Hard Acts to Follow

The Sardine in San Pedro is the place to be to get the pulse of music scenes across genres and across regions, as artists increasingly make the local adult playground a stop for their tours. I was perusing their online calendar when I saw just how many shows were coming to The Sardine, each of them important in their own right. 

Sardine’s Todd Congelliere told me off the bat the Detroit Cobras (set to perform on May 25) are going to be a special show. So special that Congelliere’s Clown Sounds and the band Heavy Cat will be opening for them.  The Detroit Cobras, a rock band that carries the torch for the rawest sound of rock, soul, and R&B you can imagine, was led by lead vocalist Rachel Nagy, before she died three years ago. Any fan would wonder if the band would come back.

The Detroit Cobras, formed in 1994 by vocalist Rachel Nagy and guitarist Mary Ramirez, became cult icons of the garage rock revival with their raw, soulful reinterpretations of 1950s and ’60s R&B obscurities. Built on a deep love of vintage soul and rock, the band earned a reputation as “Detroit’s Most Famous Cover Band,” known for channeling the gritty heart of Motor City music through Nagy’s powerhouse vocals and Ramirez’s steady guitar. Their debut Mink, Rat or Rabbit (1998) and follow-up Life, Love and Leaving (2001), both released on Sympathy for the Record Industry, established their formula: no-frills garage arrangements of forgotten gems by artists like the Shangri-Las, Irma Thomas and Otis Redding.

Though the lineup changed frequently, Nagy and Ramirez remained the creative core, supported by collaborators like Greg Cartwright of Reigning Sound and, briefly, Don Was. Later releases like Baby (2004) and Tied & True (2007) saw the Cobras expand their reach, signing with UK label Rough Trade and U.S.-based Bloodshot Records. Their sound resonated especially overseas, leading to multiple European tours.

Nagy’s voice was considered at once tough, tender, and unapologetically emotive, and was described as the band’s defining force. Tributes described her as a fierce and vital presence whose influence stretched beyond garage rock. In August 2022, Ramirez and the remaining bandmates reunited for a tribute show in Detroit and later performed West Coast dates in Nagy’s honor. Despite her passing, Nagy’s spirit continues to echo through the Cobras’ electrifying catalog — a gritty, reverent celebration of rock and soul history.

The Detroit Cobras will be at the Sardine on May 25, 2 p.m. Tickets are $20. 

Another Michigan artist, but from Flint, known as Thot Squad, aka Blvck Bunnie, has made The Sardine one of her tour stops. It took me a double-take and a second that Thot Squad was one person, but as I watched her YouTube videos and her all of her social media handles, it’s plain to see that she has a whole squad running her operation with her as that operation’s creative leader. 

Her wordplay as a rapper is simple, catchy and memorable, paired with drum-heavy production intended to get bodies moving on the dance floor. Considered as part of the wave of Black alternative music her rise reminds me of Doja Cat before she became internet famous with her viral hit  Mooo  declaring to the world, “Bitch I’m a Cow.” Or Doechii, when she was still an underground sensation, killing the microphone on TikTok before Top Dawg Entertainment (the house Kendrick Lamar was pivotal in building).

Thot Squad, aka Blvck Bunny has several songs on YouTube including, Hoes Depressed where if you combine the visuals and lyrics, its raw hip hop, her stepping on the necks of her haters. Funny as that sounds, she trolls her haters in her comment sections, creating new content in the process. 

Her music embodies alternative music and is representative of people pushed to the margins: Black, women, queer, sex workers … the elderly. A lot of her videos includes an elderly white woman who I believe Thot Squad calls her grandmother. Critics who believe the elder is being exploited fill the comment sections with hate and threats. Blvck Bunny, like Bugs Bunny, trolls them in return. 

Thot Squad will be at the Sardine on May 24. Tickets are $30 at https://www.thesardinepedro.com/

Concerts at the Sardine, May 15 through May 29

8 p.m., May 15: Under The Influence / Rsvr / Pine Ave $5: 

8 p.m., May 16: Dondo / Royal Rats / Clams / Sitters

6 p.m., May 17: Wasted Eternities / Into Nothing / Lakuna / Gamble / Pain Spiral / Call to Arms $10  

2 p.m., May 18: Pizza Wolf / Future Confusion / Regel Beagle / Belly Belt $10 

8 p.m., May 22: System Exclusive / Ologist / Chorus Pedal $12

8 p.m., May 24: Thot Squad $30

2 p.m., May 25: Detroit Cobras / Clown Sounds / Heavy Cat $20

8 p.m., May 27: The Carmines / Regal Beagle / Dropped Out Free

8 p.m., May 29: Wheelwright $15 ADV / $18 DO

The Sardine, 1101 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

424-264-5388, www.thesardinepedro.com