-based Metallica tribute band Sandman will return to Sault Ontario when they become headline at The Full Throttle Saloon on Saturday, July 25th! Making their (at least) fifth local appearance, local fans last saw Sandman when they played at the former Soo Blaster in July & October 2022. Notable as the only tribute band that Metallica has officially licensed (details here), you may also recognize members Rick Van Dyk, Paul Fonseca, and Brent Niemi from being mid-late 2000s members of Helix. I have seen Sandman twice, including at my first ever 19+ concert in June 2008, and they deliver the goods for fans of 1980s and early 1990s Metallica, so hopefully things go well when they invade Steelton in two months! No word yet on a local opener, but note that Headrush (who opened for Crazy Babies here) feature guitarist Wes Greco, who opened the October 2022 Sandman show with The Soo Fighters.

This 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and ticket prices will cost $50 at the venue. If you're curious, their Soo Blaster gigs in 2022 had advance tickets that cost just $20. This is still cheaper than the $70 Crazy Babies show, but all of The Full Throttle Saloon touring tribute concerts have had tickets that are considerably higher than comparable local shows elsewhere, so be mindful of everything prior. No word on if the former Primavera Hall will permit admission at the door (they did not for Crazy Babies). Hopefully this is another hit as they continue bringing in tribute rock bands, so see above for more details on the Saloon's third touring tribute concert!

Next up, here's the big new concert announcement from two weeks ago at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as San Diego alternative/hard rock quartet Switchfoot will make their local debut on Friday, October 9th! Best known for their early 2000s top 20 crossover hits "Mean To Live" and "Dare You To Move" (and decades of success on the Christian charts), Switchfoot have drifted away from their earlier hard rock material somewhat in recent years, but they should have lots of early hits in store along with cuts from their new album "Forever Now", and it will be interesting to see how they go over in four months' time! Florida alt-rock/emo band Anberlin will open on October 9th in their own local debut, and they're best known for their songs "Feel Good Drag" and "Impossible". Like Switchfoot, they are a Christian band but also strive for mainstream appeal, and their sound has crossed many subgenres!

Presented by Rock 101 (though The Promise or KFM easily could do so too), tickets run from $71-$91 USD depending on location in the theatre, while VIP admission for $191 will guarantee you a center section seat in the first six rows, among other perks. You can buy tickets for this all ages and 8:00 PM concert at this link, at the in-person box office, and at 1-800-KEWADIN. This should be an interesting night for fans of 2000s rock, and something a little different from what typically comes to Kewadin Casino, so visit the above links for more details on this fall concert!

Now to a special Monday night concert preview in Sault Ontario, as Montreal "slutch metal" veterans Dopethrone will rock the Soo for the first time in seven years TOMORROW NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Last seen at the former New A in May 2019, fans can expect another blast of sludgy doom metal from this well travelled and punishing trio, so don't miss out if you can swing the work/school night action! Joining them on tour are Vancouver goth metal band Tribunal, a mixed-gender group whose brand of orchestral and atmospheric doom will definitely deliver something a little different for fans in attendance tomorrow! Local support includes a one-off 15 minute set from 2010s grindcore staples Shit Liver (who opened for Dopethrone in 2019 in the final concert of their original run). It will be great to see Josh, Mike, and Matt back for one more blistering good time, if not a long time!

The relaunched Bear Hunters (now known as Eden Plague) will kick things off in their first show since a private Leeburn event in 2023, and their first public gig in city limits since 2021. Same lineup, but new songs and a fresh start, so it will be very interesting to see how Eden Plague go over tomorrow after eight years of sporadic activity, hiatuses, and breakup teasers! Promoted by Shit Liver/Golden Scoundrels frontman Josh Penno, this 19+ concert has a 7:30 PM start time, and tickets cost $20 at Jay's and The Rad Zone, with door admission costing $25. This should be a brutal night of metal, and a nice throwback to the 2010s from the openers, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Dopethrone live!

Finally, do you remember when The Distraction on East Street hosted occasional "punk rock sewing club" nights in 2024 & 2025? Well, they are back at a new venue! As you may recall, The Distraction closed indefinitely (permanently?) due to the fire code issues reported during last July's Ripcordz concert, but promoter Mikhal Muto (of Underground Events SSM) has struck a deal with The Speak Easy at Algoma University to bring the conceit back for three Thursdays this summer (June 25th, July 23rd, and August 20th). The idea is to sew and craft your own projects (theoretically patches on clothing given the "punk sewing" theme. but there's no limits), and while you're encouraged to bring crafting materials, tables, scrap fabric, and (of course) punk background music will be provided. The idea exists where musicians could play here too, presumably acoustic ones, which did happen at least once at The Distraction.

This is more "SMS-adjacent" given that it's a craft night and not a concert, but the punk themes are all over the place here (think of all of the patches you see on people's clothing at concerts!), and Mikhal has been a supporter of this idea right along. Promotion emphasizes that this is a safe space too, so if you want to hang out in an inclusive area and sew patches and anything else while listening to punk rock, circle these three Thursdays on your calendar, and who knows if this could lead to more? That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

For our last post of April 2026, let's look at most of this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Due to the amount (though we have seen busier weekends), I'll hold our preview of Saturday night's Bimbo-headlined concert in Sault Michigan for tomorrow's news post. Now, here's what you should know in Sault Ontario this weekend in a hard rock/punk context, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover sister bands Soundcheck and Separate Wayz will join forces for another "epic crossover" weekend, this time at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via Separate Wayz' Facebook page on Tuesday, though note that the venue has not corroborated the bookings on social media. Marking their first joint appearance together since rocking Beck's Bar a month ago, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will be Soundcheck's first at this Second Line West staple since they played there in February, albeit with no crossover, as Separate Ways singer Nicole Thibodeau was ill that weekend (the shows were originally planned for solely Separate Wayz, but Travis bailed them out on short notice for Soundcheck gigs instead). Of course, remember that the two bands have a 75% identical lineup, just swap Travis for Nicole.

Good to see Terry, Jim, Johnny, and both singers together again for what should be a stacked pair of classic and hard rock shows, so keep both in mind TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Both are 9:30 PM affairs at 9:30 PM with no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, here's some shows that did have advance notice before Tuesday, starting with a rare punk concert at The Speak Easy at Algoma University, where Flint, Michigan-based ska punk band The Write-Ups will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT! A spiritual successor to the Quit It! concert at the same venue last fall (if with much better promotion), The Write-Ups have the ska bonafides (including a horn section) and socially charged lyrics to go along with a fun and bouncy brand of punk rock that subgenre fans should easily take to tomorrow, so welcome them north of the border in style! Fittingly, newer local ska punk trio A.S.D.P. will be the local openers in their debut at Algoma University's campus pub, and expect their own original cuts to set the mood right! This is the newest promoted concert from A.S.D.P. frontman Mikhal Muto's agency Underground Events SSM.

This stop on The Write-Ups' "Up North Weekender" is an all ages concert (yes, The Speak Easy is licensed), doors open at 7:00 PM, and admission is $15 for general attendees and $10 for current Algoma University students with valid student ID. If you love ska punk, you don't want to miss out on this one, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here are The Write-Ups live late last year!

Also this weekend, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Quite Frankly will return to Beck's Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Fresh off of their debut at Gateway Casino last week, this will be Linsaey, Frank, Harley, and Joe's first stop at the Goulais Avenue nightclub of 2026, having played one of their first post-reunion gigs there in November. The band promises "another night of great energy & your favourite hits", and who am I to doubt that kind of claim? Their blend of accessible but often heavy covers can be seen at the former Vibe Lounge tomorrow at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. In the increasingly frequent cases where Beck's hosts a band on Fridays rather than a DJ, they don't double up a band on both nights, so Saturday night's band there are classic rock trio The Sidekicks. Visit the above links for more on tomorrow's concert, and here's Quite Frankly live!

Finally for this preview post, prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Misty's Fifties for his second matinee concert there of the spring on SATURDAY! After ending his 2+ month break from concerts at this Second Line West pub in mid-April, this will be the first of three May matinee concerts at Misty's for Tym, so if you're up for a few hours of unplugged rock covers from this veteran talent, then head west on Saturday! Tym will be back every other week for the rest of the month, and we await a public announcement of his schedule at Misty's (and elsewhere) for the summer and beyond. This Saturday matinee concert goes down at 4:00 PM with a presumed 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. It's great to see Tym back on a more normal schedule after his finger healed up, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here he is live! 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bimbo concert preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Write-Ups), Mammoth Concert Updates, And More!!

For this Tuesday night post, we're mostly looking at Sault Michigan updates, including a new video interview and updates relating to a big upcoming concert and some more assorted notes, but we'll start in Sault Ontario with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this spring!

Ska punk fans will want to circle Friday, May 1st on your calendars, as Flint, Michigan ska-punk band The Write-Ups will make their local concert debut that night at The Speak Easy at Algoma University! Not the first time that we've seen an touring punk band from the USA cross the border for a show here (promoter Mikhal Muto brought a handful of Michigan folk punk bands here last year), but The Write-Ups deliver a suitably bouncy brand of ska punk fuelled with politicially charged and social cause-driven lyrics, and (as you'd hope) a horn section, so they should whet the appetites of subgenre fans! Fittingly, the local openers are newer ska punk trio A.S.D.P. (who Mikhal is the frontman of), and while they don't play live super regularly, expect some fun cuts from their debut EP "Atom Bombs & Lemonade" to kick things off! This is the first concert to cross our radar at The Speak Easy since another touring political punk band (Quit It!) played there in October.

Put on by Mikhal's new agency Underground Events SSM, this will be an all ages concert with doors opening at 7:00 PM, and admission will be $15 at the door or $10 for current Algoma University students with valid student ID (I have not seen any reference to advance tickets being sold online or in person). This should be a fun way to kick off the merry merry month of May, so visit the above links for more details on this concert!

Next up, here's some cool promotion for this Saturday's Mammoth concert at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino that I wanted to address without clogging up our next round of weekend concert previews. As some of you may have heard live, Rock 101's Scott Cook interviewed frontman Wolfgang Van Halen on air on his weekday morning drive show Scott Cook In The Morning on March 6th! This is far from a unique occasion, but it's rare when The Sault's Rock Station posts interviews to check out on demand on social media, so kudos to Scott for conducting this and uploading it to Rock 101's Facebook page. The 11+ minute Zoom interview features Scott asking Wolf about how Mammoth's current tour is going, seeing him live out of town with both Mammoth and Van Halen, his family ties (including his uncle in Charlevoix), his uncle Alex Van Halen's current album plans...

...how he handles recording everything on Mammoth albums vs. playing the songs live with a band, their recent Billboard rock chart success, the inspirations of his song lyrics, and what to expect at the concert on Saturday, plus some more casual conversation. Pretty good interview with loose and friendly banter, and Wolfgang came off well here, so this is good hype for the big show in four days' time! Give it a watch below, especially if you missed the live airing of the interview on 101.3 FM!

I did want to note before we move on that promoters Allstar Promotions briefly had a post on Facebook last week indicating that this may be their final major show at The Dreammakers Theatre due to the costs of putting these shows on, coupled with how ticket sales had been going, but when I went back to their Facebook page to source from it, I couldn't find the post. I assume they took it down, but whether they're reassessing what was said (if not just the tone of it), I don't know. Putting on concerts of this scale isn't cheap, and for modern hard rock, Allstar Promotions are by far the biggest facilitator for bringing said bands here, so regardless of if they plan to put on shows beyond Mammoth or not, I do thank Dave & crew for all they have done over the past decade & a half! If you are curious, center section seats for Saturday night's concert are sold out, but there are still left/right section seats available from the sixth-tenth row ($54.50) and in further rows ($44.50) at this link, in person, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. Stay tuned for our full preview in a few days!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• I have regrettably removed the recently disbanded Double Down from our inactive Sault Ontario band links due to the recent deletion of both of their Facebook pages, which were their only online pages. It's never ideal when bands take down their pages after breaking up, as it pulls any official public content and media there offline for everyone, but alas, what can I do? I can only hope that the classic/hard rock cover band's breakup was more amicable than the sudden nature and social media exodus may indicate, and that we see everyone in new bands in due course!
• If you noticed that defunct Sault Michigan hard rock quintet Double Jack (better known as Exit 808) are listed on Kewadin Casino's entertainment page as playing at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on April 3rd & 4th, that is assuredly an old booking from before their early 2024 name change, and not even the first time that the St. Ignace Kewadin listed a "Double Jack" booking there after their breakup, as they previously did so in December too. This is good proof that some venues can and do book bands for lengthy periods in advance, but hopefully Kewadin gets an active band to fill in over the Easter long weekend!
• Local hard rock cover band Unfortunate Sun teased in their new cover photo on their Facebook page that they may be dropping "Sun" from their band name, and while most of the comments were jokey, this would be a way to signal a fresh start following singer Skip Parish's departure from the band earlier this month. Unfortunate (Sun?) haven't made a formal statement otherwise, but their lineup listed there now credits Jody, Brett, and Jason as all providing vocals. Time will tell if they're all indeed splitting those duties going forward or not, but we'll keep you posted!

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for news, features, and previews ahead! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Quit It!), Upcoming Album Teasers, And New Videos!!

 Here's a new news post for this Sunday morning, which includes some varied new videos, upcoming album details on both sides of the border, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that completely slipped me by until now, so here's what you should know!

Calgary "socio-political anthemic punk" band Quit It! will make their local concert debut TONIGHT at The Speak Easy at Algoma University! I profusely apologize for the short notice, I only heard about this show this morning via this SooToday article which went live on October 9th, though the Facebook event page went live late last month. I'm assuming this fell through the cracks because the SooToday article was "sponsored content", let alone that TONIGHT's show appears to have no local openers (the poster saying "bands" acknowledged), but remember that The Speak Easy only infrequently hosts SMS-amenable bands, with this being the first such punk/hard rock event since Mean Bikini played there in 2023. Touring in support of their new album "Through The Debris", Quit It! have an explosive and politically charged sound that left-leaning punk fans will appreciate, and their DIY approach and clear talents and energy will definitely lend themselves well to drawing a good response from fans at Algoma University TONIGHT!

If there is an opening band, they are uncredited in public press. A 7:00 PM start time is in effect for TONIGHT'S concert, which has admission at the door of $15 for general audiences and $10 for Algoma students with valid student ID. As best as I can tell, this is an all ages event. Being on a work/school night for most may not be ideal, but Quit It! are worth checking out for sure, and if this goes well, it might not be two years before The Speak Easy brings another touring punk band here! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Quit It! live last month!

Next up, here's the latest from local metal trio The BAG, who had been radio silent for the past three months, so what have they been up to? Well, on Thursday, they revealed on their new Facebook page that they have finished mixing and mastering their debut album! To my recollection, they hadn't even announced that they were entering the studio (despite having multiple originals in their live sets), so this is a welcome surprise! I was worried that Spencer joining the Sault Side Squad was a bad omen for The BAG's future, but no cause for alarm there! The album will be named "Sacculus", which is a sensory cell in the inner ear and some some insects' antenna, and the painted cover artwork by Elly Grawbarger depicts a battle between a cthulhu and a lava monster (possibly a cherufe?) near a volcano, with the band rocking out at the foot of it. Further details on the track listing, release formats, and more lie ahead, but check out more updates from The BAG above!

Also, let's start playing catch up on what new Sault Michigan hard rock trio Crush have been up to beyond what we have covered of theirs on the site already! Since launching, this band has picked up both the original music responsibilities and the jokey/parody social media promotion angle that Alex, Josh, and Isaac's other/old band Tarnished have largely shelved since they shifted to a covers-only focus last summer, and that is very clear if you follow Crush's Facebook page. On August 6th, they shared this video of the guys going to Dunham's Sports at the Cascade Crossings strip mall, where guitarist Josh Fair bought his first gun, followed by the guys taking it to a field to do some practice shooting. The visual content here isn't really SMS-relevant beyond who's starring, but there is humour to be had! And remember, this is Michigan, everything with the rifle was done legally and safely. However, the music will be of note regardless!

Added in post are demos of Crush's original songs "No Way", "Intoxicated", and "Too Close", and the end-of-video caption notes that they have an "album coming soon". I had my suspicions watching this video that they were in studio in some form, so it's nice to get some public clarification, and it will be interesting to hear how things are coming along! Give Crush's day of gun fun (and the new demos, albeit as background music) a look below!

Finally, here's a new video from Sault Ontario classic rock cover duo Frankly Speaking's concert at Beck's Bar on Wednesday! This special mid-week show was one of their "Rock On To The Sound Of Change" events that generally isn't billed to the Frankly Speaking name (rather "Frank & Frank" or "Frankeeproductions"), and in this format, they pay homage to rock classics in a historical context and how those songs/bands inspired social change. Generally, the Franks don't lean heavier as far as the SMS goes but they certainly have hard rock covers in their back pocket that we have featured here in prior posts. This video was shared to 705Live Sound Co.'s Facebook page from singer/guitarist Frank Gioia's personal Facebook page, and it features him and keyboardist Frank Greco covering the opening ballad verses of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", with a silent video of Queen playing behind them.

What we get here looks and sounds good, even with the hyper-narrow widescreen orientation, and it is interesting seeing a themed special concert set like this from a local band that gets treated as a bigger deal! Some readers may recall "Rock On To The Sound Of Change" being performed at Rotaryfest Stage 1 last year, albeit without a video screen. Give Frankly Speaking's partial Queen cover a watch below!

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

Mean Bikini Concert Preview, Plus Spades GT Updates!!

Hey guys, just a heads up that my primary computer is having issues outputting sound, so I've had to use my phone and/or a backup laptop for listening to things addressed in today's post. I sincerely hope that this isn't a prolonged issue, but if anything seems amiss from normal coverage, that is why. Now, we have a mid-week concert preview and some more recent news items to address tonight, so here's what you should know!

Punk fans who don't mind seeing a live concert on a school/work night may want to stop by The Speak Easy at Algoma University TOMORROW NIGHT, where Cumberland, British Columbia skate/hardcore punk quartet Mean Bikini will make their local debut! A unique and somewhat politically charged band who uniquely have a half non-binary lineup, this newer group should definitely turn heads with their upbeat and high energy brand of punk rock originals, so don't sleep on Mean Bikini despite the Wednesday night timing! Online page-less (Instagram aside) local folk punk solo project Agnosticism will open in their first show of the fall, so if you're interested in seeing Vanity First/Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto's unplugged exploits, be there nice and early tomorrow! Promoted by Dryer Fire, it has since been confirmed that this 7:00 PM show will be all ages, so don't worry about the student ID exemption here!

Furthermore, despite initially having an admission fee of $10 in advance ($15 at the door), Dryer Fire have announced that this show is FREE thanks to support from the Algoma University Student Union, so keep that in mind! We haven't seen a public punk/metal concert at The Speak Easy in over five years, with a pandemic and heavy renovations happening in the interim, so it'll be interesting to hear how tomorrow's show goes over! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Mean Bikini live!

Next up, here's the latest from local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT, so what have they been up to over the past month? On September 1st, their new album "Sewer City Radio" got a perfect 5/5 review by John Haseltine of Metal-Rules.com in their "Quick Jabs" series of brief new album reviews. John highly praised the "highly infectious tracks" as being "heavy thrashy rock with that pop-punk feel", and while he's not quite right about calling this their "debut album" (someone send him "The First"!), the praise was well deserved! A week later, the former Jack Spades posted a "Reel" on their Facebook page where frontman J.D. Pearce kinda covers Alanis Morrissette's "You Oughta Know".... kinda! You have to watch it to get the joke. Another "Reel" made its way there on the 17th where drummer Tyler Reiner showed off their new "Sewer City Radio" t-shirts that are now on sale.

The shirts actually show a radio station graphic, so there's a new interpretation! Spades GT's most recent show saw them and other bands open for Random Killing (a band Saultites know very well) at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto on Saturday night, which J.D. and Daniel plugged in two separate "Reels" linked here & here (nothing major to report in either, though J.D.'s has glitchy video effects). Daniel posted another "Reel" on Sunday to thank everyone who came to see them at The Bovine, and he noted there that Aidan Grossman of the The Grossman Film Group was filming their set for an upcoming docuseries. Aidan had filmed Spades GT when they opened for Anvil in Toronto in May of last year, and the footage was excellent despite the longer raw video never being posted online. This bodes very well assuming that the docuseries plans go according to plan, and hopefully it does!

One more "Reel" was posted earlier today featuring some of Aidan's footage, and true to form from last year, the quality is very good as we see (most of) Spades playing at The Bovine and talking to the camera beforehand, but why was this uploaded as a "Reel"? Aidan's footage is in landscape orientation (16:9) whereas "Reels" are permanently vertical! I recommend watching in full screen on a computer if you can, and true to form, I can't embed it here. Photos from the Toronto show (which guitarist Jay Sarrazin was absent for) were also posted to Facebook. In terms of new shows, Spades GT have added to their Toronto concert opening for Anvil with dates opening for the "Metal On Metal" icons in Sudbury at The Coulson Entertainment Centre on October 26th & at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie on November 9th (the Pembroke show listed on this poster does not feature Spades GT).

Alas, no Soo date, but it'll be neat for locals there to see both bands, and for father & son Reiner to share the same stage on these nights! Finally, their newest announced show will take them back to The Atria in Oshawa on October 28th when they and eight other bands will open for Random Killing again at the twelfth "In Crust We Trust" concert there. Spades opened for Drew & crew at The Atria in July as well, so this will be a familiar night even moreso if you're in the area! Now we're caught up on what Spades GT have been up to this month, but stay tuned for more on the site soon, including this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fall Of Earth & Mean Bikini), The Ripcordz Concert Preview, And New Videos!!

We are officially in the fall months, and let's kick things off with a packed post on this Friday morning, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one more weekend concert preview, and some new live videos. Here's what you should know to kick off your Labour Day long weekend!

Cumberland, British Columbia punk quartet Mean Bikini will make their local concert debut on Wednesday, September 27th when they headline at Algoma University's on-campus nightclub The Speak Easy! It is great to see The Speak Easy being used as a metal/punk venue again, as we haven't covered a SMS-amenable show there in over five years (pandemic acknowledged). A unique band in the sense that half of their lineup is non-binary, Mean Bikini's intense brand of skate and hardcore punk (dotted with some political lyrics) should find a very receptive audience later this month, and while all of their music on Bandcamp so far is relatively new, you have to start somewhere! Online page-less local folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism (led by Vanity First/Hails guitarist Mikhal Muto) will open the proceedings in their first gig since playing at a private house party event with multiple other acts on August 19th.

This concert is one of four being put on by local promoters Dryer Fire this month, half being at The Speak Easy, and I hope that both do well to encourage more promoters to resume booking concerts there, especially after they completed some big renovations post-pandemic! This mid-week concert has an announced 7:00 PM start time, tickets are $10 in advance at this link or $15 at the door, and while one assumes this will be 19+, many past Speak Easy concerts were open to underage attendees if they had valid Algoma University student ID, so inquire within if this still applies. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, if you've been craving a proper metal show, this should help, as Edmonton melodic deathcore quartet Fall Of Earth will make their local debut on Friday, October 6th at Soo Blaster! Another relatively newer band with no posted media before the 2020s, Fall Of Earth bring a hybrid of metal subgenres to the table along with a standout live performance, and as they hit the road in support of their new album "From The Ashes", hopefully local metalheads come out in full force for this one next month! Reunited local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters will play their first public concert in almost two years as openers, and if you discount that Mellow D's Underground-hosted event given the venue's pop-up nature, this will be their first truly public show with a permanent address since 2019, when The Bear Hunters opened for Seax & Warsenal, also at Soo Blaster. Hopefully there's much more from Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny to come, and it's great to have them back!

The opening band will be newer local metal trio The BAG, fresh off of their set at Lopstock in July, and they should set the tone with their in your face (if mostly untitled publically) original slate and select covers! Promoted by Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger (who also hosted the big, yet private & friends-aimed event in Leeburn last month), this concert has a 7:30 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and admission of $15 in advance or $20 at the door. I am not sure if they're selling tickets online or if they will be solely available through local openers/the venue, keep posted for updates on that front. This should be a great time for metal fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Now let's wrap up this weekend's known hard rock and punk concert previews within an hour of city limits, and it's the big one, as Montreal hardcore punk trio The Ripcordz will make their post-pandemic return to the Soo TONIGHT at The Loft at The Algoma Conservatory of Music! Like The Bear Hunters above, this will be Paul Gott & crew's first stop at a permanent local venue since the fall of 2019, but they've never stopped, we just had a pandemic and the move of usual local promoter J.D. Pearce to contend with. Now they're back for another furious night of hardcore punk originals old and new, and if you saw their seven local dates from 2013-2019 or their numerous trips prior, you won't want to miss out on tonight's festivities! Local support will come by way of alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (who opened for The Ripcordz the last time they came here) and newer local punk rock quartet Far From Fine.

Fresh off of their sets at The Northern Vibe Festival, hopefully their Loft debuts go swimmingly tonight! Promoted by ex-Destroilet drummer Matt Waples in his debut booking, tonight's 19+ and 8:00 PM show has $25 tickets on sale at this link, and uniquely, Matt plans to hold a $500 raffle IF the show sells out of online tickets. Ploy to sell out the concert or just trying something different? I don't know, but if you want a shot at $500, don't wait to buy at the door! This should be a fun concert for hardcore punk fans, and long overdue in many respects, so visit the official Facebook event page for more on tonight's action, and here's The Ripcordz live!

We'll close today with new videos from Nostalgic Band frontman and veteran acoustic singer/guitarist Tym Morrison! This past Saturday, he took the hour+ drive east to Thessalon for a private booking of some description at the Pinecrest Tent & Trailer Park there, and as luck would have it, Christopher Paci was there that day and decided to film some of his set for his YouTube channel! How their paths crossed, I don't know, but Chris filmed Tym covering Toto's "Africa", Oasis' "Wonderwall", and as embedded below, Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive". Granted, this is the only one not zoomed in, but it is the longest of the three, and allows us to see the cabin space that Tym was playing at on Saturday at a little better. I'm not a huge fan of these songs, but Tym performs them as strongly as you'd expect, and his full solo concert setup came with him to Thessalon, so check these out above & below, and don't miss Tym TONIGHT at The Trading Post!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide And Tym Morrison), Plus This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

March is coming in like a lion with today's post, as we're previewing an eventful weekend of concerts for hard rock fans on both sides of the border! That said, let's begin with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this month, including three on SHORT NOTICE!

With a new month underway, we'll add former Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's slate of March 2018 concerts to our schedule, including Gliss Steak & Seafood gigs TOMORROW & SATURDAY (as well as March 9th-10th, 16th-17th, 23rd-24th, and 30th-31st), plus nighttime returns to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill TOMORROW and on the 30th! Apologies for the short notice on this weekend's three shows, remember that we approach Tym's solo shows on a month-by-month basis due to their prolific nature and long-term length. Now into the spring months with even more acoustic solo shows, Tym Morrison's skilled evenings of familiar covers should play to more positive crowds at Gliss over the next five weekends and beyond, so keep them in mind for your supper-time entertainment downtown! As for the Roadhouse shows, these are the final two shows of his advertised run of bi-monthly concerts in the first quarter of 2018.

It remains to be seen if Tym will play a similar schedule at this east end venue in April and beyond, but just in case, keep these shows in mind for the first and last Fridays of this month! As usual, Tym's Gliss shows (TOMORROW & SATURDAY included) are 6:00 PM events with no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale, while TOMORROW and March 30th's Roadhouse gigs are 19+ events with no announced cover and a 10:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live!



Next up, here's a new show that's not going down this weekend, but is well worth addressing, as local/Toronto Celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will return from a lengthy hiatus when they open for local indie rock solo musician Jesse Merineau & his band at The Speak Easy at Algoma University on Thursday, March 22nd! Having only played one local concert in the past 2½ years (July 2016's Hedley show), it's great to see The Tide back after way too long, and hopefully they can pick up where they left off with more entertaining original material! Yes, they are back in our band links, but no word on if Mikey Hawdon or one of their guest drummers will be behind the kit on the 22nd. As for the headliners, SMS readers will recognize Jesse Merineau from winning the 2016 Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, headlining last year's Rotaryfest Stage 2, and featuring Caroline Divine & Electric Church alums in his solo band. Jesse's infrequent solo concerts are usually big events, and fresh off of his upcoming music video/single release, attention should be high for fans of his indie/pop rock originals!

Doors open at 8:00 PM for this ALL AGES concert, which has $10 tickets available at The Speak Easy, The Rad Zone, Case's Music, and the Thomas Walls School of Music. Crank Sound Distribution will handle sound on the 22nd, and it will apparently be co-hosted by AURA (a.k.a. Algoma University Radio), which is their on-campus podcast/discussion forum. This should be a big concert for alt-rock fans in three weeks time, with some punk for good measure from a returning notable quartet, so visit the official Facebook event page for current and continuing details!

Moving back to this weekend's concert previews, we'll next head to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace, where Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Cousin Eddie will play their first shows of 2018 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in Rudyard back in November, this should be another entertaining weekend of hard rocking covers from Highway 63's sister band, so fans craving some good old fashioned rock in the E.U.P. this weekend should keep these shows in mind! However, I will note that the band has not publically acknowledged these shows (they were confirmed on Kewadin's entertainment page), but we'll edit this if we hear that the shows are not going through. Expect 21+ age limits for these shows, which have 9:00 PM start times, and no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and hopefully some public videos surface in the future from Cousin Eddie concerts!

Finally, let's head back to Sault Ontario for Tidal Records' Punk Covers Night THIS SATURDAY at LopLops Lounge, where three different local bands will join forces! In public advertising, veteran local punk trio Redundant are the last listed band in a rare LopLops appearance of theirs, and with an established set full of punk covers (and perhaps originals from their forthcoming debut EP), they should deliver a fun set on Saturday night! The other two bands are listed in different order depending on source, but one will be another long awaited return from a Dustin Jones-fronted punk band, as his online page-less punk supergroup The Cover-Up will play their first advertised public concert set in three years on Saturday, with he and guitarist Marco Pedalino now joined by fellow Tide bandmate Marshall Jaaskelainen and K.I.C.K.'s Aaron Dunn. It's great to see The Cover-Up also back after their own hiatus, so don't miss them either! Saturday's other band is The Bananas Guerrillas, the new punk band from ex-Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci and ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick.

A successor to or renaming of their Blink-182 tribute Enema of the Soo from last year's Halloween Party event at The Algonquin Pub, I cannot 100% confirm who's on bass this weekend, but Long Shot's Adam Dawe handled that role last fall. It'll be interesting to hear how The Bananas Guerrillas do, and they have some solid returning names! A $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ show on Saturday, with a 9:00 PM start time listed on the Facebook event page, while the road on the poster above hints at bands to be covered. Punk fans should make a beeline for LopLops for all of the action on Saturday, so see above links for more details, and here's Redundant live!



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

Battle Of The Bands Rewind Profile: The 2016 Speak Easy Battle Of The Bands

At last, let's tackle our final installment (until a year after the next battle) of our Battle of the Bands Rewind Profile Series! One day removed from our look back at last year's second VM Radio Battle of the Bands, let's reflect on the other March 2016 battle of the bands that also entertained local music fans during this busy month. Like our prior installments of this series, this is strictly an informational feature with trivia, facts, and results, and no personal criticism or reviews of the competing bands. Now, here's what you should know on last year's second local battle of the bands!
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The 2016 Speak Easy Battle of the Bands (March 10th, 2016)

Background: Following the success of the Battle of the Bands at Algoma University's campus bar The Speak Easy on March 5th, 2015, organizers at the Algoma University Students Union indicated plans to hold further battles on at least a biennial basis, announcing a planned second installment for November 2015, though it was postponed due to unspecified "sponsorship issues". Instead, the second battle took place on March 10th, 2016, just over a year following the previous event. Like in 2015, seven competing acts played 15 minute sets each, and results were determined by a fan vote with no formal judging panel.
  
Prizes: Winnings were identical to 2015's Speak Easy Battle, with $400, $200, and $100 respectively going to the first, second, and third place bands.

Competitors: Two of 2016's competing acts were returning from 2015, those being alternative/hard rock trio The Din (who dropped "Mike Haggith &" from their name over the winter) and local/Toronto indie rock musician Jesse Merineau. The other five bands were all newcomers to a local battle of the bands, and they included alt-electronic project Aldous, former Coverfly bassist Bryan Brown in  a rare solo set, modern hard rock quartet Eclipse, punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, and reunited death/thrash metal trio Pillory. Impressively, all of the confirmed bands from the original November date were still able to compete in March.

Results: Fans at the battle selected Jesse Merineau to win the 2016 Speak Easy Battle and the $400 top prize. The Din came in second place to win $200, while Eclipse claimed the $100 third place prize.

Aftermath: Jesse Merineau rode the momentum of his battle victory to work on his upcoming solo CD (scheduled for release this summer), while he also returned home for a handful of notable concerts last year, including one with runners-up The Din opening at LopLops in September. The Din and Eclipse would both go on to finish in identical spots in that month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands, with The Din releasing their debut CD in the summer and continuing their upwards momentum well into 2017, and Eclipse playing steadily until suddenly disbanding for four months in November, though they will return to the stage next month. Pillory and Jack Spades remain familiar sights on local concert stages, with the former in pre-production of their second CD, and the latter teasing their new lineup's debut and first gigs since the fall in the near future. Aldous remain active in studio, but haven't advertised a live show since August, and Bryan Brown hasn't been publically advertised since as a musician, though both have indicated that they're now based out of town.

Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Metal/hard rock in italics, ex-members noted with an *):

The Bear Hunters (Justin Lam & Johnny Belanger from Jack Spades)
The Elements (Jesse Cook from Jack Spades)
Great Chamberlain (Anthony Marcello from Jesse Merineau's backing band; Based out of Ottawa)
Handsome Sandwich (Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger from Jack Spades)  
Heavy Head (Jesse Cook & Johnny Belanger from Jack Spades and Daniel Horton from Eclipse) 
Project 421 (Curtis McKenzie, Daniel Horton, and Chris Thompson from Eclipse)
The Steeltown Girls (Tammy Hill from The Din)
Stegadeth (Tiffany Stocco from Jack Spades)
Winkstinger (Jesse Cook from Jack Spades)  

Trivia:

• New local hard/pop rock quartet Heavy Head were advertised to compete at this battle, just one night after they finished in third place in the first VM Radio Battle semifinal, but they dropped out the day of this event due to scheduling conflicts for frontman Mike Gaetano. However, the remainder of the band still competed as members of Jack Spades or Eclipse.
• As was the case in 2015, the second Speak Easy Battle was held one day after the first semifinal of last year's second VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, which again differed by being a multi-band event over multiple nights, though the performer lineup actually fell from 11 competing bands in 2015 to 5 in 2016. The Din (who competed the day before) and Eclipse (who competed the following week) made the finals and finished in second and third place in both events, while Jack Spades played a non-competitive guest set on night #2 of that battle due to frontman J.D. Pearce's promotional involvement. The winner of the second VM Radio Battle was indie rock quartet K.I.C.K..
• After missing the podium in 2015 with a strictly solo set, Jesse Merineau recruited local power pop/glam rock trio Caroline Divine to serve as his backing band for his Speak Easy Battle return last year, which apparently did the trick, giving him some "divine" intervention for his first place victory. While the set was entirely comprised of originals from Jesse's upcoming CD, this was technically Caroline Divine's last publically advertised concert before singer/guitarist Anthony Marcello moved to Ottawa, though his old bandmates joined Jesse & guitarist Mitchell Nielsen when he headlined at LopLops in September.
• Similarly to Jesse Merineau's reversal of fortune from 2015 to 2016, The Din and 3/5ths of Project 421 (in their side project Eclipse) also moved from missing the podium to claiming top 3 placements in 2016, foreshadowing similar improvements in the VM Radio Battle later that month, which they also didn't place at in 2015.
• Pillory's set at this battle marked their return to the stage after a nearly two year hiatus following their final shows as a thrash quartet in mid-2014. The band debuted new bassist Jordan Leach, their trio lineup with no rhythm guitarist, and a heavier, death metal-influenced sound at this event, completely abandoning their older originals from their debut CD "Cringe At The Cross".
• Jack Spades' all-original set at the Speak Easy Battle was filmed by Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie personality (and VM Radio Battle guest judge) Christian Lemay for a feature that aired on channel 10 in mid-late 2016, interspersed with interview footage taken from an Oddfellows Hall concert around that same time. This can be seen as a precursor to Shaw TV's recently-debuted series OnStage, featuring full concert sets from recent local events.
• Twin City Sound & Entertainment were on hand to provide sound for the duration of the battle. Notably, Twin City Sound co-owner Steven Flint was a former bandmate of Eclipse's Curtis McKenzie and Daniel Horton in the short-lived hard rock band Punch, who were the 3rd place finishers in November 2013's Viva La Battle.
• The most notable band from the inaugural Speak Easy Battle to not return for year #2 was defending champions Gnaeus, who won both of 2015's local battles. The post-punk quartet are believed to have missed both events due to the departure of drummer Brendan Garlick over the winter, with his replacement Alex Proulx not debuting with Gnaeus until their Ontario tour run that April.
• While then-Haggith bassist Jordan Leach and experimental musician/Gore Street Cafe co-owner Sam Decter had promotional involvement in 2015's Speak Easy Battle, neither were publically involved with the event's return last year. Jordan did compete in the 2016 battle with Pillory, but as he wasn't promoting anymore, there were no concerns regarding a potential conflict of interest.
• Despite prior hopes to hold further Speak Easy Battles of the Bands at least twice a year, there has been no official public word on a third installment from the A.U.S.U. since last year's event, be it this month or at a different date. A third VM Radio Battle of the Bands also did not occur in March 2017.
• The Din later performed at Landmark Events' Showcase Festival in Toronto in January 2017, which was a competitive event to feature rising young bands to  music industry executives who would judge bands and select ones to get music industry grants. It's not known if The Din progressed any further in this showcase, but they did praise the event and the oportunities it brought afterwards.

Videos:
Shaw TV's video of Jack Spades' set
(No other public videos known; Videos of the top 2 acts from 2015 featured to supplement this section)




Sources/More Info:
Official Facebook event page
Event press release from SooToday
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I hope you guys liked this month's Battle of the Bands Rewind Profiles, and hopefully this series will return next year, saying that someone holds a new local battle later in 2017! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and previews as this week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood), Speak Easy Battle Of The Bands Results, New Videos, And More!!

We've been busy in recent days on the SMS, so let's keep things going today with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, new videos from two bands, some related updates therein (including an apology for a missed show), and yes, the final results for last night's second fan-voted battle of the bands, so here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover veterans Mourning Wood will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT, after just playing there last night! Apologies for the short notice (and obviously for missing yesterday's show), band members only announced the gigs last night via their personal Facebook pages, again continuing their trend of not plugging Reggie's Place gigs publically through the band's own Facebook page. According to drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook posting about the shows, last night's was as a trio sans Steven Flint and Paul Belair, with Havadder/3 Day Millionaires bassist Travis Sharpe filling in, and he'd be a natural fit given that he and Terry Eaton were former bandmates in Carbon Black many years back. As best as I can tell, the full lineup is playing TONIGHT & TOMORROW, so if you're up for some late notice classic, hard, and country rock, head to the original downtown Reggie's this weekend!

There's no announced cover charges, 10:00 PM-ish start times, and 19+ age limits for this weekend. See above for more details, apologies again for missing yesterday's show (we'd have plugged it had we have known!), and for a preview, here's some new Mourning Wood drum-cam concert videos! As uploaded to Glen's YouTube channel a few weeks ago, these join YouTube postings of their INXS and Wild Cherry covers from last month that we had previously shared via Facebook copies. The new videos are of Mourning Wood covering REO Speedwagon's "Take It On The Run" at The New American Pub, and as embedded below, ZZ Top's "Tush" from their latest Rockstar Bar show (and apologies for erroneously crediting the Wild Cherry cover as being from The New A originally, it was from The Rockstar Bar show too.)

Thanks to a GoPro being mounted on Glen's head for filming, these remain shaky like before, and Terry's vocals can be muffled, but it's nice to get some more unique angles of Mourning Wood in action, and the effectively add some grit to both! Give these new drum-cam videos a look above and below, and don't miss them at Reggie's TONIGHT & TOMORROW!



Next up, we have the final results from last night's second annual Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, so who won the fan-voted second year battle at Algoma University? Here are the podium finishers!

1st Place: Jesse Merineau

2nd Place: The Din

3rd Place: Eclipse

After all finishing outside of the top 3 last year, Jesse Merineau, The Din, and members of Project 421 (as part of Eclipse) have all pulled a 180° turn to claim the top 3 spots in this year's field, and of course, huge congratulations go out to Jesse for winning the battle's $400 top prize in his second try! It must have helped having Caroline Divine as a backing band for his set, with that "divine" intervention filling out his songs for his upcoming solo EP "That Night", and hopefully Jesse rides the momentum here and in Toronto! The Din's runner-up total is their best in a battle of the bands yet (and it matches Mike Haggith's 2013 Rockstar Bar Battle finish with the band Haggith), so the $200 prize will be a nice feather in their cap going into the VM Radio Battle finals on March 23rd! As for Eclipse, a third place run for this relatively new band is pretty good, and it gives Curtis McKenzie and Daniel Horton their best battle finish since Haggith's aforementioned 2013 battle run, but we'll have to see if they can maintain or improve on their $100 win when they face K.I.C.K. in next week's VM Radio Battle semifinals!

Also, we can confirm that new local pop/hard rock quartet Heavy Head did not play at the Speak Easy Battle, with members confirming in Facebook conversations that being "not ready for the competition" and scheduling conflicts for singer Mike Gaetano both factored in to their withdrawal. Disappointing, but hopefully we see them back at it soon, and hopefully the other performers (Aldous, Bryan Brown, Jack Spades, and Pillory) rocked it last night! Aside from personal postings & this great photo album from Id Iota's Christian Lemay, we're awaiting public media from the battle (perhaps from Sault Online), so stay tuned for more fallout from this battle when it comes in, and congratulations again to Jesse, The Din, and Eclipse!

Finally for today, here's the latest from Speak Easy Battle runners-up & VM Radio Battle finalists The Din (well, for non-battle related news), so what have we missed from Mike, Tammy, and Brandan lately? Well, in terms of their acoustic show at The Gore Street Cafe last week, label PaperClip Productions recorded the whole thing, and a CD copy was left at the laundromat for their music rotation. A picture of the setlist was also shared on their Facebook page, which indicates they played 10 originals or Mike Haggith solo songs, as well as 4 covers, with their entire VM Radio Battle semifinal set being among the playlist that night. Future public availability of the set was also teased, so we'll let you know when it turns up in some form! A prior Facebook post also noted that an additional late notice performer played with them and Stereo North that night, namely Morgan Steele, a local country/pop musician who you may have seen in a recent incarnation of Mustang Sally.

Morgan's talented for her genre, and hopefully she got a good reception of her own last week! Given that the show apparently had a great turnout for the ongoing Fishbowl Festival, hopefully things continue on the up & up! Lastly, the band shared this video onto their Facebook page on March 2nd of Mike and Tammy playing an acoustic version of "A Drive Through The Peninsula" during what appears to be a recent Gore Street Cafe open mic night, with Mike playing a tambourine in lieu of the bass. Well performed, but loose and informal (complete with a coffee break), so give it a look below, and don't miss The Din at The Canadian for the finals in two weeks!



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