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A side of Brussels sprouts for Punk Night

Punk princess Lindsay Shedden doesn’t retire her crown after all, but looks to a healthier future for Punk Night

By Nicole Fitzgerald

Who: Comeback Kid

When: Wednesday, April 18

Where: Garfinkel’s

Tickets: $10

Punk Night queen Lindsay Shedden wanted to bring Whistler’s ultimate anti-club night to a close after six years of devoting her Sunday nights to music.

The Whistler resident of more than a decade recently moved to the city, where she enrolled in a nutritionist program last month.

But Whistler wouldn’t be Whistler without its rebel night, carrying on the Boot Pub spirit.

Punk Night fans wouldn’t let Shedden retire, despite the recent announcement, so friends pitched in and under the guidance of Angry Scott, Punk Night carries on with Shedden producing from the Lower Mainland. And perhaps the night will be healthier for it — literally.

“I’ll be a registered holistic nutritionist,” Shedden said. “I want to compile a book and create a website to help bands eat better on the road. They really don’t have a lot of money; living off five bucks a day and free beer. By the time, they tour and make it to me, they are all sick. It seems all the bands I talk to would appreciate something like that. I can help them to figure out the cheapest and healthiest way to eat on the road.”

Frontman Andrew Neufeld of Comeback Kid, who touches down the band’s tour in Whistler Wednesday, April 18 at Garfinkel’s, said he would happily take some nutrition advice from Shedden. Cranking out high-energy shows, night after night, band members need more than just liquid energy.

A healthy choice for him these days is Subway and two months into Comeback Kid’s North American tour, following on a month-long European tour, all those free drinks are adding up, on his waistline.

“It’s all about the most fast food, then get to the show,” he said. “It’s really hard when you are on tour. You want to eat things that make you feel good. Right now I am looking at my belly and I’m thinking, ‘oh shit, how much can I put in this thing?’ Free drinks contribute to a lot of musician’s potbellies. I want (Lindsay) to give me a diet regime.”

So while drummer Kyle Profetta packs around a cooler of homemade sandwiches and Brussels sprouts, the rest of the Manitoba crew — Neufeld, Jeremy Hiebert and Kevin Call — are always on the lookout for Chili’s, where they stopped for a few drinks while Hiebert worked on the air conditioning in the van the group traveled in for the last 12 hours non-stop. Driving through the deserts of Arizona, a/c is a must.

The road dogs are used to the rigorous schedule. The hardcore group has tirelessly toured through the U.K., Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and even Iceland with bands such as Rise Against, Sick Of It All, Madball, Bed Religion and more.

The band’s newest album, Broadcasting , released this past February, launched a new frontman for the band, with Neufeld stepping in for lead singer Scott Wade.

The changeover was a big one, not to mention fast, with Neufeld cranking out the guitar in Iowa then stepping to the mic the next night in St. Louis.

“I feel the same vibe on stage; the same energy in the room,” Neufeld said. “It’s totally different. Quite a change, but I am used to it by now.”

The core of the band’s sound hasn’t changed, but the sound has grown nonetheless, as demonstrated on the new release.

“On this record, we were able to be more free in musical boundaries than our first two records,” he said. “ We were open to a lot more different ideas. We were able to make this last record more powerful and get a more epic sound. We really focused on a more diverse sound with some heavier moments, and then melodic parts.”

Critics are already raving.

“A relentless display of full-throttle aggression and high-tension complexity that pulls out all the stops, takes no prisoners and raises the bar in every respect,” wrote a Winnipeg Sun reporter.

Punknews.org gave the album four out of five stars: “ Broadcasting is their strongest and most cohesive record to date… embrace this new incarnation with open arms and clenched fists in the air.”

Clenched fists with maybe a jug of orange juice instead of beer, if Shedden had her way.