LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Banned & The Din), New Videos, And More Updates!!

We're back with a new news post on this Saturday afternoon, including some recent new concert videos and some assorted updates, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS on both sides of the border!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned have announced five upcoming concert weekends at regional Kewadin Casino branches through the end of 2017! Joining returns to the Manistique Kewadin branch next month and in September, the Alex Traynor-led group will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for concerts on June 30th & July 1st, October 6th & 7th, and December 1st & 2nd, while new dates are now locked in for The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace on September 22nd & 23rd and then on November 3rd & 4th! These shows were all confirmed via their respective Facebook event pages yesterday (as seen here), and while Kewadin had recently confirmed the Soo shows on their entertainment page, there's nothing yet regarding these St. Ignace gigs, notably their first ones there since December of last year.

No word yet on if there will be more shows in late 2017 to announce at other venues, but remember that the band gave their recent Hessel gigs very little advance notice online. We'll keep you posted, but it's great to see Banned staying busy to close the year, August's apparent off month aside! All 10 of these new local dates are 9:00 PM affairs with no announced cover charge and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Banned!

Next up, here's a new concert announcement for Sault Ontario, as local alternative hard rock groups The Din and Bizotic will hit LopLops Lounge on Saturday, July 8th when they open for Hamilton space rock quartet SIANspheric in their local debut! This will be The Din's first concert at LopLops in three weeks, following TONIGHT'S acoustic duo headlining set, while I believe this will be Bizotic's first LopLops gig in four months. Both acts should perform solidly as they continue their forward momentum next month! As for SIANspheric, their experimental and ambient rock originals have helped them make an established name over the past 2 decades, and it'll be interesting to finally hear them on a local stage in three weeks, so give them a listen as well and see what you think! This 19+ concert has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for potential updates as they roll in!

Also, here's our first public video look at Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie's revived solo project! Curtis' girlfriend April Bryant was on hand for his Vape Escape concert yesterday, and filmed five videos of his solo set, though no word on if he ever intends to share the Dokken cover publically that's floating around on personal accounts. These new videos feature Curt's covers of Three Days Grace's "Wake Up", Seether's "Broken", Pearl Jam's "Better Man", Collective Soul's "December", and as embedded below, Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box", so these will be right up the alley of Eclipse fans craving a more reserved selection of covers, even though Curt is in fact playing an electric guitar in all clips. The videos can be a little jittery, but Curtis sounds good on these renditions, and while I'm not complete in the know on The Vape Escape or e-cigarettes, hopefully he provided a quality soundtrack for patrons last night! Give these videos a look, and don't miss Curt TONIGHT at LopLops or TOMORROW with Eclipse!



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

• Local punk quartet A Dire Setback will hit the road for the first time when they travel to Sudbury on June 25th (one week from tomorrow) to open for Victoria, B.C. alternative/punk quintet Vaultry at The Asylum! If this sounds familiar, it should, as Vaultry are headlining at The Canadian two weeks later on July 7th on their way back home, and A Dire Setback are opening (and promoting via Live705) the Soo show. Nice to see such synergy with these two Northern Ontario stops, and good luck to A.D.S. out east next weekend!
• Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie announced on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Wednesday that the local death metal band has "awoken from their hibernation and are hungry", and would love to perform on local concerts that would have them. With only two shows to their name in the past year, it'd be great to see them on more concert lineups in 2017, so message Mitch here or above if you want some bear hunting metal action on stage again!
• In a news release from the City of Sault Ste. Marie offices yesterday, the city confirmed that the Rock the Border Music Fest tomorrow is completely cancelled, as well as noting that the concert was not city-sanctioned, and advised readers to "be cautious when buying tickets to events outside of normal channels." You can read more on the official statement, including details on contact with promoters, via this article from SooToday's Donna Hopper, but hopefully things can be put to rest now! As for AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell's teaser in the comments about a big Six, Two, Oh. concert this fall? Stay tuned!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Din), Electric Church/Speaker Concert Preview, And New Sky's The Limit Videos!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert on here, as Toronto-area Bon Jovi tribute band Keep The Faith (who came to Sault Ontario twice in 2010) played a pair of extended sets at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in nearby Brimley, Michigan last Friday. No word on if it was at the Back Bay Grille or not, but this definitely fell outside of what we've researched in recent months. Profuse apologies for missing it for coverage here, hopefully it was a great show! Now, let's tackle a few more weekend concert previews (one on SHORT NOTICE) and some new videos!

It is now 100% official: Local alternative hard rock favourites The Din are indeed playing an acoustic show TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops Lounge! Apologies for the short notice, we were waiting for public confirmation from The Din on if this event was still on, as it was unlike them to not acknowledge the show despite LopLops' website listing it, but there is now a Facebook event page for it. Not long after their Family Market on the Greens set as an unplugged two-piece, frontman Mike Haggith and guitarist Tammy Hill will reprise their more reserved unplugged sound TOMORROW, presumably due to drummer Brandan Glew's non-availability, as they've played at LopLops plugged in and with Brandan acoustically each in the past. Mike & Tammy should have a solid set in store TOMORROW, so don't miss out! Two solo performers will open the proceedings, including former Din guitarist (and current Eclipse frontman) Curtis McKenzie in his first non-Vape Escape set since resuming his solo career last month.

Curt's a talented artist, as is well known, and it'll be nice to see him at a familiar downtown venue in this setting! As well, Autumn Roots frontman and SaultMusicScene promoter Jeremy Hannah will kick things off in a rare solo set, so come early for his indie rock renditions! This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time TOMORROW, and a $5 cover charge is in effect. See above for more details, and a for a preview, here's a new video of The Din live at last month's Sky's The Limit fundraiser concert at The Tech! This was posted on the band's Facebook page yesterday rather than on YouTube, unusual as it's a performance clip and not comedic. Filmed by Algoma Family Services executive Ali Juma from the front row, the video features The Din playing their song "Out Of My League", but with a twist: Guest rap verses from fellow performer Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow!

Whether you find that The Din needed a rap/rock detour is a matter of taste, but Tristan had good and rapid-fire rhymes here, and I just wish he was a little louder in the mix compared to Mike's singing. Check out this unique rendition below, and if you were hoping to see The Din on Sunday at the cancelled Rock The Border Music Fest, don't miss The Din (well, 2/3rds of them) with Curtis and Jeremy TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops!



Next up, here's one more concert preview for this weekend, as Live705's latest concert goes down THIS SUNDAY NIGHT with a special Father's Day event full of talented performers, including a touring out-of-town band for their first time! That band is Toronto hardcore quartet Speaker, whose aggressive originals and punk essence should provide a solid musical kick to this concert, so don't miss out on their local debut on Sunday! However, Speaker are not the closing band, presumably due to touring commitments, and local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church will instead close out the night like they did at Live705's Easter Bash. Look for more entertaining originals from this fast-rising group! A stacked opening lineup will also include Live705's in-house punk quartet A Dire Setback, fellow newer punk standouts Stegadeth,the Live705 debut of reunited hard rockers Eclipse, indie rock trio The Autumn Roots, and the return of performers from the Soo York City hip hop collective.

For reference sake, the Facebook event page confirms that the S.Y.C. rappers on Sunday will be St. James (returning from Live705's Soo Art Rocks! event), Universal Language, and Big Kowgs, though no word on if DJ Seith will be spinning vinyl to back them up again and/or providing mixes between bands. An 18+ event (not a typo, under 19 attendees can get in with wristbands again) beginning at 7:05 PM, admission is $10 at the door unless you have a $2-off voucher, but there are two ways to get in for $5: Confirm that you are a dad (it is Father's Day, after all!), or bring a ticket bought for Sunday's cancelled Rock The Border Music Fest, so if you're still bummed or annoyed over that event, you can still see bands rocking the Soo on Sunday night, and for cheap! Another varied night of local entertainment is in store for fans on Sunday, including Live705's first toe in the water of out of town attractions, so don't miss out on all of the action in a couple of days!

For a preview, here's a new video from headliners Electric Church's Facebook page! Streamed live by Bradley Shingwauk at the aforementioned Sky's The Limit fundraiser and only just shared on the band's Facebook page on Tuesday, the video features the guys playing their song that I believe is called "Take Me Away" to close their set, before briefly being interviewed by an Algoma Family Services representative on-stage, which is a regular occurrence at this event. The interviewer asks how long the guys have been a band & the role music plays in their personal lives, and while the answers are a little hard to hear, it's a solid video overall, so give it a look below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Curtis McKenzie), April Wine Concert Updates, And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we kick off our weekend concert previews, just a heads up that LopLops Lounge's website lists an unplugged concert from The Din as taking place there on Saturday night, even though The Din (as far as I can tell) have not acknowledged it publically. Given the lack of promotion from the band, I'm inclined to believe that this show was an old & cancelled plan, but if we are wrong, we'll let you know! Now, let's dive into hard rock concerts that we can confirm for this weekend, and a big update for an upcoming show, but we'll start with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will play his third solo concert at The Vape Escape at 677 MacDonald Avenue TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Tuesday. In case you're not familiar, The Vape Escape is a new lounge and events venue geared towards e-cigarette users that opened last month inside the old Style Studio location at the Dulux Paints-anchored strip mall behind Tim-Br Mart, complete with paid membership available for diehard vapers. I actually lived in the apartments across the road from this complex as a kid (back when the paint store was Bandito Video), and it's nice to see a new business with buzz opening there! The Vape Escape has hosted a few live performances there from DJs or acoustic artists, with Curtis' solo show TOMORROW actually being his third there in the past 5 weeks, having previously played solo matinee concerts there on May 20th & June 9th.

Profuse apologies for missing those, the venue is still unfamiliar to me for coverage, and Curt's solo project had been dormant for a long while before he started playing (regular?) solo gigs there. Suffice to say, expect similar song choices from his band work TOMORROW, and in a personal Facebook video, he's seen breaking out the old Project 421 standby "Breaking the Chains" (by Dokken), so expect some acoustic hard rock action! Whether you vape or not, this show has no cover charge, it has an early 7:00 PM start time, and there is an 18+ age limit. See above for more details, Curt is back in our band links, and hopefully some solo videos turn up publically!

Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts with two more acoustic shows, courtesy of prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly run of shows at Gliss Steak & Seafood TOMORROW & SATURDAY! As his matinee unplugged shows at the Quality Inn's house restaurant march into yet another weekend, fans should expect more quality hard and classic rock renditions over the next two evenings, so don't miss out if you like Tym's solo music or haven't seen him lately! Note that a personal Facebook posting by Tym confirmed that he's going back to thrice weekly gigs at Gliss in the near future (adding Thursday matinees again), as well as taking a vacation weekend off, but we will wait for public confirmation on both before noting either in our listings. Tomorrow & Saturday's shows are at 6:00 PM with no announced cover charge or age limit, but remember the location. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

In a brief detour to Sault Michigan, fans there can take in the return of Traverse City classic metal trio Peril as they rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault's Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Now, we had listed these shows as being for Peril's sister metal band Scarkazm, as varying band and venue sources had contradicted each other regarding which of the two bands was playing this weekend, but Peril are promoting playing this weekend, so my most recent information was either incorrect or changed again. Apologies for any mix-up, I've had to field confusion on these shows since February, but they are 100% now Peril gigs, not Scarkazm! As such, this will be Jeff, Adam, and Brooks' first Rapids Lounge weekend of 2017 (last playing there 9 months ago), so if you've missed their classic covers since then or didn't get to St. Ignace 3 weeks ago, here's your next best chance! If you're dead-set on seeing Scarkazm, they will be at this venue next month.

As usual for Peril's Kewadin gigs (the only ones they seem to play anymore), expect 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live!



Finally, here's a big update for the kickoff show for the Kewadin Shores Casino's summer concert series in St. Ignace on Saturday, June 24th, as Halifax hard rock legends April Wine have been forced to drop out of this show and other surrounding dates due to frontman Myles Goodwyn falling ill. Very disappointing to hear, but hopefully Myles gets well soon, it would have been fun to see them here again! As revealed earlier this week in this SooToday press release, former Runaways guitarist Lita Ford has been promoted to the headlining slot for the concert, while April Wine have been replaced by Jack Russell's Great White, the 2011-launched version of the Los Angeles hard rock quintet best known for hit songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "Call it Rock 'n Roll". Fans may remember seeing Great White at the Soo Kewadin in January 2009, but they've since had an L.A. Guns-like split in two, with frontman Jack Russell reforming his own version of the band separate from the original group.

While I'm sure there are some fans that would prefer seeing the original band with Mark, Audie, Michael and Scott back, this is still Great White with their original frontman, plus classic-era bassist Tony Montana. They should deliver a solid night of tunes, including many familiar songs from Jack's last local stop eight years ago, so keep the new lineup in mind for one week from Saturday, and get your tickets (or inquire about refunds if you were set on seeing April Wine) at this link for $18 or $28! That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Electric Church/Speaker concert preview and more news & updates next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Tea Party), A Concert Cancellation, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post for your Tuesday morning, which is by and large devoted to two topics: A major concert cancellation that many were expecting, and a huge LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, but we also have some assorted recent news and notes to take in as well. Now, here's what you need to know!

Juno nominated Windsor hard/world rock trio The Tea Party will headline a FREE & ALL AGES concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Sunday, July 16th! As announced by in a press release on SooToday on Friday, the show is one of 23 free outdoor concerts taking place across Ontario between June 25th and September 17th as part of the Government of Ontario's ONTour concert series, which will see over 50 Ontario music acts playing across the province to celebrate Ontario's 150th' birthday, with the Soo's coming fourth in the tour. This is a nice surprise for music fans across the province, so visit the above links for current details on the tour so far! This will be The Tea Party's first local concert appearance since headlining at The Princess Theatre in 1998, before they had their biggest chart hit with "Heaven Coming Down", so this should be a cool chance to hear these Canadian rock legends playing many of their hits on a local stage after 19 years away, and for FREE!

A diverse opening lineup will include Toronto drum & bass duo Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (who played at LopLops Lounge back in 2011) and Barrie country quartet The James Barker Band in their local concert debut. Both bands have had top 10 hits on the Canadian alternative and country charts, and should find solid audiences of their own next month! A 6:00 PM start time is advertised on the Facebook event page, and for readers elsewhere in the north, note that there will be ONTour events in Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins, and Blind River as well, artists to be announced. This sounds like a great time for local music fans of varying genres, especially given The Tea Party's return, so stay tuned for updates if they come in!

Next up, it is now 100% official: the planned Rock The Border Music Fest at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion on Sunday is not taking place. Organizers quietly deleted the official Facebook page and event page yesterday, following a tumultuous month of no new public updates despite mounting local debate and pessimism about the planned concert. Australian hard rockers and planned co-headliners The Lazys confirmed the cancellation on their Facebook page, while planned local openers The Din took their issues and concerns public via the Facebook video below from this past Friday. The clip explains The Din's reasons for dropping out of the show (which hadn't officially been cancelled at that point), noted that they've obtained refund money for outstanding local tickets from March's aborted Quiet Riot concert from the same promoters, and encouraged fans to instead check out the Electric Church/Speaker concert at The Canadian on Sunday from local promoters Live705.

It's worth noting that if you purchased a Rock the Border Fest ticket, Live705 will honour them as coupons for their show on Sunday night, getting you admitted for the $5 father's discount price, which is very admirable of them! The Din encourage sharing of their video "if you value this city's ability to bring in big name concert acts". Also, note that the Eventbrite page for online ticket sales is still up as of Tuesday morning, despite the Facebook deletions, so don't buy tickets there hoping that this show might still occur. I won't single out any individual promoters here, but after two high profile hard rock cancellations in a three month span, it's easy to see why there's been so much online reticence in the past month, and the lack of public updates since May 7th was telling that something was up (at the very least.) Give The Din's video a look below, and don't miss Live705's Canadian Nightclub concert on SUNDAY or the aforementioned FREE Tea Party concert at The Pavilion in July!



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

• Local alternative/hard rock quartet Bizotic, alt-punk/no-genre trio Handsome Sandwich, and rapper Mikey Thomas have all been added as openers for the Vaultry-headlined concert at The Canadian Nightclub on July 7th. Promoters Live705 had originally only planned for 2 more acts on the bill of this rock/rap hybridization event, but now there's 7 total acts, including 4 bands and 3 rappers. Very intriguing event to be sure, so check the above links for full details on all of the action next month!
• This past Thursday night's CKY concert was covered by SooToday's Donna Hopper in this article posted online yesterday, featuring interview remarks with frontman Chad Ginsburg on his move to lead vocals and their upcoming CD "The Phoenix". As usual, Donna got some great photos at the show (albeit in black & white), including 5 of CKY's set, 10 of The Wild's set, and 4 of Jack Spades' set, though she didn't get anything from A Dire Setback or with CKY touring keyboardist Matt Cole. Solidly done once again, so check out Donna's new concert photos and coverage at the above links!
• Remember how Toronto death/groove metal quintet Sludgehammer were to have headlined the postponed Oddzfest II concert at The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday? Well, it was announced on Sunday that Bear Hunters guitarist Josh Stephney (the promoter of Oddzfest II) has replaced Chris Szarota as Sludgehammer's new frontman! No word on if the reveal would have been a surprise unveiling on Saturday or not had the show taken place, but it's great to see Josh singing again in a death metal band, so follow Sludgehammer above, and hopefully he brings them north for Oddzfest II at some point!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for even more news and notes on the SMS in the next few days! Thanks everyone!

CKY Concert Videos, Plus New Electric Church Footage!!

Today's all-video post largely comes from the CKY concert at The Canadian Nightclub this past Thursday night, but there is one more video of another local band to round things out with at post's end, so let's get things rolling! These new CKY videos all come from the ever-prolific Christopher Paci's YouTube channel, as he filmed 10 videos of 3 of the night's bands, which were all posted on Friday! Sadly, he didn't get anything from A Dire Setback's opening set, but kudos again for him getting all of this! 7 of Chris' clips are of the Pennsylvania alt-metal headliners in action, including of their songs "Flesh Into Gear", "Days of Self Destruction", "96 Quite Bitter Beings", "Knee Deep", and "My Promiscuous Daughter", their cover of G.G. Allin's "Bite It You Scum", and as embedded below, their set-opening tracks "The Human Drive (In Hi-Fi)" & "Sporadic Movement". Solid clips as usual, especially given the central camera angle, and attendee heads aren't a massive factor given the band's on-stage setup!

You can also hear Chad Ginsburg's singing better here, at least from my perspective, as from my position at the far right corner of the floor near the stage, I was fighting to hear him over the raucous crowd at times. Give Chris' CKY footage a look above & below!



Next up, Chris posted two videos from co-headlining Kelowna southern hard rock quartet The Wild's set, including their opener "Roadhouse" and, as embedded below, "Party Till You're Dead". Similar camera angle to CKY, but given the lesser numbers on the floor, he had more room to change angles, and The Wild's rollicking brand of hard rocking originals come through nicely on these clips, so check them out above & below too!



Chris' remaining video is of returning local openers Jack Spades playing their usual set opening songs "They Live" and "Rise", giving fans their first ever glimpse of their 4/5ths new lineup in action. Intense as usual (new lineup or not), the new look Jack Spades got things rolling nicely here, and just if you were wondering, J.D. Pearce sang most of "They Live" in the crowd, in case you're wondering where he was. Give both songs a listen below, and don't miss Jack Spades at The Rockstar Bar in just under two weeks!



Finally, here's a new video from a separate concert, plus one more clip, from local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church's Facebook page! One video was quietly posted as a live stream on May 12th (apologies for missing it), and it features the guys jamming instrumentally at, presumably, a band member's home. Unfortunately, the filmer shot most of the video sideways, and as it was a live stream, they couldn't fix it beforehand, but the guys sound good if you can look past the angle! Their other new video is a minute-long black & white clip from the Sky's The Limit mental health fundraiser concert at The Tech last month, I believe of their song "Carey Baby". Solid footage, if a little smoky looking in the monochrome haze, so give it a look below, and don't miss Electric Church at The Canadian Nightclub THIS SUNDAY NIGHT alongside Speaker and other local bands!



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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Highest Of Fives

Now, let's tackle this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we again spotlight a randomly selected local metal, hard rock, or punk band that (while no longer active) deserves a modern spotlight for current SMS readers! This month, we're looking at a notable Sault Michigan band that definitely thought outside of the box during their run in the early 2010s, and featured many familiar faces, so here's what you should know!
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The Highest of Fives

Genre: Hard/Alternative Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (Note that member fluidity after their 2012 relaunch was common, allowing for frequent member absences and instrument role changes as a result, though at last public word, no credited band members ever left the group before falling inactive. Also, some official sources credited Marcel Grengs & "Crusty Puck" as two separate band members during their run, as they appeared separately in their short film clips, though his alter ego wasn't a secret.)

Mitch Goetz (415E, Intrepid, Hoist the Sails), vocals/guitar
Travis Theel (Hoist the Sails), vocals/guitar
Marcel "Crusty Puck" Grengs (Hoist the Sails, Analog Deficiency), guitar/bass
Devin Anderson (The Balsam Brothers, Free Refill, 415E), guitar/drums
Jack Slater (415E, Unleashed, 7/47), bass
Mike Pascoe (Free Refill, 7/47), drums

Audio/Video: An unusually ambitious group during their local run, The Highest of Fives once had a number of comedic videos, musical performances, and teasers for a linked debut EP and short film, though after their demise, most of their material was deleted for unannounced reasons. What little surviving media there is can primarily be seen at Travis Theel's YouTube channel, aside from Devin Anderson's copy of their studio song "Take My Time". Travis posted numerous performance videos on his channel, some with H.O.F. bandmates, and some featuring songs intended for the group. Here's the band's sole publically surviving music video, for their song "Look How Far We've Come" from September 2013!



Info/Analysis: Formed by Guitar Studio rock camp alumni (initially sans Travis & Marcel) and named after a "How I Met Your Mother" reference, The Highest of Fives first came onto our radars with hard rock cover performances at the Sugar Island Music Festival and Relay For Life in the summer of 2011. After taking a 6 month hiatus, the guys returned in March 2012 as a fluid six-piece collective, and changed to a wider focus beyond live concert sets, planning to release an EP and comedy short film (each titled "Bang!"). Released music videos, particularly with material sung by Travis, also took on a softer tone than the guys had previously performed. Despite likeable teasers and segments from the "Bang!" film being posted over a 2 year period, and a June 2014 release date being announced, Highest of Fives updates ceased by the fall of that year, and many members later moved from the area, though Mitch Goetz still plays live locally as a bassist with 415E.

With a lot of clear talent, imagination, and chemistry, it is a shame that The Highest of Fives' best laid plans never fully got off the ground in their three year run! I can't speak musically for their 2011 shows, but from what I saw and remember of their late era music, they were a solid group with a lot of varying styles, often led by Travis' quality clean singing, though hard rock fans will have preferred their earliest gigs. The collective approach of the guys as multimedia artists really set them apart in the local scene of the early 2000s, and their "Bang!" teaser videos were often genuinely funny, but hopefully the final product can be posthumously released!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we're heading back to Sault Ontario for our first in a three band run from this side of the border, and our 100% random selection has given us T-Rex Manning, the early 2010s punk/metal quartet that begat Stegadeth and Jack Spades! Look for that on or around July 10th, and stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

CKY/The Wild Concert Review!!

It's finally time to review Thursday night's CKY concert at The Canadian Nightclub! In case you're wondering, this month's Defunct Local Band Profile will be our next post, either tonight or early tomorrow. Thursday's show had a very solid turnout of attendees, and while I have seen more packed concerts at The Canadian, the crowd reception and raucousness steadily grew throughout the night, and it was a cool atmosphere to be in! Just in case you missed our preview of this show, note that the reunited As It Stands quietly dropped out of the show and were not replaced, so this show ended by midnight, unusually early for a 19+ event, which could be good or bad depending on who you ask.

Opening Thursday night's festivities were local alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, who maintained their forward momentum with a solid set of original material! No major surprises for fans compared to prior sets of theirs (aside from maybe bassist Matt Quinn's new green mohawk), but fans of songs like "Catastrophe", "Kicking & Screaming", and "Nightmares" will be pleased to hear that they sounded great and had no visible flubs or fatigue! Larry Babic was on point vocally, Matt handled the bass nicely throughout the set, and guitarist Chris Nielsen was his usual energetic self, and while there weren't high numbers on the floor for their set, responses were high from the crowd between songs. Solid way to kick off the night, and don't miss A Dire Setback one week from tomorrow when they rock the border opening for Speaker at The Canadian!

Next up was the long awaited return of local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades to the stage for the first time since the SNFU show in September, as they publically unveiled their 80% new lineup for the first time! First off, who was the mystery man replacing Johnny Belanger behind the drum kit? None other than Project 421/Eclipse drummer Chris Thompson, making him the only person to join J.D. Pearce as a member of Fitswitch, Frightlight, and Jack Spades. Very solid and fitting choice, and he held up things well on Thursday! Of course, new guitarist Daniel Horton is also in the same 3 bands as Chris, and if you were curious, he and fellow new hire Anthony Orazietti more or less split lead guitar duties, with both showcasing quality solos. As for new bassist Steve Shaw, while I'm more familiar with his guitar work with Talk Shit, he performed well on Thursday and fit in with the guys! In terms of the set proper, it was somewhat rushed, but most of their standard originals were worked in to the proceedings!

Fan favourites like "Rise", "Fear Corps", and "Motorwolf" (with vocal cameo by ex-guitarist Jesse Cook) were joined by a surprise cover of The Inner City Surfers's old song "Ten Commandments", which was very cool to hear! Local bands should cover other local bands more often. There were occasional hiccups and timing miscues with the new lineup musically on Thursday, but for what was their first show together, this was a solid first look at Jack Spades 2.0, and don't miss them opening for Beaver Slap later this month!

Co-headlining on Thursday were Kelowna, British Columbia southern hard rock quartet The Wild, and to many fans, they stole the show with their old school-tinged brand of rock 'n roll! Any comparisons to Jackyl held up very nicely with their rollicking originals like "Ready to Roll" and "Roadhouse", and they even added extra flourishes, like matching denim vests, some synchronized guitar moves on stage, and the extended faux-song endings on "Banger". I was reminded in ways of when Wilson opened for Jess Margera's other band Fuckface Unstoppable here in 2013, though The Wild had more of the retro flavour. Dylan Villain's got an almost deceptively strong voice, and he and The Kid complimented each other nicely on guitar, while Boozus' bass work was just as impressive as his beard! Very solid set from The Wild, and yes, you can say that it was wild too! Hopefully they come back through the Soo!

And finally, your headliners were Pennsylvania alt-metal trio CKY in their first ever local stop, and they delivered a very fun set to cap off the evening with! Playing a mixture of familiar older songs like "Attached At The Hip" and "Knee Deep" as well as a few new selections like "Days of Self Destruction", the guys even broke out a couple of surprise covers, including GG Allin's "Bite It You Scum" and.... "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & The Gang?! Apparently, they'd never played that cover live before Thursday. One of the big questions that CKY diehards had before this show was how guitarist Chad Ginsburg would sound on lead vocals in place of the departed Deron Miller, and while he doesn't have the same range or projection (particularly on "Flesh Into Gear"), he can carry a tune well, and believe me, fans in the crowd picked up any needed slack! Though everyone was well spaced on stage, he and Matt Deis had solid chemistry, and Jess Margera's drumming was reliably good!

Also, props to new touring keyboardist Matt Cole (also Jess' uncle and Gnarkill bandmate), who filled things out with some understated but well performed contributions himself. Overall, CKY put on a great show, as did the openers, and kudos to J.D. for putting this huge show on! You can check out our photos from the show at this link or via our Facebook page, and as for our videos, here's A Dire Setback covering OneRepublic's "Counting Stars", Jack Spades' new lineup playing "Breakneck Speed", The Wild playing "Banger", and CKY playing "Rio Bravo"!









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