LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck), More Weekend Concert Previews, And Bone Yard 225 Updates!!

It's post #2 of this packed slate of hard rock/punk weekend concert previews, so if you're looking for late notice gigs and anything that has an earlier start time tomorrow, check the post below this one. Today's looks at cover bands playing tomorrow and Saturday night, along with a cancellation, a video from that same band, and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS from a band playing this weekend, so here's what you should know!

We'll start at The Esquire Club, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to the stage TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These will be Soundcheck's first shows at the Second Line West nightclub since playing there for consecutive weekends last month, and are the last shows on the venue's early 2024 concert calendar shared on Facebook back in January. Now, drummer Glen Thomas elaborated on the band's future plans in a post on their Facebook page yesterday, noting that they're ending their run as jam night hosts at Jay's Piston Broke Pub after tonight, as singer/guitarist Terry Eaton "needs a breather from them". Jam nights will continue at Jay's with different band(s), and while we await confirmation, remember that we don't cover jam nights regardless of host band due to their in-built unpredictability. Come on down to Jay's tonight to send Terry, Jim, and Glen off!

Glen also indicated that this weekend's shows might be the last at The Esquire Club before the venue goes on a summer break from hosting bands, but I haven't seen confirmation of that beyond what Glen said. In the above post, Glen also revealed some brand new dates for the Canada Day long weekend, including their return to The Water Tower Pub on Friday, June 28th! As the venue historically has different bands each night, Soundcheck will play elsewhere on Saturday the 29th, specifically an event in Echo Bay just outside of town. Glen didn't elaborate, but after some digging, I can confirm that Soundcheck are playing at The Elks Lodge as the musical entertainment after day #2 of this year's Elks Bay Days Slo-Pitch Tournament! As best as I can tell, this is publically attendable, so keep it in mind if you want to enjoy their classic and hard rock covers on the outskirts of town, and/or the slo-pitch baseball action!

Lastly, Soundcheck will reportedly return to the Soo on Sunday the 30th to rock this year's Cruisin' The Dub car show at the newer A&W on Great Northern Road, but I am going to hold off on plugging that for now as I have not found any public advertising for it from organizers despite its scope. Stay tuned, even if it's late notice! This weekend's two Esquire Club shows are at 9:30 PM, next weekend's publically confirmable events are both at 9:00 PM, none have an advertised cover charge (unless you're in the slo-pitch tournament), and I'd assume that all are 19+. Visit the above links for more on Soundcheck's busy end of June, and for a preview of this weekend's Esquire Club shows, here they are live!

Next up, we'll transition from one of this year's Rotaryfest Stage 1 closing bands to another, as fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will play a double-header at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at this or any other venue last month, these will be the fourth and fifth shows with Beej Syrette on guitar, and hopefully he's settled into a good groove by now with his new band, even if we haven't seen public video footage of the band with him yet (shot by him, yes, but not with him performing). No word on if we'll see Double Down anywhere else beforehand, but these should be a good appetizer for when they cap off Rotaryfest's band lineup in four weeks, so prepare for lots of fan friendly hard rock covers then! These are 19+ events with no cover charge and 9:30 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Double Down live last year!

Today's post was supposed to end with a preview of Saturday night's Bone Yard 225 show at Shooters Downstairs Lounge, but that show has quietly been cancelled. The band hasn't plugged it in their recent concert calendar updates, nor have they given a reason why the show was called off, and the venue is instead hosting a DJ and dance party tomorrow and Saturday rather than calling in replacement musicians. Hopefully nothing bad happened with Greg, Alex, and Warren at Shooters, and that we see them back there in the fall! The guys will next rock Reggie's for the Canada Day long weekend. Rather than completely discard Bone Yard from today's post, let's look at the video that I would have previewed their Saturday nighter with, courtesy of their Queen Street Cruise set this past Saturday! As it turns out, the Roberta Bondar Pavilion is the Friday locale after the cruise proper, not where they played for show #2 the next afternoon.

During the show n' shine car show, Bone Yard 225 took to an outdoor stage in front of the waterfront near the Montana's building on Foster Drive, so good thing the weather cooperated! Attendee Marcy Catherine live-streamed the guys covering Alice Cooper's "Be My Lover" for her personal Facebook page, which the band shared to their Facebook page after the fact, and while it is unfortunately vertical, the clear weather and close vantage point are to this video's benefit, let alone a cover that you don't hear often here from Bone Yard or anyone else! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from your local 225!

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our It's The Pits, Inconsistent Me, and Bookclub concert previews tomorrow to cap off this very busy weekend preview slate! Thanks everyone!