LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Id Iota) & Rotaryfest Stage 1 Concert Previews!!

The biggest local concert weekend of the year (holidays excepted) is upon us, so here is the first of our weekend concert preview posts! We're largely focusing on half of a major annual festival today, but let's start with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local indie/hard rock quartet Id Iota will headline one of two post-Rotaryfest afterparties at LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced this past Friday. After co-headlining Stage 2 at 7:30 PM (more on that later today), this fan favourite band will head to LopLops to continue that venue's "re-directed"-era run of post-Rotaryfest concerts with Stage 2 performers, and they should be in fine form with their high energy originals TOMORROW! An opening act is teased, but not announced yet, though if past years are any indication, they'd likely be a Second Stage performer this year as well. We'll let you know if one is announced! TOMORROW'S 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge, and a special late start time of 11:00 PM to not conflict with Treble Charger's headlining Stage 1 set at 10:00 PM (more on that later in this post.)

The late scheduling makes sense, as punk and indie fans now don't have to pick and choose who to see on Friday, especially if you couldn't see Id Iota on the Second Stage that evening, and hopefully they deliver a knock-out set in both of their concerts TOMORROW NIGHT! Stay tuned for more on the opener if announced, and for our Stage 2 previews in our next post, but don't miss out on tomorrow night's action, and here's Id Iota live!



Next up, let's move to Clergue Park, where Rotaryfest's two stages are returning, and the covers-centric Stage 1 is taking things back with the "Rotaryfest Rewind" theme, in honour of the local Rotary Club's 100th anniversary! For the 20th modern Rotaryfest, stage director Shaun Antler and organizers have largely dropped their regular performer lineup in favour of hosting one-off reunions of defunct local bands of all stripes, with only five bands this year having played Rotaryfest at all since 2006, so if you've complained about the samey lineups of past main stage lineups, you'll want to pay attention! Given the roster of bands, I expect the covers-only rule won't be enforced as stringently either. Today's opening night lineup is hard rock free, as usual for Stage 1, but there are still many familiar faces scheduled! In descending order, today's bands are 1970s-1980s country band George Pinder & Patches at 10:00 PM, ...

...1960s classic rock outfit The Dark Side at 9:00 PM, 1960s-1970s classic rock quartet The Polisi Basson at 8:00 PM, 1980s jazz/blues rock quartet Zak's All-Stars at 7:00 PM, and 2000s Rotaryfest mainstays The Northern Jazz Ensemble kicking things off at 6:00 PM. No heavier bands to speak of, but expect a great lineup of local entertainment for FREE at Clergue Park today, especially if you were around for these bands' original runs!

TOMORROW'S lineup will be headlined by local indie/punk veterans Treble Charger at 10:00 PM in their first recorded Rotaryfest appearance and first local show in almost a year, so if you want a free & high profile set from them, here's quite the opportunity! A special tribute set will take place at 9:20 PM to honour past local musicians and bands, now to be hosted by Mac Headrick instead of Adrian Vilaca, and it'll be interesting to see what form this takes, especially with the involvement of Ric Datson from the Sault Ste. Marie Museum! Classic rock veterans Mustang Heart will play a special Bon Jovi & Journey tribute set at 8:30 PM to continue their current iron band streak at the festival. Early 2010s classic/hard rock cover band Turner Up will play their first Rotaryfest set since 2011 (as Full Circle) at 7:30 PM, featuring a five-piece composite lineup from across their run, while 1980s country/bluegrass quartet Road Fever will precede them with a reunion set at 6:30 PM.

Friday's openers are local hard rock/funk trio Tripod the Dog, who will bring their swing and ska-influenced sound back for the first time in over a decade at 5:30 PM. This may be the best package of hard rock and punk-per-pound at this year's Rotaryfest on any stage, so don't miss the FREE & ALL AGES action tomorrow night, and it's great to have these bands back at it! For a preview, here's Treble Charger live last year!



As for SATURDAY's extended lineup, that will closed by local classic/hard rock cover favourites That's Chester in their first show since Rotaryfest 2016, with guest guitarist Dan Belanger in tow, plus a special appearance by original singer Richard Fullerton, so look for more hard rocking hits at 10:30 PM! The nominal headliners are Juno-winning Calgary classic rock trio The Stampeders (of "Sweet City Woman" fame) at 8:30 PM, making them the first non-tribute/cover headliners at Rotaryfest in nine years, while another short tribute set to past local musicians will precede them at 7:50 PM. Local Celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide (with Chris Johns on drums) will make their Rotaryfest debut at 7:00 PM, while Chicago-influenced 1970s soft rock collective Pegasus will return at 6:00 PM, and 2010s hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings (featuring guest drummer Johnny Belanger) will play their fourth Stage 1 set at 5:00 PM, in their return to their original name.

Sporadically seen jam rock favourites Odd Man Out are on at 4:00 PM, while one-off pop rock tribute The Sun Dogs will host a "summer beach party" at 3:00 PM featuring covers of 1960s and 1970s summer and beach-themed songs. Wailing Aztecs alumni will perform folk & pop covers under their own names as McGillivray, Martinelli and Roy at 2:00 PM, while members of Korah Collegiate's school band Mustang Sally will kick things off under the name The Kids From Sally at 1:00 PM. Quite a stacked lineup of local favourites and special attractions on Saturday, let alone for FREE & ALL AGES, so see above for more details, and here's That's Chester live!



We're just getting started with our weekend concert previews, so look for our previews of the Second Stage and Saturday night's LopLops afterparty (a.k.a. The Dinunion) next on the SMS later today, with more yet to come on this stacked local concert weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rudyard Musicians Festival), New Video Finds, And Rotaryfest Updates!!

After a busy weekend of personal commitments, we are back on this Sunday morning with a new news post, largely covering the Sault Michigan area via some new/old videos and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month! To round things out, we do have some lineup updates for a major Sault Ontario festival to round things out, so here's what you should know!

The third annual Rudyard Musicians Festival will go down at Rudyard Township Park (18725 South Mackinac Trail) on Saturday, August 18th! This late-summer concert event is back for a third go-around, with all proceeds going to Rudyard Area Schools' music and band programs once again, which remains a great cause! E.U.P. music lovers can take in a pig roast dinner, concessions, and camping before and after the festival, among other fun stuff, so visit the official Facebook page for full non-musical details! Promoters are again sticking to returning bands, with only 3 acts not back from 2017 (The Karstens, The Neighborhood Dogs, and Denny Verrett), and only two acts are debuting, so if you liked past years, expect a familiar day of entertainment! This year's only verifiable "hard rock" band is Project 906, and while it's great to see them back for year #3, note that they're on much earlier this time, namely at 3:00 PM. Local classic rockers and festival organizers Steelhead will headline this year's installment at 11:00 PM.

Classic rock favourites The Whole Shabang are back at 10:00 PM, while 2016 performers Second Offense will return to this event at 9:00 PM. Most remaining bands are (once again) country or bluegrass-centric unless otherwise known & stated, including Robert & Bob Malaski at 8:00 PM, The North Country Band at 7:00 PM, and The Wednesday Night Headliners (featuring Brian Harrison) at 6:00 PM. This year's debuting acts are new local country/western trio Rusted Spurs at 5:00 PM and St. Ignace country/folk artist Patrick Springsteen (of The Springsteen Brothers) at 4:00 PM, while the pre-Project 906 acts are Kevin Blakeney at 2:00 PM, pop singer Hayley Malaska at 1:00 PM, Jimmy Williams at 12:00 PM, and Traverse City's New Jazz Trio leading off at 11:00 AM. Musicians Fest III is once again an ALL AGES event with $5 admission at the door, save for kids 10 and under, who remain FREE. It's great to see another stacked lineup of regional musicians back for an excellent & relevant cause next month!

After two successful installments (even with the "NO METAL" disclaimer for last year's band search), this has proven to be a reliable and positive event to help the area school band programs, and hopefully this year's meets the same goals while entertaining large crowds at the same time! Visit the above links for current details on this year's Rudyard Musicians Festival!

Next up, here's a surprise video discovery of a local singer/guitarist covering some heavier music at two Sault Michigan concerts seven years ago! The performer here is Jude Reed, who I am not familiar with from our E.U.P. coverage, but he was the opening act for defunct local metal band Hammerspace for at least two of their early-2011 concerts, and shared a video from each onto his YouTube channel at the time. The latter video comes from their St. Patrick's Day concert at Zim's, where Jude covered The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" & The Foo Fighters' "Best of You", as part of a longer set that Jude lampshaded as being "shameful" aside from these songs. I more dislike the audio quality of the camera, as Jude seems to have a good grasp on these covers! The longer first video is embedded below, from the February 20th concert at The Merchant's Bar, and it features Jude covering Nirvana's "About A Girl", The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", Elvis Costello's "So Like Candy", ...

...Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", Nirvana's "Pennyroyal Tea", David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World", and The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun", so click each link to go to that song. Clearly a fan of Nirvana's MTV Unplugged album, Jude was honest about making mistakes during this concert (especially the solo during "So Like Candy"), but he is a good guitarist with a melodic yet gritty singing voice! Again, the camera's audio is the Achilles heel of these videos, not to mention the usually dark lighting, but if you can get past that, there's good qualities here, and hopefully Jude's kept at his music! Give his videos a look above & below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items, all being lineup clarifications for hard rock bands playing at Rotaryfest's main stage on SATURDAY NIGHT! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name, and all are cited from the Sault Ontario summer festival's official program:

• If the program is to be believed, Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide have not enlisted Gianni Gagoots guitarist Liam Seymour as a fifth band member, as was the case in prior online advertising. No word on if a guest spot is planned, but don't miss the four piece Tide at 7:00 PM on Stage 1, and/or Liam with The Barn Board Trio on Stage 2!
• Prolific local metal/punk drummer Johnny Belanger will play guest drums with the reunited Suicide Kings for their one-off set on Stage 1 at 5:00 PM, in place of Ben Boudreau. A reason for Ben's absence hasn't been publically stated, but hopefully nothing bad happened internally, and that we see him on stage again down the line! Johnny filled in with the former Beaumont Avenue late in their run, and has played with band members in The Bear Hunters and Heavy Head, so he should be a fine fit on Saturday!
• North Bay guitarist and sound engineer Dan Belanger will play guitar for That's Chester's one-off festival-closing set at Stage 1 at 10:30 PM on Saturday. Dan worked with That's Chester on their Tommy musical production in 2015, and after guitarist Eugene Orlando's sudden death a few weeks later, Dan filled in at their farewell/tribute set at Rotaryfest 2016, a role he'll reprise this weekend. Very solid and familiar choice, and hopefully the guys deliver another home run!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Rotaryfest Stage 1!!)

For our first news post of June 2018, we have a stacked and extended news post regarding a major concert event this summer, so let's not waste any more time, here's what you need to know!

The full lineup for this year's Rotaryfest Stage 1 has been announced, far earlier than usual, so what is there to say regarding this year's music lineup at Clergue Park next month? Oddly, each act was announced via individual Facebook event pages on the local summer festival's Facebook page in recent days, and if you piece them all together, you'll find a full lineup that is very different from the recent norm. With this year marking the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie (and the 20th installment of the modern Rotaryfest), organizers have largely dropped their usual pool of active artists for 2018, in favour of a special "Rotaryfest Rewind" lineup, mostly comprised of reunited local bands! In fact, of the announced bands, only five have played Rotaryfest at all since 2006, so if you've ever wanted the covers-centric main stage to have more variety, this is absolutely your year! No idea if they're waiving the covers only rule this year, but with certain bands, you'd have to hope they would!

Thursday's lineup on July 19th remains hard rock free, as is usual for Rotaryfest, but who's playing that day? In descending order, the headliners are 1970s-1980s local country band George Pinder & Patches at 10:00 PM, and they'll be joined by 1960s classic rock sextet The Dark Side at 9:00 PM, 1960s-1970s classic rock quartet The Polisi Basson at 8:00 PM, 1980s jazz/blues rock quartet Zak's All-Stars at 7:00 PM, and the return of long-time Rotaryfest regulars The Northern Jazz Ensemble for the first time since 2009 as the 6:00 openers. Most of these acts are before my time, but it'll be a thrill for many to see these acts back on stage next month! The Friday, July 20th lineup already made our concert listings via the already announced 10:00 PM headlining slot by local/Toronto indie/punk quartet Treble Charger in their first Rotaryfest appearance on record, whish is huge enough alone, but who all's opening for them?

At 9:20 PM, there will be a special tribute set to local musicians and bands of the past, which will be emceed by Adrian Vilaca, and is partially brought together by Ric Datson of the Sault Ste. Marie Museum and many local bands. This set should be intriguing, we'll be curious see who plays what then! The 8:30 PM slot belongs to Rotaryfest's iron men (and woman), classic rock quintet Mustang Heart, who will tackle a Bon Jovi and Journey tribute set for the occasion. How will this compare to Bon Journey's headlining set of 2012? Be there to find out next month! 2009-2012 classic/hard rock cover band Turner Up will also return on July 20th, marking their first Rotaryfest appearance since their sole 2011 turn under their brief Full Circle moniker. No particular lineup is reuniting for the show, with members from across their run taking part, but as best as I can tell, they'll be featuring Travis Sharpe on vocals, guitarists Robert Brown & Len Ward, bassist Jeff Brown, and drummer Scott McLurg next month.

I don't believe Turner Up ever played with Travis as their lead singer (he was previously their bassist), but it's great to see Turner Up back on stage in any form, they were a fun band! 1980s country/bluegrass quartet Road Fever (featuring Mojo and Flat Stanley alumni) will reunite for a set at 6:30 PM, while the Friday lineup will be opened at 5:30 PM by the long awaited return of local hard rock/funk band Tripod the Dog, with longtime frontman Mark Oliverio joined next month by his former Glitch bandmate Sean Berlinguette on bass, plus drummer Brian Egglesfield. I have memories of Tripod the Dog from early in my following of local music, and it's cool to see Mark bring them back after too long! As for Saturday, July 21st's lineup, we already knew that Juno winning Calgary classic rock trio The Stampeders would be that day's featured attraction, but who else can we find on that day's extended bill?

The Stampeders actually aren't playing last (they have the 8:30 PM slot), as local classic/hard rock cover veterans That's Chester will reunite after a two year hiatus to close Rotaryfest at 10:30 PM! Their advertised lineup for this year is as a four piece with Greg, Gabe, Aubrey, and Ric back (there's no stated second guitarist), but original singer Richard Fullerton will come back home to guest on a few songs. Hopefully the guys have a blast in their 10th Stage 1 set, and honour Eugene's memory once again! Another musicians tribute (described identically to Friday's) will take place at 7:50 PM, while local/Toronto punk/Celtic favourites Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will surprisingly make their Rotaryfest debut at 7:00 PM.  Their event page indicates that Chris Johns will be back on drums for this set, but it also notes that Marshall Jaaskelainen's Barn Board Trio bandmate Liam Seymour will join them next month. I can't confirm if Liam is now in The Tide or if he's just a guest performer, but it's great to see them on stage again!

1970s Chicago-influenced soft rock collective Pegasus will reunite for a set at 6:00 PM, while the classic lineup of 2012-2015 hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings will come back after three years away on July 21st at 5:00 PM! Visibly resurrecting their original and more prominent name rather than their Beaumont Avenue moniker, it's awesome to see Mike, Steven, Mitch, and Ben back for one more go-around in their fourth Rotaryfest appearance, so don't miss them either! Fan favourite jam rock sextet Odd Man Out will make their festival debut at 4:00 PM, while an apparent one-off quartet named The Sun Dogs will play a set of 1960s summer-themed classic covers at 3:00 PM. Wailing Aztecs alumni Kelly McGillivray, Sue Martinelli and Sue Roy will play a set of folk and pop covers under their own names at 2:00 PM, while the Saturday lineup will kick off with the current incarnation of Korah Collegiate's school band Mustang Sally at 1:00 PM.

As usual, this year's Stage 1 entertainment is FREE and for ALL AGES, so visit the above links for all of the current details! While it is surprising to not find such recent regulars as Obsession, The Reptiles, and Crossroad on the bill this year, the exceedingly nostalgic and possibly original-embracing lineup is more than welcomed, and I know the buzz is already high for this year's Stage 1 roster! Stay tuned for continued updates when and if they roll in, including the Stage 2 lineup to be announced, and look for our Dumpster Mummy preview and more tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Havadder), More Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

With some serious personal family matters going on this weekend, I don't anticipate posts to be as frequent for the next few days (at least), so if we miss any late notice concert alerts from a band like Mourning Wood, my apologies in advance. Today's post features some assorted recent notes, a local band's recent activity, and more of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Havadder will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT for one night only at The Rednecks Saloon! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show yesterday via it's Facebook event page. After taking the Rotaryfest weekend off, this will be Jugga & company's first show since rocking Rednecks and Ride For Sight a couple of weeks back, and their hard hitting and often varied covers should find a solid audience once again TOMORROW! No word though on why they're not playing at Rednecks tonight. Like usual for Havadder concerts, tomorrow's show is a 19+ affair with no announced cover charge and a 10:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the above links! Havadder are always a reliably good time for your weekend entertainment, so keep tomorrow's show in mind, and here's the guys live last month!



Moving to a pair of previously announced concerts, Sault Michigan hard rock trio Power Slug are slated to return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! The local cover favourites featuring I.S.O.M. members Bob Helsten & Chris Leask will be making their first announced public concert appearances in over a month this weekend, and while the band hasn't acknowledged them on their own Facebook page, Kewadin's entertainment page confirms them (note also that we have new shows through September to announce at local Kewadin branches, so stay tuned for that!) As usual, this weekend's shows have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charge, and 9:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the above links! Power Slug haven't played as much lately, but hopefully the guys have a great weekend in store, so make sure to chug your mug with them! Here's the guys a few years back!



Next up, here's some long overdue updates from local rap/metal quartet & VM Radio Battle finalists The Apocalypse Afterparty, so what have they been up to in the past month? As per their Facebook page on Sunday, the masked bandits are still working on their debut EP, planning to be "reclusive & ghost-like" while recording brand new tracks at Mission Control Studios, and upon release "after many, many moons", it'll be a 3 song EP on USB sticks, mp3 downloads, and a limited vinyl pressing (no word on CDs though.) The guys also elaborated on their earlier teases of a comic book on the band, which is apparently in it's final draft, will have work by a professional comic artist, and a cover will be posted in a few weeks upon completion. In terms of concerts, the Afterparty teased an upcoming Gonqshow appearance (presumably August 7th's Hard Up show) and other upcoming concerts.

There's no direct reference within to their drummer vacancy, but the post includes some vague remarks including an apology to "Rotary support", and plans to start a war with "a loud, public figure", but you can read into things however you want. Nice to see that The Apocalypse Afterparty are still active and running through some ambitious plans, so follow the band above, and stay tuned for more from their camp as it rolls in!

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

• With their announced breakup following their Rotaryfest set last week, we have moved local hard rock quartet Beaumont Avenue to our inactive band links, albeit under their original name The Suicide Kings, as they accomplished more & were active longer under that name. If a defunct band has had multiple names, we usually list them in our links under their most prominent name for familiarity's sake, not unlike with bassist Mitch Sirie's old band Stillbroke, who closed their run as Borderline Divine. If Beuamont Avenue ever reunites under that name, they'll be re-listed accordingly!
• This might just be re-stating the obvious, but we might as well confirm that next month's planned Das Bunkerfest II concert from Six Two Oh appears to have been cancelled outright. Promoters had hoped to host the Garden River-based house party festival in a new location after ceding control of the original venue, but with the Facebook event page now deleted, that presumably ends plans for the sequel event. Keep an eye out for new Six Two Oh shows!
• If you noticed that SooToday's "Soo To-Do List" from last week listed an appearance by Kingston country solo artist Tom Savage at the Pixo Control/Gnaeus concert at LopLops Lounge, you're not alone, but that appears to be a typo. Savage did play a LopLops event on July 10th opening for Brock Zeman, so that might be where wires were crossed, and no advertising for the Pixo Control show credits extra performers beyond the Gnaeus teases. Hopefully that show was a hit!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes when possible! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Havadder & Mourning Wood), More Concert Previews, And A Surprise Band Breakup!!

We would normally start this second weekend concert preview post with a late notice show announcement, but as this leads directly into a cancellation and replacement band for this weekend, we'll lead off with the surprising news that local hard rock quartet Beaumont Avenue are disbanding next month. The former Suicide Kings made the announcement on their Facebook page yesterday, and while they didn't clarify a reason for the impending breakup (other than saying they went from "in a relationship" to "single"), they confirmed that they've cancelled their concerts tonight at The Rockstar Bar and on July 10th at The Rednecks Saloon (which wasn't publically announced beforehand), and they've pulled out of that weekend's Out Of The Ruins show as well. However, Beaumont Avenue will play a farewell concert set at Rotaryfest next month, which personal Facebook posts confirm will be on Saturday, July 18th at 4:00 PM on the main stage, but we're still awaiting official public confirmation on the lineup.

I don't know why they're breaking up so suddenly, especially a day off from their planned return, but Beaumont Avenue have had a very successful run since their 2012 debut that has seen them open for the likes of Airbourne, win 2013's Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, and even play at Spanish's Rock 'N Roar Festival. At least they'll get a proper send-off (albeit covers only) at Rotaryfest next month, so be sure to see Mike, Steven, Mitch, and Ben one last time then, and stay tuned for updates on the full Rotaryfest band lineups on both stages when they come in!

With Beaumont Avenue's withdrawal from TONIGHT'S Rockstar Bar concert, here's our first SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this post, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Havadder will step in to take their spot for tonight, as announced via this Facebook event page late yesterday! This gives Havadder (with guest drummer Glen Thomas) the full weekend at The Rockstar Bar, as they'll headline the previously announced fundraiser for drummer Scott McLurg and his family TOMORROW NIGHT, with proceeds going to help Scott during his ongoing heart attack recovery! The second benefit for Scott this month, this has the benefit of extra advertising, a 50/50 draw, drink specials, and a prize table, so keep each in mind! Recent postings indicate however that Havadder are the only "band" tomorrow, though they'll be joined by guest musicians to jam during their set, as you never know who might have at 'er too!

Both TONIGHT & TOMORROW's shows have 19+ age limits & 10:30 PM start times, and while tonight's has no announced cover (bring cash just in case), tomorrow's fundraiser has a minimum $5 cover, so given the cause, consider giving more. Scott McLurg is a good guy and a talented drummer, so our continued best wishes are with him as his recovery continues, and definitely consider coming to see Havadder this weekend to show your support! Here's Havadder live last fall!



Lastly for short notice show announcements in this post, local classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood are apparently rocking Reggie's Place at 458 Queen Street East TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was originally confirmed in a thread on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on Monday, and it apparently followed a rare Thursday night show from the band yesterday, as per bassist Steven Flint's personal Facebook page (apologies for missing it on the SMS, we couldn't rush a third new post last night to fit it in.) No word on if they're playing a Friday show now that Steven's Beaumont Avenue gig was cancelled, but tomorrow's proves to be unique if it's still on, as the above Musicians Wanted group post was to find musicians to fill in for frontman Terry Eaton and drummer T.J. Case due to a double booking. This is presumably referencing an Asylum Country concert, as both are in that band, but I haven't found a public reference to the show in question.

At last word, a drummer was found and a bassist was being sought (I assume Steven would be handling guitar if this show is still on), but at least we heard about a Mourning Wood show at the original Reggie's before the day of it! Tomorrow's show, if still on, should have a 10:00 PM start time, a 19+ age limit, and no announced cover. We'll keep you posted if more comes out, and here's Mourning Wood live last year!



Finally for this second of three weekend concert preview posts, we'll touch on a show that was previously announced, as local alternative hard rock trio The Pixo Control will hit LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT to open for Edmonton psychedelic/garage rock band The Archaics for a second time in under three weeks! With the headliners coming back home on their Canadian tour, it's great to see The Archaics' old school-inspired garage rock back on a local stage tomorrow, so be sure to give them a look if you're not familiar with them! The Pixo Control will be kicking off a busy weekend (including a Sunday afternoon show that we'll preview in-depth tomorrow), and their grungy hard rock should fit in nicely again tomorrow! A more intimate show than the New American gig earlier this month, it is apparently a Six Two Oh production despite the Facebook event page being created by former Danger Cats guitarist Paula D'Agostino.

A $5 cover is in effect for this 19+ concert, which will start tomorrow at 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the above links, and if you missed The Archaics and The Pixo Control earlier this month, here's your second chance! For a preview, here's The Pixo Control at last year's Lopstock, and stay tuned for plenty of videos from this year's Lopstock in the coming days!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for previews of an unusually busy Sunday in local concerts tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: 7/47 & Social Suicide

After a few days' delay due to being out of town and busy (my apologies!), here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, as we once again look at 1 or 2 defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk bands (two this month), in order for fans to know more about them and check out their available media! This month's installment is a double profile, as the first band didn't have a lot of surviving info, but both have familiar faces and clear talent from each side of the border, so here's what you should know!
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7/47

Genre: Classic Rock/Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. This lineup information is incomplete, mainly regarding the identity of their female lead singer from their last posted video. If you can fill in any blanks, let us know!)

?????, lead vocals

Mike Pascoe (The Highest of Fives, Free Refill), vocals/guitar

Jack Slater (The Highest of Fives, 415E), bass

Joe North (The Eleventh Hour), drums

Tyler Wall (Free Refill), guitar 

Info/Analysis: 7/47 were a young hard rock band that formed through Joey Beairl's Guitar Studio rock camp program in Sault Michigan in mid-2009. Featuring two members of Free Refill in their original lineup, 7/47 quickly began playing covers at various venues in the area that summer, even taking a road trip to Christmas that August. Updates slowed down until the next summer, when 7/47 played an outdoor set in Mackinac City, which came after the addition of an unidentified female lead singer and the departure of guitarist Tyler Wall. No public updates followed, and 7/47 are believed to have dissolved by the end of 2010, though Mike Pascoe & Jack Slater have since reemerged in The Highest of Fives. As seen via 4 surviving videos on Jack's YouTube channel, 7/47 had a strong sound that showed the kids developing sound well, and their last singer had a good voice too, though Mike's vocals weren't as developed yet. Check out 7/47 live above & below!

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Social Suicide

Genre: Technical Death Metal/Grindcore/Punk

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. This lineup information may be incomplete, as the band went through many lineup changes that weren't always credited publically. If you can add something, let us know!)

Tyler St. Amour (Them, Fountain of Betrayal), vocals/bass
Anthony Boudreau (Them, Infamous), guitar
Keeghan Rosso (The Pixo Control), drums

Storm Perry, guitar/drums
Andres Duchesne (Pillory, The Bear Hunters, The Issues), guitar
Ray Cowan (State of Misery, March Into Regression, Unbound), guitar

Audio/Video: Social Suicide never posted online media from their run, but they did write original material and had covers in their setlists when they did play live. For reference, Tyler and Anthony's current band Them likely have the most similarities to Social Suicide's late-era sound, and may play some of the same material.

Info/Analysis: Launched in August 2011, Social Suicide quickly began plans to play gigs at Superior Heights Collegiate, write original material, and play proper concerts the following summer, but a spate of lineup changes and internal conflicts slowed things down throughout their three year run. The band did play sporadic house party events in the early 2010s (including their "debut" in June 2012), but never at a formal local concert, despite signing on with Blood Shed Productions in early 2013. Last updating their Facebook page in January 2014, Social Suicide quietly disbanded last year, though frontman Tyler St. Amour and guitarist Anthony Boudreau soon regrouped in Them with new instrument roles. Though it's surprising that Social Suicide didn't accomplish more in their run, be sure to check out Them to get your fix!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! So, who's coming up in this series in May? Through completely random selection, I've selected defunct Sault Ontario thrash quartet Pillory, which will mark our second straight profile in this series on a band that featured Tyler St. Amour and the late Andres Duchesne in any of their lineups! Another Sault Michigan profile will follow in June, but look for this on or around May 10th, and stay tuned for more updates shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Benighted), Pixo Control Updates, And Much More!!

I hope everyone's having a great Tuesday! Keeping with our recent steady output, today's news post includes new material from two linked projects, the latest from a promising young band, and more assorted updates, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for March! (Edited on Wednesday at 2:05 AM)

A long teased death metal concert is now official, as French death/grind quintet Benighted will headline at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday, March 7th (and by French, I mean from France, which is very cool in and of itself!) A favourite of promoter Tyler St. Amour, Benighted's brutal and intense death metal sound should be more than welcomed to Sault Ontario in the midst of their first Canadian tour, so be sure not to miss this show if you live death metal & grindcore! They'll be joined by Montreal theatrical death metal quintet Bookakee, who are known for wearing costumes, using props, and enacting sketches during their sets of technical & progressive death metal, and they have to be seen to be believed, so make sure to see them in March! They're scheduled for 11:00 & 10:00 PM respectively, while the top local support slot will go to local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters in their first announced show since November's CD release party, and they'll be on at 9:00 PM.

Very fitting choice, and they should brutalize on March 7th! The only other currently announced local band will be goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore (in their second announced show of 2015) at 6:30 PM, and while The Revolution have expressed interest in playing, the other three local band slots have yet to be confirmed. The first concert from Heavy North Entertainment in over 4 months, admission will be $7 in advance (starting on February 1st) or $12 at the door, the first band will be on at 5:30 PM, and this is ALL AGES! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This sounds like it will be a great concert for death metal fans, so be sure to stay tuned for updates as they come in!

Next up, here's the latest from young local alternative/hard rock trio The Pixo Control, who will be making a big appearance on a new local webseries soon! The show is called Bare, and it's a VM Radio-produced series where local musicians will perform in a stripped down acoustic fashion (a'la MTV Unplugged), with multiple cameras filming all of the action. A preview photo is shared of the set on VM Radio's Facebook page, but it's not from The Pixo Control's episode. Other details on Bare are forthcoming (including on what sites to watch it on), but we'll let you know when more comes out. Either way, it sounds like a fun series, and I'm curious to see who else plays on Bare! Also, a review of their most recent concert (at Cafe Natura on December 30th) is now online via the local music & arts website Ears & Eyes, as written by contributor Shane Erickson (a.k.a. DJ Seith), and it's fairly in depth on all of the bands that night, so what should you know?

Along with remarks on the reunited Frasiers and Great Chamberlain (who featured The Pixo Control's Michael Mikus and The Fever Tops' Mitch Harris), he praised local post punk quartet Gnaeus' energy, openness, and their "hard-charging alternative rock sound", while enthusiastically praising Michael's stage presence and intensity when discussing The Pixo Control, who debuted a new song named "Alphabetical Order" that night. I won't spoil the rest, but Shane is well spoken in the interview, so give it a look at this link or above, and read more from Ears & Eyes too, it's a great site!

Also today, here's the latest from Telephone & Address frontman Chris Shoust's other two active bands, those being his duo projects The Red & Black and Orange! They both now have new media on their respective Soundcloud pages, with Orange's page now featuring 10 new "Sunday Sessions" recordings posted last week (bringing them to 14 total), all continuing their diverse punk/rockabilly instrumental sound! The Red & Black's new Soundcloud page features 7 original songs, including 4 previously heard on their Bandcamp page, and three new songs named "Sing or Move On", "Stay at Home in Bed", and "This is All That Matters". Their new songs are effective yet lo-fi like before, and fans of Chris & Damian's past collective work should enjoy the songs! It should be noted that The Red & Black's Soundcloud page implies that their 7 songs will comprise their portion of the hinted split album with Orange, but it's not clear yet which Orange songs will be included, or if this album will get a paid public release in some form.

Chris' projects have been very prolific in terms of media in the last few months, so we'll have to see what comes next from them! Stay tuned for more updates, and yes, we have more from Telephone & Address themselves as well, so keep an eye out!

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

• Apolcaypse Afterparty "songwriter" Paul Stanghetta (a.k.a. Puablos Stancu) is looking for "chicks with bass & an amp", presumably to join the band, which does follow earlier hints that they were looking to expand their lineup with female members. If you're a female bassist and are interested in joining this unique rap/metal project, message Paul at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
• We've moved local death metal band Social Suicide to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, having not posted on their Facebook page since January 5th, 2014. Active since 2011, this band was led by the aforementioned Tyler St. Amour, and underwent many member & sound changes, but house parties aside, never played a public show or released any media. Best of luck to surviving members in the future, and don't miss Tyler & fellow Social Suicide alum Anthony Boudreau in the newer metal band Them!
• Only 5 registration forms for the VM Radio Battle of The Bands at The Canadian Nightclub in March are available to whoever wants to pick them up and enter, rather than just bands who reserved spots, so if you want in and/or had a reserved spot, head down to The Rad Zone A.S.A.P. to get your forms! Once completed and sent in with your $100 entry fee (which you get back by selling your ticket packages), you're in for the battle! Our source is promoter J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page today.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more in the coming days, including this weekend's concert previews & more! Thanks everyone!

Rotaryfest 2014 Video Showcase (Part 1)

Like in past years, Sault Online (formerly Local2) correspondent Mike Caruso was on hand to film some great quality videos of the bands that played at Clergue Park for Rotaryfest, so we're going to feature the hard rock and metal covers from this year's event in two special posts this week! Luckily, Mike filmed every single advertised band this year, which is a slight change from previous years where one or two wasn't shot (including Fusion in consecutive years, oddly.) We'll focus on videos from this past Friday (and one from Saturday afternoon) today, and cover the remainder of the Saturday videos in the second post, so let's get this rolling! We'll first acknowledge the videos that Mike shot last Thursday, and they include Crossroad covering Hank Williams' "Honky Tonk Blues", The Bob Jenkins Band playing a jazz instrumental (title unannounced, but it reminds me of a Vince Guaraldi composition), The Jaztecs covering "The Girl From Ipanema", and Coverfly covering The Mamas & The Papas' "California Dreamin'", so click each link to see those performances!

First for the hard rock videos on Friday is this cover of Aerosmith's "Back In The Saddle" by local cover quartet KT, Kyle, and The Pocket, who we only tend to see at Rotaryfest. It turns out that singer KT Antler and bassist Kyle McKey (who've recently lived in Pembroke) and drummer Ed Young (who moved to Prince Edward Island last year) all came home for the event, which is nice to see on all accounts, especially knowing their talents! This cover (also featuring Kyle's Sailor's Tongue bandmate Blake Jackson on guitar) is probably more reminiscent of KT & Kyle's brief run with the original Turner Up than the rest of The Pocket's set, but it's well performed, and KT's got a great voice! I presume this will be the closest we'll get to a Sailor's Tongue set this year too, as that band only has reunited to play the Second Stage in the early 2010s, and we know that didn't return last weekend. Nicely filmed from great angles though, so give KT, Kyle, and The Pocket's Aerosmith cover a look below!



Next up on Friday was local hard rock quartet Beaumont Avenue (formerly The Suicide Kings), and while that obvious difference paired with the lack of a guest bassist were changes from last year, their talents and chemistry remained the same! Mike filmed the guys covering Guns N' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone" at Rotaryfest, which turned out pretty well, though Mike Gaetano's vocals can be an odd tone on the verses on a first listen. Solid as expected, so check out Beaumont Avenue at Rotaryfest below!



Lastly for the hard rock covers filmed on Friday was local hard rock veterans Stiffler's Mom's rendition of Golden Earring's "Radar Love", which also got the job done in their usual fashion, with Mike Davies' guitar standing out, and Greg Simpson's vocals being a great match on this classic hard rock standard! Nice chemistry also, but after how long these guys have played together, that's a given. Check out Stiffler's Mom's Golden Earring cover below!



The other Friday performances shot include classic rockers Mustang Heart covering Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" and country favourites Thin Ice covering Blackberry Smoke's "Like I Am", so check those out via the linked titles! Among the footage Mike shot on Saturday afternoon, he filmed R&B veterans The Reptiles covering Crowbar's "Oh What A Feeling (What A Rush)", as well as a surprise cover of Neil Diamond's "Play Me" by Rotaryfest stage MC (and Q104 DJ) Jeff McNeice in between bands. I didn't know he had that in him, very solid for the genre! The first of five filmed hard rock covers on Saturday was of the new all-female rock band Domina, whose creative description in the Rotaryfest program didn't tell us much on them, so what do we know? Well, their singer is Obsession's Valerie Powley, so they have absolutely nothing to worry about vocally! Their lineup also includes Shirley Kominos (Spyder's Web) & Patricia Palarchio on guitar, Mid Life Crysis' Lori Reinholtz on bass, and Boogie Fever alum Tracey Hilderley on drums, all of which were credited under stage names in the program.

Domina's cover was of The Headpins' "Don't It Make Ya Feel", which is definitely a hard rock song, and with the vocals Valerie is putting out here, how could it not be? There was a girl power theme for sure on Saturday afternoon (we'll cover The Danger Cats in our second Rotaryfest video feature), and Domina have the talent to make some noise if this is more than a one-off gig, though I'm curious to see if they're essentially an all-female Obsession, and if not, how they'll deviate in sound. Check out Domina below!



The rest of Mike Caruso's videos from Rotaryfest will be touched on either tomorrow or on Friday, and we'll feature hard rock covers from the aforementioned Danger Cats & Obsession, plus Griphook and headliners Michael White & The White, and we'll also link you guys to the other four covers that Mike filmed on Saturday. Give everything a look above, and stay tuned for more soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Beaumont Avenue & Late Shift), Plus New Video Finds!!

Kicking off a new week at the site, let's cover some recent news and notes today, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming month, more videos from a major recent concert, and a cool punk video to share on here, so here's what you need to know!

Local hard rock cover quartet Late Shift will return to the stage THIS FRIDAY for a solo headlining gig at The Rednecks Saloon! This will likely be the first appearance by this internet page-less band at the former Nicolet Tavern, and if we haven't missed any in the interim, their first public concert appearance since playing at LopLops Lounge in May. Featuring alumni of Fingerbone, Redefined, Northwest, and The Groove Committee, you may also recognize Late Shift from the Amy Ellis benefit show at The Canadian last fall, and if that and their scattered early 2014 gigs (public & private alike) are any indication, they should have a solid cover set in store! No word on why they're not playing on Saturday though, but there might be a prior booking that day. Regardless, there's no announced cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:00 PM start time in effect. For more details, visit the Facebook event page, and stay tuned for updates if we get them!

Speaking of new shows at The Rednecks Saloon, local hard rock quartet Beaumont Avenue (formerly The Suicide Kings) will return to the old Nic for a full weekend on Friday, July 25th & Saturday, July 26th! Oddly, these shows were only just announced on Friday via the new cover photo on their Facebook page, which still bears their old name as of this writing. Following their second appearance at Rotaryfest in a couple of weeks, these will be their first shows at this venue since May, so if you're up for a weekend full of hard rock originals and covers (especially as you won't see the originals at Rotaryfest), be at 304 Albert Street West on the last weekend of the month! Like this Friday's Late Shift show, expect 19+ age limits, no announced cover, and 10:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the above links, and don't miss the newly renamed Beaumont Avenue then or at Rotaryfest!

We'll close this post with new videos, including what's likely our last fallout from last month's Heart/Jason Bonham concert at The Essar Centre! As you may know, crew from SooToday and Local2 were on hand for the show, filming footage among their other articles, and some of their material made it in the newest episode of their ongoing video series Tuned with Donna Hopper, which went online on Wednesday! The main articles of the episode include Donna's interviews with Southern Ontario rockers The Weber Brothers (the first band she ever interviewed in 2006) and local folk band The Faraway Neighbours (with performance footage of each), while the concert calendar segment plugs The Archaics' show at The New American on July 15th. The last chunk devoted to more Local2 footage of the Heart show, including clips of Heart & Jason playing "Barracuda", "What About Love", and Led Zeppelin covers, some of which were seen before, but they're solid all the same! Click here for the full episode, as Local2 videos doesn't allow external embedding.

And as for embeddable videos, YouTube user hbogie123 uploaded six more videos from the show onto their YouTube channel last week, joining the 13 existing videos that we covered on here! All from the Led Zeppelin cover portion, these videos (generally incomplete again) include Heart & Jason playing "The Ocean", "Immigrant Song", "Kashmir", "The Rain Song", a 13 second clip of "The Battle of Evermore", and as embedded below, their show-stopping rendition of "Stairway To Heaven", which fans will definitely want to check out! Solid quality with a good angle as before, so give hbogie123's last videos a look above & below!

Finally for today, I wanted to slowly begin sharing some local punk videos on the site, and to reserve certain ones for our YouTube Channel Profile Series, we'll feature some from channels without a 50% majority of SMS-fitting videos on the site just to give them some solid attention! This one was originally a Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie news piece by ex-Free Beer frontman Christian Lemay that aired on Channel 10 last January, and it's focused on the Searchmont Resort fundraiser that month at The Water Tower Inn that featured a concert set by local punk/alternative standouts Treble Charger! While largely focused on the fundraiser and it's impact on the resort from staff, the latter half of the video features footage of Treble Charger's set (their first with a full quartet lineup in the Soo since 2003), and it's nice to see clips of them in town! As I remember, this fundraiser had expensive tickets, but it was for a good cause, and it looked like a successful event! It'd have been interesting to see Greig or Bill interviewed on camera though. Check out the full report below, and see more Shaw TV pieces at their YouTube channel!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and band features this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rotaryfest), Plus The End Of The Second Stage?

After a longer than expected delay for the announcements, the full music schedule for this year's Rotaryfest is now official, so this post is headlined by a related LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the Friday and band additions for the Saturday! We also want to address the status of the Second Stage in this post as well, but we'll leave that for the end. As revealed via the online copy of the official program on their website, the all-cover stage at Clergue Park will run from Thursday, July 17th to Saturday, July 19th concurrently with Sault Ontario's annual summer festival, so who's planned for 2014, and who's coming back from last year? Let's start with the Thursday lineup, which like in past years, is shorter and continues (in part) the jazz theme of past years. As such, that day's lineup includes new country cover quartet Crossroad (no relation to Sault Michigan's Crossroads), veteran jazz sextet The Bob Jenkins Band, new local jazz collective The Jaztecs, and classic rock notables Coverfly, so check above for more details! Thursday's bands begin at 6:00 PM, and both Coverfly & The Bob Jenkins Band are returnees from last year's Thursday lineup.

This year's Friday lineup is noticeably slashed from previous years, with bands beginning at 6:00 PM as well after generally beginning in the afternoon in past installments. Still, there are five bands rocking on July 18th, including two hard rock bands, so who's playing? Then highest slotted heavier band (and only one that didn't play at last year's Rotaryfest) is veteran cover/party rock trio Stiffler's Mom, who I believe are playing Rotaryfest for the first time since their reunion, though frontman Greg Simpson has played many recent installments with bands like That's Chester. Nice to see them bringing their entertaining hard rock classics to Rotaryfest once again, so keep their set in mind! The newly renamed Beaumont Avenue (still labelled under their old name The Suicide Kings) will play their second live set since the name change right before them as well, and though their originals will be shelved for the evening, look for an explosive set of hard rock favourites from Beaumont Avenue on the 18th!

The Friday lineup will be headlined for a second straight year by country rock cover quartet Thin Ice (complete with guests) at 10:00 PM, with classic rock quintet Mustang Heart playing at 9:00 PM, Stiffler's Mom & Beaumont Avenue playing at 8:00 & 7:00 PM respectively, and the returning pop rock cover band KT, Kyle, and The Pocket at 6:00 PM, so check the above links for details on the shortened Friday lineup!

The Saturday lineup was already partially announced via the splash on Rotaryfest's website of Toronto-based Led Zeppelin tribute Michael White & The White headlining, which continues the tradition of an out of town tribute band headlining on the Saturday, but now we know the local bands! The last day maintains the lengthy lineup of past years, and fans of prior Clergue Park stages will like the familiarity, with only 3 of the 9 bands not present last year. Michael White & The White will be on at 10:15 PM, with local hard rock cover quartet Griphook returning with new frontman Joel Syrette at 9:00 PM, and all-female hard rockers The Danger Cats will make their Rotaryfest debut with an all-cover set at 3:00 PM! Nice to see both bands playing this year, and it should be interesting to see how the girls do on the big stage! Before Griphook's set, a (one off?) Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks tribute band named Free Falling (whose lineup is 100% locally comprised) will take the stage at 8:00 PM, with country cover quartet Summer Thunder on at 7:00 PM, and classic rock veterans Spyder's Web, Mid Life Crysis, and Obsession playing at 6:00, 5:00, and 4:00 PM respectively.

Early afternoon bands before The Danger Cats include a somewhat mysterious new rock quintet named Domina at 2:00 PM who have a female singer, but I can't verify much else (we'll let you know if we hear anything!), while R&B big band The Reptiles will once again open the day at 1:00 PM. Like in past years, admission is FREE for all three days, this is an ALL AGES event, and set times are listed above. Check the above links for more details on Rotaryfest's musical entertainment, along with the non-musical events that will be fun for all ages as usual! Though 12 of this year's 19 bands are returnees from 2013, and the Friday lineup is visibly shorter, there's a reliable familiarity to this year's lineup, and it's nice to see over a quartet of the bands crossing over into hard rock! Michael White & The White should deliver the goods for you Led Zeppelin fans as well, so don't miss out on all of the action downtown at Clergue Park in two weeks!

Lastly for today, some of you may be wondering about the Tenaris Second Stage on Queen Street East, which has given local original artists and select out of town indie/folk acts their own Rotaryfest presence since 2005, and would have held it's 10th annual installment this year. Well, we can sadly now confirm that the Second Stage is on hold this year, as per a new Sault Star article by Brian Kelly that was posted online yesterday, and will presumably be in the paper too. In the article, Rotaryfest events manager Carolyn Bunting O'Connor said that leaner sponsorship support and a lack of money are to blame for the Second Stage (and the busker showcase Cirque du Rotaryfest) being shelved for 2014, though she hopes both will come back in 2015. She added that they're upset about the Second Stage not taking place this year, and while the idea of hosting some original bands on the Clergue Park stage this year was suggested, they only 100% decided to cancel the Second Stage a few weeks ago and were trying to get it going until then, so there wasn't time. In it's place, Tenaris will sponsor children's & science events for this year, though it's not clear whether it's due to or a cause of the Second Stage's break.

Also, LopLops Lounge (who put on and organized the Second Stage) are hosting a downtown music festival named The Emergency on August 9th that has a similar performer and arts lineup to what the Second Stage may have had, but it's not directly stated whether this is a "replacement" event or just a new concept. Check it out above though! Hopefully this is just a one year break, as it was a great outlet for the original bands that many wish were on the Clergue Park stage! There may have been a high focus on indie, folk, and roots bands, but it seemed like a working formula, and maybe The Emergency can help pick up the slack! Still disappointing, but go support the main stage to keep the music coming! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and profiles this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Beaumont Avenue, Lucky 13, And Tym Morrison), A Band Name Change, And Concert Previews!!

Today, we're focusing on this weekend's metal & hard rock concert previews, mostly of the SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT variety, as all but two in Sault Michigan this weekend were only just confirmed online this week. One of the bands playing this weekend actually just changed their name too, so read on below for what you need to know for your weekend concert planning!

The band formerly known as The Suicide Kings will hit the stage TOMORROW NIGHT for a headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced at the end of a post from bassist Mitch Sirie on Tuesday night, where the band also announced that they have changed their name to Beaumont Avenue. Mitch cited recent personal events for the change, which I believe also caused the postponement of their Urawk live karaoke series' debut at The Rednecks Saloon from last week to tonight (if you know the band personally, you'll know what happened.) They also cited the name bringing the band "unwanted negativity" and assumptions that they were a full metal band when they cover much more than just that. The Beaumont Avenue name references the street that the guys jam on, so the personal connection fits well! Under any name, TOMORROW'S show will be the band's first concert set since Musicfest earlier this month, and their first at The Rockstar Bar since February.

There should be a $5 cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM-ish start time is likely. Check the above links for more details, including on TONIGHT'S Urawk debut if you're up for live karaoke of any genre! I like the reasoning for the new name, but it will take time to settle in, especially as The Suicide Kings have accomplished so much under that name. Fingers crossed they find the same success and more, so don't miss the newly renamed Beaumont Avenue tomorrow night! For a preview, here's their Buckcherry cover at The Canadian last fall!



Also in recent new concert confirmations, we'll now add Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's July slate of solo dates at The Harp Bar & Grill to our concert listings, pushing his ongoing concert arrangement there to it's 31st-34th weeks! As such, he'll be playing acoustic solo dates (Fridays as part of hosted jam nights, Saturdays as normal solo gigs) TOMORROW, next Friday & Saturday, on Friday, July 18th, and then on July 25th & 26th, and apologies for the late notice on tomorrow's show, as I couldn't slot it into a post when announced on Facebook on Monday. All of the other new dates are via Tym's website's concert calendar, and note that he's not playing at The Harp this Saturday due to the former Madison's Pub's broadcast of UFC 175, and he's not listed for a show there on July 19th either for yet unknown reasons, so keep those off Saturdays in mind. As well, Tym will return to The Road House Bar & Grill on Trunk Road for a second straight monthly customer appreciation night on Thursday, July 24th, so if you miss Tym's regular run there, check out the acoustic hard rock action & meal deals then!

Aside from the Road House gig on the 24th (which starts at 5:00 PM and is likely all ages as a result), all of these gigs have 10:00 PM start times, no announced cover charge, and 19+ age limits. For more details, check the above links and the Facebook event page for TOMORROW'S show! It's great to see Tym's ongoing relationship with The Harp continuing to be successful (and to see him play some more gigs at other venues), so don't miss his unplugged cover classics tomorrow, and here he is at The Harp in January!

And in one more late notice concert announcement, local classic/alternative hard rock cover quartet Lucky 13 will apparently be playing at The Rockstar Bar themselves THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Once again, apologies for the short notice, I only just heard about this show via The Rockstar Bar's Facebook group yesterday (though for what it's worth, the band hasn't confirmed this show yet.) The booking will be Lucky 13's first since the end of May, and if true, it's a bit surprising given that Lucky 13 (from what I'm used to) generally take the summer off. If there's any clarification to the contrary, we'll let you know, but keep an eye out for Lucky 13's hard hitting and varied covers on Saturday if all goes well! There will be a $5 cover charge, 10:30 PM-ish start time, and 19+ age limit in effect, so check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the guys at The Canadian! (Also, I've seen advertising on The Rockstar Bar's pages recently for a band named The Ottomans that's playing there next weekend. I have no info on them or their genre yet, but if they end up fitting on the SMS, we'll let you know!)



Closing with shows that had some advance word, Northern Michigan Kiss tribute band Kiss'd will make a rare return to the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT with headlining concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! This weekend's shows round out the recent U.P. invasion of singer/bassist Jeff Hudson's array of Northern Michigan hard rock bands, following recent St. Ignace shows from his other acts Scarkazm, Audio Circus, and of course, Peril. However, Kiss'd are more of a novelty for both concept (how often do you see tribute bands in the E.U.P.?) and in their own live frequency, as they've only played four shows before this weekend, and not since 2012. Even still, Kiss'd play a fun and faithful version of Kiss' classic sound, though some of the vocals aren't dead ringers for the originals, so keep what should be a great weekend of Kiss material in mind for this weekend! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and everything starts at 10:30 PM tomorrow (due to the Fourth of July fireworks) and at 9:00 PM on Saturday. Don't miss out, and for a preview, here's Kiss'd live in Alma in 2011!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new post tomorrow, plus more news and notes to come! Thanks everyone!