Let's wrap up this weekend's known hard rock concert previews on the site today, along with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (two on SHORT NOTICE), and some new live videos from bands discussed therein, so here's what you should know on this Friday evening!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for traditional concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed these dates on their Facebook page yesterday, and yes, they did host their usual (Cameron-less) jam night at Jay's last night as well. Last seen pulling a "triple decker weekend" at Jay's a month ago, TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows should be another solid opportunity for fans to enjoy their classic and hard rock cover slate, but there is more afoot than just the music for TOMORROW'S festivities. In honour of the one year anniversary of Jay Scott's purchase of the former Reggie's West (it was actually sold in late October 2022), customers are encouraged to wear Jay's-branded clothing and to enjoy a complimentary lunch spread that day, and a Budweiser barbecue will be given away TOMORROW as well.
Congratulations go out to Jay on a successful first year with the Korah Road venue, and it does sound like things are going well overall, which hopefully extends to TOMORROW'S festivities! That show and TONIGHT'S have 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!
Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will return to the stage for shows at Reggie's Place on Friday, November 24th & Saturday, November 25th! Announced via their Facebook page on Monday, this will be Double Down's first concert weekend since rocking Jay's in mid-October, and their first shows at Reggie's in over two months. This talented local supergroup doesn't play live as often as some of their rock cover cohorts in town, but they deliver the goods with a nicely stocked setlist, so don't miss out next weekend! Expect 9:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges next week. Visit the above links for more details, and while we're on the subject, Double Down were filmed in a 43 minutes long live-stream at their show at Jay's on October 14th! This was filmed by Beej Syrette, who has shot prior videos of them for their Facebook page.
This appears to capture almost their entire second set from 10:30 PM onward, and in order, the guys covered The Tragically Hip's "Looking For A Place To Happen" (though broken up midway through on Beej's end), The Stampeders' "Wild Eyes", Deep Purple's "Gettin' Tighter", Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" (extended with band introductions), Free's "All Right Now", Sloan's "Money City Maniacs", Big Wreck's "That Song", and Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain". Vocals-wise, Adam King handled The Stampeders, Deep Purple, and Free, while Joel Syrette tackled Daft Punk, Sloan, and Big Wreck, and bassist Brad Stephen sang on the Hip and Prince covers to bookend this set. Brad didn't sing lead at all at their Rotaryfest set in July (their last 40+ minute concert video), so his vocal inclusion here is nice to see! Double Down sounded good on the video from last month, and credit to Beej for the quality on his end!
The table at the beginning and the skip during the opening Hip cover weren't ideal, but everything else was crisp and clean, and it is good seeing Double Down cover so much Canadian content in their sets, with half of the eight songs being from domestic bands. Give this video a watch above & below, and don't miss Double Down at Reggie's next weekend!
Finally, here's the last known hard rock concert preview for this weekend, as local party metal band The Apocalypse Afterparty will headline a rare all-local show for them TOMORROW NIGHT at Soo Blaster! Yes, I am aware of a gig that they're opening at the same venue next month, we await firm public confirmation of the lineup. Speaking of lineups (in-band ones), The Apocalypse Afterparty will reportedly debut Vanity First/Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto as their new second bassist for the first time at a public event, and it'll be interesting to see how he fits the group, but longtime A.A. fans will recall them having a double bass attack in the past! Oddly, they have not publically promoted this show on their Facebook page, but the openers have, including rising young metal trio The BAG and folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore, who hinted on his Facebook page that this will "probably be my last" concert.
Chase had teased stepping back from his prolific solo music career to focus on his personal life after the release of his forthcoming album "The Chaotic Rite", and while I hope that he doesn't 100% retire from the local scene, come out to Soo Blaster tomorrow just in case! Doors open at 7:00 PM for this 19+ concert, and $10 tickets are available through performers, with the price jumping to $15 at the door. Should be a fun time for fans of heavier original local music, so visit the above links for more details, and here's a newly discovered video of The Apocalypse Afterparty live at Broers Jansen for The Fishbowl Festival's closing party in April! Apologies for the delay in this making the site. Uploaded to their Facebook page, the 44 seconds-long clip has heavy visual artifacting that makes it hard to watch, but Paul & Amanda give it their enthusiastic all on this apparent original, so check it out for yourselves below!
That's all for not, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!
Another concert weekend is upon us (it's already started if you count tonight's battle of the bands in Sault Michigan that we previewed yesterday), and luckily, things are busier on the hard rock side of things than they were last week! So much so that there's too many concerts for one post, so Saturday's Apocalypse Afterparty-headlined show at Soo Blaster will instead be previewed in our next post hitting the site tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know to start off the weekend, including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will return to Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant on Queen Street East for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page in the past week, with the venue first plugging it on their Facebook page on Monday. This will be Tym's first publically advertised concert since the breakup of The Nostalgic Band in September, and since the end of his seasonal run at The Trading Post earlier that same month, while he last played an announced gig at Tazzi's back in June. It's good to see Tym back out there in his acoustic element, and if his past Tazzi's concerts are anything to go by, hopefully he has a good turnout for his unplugged classic and hard rock hits TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be an 8:00 PM affair with no cover and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's a new video of Tym live!
Live-streamed by the venue's Facebook page from Tym's show at Tazzi's on April 21st, this unlabelled video has Tym covering Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive". Strong (if abbreviated) cover that suits an unplugged setting nicely, and Tym sings it better than Jon himself on the last Bon Jovi tour! Yes, the video is vertical, but that's fine for a solo performer like this. Give it a look below, and don't miss Tym back here TOMORROW!
Next up, here's some shows that did have advance notice, starting with newer local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! The last show announced by the group back in this Facebook calendar picture back in August (though more dates are coming), this will be their first stop at the Dennis Street nightclub in almost two months. Hopefully Silent 9 deliver a fun night of classic, hard, and pop rock covers for fans downtown tomorrow! Re: their website's concert calendar, 2023 ends with apparent private gigs that don't have listed addresses, but we'll let you know if any end up being public/ticketed events. A one-nighter due to Shooters hosting DJs on most Saturdays this fall, tomorrow's show has a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and a 9:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a new live concert video!
The second video uploaded from Silent 9's Halloween party at The Esquire Club last month, this was belatedly uploaded to their Facebook page on Saturday, and features the band covering Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl". As usual for their official video postings, it's abbreviated (44 seconds long), but it's a good quality recording, and horizontally shot for good measure, with "Wednesday" and crew delivering a solid rendition of this 2000s rock hit! Give it a watch below, and look for more from at Shooters tonight!
Also this weekend, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Bone Yard do not frequently play at this Second Line West staple, but this weekend's shows will see them replacing the previously advertised RPM (source here) as the next live band there. While these will be standard plugged in gigs for Bone Yard, they are teasing having new t-shirts for sale, as well as new official coffee mugs that were plugged via this Facebook video featuring the guys (sans guitarist Alex D'Ettore) waking up and enjoying a cup of coffee as only they can. Alex kinda also participated in the video but I won't spoil how they include him. Amusing promotion, and hopefully they move some mugs this weekend! These 9:30 PM concerts have 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's some new live videos from Bone Yard too!
A band representative live-streamed four videos from their acoustic gig at The Water Tower Pub on November 4th onto their Facebook page, where you can see Greg, Alex, and Warren covering The Charlie Daniels Band's "Long Haired Country Boy" (with Alex on vocals), Kid Rock's "All Summer Long", an instrumental section of what I believe is Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here", and as embedded below, a 9+ minute video featuring Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" & Cinderella's "Shelter Me". The vertical camera angle is not ideal here, but they panned and zoomed where needed, and The Bearded Lounge Bone Yard sound good on these varied covers, so check them out for yourselves above & below!
We'll close this preview post by heading to Sault Michigan, where Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen in our coverage range (an hour's drive from Sault Ste. Marie) when they rocked the St. Ignace Kewadin in September, these will be Jamie & Rikk's first shows in the Soo since April, after they were erroneously listed for gigs at The Rapids Lounge last month on the venue's end. This hard-touring two man band should have a hard hitting attack of covers in store for Eastern U.P. fans this weekend, so don't miss out on all of the action tomorrow and/or Saturday! These shows have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Fyrbird live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for the Apocalypse Afterparty preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Today's post was supposed to meld a couple of disparate topics, but the more I researched the lead story, the more new details I learned about bands playing this event, so we're basically all in on the first post-pandemic battle of the bands in the Twin Saults in this post! Leading off are details on who one of the competing bands is, and lineup updates on another competing at this event, so here's what you should know!
We have a new local hard rock band to add to our links, and they are Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Double Jack! We alluded to them last week when we first covered TOMORROW NIGHT'S first annual community battle of the bands at Lake Superior State University (where Double Jack will make their live debut), but we now know enough about them to add them to our coverage, as given their lineup, it's a safe bet that they'll be up our alley. This is the new band from ex-Tarnished guitarist Nathan Webber & bassist Isaac Royer, who both left that band in August, and it's great to see them sticking together in a new project! They're joined here by ex-Stoned Ape Evolution guitarist Melvin Willis (sans mask) as well as drummer Jackie Moon (real name or Semi-Pro reference, I don't know), and while the band hasn't put their names in writing publically on their Facebook page, personal Facebook posts confirm their lineup. I don't know which member(s) is/are on vocals.
Aside from teasers and the reveal of their mascot in their logo (named "Doug of the Dead"), Double Jack are clearly waiting for their live debut to give away anything re: their live set, but you can be first to learn more tomorrow at Lake Superior State University's first ever community battle of the bands at their on-campus Arts Center! Six local acts will take the stage tomorrow to try to win the $150 top prize ($50 for second place, everyone gets t-shirts for competing), and conveniently, Nathan & Isaac's old band Tarnished will also be competing in the debut of their own new lineup! The guys confirmed on their Facebook page on Tuesday that they have added Parker Talentino as their new bassist, though they have yet to confirm a new rhythm guitarist. While new to our coverage, Parker has a solo Facebook page where he has posted original material with him on vocals & acoustic guitar that you can check out across multiple videos.
While this folksier material is a far cry from Tarnished's sound, he is a talented multi-instrumentalist who will add to the band! Also, Parker appears to be the son of veteran local rock musician Terry Talentino (ex-Chump Change). Tarnished have teased original material and more shows ahead, but come down to LSSU's Arts Center tomorrow to see how Parker does in his first set! Also playing tomorrow night is St. Ignace deathcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown in their first ever public concert in Sault Ste. Marie city limits, giving an all-too rare taste of extreme metal from a local band on the American side of the border, so don't miss them either! The other full band playing tomorrow is new local punk quartet The Sole Aggressors, who debuted at Bird's Eye Outfitters in August (video here), but their online presence is more cryptic, with no proper social media pages beyond Instagram and no publically listed lineup.
Talented young group, especially given that they play hardcore punk in Sault Michigan, which is not common for that side of the border, so don't bypass them tomorrow night either! The battle lineup is rounded out by two solo singer/guitarists, namely Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Kevin Blakeney and rising young Dafter solo artist Molly Escherich. Can one person outperform four 3+ member bands? Find out tomorrow, but solo musicians winning battles of the bands is not impossible! Tomorrow's battle is a fan voted event with no judges, and votes will be cast by putting your ballots in marked boxes for each act. Bands will get 15 minute sets to perform, and the festivities begin tomorrow at 7:00 PM. This is absolutely an all ages event, with tickets running for $10 (adults) or $5 (kids), while current Lake Superior State University students with valid student ID will get in free.
It's great to see a battle of the bands in Sault Ste. Marie again, let alone on the Michigan side, and while I do prefer a judges panel with criteria to a popularity contest, beggars can't be choosers given how rare battles are across the river. Most of these acts are not mainstays of public concerts in Sault Ste. Marie, so it will be very interesting to see how things go (especially the Tarnished civil war), and I do hope that someone is filming the proceedings! Best of luck to all six acts, and to avoid any favouritism given the event's nature, I'll refrain from a preview video, but all but Double Jack have live performance video online. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
We're back with a new news post on this Monday morning, and it's half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and half to bands newly moved to our inactive band links. Here's what you should know!
As is usual for LopLops Lounge (at least in years not ravaged by a pandemic), the Queen Street East nightclub is ramping up their concert slate for the holiday season, partly due to their 20th anniversary and recently announced grand re-opening on a more regular pre-pandemic schedule. These include six newly announced dates in December plus the previously announced Fuller reunion concert on the 28th ($20 tickets are now on sale on Eventbrite!). Of these new shows, two fit the SMS' genre range, starting with online page-less alternative/punk cover quintet Bookclub, who will headline at LopLops on Friday, December 15th! Barring an interim show announcement, this will be Bookclub's first show since frontman Mikey Hawdon's pre-wedding party at Soo Blaster earlier this month, and will be an encore to the Christmas show that they shared with The Wyld Stallyns at LopLops in December 2022.
If a second band (The Stallyns or otherwise) are announced or added for the show next month, we'll let you know, but current Facebook advertising only credits Bookclub. That show was Bookclub's second period, so with a year of gigs since, things should be bigger and better for them on the 15th next month! Tickets run for the oddly specific price of $18 (plus online processing fees if bought on Eventbrite), while 10 person "party ticket" packages are available for $180 that also include (presumably alcoholic) drinks. Things start at the early-ish time of 8:00 PM and this is obviously a 19+ event. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!
Next up, the other SMS-amenable LopLops show taking place next month will see local indie punk quintet The Northwest return to the stage on Friday, December 22nd! This will surprisingly be The Northwest's first public concert since the Go North Music Festival in Richards Landing in July, and their first in city limits since May. While I don't know why they've been so quiet in 2023, hopefully they deliver a solid night of original favourites as they mark their 10th anniversary together! No word on why all of LopLops' advertising omits the "The" tacked onto The Northwest's name in 2021, but note that the band proper has yet to publically acknowledge this show on their Facebook page. Similarly, personal Facebook postings do indicate that a known local band will be opening for them on December 22nd, but their identity has not been publically confirmed online by them, The Northwest, or the venue at press time.
Both this and the Bookclub show above are 19+ affairs with 8:00 PM start times, but The Northwest show will be a cheaper night out, with $10 tickets (plus the usual added fees) available at this link, and another "party ticket" deal with included drinks available for $100 for a party of 10. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and see above for much more on LopLops' packed concert calendar next month!
We'll close today with two bands moved to our inactive band links, starting with local Foo Fighters tribute band The Soo Fighters, who have went over one year since their last public activity, last being seen opening for Metallica tribute band Sandman at Soo Blaster in October of last year. After playing two gigs in the fall of 2017, frontman Jules Cote (and his Dave Grohl wig) resurrected The Soo Fighters with a series of new lineups starting in the fall of 2019, with guitarist Wes Greco joining him throughout alongside three different rhythm sections, also later adding backing vocalist Nicole Ambeault. Revival era-concerts also included J.D. Pearce's final Halloween party at The Rockstar Bar in 2019, the 2021 & 2022 Northern Vibe Festivals, and a Rockstar Bar return for Halloween 2021 with their then-sister band Lockdown.
Given the nature of The Soo Fighters, they could theoretically pop up again at any time (especially around Halloween), but it does seem like Jules & Nicole have put more focus on his current pop rock cover bands like Bourbon Blue and Nicky & The Southpaws, not to mention final bassist & drummer Mitch Sirie & Johnny Belanger's work in Handsome Sandwich & The Bear Hunters. Still, despite frequent lineup changes (I counted twelve band members across their seven publically advertised gigs), The Soo Fighters always had a crowd-friendly grasp on Foo Fighters classics, so hopefully we see them again down the line, and R.I.P., Chris!
Finally, the other band moved to our inactive link is local classic metal/hard rock cover trio The Nostalgic Band, who have reportedly dissolved, as per bassist Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg on their Facebook group two weeks ago. Dutch explained that he and drummer Chet Dziergas left the group, but I'll refrain from elaborating here other than nothing that there were personal differences. Originally named Nostalgia, this group reunited Dutch with his old Caveman Morrison bandmate Tym Morrison (in his first full band project in seven years), and proceeded to play a number of gigs on the weekend nightclub circuit between May and September, last seen at Reggie's midway through that month. Despite announcing gigs into 2024 at three different venues, including a weekly jam night series at Reggie's, all of their announced bookings from late September onward were abruptly cancelled.
While Dutch suggested that the group be taken down due to their breakup (he was one to delete Facebook pages of bands that he fronted after they disbanded), Tym leaving the group up may be a sign that he wants to keep it going in some form, but that's just speculation on my part. The Nostalgic Band were a solid group with seemingly good chemistry, and I can only hope that things aren't as bad as they seemed between the guys. Stay tuned for more from Tym, Dutch, and Chet when/if it comes out, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
Here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we again shine a (Convoy C8?) flashlight on a local metal, hard rock, or punk band from the past, as randomly selected from our band links! This month's random selection takes us to Michigan for the final time in 2023, for a prominent but all-too-short-lived group from a decade+ ago, so here's what you should know on them!
Audio/Video: Despite writing and performing original songs like "Die In Disgrace", "Drunk", and "Slow Rock 75" during their heyday, and planning to work on a debut album in 2012, Half A Man never released a formal album as such, though demo CDs were once distributed at live events circa 2011. A plentiful amount of videos (live concert recordings and in-studio jams alike) can be found on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel, as well as Erik's personal YouTube channel. Here's Half A Man's best known four-piece lineup playing "Life Goes On"!
Info/Analysis: Launched in 2009 and debuting on regional stages in 2010, Half A Man were one of the most prominent original metal bands in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula of the decade, despite a relatively brief run as in-concert mainstays. Named after band members' coincidentally timed hand injuries upon forming, the band's best known lineup featured Erik, Denny, Gary, and Mikey, and they were seen at multiple regional nightclubs throughout 2010 into early 2011, as well as via a 2012 Rock 101 interview. The band took an extended break from the stage after Denny left the group in mid-2011, with the subsequent addition of Infathom's Dillion Semasky on vocals not going very far. As a trio (which I jokingly dubbed "3/8ths A Man"), Half A Man would only return to the stage for the annual LemmaFest memorial concerts in Sault Ste. Marie in June 2012 & 2013, after which they quietly dissolved.
Erik continues to use Half A Man's Facebook page sporadically to stream videos promoting Yooperlites (yes, he is that Erik Rintamaki), while private jam session reunions of the band have been teased. Though Erik has far outshone his local band work via Yooperlites and rock hunting, Half A Man were an impressive band whose Black Label Society-reminiscent sound and gritty, in-your-face attack definitely left an impression on Yooper metalheads, and the guys always had good chemistry during their all-too-brief existence, aided by Mikey's skilled technical drumming. Hopefully Half A Man return in some form when the time is right, but follow Yooperlites to learn about these glowing rocks and where to find them!
I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We're heading north to Sault Ontario to end 2023 in this series, and we're ending the year with another big band, namely defunct early-mid 2010s hard rock/grunge quartet Haggith! Convenient timing having just covered their old sister band The Din last month, but remember that I literally use Random.org to pick acts profiled in this series, and things just line up well once in a while. Look for this profile on or around December 10th, and for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this weekend's concert previews, just a heads up on a pair of cancelled concerts for this weekend. Firstly, local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns are not playing at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tomorrow, and have been replaced by local country cover band Tex Riviera & The Ride, as per updates to the Facebook event page (it wasn't deleted, it was just completely rebranded for a different group). A reason for The Stallyns' withdrawal was not announced, but hopefully nothing too serious happened, and that we see this talented sextet back soon! As well, the Just Leppard/Saturday Night Special concert at Soo Blaster on Saturday was also quietly cancelled, as per the Facebook event page & the deletion of its EventBrite page. As I recall, "unforeseen circumstances" were cited for the cancellation on the (now deleted) paid Facebook advertising. Shame to see, as Just Leppard went over well in prior local gigs!
Hopefully we'll get our Def Leppard and Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute fix again down the line, but alas, these cancellations wipe out most of this weekend's known hard rock concerts (November is always quiet after Halloween, but not this quiet, pandemic years aside!) Of course, we'll let you know if anything short notice or bypassed comes up.
This is a light concert weekend to be sure, so before getting too far ahead, I wanted to offer my profuse apologies for a concert that we missed covering on the SMS this past Saturday, at The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan, a venue that we haven't talked about in ages on here! I was told about it in e-mails by musicians affiliated with the concert, but between the busy Halloween season and personal commitments, it completely slipped through the cracks and I apologize again for that, especially as it was a rare multi-band show with touring acts in Sault Ste. Marie proper! The show featured sets from Grand Rapids/Muskegon hardcore punk band Cell Rush, Grand Rapids experimental/synth solo project Dick Texas, Escanaba indie/minimalist band The Hell Town Trio, Muskegon alt-punk band Ledhead, and a surprise reunion of online page-less local hard rock band The Karstens.
The show was promoted under the name Serious Business, with poster design credited to Lucid Pixels. Once again, I profusely apologize for not covering this show on the SMS, it's certainly not every day when touring bands (plural) play at a local concert, let alone one not affiliated with Kewadin Casino, but hopefully it was a hit and encourages more smaller touring bands to come to Sault Michigan, let alone play at The Satisfied Frog! It still surprises me that they don't really have a social media presence. If The Karstens, Serious Business, or The Satisfied Frog have more public material to announce, I hope to address it on time!
Now let's dive into known and publically advertised hard rock concerts in the Soo area this weekend.... all two of them, as new local classic/hard rock quintet HeadFirst will play their first ever public concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! The new group from ex-Raincourt guitarist Raine Rancourt and ex-Them drummer Anthony Boudreau, HeadFirst will bring their retro inspired brand of rock covers to this downtown staple this weekend, and it will be very interesting to see how things go for this group of talented rising musicians! If you can't make it this weekend, HeadFirst's third announced public gig will be at Toystock on November 26th. These two concerts have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's HeadFirst's ...first video of them in action!
That's surprisingly it for verifiable hard rock concerts currently advertised in the Twin Saults, but a familiar local band will actually be hitting the road next weekend for their first ever tour run! Local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich will venture beyond the Algoma District for shows in Sudbury and Oshawa next week (each city is linked to the respective Facebook event page), before playing in Ottawa and Cornwall over the January 19th weekend, details forthcoming. The Sudbury show will actually have local relevance beyond the close-ish 4 hour drive to The Townehouse Tavern, as Jesse & Johnny's old Jack Spades bandmate Tiffany Stocco will open for them next Friday with her current punk band The Knuckle City Dusters. Good to see her still rocking out! The Sudbury show is a headlining gig, but the next night's concert at The Atria will be in support of Oshawa metal band Dead Silence.
To promote the upcoming tours, the band (minus the guitarists) appeared in this Facebook video on Monday, and with their song "Shiver" as background noise, the guys promoted the upcoming shows, pointing at the cities' rough locations on a map of the Great Lakes, and noted that official t-shirts & CDs will be on sale. Taylor also noted that they are looking for recommendations of the best sandwich (of course) in each city for them to try. Of course, good luck on the road next weekend, and see above for more details! I can't embed the video here due to Facebook flagging "Shiver" as copyrighted audio. That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!
With The Soo's Got Talent now in the rear view mirror as an event and a post topic, let's dive back into regular news and notes, via LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for Sault Michigan later this month! Both are big in their own distinct way, so here's what you should know in chronological order!
For the first time since the pandemic, a proper battle of the bands will take place in Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday, November 16th! Granted, it is in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, but that will be an extra plus for readers in the E.U.P.! The battle is being put on by Lake Superior State University in their Arts Center next Thursday, and after competitor registrations closed on October 17th (apologies for missing that on here), six regional acts will take to the stage, so who all is competing? Two bands familiar from our coverage are, including local metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished, in what that band is teasing as the debut of their new lineup after playing with fill-in musicians over the past two months. Quite a way to throw the new guys into the fire, but hopefully Alex, Josh, and crew leave a good impression! In their first ever public concert set in Sault Ste. Marie, fans can also check out St. Ignace deathcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown here!
It's great to see H.L.T.C. finally playing in the Soo, and hopefully this is the start of even more shows north of the Mackinac Bridge rather than south of it! We will have more on their new single/music video on the SMS soon. Two more bands that are new to me take to the stage next Thursday, including Double Jack, a debuting rock band who I know nothing definite on aside from one of the band members being named John (if their Facebook contact e-mail is anything to go by). I have a hunch on who might be involved, but I'll wait for public confirmation before jumping the gun. The other band is The Sole Aggressors, a new local punk band (a rare sight from Sault Michigan), who actually debuted at Bird's Eye Outfitters in August and filmed the whole set for their YouTube channel! Like with H.L.T.C.'s new song, I'll save that for an upcoming post, but The Sole Aggressors cover stuff that you never hear in Sault Michigan!
The other two performers next Thursday are solo singer/guitarists, namely Rudyard Musicians Festival regular Kevin Blakeney (click here to see him covering Buffalo Springfield live) and Molly Escherich (click here for recent live videos of hers). Solo musicians can be disadvantaged at battles of the bands, but as Jesse Merineau & M.D. Dunn can confirm from Sault Ontario battles, solo acts can win it all, and it helps that the LSSU battle is fan-voted! Yes, the community will decide who wins rather than judges, with ticket stubs being used to pick the winners via ballot boxes. $150 awaits the winner(s) with $50 for second place, and the winning act will also get their name on a plaque to be displayed at the Arts Center. Acts will get 15 minute sets each to perform. Everything takes place next Thursday at 7:00 PM, and admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids, and free for LSSU students with valid student ID.
Battles of the bands in Sault Michigan aren't unheard of (I remember Tarnished frontman Alex Traynor playing in at least one with his old group Banned), but historically, they are rarer in the E.U.P. than in Sault Ontario. This makes this battle all the neater to see, and hopefully it's a big hit to encourage Lake State to make this an annual event with bigger prize money! Visit the above links for more details on the battle, and kudos to Tarnished for sharing the poster featuring the final competitor lineup on their Facebook page! Best of luck to everyone next week!
Finally for today's all-Sault Michigan post, local classical metal band Theatre of Night will return to the local stage for the first time since the pandemic on Saturday, November 25th when they headline at The Soo Theatre! The first concert we've covered there since their well publicized renovations, this show will be Theatre of Night's first in the E.U.P. since rocking The Dreammaker's Theatre in December 2019, though they did play three shows downstate last year. As per their new Facebook page (their old one got hacked) and website, Theatre of Night will also be playing six public concerts downstate between next weekend and Christmas Eve, with the Soo Theatre gig being show #2 of their fifth Christmas tour (none was held in 2020 or 2021). This will be their first local gig with new bassist Luke Bernard, while in a mild surprise, they have enlisted Marquita Bernard as their new lead singer, replacing Rachel Mender for unannounced reasons.
Hopefully nothing bad happened with Rachel, as her vocals definitely added to the band, but Marquita is a capable musician with teaching experience, and fingers crossed things go well! No word on how she's related to Luke, for the record. This all ages event has no opening bands, a 7:00 PM start time, and admission by donation (they suggest $20). This will be a fun way to kick off the Christmas season, and if you're familiar with Theatre of Night's two Christmas albums and past live dates, you'll know that their metallized carols will draw a strong response! See above for more details, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
Finally, here's the last known hard rock concert preview for this weekend, as local party metal band The Apocalypse Afterparty will headline a rare all-local show for them TOMORROW NIGHT at Soo Blaster! Yes, I am aware of a gig that they're opening at the same venue next month, we await firm public confirmation of the lineup. Speaking of lineups (in-band ones), The Apocalypse Afterparty will reportedly debut Vanity First/Ha!ls guitarist Mikhal Muto as their new second bassist for the first time at a public event, and it'll be interesting to see how he fits the group, but longtime A.A. fans will recall them having a double bass attack in the past! Oddly, they have not publically promoted this show on their Facebook page, but the openers have, including rising young metal trio The BAG and folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore, who hinted on his Facebook page that this will "probably be my last" concert.
