LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Tripod The Dog), Plus Exploring Detritus Updates!!

Another news post here on this Saturday morning, including big updates from a resurgent local death metal band, but let's lead off with two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the Victoria Day long weekend! Yes, one of these shows was moved out of yesterday's post due to last night's ultra short notice Wyld Stallyns concert, so let's pick up where we left off!

Local hard rock/ska trio Tripod The Dog will return to The Esquire Club as part of their Saturday matinee series on May 21st! This show was confirmed via the venue's Facebook page on Thursday, though note that the modern day Tripod The Dog do not have a known social media page to promote their shows with (their 2007-2008 Facebook group was not primarily administrated by any current members). This will be Tripod The Dog's third and final date in the Second Line West nightclub's four month series of Saturday matinee concerts, following shows on March 26th & April 16th, which I again apologize for missing for coverage at the time. Also known as Buckets, Bands, and Birds to tie into buffalo wing & drink specials on Saturdays, the series ends in June before The Esquire Club takes a summer break from live bands in advance of a projected return to Friday & Saturday night concerts in the fall, pandemic willing.

As with other shows in their Buckets, Bands, and Birds series, Tripod are on at 3:00 PM on May 21st, there is no announced cover charge, and while the timing may not immediately scream 19+, remember the locale. Hopefully Mark and company have another fun night of rock tunes in store for fans in the west end in two weeks' time, and visit the above links for more details!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will also be in live concert action on Saturday, May 21st, specifically when they return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge! The band has not confirmed this date on their own Facebook page at press time, but Shooters did the honours via this Facebook event page on Wednesday as part of a slate of Saturday-only show announcements through early June. One of the first bands to play at Shooters in their 2022 expansion into live music bookings, Soundcheck's shows at the Dennis Street nightclub in March and last month were well received, and while I don't know if there's a firm agreement for them to play there once a month, keep their imminent return in mind, especially over the long weekend! This one-nighter has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and don't miss Soundcheck at Reggie's TONIGHT!

Finally, here's the latest from relaunched local death metal band Exploring Detritus, who have expanded to a quintet by adding some very familiar faces! First, the band announced on April 27th that they had enlisted Bear Hunters guitarist/Handsome Sandwich bassist Mitch Sirie as their new frontman, replacing the already departed Joey Graham. While Mitch is best known as an instrumentalist, his backing work with The Bear Hunters and his legendary vocals on "Squirrel Buddy" are well established, not to mention his singing from his defunct solo projects, so it'll be interesting to see how he handles things as a full time death metal vocalist! In the above statement, the band indicated that Mitch would handle bass with founder Dan Souliere moving back to guitar after temporarily covering bass in their post-reunion materials (Jeph Brown had also previously left), but that's not all!

The band announced yesterday that Mitch's Bear Hunters bandmate Justin Lam had also joined on bass! Mitch will thusly move to guitar, giving the band three guitarists, not unlike The Northwest. Ultra fitting choice given Mitch & Justin's band history together and his own bass skills, so it'll be very interesting to see what becomes of Exploring Detritus 2.0! Now, the presence of half of The Bear Hunters in a different death metal band may give readers some concern as to the future of that band, but I'm not going to rush to call them inactive. Remember, most of their run has seen members doubled up in other projects like Handsome Sandwich, Jack Spades, The Suicide Kings, and Chronic Demonic, and while their activity has definitely slowed down in the 2020s, the pandemic is surely a factor. Unless there's a negative public statement about their status, they'll remain in our active band links until October, one year following their most recent concert.

Lastly from Exploring Detritus' Facebook page, they did post a new video not long after their final lineup update, but it doesn't feature Mitch, Justin, or even Dan. Instead, you'll see guitarist Ryan St. Pierre and drummer Anthony Boudreau jamming an original song for 46 seconds. Sounds promisingly heavy, if from a very tight camera angle, and while the guys are somewhat stiff while we see them, hopefully they'll loosen up more as things naturally progress. Check it out for yourself below, and get more updates from Exploring Detritus at the above links!

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