Article by:
Frank McGwire
The Ashbury Dyke keep the party going with their renditions of classic rock tunes.
(Photo credit: Westman Zone)
Whenever a new venue opens up to facilitate local bands by giving them a stage to perform on in a room that's big enough for a decent sized dance floor and a capacity of just under 100, it's good news for the local music scene. After beeing moth balled for the past few years due to covid among other issues, the Eastside Eatery's social hall has re-opened its doors and is welcoming local bands while offering them a stage to perform on. If this past Saturday's show at Eastside Eatery is indicative of what's ahead, this bit of good news is about to keep resonating louder and louder.
The venue is loaded with potential for hosting regular shows and events. Back in the day, it was regularly booked for staff parties and wedding socials. Having the restaurant and kitchen right there makes it easy to include a full-on catering service for an event if needed.
Last Saturday's triple-band extravaganza at E.E. drew a near-capacity crowd of very receptive fans and supporters of B-Town's live music scene. The venue at the north side of Eastside Eatery (located at 1451 Richmond Avenue East) is the perfect size to accommodate small to medium gatherings.
However, this past Saturday was alright for partying! The three bands/artists who took the stage were as follows:
SkullenBlitz kicked off the night playing their first show in front of a live, paying audience! Their set of high-octane tunes was well received by those in attendance. They call themselves Sad Kid Rock N Roll. Which is a pretty good description.
Aaron Frost has played a few gigs around Brandon. Frost performs as a solo artist who sings and plays guitar. His 40-minute set was comprised of mostly cover tunes (ranging from emo to grunge) done as only he can do them. Anyone who caught one of Aaron's earliest concerts would agree he is showing sure signs of improvement with every show he gives.
TAD could be referred to as Brandon's answer to Cheap Trick (or maybe Fleetwood Mac?). They are comprised of two more experienced members of the local rock scene (Lyall McDermid - Drums & Vocals and Jay Andries - Bass guitar) along with newcomers to the scene Martin Totte (Lead Guitar / Lead Vocals) and Micayla Rose Balciunas (Rhythm Guitar/Voclas). TAD's musical repertoire consists of great classic rock hits that many enjoy. They also sprinkle in some other genres as well which seem to blend flawlessly.
Eastside Eatery stage area just before TAD's first set Saturday night. (Photo credit: Westman Zone)
While this past Saturday's live music event was the first one in a long while in the backroom of Eastside it was successful enough to encourage semi-regular shows to be held at this venue.
FUTURE BOOKINGS IN THE WORKS
Jay McCallum and his wife (Mary Newman) are the owner/operaters of the venue and had been planning and preparing to eventually open the doors of the small to medium-sized hall located behind Eastside Eatery for a couple of months. After Saturday's impressive turnout for an all-locals show, Jay figures they can do it on a semi-regular basis, "We're now planning on having live entertainment at least a couple times a month. We're also looking to name the room something different. The space will be available for weddings, socials, staff parties etc."
The debut show to reopen the space was a combined effort bewteen McCullum and a local promotions group, "Hothead Productions contacted us and booked the hall through us (so other promoters can as well). We will be doing out own shows as well. Bookings can be made through smokedandsauced@outlook.com." Maximum capacity is 172 but the venue can be set up for smaller crowds of 95 or less when just one side is opened up as was the case last Saturday.
LOCAL PROMOTER BRANCHES OUT
Things went so well with the show last Saturday that Jay and his wife have already teamed up again with Hothead Productions to do another event. Although this one was already arranged prior to last weekend, "The Why So Serious show was booked in advance. I like to have one in the chamber usually if I can," said Ken Freidrich promoter with Hothead Productions. Fredrich has been a passionate promoter and supporter of the local music scene for quite some time now and he feels as though the future is bright, "I'll be pushing future tickets more so at the upcoming show and we'll be doing them as regularly or as much as Jay McCallum (Eastside Eatery owner) will allow me I guess," Friedrich said.
The type of entertainment will be diversified as well to draw different crowds, "I don't want to over saturate so I'm looking at doing different things to keep it fresh. We both want to bring in comedians and a dinner/ show kind of thing. I have a few other ideas too," said Freidrich.
Friedrich who's daytime occupation is as a handyman/contractor, doesn't see any signs of slowing down his operations, "I'm booking a lot lately it seems. Lots of bands are looking to play and I'm getting interest from bands outside of Brandon too. I have a waiting list for Locals Only as it seems that quite a few bands want to be part of that. Which is great to see. I'm sure it'll be the same for Eastside soon after this past weekend." Freidrich has also been the drummer/manager of local band NÜMBSKÜLL since he moved back to Manitoba from B.C. about 11 years ago. He says he likes to keep busy promoting music shows around town," I will probably keep doing other venues as well as Eastside. For instance, I have Locals Only 10 coming up at The 40 on June 16-17. I also want to do some more All Ages at the Park CC. There are a few other venues that I've talked to as well."
EASTSIDE EATERY'S NEXT EVENT
The next show is lined up for Saturday, April 1st featuring three more local acts:
VERTIGO (90s infused acoustic bangers)
GEEZER (Classic Rock anthems)
JUST DYNAMITE
This event is another collaboration between Hothead Productions and Eastside Eatery. It will be an all-ages show. Advanced tickets are available at Eastside Eatery starting March 21st at Noon or pay $13 at the Door (Use West Doors by Yellow Awning). However, you may want to get your tickets early because advance tickets get you $5 off of your food purchase should you decide to grab a late-night snack. Homemade food choices will be available between the $5.00 and $12.00 price points. You can also purchase $4.50 Rail Shots/ Beers or $5.50 Coolers.
Source: Hothead Productions
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