The Upheaval & Tym Morrison Concert Previews, New Concert Videos, And More!!

Today's post finally wraps up another very busy weekend for hard rock concerts in the Twin Saults and area, but given what we're in for over Rotaryfest weekend next month, that'll get even more packed soon! Along with two previews of Saturday nighters tonight, we have recent concert videos and assorted updates, so here's what you should know!

We'll resume things TONIGHT at Soo Blaster, where local progressive metal quartet Convergence will play their second public concert! A sequel to "The Pit" from Good Friday, this concert is similarly named "The Upheaval", and will see Stephen, Brendan, Jake, and David return to the stage with more intense djent-laden original songs, though the promotion for this concert (at least on Facebook) hasn't been as strong as you may expect, with Convergence not posting on their Facebook page in over a month. We still don't have any official video content of them performing live, so unless you were at/in The Pit, you won't yet know how they sound with a permanent vocalist. Well, you can find out tonight! New & Instagram-only hard rock band Maynard Hayes (who also played at The Pit) will have their own sophomore live gig tonight as well, and they too don't have public videos from that night, at least not yet.

New and online page-less metal supergroup The Sault Side Squad will open things in their fourth ever public concert and first of 2025, and hopefully they kick things off in style tonight! The Upheaval is an all ages event with doors opening at 7:00 PM, and tickets remain on sale on Soo Blaster's website for $15 (the price jumps to $20 at the door), price points that are $5 higher than at The Pit despite this show having one less band. All three bands tonight are still pretty cagey in terms of public videos of them performing, but there's loads of talent on display, so come to Soo Blaster to see what's in store! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Convergence's vertical trailer to promote tonight's concert!

Next up, here's the last show of the weekend (as far as I'm aware) in a hard rock context, as local classic/hard rock solo musician Tym Morrison will return to The Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club TONIGHT! Unlike his past gigs at Aerie #3991, this show (and his further ones there) are all scheduled for 8:00 PM rather than the prior 2:00 matinee timeslot that he had there, so if you prefer your live music at nighttime, you won't mind this too much. Tym's unplugged classic and hard rock renditions always deliver for his fans and anyone into these genres, and hopefully there's a good turnout on Wellington Street West during this very busy day of concerts! Again, this is at 8:00 PM tonight with a presumed 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on Tym's second Eagles Club show this month, and for a preview, here he is live!

Also today, here's some long overdue video from last month's Shae Tull-headlined concert at The Art Hub At Spring! Held on May 26th as a release party for Shae's new album "Statues Of Teeth On Every Street Corner", the concert was unique in that the local artist was the headliner, and the touring bands (Victoria, B.C. noise rock duo Pet Retina and drummer Max Patterson's solo project i.o) were the openers. Promoters Piecing It Together Shows had a camera rolling at the 504 Queen Street East venue, posting five clips in a batch post on their Facebook page the following day, and while these are all vertical, I'll save my usual jabs at that orientation because most of these videos focus on single artists. Shae was filmed twice by the former Dryer Fire, if just for a combined 98 seconds, and her raw folk material was well done here, so genre fans should definitely take a look at those clips, but how about the videos from the heavier touring acts?

If the videos are anything to go by, Pet Retina and i.o either shared a set or there was a lot of crossover, as all of the videos feature Pet Retina, though Max (i.o) alone is the focus of two. The contrast of abrasive noise rock in this plain white events space is interesting, but Pet Retina make the most out of their mixing board/drum setup, and Max is a very good drummer! Interesting how the one clip is shot from around a corner in a different room behind Max, which is relatively unique. There's only 93 seconds of footage of Pet Retina/i.o between the three clips, but give them a watch above and below!

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

 

• According to a personal Facebook post, Fuller bassist Mark Rand will not be present for the band's Rotaryfest Stage 2 headlining set on July 19th. A reason for his absence there wasn't given, but remember that he does live/work in Peterborough nowadays, where he performs in his current main band Cross Dog. Honest Work/ex-Nebraska Arms guitarist Dave Prendergast will reportedly step in to handle bass at Clergue Park next month, which should be interesting, and is this a sign that Fuller could have more plans to play live even with Mark not being around as much?
• In a rare video upload, albeit an unembeddable "Reel", local metal duo Hollow Sky posted a clip of singer Liam Tallon performing their new original "To Die For" on their Facebook page on June 8th. If this is legit him growling the song in studio, then the audio isn't synced fully with the video, but it is good to see some new video content from Hollow Sky, so give it a watch above!
• While the album proper remains exclusive to Bandcamp purchasers and mailing list subscribers, Mike Haggith released "Brand New Day" from his new solo album "Frequent Flier" on Spotify and Apple Music yesterday, so fans who prefer major streaming services/applications to the Bandcamp model will have some new content of Mike's to check out there! No word on if the other two free-to-stream songs on Bandcamp will follow, but if you want to hear the full album, buy it there or join the Frequent Fliers mailing list and accumulate your passwords over the next year if you aren't yet!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile and our next CD review before June is done! Thanks everyone! 

New Videos From Metal/Hard Rock Bands, Plus An Inactive Band Note!!

Before we dive into another round of weekend concert previews, here's a new news post to check out on this Wednesday night, which includes new videos from/about Soo Blaster concerts from three different local bands, plus an addition to our inactive band links. Here's what you should know!

In their first major update since releasing their new album "Road Trippin'" on May 3rd, local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst have released the first music video from it! The video is for the album's first advance single "Slay The Dragon", and was uploaded to their YouTube channel earlier today. It features footage of HeadF1rst playing this song at Soo Blaster during the album release party, including clips featuring album producer/guest guitarist Bill Priddle, who joined them on stage to play this song at set's end. Footage was shot across both a stationary camera and by a roving filmer, with Ella Kallonen and A Dire Setback's Matthew Quinn both credited for videography, while the video makes heavy use of the 1929 Disney short cartoon Hell's Bells, which is now in the public domain. You can tell that the performance footage isn't always synced up with the song, but the video is well shot!

Note that a good portion of the video features bassist Claire Jeffrey on lead vocals with her brother Red Jettison playing guitar, despite this song having Red singing lead, which may be a preview of other songs on the album if you haven't heard it yet (our review hits the site by month's end). Another song from the album will be getting a music video on May 28th, but will it feature more footage from the release party? We'll know more next week, but give HeadF1rst's... first music video from "Road Trippin'" a watch below!

Next up, I'm behind on recent video content from local death/thrash metal trio Pillory, so let's start rectifying that with a full set video from last month' all-local metal show The Pit at Soo Blaster! This was uploaded to drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel on April 21st (three days after the concert), and unlike in his prior full-set uploads, he did label all songs in the description with tags as to when they start. In order, Pillory played eight original songs here, none of which are carry-overs from their 2013 debut EP "Cringe At The Cross" (which predated frontman Robert Sartini taking on harsh death metal vocals). In order, the guys played a short intro track named "End Of Small Sanctuary" before diving into "Specimen Of Egotism", "Sculptor Of Cadavers", "The Angst Of Existence", "The Passing", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Curse Of Eternal Sickness", and "A Drop Of Shame In An Ocean Of Guilt".

This set ended with a cover of Sepultura's "Territory". The video was shot with a stationary camera aimed towards the stage and the first few rows of fans on the floor, and if you're wondering why the top strip of the video is blurred out, Bret explained in the description that he did that because "the lights (above the stage) were seizure inducing". Nice and brutal performance from a solid angle, and if you like Death-inspired death metal, you'll like what Pillory are cooking up here, and there's more from them ahead! Give their full concert set in/at The Pit a watch below!

Also, here's a new video from local progressive metal band Convergence's Facebook page to hype up their upcoming concert at Soo Blaster on June 28th! The vertical promotional clip sees singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and guitarist Brendan Christie pulled over by a "cop" (guitarist Jacob Valois) for "going too fast", but can Stephen make things right by giving the "officer" tickets to The Upheaval? Funny clip for what it is, though part of me was hoping to see some live footage from their debut concert (the aforementioned The Pit at Soo Blaster). Lots of pictures from that night are on their Facebook page, but so far, no videos to sample how Convergence sound with a vocalist. Check out the Upheaval commercial below!

Finally, I have officially moved local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns to our inactive links due to almost one year's inactivity. There had not been a public update on The Stallyns proper since posting on their Facebook group on May 23rd of last year, with singer/guitarist Rob Speers quietly transitioning into work as a solo musician last summer, including taking over the band's advertised set at The Northern Vibe Festival. It is worth noting that he and his wife Christina (who sang most lead vocals) separated last year, which may or may not be related. Launching as an acoustic duo from Rob and his then-Elements bandmate Jesse Cook in November 2017, the former Kariokeheads took on their Bill & Ted-inspired name in early 2018, adding Christina in time for numerous concerts at nightclubs, charity events, and festivals. The band later added drums in 2019, and post-pandemic, they became a full electric group, adding bass guitar to their live ranks.

Their rhythm section frequently rotated in the 2020s, and their last six-piece lineup only played together briefly in the spring of 2024, though Rob enlists guest musicians (some being fellow Stallyns alumni) at many of his solo gigs. While not as heavy as The Elements could get,The Wyld Stallyns were a fun act who could entertain at a multitude of live events with sets tailored to any occasion, and with The Elements not re-emerging after the pandemic, their sister band's expansion beyond unplugged shows was a good one. Everyone in their last lineup is still performing, so look for Rob, Christina, Jesse, Blair, Brandan, Josh, and their other former members on a local stage near you, and look for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!