Vancouver Acts Dominate Bucky Awards, Metric Shut Out

The voice of Canadian music fans was heard loud and clear on Wednesday as CBC Radio 3 awarded top honours to artists such as Said the Whale, Joel Plaskett and Sloan, as part of the station's annual listener-voted Bucky Awards.

Vancouver's Dan Mangan was the clear front-runner in the radio soirée hosted by CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence. Cleaning up with nods for Best Vocals and Best Song for his infectious tune 'Robots,' the folk singer seemed shocked when he discovered he'd clinched the pair of awards. "Shut up, oh my dear. You had me with one and this is quite something. This is incredible!" he exclaimed from a tour stop in Germany.

Mangan wasn't the only west coast act to receive love from radio listeners who have been casting votes for their favourite nominees since the Bucky shortlist was announced last month.
Vancouver's Mother Mother snapped up the award for Best Live Act, while Said the Whale's 'Emerald Lake, AB' won out for Most Canadian Song and Hannah Georgas grabbed Best New Artist.

"The nominees cover the entire country but I was quite surprised to see the very strong emergence of the Vancouver pop scene," Lawrence told Spinner moments after the live award show wrapped. "Mother Mother, Said the Whale, Hannah Georgas and Dan Mangan, all these bands are kind of in the same scene and are all pals, so it's interesting to see what's going on the west coast."



While Vancouver artists certainly made an impression on CBC Radio 3 listeners this year, Toronto was not without its moment in the limelight. Legendary rockers Sloan walked away with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award, an honour that seemed a bit much for frontman Chris Murphy to wrap his mind around, according to Lawrence. "When I gave him the award he reacted in horror," he laughed. "I guess he figures that 'Lifetime Achievement' awards should be given to people at the end of their career."

There may not have been a ton of surprises when it came to the winner's circle, but one real upset for Lawrence is Metric's Bucky shut out.

"This is the people's choice awards so I thought that Metric would win ['Best Song'] just because their single was the biggest single of the year when it came to our shortlist," he says. "The fact that Metric won nothing really shocked me."

2009 Bucky Winners
MOST CANADIAN SONG -- Said The Whale, 'Emerald Lake, AB'
BEST NEW BAND NAME -- Gregory Pepper And His Problems
BEST VOCALS -- Dan Mangan, 'Robots'
BEST LYRIC -- Joel Plaskett, 'Through & Through & Through'
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT -- Sloan
BEST LIVE ACT -- Mother Mother
BEST NEW ARTIST -- Hannah Georgas 'The Beat Stuff'
BEST REASON TO LEARN FRENCH -- Coeur de Pirate "Comme des Enfants"
TOP FAN -- Lee Hower aka mcfflyer
BEST SONG -- Dan Mangan, 'Robots'