LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Who Made Who, Queen: It's A Kind Magic, Bon Jovi Forever, And Led By Zeppelin!!)

Today's news post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the Sault Community Theatre Centre for later this month, and I do apologize for only finding out about these in one cluster just recently. I've gotta stay more on top of S.C.T.C. concerts, and they've been pretty busy for booking notable touring shows and bands this year, even if the last attempted one (Dr. Feelgood) fell victim to "unforeseen circumstances". In an SMS-amenable context, what is first up there this fall?

Hamilton-based Led Zeppelin tribute band Led By Zeppelin will make their local concert debut at the former Kiwanis Theatre on Saturday, September 12th! If this gives you deja vu, it's likely because we just saw a different Led Zeppelin tribute (London's Zed) headlining Rotaryfest Stage 1 yesterday, so the turnaround to have another Zeppelin tribute from Southern Ontario exactly eight weeks later seems really odd. I find it's unfair to compare tribute bands of the same source act due to inevitably subjective opinions, but what I can tell you is Led By Zeppelin deliver the goods musically! Not so much visually, there's no real attempt to dress like Led Zeppelin, but as Motorhead fans saw with M1 earlier this month, you don't have to mimic the original artists' hair and clothing to deliver a good show. Hopefully Led By Zeppelin get a strong turnout in September, especially if the Zed fans last night want a kinda-sorta encore!

This concert has an 8:00 PM start time and no age limit, but unlike Zed at Rotaryfest, this will be a paid and ticketed event (unless you are under 6 years old). As such, adult tickets cost $61.02, seniors 65+ and students 16-25 will cost $49.72, and kids 6-15 will cost $27.12. Those may seem high, but given the large and fancy theatre playing host, hopefully tickets move well, and there's plenty of good seats still available. Buy yours at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall, and stay tuned for more on what should be a solid concert for late 1960s and 1970s hard rock fans!

Next up, if you want another tribute to a legendary British classic hard rock act of the 1970s, you only need wait until Wednesday, September 30th, when Australia-based Queen tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic return to the White Pines Collegiate-based theatre! Fans of Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger have been absolutely spoiled post-pandemic, as not only has this particular tribute band rocked the S.C.T.C. three times on their global tour runs (most recently in May of last year), but they're not even the most recent Queen tribute to play here, as the Great Britain-based Majesty just headlined at The Machine Shop in March. Again, I'm not comparing the two, but It's A Kinda Magic have gotten really solid crowds and high praise in their past local stops for how well they pay tribute to Queen musically and visually, so hopefully this show brings the goods all around again!

Like with Led By Zeppelin that same month, this is an all ages ticketed event, albeit with a slightly earlier start time of 7:30 PM. The show will have adult ticket prices of $75 with kids under 13 at $45 (no senior or student rates here), and if you're curious, prices here are slightly up from Q.I.A.K.M.'s show here last year. Based on the online ticket sale link (click here), there are still lots of good seats available still, though the show is moving tickets a little faster than Led By Zeppelin. Buy yours online and at the in person box office, and while this isn't the cheapest show going (and mid-week), there's a reason why this Queen tribute comes here so much!

Also this fall at The Sault Community Theatre Centre is the return of Oshawa-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bon Jovi Forever, who will headline there on Saturday, October 10th! This Thanksgiving long weekend concert will be (at least) this particular band's third stop here, following a Rockstar Bar show in 2016 and their S.C.T.C. debut in September of last year. As I recall, B.J.F. drew well last fall, and you can see proof of how that show went via videos linked here. Baz and crew sound the part and deliver enough visually for fans of both early hair metal Bon Jovi and their later, more general rock material, and he definitely sounds better than Jon himself does nowadays, so hopefully things go well in their return to White Pines in three months! The 8:00 PM start time, all ages status, and ticket prices here are actually identical to the Led By Zeppelin show in every way, so see above for the ticket price breakdown.

Of note, tickets aren't moving nearly as fast yet for this concert, but Bon Jovi Forever drew well last year, so this should tick up, and it just means that you have time to get a really good seat! Click here or visit the in-person box office to get yours, and visit the above links for more details!

Lastly for new Sault Community Theatre Centre concerts of a hard rock persuasion, Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who will return to the Soo on Saturday, October 24th in a joint concert with Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band Green River Revival! This is being touted as "the ultimate rock concert", which is quite a claim, and while the two bands aren't even contemporaries for era, the two will cover a lot of ground for classic rock fans. Both bands share management, hence why it makes sense for them to share a bill if tour paths cross, and they've both played here numerous times, including as the featured touring headliner of Rotaryfest (Green River Revival in 2019, Who Made Who last year). Repeat local stops for both is a good sign, so fans know that Who Made Who will deliver their requisite high voltage rock n' roll again, while Green River Revival's faithful take on CCR and John Fogerty hits will go well for southern rock fans in the Soo in October!

This concert has a listed 7:30 PM start time, and will be all ages like the rest. The show was literally first announced last week, so this has the most available tickets of the four, and prices are a flat $55.37 for all, which is the cheapest of the four shows, surprisingly so given Who Made Who & Green River Revival's combined name recognition. Expectations appear to be high for ticket sales too, as this is the only one of the four with available balcony section seating, so get yours A.S.A.P. at this link and/or at the in-person box office while selection is good! Looks like a lot of good 1970s and 1980s hard rock tribute action is in store for the Soo this fall, so visit the above links for more on all four concerts! Thanks everyone!

'80s Rock Invasion Concert Video Showcase!!

Today's post takes us back to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, and while we will get to more fallout from last week's battle of the bands in Sault Ste. Marie, we're actually going to focus on St. Ignace today via a long overdue look at the other non-addressed public YouTube videos from July's '80s Rock Invasion concert outside of the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! I apologize for the delay in these making the site, it was a busy summer and these fell through the cracks. Surprisingly, the remaining extant videos from the show do not include footage of Ace Frehley's headlining set, but three of the supporting bands had videos yet to be featured on the SMS, including co-headlining Los Angeles hair metal band Great White, so what else can you see from them? YouTube user Big Talk (who also filmed Ace's full set) got two videos of Great White playing  "Save Your Love" and, as embedded below, "House Of Broken Love".

Unlike Big Talk's video of Ace's set, the Great White videos were shot with two cameras, including the high quality angle from their good front row spot, as well as a second camera at floor level to the stage that had to have been shot by a second person. No word on why the second camera wasn't used for Ace's set, but it's good to see multicam footage for some of Great White's! Everything looks and sounds good for fans of their classic glam metal sound, with Brett Carlisle doing justice to Jack Russell vocally, so check these out above & below!

Next up, the remaining known public YouTube videos from the '80s Rock Invasion come by way of YouTube user Greg Miller, whose channel features almost two dozen more concert videos from classic rock and hair metal shows downstate, so keep those in mind as well. For one reason or another, Greg didn't post anything from Ace Frehley's set nor Vixen's opening set (I haven't found any public videos of Vixen here), but he did upload three videos from the other three bands' sets, so what all can be seen here? From the aforementioned Great White, Greg filmed them covering Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and playing their originals "Desert Moon" and "Lady Red Light" in one video, but embedded below is them playing "Rock Me". While similarly close to the stage as Big Talk was, Greg had a sharper angle and a lower quality camera, but his footage is still strong and captures lots of good views in the moment! Check these out above & below as well!

Now to two bands whose St. Ignace sets haven't had videos featured here yet, starting with Las Vegas glam metal quartet Slaughter, who Greg filmed playing "Fly To The Angels", "Burnin' Bridges", and as embedded below, "Spend My Life". In their (at least) fourth gig in the Sault Ste. Marie area, Slaughter still sound solid, with Mark's voice holding up very well over the years on these classic singles, so don't bypass Greg's videos from their set above & below!

Finally, Greg got three videos of original Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler and his solo band in action! Casual fans may have wondered what his solo concerts are like, and with one original exception, his set was entirely comprised of covers of Guns N' Roses songs centered around his time in the band. To that end, the assembled band (filmed here covering "Welcome To The Jungle", "Sweet Child O Mine", and as embedded below, "Paradise City") are effectively a GNR tribute band, but a very talented and energetic one with very Axlesque vocals, so fans will have got a kick out of Steven's band, especially if you loved "Appetite For Destruction"! Check out Steven & crew above and below!

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

Ace Frehley & Great White Full Concert Videos From St. Ignace!!

Now that my two outdoor concert reviews from this past weekend are now up, it's high time to cover some news and media as normal, and while we will be looking at Rotaryfest fallout this week, I can't ignore the main event in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula last week, namely the '80s Rock Invasion outside of the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino! If there were less passport-holding hair metal fans for the evening/night bands at Rotaryfest on Saturday, this concert may have been why! Five glam metal acts descended upon St. Ignace for this huge outdoor concert, and you know it was big, as not one, but two attendees filmed founding Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley's headlining set! I had to double check the videos, as the angles seemed very similar, but the two attendees who shot the whole thing were almost side by side. Both are nearly identical for featured content, so I'll only embed one here just to avoid redundancy, but both are timestamped on YouTube.

The slightly longer (but lower quality) video was shot by Jordan's Rock Vault, a YouTube channel that shoots hair metal shows across Michigan and even outside of the state. While I'm not embedding Jordan's video here, kudos to him for filming what he did, as it's still a solid hour+ video for Kiss Army members, and we will end this post with Jordan's other band video from this night! Jordan also clipped out Ace's trademark smoking guitar solo from the full video as a separate upload, so give that a look if you don't want to skip through the full thing. You can't go wrong with Jordan's footage, but embedded here is the higher quality video shot by the YouTube channel of Big Talk, a classic rock podcast that similarly films videos at hair metal shows in and out of Michigan. Both Jordan and Big Talk were in the front row pit to film Ace and his solo band, so what all did they play?

This set was heavy on Kiss classics, and all are Kiss songs unless otherwise stated. In order, Ace & crew played "Shock Me", "Deuce", his new album's title track "10,000 Volts", "Shout It Out Loud", "Love Gun", "Rocket Ride" (with "Hotter Than Hell" interlude), his classic cover of Russ Ballard's "New York Groove" (with "God Of Thunder" intro), his Kiss-era original "Rip It Out", "Detroit Rock City" (followed by a "Love Her All I Can" interlude), "Cold Gin", the aforementioned smoking guitar solo, and "Rock & Roll All Nite". Perhaps wise to his own vocal limitations (and Kiss having multiple singers), Ace's guitarist and bassist take turns on lead vocals for many of the Kiss songs. To a point, I'd rather see Ace play more of his solo material (nothing from "Frehley's Comet"?) than Kiss songs that he wasn't the singer on, but he and his band sound good, and Ace's singing has held up when utilized. He can still shred with the best of them too!

Both videos capture the action from a close and horizontal angle, and you see everything you need to see on stage (the good weather helped in that regard), so do check them out above and below to relive Ace's first E.U.P. show in fifteen years from Saturday night! 

There's more from St. Ignace to come, but to close, let's go back to Jordan's Rock Vault for his other video from Saturday night, as he filmed Los Angeles hair metal band Great White's co-headlining set for another lengthy video! No sign of the other bands from this channel, alas. Notably, Great White's set took place at dusk, so it started in daylight and ended at night, which is a neat transition if you watch the whole thing! In their own first E.U.P. set in fifteen years (Jack Russell's Great White in 2017 aside), you can see them here playing "Desert Moon", "Lady Red Light", "House Of Broken Love", "Stick It", "Gonna Getcha", "Save Your Love", "Rock Me", and finally, their classic cover of Ian Hunter's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy". Fans shouldn't have anything to complain about from Great White's set in St. Ignace on Saturday, with everyone performing well to bring their classic singles back, and Brett Carlisle is a quality choice as their current singer that nicely embodies their material!

I should note briefly that original singer Jack Russell (who sang with both Great White versions up here in the past) retired from touring earlier this month after being diagnosed with dementia, and you can get more details here. Our best wishes go out to him in his fight, and it is great that he played in the Soo and St. Ignace when able! As far as hair metal goes, I tend to like bands a little heavier, but Great White put on a solid show for Hair Scare diehards, so check things out above & below!

We will have more from this show in the coming days, but with how backlogged things are now (especially post-Rotaryfest), I'm not immediately making guarantees on when and where. A new post, likely Sault Ontario-centric, hits the site tomorrow. Thanks everyone!

Ace Frehley, Vaegon, and Pridefest Loud & Proud Concert Previews!!

Alright, it's time to finally conclude our previews of this weekend's hard rock, metal, and punk concerts in the Twin Saults and surrounding area! Thanks to Rotaryfest, this weekend is always super busy, but there's a huge show in Michigan's E.U.P. to look at in this post, along with two special Sunday concerts north of the border, so here's what you should know for this weekend's uncovered heavier concerts!

We'll pick things back up with the main event in the Eastern Upper Peninsula this weekend, as the '80s Rock Invasion descends on St. Ignace TOMORROW NIGHT outside of their Kewadin Casino! If you love hair and glam metal, you will definitely want to make the hour's drive south for this huge outdoor concert, headlined by original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley in his first local date since rocking Sault Michigan way back in 2009. Fans will surely get a full set's worth of Kiss classics and Ace solo hits like "New York Groove" and "Shock Me" tomorrow, so if you're in the Kiss Army, brace yourselves! Also playing up here for the first time since 2009 is Los Angeles hair metal band Great White (the version seen in St. Ignace in 2017 was the now-defunct splinter version led by ex-singer Jack Russell). Guitarist Mark Kendall and most of their classic lineup are keeping the Great White train rolling!

With hits like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "The Angel Song", don't miss their return! Las Vegas glam metal quartet Slaughter will also make their local return in their (at least) fourth concert in our area, last seen here via an indoor headlining date at the St. Ignace Kewadin in 2019. Mark and crew still have the goods, so look for hits like "Fly To The Angels" and "Spend My Life" tomorrow evening! Classic-era Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler and his solo band will make their local debut tomorrow with a set full of GNR hits from his run in the band, so fans will want to see his talented band bring those songs to life tomorrow as well! Opening are all-female Minnesota hair metal band Vixen (of "Edge Of A Broken Heart" fame), who notably switched out singer Lorraine Lewis for former Headpins/Trans-Siberian Orchestra vocalist Rosa Laricchiuta after this concert was announced.

Rosa has a very strong voice (as fans of La Voix know), so don't be late! Also, Steven Adler's band starred in the third and final Friday shoutout video on Kewadin's Facebook page to promote this concert, which notably has all of his band members trading off for the plugs. Results are inconsistent, but it's neat to see everyone involved! No shoutout videos from Ace or Vixen that I am aware of though. This all ages concert takes place tomorrow night at 6:00 PM, and tickets remain on sale at this link, at the in-person box office, or at 1-800-KEWADIN. Tickets are still on sale in rows 13-15 ($95), rows 16-30 ($85), and in the general admission lawn area ($65). Weather-wise, 9&10 News is currently calling for partly cloudy conditions at 68-76° Fahrenheit tomorrow night with partly cloudy skies, so the bands should beat the potential rain forecast for much of tomorrow afternoon (that's new information in the forecast for you Rotaryfest-goers).

Incidentally, the St. Ignace Kewadin will also welcome Sault Ste. Marie classic metal/hard rock band Tarnished to The Northern Pines Lounge tomorrow night at 9:00 PM, so if you wanna keep the Hair Scare going after Ace's set ends, head inside the casino! Still surprised that they didn't have Tarnished as local openers for the big concert when they'll already be there tomorrow. If you love hair metal, St. Ignace is absolutely the place to be tomorrow night, so visit the above links for more on this stacked lineup of bands, and for a preview, here's Ace Frehley in the Soo last time out!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for two big concerts taking place on SUNDAY, starting with this year's Loud & Proud family fun day as part of day #1 of this year's Sault Pridefest! This annual (pandemic aside) event moves from the Bushplane Museum to the Roberta Bondar Pavilion for an afternoon of family friendly entertainment, including vendors, kids games and activities, refreshments, and much more! Unfortunately, advertising for Loud & Proud's band lineup has never been consistent, as they often don't even mention the scheduled musicians on social media, this year included, but this year will feature three musical acts alongside unspecified drag performers. The acts in question are headlining local party metal trio The Apocalypse Afterparty (who only confirmed their involvement on personal Facebook accounts), singer/guitarist Gimiiwan Ikwe, and the previously confirmed hard rock quintet HeadFirst opening. Thanks to Mikhal Muto from The A.A. for filling in the blanks!

Notably, this will be day #2 of HeadFirst's early release of physical copies of their debut EP "Head Trauma", so if you didn't buy one tomorrow at Rotaryfest for $15, here's your second chance before the wide release next week! Loud & Proud is FREE & ALL AGES, and runs Sunday afternoon from 1:00-4:00 PM. The current weather forecast calls for partly cloudy weather with a high of 23° and no chance of rain, tent acknowledged. If you want to celebrate Sault Pridefest and LGBTQ+ awareness with some entertaining live bands, head down to the Pavilion on Sunday for all of the fun! Visit the above links for more details, and here's The Apocalypse Afterparty live!

Finally, this very busy Rotaryfest concert weekend ends with an extreme bang at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on SUNDAY NIGHT, as they basically revert to The Roosevelt Hotel for the night to host touring technical death metal bands from out west! In their local debuts, metalheads can enjoy Edmonton's Vaegon and Vancouver's Exterminatus on Sunday, and both are sufficiently brutal in their own ways, and your faces will melt if the summer humidity didn't do that already! Do check out both Vaegon and Exterminatus' original groove-inflected material on major streaming services, they'll be a good antidote if you've been wondering why the Soo hasn't had a lot of death or extreme metal bands in the 2020s so far (promoter availability, venue closures, local bands' own evolution, and the pandemic all helped in that). Local openers on Sunday are young local metal trio The BAG in their first show in three months before heading to Leeburn next week.

The guys have been busy in studio as of late, and released a teaser of their new original song "Suckatit" (no spaces) as a "Reel" on their Facebook group yesterday. I can't embed "Reels" here, but the clip is at least framed in post-production to fit the vertical dimensions. Ripping speed metal number in this jam session phase, and the dog definitely seems to be into it, so check it out above! Admission is $10 at the former Rosie on Sunday, this is a 19+ event, and it starts at 8:00 PM. Work/school night or not, definitely consider coming out to this show if you want to encourage Jay's/The BAG to bring more touring metal bands here! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Vaegon live!

I believe that is now officially all for the Rotaryfest weekend metal, hard rock, and punk concert previews! We'll be back at it this weekend with more news and notes in all likelihood, so look for much more news and notes on the SMS in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

The Nameless Concert Preview, Plus New Videos!!

As promised, let's conclude this very busy weekend concert preview stretch in this morning's post, filled out with some new videos from acts from or playing on both sides of the border, so here's what you should know on this warm Saturday morning!

First in this post, we'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading to Sault Michigan for local hard rock quintet The Nameless' return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TONIGHT! Fresh off of their Cedarville debut last week, this will be The Nameless' first hometown show in just over a month, and hopefully their hard rock covers go well as usual for Saultite fans at The Merch! If you can't make it or you live further south, The Nameless will make their Kewadin Casino debut at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace in two weeks. No frills to speak of at The Merch tonight, just a night of music beginning at 9:00 PM with no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 or older to attend. While The Nameless still only have the one (unembeddable) public video from way back in their debut concert, they are a talented young band, so don't miss out on tonight's concert if you're in the E.U.P.!

Next up, let's hop to Sault Ontario, where we have a brand new live video from local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225's unplugged (sorry, "uncorked") concert at The Water Tower Pub last night! Live-streamed directly to their Facebook page just after 10:30 PM, the horizontal video (a welcome rarity for Bone Yard) sees them covering Kid Rock's "All Summer Long". I won't pretend to like the original song, but it's strongly performed with good enthusiasm, and it's a well recorded clip, so fans of Bone Yard's acoustic gigs will take to it! Remember, they are not playing at Rotaryfest next weekend, but bassist Warren Reville will return as a member of The Associates during the Friday Night Blues program on Stage 2. Also, your local 225 revealed on Facebook on Thursday that "we got another one coming out soon", namely their second studio original song, and a 45 seconds-long teaser is on their website!

The song in question will be named "Gypsy Spell", and while I'll hold comment until the full song is released, it shouldn't be too long now. Give it a listen for yourself above, check out their new concert video below, and don't miss Bone Yard 225 re-corked at Reggie's Place in two weeks!

Also, let's head back to the E.U.P. for two teaser videos for the Ace Frehley-headlined '80s Rock Invasion concert outside of the Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace, Michigan next week! Yes, it's the same night as the last night of Rotaryfest in Sault Ontario, so how's that for a big day of live music in the area? Kewadin have teased having "epic shout-outs" every Friday in the lead-up to the concert from musicians playing it, but the first one was just last week, so unless they add in bonus videos in the next week, only three of the five acts will be represented. Yesterday's shout-out video was from Slaughter frontman Mark Slaughter, who did a very professional job plugging the show and bands, almost radio DJ-esque, so that's definitely welcomed! The one from last week is embedded below because it features all of Great White (the original Mark Kendall-led version) plugging the festivities. Rare when the whole band is in one of these!

While emphasis is oddly put on the "nace" in St. Ignace in the plugs, Great White hit the necessary notes for next week, and hopefully Hair Scare diehards have a blast with good weather next week! No word on whether Ace, Steven Adler('s solo band), or Vixen would be in the presumed final shout-out video on Friday, but we'll keep you posted when it's uploaded. Check out Great White's video below, see more from the show above, and tickets are still available at this link from the tenth row and back!

Finally, here's a surprise: A new demo original from defunct Sault Ontario hard rock band Foothill Road! If they had extant social media pages, I wouldn't be rushing to add them back to our active band links, as the description says that the song was recorded in 2021 and there's been no credited recent work from them, but thanks to ex-bassist Ron Pyette for letting me know that this was uploaded to guitarist Mark Oliverio's YouTube channel on July 4th! While not recording on this new song (named "Desperate Times"), Ron co-wrote it, which also features Mark (now of Tragically Hip tribute band The Luxury) alongside singer Ken Luxton, bassist Steve Cardiff, and drummer Rick Bain. These are the same credits given to their 2020 single "Heard Of It", and both songs can be heard on Mark's YouTube channel. Like on "Heard Of It", this is a lyric video. This song is a little heavier and will please fans of Foothill Road's mid-1990s run!

Not as bluesy, but it sounds like something that they realistically would have recorded during their original run with a good alternative edge and solo to boot. Even if the song is three years old now, kudos to Mark for uploading it and Ron for telling me about it, so give it a listen below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT ('80s Metal Invasion) Plus Wyld Stallyns Lineup Updates!!

Today's post is largely devoted to a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this summer that you 1980s glam metal fans are definitely not going to want to miss, and we also have some new band lineup announcements to round things out with. Here's what you should know!

A massive hair metal concert (and outdoors, at that) is coming to the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Saturday, July 20th for the '80s Rock Invasion! Presumably formatted identically to the Cheap Trick/Goo Goo Dolls show on the waterfront in August 2021 in terms of staging, this show will be even bigger for scheduled bands, with five name acts coming to St. Ignace for Hair Scare diehards, including the long awaited return of original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley! Last seen at the Sault Michigan Kewadin in 2009, expect the Spaceman himself to break out Kiss and solo classics like "Shock Me", "New York Groove", and "Rock Soldiers" in his first E.U.P, date in almost fifteen years! Two hair metal bands who are no strangers to this part of the world will also be making their way to St. Ignace in July, with Los Angeles' own Great White co-headlining in their local return! Now, Great White are one of those bands that split in two, L.A. Guns style, but this time, we are getting the original band led by original guitarist Mark Kendall.

While this Great White has most of their classic members from the "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" days, you may recall that Jack Russell's Great White (the splinter version featuring their classic singer and bassist) headlined outdoors at the St. Ignace Kewadin back in 2017, so discounting that, the original Great White also have not played here since rocking The Dreammakers Theatre in 2009. A little confusing, but hair metal fans will be right at home with Great White's return in July! The other returning band is Las Vegas glam metal quartet Slaughter, who last played here via an indoor headlining date at the St. Ignace Kewadin in June 2019, preceded by support gigs in both of the Twin Saults in 2008 & 2012. Expect classics like "Fly To The Angels" & "Up All Night" in their (at least) fourth regional concert! Also coming in July is "Appetite For Destruction"-era Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler in his local concert debut!

You may be familiar with Steven's exploits in recent years with bands like Adler's Appetite, but he currently tours under his own name with a solo band playing a set primarily made up of GNR classics from his time in that band. Steven's still got the chops, and he found strong musicians to bring these songs to life, so don't bypass his set either! Opening on July 20th is Minnesota hair metal band Vixen, notable as the biggest all-female group in the genre, and from hit songs like "Edge Of A Broken Heart" and "Cryin'". Only drummer Roxy Petrucci remains from their heyday, but they still deliver some talented hard rock with their current lineup, so don't be late for them kicking things off! Pre-sale for this 6:00 PM & all ages concert kicks off tomorrow, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday. Tickets will start at $65, and if the Cheap Trick show in 2019 is anything to go by, there will likely be two higher tiers.

That show had tickets at $50, $75, and $85 depending on location, with the two higher price points being in seated areas. You can buy yours starting on Friday at this link, at the in-person box office, or by calling 1-800-KEWADIN. Given that this Saturday's Skid Row/Buckcherry concert at the Soo Kewadin sold out (preview forthcoming), I wouldn't take my chances that Ace and crew will have good tickets for long, so get yours A.S.A.P., and visit the above links for more on what will be a huge concert for hair and glam metal fans this summer, especially if the weather cooperates!

Finally, we have big lineup updates from Sault Ontario funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns, as they have a completely new rhythm section! They have enlisted former Id Iota/Far From Fine drummer Blair St. John as their new bassist (replacing Alex White), while former Din/Re:Born drummer Brandan Glew has replaced Derek Turner behind the kit. Blair & Brandan debuted for The Stallyns at The Kiln at Searchmont this past Saturday, though both have sat in as guests with the band before. Reasons for Alex & Derek's departures were not publically announced, but the post on the band's Facebook page announcing the changes painted things in amicable terms, and that "you'll see them around, so keep showing them the love". Hopefully that's true, as Al and Derek are talented musicians who would be assets in newer bands! Blair and Brandan are strong musicians with multi-genre experience, so they'll fit in fine as well!

For what it's worth, The Wyld Stallyns' next concert has been announced on at least one band member's personal Facebook page, but I'll wait for a public announcement from the band or venue before covering it here (unless it doesn't get a public plug thusly, but I do know where & when it is for weekend preview purposes). It is great to see Christina, Rob, Jesse, and Josh re-fill out their lineup, and hopefully we'll hear more from the new-look Wyld Stallyns soon! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

Two New Album Releases, A New-Ish Punk Project, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for missing a show in this past weekend's concert previews, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck played for a second straight year at Algoma Tree Services' annual community meet & greet outside of their homebase in Goulais River on Saturday night. Like last year, they joined classic rock band Angry Joe & The Growlers for this Kiwanis Club children's charity event, which was publically open with family activities. Also like last year, Soundcheck did not publicize their involvement on their Facebook page, though Algoma Tree Services did. I profusely apologize once again, I'd have covered it had I known, but hopefully things went well despite the forecast!

Now, today's post otherwise looks at some recent videos and updates from an array of local musicians, starting with new album releases, one being from a new addition to our band links, namely local rapper Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow! While active locally since at least 2015, Tristan (who originally rapped as "White Noize") only crossed our radar on multi-genre events that he performed at, such as the old Sky's The Limit mental health fundraiser concerts, The Soo's Got Talent in 2018, and that year's Rotaryfest Stage 2. That changed once I started covering Lopstock III's SooToday live-stream from late last month, and whether you saw Bold Noize thusly or in person at LopLops, you'll have seen him reveal that he was working on a punk album that was released as planned to major streaming services on Thursday! It is titled "God Save Me", reflecting his faith, with his Christian rap status being more prominent in his early years.

The nine song album indeed features Tristan singing rather than rapping along with full band instrumental tracks, and while I have not seen public credit given to who played guitar and such on "God Save Me", note that he sang along with recordings at Lopstock, as he did for his four proper rap cuts that night. The music on offer definitely leans toward punk way more than nu metal, and I was reminded a bit of Machine Gun Kelly's rock output in terms of how Bold Noize approached the shift in genre. Honestly, the songs come through better as punk rock songs via the studio recordings than they did at Lopstock, owing to the pre-recorded instrumental tracks being heard & mixed as intended on streaming services. Bold Noize can carry a tune well on the punk songs, and you can hear for yourself how he handles a totally different genre on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, while the album is definitely on sale digitally for $8.99 on iTunes.

I would suggest that Tristan get a live band going, even if just occasionally, to better reflect the "God Save Me" album/future punk dalliances live, but it's hard to say what his next plans are, as he doesn't update his Facebook page all that often. Beyond "God Save Me", Bold Noize is a skilled MC with a strong flow, as local rap fans over the past decade will be well aware, but how far will he go in the punk realm? It'll be interesting to find out, but I do plan to review this album on the SMS formally in January (we're booked solid through year's end), and check out "God Save Me" above & below!

Next up, here's one more new album release, as local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage's have newly put out their 69th studio album, fittingly named "69"! The cover artwork obviously gives the title in Roman numerals as "LXIX". While this was released to their Bandcamp page on Saturday, the band gives a release date of September 6th there. hardly a new conceit for their albums since becoming a studio-only band in 2017. Production and personnel-wise, there's nothing shocking to report from their prior album from earlier this year ("Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of The Stoned Ape"), but "69" appears to be a normal album without an overarching concept. 19 songs are included, enough to force this to be a double album if printed on CDs, and there are definitely some suitably eclectic titles for longtime fans!

You can buy "69" via digital download for $15 on Bandcamp, and you can stream it for free there as well. A review of this album (if not another album if they surprise us with one beforehand) will likely hit the site in February 2024, given our continued backlog, but it's great to see the Beckers, Shane, and Tony back with more improvised & irreverent bluesy hard rock, hopefully befitting the "69" title for anyone inclined to put on their environ-mental suits! Buy or stream "69" above!

We'll close today with a new live video of local/Toronto pop rock cover veterans The Killer Hooks, courtesy of their set at White Pines Collegiate & Vocational School's 50th anniversary reunion at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre last week! Odd that they wouldn't have it at the S.C.T.C.... maybe the seats were an issue for mingling Wolverines alumni? The Killer Hooks are the occasionally seen high profile cover band fronted by Gsis Murphy's Tony Marcello, and we have brought them up on the SMS on occasion when they were filmed doing a hard rock cover, though their sets are way more pop rock in tone and focus. I really should go through their own videos at some point to see what heavier tunes they've done since we last talked about them, but this video comes from Mike Blair at 705Live Sound Co., who handled sound at the White Pines reunion.

Uploaded to 705Live's Facebook page on Friday, the video features The Killer Hooks covering Kiss' "I Was Made For Loving You", and if you want to get a dance floor going via a Kiss song, that'd be the one to use! The 42 second clip is obviously abbreviated, but Mike had a nice view of the stage with effective stage lighting to highlight the band nicely, and they handle this song pretty well! I'd have based it more on Kiss' later live versions where Paul sung the verses at full voice, but beggars can't be choosers. Give this Killer Hooks video a watch below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more of our Lopstock III fallout tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

All video post on this Tuesday evening, including some recent concert videos from both the Soo and out of town, along with an apology for a recent missed show, but let's lead off with videos from two different bands at the same major venue in recent weeks!

Let's start with lots of videos from The Glorious Sons' headlining concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre last month, and while I've only found YouTube videos from one source, they're thankfully from Christopher Paci's awesome YouTube channel, so you know he got a solid fill of content! Whether he's a big fan of theirs or whether he was adjusting for the lack of an opening band, I can't say, but Chris filmed eleven videos of the Kingston roots/hard rock quintet at the former Kiwanis Theatre, including (in performance order) "I Want Ya", "Mama", "My Poor Heart", "One Church Town",  this song that he couldn't title (the lyrics don't match anything on Google so it may be new), "Lean On Me Love", "Young King", "S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun)", "Everything Is Alright", "Kill The Lights", and as embedded below, their set-closer "Amigo", which is typically extended to 8+ minutes in live appearances like this.

Chris was not in the closest seating section, but he had a good central view of the stage and fans ahead of him, which especially works to the benefit of "Amigo" with all of the clapping in time with the song mid-way through! The audio on heavier stretches can be scratchy, which is nothing new, but softer parts come through nicely, and fans of The Glorious Sons should take to all of these videos, which you can watch above & below!

Next up, here's the latest from young local hard rock quartet Raincourt, and first off, I do have to apologize for missing a concert of theirs, as they played a publically attendable concert at the aforementioned Sault Community Theatre Centre this past Wednesday! The humongous venue is explained by it being on the campus of White Pines Collegiate & Vocational School (which Raincourt's members currently attend), and White Pines has been hosting a Coffee House concert series there during the 2021-22 school year, with last week's being their semester-closing event, including a show for students only at 1:00 PM and a show open to everyone at 7:00 PM. The main attractions were The White Pines Concert Band and their Mustang Sally-esque school group The Pine Tones (who feature all of the guys from Raincourt), but other student artists performed, including Raincourt proper. I profusely apologize for missing this show, hopefully it was a huge hit!

If you missed this event, never fear, as a video of Raincourt (sans face masks!) covering The Beatles' "Come Together" was uploaded to their Facebook page on Friday. Solid cover from a nice and close angle, with Elijah showing some nice grit & swagger with his vocals and stage presence, and everyone has a strong handle on this classic rock favourite! Give it a watch below, and apologies again for missing the White Pines Coffee House show last week on here!

Also, local/Barrie punk/metal quintet Spades GT have launched their official YouTube channel and have posted three performance videos there to check out! Two were also uploaded to their Facebook page, including the jam session clip of "Crossroads" (albeit still with audio from the Jack Spades studio version dubbed overtop) and a brand new video from their set opening Anvil at The Rockpile in Toronto last month, where they played "Cenobites", a song that debuted with Jack Spades but isn't on an album yet. Embedded below is their full 28 minute return set in April opening for Random Killing at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie, and yes, it has the live original audio! In order, you'll see J.D., the Daniels, and Tyler play "They Live", "Rise", "Cenobites", "Crossroads", "Fear Corps", "Motorwolf", "Negative Headspace", a cover of Turbonegro's "All My Friends Are Dead", and finally, their own song "To The Left".

Note that in the song introductions, J.D. first calls the band "Jack Spades" still (old habits die hard?), but later acknowledges that they used to be "Jack Spades SSM" before relocating. This set will be very familiar for local Jack Spades fans, as nothing here wasn't seen in their local sets in 2019, only the venue and two new faces will be different. Great video quality with multiple camera angles and a nice crooked angle of the stage and front row fans, and Daniel Rodbard & Tyler Reiner compliment J.D. & Daniel nicely here and on the new Toronto clip! More videos are teased to be forthcoming, but give all of these a look above & below!

Finally, here are three videos of new local acoustic hard rock duo Short & Sweet's opening set for Parabol at Soo Blaster this past weekend! Uploaded to frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel yesterday, these feature him and bandmate/fellow Skeyes of Seven alum Kyle Sweet covering Breaking Benjamin's "Forget It", Slipknot's "Vermilion Pt. 2", and as embedded below, a stripped down version of his old Sense of Truth song "Anything At All". Despite some jittery camera work, the videos are nicely angled and capture Cory and Kyle in a good element with some strong vocal & guitar work, and they'd definitely be added to our links if they got a Facebook page or something! Give these a watch above & below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Tym Morrison) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin this weekend concert preview post (including some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS), just a heads up that the late notice Wyld Stallyns show at The Water Tower Pub last Friday did not occur, as per a post on the venue's Facebook page at 7:39 PM that night, after last weekend's concert preview post went live. Apologies for missing that, but the word did come very late. Hopefully nothing bad happened in the Stallyns camp! Now, here's what you should know for this weekend!

Prolific local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT with a solo headlining gig at the aforementioned Water Tower Pub! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via its Facebook event page on Sunday. I believe Tym has played here before, but definitely not since the pandemic began, so if you want to see this talented frontman back in action, you can do so TOMORROW! Tym had just taken a month's hiatus from public concerts, surprisingly last being seen at Reggie's on April 10th, so if you like his extensive selist and live show, head north to The Water Tower Pub for all of the action! TOMORROW'S one-night-only concert has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT, not Saturday! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the band's Facebook event page yesterday, and drummer Glen Thomas implied on his personal Facebook page that this was a late booking on request from the venue. No word on why they're playing TOMORROW, when all of the other Shooters gigs have been Saturday nighters since they began hosting bands earlier this year, but if you'd really prefer to see them on a Saturday, be at the Dennis Street nightclub next weekend! As for TOMORROW, Soundcheck's brand of classic and hard rock covers should deliver another knockout punk for their third show at Shooters, so don't miss out! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Moving to previously announced concerts, let's head downtown to Soo Blaster, where Toronto southern hard rock icons White Cowbell Oklahoma will be headlining TOMORROW NIGHT during the kickoff of this year's Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer! After a pandemic-induced break, the LopLops-hosted festival is back at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center this month, so definitely click here for all of the craft brew details if that's your style! White Cowbell Oklahoma (still featuring ex-Detroit guitarist Curtis Faux to my knowledge) were last seen on a local stage when they rocked LopLops in January 2019, and if you're at all familiar with W.C.O., you'll know that their live stage show is to be seen to be believed, and Clem & company should be in fine form for their Soo return after three years! After all, where else will you see power tools & flames amidst the rock? This show has no advertised opening bands.

This 19+ show has a 10:00 PM start time and $25 advance tickets which you can buy at this link, and while nothing has been stated about in-person availability at Soo Blaster, inquire with LopLops if you are at all curious.  This should be an explosive concert for fans of White Cowbell Oklahoma and IPAs alike, and their show is definitely worth the price of admission, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's White Cowbell Oklahoma live at Loplops back in 2019!

Finally for today's previews, let's head to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Believe it or not, these will actually be Peril's first shows at any venue since playing at The Rapids Lounge in January (no, they're not local), so while they don't play live as often as their sister band Scarkazm, this should be a prime opportunity once again for old school rock fans to see Jeff, Adam, and Brooks in familiar grounds once again! If you can't come out, Peril will be back at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branch early next month. This talented and frequently seen trio will be on tomorrow and Saturday at 9:00 PM with no cover charges and 21+ age limits as usual for Kewadin's lounge concert bookings. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Peril live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (White Cowbell Oklahoma, The Midnight Echo, And Parabol!!)

Today's news post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS at a notable downtown venue that's helping get the local concert scene back in the swing if things in the months ahead, so here's what you should know!

As part of plans to help kickstart the local concert scene after 2 years of damage from the pandemic, Soo Blaster on Queen Street East is launching a concert series there from this month through early June, with seven live events (mostly from musical acts) hitting the stage there. As revealed in this SooToday article from last week, the series kicks off on April 16th with a show by local pop rock cover band The Killer Hooks, while the next two include Canadian rap legend Robbie G on April 20th and touring comedians Kenny Robinson & Darren Frost the next day (tickets for all three are now on sale at this link). We already know about Fort Creek's headlining show at Soo Blaster on May 7th, while the series will end with a show by Fernandez The Hypnotist on June 9th. The other two shows (plus one event not officially part of the series) fit the SMS' coverage range, so if you've been itching to see some more live music, here's what you should know!

First up for hard rock or punk acts at Soo Blaster this year is Vancouver alt-punk quartet The Midnight Echo, who will hit Sault Ste. Marie for the first time on Saturday, April 30th!  Coming around the middle of the band's Whatever Happens, Happens Tour of Canada this spring, The Midnight Echo's sound will definitely appeal to fans of locals Northwest in particular, with a pop punk based amped up with atmospheric synth elements and catchy melodies (think like a middle ground between Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves). The Midnight Echo should appeal to a lot of locals with their distinct yet familiar brand of original music, so don't miss out at month's end! No word on admission fees or start times yet, but expect at least $10 tickets based on other shows in Soo Blaster's concert series so far, and this should be a 19+ event. Visit the above links for more on The Midnight Echo!

Next is a show that is not listed in the official concert series reveal on SooToday, but is still a publically attendable concert at Soo Blaster regardless, as Toronto southern hard rock standouts White Cowbell Oklahoma will return to Sault Ste. Marie for their first ever Soo Blaster date on Friday, May 13th! The show proper is the kickoff event for this year's Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer put on by LopLops Lounge, with this year's festival taking place primarily at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center. The festival went on hiatus in 2020 & 2021 for very obvious reasons, but fans of craft beer and IPAs will be glad to know that it is back, so see above for full details on the festival proper! This will be White Cowbell Oklahoma's first Sault date since rocking LopLops in January 2019, and while they can't return there due to that venue's continued closure since the pandemic onset, Soo Blaster should be big enough to contain their wild stage show next month!

As best as I can tell, W.C.O. still feature former Detroit/Maximum RNR guitarist Curtis Faux in their lineup, but the band is usually coy on official band pages about who is currently enlisted. The sparks will literally fly (remember, they use power tools on stage) on May 13th with a 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and $25 advance ticket fee, and you can get tickets at this link (nothing is said about in-person availability, inquire with LopLops if you're curious). White Cowbell Oklahoma's over-the-top, southern fried-yet hard rocking blend of music and showmanship will be more than welcomed in the Soo again, so see above for full details!

Finally, local Tool tribute band Parabol will play their first concert in over two & a half years when they rock Soo Blaster on Saturday, June 4th! Be advised that Parabol have not updated their Facebook page since November, and we will let you know if this show does not occur for one reason or another, but it is listed on the schedule in the above SooToday post. As you may recall, Parabol consist of Redefined, Sense of Truth, Half Past, and Late Shift alumni, and were a popular sight on the local concert scene from late 2018-late 2019, last seen in October of that year at Soo Blaster,. Their original Facebook page was taken down for alleged copyright infringement strikes (they apparently sounded too close to Tool), and the pandemic helped keep them off stage regardless, hence the live hiatus. Hopefully the guys shake off the rust in time to deliver another proficient night full of prog metal classics, and it'll be great to see Parabol back in action!

Attendee details are not public yet, but note that October 2019's Soo Blaster show was a 19+, 10:00 PM affair, and tickets went for $5 in advance or $8 at the door. Visit the above links for continuing details on these and other upcoming concerts at Soo Blaster, and it's great to see that they're getting back into the swing of things for live entertainment! Hopefully other venues aren't too far off, and of course, I do hope everyone is sensible re: the pandemic, as while things are more open, it's not done yet. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site this week! Thanks everyone!