Although April 12th may have seemed like just another night of indie rock, it was an important night for our music scene (and city), whether most Vancouverites recognize it or not. Simply billed as being just a 'CD Release Party' for Destroyer's new acclaimed album, "Rubies", I'm sure most people overlooked the significance of the occasion (apart from the celebration of Dan Bejar's 7th release). In Dan Bejar, Vancouver possesses something special. Bejar has reached heights of critical acclaim with his past two albums, "Your Blues" and "Rubies", and is revered across the Indie rock world for his unique, and sometimes strange, songwriting. In this regard, the Commercial Drive character we've come to know and love has become a sort of 'ambassador' to the vast expanses of indie rock that exist outside our little city. Likewise, this show was also an important milestone for East Van's own Ladyhawk, who have been busy cutting their teeth in this city for the past few years, establishing themselves as the hometown underdog darlings we all know and love. On the eve of their own first record release (on Jagjaguwar/Secretly Canadian), Ladyhawk are almost symbolic of the potential and talent that this city encompasses. To make it short and sweet, the pairing of Destroyer and Ladyhawk couldn't have been a better example of what makes Vancouver so damn great.

Since I took it upon myself to get horrendously sloshed the night before, I wasn't in much of a mood to head back downtown to sit through 3 bands, but my duty as a Vancouverite obviously took precedence. I arrived at Dick's on Dicks midway through The Christa Min's set and was instantly greeted by a Thurston Moore-esque sonic scrawl that re-affirmed my initial apprehensions about going out. That's not to slag them, as I was only able to see them play two songs (and I love Sonic Youthy-Noise shit). Up next the Ladyhawk boys played a brief set of their anthemic melody rock, giving the audience songs to sing along to and a little preview of their upcoming album. True to form, they proved they're a well-oiled roots rock machine ready to take the indie rock world by storm.

Following Ladyhawk, Destroyer immediately took the stage. Par for the course, the night was mostly a showcase for Bejar's new album "Rubies", of which the hype has finally settled after a ride on the hype train for the past few months. As the set proceeded, I was only able to recognize songs from his last two outings, as I'm somewhat of a lukewarm Destroyer fan (and because his catalogue is fairly extensive). Likewise, to the unsuspecting ear, Bejar possesses a frantic and shrieking voice (which alternates between sing-songy spoken word and hushed slurring) that doesn't always effectively translate in a live setting, but it's certainly overshadowed by his superior song writing skills. On another positive note, his band was effective in establishing a rhythmic trajectory with enough ups to counter-act the sullen downs of Bejar's song writing, with the band locking into melodic grooves layered beneath the occasional fits of frenzied guitar strumming. The definite highlight emerged in the title-track "Rubies", which emerged towards the tail-end of the show as the rhythm section broke into sporadic jamming, revitalizing the waning crowd participation and reaffirming Bejar's role as our most apt ambassador to the indie rock world.