Flanked by two oversized papier mache aliens and a smoke machine billowing out the occasional plume, Nathan Williams and his new bandmates kicked off their tour at Lee's Palace in Toronto with a raucous combination of familiar songs and material from their forthcoming Wavves album King Of The Beach (out August 3rd via Fat Possum).

She might wear cute outfits and sing songs with titles like "Pumpkin Soup," but British singer-songwriter Kate Nash's North American tour kickoff at Toronto's Mod Club Theatre was pure riot grrrl. Debuting a choppy haircut and an edgy, no-wave sound, Nash told a crowd packed with pretty girls in party dresses that "a cunt is a useful thing." The response? Sheer and glowing adoration.

A shaggy crossbreed between Pink Floyd's psychedelic guitar work, Beatles vocal harmonies, and the infectious glee of the Muppet house band, the southern-fried indie-rock of Dr. Dog tends to bring out the hippie head bobbers in a crowd, which as many noted, smelled better the further you got away from the crowded stage.

Drinking on the patio of a Toronto bar, the Rural Alberta Advantage sit underneath a mural touting Big Rock Beer: "Alberta's Other Natural Resource." The irony of the ad is not lost on drummer Paul Banwatt, 28, multi-instrumentalist Amy Cole, 30, and singer-guitarist Nils Edenloff, 30.

"To be honest, I didn't expect this to go beyond my living room," admitted Broken Social Scene guitarist Charles Spearin Wednesday night at Toronto's Music Gallery, where he debuted the Happiness Project.

Though the weather outside Sound Academy was frightful Saturday night, a packed crowd seemed delighted by the Canadian indie flair of Toronto's annual Jingle Bell Rock concert.