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It is the fall. The days are growing short and the evenings cool. I am attending Tripper’s EP release show at Holy Frijoles AKA “The Bean”.
Wait… didn’t I do this before, about a year ago?
Yes. Yes, I did.
But a lot changes in a year. After a blazing run with Alex on vocals, Nic is now the one in front with the mic. Can a band change vocalists and still be the same band? Is Tripper still Tripper? Yes, absolutely. Sure, the transition is like going from Nervous Breakdown to Jealous Again eras of Black Flag, but the band has built on the foundation established while heading in new heavy directions.
My show evening began with me stumbling into the venue after my glasses instantly fogged up. I pulled out my wallet and presented myself to the door person who I did not realize was in the middle of other business. I eventually caught on to this and stepped to the side, putting my glasses on their table. Now very much visually impaired, I thought for a moment the cash Michael from Tripper was holding up was mine. It was not. Two young folks navigating the entrance as well had dropped it. Arriving minutes after doors, the place was clearly already hopping. I have found you can sense the way the night will go based on how stressed the door person is, an inverse equation; if they are having a tough night, it will probably be a good night for you.
As the crowd grew, I made the usual realization that I was older than most in the room and that I knew few folks. I am very much used to this, but I have been on a streak of shows and events recently in which I knew many in attendance, so I had that moment of alienation, that moment of questioning what I was doing there.
But then Violet Evergreen ripped into it and I remembered. A packed room on a Saturday night, a band in fine form, creates moments of catharsis and collective emotional release. You can’t beat it, even if you spend part of the set’s duration making room for the folks who want to stand on the long bench next to you to get a better view.
Speaking of those long benches, during Mondrary’s set, people managed to half-launch off of them and that monitor marked NO DRINKS up front to try to crowd surf, one person eventually achieving success. The band was the discovery of the evening for me, not on my radar but very much worth standing in the line at the merch table after they played to buy their music. At one point, the vocalist opened the gate behind the stage and, for a moment, the areas of the venue were no longer divided. When will the people behind the gate storm the show space? It was not to be tonight, but the energy was that high that it felt possible. Ending their set with a Converge cover was a nice touch.
Tripper got down to it soon after, playing the first of a series of dates as they head out to tour behind their new EP, Faceless. It is to their credit that they have spent 2024 thus far remaking and remodeling what came before, continuing to bring something to the local hardcore scene that is vital. I wish them the best on the road and was glad to be part of the send-off.
What will Tripper be up to in the fall of 2025? Time will tell. I look forward to finding out.
