If anyone doubted the popular importance of the recent Guided By Voices reunion, he or she would only have had to witness the line around the block in front of Philadelphia’s Trocadero Theater on November 6 an hour prior to showtime.

Someone needs to cast of Montreal bandleader Kevin Barnes in a revival of Rocky Horror Picture Show revue. After 12 years of gender bending, Technicolor, costumed pop, this seems like the only logical career arc. It probably goes without saying that seeing of Montreal live in concert is a damn good time.

Jónsi is an extraordinary performer. A rare musician who not only plays his songs but also lives them out note for note on stage, seeing him live is an incredibly captivating experience—even when he’s standing still, eyes clenched shut, guitar in hand. And if this sounds like the bias ranting of an uber fan…well, it is.

The show clocked in a scant 45 minutes, but anyone present at Neon Indian’s Henry Fonda gig on Friday night would be the first to admit that the band had rightfully chosen quality over quantity.

Divan Orange is the site of Pop Montreal’s afternoon shows, but in my now-daily three-step process (recover, report, refuel), I missed No Joy, aka Laura Lloyd and Jasamine White-Gluz. Formerly of Bad Flirt (White-Gluz’s longtime labour of love, which expanded from a solo project to a rock quintet that released a pretty hot LP in ’08), the ladies have whole-heartedly joined the shoegazing revival, submerging their pop tunes and black-angel vocals in dense, creaky noise.

Like clockwork. With Pop Montreal comes the first of the season’s crap weather, and so the festival’s first full-on day was marred by a massive downpour. I was as happy as the expanding hole in my ceiling as I left the (relative) shelter of home to hit the Pop BBQ, which wasn’t much of a BBQ, having moved from the terrace of Pop’s HQ, Notman House, to Barfly, one of St. Laurent Blvd.’s tiniest, grubbiest dives. Barfly is ace, of course, but would I want to eat there?

Although autumn had officially hit several days earlier, one would have been hard pressed to find any signs of the new season at Vampire Weekend’s unseasonably hot Hollywood Bowl debut Sunday night. Also making their sweat-drenched bowl debuts were African/Swedish band The Very Best, and Baltimore, Maryland’s Beach House.

From topless men in tutus to a standout gig by one of the city’s best bands, the first day of Pop Montreal—slight on the programming front, as always, to ease festival goers into the fray—was visually and sonically stellar. Here’s a recap of day one, including The Dears performing their next album from start to finish.

Phoenix kicked off the mild-weather evening with their most recognizable song, “Lisztomania”-accompanied vociferously by the 17,000-strong crowd who drowned out vocalist Thomas Mars’ spirited, if nervous, performance.