Vancouver Buzz: Victoria, Victoria! Win Shindig 2006

As we near holiday season, things traditionally slow down a little within the local music scene.

That certainly hasn't been the case here in Van. The grand finale of the CITR Shindig battle of the bands happened this week. It was a hell of a run this year with much fun had by all. The final evening featured a close race between The Organ Trail, Victoria, Victoria! and The Choir Practice. There's been plenty of buzz in recent weeks about The Organ Trail, and The Choir Practice scored a performance slot at the Mint party on the weekend.

But it was Victoria, Victoria! who emerged victorious (pun intended); perhaps because of their somewhat straight-ahead pop-rock sound, whereas The Organ Trail have kind of a weirdo rootsy vibe and The Choir Practice are shtick-heavy with matching outfits and a big group of singers. Either way, all of these bands put on a pretty interesting live show, so keep an eye out for them on local stages in coming weeks.

For those of you who missed it, the Mint Records Christmas Party was the place to be on Saturday night as Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand hopped up on stage and joined Nardwuar and The Evaporators for a rousing rendition of the Franz classic, "Take Me Out." Special kudos go out to Stephen "Big" Hamm of Canned Hamm who was handling bass duties that night for the Evaps as John Collins is out of the country touring with The New Pornographers.

I ran into CBC Radio3 personality Grant Lawrence on Tuesday night, and he gave me his take on the weekend event.

"The best thing about that evening is that it was such a relaxed atmosphere," Lawrence said. "With the photos by [punk rock photographer] Bev Davies on the walls, and the community aspect of the room, I think it really reminded Alex of his home in Glasgow."

While chatting with him, I couldn't help but inquire about his seminal band The Smugglers and whether there is anything on the horizon for them.

"I'd never say never, but there's nothing planned in the near future," he said.

Man cannot live by podcast alone, Lawrence. Let's get some new tunes on the go!

Another standout at the Mint show were The Awkward Stage. It takes some serious guts to follow-up the Evap/Ferdinand performance. But freshly returned from a decent run of touring, the band kicked out a blazing set and impressed all in attendance.

"It was a little rough at times adapting to the tour schedule," said frontman Shane Nelken of his experiences in recent weeks. "But overall it was a good time."

As far as live shows leading up to the holidays, there are a few good lookin' ones coming up. The Doers, Hot Loins, Dandi Wind and Cheerleader Camp are at the Mount Pleasant Community Centre on Saturday. Extra special for The Doers show is a guest appearance by Huge Manatease member Natalie Vermeer who will be rockin' the flute for them, making the evening even more exciting!

Death Cab For Cutie are just across the border Saturday at the Key Arena in Seattle.

The Decemberists are supposedly appearing at the Commodore December 13 and 14. Based on their history of bailing out on their Vancouver performances with weak excuses like "our gear got stolen" or "I've lost my singing voice," don't put too much faith in the shows actually happening.

Local act Panurge open for Akron/Family at Richard's On Richards December 14.

I'm off to write Santa. See ya in two weeks!

Send your Vancouver music news, show info, CDs or Funky Cold Media to vancouverbuzz@hotmail.com, or by snail mail to: Attn: Trevor Hargreaves, #408, 65 1st St., New Westminster, B.C., V3L 5K9.