Oh!No 2017 Music Festival Fallout, Plus More New Video Finds!!

Here's another new post for your Wednesday morning, featuring a few familiar recent subjects for regular readers! This one is another video-heavy post, this time featuring a solo cover, a studio sample, and a concert performance from last year, but first, here's some of the first fallout from a major debuting festival earlier this month!

We'll start today with some of the first fallout from Saturday's Oh!No 2017 Music Festival in nearby Leeburn, and while we still wait for promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s teased footage of every band, the Facebook event page has became a hub of sorts for media from the concert, including a fair amount of photos showcasing Robbie's Church, the scenery around the venue, and many familiar faces either performing or attending. Fellow promoters Live705 were also on hand to do sound for the event, given that A Dire Setback were already playing that afternoon. Aside from two videos from Bear Hunters singer Nik Deubel focusing on Jack Spades' guitarist Daniel Horton's adventures with a canoe near the venue (which are amusing!), the only videos on the event page come from attendee Janette Wallace, including this video featuring the camping area and scenery around the church, and as embedded below, a video of funk/hard rock quartet The Elements' set from early in the day!

Filmed at a nice overhead angle (I like when venues are formatted with that option), I believe this is 24 seconds of an Elements original, but the video was uploaded in intentionally inverted colours as part of a contest, where the first person on Facebook to guess the band would win two tickets for the rest of the Oh!No Fest (congratulations to Abbey Lynn Ridley by way of Martin for winning!) Friendly tip, paste a screenshot of Janette's photos & video into Windows Paint and press Ctrl+Shift+I to see everything in proper colour, but The Elements sound good from what we hear, so give this video a look below, and see more from Oh!No 2017 above!



Next up, here's the third and final video of inactive local classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester from guitarist Gabe Tessaro's YouTube channel, this time from their farewell set at Rotaryfest last year! This clip is of their rendition of April Wine's "Roller", though the band will look slightly different than you may be used to, as original singer Richard Fullerton came back home for their set & handled solo vocals here, while Dan Belanger took over second guitar for their set in place of the late Eugene Orlando. Regular frontman Greg Simpson & fellow guest vocalist Jeannine Jefferson sat this particular cover out, but Greg rejoined the band at song's end to give a shoutout to Rich and Dan, and the two singers did share the stage during the set. This is a fun cover of the classic April Wine number, and Richard's back in his element with his old band, plus I like the visual of the filmer walking down the aisle between the seats to begin the footage, which you can see below!



Also today, here's a video that we missed back in July for acknowledgement on the SMS (apologies for that), and it's a preview video of a studio track from The Bear Hunters forthcoming second studio album "The Dead Testament"! Filmed at Mission Control Studios by producer Dustin Jones and shared to the studio's Facebook page, this is a 45 second sample of the studio version of "Servitude", via filming the tracking computer with cameos of the band (minus Josh) at the end, and they seem happy with the results! Of course, this isn't an optimal look at "Servitude" in audio quality or length, but it's great to see that work is progressing, so give it a look below!

 
Finally for today, here's another new video from Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's Facebook page back in August that we hadn't previously shared here, though this one predates their public unveiling of any Christmas tour plans. This is a solo vocal cover by keyboardist Craig Harrison of "Come As You Are" by the Christian folk artist Crowder, as filmed with a vertical camera angle in monochrome. This is another solo cover of Craig's where he holds the camera out himself and definitely looks like he's in the groove once again, and while I'm not familiar with the original song, Craig's singing's is on point and has emotion to it, so give this one a look as well!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Lots Of Theatre Of Night Updates, A New Video Find, And More Recent Updates!!

Here's another new post for your Tuesday morning, so what can we find out today? Alongside some shorter recent stories, we have another recent video find that hadn't previously been shared here, and leading off, some long overdue news on a local metal band's surprising resurgence of activity, so here's what you should know!

We'll start today with some intriguing news from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night, who are teasing a Christmas tour run to take place at some point over the winter! When you consider that this band's only public concert (that I'm aware of) took place back on Memorial Day 2013, this revelation four & a half years later is even more surprising! Keyboardist Craig Harrison has been teasing the planned tour in Facebook page posts since last month, with specific updates slowly making their way online in the ensuing weeks, and while a potential local date isn't confirmed yet, one comment reply implied shows would take place in the Grand Rapids area. Craig & guitarist Steve Giles have enlisted five extra musicians to join them on tour, and they include singers Jordan Flesch & Stacie McCarthy, former Elipzis guitarist Chris Webster (great to see him working with a local band again!), and bassist Scott Andringa of the Holland blues rock band Shame on Susan.

Finally, the lineup is rounded out by prolific Grand Rapids-area rock drummer Erik Sales (replacing the long-departed Greg Giles), who has performed with Stacie in some recent ventures there. How's that for a massive lineup? No word on if they're all official band members now or if they're just touring performers, or if Germany's Gaby Koss will still perform on studio material with Theatre of Night, but this all sounds very encouraging! There are precious few details on the tour proper at press time, but there are a decent amount of preview videos uploaded or shared to Theatre of Night's Facebook page of tour preparations, so here's what you should know on those! All comprised of Christmas carols in a symphonic metal style (remember their "Christmas Night" CD?), the videos include a preview of a studio version of "O Holy Night" with vocals, Craig playing "Silent Night" on the keyboard, and Jordan singing "Away In A Manger" in two videos (linked here & here). All are abbreviated previews, but you get a skilled sampling of what's to come!

The other two videos are of the full septet rehearsing in Holland, though "Away In A Manger" also serves as the preview carol in both. One video is a montage of Snapchat-style clips of rehearsals & preparation therein, but embedded below is a fuller video showing the band in action, though Craig and Chris don't play at this point, and Stacie is obscured from view. There is more to share from Theatre of Night unrelated to the tour, but for now, this is all very interesting to hear, and this will spice up the holiday season with some partially local T.S.O.-style action! Stay tuned for updates on the band & tour as they roll in, and give all of these videos a look above & below!

Next up, here's another new find from Obsession guitarist Gabe Tessaro's YouTube channel, this time from his old classic/hard rock quintet That's Chester's involvement in the local stage production of The Who's Tommy at The Machine Shop in Sault Ontario back in November 2015! Poignantly uploaded the day of bandmate Eugene Orlando's passing (three weeks after Tommy wrapped it's local run), this is of the early numbers "Captain Walker" & "It's A Boy", and while not heavy songs by any stretch, the guys handle things well on these softer numbers, and Gabe & Eugene have a nice moment where they take center stage to perform together! For reference, there's no sign of frontman Greg Simpson here, who's not visibly performing with the ensemble at this point in the production, but he did play Cousin Kevin and front other songs later on. The video has a nice camera angle from the balcony to show the whole stage, and it's worth a watch for The Who & That's Chester fans, so give it a look below!



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

• I have changed the link for Lake Superior State University's campus radio station The 46th Parallel Radio (WLSO, 90.1 FM) from their website to their Facebook page, as the former was taken down during LSSU website upgrading earlier this year. Though still broadcasting, the Sault Michigan station hasn't had an active online presence this year, had been off air when I scanned it over the summer, and have not visibly commenced their previously stated plans to move all station operations to internet streaming. Hopefully things pick up, but click here for details on the station and/or student volunteering with WLSO!
• As documented in a SooToday article by David Helwig on Friday, Essar Center events manager Robert Santa Maria proposed a new system to create an event development fund so that the Sault Ontario arena can bring in more major touring events and concerts in which up to $1 from every ticket sold be put aside towards bringing more things here, capping at $50,000. Most responses seem to be positive, but will City Council approve the idea? Time will tell, but it'd be nice to have more concerts there beyond Dokken!
• The ninth annual Soo Zombie Walk will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on Saturday, October 21st for a fifth straight year, and music will return with it pre-walk once again! Performers have not been announced yet, but for reference sake, dormant blues/crash rock quartet Sykotyk Rampage and Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan have each played the walk in the past 6 and 4 years respectively. Visit the official Facebook event page for current details on the walk, and stay tuned in case punk or metal music returns next month!

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

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

Today's news post at the SMS is devoted to new and recent video finds on YouTube, so what lies within this post? Let's start with a source that I only just discovered via our Defunct Local Band Profile of That's Chester yesterday, that being guitarist Gabe Tessaro's YouTube channel! Launching back in November 2015 shortly after bandmate Eugene Orlando's sudden death, the current Obsession guitarist posted three exclusive That's Chester clips there from three late period concerts of theirs. I'll share the other two in future posts, but we'll start with this clip from Rotaryfest's main stage in July 2015 (the band's final traditional concert with Eugene), where they covered Deep Purple's "Hush" to close their headlining set. Filmed from a sharp side-stage angle, this isn't an optimal view of the guys (drummer Ric Datson's completely obscured by speakers), but it's a solid cover of this classic song with a neat nighttime ambiance, so give it a look below, and watch for Eugene on the keyboard!

Next up, here's a video of local pop rock cover quartet The Killer Hooks covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" from a show of theirs last month at The Rockstar Bar! While not a hard rock-based group, you may recognize some of their members from prior local bands, like ex-Gsis Murphy frontman Tony Marcello, his former Midpoint bandmate Rob Struk, Touch of Class alum Tony Rota, and Glory Days drummer Paolo Erme. Filmed by a friend of the band named Gillian (source here) and uploaded to Tony's YouTube channel on Thursday, this video is just of the song's first minute, and it's very red from the bar lighting, but from what we hear, this hair metal ballad is well done! If anything, Tony noted that "the crowd does all the work on this one", referencing their eager singing-along of the opening verse, and it's great to see that everyone's engaged and into their set! Give this video a look below, and visit the band's website for more on their full setlist and schedule!



Closing with some audio-only uploads, here's the teased YouTube copy of local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver's half of their and AlgomA's split "Trading Faces"! All six of Shit Liver's songs for the album are featured in this video, which was uploaded to their YouTube channel on September 5th, it's day of release. I'll hold comment until our review of the split later this month, but if you'd rather stream or preview the songs here instead of Bandcamp, you have the option below! Note that AlgomA have not posted their half on YouTube yet, but a fan has uploaded the whole thing in a single video, which I won't share at present out of respect to the brand new release.



Finally, here's a cover of Alter Bridge's "Watch Over You" by Highway 63 frontman Henry Switzer, as uploaded to his YouTube channel last week! Recorded in his music room, and set to a montage of autumn scenery, this is a quality cover with clear emotion, and while I can't confirm if Highway 63 cover this song live, this shows off Henry's vocal abilities well in particular, so check out this Sault Michigan mainstay's newest solo cover below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes as this week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: That's Chester

In our second post of the day, here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This month's profile is the latest in our regular series spotlighting one or two local metal, hard rock, or punk bands, in order to look back on their run, material, and successes for current readers! This month's completely random selection features many familiar faces taking part across their decade+ long run, so read on for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile!
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That's Chester

Genre: Classic/Hard Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. Note that the band's original lineup used stage names that all had Chester as their last name, but these are not publically available at present.)

Greg Simpson (Bone Yard, Stiffler's Mom), vocals
Gabe Tessaro (Obsession, Guitars & Tequila), guitar
Eugene Orlando (Agave Blue, Touch of Class), guitar/keyboard
Aubrey Falls (The Stumpy Coldwater Trio), bass
Ric Datson (Bone Yard, Mojo), drums

Richard Fullerton (Mothership, Trashed Taxi), vocals
Jim O'Leary (Flat Stanley, Griphook), vocals

Audio/Video: A decent amount of That's Chester cover videos survive on YouTube, though very little on the current public record focuses on their run with Jim O'Leary on vocals. Key channels to check for videos from their decade+ run include those of drummer Ric Datson, guitarist Gabe Tessaro, original singer Richard Fullerton, Sault Online's Mike Caruso, and The Sault Metal Scene, among others, while their Facebook page has scattered videos shared from personal accounts. Here's professionally shot video of That's Chester covering The Cult at Rotaryfest Stage 1 in 2013!



Info/Analysis: Active off and on from 2004-2016 (save for a brief 2012-2013 breakup), That's Chester were one of the most enduring and familiar classic rock bands of recent local memory. A frequent sight at local nightclubs (including a high number of gigs at the former Docks), That's Chester played as far away as White River during their run, and made appearances at such major events as Rotaryfest's main stage (nine times!), and such charitable events as Toystock, Ride for Sight, and the Relay For Life, among many others. That's Chester spent most of 2015 preparing for the local stage production of The Who's Tommy at The Machine Shop that November, which wrapped just three weeks prior to guitarist Eugene Orlando's sudden passing. Surviving members would ultimately play their presumed farewell show at the 2016 Rotaryfest, as joined by ex-singer Rich Fullerton and special guests.

With solid chemistry, tried and tested talent in classic rock, and a harder edge to their covers, That's Chester were always a fan favourite sight on local stages! Whether you liked their mid-2000s run with Richard, their brief late 2000s stint with Jim, or their recent successes with Greg, all three singers gave their own sound and presence to the band, as punctuated by Eugene and Gabe's strong dual guitar work. Hopefully we see the guys turn up down the road if the cards line up, but don't miss everyone in their current bands, including Greg and Ric in the country rock cover quartet Bone Yard!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We'll head to the Sault Michigan area for the fourth time this year next month, and through 100% random selection, we have chosen inactive local metal trio Scofflaw to look at next! They were a fun band in their day, so look for that profile on or around October 10th, and stay tuned for more news and updates on the site as this week progresses! Thanks everyone!

Project 421 & Friends Concert Review!!

Before we begin this post, we have an apology for a missed show, as Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock cover trio Banned also played a set last night at the Jack Passmore Grandstand at Kinross Speedpark following the Memorial Invitational race. The show was only confirmed on Banned's Facebook page at supper time yesterday, missing our radar at the time, so our profuse apologies for missing this one, hopefully it was as big a hit as Friday's show! Now, here's our first concert review on the site in two months (good to be back!), as I was in attendance for the Project 421 show at The Canadian Nightclub on Friday night! Good attendance early for this one, though it did plummet before Project 421's set, floating around two dozen fans at that point. And no, the axe throwing competition cage(?!) on the far wall didn't get in the road of the concert, but how's that for an attraction? Live705 nicely handled sound for the evening, but how did the bands do?

Opening Friday's concert was the long awaited return of local hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven for the first time since 2015, ending their second two year+ long stage hiatus, and I'm glad to say that they sounded great for their latest comeback! After the Eye of Horus concert & another unannounced show fell through, the guys finally got their moment in the sun with a high impact set that was half devoted to songs from their yet-to-be-released debut EP, with the remainder including new songs "Differences" & "Treading Water", plus covers of Audioslave and Mastodon songs. The latter was particularly surprising, but with 2 years of jam time and preparation, they had everything down fine! This was their first show with new rhythm guitarist Kyle Sweet, who asserted himself fine in their set (and had awesome shoes), while established band members didn't seem to lose a step either, including a strong vocal performance from Cory Murchison, reliable bass work from Al Fletcher and solid drumming from John Mignacca.

It's great to have Skeyes of Seven back, and while it remains to be seen when we'll see them on stage next (not to mention, when we'll finally see "Stare at the Sky" on sale), here's hoping we're not waiting until 2019 for their next gig, as they definitely made some new fans on Friday night!

The middle band on Friday was alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback in their first of two shows in under 24 hours (look for Oh!No Festival fallout when it rolls in), and they pumped out another strong set of original punk songs for fans to bridge the gap between the night's heavier acts! If you've seen A Dire Setback this year, their set won't have held many surprises, with familiar originals like "Nightmares", "Everlasting Despair", and "Faded" populating their timeslot, as well as their "Counting Stars" cover. Of course, the guys delivered musically as usual, with Matt Quinn's bass (and sound) work coming naturally, and Chris Nielsen was his regular sparkplug self on guitar, but Larry Babic's vocals did sound noticeably rougher in the second half of their set, with higher notes not coming as easily. Strong set overall though from A Dire Setback, and hopefully they had a great time in Leeburn!

And finally, your headliners were classic metal quartet Project 421 in their third show and second headlining date of 2017, and they sufficiently rocked remaining fans with a hard hitting blast of 1980s metal covers and select originals! Along with Alice Cooper, Saxon, and Judas Priest renditions, the guys also moved back to covering Diamond Head after opening for them last, while originals "No One Rides For Free" & "Into The Darkness" also made appearances. Blair Burch's singing voice continues to gain strength and confidence compared to what I've heard in the past, and he and Frank McGillivray kept the power guitar rolling nicely throughout their set, with Daniel Horton and Chris Thompson maintaining a solid rhythm themselves! There were some occasional hiccups, and it's a shame that more people didn't stick around, but 421 have restored their spot in the local scene with ease and retro flair, and here's hoping for much more from them soon!

Overall, this was a fun concert with lots of talented artists, including a big return to kick off the night, and hopefully there's more to come from these acts soon! You can check out our photos from this show at this link or via our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's Skeyes of Seven playing "Treading Water", A Dire Setback playing "Wasting Away", and Project 421 covering Iron Maiden's "Powerslave"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Jock Tears & Stiffler's Mom), "Trading Faces" Split Details, And The Loud & Proud Preview!!

I am back home from a trip visiting family, and while I wasn't expecting to have a second post on the SMS today, I came home to SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know on those, as well as one more new show, an upcoming split's content and release details, and a preview for one more shows this weekend!

Local classic/hard rock cover trio Stiffler's Mom will return to The Esquire Club for headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on the band's Facebook page this morning, and I was on the road back to the Soo for much of the afternoon. After taking a nearly two month break from public concerts, these will be Greg, Mike, and Jon's first advertised shows since their Rotaryfest Stage 1 sets back in July, and first at the Second Line West venue in three months. Despite the very short online notice, this will be another fun weekend of hard rocking cover favourites for fans and Esquire regulars alike, so don't miss Stiffler's Mom's first shows of the fall season TONIGHT & TOMORROW! Expect 10:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits each night. See above for more details, and here's Stiffler's Mom live!



Next up, here's another new show with lots of advance notice, as Vancouver pop punk quartet Jock Tears will make their local concert debut with a headlining date at The Gore Street Cafe on Thursday, October 5th! This gender-equal group meld pop punk with indie and folk rock pretty seamlessly, and they should be a fine fit at the laundromat next month, so keep Jock Tears' short but sweet originals in mind locally next month! The opening act will be local indie/hard rock quartet Bizotic in their first date of the fall season and first Gore Street Cafe stop since July, and they're a solid choice to kick off the evening's action on October 5th, so don't be late for their set! This ALL AGES show is once again a "pay what you can" event, as usual for the landromat, but there is a suggested admission fee of $10 in place. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss the indie-tinged punk and hard rock action next month at The Gore Street Cafe!

Also today, here's new details on the AlgomA/Shit Liver covers split album and joint local concert at The New American Pub on Monday, October 2nd! In terms of "Trading Faces", the whole split saw it's online release as scheduled on Tuesday via both AlgomA's and Shit Liver's Bandcamp pages (each band uploaded the whole thing), and the split is available on both pages via a "name your price" model, so consider paying an amount for their hard work! Of course, cassettes will have a firm cost to be announced, likely on September 17th when the physical release was previously teased, but no later than tour kickoff day on the 22nd. AlgomA's Bandcamp page also confirms the recording dates and studios for each half of the split, each appearing to have been self-recorded at home studios earlier this year, though Shit Liver's version of "Fell Down A Well" sounds like the 2015 version (at least, the first half.) Full tour details can be found at the tour's Facebook event page, whose related links confirm that familiar acts like Buried Out Back and Uncle Ray will join the two local bands on specific dates.

As for the October 2nd date at The New A, what can we now learn about that event? Well, the opening acts will be local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters and extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, who are excellent choices to open the night! The show will start at 9:00 PM flat, and there is a $7 cover charge, not including tapes. Visit that show's Facebook event page for full local details, but buy the "Trading Faces" split at the above links if you can't wait for the tapes, and look for our review of it in the coming weeks!

Finally for today, here's one more concert preview for this weekend, as local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center THIS SUNDAY as musical entertainment for this year's Loud & Proud kick-off event for the Soo's fourth annual Pridefest! The first of six shows in The Din's farewell run of concerts prior to their planned breakup next month,  their set on Sunday is in support of the Sault Pride Community's annual LGBTQ awareness and support festival, and their first of two shows for this year's Pridefest, joining their outdoor family picnic set at the locks in two weeks. Of course, fans may remember seeing the former Mike Haggith & The Din rock the Bushplane Museum in their acid jam days back in 2013, so it's great to see their tighter and more formal sound hit this venue one last time on Sunday, and for a great cause! Their set will be at 2:00 PM, as sandwiched between local performer and singer Tim Murphy's drag show at 1:00 & 3:00 PM, while there will also be children's entertainment and vendors on site.

Events kick off at 12:00 PM on Sunday, and this is a FREE & ALL AGES event, which should be a great way to kick off Pridefest, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details on Loud & Proud, and here's The Din live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of TONIGHT'S Project 421 concert at The Canadian next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Din), Their Impending Breakup, And The Oh!No 2017 Music Festival Preview!!

This longer-than-usual news post is devoted to two extended topics: Our preview of a massive music festival in our area tomorrow night, and leading off, lots of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS relating to a prominent local band whose days as an active presence in the scene are sadly numbered. Here's what you should know on this Friday morning!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din have announced that they will be disbanding following a farewell headlining concert (and CD release show) at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, October 21st. As unfortunately announced on Tuesday via their Facebook page and related video below, The Din confirmed their impending split, saying that this was an "incredibly difficult decision to make", but frontman Mike Haggith says in the video that "there isn't very much opportunity (to) get all the living done that we want to if we keep going like this", with Mike's likely work-related relocation out of the Soo a contributing factor. However, the news isn't all bad, as they will release their second and final studio album at LopLops on October 21st, with a limited print run of 50 CDs for the occasion (no word on price or Bandcamp availability yet), with Mike noting that they returned to where they started to record it at Pretoria Hill Productions, presumably with earlier demos now being the final copies.

This isn't all for The Din's fall plans, as they will still play at THIS SUNDAY's Loud & Proud event at The Bushplane Museum (look for it's preview in our next post), but The Din also have four more shows to play in the interim! As first announced in the comments of the video below, they'll play a show next week at Sault College's campus lounge Odeno (basically The Outback's replacement) on Thursday, September 14th, in what may be a farewell/thank you event from aviation graduate Mike to his alma mater, but no details are out on this event beyond a 7:00 PM start time. A cosplay optional family picnic set for Sault Pridefest is also advertised for Saturday, September 23rd down at the Soo Locks, with their set planned for 11:00 AM (yes, AM!) The Din will also play a presumed solo concert at The Canadian Nightclub on Friday, September 29th at 9:00 PM, while their last opening set will be on Monday, October 11th when they open for Niagara Falls indie/pop rock trio James Blonde at LopLops Lounge. They're not going gentle into that good night!

Of the four new shows, the Pride picnic will be ALL AGES but the rest are 19+. The LopLops show will likely have a cover charge of at least $5, but the rest likely have no cover. See above for details where available on them, and look for our Loud & Proud preview soon! The news of The Din's breakup is very sudden and disappointing, but like the band Haggith's initial breakup announcement from 4 years prior, at least we have advance notice and more chances to see Mike, Tammy, and Brandan on stage before the big farewell and CD release on October 21st! In terms of that show, expect a 9:30 PM start time and 19+ age limit, but there has been no announcement yet on admission fees. As well, an opening band is expected to be named, and advance singles from the album will be posted online in the lead-up to the event. I hope everyone stays active in music after next month, be it in solo form or new bands, but enjoy The Din while you can, visit the official Facebook event page for more on the farewell show, and here's The Din's video announcement on their breakup!

Finally for today, here's our extended preview of TOMORROW'S Oh!No 2017 Music Festival in nearby Leeburn, Ontario! A spiritual successor to promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s prior Das Bunkerfest event, this end-of-summer festival will see thirteen bands and one DJ cram into Robbie's Church (truly a former church turned residence) in nearby Leeburn for a day full of musical intensity from out of town and local bands alike, including a few new confirmations, so who can you expect tomorrow? The nominal headlining act is DJ Seith with some night-capping turntable mixes at 1:00 AM, but in terms of bands, promoters impressively managed to get all 5 touring bands in the closing slots. Those bands are Toronto country/indie rock band Run Coyote at 11:30 PM, Barrie all-female punk quartet (and local headliners from June) Beaver Slap at 10:30 PM, Sudbury punk trio Lightmares at 9:30 PM, and two bands who played here last year, namely Hamilton punk rockers Artificial Dissemination at 8:30 PM & Thunder Bay desert rock group The Franquilizers at 7:15 PM.

Local bands will include new indie/hard rock trio Vol. at 6:30 PM, punk/metal quintet Jack Spades at 5:45 PM, drone/ambient rock trio Pointless (replacing a planned solo set from frontman Bill Priddle) at 4:30 PM, and alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback (in their second show in under 24 hours) at 3:45 PM. Prior to one of two mid-show intermissions, the opening acts will be funk/hard rock quartet The Elements at 2:45 PM, Brent Ellis' new project Slumshine at 2:00 PM, reunited extreme metal rockers Winkstinger at 1:15 PM, and indie/punk rock trio Handsome Sandwich (in their first show in 2 months) opening the festival at 12:30 PM. Notably, both The Elements & Handsome Sandwich are late confirmations for the festival lineup, with one/both replacing doom metal trio AlgomA for unannounced reasons, possibly due to their promotional duties for Oh!No 2017. Great to see the new bands the bill, and don't miss AlgomA on October 2nd! Six, Two, Oh. will also be filming the days bands, though no word yet on what form their public postings will be in.

A bonfire, outdoor activities, vendors, food from The Gore Street Cafe, and on-site parking and camping will be available for festival patrons, so feel free to stay awhile and enjoy the festival's entire scope tomorrow! No age limit is stated for the fest, and tickets are $25 via the cafe, The Rad Zone, Case's Music, Northland Music, Coch's Corner, and Big Guns Barbershop, while you can also get hooked up from local performers, and presumably at the door, while directions to the festival (just outside of Bruce Mines) and extra details can be found at the official Facebook event page. Also, while early shuttle bus plans were cancelled due to cost concerns, promoters are encouraging prospective attendees to consider ride-sharing or cab rentals to get to Leeburn for the show tomorrow if unable to drive there yourselves, so you do have options to get to the Oh!No Festival! This presumably inaugural festival promises to deliver loads of entertaining music from many genres!

The unique setting in an old church outside of town should provide an intriguing backdrop to all of this action, so whether you can stay all day, can camp beyond, or can only see a few bands, definitely consider a trip to Leeburn TOMORROW if at all possible for this ambitious festival! See above for more details on tomorrow's action, here's a preview video of Beaver Slap live, and stay tuned for more news on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!