Before we get to our Labour Day weekend concert previews, just a heads up that the Bobaflex concert at Soo Blaster on September 10th has been cancelled, as have eight other dates they were to play in Canada and the Northeastern U.S.A. next month. The band cited "several unforeseen circumstances in Canada coming together at once" for the cancellations, but did not elaborate further. Disappointing, but hopefully they come back north down the road if this doesn't prove to be their last tour! Now, here's what you should know on this quiet weekend for hard rock concerts locally, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, two on SHORT NOTICE!
Prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his long-term run at Gliss Restaurant with matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY, but that's not all to add to our concert listings today! First off, Tym will be playing a special matinee concert TONIGHT at... Thomson Farms Cider & Winery?! Well, that's a new one for us! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only confirmed this event via his Facebook event page earlier this week. This show at Thomson Farms (at 4057 Third Line West) will take place as part of their "Sweet Corn Thursday" festivities to kick off the sweet corn sale period there, hence why this is a bigger deal warranting live music, and if you are so inclined, corn on the cob is all you can eat TODAY for $5! Moving to more familiar confines, Tym will also wrap up his seasonal run at La Terrazza Franzisi in nearby Richards Landing on St. Joseph Island with three more Sunday matinees there in September, including THIS SUNDAY and on the 8th & 15th!
Again, apologies for the short notice on SUNDAY'S concert, remember that we take Tym's abundant local bookings a month at a time on purpose. If you're in St. Joseph Island and want some wharf-front live entertainment, keep these shows in mind before they close for the season in a couple of weeks! Lastly for new shows from Tym, expect his Gliss Restaurant arrangement to continue unabated in September, with more acoustic matinees scheduled there on September 6th-7th, 13th-14th, 20th-21st, and 27th-28th! With Tym's skilled, fan favourite blend of hard and classic rock covers, fans at restaurants and farms alike will have a lot of music to like in the next month+! TONIGHT'S Thomson Farms gig is FREE & ALL AGES at 5:00 PM, and while admission details are similar for the other gigs, mind the locale, as these are restaurants, not nightclubs. The Gliss shows are at 6:00 PM as usual, while the La Terrazza Franzisi gigs are at 1:00 PM. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here, here, and above for more details, and here's Tym live!
Next up, we'll move to a show that had advance notice (more or less), as new Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished's "every Thursday" run of morning matinee concerts is presumed to continue at Biggby Coffee TODAY! Prior advertising of this arrangement has fallen off in the last couple of weeks, with August 15th's show not receiving any Facebook advertising, and Biggby Coffee only plugging last week's that same morning, but of course, "every Thursday" means what it means, in theory. Given Alex Traynor's continued Mount Pleasant residency(?) and the impending fall season, I'll hold on listing more Thursday gigs here until the venue or band confirms them. In any event, all of Tarnished's currently advertised concerts on their Facebook page are out of our coverage range after September 6th, but we'll keep you posted with updates. Alex & Josh should be up to their usual hard rocking tricks for tips and coffee today, so don't miss the unplugged action then!
As usual for this summer run at Biggby Coffee, this is a 10:30 AM matinee show with no cover or age limit, and if they're playing Ashmun Alive tonight, it hasn't been publically advertised by Tarnished at press time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, let's head to the aforementioned Soo Blaster, where Worcester, Massachusettsspeed metal quintet Seax will make their local concert debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Bringing a meld of thrash and NWOBHM-inspired material to their Soo Lounge stage, Seax's fast, old school-inspired sound should get lots of fans' interest, and expect strong material from their new album "Fallout Rituals" as well! Co-headlining on Sunday are Montreal thrash metal trio Warsenal, marking their first local concert appearance since headlining Swampstravaganza III at The Oddfellows Hall six years ago. Fans who saw Warsenal here in 2013 can expect more of their hard hitting and rough & tumble speed metal attack on Sunday night, so don't miss out! Lastly, local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters (who opened for Warsenal last time out) will open the proceedings in their Soo Blaster debut and first public concert since last fall, which is a huge pull in & of itself!
Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny don't play live all that much anymore, so dont' bypass The Bear Hunters' brutal return set on Sunday either! Note that Vancouver speed metal band Road Rash are only playing on this tour for 7 dates next month, and will not be on the local bill. This 19+, 8:00 PM show has a $10 advance ticket charge that apparently jumps to $17 at the door, which is a massive jump compared to other local concerts we've covered of this scale, so this is all the more reason to get to Soo Blaster before Sunday to snag a ticket! Thrash and speed metal fans should be in great hands for this one, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Seax live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next, if all goes according to plan! Thanks everyone!
Before we dive into this weekend's Sault Ontario hard rock concert previews, just a minor clarification. The Sault Music Newsletter Facebook page lists The Wyld Stallyns as playing at The Whiskey Barrel tomorrow night, but as best as I can tell, this is an accidental remnant of last week's concert preview post there, as the venue is actually hosting The Crossroad Magdalenes tomorrow (source here.) Now, let's dive into this weekend's non-Sault Michigan previews, including some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE, plus some more fallout from Rotaryfest this past weekend!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Soundcheck only confirmed this show via their Facebook event page on Monday, though it was listed on this concert calendar shared on the aforementioned Sault Music Newsletter Facebook page as recently as July 1st. (Ignore the "SOUNDCHECK growlers" listing, it looks like a remnant of an Angry Joe & The Growlers gig was left in.) While not listed on Soundcheck's own 2019 concert calendar image from the winter, neither was their last show there in April, and if they can add on some bookings at this popular central venue, why not take advantage! A one nighter as usual for Water Tower Pub shows, this should be a fine way for Soundcheck to get back into a regular groove after their Rotaryfest headline set, so don't miss their solo headlining date there TOMORROW NIGHT! As usual, this is a 19+ gig with a 10:00 PM-ish start time and no announced cover charge. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live in a few different concerts!
Next up, let's go to Gliss Restaurant on Spring Street, where prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will continue his long-term weekly concert arrangement with matinee concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY! However, with a new month drawing ever closer, let's add his August slate of shows there to our concert calendar, as Tym is highly expected to keep rocking Gliss on August 2nd-3rd, 9th-10th, 16th-17th, 23rd-24th, and 30th-31st... but that's still not all! As it turns out, Tym also struck a deal to play matinee concerts at La Terrazza Franzisi in nearby Richards Landing (an hour southeast of the Soo on St. Joseph Island) every Sunday from July through September 8th, so we'll add his shows there THIS SUNDAY, and on August 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th to the site as well! He'll also be there for the first two Sundays in September, before the wharf-front restaurant closes for the season, but we'll cover those events next month, as we take Tym's regular weekly bookings a month at a time for ease of management.
Yes, this also means that Tym played at La Terrazza Franzisi on July 7th, 14th, and 21st, all having been missed for coverage on the SMS. I profusely apologize for those slipping us by, but aside from their Facebook event page, public promotion was minimal. Aside from a presumed accidental listing for this Saturday, all of Tym's Sunday shows (THIS SUNDAY included) are basically doubled up with four hour blocks at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, so if you're there, you'll get lots of chances to hear his fan favourite covers! The Gliss shows (including this weekend's) are at 6:00 PM, and none have an announced cover. Click here and above for more details, and here's Tym live!
Also, here's our promised Rotaryfest fallout write-up, so what all went down musically that was made local news media in the past week? Well, The Sault Star's Brian Kelly was in attendance, getting photos during one-off Beatles tribute band Beatles '69's Stage 1set on Saturday, while also interviewing Ottawa musician & Stage 2 performer Jack Pine, among other articles and photos published online and in physical copies of the newspaper, so see above for those! Most relevant to our genre ranges is this pre-festival article where Brian interviewed Rotaryfest musical director Shaun Antler about the Woodstock theme for this year's Stage 1 lineups. Therein, Shaun revealed that bands were asked to cover two or three songs each that would have came from bands that played at Woodstock, which is a fitting tie-in to that classic festival! As well, the Saturday set from the one-off supergroup The Woodstock Show was seemingly done in stages featuring certain highlight performers leading the band for specific covers.
In particular, late replacement Liam Seymour led a suite of Jimi Hendrix covers, which will have interested anyone who remembers his early cover hard rock work, while Obsession singer Valerie Powley tackled Janis Joplin to end their set, plus Jefferson Airplane earlier on. Sounds like everything went well with the Woodstock theme, and see above for all of The Sault Star's recent coverage! Despite sponsoring the Second Stage, SooToday's only article that explored either stage in depth was this one by Darren Taylor focusing on local indie punk quintet Northwest, who played on Stage 2. Along with six colour photos from their set, the article features remarks from frontman Wayne Watkins (with input from guitarists Greg Callaghan & Mike Yakasovich) about their set at the Rock on the River Festival in Timmins on Friday, their sound, their name's inspiration, and what drives them, especially as every band member is a father now. Solidly informative article, so give it a look at this link, and best of luck in Timmins!
Aside from one photo of an unidentified band setting up, Sault Online's photo album largely focused on the midway and vendors. Last but not least, I regrettably missed a later addition to the Stage 1 lineup, as Korah Collegiate school band Mustang Sally actually opened on Saturday at 12:00 PM, in their own second straight appearance at the festival. I severely apologize for missing that in our Rotaryfest coveragee, but hopefully the kids from "Sally" put on a great set once again! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!
A new standard news post wasn't planned for today, especially with some big one-topic posts in the works, but with some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS popping up, my hand was forced this way. As such, we have a couple of new videos to round things out, so here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will play at the newly re-opened Reggie's Place on Queen Street East TONIGHT, after previously playing there this afternoon,yesterday and even on Thursday! Profuse apologies for the short notice and for missing most of their bookings there this weekend, they were only acknowledged on their Facebook page last night, after the Thursday nighter took place. As you'll recall from Soundcheck (and Mourning Wood) bookings at the original Reggie's, public advertising of shows there was either on limited notice or non-existent, so in that respect, not much has changed! Drummer Glen Thomas was able to fill in more of the details on his personal Facebook page, noting that today's afternoon matinee was a shorter gig to coincide with the Queen Street Cruise, so hopefully that attracted a good crowd! The Thursday nighter may seem atypical for Soundcheck, but recall that Mourning Wood once played for over a week straight at Reggie's, so this isn't anything new for them.
TONIGHT'S (and yesterday's, and Thursday's) shows are likely 10:00 PM engagements with no announced cover charges and 19+ age limits, while adjust things as expected for this afternoon's gig. Hopefully Terry, Travis, Paul, and Glen have a great gig of hard rocking classics TONIGHT after a 2 year wait for Reggie's return after the fire! Here's Soundcheck live, and again, I severely apologize for missing most of their shows this weekend, we'd have plugged them on Thursday had they given them more notice!
Next up, here's one more surprise matinee gig for local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison this weekend, as he'll return to La Terrazza Franzisi in Richards Landing TOMORROW! Again, apologies for the short notice, this concert was only announced via it's Facebook event page yesterday. Fans and regular readers will recall Tym playing frequent weekend gigs at this St. Joseph Island restaurant last August and September, including a few Sunday matinees in the process, so TOMORROW'S show isn't completely out of left field. This wharf-front restaurant proved to be a popular venue for Tym's unplugged covers last year, and while I don't yet know if this is the first of many for him this season, keep TOMORROW'S La Terrazza Franzisi concert in mind if you're on St. Joseph Island or up for an hour's drive east for some supper-time entertainment!
An early 5:00 PM start time is in effect for this show, which has no announced age limits or cover charge, but remember that this is a sit-down restaurant, not a traditional concert venue. Hopefully Tym delivers another fun show of classic hits at La Terraza Franzisi TOMORROW, even with the late notice, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!
We'll move on to some new videos today, including a new video of defunct local 1960s-centric classic rock quartet The Peace Vibe covering Deep Purple's "Hush" at a car show outside of the new A&W at 659 Great Northern Road last year! A specific date wasn't given, but The Peace Vibe played a couple in August and September. Posted to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel on May 30th, this was filmed on a vertical cell phone camera, but the angle is too distant and top-centric to add up to a decent visual clarity. The cover's solid enough for fans of the Rod Evans era, so give it a look below, and don't miss Glen with Soundcheck TONIGHT at Reggie's!
Finally, here's a somewhat belated write-up on another commercial for an upcoming Loffredo & Associates concert at Soo Blaster, namely the Monster Truck-headlined concert there on June 28th (one week from Friday!) A commercial plugging the Hamilton rockers' shows in Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay, along with a contest to win tickets by liking and sharing the video, this is set to clips from the music videos for "Denim Danger", "Sweet Mountain River", and "Don't Tell Me How To Live". Strong way to help promote both shows, so give it a look below, and click here for more details!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
Due to a very SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, I'm bumping this month's YouTube Channel Profile to tomorrow, so don't worry, it is coming! However, I don't want to let this concert slide, so that's leading off this post, alongside a weeknight concert preview, and some new videos from the Sault Michigan area, so here's what you should know!
Local hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will indeed return to La Terrazza Franzisi in Richards Landing TODAY for a matinee concert! Profuse apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show publically via it's Facebook event page this morning, though he had alluded to a Sunday gig on St. Joseph Island last week via his personal Facebook page without naming the venue. Over two weeks following his public debut at this riverfront restaurant, Tym is back for another daytime concert with more hard and classic rock favourites expected for patrons, so if you're on St. Joseph Island or are up for a Sunday drive, keep this one in mind for later TODAY! An early start time of 4:00 PM is advertised for TODAY at La Terrazza Franzisi, and there are no announced cover charges or age limits, but keep in mind that this a formal sit-down restaurant. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Tym live in concert a few years back!
Next up, here's our preview of a special TUESDAY NIGHT concert, as Toronto pop punk quartet Carried Away will rock Sault Ste. Marie for the first time as headliners at The Rockstar Bar! Heading out to Western Canada for the first time, this energetic, alternative-influenced band should deliver a fun set of catchy originals, so if you ca swing coming out on a Tuesday, don't miss out on Carried Away in a couple of nights! Two local opening bands will kick off the proceedings, including new local alternative quartet Man Feelings, whose lineup features former Bizotic keytarist B.J. Swire, among others. You can see a video of them in action on their Facebook page, and while the song isn't heavy, it's well performed, and it'll be interesting to see how Man Feelings do in their debut appearance! Rising local surf rock quartet The Dynowaves (now featuring fellow Bizotic alum Louise Lamothe) will look to keep the momentum rolling following their Northern Vibe Festival set, so come early for their locally original stylings!
Promoted by former A Dire Setback singer Larry Babic and photographer Josh Pace in their first 2018 booking, this 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge, and while the 8:00 PM advertised start time seems early, remember that this is a Tuesday nighter. Punk and alternative fans with accommodating schedules should definitely consider a trip to The Rockstar Bar for all of this high impact action, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Carried Away live!
Also today, we have some new videos from the Seether-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino earlier this month, courtesy of attendee Jeff Hagan's YouTube channel this morning! Despite posting his 10 Years video shortly afterward, we had to wait almost two weeks for his videos of Seether proper, but better late than never! As he did at the Alter Bridge show here, Jeff filmed most of Seether's set via abbreviated videos, including of their songs "Stoke The Fire", "Gasoline", "Let You Down", "Words As Weapons", "Country Song", "Fine Again", and "Remedy", plus a cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box". Embedded below is Seether playing their classic ballad "Broken", albeit not the duet version, though Shaun does let the crowd sing parts. Filmed from the same sharp angle on his 10 Years clip, the audio makes up for the deep lighting here, but again, these are not full songs, with none exceeding 2:30 in length. Kudos to Jeff for getting so much, and give these a look above & below! (No, he didn't post anything of The Dead Deads.)
Finally, here's a new song from local classical metal project Theatre of Night, as shared by keyboardist Craig Harrison from his personal Facebook page to their Facebook group earlier this month! Entitled "Dark Acoustic Revenge" (which is a hint as to how this track sounds), this is a well composed song with particularly elegant guitar work by Steve Giles, and the thunder and lightning effects on the band logo are a nice touch! Give it a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night as it rolls in!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Another busy concert weekend is drawing closer, so let's kick things off with the first of this weekend's previews! Due to the amount, we're covering SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and the previously announced Scarkazm gigs in St. Ignace today, and saving this weekend's remaining gigs for tomorrow's preview post, namely the Seether and Project 906 shows, plus Banned at the Sugar Island Music Festival. Don't worry, they are coming! Now, let's kick off this weekend's previews with those late notice announcements, with a new song tied into one of them!
Local indie/punk quartet Northwest will play a special outdoor set TONIGHT as part of the second of this season's Downtown Street Parties on Queen Street East! Apologies for the short notice, we only heard of Northwest's involvement publically yesterday via the Downtown Association's Facebook page, but it had been mentioned on personal Facebook accounts for the past week. The second of three such events in 2018 (with the third coming next month), this Downtown Street Party will again Queen Street closed from Brock to Elgin TONIGHT for all night shopping, food and drinks, kids activities, prizes, and more, so visit the above links for complete details on the non-musical activities! The musical lineup was incrementally revealed Downtown Association yesterday, post by post, which confirms that Northwest are opening the March Street stage TONIGHT, and their set will be at 7:40 PM. The headliners at 10:00 PM are jazz supergroup The Hustle Brothers.
The other band on the Spring Street stage is veteran country cover quartet Bone Yard at 8:40 PM. Separately, three other bands (The Ride, Bold Noize, and Johnny & The Revelators) will play at a stage on Spring Street, but the set times there don't appear to conflict with bands on March Street. TONIGHT'S Downtown Street Party is FREE & ALL AGES, and the festivities proper begin at 6:00 PM. This sounds like another fun event for locals to enjoy and support local businesses & entertainment, and with a dash of punk for good measure, so don't miss out TONIGHT, and for a preview, here's the first new song from Northwest's forthcoming sophomore EP! As quietly uploaded to their new YouTube channel last week, this is their original song "True North", and it will be on their second CD, which will indeed be called "Songs From 2015-2017". Sort of a clunky name, but it gets the point across!
The description also notes that the EP was mixed by Kyle Whittaker at Strange Pumpkin Studio in St. Catharine's, who previously mixed former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci's solo album. Pending our likely review of "Songs From 2015-2017" later this year, I'll hold comment on "True North" for now, but fans of Northwest and their 2014 debut EP will definitely want to take note, so give their new single a listen below, and don't miss them at Queen and March TONIGHT!
Next up, here's some more newly announced concerts for this weekend, as Tym Morrison will bring his unplugged hard rock covers to the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY at... La Terrazza Franzisi in Richards Landing?! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their Facebook event page on Sunday. Yes, Tym is hitting the road for these St. Joseph Island concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY, and while the locale is atypical for both his solo shows and our coverage, he isn't new to playing there. Tym played a Richards Landing function of some kind back in September 2011, and has played in nearby Hilton Beach in the past as well, so if you live on St. Joseph Island or are up for a trip east, you know where to go! Located at 1140 Richards Street, La Terrazza Franzisi is an Italian restaurant on the St. Mary's River waterfront, which should prove to be a nice backdrop for Tym's acoustic covers this weekend, so keep the locale in mind!
Much like Tym's on-hold Gliss Steak & Seafood arrangement (we'll let you know when it's new location is open), TOMORROW & SATURDAY's shows are restaurant-set matinee concerts, but with an earlier start time of 5:00 PM to go along with their lack of announced cover charges or age limits. Visit the above links for more details on these concerts, and here's Tym live!
Finally for today's previews, we'll head across to nearby St. Ignace, Michigan, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return for shows at The Northern Pines Lounge at their Kewadin Casino branch TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While we're on the subject, the Peril sister band have two more newly confirmed gigs at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino's Rapids Lounge as well, with this concert calendar confirming dates there on September 14th & 15th. Another busy schedule is continuing into the fall for Jeff, Adam, and company in Scarkazm, Peril, and their acoustic side project Project 6 (more on them shortly) and with another high impact weekend of covers and favourites in store for St. Ignace fans tomorrow and Saturday (plus in the Soo next month), you'll want to keep these in mind for some hard rock action in the E.U.P.! These four gigs are 21+ affairs with 9:00 PM start times and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Scarkazm live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Project 906, Sugar Island Festival, and Seether previews next! Thanks everyone!
Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, let's head to the aforementioned Soo Blaster, where Worcester, Massachusetts speed metal quintet Seax will make their local concert debut THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! Bringing a meld of thrash and NWOBHM-inspired material to their Soo Lounge stage, Seax's fast, old school-inspired sound should get lots of fans' interest, and expect strong material from their new album "Fallout Rituals" as well! Co-headlining on Sunday are Montreal thrash metal trio Warsenal, marking their first local concert appearance since headlining Swampstravaganza III at The Oddfellows Hall six years ago. Fans who saw Warsenal here in 2013 can expect more of their hard hitting and rough & tumble speed metal attack on Sunday night, so don't miss out! Lastly, local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters (who opened for Warsenal last time out) will open the proceedings in their Soo Blaster debut and first public concert since last fall, which is a huge pull in & of itself!
