Martha Wainwright Does La Belle Province Proud at CMW, Dears Also Delight

The buzz was high at Toronto's El Mocambo Thursday night as rumours swirled around about a potential "surprise guest" at the annual La Belle Province showcase at CMW, presented by SiriusXM and CBC Radio 3.

Sources later revealed that the guest in question was Rufus Wainwright, brother of Martha Wainwright who was performing at the showcase. For reasons unknown, his appearance fell through at the very last minute leaving curious attendees who caught ear of this surprise disappointed, but only momentarily.

Martha performed an acoustic set almost entirely comprised of new songs. It took a bit of time to hold the attention of those in the loud bar, but when she hit her stride, she commanded the room, whether some chatty audience members liked it or not.

She prefaced a particularly important song by telling the crowd, "I know it's a lot to ask for you to be quiet but this is my first song about motherhood." She had to stop a few chords in to say, "Shut the fuck up for three minutes, it's a song about fucking motherhood."

Wainwright confidently went through her set of melancholic acoustic melodies, her voice was the highlight of the night as she reminded us why she's not only one of Montreal's greatest vocalists, but one of the Canada's most unique artists.

'In Your Body' singer Ariane Moffatt also took the stage Thursday night, hot off the heels of her much-talked SXSW appearance last week. The Quebecois crossover performed songs from her latest album, 'Ma,' mixing stomping percussion with sexy electro-pop, almost giving artists like Robyn a run for their money.

The night was rounded off by a remarkable lineup of both promising and veteran Montreal acts. Adam & The Amethysts and Half Moon Run both had a great showing while Galaxie and the Dears packed a solid punch at the end of the night.

The Dears, who headlined the evening, closed the night with a set full of nostalgic hits, and even though they showed little sign of testing out new material, their set was strong as always.

Lead singer Murray Lightburn, who has grown a penchant for sampling Kardinal Offishall's 'The Anthem' whenever they play Toronto, led the crowd through a set filled with Dears classics such as '22: The Death of All the Romance,' 'Lost in the Plot' and 'Omega Dog.' Though Lightburn couldn't stop singing "T dot, oh!" while on stage, it was evident that Montreal deserve the really shout-out for exporting some serious musical talent.

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