By Matt Fisher

On Saturday, February thir-
teenth, the Commodore Ballroom
played host to the Finals of the
Labatt’s Blue Live Spotlight *88
series. Competing for the fame and
fortune of being declared "The Best
Unsigned Band in BC" were two
Vancouver-based bands, Innocent
Ill-and The Shape.
| Attribute to the design of such an
F event. the bands exemplified the twq
distinct genres of “seeking-commer-
cial-success-via- accessible-music”
groups which aré currently dominat-
ing Vancouver's club scene.

The Shape was the more typical
of the pair - slick and polished two-
guitar rock’n‘roll - a kind of Bon
Jovi meets Glass Tiger. And herein
lay their shortcoming - this tried-
and-true formula has been abused of
late. Perhaps the judges of Spotlight
realised that “the market" has
reached its saturation point with
bands of this soft mettle...

Perhaps this had something to do
with Innocent III winning Spotlight
“88...

Then again. Innocent II] could
have upstaged a good many bands
on Saturday night, for their delivery
was exciting and refreshing: the vo-
cals were nothing short of amazing.
Guitarist/songwriter Dave Best
plays with a reckless abandon
reminiscent of a young Pete
Townshend (minus the stage an-
lics...) Bassist Paul Stewart and
drummer Bruce Shipley provide
funky rhythms and tight backing.
Singer Kelly Brock has a beautiful
voice with incredible range - and she
can really growl. too. ‘

Miss Brock’s talents become

more evident at every gig. as she be-
comes surer and surer onstage. She
is bareiy twenty years old. and al-
ready must be considered one of the
finest female vocalists in the city.

Performing songs with such un-
abashedly idealistic titles like
"Sweet Sometimes.” “Real to Me.”
and “Celebration Day.” Brock and
the boys come across as having a
guilt-free good time in performance
- and wanting to share the feeling.
Responding to the cheers, Brock ex-
claimed three or four times, “this is
great! ] can’t believe you guys!”

If audience response was a part of
the judges’ criteria. The Shape’s
warm reception cannot be compared
to the ovations Innocent III received.

Bi Seam

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The judges chosen for the even.
included Bruce Allen, Province
Rock Critic Tom Harrison. Lou
Blair, Jeff Rechner of CFOX (now
LG73) Ross Winters and Charlee
Morgan of LG73. (thanks for the

tour of the station, Charlee!) and the ‘

managers of local stars Colin James
54/40, and Paul Janz. ;
Besides the "Best Band" - a label
criticised by Harrison because "I
don’t believe in there being “bests*

in music..." - prizes were awarded _

for best guitarist. bassist. keyboar-
dist, drummer and vocalist. Eligible

for these awards were all eighteen |

bands who participated in the
“playoffs” and the “semi-finals” of
Spotlight “88.

Over two hundred bands sub-
mitted demo tapes this year, and so
congratulations are in order to all
those who made Spotlight “88 an en-
during success. And. of course. the
legacy of Spotlight “88 shall once
again be in the form of pressed
vinyl... "Vancouver Seeds IV"
should be hitting the record stores
some time this summer. The album
will feature two songs from both The
Shape and Innocent III, plus selec-
tions from the four other “semi-
finalists.”

To Innocent III go the further
spoils of a CBS released single with
national distribution and the film-
ing of a video (an Eclipse/Shane
Lunny/Gastown Post/Transfer
production) with guaranteed high-
rotation on Much Music. Record-
ing space’will be -spead among:
local studios Blue Wave. Mush-
room, Ocean and Inside Trak.

Spotlight "88 was sponsored by
CFOX,. LG73. The Province, and
Labatt’s Blue Live, while prizes
were supplied by Paul's Music.
The Annex, and Drums Only.

Entertainment Writers
Workshops

Mondays 11:45 am
at the OP , Rm 1602

ideas,formats and tick-
ets to all the plays you’ve
been dying to see! (maybe)

See Mike Roth

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<1

No Sour Gr

Guadalcanal Diary wrapped up
their west coast tour at the 86th
Street Music Hall last Sunday, put-
ting on an unforgettable perfor-
mance. Hometown favorites Grapes
of Wrath were replaced by The
Waterwalk as openers on this last
date. The two bands provided a su-
perb showcase of the style of guitar
rock constantly growing in
popularity. The Waterwalk opened
the show with a highly danceable set
of newsongs, keeping the college
oriented crowd on their feet for the
duration. They combine rhythmic
guitar and bass with the highlight of
electric violin. This combination al-
lows the Waterwalk to put on a ter-
rific live show. | believe they have a
strong future in the Vancouver music
scene.The gang from Georgia,
Guadalcanal Diary then took to the
stage.They started cranking out
song after song at a breathtaking
pace. Vocalist-guitarist Murray At-
taway. is a gracious andenergetic
frontman, thanking the crowd
profusely after eachnumber. His
great style, along with the

By Graham Esplen

cy

apes

thunderous drums and driving
guitars kept those daring enough to
mob the stage in a nonstop slam-
dance. The band played many selec-
tions from their previous two albums
but focused mainly on their new
album, "2x4." Highlights included old
favorites “Stop Me Before | Kill
Again” and “| See Moe” and new
selections “Litany” and "Little Birds.”
Closing the set with a raucous ver-
sion of “Watusi Rodeo,” they
returned for an encore which opened
with "Dead Eyes” and ended with a
singalong version of "Kumbayah."
In the middle of the last song, the
band cut into a song by a band who
‘they termed “their long time
idols,""Stayin’ Alive" by the Bee
Gees. Talk about a class act.
Despite the overall high cost of an
evening at 86th St., these two bands
made it more than worth the price.
The Waterwalk have a great
sound and are destined for stardom
in the future. Much in the same way,
Guadalcanal Diary are the next great
‘band to comeout of Georgia, follow-
ing in the footsteps of their pals,
REM.Truly a memorable perfor-
mance.

Coming This
ummer

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