Club Wars Championship

When musical-military historians and competitive-concert pundits look back on 2004, they’ll recall the colorful contenders for the Club Wars Championship. There’s Swill, the group that proved even men in makeup can be tough on crime (“Sex Prison,” “Kill Kill Kill”); Sidewise, the Lawrence-based band that makes education an issue with its simplistic take on Tool’s sound (remedial math rock); Messed Up, whose flip-flopped moniker obscures its clean-cut sound; Organic M, an outfit whose devotion to traditional metal values extends to a member listing Skid Row as a crucial influence; and a yet-to-be-named wild card. Club Wars candidates will campaign noisily on decision day, attempting to convert volume into votes, but audience applause and judges’ score sheets will ensure that a clear victor emerges by the end of the evening.