LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Dos Amigos), A Concert Cancellation, And Related Updates!!

Before we get into this weekend's concert previews, just a heads up that tonight's Angelmaker-headlined concert at Blaster Powerhouse has been cancelled. Local promoters Heavy North Entertainment finally confirmed on Tuesday that it wasn't taking place, though Angelmaker quietly dropped the show from their tour routing at some point between July 15th and 31st, and H.N.E. hadn't promoted it on social media since July 8th. As well, tickets never went on sale for the local date, and the search for local opening bands had no public follow-through. A reason for the cancellation wasn't announced, but note that Heavy North Entertainment haven't hosted a concert since late last year, though company head Tyler St. Amour has played occasional solo concerts in recent months. It is worth noting that North Carolina deathcore band Larcenia Roe were tapped to replace Disfiguring The Goddess on tour, which was quietly confirmed in the local advertising. 

The cancellation is very unfortunate, especially as local promotion was hyping this as "the ultimate metal concert", but the lack of postings about the show for over a month was a tell that something was up, and even with no tickets to refund, Heavy North should have announced the cancellation well sooner than they did. Hopefully nothing too serious happened with Tyler or the bands, and that Angelmaker, Ingested, and Larcenia Roe try again here down the road, as deathcore fans were interested in coming out!

This post otherwise dives into the first half of this weekend's concert previews, and we'll look at this weekend's Stones & Crows, Peril, Tarnished, and Viscera shows in our next preview post due to this being a busier stretch. Today's all involve LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly SHORT NOTICE ones, and we'll start at Northern Superior Brewing Co., where local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will play at their on-site Tap Room TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this show via their Instagram-only schedule poster last week, and Northern Superior have not corroborated this booking on their own social media at press time. No major frills or tie-ins that I am aware of TOMORROW, but fresh off of their Canopy gig with BookcluB at the Downtown Street Party tonight, hopefully Mikey & Dustin deliver some solid unplugged punk favourites in the Tap Room!

Note that I am well aware that Northern Superior are teasing the return of Wolf Fest at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Saturday, September 12th, complete with a promotional video featuring Trish Rainone in character as Jan from Jan's Not Movin!, but we await an official announcement of the lineup and other events in three weeks. TOMORROW'S Dos Amigos concert is at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and if you can't make it, they have three shows in three days next week. See above for more details, and here's Dustin & Mikey live at The Tap Room!

Finally, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will rock Jay's Piston Broke Pub TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, and they'll also return to The Water Tower Pub on Friday, August 28th! Again, apologies for the short notice on TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S concerts, they were first announced via this AI-generated events calendar for this week on Jay's Facebook page (Soundcheck have not posted on their own Facebook page since early May). While ostensibly a normal weekend now that the guys are back from their Chapleau road trip, this weekend's shows come fresh off of the news that they are parting ways with bassist Jim Michaud (a.k.a. "Jimmy Sweetz"). The news was revealed on their sister band Separate Wayz' Facebook page on Tuesday, where their singer Nicole Thibodeau confirmed that Jim is amicably retiring from both groups, and "band line up announcements for both bands (are) coming soon". 

Best known for his near two-decade run as Obsession's bassist, Jim replaced Paul Belair in Soundcheck at the beginning of 2023, and he had been a constant presence in Terry Eaton's plugged in cover rock bands ever since, including Separate Wayz and the short-lived Guilty Party. What's unclear is who is playing bass at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY... is Jim hanging on short term? Will they debut the new bassist this weekend? Will there be a temporary fill-in, or even no bassist? Regardless, hopefully Jim enjoys time away from the live grind, and if he is definitely retiring from bands, he will be missed! For the record, next week's Water Tower Pub show was announced via that venue's August concert calendar, and it is a one-nighter as usual there (Bone Yard 225 go "uncorked" there next Saturday). These are all branded as Soundcheck-only gigs and not "epic crossovers", but of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that Nicole won't pop in.

Terry, Travis, Johnny, and ?????'s Jay's Piston Broke Pub shows are at 9:30 PM, next Friday's Water Tower Pub concert is at 8:00 PM, and all are 19+ with no cover (though I somehow doubt that Soundcheck all wear fedoras and look alike nowadays, based on Jay's AI poster). Visit the above links for more on all three new Soundcheck dates (TOMORROW & SATURDAY included), best of luck to Jim in the future, and here's Soundcheck live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews either tonight or early tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Nameless & Silent 9!!)

While nowhere near as busy as what we saw locally in July, things are definitely busier locally for hard rock concerts this weekend, and we will have to stretch out our weekend concert previews to two posts as a result. As such, this weekend's Heavy Lies The Crown, Generations, and Tarnished shows will feature in tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know otherwise, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! 

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 have a busy weekend ahead, and it starts TOMORROW NIGHT when they return to The Tap Room at Northern Superior Brewing Co., followed by the featured headliners slot at the annual Laird Fair outside of town on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on both fronts, the band only announced both dates on their Facebook page on Monday, though they have been advertised for the Laird Fair in their own promotional materials before then. TOMORROW'S show is the second late notice one in as many weeks from an SMS-amenable band at the Tap Room, and is a bit of a surprise booking from Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve, as they normally take the summer off from standard nightclub shows, only playing festivals and private bookings then. In fact, while we're on the subject, they'll be back at the Tap Room on Saturday, September 27th as well!

That show was quietly confirmed on their website's concert calendar, and we'll wait on other public shows there for now due to the later scheduling but they will be more active publically this fall. As far as I can tell, there's no raison d'etre for TOMORROW'S brief pause of their summer break from bar shows, but the fun classic and hard rock covers will be in full swing at Northern Superior, especially at a venue better known for acoustic acts! TOMORROW'S and next month's shows are at 8:00 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover. As for the Laird Fair (a.k.a. the North Shore Agricultural Fair), Silent 9 are this year's headlining band, taking over for the now-defunct Soundcheck on SATURDAY NIGHT! The Friday band slot this year was replaced by karaoke. Loads of family friendly entertainment is in store in Laird (outside of Echo Bay), both for farming and agricultural events and for games and activities, so be sure to visit the fair's Facebook page for the complete schedule!

Silent 9 will set up shop on SATURDAY NIGHT under the covered (but not entirely indoors) stage at the fairground site at Lake George Road East once again, which bodes well for the rainy weather forecast, but do follow your preferred weather forecast for updates on Laird Fair events like this (9&10 News is calling for a high of 27° that night). The concert proper is a licensed 19+ event at 9:00 PM, and admission to the concert is included with fair passes, which run for $10 for the day and $20 for the full weekend. Visit the above links for more on Silent 9's busy short notice weekend, and for a preview, here they are live last year!

Next up, let's skip over to Michigan for another new confirmation, as local hard rock quartet The Nameless will debut at The Goetzville Tavern in nearby Goetzville on SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced by the band on their Facebook page on Sunday, though the venue has been plugging this show on their Facebook page since last month. Stalwart Agricultural Fair aside, this is the first standard concert that we've covered in Goetzville (outside of Pickford) since 2014, believe it or not. The Goetzville Tavern may be better known to local readers as Yooperman's Bar & Grill, and it re-opened under its new name and ownership in April at 18017 East M-48. Concerts have sporadically taken place there since last month, with The Nameless being the first heavier-leaning act there, so welcome them to a new locale an hour south of here in style on SATURDAY!

The Nameless take the stage on SATURDAY at 7:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Note that The Goetzville Tavern technically closes at 10:00 PM nightly, but they will clearly extend their hours for concerts if need be, and The Nameless are advertised to play until 11:00 PM. The official Facebook event page strongly hints that the show will be outdoors under a tent, so given that, 9&10 News is calling for a 70% chance of rain on SATURDAY dipping to 40% at night, with temperatures expected in the mid-high 70s (a high of 27° Celsius). I have no idea if they have provisions to postpone the show or move it indoors due to rain, so follow The Goetzville Tavern and/or the band on social media for updates if you are all concerned. Otherwise, visit the above links for more details on the hard rock action in Goetzville on SATURDAY NIGHT, and here's The Nameless live!

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

A Missed Concert Apology, More Ripcordz Cancellation Fallout, And New Videos!!

Before we dive into what is looking like a little busier concert weekend in the Twin Saults, let's look at some news and notes from both sides of the border, including new video uploads, updates on a major recent concert cancellation, and more, so here's what you should know!

To lead off this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this past weekend's round of previews. Given how slight last weekend's hard rock/punk slate was, knowing about this one would have been extremely optimal! This past Saturday, local acoustic punk duo Dos Amigos returned to Northern Superior Brewing Co.'s on-site Tap Room for a one-nighter, after playing their third announced show there in June, but unfortunately, the venue only plugged the gig on their Facebook page that morning and it completely slipped us by. On Dos Amigos' end, the BookcluB side project also never acknowledged the booking on their Facebook page prior. I profusely apologize for missing this show regardless, but acoustic acts do well at the unique setting of the Tap Room, and hopefully Mikey & Dustin had a good show on Saturday! Actually, we can see if they did for ourselves now, as they shared a video from the concert the following day!

The first public video on Dos Amigos' Facebook page (and their first post there of any kind in almost four months), the video sees Mikey & Dustin covering Rancid's "Roots Radical" and doing a solid job of adapting it to a two man unplugged setting! I wish the filmer got more than 24 seconds, but everything sounds and looks good at the Tap Room. and the vertical camera angle isn't as objectionable because both guys are in frame without issue. Give it a watch below, and apologies again for missing this show in last weekend's previews, I'd have happily covered it with even a day's notice!

Next up, here's more on the mid-show cancellation of last month's Ripcordz concert at The Distraction in Sault Ontario! In a follow-up article on SooToday on July 30th, Sault Fire Services public education officer Aaron Gravelle confirmed that the show was cancelled following "a fire safety complaint", with police and fire crews determining that the basement space didn't have sufficient fire/life safety measures in place, and was thusly not approved for use as a concert venue. Fire Services and the city's building division will reportedly work with The Distraction towards ensuring "future building compliance", but whether this means that concerts will return to the East Street nightclub and when, I don't know. In the article, Ripcordz frontman Paul Gott is interviewed in text and in an attached video by contributor and former Honest Job frontman Drew Armstrong, where Paul praised the Soo and small concert venues like The Distraction.

Despite the cancellation, Paul was cordial and respectful on camera about the abbreviated concert and the local scene, let alone the younger generation of punk fans and musicians, and it's a good watch for fans! Unfortunately, I can't embed videos directly embedded onto SooToday (this isn't from YouTube) on the SMS, but give it a watch above, and it includes black & white photos from the local openers' sets!

Finally, let's zip over to Sault Michigan for some relatively rare videos of local classic/hard rock quartet Tarnished's current lineup in action! These actually come from the Fourth of July parade in the Soo last month, where Alex, Josh, Chris, and Ron performed on a float once again (the band as a whole has done this for at least three years now). At least two people posted their own copies of the half hour-long parade route to YouTube, one being user onewxone, who was stationed beside the Ashmun Street Bridge. In his video, Tarnished become audible 24:30 into the 30 minute video (which was edited slightly in post-production to reduce the dead air between floats). While in earshot, Tarnished were covering The Go-Gos' "We Got The Beat" and while you only see them on camera for about 25 seconds, you can hear them at varying levels of clarity for two minutes before and afterwards.

Click here to jump straight to Tarnished's spot in the parade, but I won't embed that particular video here because of the sharp stationary angle of the procession. Embedded below is the parade video shot by Sunshine Gregory, who was filming further down the route at the corner of Ashmun and West Portage Avenue, capturing the procession with more of a side view, and not on a tripod. In Sunshine's video, you can first hear Ron's drumming at 24:17, and the guys are covering Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" at this juncture. Like they did for at least part of last year's July 4th parade, Alex & Josh walked alongside the float while both cameras were rolling, with Chris and Ron performing on the float itself, and you get a better view of that in Sunshine's video given her placement en route. Here, Tarnished are only on camera for 16 seconds, but Sunshine was moving her camera around to better capture what an attendee might see.

You can hear Tarnished finish the song, so they're audible in this parade video for about 80 seconds. The guys sound good on both covers, and Alex was definitely having fun engaging with the crowd from what was captured! If you're curious, the Independence Day parade actually featured two bands, as the E-Free Church's Sault Ste. Marie campus had contemporary Christian performers on their float, which rode down midway through the parade. They had a camera of their own rolling for their own parade video on the float itself, which gives a unique view from the other side, but check out the full parade and Tarnished's performances there above and below!

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