For all the worthy competition, Metric was unquestionably the best thing I saw. Now getting a sense of how well Live It Out translates live, not to mention how many levels it works on to begin with, they’d be my Canadian band of the year if I were asked to choose right now. And encouraging news for Emily Haines: Girls seem to dig her as much as boys. Maybe more. Which is a good sign, I think, that her attempts to make indie sexy are going the way she wants them to.

Montreal crowds, as we’ve all been told a million times, are indeed vastly superior to Toronto ones. They make noise at the appropriate moments. They sing along. They chant. They don’t spend all their time looking self-conscious. But moshing? What’s up with that?

If you’re from Toronto and you think the Opera House or the Phoenix are in slightly sketchy neighbourhoods, try Club Soda sometime. Within five minutes of Sunday night’s Kings of Leon show, we’d encountered a hooker buying a hot dog for her pimp and two guys lighting a crack pipe on a park bench.

That said, both Club Soda and Cabaret are nicer venues than any comparable spots in Toronto, with the possible exception of the Mod Club if you like things glossy. Properly designed concert halls, but still clubby. And while it’s probably a sign I’m getting old, when watching five or six hours of music each night, having the option of sitting in seats overlooking the floor is rather welcome.

I really like Arts & Crafts. They’re nice people, they’ve signed some great acts, and it looks like one of their recent gambles, Most Serene Republic, is showing some serious signs of development. But this New Buffalo thing really isn’t working out. I saw her at the Drake a couple of weeks ago, and thought maybe I was just tuning out because I was overtired. But the word from those who caught the full A&C showcase in Montreal was that she was a bit of a speed bump, and audience reaction was apparently not kind. Maybe she’s a grower, but I have my doubts.

I love the Deadly Snakes as a live act, and I love their new disc. But the two together are still a bit of a work in progress. Their set on Friday night was good, but not as good as they can be…mostly, I think, because they’re still trying to figure out how to integrate gospelly soul into a punky garage act. I’m sure they’ll figure it out, though.

I don’t know who exactly the Sunday Sinners are, other than four girls and a guy from Montreal in spiffy white suits. But they’re extremely enjoyable. They don’t exactly look like they should be adept at producing credible late ‘60s R&B, but they more than pull it off.

Sam Roberts’ still excels in a club, especially when he’s getting love from an adoring hometown crowd. But the man is very quickly becoming the Tragically Hip. Just saying.

I’m determined to make myself a salesmen for Lovely Feathers. If they’re not huge by this time next year, I’ll have failed. If they are huge, I’ll probably have had nothing to do with it. But don’t think that’ll stop me from taking credit.