LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Labour Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

Despite this being the Labour Day long weekend, it's quiet for hard rock/punk concerts in the Twin Saults and EUP, so barring a surprise show announcement, our weekend previews fit in only one post! Note that Double Jack are playing at the soon-to-close Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino this weekend, and I don't mean the former Exit 808, as the Bay City-area classic rock cover band of the same name (who the local band changed their name over) are playing there this weekend. Confusing, but good to see the original Double Jack making their way north! 

We'll start our previews in Sault Ontario with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will take the stage at Reggie's Place TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows first came to my attention via personal Facebook postings, and neither the band nor venue have publically advertised the gigs on social media. This weekend's shows will be Soundcheck's first there with their new bassist, as Sidekicks/ex-Double Down bassist Dan Beaupre has joined the group, replacing the now-retired Jim Michaud. I have not seen a 100% confirmation that Dan has also joined their sister band Separate Wayz (whose lineup is 75% identical), but it seems quite likely given how often they play "epic crossover" dates. Of course, this also reunites Dan with his old Hollow bandmate Terry Eaton, so fans of that 1990s group should like that!

Dan was present at their last two weekends at Jay's Piston Broke Pub too. Note that AI-generated artwork on personal accounts is referring to the band as "Soundcheck 7.3", but if they have tacked a Bone Yard 225-esque number onto their name, there hasn't been a public confirmation yet. Dan is a solid and experienced rock bassist who should fit Soundcheck (and Separate Wayz?) like a glove, so welcome him to the fold TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT if you haven't yet! Both shows are at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, let's head to The Art Hub At Spring (technically at 504 Queen Street East) TOMORROW NIGHT, where local hard rock quartet The Reeves and space/hard rock duo The Spaceship Opening will join forces to open for Saskatoon indie rock quartet Autopilot! In something that completely slipped me by when this show was announced, this is actually a sequel to a concert from last fall, as Autopilot and The Spaceship Opening played at Piecing It Together Shows' pop-up venue on Wellington Street West in November, which I didn't cover here because I couldn't verify The Spaceship Opening's genre at the time (that may have been the final hard rock-included concert from the former Dryer Fire). 10 months later, they're rolling it back at a different downtown locale, but this time with The Reeves as a second opener, in what they referred to on their Facebook page as "our 2nd show" (did their debut at Toystock this past November go badly or did it just get forgotten?)

Regardless, their new originals should pair well with Andrew & Ralph's minimalist hard rock before Autopilot's distinct indie/alternative sound hits the stage! Promoted by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis as part of his slate of events and art exhibits at The Art Hub this month, this stop on Autopilot's Name That Tour! 2026 is an ALL AGES concert at 6:00 PM tomorrow, and admission is $15 or "pay what you can", which is down from last fall's $20 door charge (though it did have $15 advance tickets). Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Reeves live!

Now to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula for the back half of our long weekend previews, and we'll start an hour south in St. Ignace, where Sault Ste. Marie classic/hard rock cover quartet Tarnished will take the stage TOMORROW EVENING for the penultimate night of the town's Music By The Bay concert series at American Legion Park! This annual seasonal run of outdoor concerts daily from June-September wraps up with Nancy Kelel there on Sunday, but Tarnished are back once more before the fall truly begins, having last played at the park at the end of July. Presumably the full band with Chris and Ron in tow after they missed the band's acoustic Bay Mills Casino show last week, you can enjoy Tarnished's old school-leaning rocking covers tomorrow from 7:00-8:30 pm, and this is absolutely an all ages concert with no cover charge. If you can't make it, the guys will be at The Driftwood Sports Bar there in two weeks!

Weather-wise, 9&10 News is calling for 68-70° temperatures (20-21° Celsius) tomorrow evening with sunny skies, which sounds like a perfectly cromulent way to end the season if you like outdoor concerts. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally(?) for this weekend's previews, we'll head to The Islander Bar in nearby Hessel, where local hard rock cover trio Nate's Chow will play their third post-renaming show TOMORROW NIGHT! Fans may recall seeing Jody, Brett, and Jason debut the former Unfortunate Sun's new name and Skip-less lineup at The Islander Bar last month, with a late notice gig downstate in Alanson in the interim. That show went well, complete with a bachelorette party concurrent with the concert, and now Nate's Chow are back home in the UP, so expect a fun night of hard rocking covers tomorrow! Unless The Islander Bar has had heavy renovations, I wouldn't believe how it's depicted in the AI-generated poster. "Nates Chow" (someone forgot the apostrophe in the prompt) are on tomorrow at 8:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's our first live video of Nate's Chow in concert!

Filmed by an uncredited attendee at last month's Hessel concert and posted to their Facebook page, this sees the band covering The Barenaked Ladies' "The Old Apartment" with Jody on lead vocals, and it's always neat seeing a Sault Michigan area band covering Canadian content! The audio is somewhat muffled, and the video is only 30 seconds long, but the performance isn't bad at all, and Jody's singing suits the original track, so give it a watch below, and don't miss the guys back at The Islander tomorrow night! 

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 (Hails), The Full Throttle Saloon's Future, And New Live Videos!!

Here's that second promised news post for your Friday reading, and it features three linked stories that take us from a closing concert venue to one of its last concerts to videos from its opening act, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Less than one week after he promotes the Autopilot-headlined concert at The Art Hub At Spring, Hails frontman & visual artist Brenton Ellis will bring an all-local punk/metal concert to the intimate 504 Queen Street East art gallery on Friday, September 11th! Hails proper will headline the show in the crossover thrash trio's current lineup's Art Hub debut, while former Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto's ska punk quartet ASDP will co-headline the proceedings, and extreme metal quintet (and "Sewer City breakdown kings") With Gunfire will open. Could this be the heaviest Art Hub concert ever? This concert comes as part of Brent's new working relationship with the venue, as along with his two shows, he will be hosting an art exhibit there that premieres on Wednesday, September 2nd. As part of "B.G. Ellis' Audio/Visual Eviscerate", he will be displaying artwork that he has painted since 2019, and concert posters and band merchandise will be exhibited too.

The exhibit's opening night (featuring live music by DJ Seith) coincides with Brent's birthday too, so next month will be big for him! This all isn't a new idea either, as he hosted an exhibition of his art there in March 2023, with a Hails concert taking place at the time as well, but if you've followed Brent's music in the past seven years, you'll know that his distinct art style is a common thread, and it'll be neat to see it all come together like this! As for the concert proper, doors open at 6:00 PM on the 11th, the show will definitely be all ages, and admission will be $10 or "pay what you can". Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's some surprising news, as The Full Throttle Saloon at 256 Wellington Street West closed today after a nine month run. The former Primavera Hall was rebranded under Rosa Carello's ownership in November of last year, becoming a new host for live cover bands on weekends. as well as hosting three high profile touring tribute band concerts this year, most recently Sandman on July 25th. However, as per this SooToday article by Brandon Walker, the building's owners have opted to sell (click here for details), and with Rosa now unable to lease the space, she has confirmed that "I am temporarily closed until I find a new location". As part of the final events at the Steelton locale, Rosa had hosted a customer appreciation week with drink specials since Tuesday. Time will tell what happens for The Full Throttle Saloon 2.0, but hopefully Rosa lands on her feet somewhere else, and it was good having a new-ish venue for concerts!

The fact that this news comes out less than three weeks after the Sandman concert is unfortunate, but at the same time, they hadn't plugged the show on their Facebook page at all since June despite the show going down as scheduled, so that would (to me) hint that their attention was at least diverted with the closure talks. However, before we say goodbye to 256 Wellington West outright, there are two new videos from the Crazy Babies show there in May that completely passed me by at the time! The Toronto-based Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath tribute band were the first of the three touring tribute bands to rock the Full Throttle Saloon in mid-2026, and local openers Headrush actually posted two videos of their set to their Facebook group. Both filmed by bassist John Amendola, one sees them covering Ozzy's "No More Tears", though the sidestage clip is sadly both 17 seconds long and was shot vertically.

Embedded below is their opening song on this night ("I Don't Know"), which John filmed in full and horizontally! The vocal wear on "No More Tears" was evident at that later stage of the night, but the Crazy Babies deliver the goods for fans of Ozzy's, and they look the part where it counts, even down to the Zakk Wylde bullseye guitar! Of course, this show caught a lot of flack online for its $70 price point and lack of admission at the door, but it did well enough to warrant Rosa bringing in two more tribute bands to the former Primavera while she could, and the crowd looks decent from what is visible! Give John's Crazy Babies videos a watch above & below!

Finally for today, let's stay with Headrush's Facebook group, as they have some new videos there, but not from the Crazy Babies show. This year, they've been going the Silent 9 route by taking the summer off aside from festivals and private events, and in the latter case, they have played at at least two private functions since Rotaryfest. Last week, they headed north of Desbarats for a private party of some type on Diamond Lake, and in John Amendola's batch post of media from the event, there is one brief live video of them covering Foreigner's "Hot Blooded", but it has three big issues: It's vertical, it's only 18 seconds long, and it heavily focuses on partying attendees in the crowd rather than Headrush, though you do see guitarist/keyboardist Frank Mannarino late. Still, it looks like a blast was had by all! The other acknowledged private event since was a wedding concert at The Loft at the Algoma Conservatory of Music earlier this week.

For this private booking, Headrush welcomed a special guest performer on vacation from England, namely saxophonist/keyboardist Piero Tucci. Odd not seeing Frank behind the keys, but Piero knows his way around the sax here! In another batch post from John, he included (thankfully full and horizontal) videos of them covering The Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin'" and, as embedded below, Foreigner's "Urgent". Both covers are strongly done by this veteran group, with John Anderson's vocal range put to good use, and The Loft is a nice upscale downtown venue that is well suited for a wedding event like this, so give Headrush's new videos a watch above and below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Punk Rock Fiesta & The Reeves!!)

Before we look at a (somewhat thankfully) quieter batch of weekend concert previews, here's a news post devoted to two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the fall with touring headliners, one being particularly notable for its band reunions and implied status as a first annual punk festival, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday evening!

Local hard rock quartet The Reeves and space rock duo The Spaceship Opening will make their debuts at The Art Hub At Spring on Saturday, September 5th when they open for Saskatoon indie rock band Autopilot in their local debut! First teased on The Reeves' Facebook page last week, the headliners aren't a hard rock band, but if you like alternative and pop rock of the kind you used to see at LopLops, you'll take to Autopilot's melodic original sound with some unique flourishes (they even use a bow to play the guitar here and there!) For the local openers, this will be both bands' second show of the year, following The Reeves' set at Rotaryfest Stage 2 and The Spaceship Opening's Blaster Powerhouse gig at the start of the month, and they should set the tone well with their hard rock originals! Promoted by Hails frontman Brenton Ellis, this is far from his only collaboration with The Art Hub (actually located at 504 Queen Street East), so stay tuned for more on what he's cooking up there.

The first SMS-covered concert at The Art Hub At Spring since the Shae Tull/Pet Retina gig there in May 2025, this all ages concert on Autopilot's Name That Tour! will have doors opening at 6:00 PM, and admission will be $15 or "pay what you can". Sounds like an intriguing spread of sounds for fans of original rock music, if at a somewhat more intimate locale, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, Toronto hardcore punk legends Random Killing will return to the Soo for the first annual Punk Rock Fiesta on Saturday, October 3rd! Ostensibly intended as a major annual local hardcore punk concert, this is the brainchild of new local promoters BCDR Productions (BCDR = Bush Core Drunk Rock), led by former Destroilet guitarist Christian Foisy, who co-promoted the Fist Magnet/Room 206/Spigots concert in at Soo Blaster in December. That's where we last saw Random Killing in town (opening for The Dayglo Abortions in May 2023), but Punk Rock Fiesta will instead mark the grand return of a multi-band concert to The Algonquin Hotel for the first time since they paused hosting normal live bands in mid-2022 after some lean times there post-pandemic. We have seen the occasional Silent 9-headlined charity event there at The Rockstar Bar upstairs, but it is great to see them hosting a proper multi-band concert again after over 4 years! Here's hoping for some more!

As best as I can tell from the mildly conflicting marketing, this will be at The Rockstar Bar, not the downstairs Algonquin Pub (though some posts just say it'll be at The Algonquin Hotel). Of course, it will be great to welcome Random Killing and their Saultite frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley back to the Soo this fall, and they're no strangers to The Rockstar Bar (headlining there twice in the 2010s), so hopefully there's another packed turnout of punk fans for their intense original back catalogue! The performance order is not clear based on how the bands are ordered on both the official (not AI!) poster and the official Facebook event page, but there will be two more big band reunions here, including the return of 1990s hardcore punk staples Fist Magnet, who we last saw at the aforementioned Blaster show in December. No word if their lineup will be Garry, Andrew, Dave, Christian, and John again, but keep note of this set in less than two months!

Perhaps more surprisingly, local punk/country quintet The Billy Bastards will reunite for their first gig since the inaugural Northern Vibe Festival in 2015 on this night! The band had hinted at reunions off and on over the past decade among posthumous hype for t-shirts and their music on streaming services, but that picture of 4/5ths of the band together in May on their Facebook page must have been a good indicator! I will treat this as a one-off reunion unless otherwise confirmed, but it will be great to see their cowpunk originals back this fall! Local crossover thrash trio Hails will make their Rockstar Bar debut on this night, as will newer local punk quartet PROD ("punk rock overdose"), who debuted at the December punk reunion concert but hadn't been seen since. Featuring three members of the Fist Magnet reunion lineup, hopefully they have a big return in their own right after 9 months away!

The last two bands are debuting bands named Dead II Society and The Baby Rails, neither of which has an online page or public information yet. I believe I know who one of the bands is, based on an intriguing recent personal Facebook video, but if true, I don't even know which of the two bands they're supposed to be. Stay tuned for more updates! Punk Rock Fiesta goes down on October 9th at 6:00 PM, it is 19+, and tickets go on sale on Friday at The Rad Zone (I don't know if there will be availability online or through the local performers). This will be a must-attend concert for hardcore punk fans this fall, so visit the above links for current details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Halloween Night Concert Previews, Plus A Mini Soundcheck Concert Review!!

For our last news post of October 2023, let's preview the two known hard rock shows on Halloween night proper (unfortunately on a Tuesday this year), along with a mini-concert review and video from this past weekend, so here's what you should know!

We'll start at Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where their stacked lineup of Halloween events concludes with local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns taking the stage TOMORROW NIGHT! This Halloween night event will be nothing too new for the Speers' & company, having played at The Whisky Barrel over Halloween weekend last year, while their old sister band The Elements were a frequent sight at Halloween concerts in their heyday. Unless they played somewhere since and didn't advertise it, tomorrow's show will be be The Stallyns' first gig since playing at The Water Tower Pub early last month, and it will feature all of Shooters' Halloween frills, including drink specials, spooky decor, later kitchen hours and a costume contest. Gift cards await the attendees with the best overall costume, best couples costume, and best makeup, much like at the shows on the weekend.

Tonight's festivities are at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. October 31st or not, tomorrow's concert will not be timed ideally for many, hence why it's good that Shooters had Soundcheck playing on Friday and Saturday for those who have work/school to worry about on Wednesday, but if you can brave the work week timing, The Wyld Stallyns' varied and often heavy covers should turn some heads for the occasion tomorrow night! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Stallyns live in concert last year!

Next up, five different acts will take the stage at The Art Hub At Spring for a rare post-pandemic multi-band Halloween concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Now, full disclosure that organizers are calling this a "private event", but the show is being publically advertised with a publically known venue, so the verbiage is intended to reflect that they want you to RSVP to attend rather than just waltz in as normal. Given that, I'll cover it on the SMS, but make sure you RSVP via the Facebook event page if you want to guarantee that they'll let you in. Five acts are scheduled to rock The Art Hub tomorrow, and if the poster order is any indication, local metal trio The BAG will headline the festivities. A mystery act named the Psychic Spies are listed before them, and while I don't know any 100% details on them/their sound, a possible sonic hint is that "psychic spies" are the first words sung in The Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Californication". Could that be a red herring?

The middle band are new local rock quartet Skinbox (featuring Pixo Control, Gnaeus, and Stoned To Deaf alumni, plus recent Half Past drummer Jamie Labreche), who are actually putting this event on. Still no word on their sound/genres, we'll let you know when we hear anything! The other acts are solo musicians, including folk punk/emo act Agnosticism (who were supposed to play at the cancelled Goulais River Halloween concert on Saturday) and folk/pop singer/guitarist Hannah Lindsay, who you may recall seeing with The BAG and other acts at Lopstock in July. Costumes are encouraged for this Halloween night event, which has no announced age limit. It is a BYOB event starting at 9:30 PM, and while admission is free (RSVP notwithstanding), a tip jar will be present if you want to support the bands. Again, a Tuesday nighter will be tough for many, but to see lots of rising young talent, this is a very worthy event to attend!

The action takes place at 504 Queen Street East, but remember to RSVP if you want to attend! An event like this with a publically advertised venue but RSVPs to enter is not common for the Soo (at least as heavier concerts go), but hopefully the crowd is good and energetic on a work/school night for some spooky vibes and good music! Visit the above links for more details, and here's The BAG & Hannah live at Lopstock!

Finally, here's a surprise: a mini concert review! On Saturday, I took a friend to Shooters Downstairs Lounge so she could check out the Entomica bug lab exhibit as part of the Dennis Street nightclub's Halloween events, and we coincidentally happened to still be there at the start of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's concert that night! This was unplanned, I didn't have my proper concert camera, but while I was there, I captured a (horizontal!) video with my cell phone and took a picture, albeit far from the stage. I hate being that guy in everyone's road, especially when I wasn't in costume. We caught Soundcheck doing nine songs, three with Terry Eaton (complete with very cool animated mask) on vocals & the rest with Cameron Oliver singing lead, including renditions of Three Doors Down, ZZ Top, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Tragically Hip songs.

Everyone was in costume, with drummer Glen Thomas especially dressed to the nines as an evil clown! What I heard sounded good and familiar for fans of their classic and hard rock cover array, plus a southern/country tinge (we last heard them do Eddie Rabbitt), though I will say that I do think Soundcheck should banter with the crowd more and introduce songs moreso, especially on a big weekend like this. Here's Soundcheck covering Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" with Cameron on vocals as their second song at Shooters on Saturday night!

That's all for now, but to end the month, look for our newest CD review on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Halloween Concert Updates, A New Cover, And Much More!!

I have a new news post for your Sunday afternoon reading, and it covers a lot of recent ground via shorter stories that have came up in recent months, plus a new cover video and leading off, big updates on a multi-band event at month's end. Here's what you should know!

Remember how a Halloween concert was announced for Tuesday, October 31st at The Art Hub at Spring, but the lineup was only partially known? Well, the full lineup is now out via its Facebook event page and this poster! Local metal trio The BAG announced their involvement on their own, and we correctly inferred that new local rock quartet Skinbox were playing based on members being credited as hosting on the event page, but there will be three more acts. Two are solo acts, namely Vanity First/Hails guitarist Mikhal Muto's folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism, as well as local folk/pop singer/guitarist Hannah Lindsay, who you may recall seeing alongside The BAG and eight other acts at Lopstock III in July. The fifth act is a mystery band named The Psychic Spies, who I can't find anything definitive on, but note that "psychic spies" are the first words uttered in The Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Californication", so that could mean something (or nothing.)

Now, despite the event page being public, and The BAG confirming the event publically, why does the poster say "private event"? If it was truly "private", the event page and/or location wouldn't be publically viewable. As best as I can tell, that basically means that if you want to come, you have to RSVP, so message Skinbox members Steve Edwards, William Wardlaw, or Brad Irwin (ex-Gnaeus) if you want to attend! Their drummer is not credited as an event host. Costumes are encouraged as you'd expect, and while you have to RSVP, admission is free with a tip jar available to support the bands. See above for more details on this kinda-private-ish Halloween party at the end of the month!

Next up, here's a new cover song credited to defunct local grunge trio No Arrow! Uploaded to frontman Dann Pichette's YouTube channel, the description does give the year 2023, so if this is brand new, my feeling is that it was recorded to send off for consideration on You Rock! with Thomas Christ, which he has submitted back catalog material for. As such, I won't rush No Arrow back into our active band links, but last I heard, Dann doesn't live in town nowadays anyway. Despite the still image being from the music video for Basement Jaxx's "Where's Your Head At", the song is a cover of "Simian Fever" by the post-hardcore band Six Finger Satellite, complete with jokey intro. Whether this is indicative of a return (even if just in studio as a solo project) or not, I can't say, but this is an intense slice of 1990s noise rock and it's good to hear new material from Dann, so check it out below!

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

• I apologize for only discovering this article after the fact, but Jeffrey Ougler from The Sault Star made up this article to promote the Fall Of Earth show at The Queen Of Hearts Club, featuring interview remarks from Fall Of Earth frontman Alex Lye. In the article, Alex talks about his vocals, the Edmonton hybrid metal band's sound, the overall friendliness of the metal music community, and his stage presence, among other topics. While not hyper-local beyond the fact that they were playing here, it's a good read and hopefully it got some more fans to the show!
  
• In recent posts on their Facebook page, local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek have acknowledged that they've been quiet in recent months, "but don't worry, it will all be worth it". The band is selling new t-shirts with an updated logo, and on September 19th, they strongly hinted that they were working on new studio material via this picture of a song being tracked on a computer, complete with a piece of paper that seems to hint at a 4:32-long new original song named "Battlefield". Is Fort Creek's long gestating debut album back in production, or are they just working on songs? Stay tuned for updates!
  
• As a bit of clarification from our recent coverage of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' upcoming concert slate, remember how they were scheduled to play at The Esquire Club on Friday and yesterday on the venue's fall calendar, but confirmed on their Facebook group that they were instead playing there this coming weekend? The switch does appear to have been a straight trade with The Steeltown Playboys, who The Esquire Club originally blocked for next weekend, but did indeed play there on Friday & yesterday. At least no one lost a booking here, and don't miss Generations at The Esquire Club later this week!
  
• The Inner City Surfers' reunion concert at Soo Blaster on November 3rd was promoted in this SooToday article by Chris Belsito on Wednesday, where drummer/event host Mikey Hawdon talked about the event's inspiration as an alternative to a traditional stag & doe (this is in support of his upcoming wedding). He also talked individually about all four bands playing this concert, all featuring Mikey himself on guitar or drums. Nothing too new to report here beyond the personal remarks, but it's good promotion for what will be a huge reunion concert, so check it out above!
  
• In another new SooToday article from August, Chris Belsito spotlighted online page-less punk/folk solo project Jonesy Land's new single and music video for "Old Man", where project leader Dustin Jones acknowledged the positive (and negative) responses he's heard for its debut album "Zoom - Out", the themes and inspirations behind "Old Man", working on the music video, and plans to play a live support concert for "Zoom - Out" with a full band this fall (I have heard nothing on this plan at press time otherwise). Good article for fans of Dustin's, so check it out also!
• On September 11th, Sault Michigan hard rock/metal band Tarnished announced a musician search to find a new lead guitarist & bassist to replace the departed Nathan Webber & Isaac Royer. Candidates must be determined & flexible, they have gigs lined up, and a new album is planned. It's unclear how tryouts have went so far, but they played in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday with frontman Alex Traynor's dad/ex-Banned bandmate Don filling in on drums (one assumes that Alex and Josh Fair handled guitar and bass or vice versa). Hopefully that gig went well, and if you're interested in trying out, contact Tarnished via their Facebook page!
   

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The BAG & The Apocalypse Afterparty), Plus New Videos!!

We have made it to October, and if today's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS are any indication, local hard rock fans may finally have some big Halloween weekend shows to check out beyond single cover band gigs for the first time post-pandemic! Those lead off today, as well as new videos from an artist playing one of these events, so here's what you should know!

Eight local music acts will join forces for a special Halloween weekend concert on Saturday, October 28th at... Triple H Cabins in Goulais River? Yes, a cabin/outdoor gear rental business at 317 B Harmony Beach Road is actually hosting a concert of this scale, and yes, it is publically attendable (admission is by donation), with the poster circulating on Facebook pages over the past week, some publically. I am unsure if the poster's order of acts is accurate, but given that many acts share performers, I'll jump around a bit. The apparent headliners are party/rap metal duo (trio?) The Apocalypse Afterparty, and while I don't know if Mikhal Muto will be playing bass with them again on the 28th, he will be playing here with his online page-less folk punk/emo solo project Agnosticism as well, if early in the evening given the poster. Highly placed there is a band named The Floor Between Us who we've never mentioned here before, so who are they?

They're an newer outsider folk/comedy band fronted by 2022 Soo's Got Talent finalist Colin Gasparelli, who you may have seen at the Fringe North Festival in August and at an array of private gigs, often ones featuring Agnosticism. There's some humour to be had from their original material, and a comedy band like this is certainly distinct in this market! Colin is also slated to play a solo set on this night. The other four acts playing in four weeks are rising young metal trio The BAG, prolific extreme metal/folk punk solo musician Chase James Wigmore, a rare non-Fringe North set from acoustic punk solo project Slumshine (led by Mikhal's Ha!ls bandmate Brenton Ellis), and DJ Seith's online page-less hip hop duo Planet Rock. Quite a stacked lineup of (mostly) rising younger talent, and it's been four years since we've seen a heavier, multi-band Halloween concert like this here, so keep that in mind!

This all ages event takes place at 5:00 PM at Triple H Cabins, refreshments will be available, and costumes are encouraged (no word on a contest). Again, admission is by donation. A half hour drive north of the Soo may not be ideal for some, but it's certainly a unique event with a very intriguing array of performers, and weather permitting, being up on Harmony Beach may be nice for you nature lovers! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, you know how I said that we hadn't really had a multi-band Halloween concert like this in the Soo area in four years? Yeah, well we're not done, as another one is taking place on Halloween night proper (Tuesday, October 31st) at The Art Hub at Spring! This one will have no cover charge but a tip jar for musicians will be on hand, and it'll be a B.Y.O.B. event if you are so inclined. The full lineup is not yet out, but The BAG confirmed on a post on their Facebook group last week that they will be playing this event too, so expect more metal mayhem for Halloween before the month is out! The rest of the lineup is to be announced, but the show is being promoted by Skinbox bandmates Steve Edwards (ex-Pixo Control) and William Wardlaw (ex-Stoned To Deaf), strongly implying that this new local rock band will be playing on the 31st. Despite already debuting live, their full lineup and sound is still not publically posted, we'll keep you posted when more is known.

Stay tuned for updates on the full lineup as well! This show takes place at 504 Queen Street East on Halloween night at 8:30 PM, there is no stated age limit, and again, it's free but tipping the artists is encouraged. Halloween or not, a Tuesday nighter isn't ideal for many, but hopefully a solid turnout comes out to rock out on Halloween night itself downtown! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close today with new songs from the aforementioned Chase Wigmore, who has posted two new original songs onto his YouTube channel over the past three weeks! Both have attached music videos featuring that choppy and possibly AI-generated style that he has recently been using. The first of the new songs/videos is for "The Speciesist", which Chase noted on his Facebook page was about "our impending extinction and coming to terms with the fact that we probably deserve it". The video realizes this message by showing various demonic aliens laying waste to the planet, so now you know how the doomsday will occur! I don't know if this will be on his long-gestating "Chaotic Rite" album or not, so I'll hold comment for now, but it is definitely a metal song but with drone-style clean vocals. Embedded below is his newest song from September 23rd, entitled "A Song For The Apocalypse", which feels like a direct sequel to "The Speciesist".

The visuals here show destruction of Earth, wastelands, and people observing the state of the planet, so yeah, not the most optimistic video out there, but the visuals are cool looking! This is more of a progressive metal song with more ominous overtones and screaming, plus an acoustic interlude, so you get a wide breadth of his styles here, but again, I'll hold comment in case this song is on "The Chaotic Rite". Give Chase's entertaining new videos a watch above & below!

 

 

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

Our Recap Of Mike Haggith & Brian Tremblay's "Face To Face" Concert!

I apologize for this being so late to hit the site, but as you may recall, local/Barrie alternative/hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith and folk/country singer/songwriter Brian Tremblay joined forces for a special acoustic concert at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th named Face To Face, which emphasized storytelling about their original music in between live performances. As I alluded to a bit on the site in the ensuing month+, Mike live-streamed the concert (all 2 hours & 50 minutes of it!) to his YouTube channel, but between other posts and life in general, this got pushed back and back and back, and I figured that I better get to it A.S.A.P. before Mike's album release next week, especially as the new album likely came up during the concert! So, if you weren't able to make it to The Art Hub on Spring (actually at 504 Queen Street East), what all went down at Face To Face?

The camera was set up in a stationary spot, directly pointing at (but not completely in front of) where Mike and Brian performed. The stage area for this show is well lit, and if you were in attendance, this would be fairly reflective of your view if you were where the tripod was! The show is introduced by Brian's fellow Borderline radio host Adrian Vilaca (who interviewed Mike for Across The Tracks in 2021), and while everything was introductory and more for live attendees, his remarks are sometimes hard to hear. Brian does deliver the initial remarks from the two performers, but Mike is the first to perform. Structurally, each song is preceded by Mike or Brian outlining the songwriting process and/or inspiration of the song in question, much like the old VH1 Storytellers series/albums, and rather than have an opener and a closer, Mike and Brian trade a song each throughout the night, playing nine songs apiece (with stories to match).

When I link to song names here, I'll link to when the stories are told rather than the song's beginning, so you get full context (plus, it'd be too much wasted text if I linked twice for each song), but both do get linked on the YouTube description. I won't spoil the content of the stories, which I could never do justice to, but they are titled on YouTube. Also, the woman who sits on stage and interjects in Brian's stories is his wife Lynn, who guests on backing vocals, tambourine, or shaker for most songs. Mike's first song is his label namesake "MorningStar", with Brian's first song being his 2000 original "By My Time". Mike next plays "The Best You Never Had", and Brian followed things up with "The Junction Inn". A trifecta of opening songs from Mike's 2020 album "If Ever Comes The Day" is completed with "Into The Setting Sun", with Brian playing a newer song named "I Knew You'd Be Alright" next.

Mike dips into his newest (for another week) album "Bridges" with a rendition of "Come On Home" for his fourth song, followed by Brian playing his own "Last Stand Hill". The last songs before the intermission include Mike's song "I've Seen It Before" from next week's "All The Best In All You Do" (featuring a guest appearance by Mike's old Din bandmate Brandan Glew), then Brian's more downbeat original "Let It All Out". A 25 minutes-long intermission takes place next, which Brian and Mike introduce by outlining contests/the door prize and revealing that they'd both be playing at Rotaryfest next week (this was a new announcement at the time). The second half of the show begins with Mike playing the title track of "If Ever Comes The Day", which was his last Thompson-era original of the evening. Brian returns with his song "Grey Bar Hotel", inspired by a surprising past day job of his.

Fans of Mike's old power pop/hard rock band The Din will be excited by his closing songs, starting with the title track of their last album "Suburban Dream" from 2017, before Brian took the mic for his song "Road Hockey", whose story will naturally pique the interest of hockey fans. Mike's penultimate song is "Out Of My League" from 2015's "The Warinside" (which was covered on "Give In To The Din" one year later), followed by Brian's second-last song, the more recent & harmonica-infused "Steel Man". For their final numbers, Mike brought back "This Potato May Be Used As A Flotation Device" from 2014's "A Place Of Our Own" (titled under its revised "Give In To The Din" name "Potato (Should Have Known Better)"), while Brian played his new song "Wine, Whiskey, and Weed" with Mike guesting on guitar and the audience at large guesting on the sing-along choruses.

Mike gives closing remarks to plug their merchandise sales and announce the winners of that day's contests & door prize. While the storytelling aspect was inconsistent depending on the song's inspiration, this was a fun show that fans of Mike's and Brian's will enjoy, and the loose & casual atmosphere was to its benefit! It was teased before the show that Face To Face would be released as a live album through MorningStar Records, which has yet to occur, but if it does get such a release, we don't know if Mike and Brian's songs would be divided between their own streaming/sale links or not (plus, if they were included together on a Kunaki-enabled physical CD or LP set, it'd have to be a double album at the very least). In any event, you can hear the whole thing free and on demand on YouTube below, but stay tuned for details on a possible "Face To Face" live record, and look for this weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Nostalgia) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

On this final concert weekend of May 2023, let's dive into this weekend's concert previews, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

New (and currently online page-less) local classic/hard rock cover trio Nostalgia will make their public concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT at Reggie's Place! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook page earlier today. Nostalgia are essentially the belated successors to defunct local hard rock cover band Caveman Morrison's 2012-2013 lineup, with singer/guitarist Tym Morrison (ex-Hollow/Carbon Black) and ex-bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg (ex-Browbeat) joining forces once again, now joined by Dutch's old Nikkfitt bandmate Chet Dziergas on drums. We don't yet have 100% knowledge on what Nostalgia will be playing, but if you recall Caveman Morrison's late 2000s-early 2010s relaunch, that should give you an idea, and if you've missed Tym playing in a full band setting, this will be especially notable! I don't think he's played a publically advertised set with a full band since 2016.

No word on why they're not playing on Saturday (let alone if someone else is), but come down to Reggie's TOMORROW NIGHT to see what kind of nostalgia that Nostalgia are bringing to the table! This show is at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and we'll let you know when/if videos and/or an official band page turn up!

Next up, let's preview some concerts that did get advance notice, starting with a unique event TOMORROW NIGHT at The Art Hub on Spring, as local/Barrie alt-hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith and Sinister Hearts frontman, folk singer/songwriter, and Borderline radio host Brian Tremblay will join forces for a special concert named Face To Face! This event is basically themed like the old VH1 Storytellers series, where talking about the inspiration behind each song is as important as the songs themselves, but here, the rapport and camaraderie between Mike & Brian is also being hyped up. I get the sense that there isn't a firm blueprint of what to expect set-wise, just some fun rapport and entertaining music, and it seems like a low-stress way for Mike to return home! That said, Mike (and Brian?) will be releasing a live album from this show that will get a vinyl pressing, so keep that in mind!

Complimentary food and beverages will be available for attendees of this all ages, 7:00 PM concert, and you can buy tickets at this link for $22.63 (presumably $20 at the door too). This sounds like a fun evening for fans of Mike and/or Brian's music, and you'll get to know more about them as people and composers along the way in a new-ish, intimate locale, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for more on Face To Face, and here's Mike live!

Also in Sault Ontario this weekend is the return of new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fresh off of gigs at Reggie's last week,these should be a fine opportunity for fans of Valerie and/or Jus' Chillin to get their classic cover fix from this new union, and hopefully there's a solid audience both nights! Note that a comment on their Facebook group indicates that Generations will be playing at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in July, but we typically wait for the official schedule reveal from organizers before addressing them here. Stay tuned though! As usual for weekend cover gigs at The Esquire Club, expect 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new video shared to the band's Facebook group from their Reggie's gig this past Saturday!

Filmed by attendee Josie Weir, the video sees Generations covering the Janis Joplin version of "Me & Bobby McGee", which Obsession fans will recall Valerie doing with that band. Sounds good to me with strong instrumentation, though the vertical camera angle does it no favours. This is exacerbated by drummer Tony Santoro being blocked from view, and the band seems to be playing in an oddly narrow space given where Josie was filming, but everything sounds solid, so check it out for yourself below!

Finally, let's hop across the border to Sault Michigan, where local hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished will take the stage for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino! Their Grand Rapids tour run last month aside, these will surprisingly be Tarnished's first announced shows in the Eastern Upper Peninsula since opening for Scotty Austin at The Savoy Bar in March, and their first at The Rapids Lounge since earlier that same month. While not yet announced on their Facebook page at press time, Kewadin's entertainment page had us covered (assuming nothing bad happened in the interim), and hopefully the guys deliver the goods with their solid originals and hard rocking covers this weekend! As usual for Tarnished's weekend runs at Kewadin Casino, these gigs have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

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

The Latest News & Updates From Mike Haggith & MorningStar Records!!

Single topic second post today, featuring the latest from local/Barrie alt-hard rock solo musician Mike Haggith (last month's live-stream aside, though it is coming), so what's new to report from him? As you may recall, Mike returns to Sault Ste. Marie for the first time this year on Friday, May 26th when he shares the stage with local musician, photographer, and radio host Brian Tremblay for Face To Face, a VH1 Storytellers-esque evening of music and stories about their music at The Art Hub on Spring. Mike's website confirms that not only is this event being recorded for a planned live album (it's not 100% clear if it will feature Brian's songs too or not), but it will be available on vinyl records through Mike's Morningstar Records label! The implication is that you might hear your own voice on vinyl if you attend, though whether this is purely via audience cheering or further crowd involvement (questions for the artists?!) is not yet known.

Mike also confirmed on his Facebook page that video cameras will be rolling throughout the night. The planned complimentary food/beverages are still on the table, along with a "top-secret special prize" for one lucky winner, presumably as a door prize draw. It'll be an interesting & informative evening based on what we've heard so far, so click here to get your tickets! Regarding the aforementioned MorningStar Records, Mike has finally launched the label proper beyond teasers and as a solo imprint, and you can visit its website for complete details. In short, Mike calls this "a different kind of label" and a "label minus the label" where artists produce their own material at their own pace and in their own environment, then "affiliate" (not sign) with MorningStar to host the material and have physical copies printed through Kunaki, while still retaining ownership of your own music.

Affiliated artists are hosted on MorningStar's website for digital sales and artist biographies, and won't go bankrupt for the privilege, just paying some small overhead/labour fees so it is as artist friendly as humanly possible. If this interests you, click here for Mike's lengthy write-up on MorningStar, and e-mail contact@morningstarrecords.com for any extra questions. Though Mike moved from the Soo in 2017, MorningStar Records has absolutely been promoted to local musicians as well as Mike's contacts in Manitoba, Southern Ontario, and afar via connections made from Your Music Live and You Rock!, so ideally it will have a wide reach. Alongside Mike himself & his old local power pop/hard rock trio The Din, industrial metal solo project Molten Imp, jam rock veterans Odd Man Out, and the aforementioned Brian Tremblay have all affiliated with MorningStar so far, among other non-local acts.

If you're curious in an SMS-covered sense, Molten Imp's biography is purely hype and teasers along with relevant links, so there's nothing broken in terms of news yet re: Morningstar output, but I am admittedly behind on recent Molten Imp news from their own social media accounts. Lastly from Mike's recent activity (the live-stream aside) is that he unveiled a lot about his upcoming studio album "All The Best In All You Do" via this lengthy write-up on the MorningStar website, so what do we learn about it there? Within the deep elaboration on the concepts and themes of the album/lyrics, we know that the album's ten songs in order are "All You Do", "Twist Of Fate", "Hot & Cold", "If Only You Could Hear Me", "Carousel", "I've Seen It Before", "Love Will Light The Way", "The Start Of Something Real", "To Be With You", and "All The Best". The first half will be darker and themed around grief, before going optimistic.

While the album will be available on "all streaming platforms", those who buy it on Bandcamp will get bonus songs under the name "All The Rest To Get You Through" which will include originals not yet heard publically as well as a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City".  In terms of guests, the only one listed by name is Hetriani, a Southern Ontario-based metal guitarist who Mike likely discovered via being featured in episodes of Your Music Live With Pete Johns, and who will feature with solos on "Hot & Cold". Also worth noting that there will be a flute solo on "The Start Of Something Real", though if Mike isn't channeling Lizzo there, I don't know who is. Mike gives a lot more details on the songs as compositions and for the themes they embody, but if you want to be more surprised, you may want to hold off on reading all of the write-up. In any event, when is "All The Best In All You Do" coming out?

Mike says that it is "targeted for release this summer", which basically implies any point between June and August, whereupon it'll join our monthly album review backlog (it'd be reviewed in the fall at this rate). There's a lot of excitement ahead for Mike as a musician and now as a record label owner, and fans should be excited at a busy mid-late 2023 to come, so visit the above links for much more on Mike & MorningStar, and weekend concert previews are on the way next! Thanks everyone!