Arts & Entertainment A Kneecap of Shindig Railway Club, Vancouver, September 11 to October 23 Luke Simcoe, OP Shindigger Disses defines a “shindig” as an “elaborate or large dance, party, or other celebration.” Now, I don’t know where the fine folks at Dictionary.com get their information, but last time I checked, Shindig meant “Vancouver’s best and longest running battle of the bands.” I tell you, there’s no accountability on the internet. The point is that every year, CiTR’s Shindig takes over the Railway Club every Tuesday night from late September to early December. The evenings are always a mix of good, bad, and mediocre music, as well as cheap drinks, random conversation, and too many cigarettes. It’s also a great place to catch a glimpse of some of Vancouver’s musical elite— why, just this past Tuesday, I rubbed elbows with Chris-a-riffic and saw a dude who kind of looked like Luke Wilson! We’re already three weeks into this year’s competition (we’re always so ‘current’ around here at the OP, aren’t we?), so it’s time for a bit of a recap before we launch into our picks for the coming rounds. September 11 The bands: The National Shield, The Remedials, The SSRIs Who won: The SSRIs Why: I actually picked The National Shield to win this one, but the band’s set was a little lackluster and leaned away from the uptempo 60s inspired power- pop that constitutes their bread and butter. The Remedials bassist warmed up with the bass line from The Dead Kennedy’s “Holiday in Cambodia,” and the rest of the set was some delightfully straightforward punk rawk, but ultimately it was the SSRIs, with their poppy, noisy, Blood Brothers-tinged take on guitar, drums, and keyboard that won over the judges. September 18 The bands: The Dupobs, The Green Hour, Retrofire Who won: Retrofire Why: This might actually go down in history as a turning point for Shindig and the Vancouver music scene. Most people expected The Green Hour to go all the way that evening, but it wasn’t so. The band took about 45 minutes to set up, and arrived onstage looking they just won a shopping spree at True Value Vintage. The drummer was wearing eyeliner and the singer sang with an unfortunately contrived British accent. Jabs at their image aside, The Green Hour is a good band, and they won’t have to win Shindig to go places with their “incense and peppermints” take on Brit-pop. Still, Retrofire’s youthful and earnest approach to metal-tinged 80s rock was just too refreshing after all that pretension, and the judges made a statement when they unanimously voted in favour of substance over style. September 25 The bands: CANARIES, The Ludvico Treatment, Stolen Bicycles Gang Who won: Stolen Bicycles Gang Why: The Bicycles Gang has been generating a lot of local hype lately the old fashioned way: playing a ton of shows and being a good live act. Simply put, their fans came out in full force and helped lift the band’s catchy garage-rock over and above the played out noise-rock of CANARIES and the overwrought Fox Seeds-inspired wankery of The Ludvico Treatment. And now on to some previews... October 2 The bands: Gunshae, The Petroleum By-Products, The Wintermitts Who will win: The Petroleum By- Products Why: Well this one will have already happened by the time you’re reading this, but on an evening filled with stupid band names, I predict that the gritty, synth-driven new wave of The Petroleum By-Products will triumph. Gunshae is an experimental ambient band, which is basically slang for “won’t win at Shindig,” and The Wintermitts’ “frenchie’ indie rock is just too weird for my tastes. October 9 The bands: A Relative Distance, The Skeddadlers, Treacherous Machete Who will win: Too close to call... Why: Well, Treacherous Machete’s PHOTOS BY LUKE SIMCOE “post-millenial blues aren punk” (I stole that from MySpace) has definitely been getting the most hype, but A Relative Distance, the moniker for Calgary ex-pat Jacqueline Bell’s mopey combination of unique vocals, piano, synth, and drum machine, could easily be a dark horse winner. And don’t count the Southern-fried Canadiana (wtf?) of The Skedaddlers out either. This’ll be a close night. October 16 The bands: Japandroids, Lownote, Vonnegut Dollhouse Who will win: Japandroids Why: Whew... this is gonna be a nail-biter too. I don’t think Lownote’s baroque, nautical-inspired compositions will translate well live, so the real battle is going to be the two-man rock n’ roll assault of Japandroids going toe to toe with the quirky indie-pop of one of the city’s most up and coming acts. It’s a tough call, but I’m of the belief that blistering, loud and catchy rock n’roll will always triumph. Plus, Japandroids first EP, All Lies, has been in heavy rotation at my place for quite some time. October 23 The bands: Fanshaw, The Noble Firs, The Public or the Press Who will win: The Noble Firs Why: While Fanshaw’s Feist-y acoustic rock will give them a run for their money, I think the Noble Fir’s infectious and lyrical alt-country will come out on top. Although their singer’s voice bears a passing resemblance to Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, The Public or the Press doesn’t have a musical leg to stand on in this competition. OK... that’s about as far into the future as I’m willing to peer. The Railway Club is located at 579 Dunsmuir St. in Vancouver, and Shindig starts every Tuesday night around 9pm. Hope to see you there. ?