by MIRROR MUSIC STAFF

Flaming Lips, Metropolis, Aug. 13
On a purely practical level, you've got to hand it to Wayne Coyne and his compadres for creating an audio-visual spectacle as dense and fun and noisy as any Kiss show, and at a fraction of the cost. Balloons, confetti, keener kids in fuzzy animal costumes wielding high-power halogen flashlights - Coyne nailed it when he said the show was more like a birthday party than anything else (following that, he led the entire crowd in a sing-along of "Happy Birthday" for some lucky lass in the front row). But coupled with the Lips' grand, emotive, psychedelic pop and Coyne's goodhearted Okie wisdom, the experience was closer to something halfway between regression therapy and religious epiphany. (Rupert Bottenberg)

Björk, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Aug. 28
Prefaced by wild times with NYC no-wavers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Björk graced Montreal with a beautiful, well-rounded set featuring Matmos and the Icelandic String Octet, among others. The open-air venue let her voice resonate as it never could in a box, and allowed for pyrotechnics and fireworks to punctuate her songs' emotional peaks, drawing easily as many tears as a screening of Dancer in the Dark. In a neo-Elizabethan outfit and half-friared haircut, Björk further charmed the crowd with quaint thank-yous after nearly every song, a remarkably humble little gesture in the midst of such a stirring spectacle. (Lorraine Carpenter)

Talib Kweli, le Medley, Feb. 5
Although I wasn't able to get down to the Bell Centre for the magic of Garou back in August, it's pretty clear to me that the best live show that surprised us all was Talib Kweli's blowout at the Medley early on this year. Without a doubt, this was the tightest combination of MC/DJ/audience interaction that this city has witnessed in a long time. Kweli, DJ Chaps, the Jazzyfatnastees and Kanye West were bugging out over how hype the crowd was, promptly inviting anybody and everybody onstage after a long performance and encore. Kweli kept going for almost an hour after he'd finished his last song, dancing and hyping up the crowd while Chaps played on. Amazingly, most of the crazed audience stayed put till the very end, while Medley security lost their minds. Too hot. (Scott C)

Rocket From the Tombs, la Sala Rossa, Dec. 5
With only a handful of shows played in their original incarnation, nobody at la Sala Rossa knew what to expect. Once these legends tore into "Sonic Reducer," "What Love Is" and "Ain't It Fun," all doubt was washed away. Standing five feet away from my guitar hero, Richard Lloyd, had me gobsmacked for the entire 45-minute set. Guitarist Cheetah Chrome was not to be outdone, with a smile from ear to ear throughout the entire show. The star of the show was of course Crocus Behemoth himself, David Thomas. Coming across like a demented Burle Ives, Thomas threw temper tantrums, drank whiskey from a flask, waved his cane at us pesky kids while he sat in a folding chair, performed an off-the-cuff spoken-word routine about drinking and driving, wrestled with broken mic stands and, despite the intensity he gave off, seemed to actually have a grand old time. (Johnson Cummins)

Seamus Blake, various locations and dates
Well, this year it's not an outstanding event but an outstanding musician, Seamus Blake. On four occasions he was nothing if not brilliant. It all began the last weekend of May, when Seamus arrived at Upstairs for two nights with a superb Bryn Roberts Quartet. Then, in October, it was two very different evenings at Maison de la Culture Frontenac (part of Daniel Vachon's Silence… On Jazz series), a duo with Roberts on the 17th was followed by an appearance with Project O (Ingrid Jensen, Gary Versace and Jon Wikan) on the 19th. Blake, who has taken his place among the very best tenor saxophonists in the jazz world, was born in England and grew up in British Columbia. He's 33. (Len Dobbin)

Michael Mayer and Reinhardt Voight, SAT, Sept. 26
The boys from Germany's Kompakt label proved why they are the go-to guys for what's ahead in the techno world. What's more, they knew how to rock a party. From Mayer's selections of squelchy U.K. acid flashbacks and rock-tinged techno anthems to Voight's on-stage antics and brutally pumping live set, these guys were so fist-pumpingly full-on rockstar that even the indie kids forgot they were dancing to techno ('course, the digitally grunged-up versions of the White Stripes and Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" didn't hurt). At the end of the night, just when we thought these guys couldn't get any cooler, they jumped over the decks and danced with the crowd to the extended 12" version of the Stones' "Miss You." That's class. (Raf Katigbak)

Blaze, Mile End Bar, Nov. 6
Kevin Hedge and Josh Milan (Blaze) have been renowned throughout the world for their jazzy, uplifting house sounds since the late '80s. Their long overdue Montreal debut was in conjunction with Jojo Flores's birthday celebration and a special Therapy session at Mile End Bar. Montreal's soulful house cognoscenti were treated to DJ Kevin Hedge's Paradise Garage-inspired onslaught of hot new tunes and classics while Josh Milan displayed his keyboard virtuosity and performed some of Blaze's most important songs. At the height of their rendition of their smash hit "How Deep Is Your Love," a zealous fan dancing on the speakers almost shook Josh's keyboard off its stand, eliciting a "Whoa!" from the startled Milan. Talk about lyrical improvisation. (Peter Lightburn)

A Perfect Circle, Metropolis, Sept. 6
"Montreal, A Perfect Circle. A Perfect Circle, Montreal," breathed vocalist Maynard James Keenan, also of Tool. And the crowd went wild. Hitting the road with an arsenal of new songs from their sophomore masterpeice The Thirteenth Step and a couple new members, namely Jordie White (formerly Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson) on bass and James Iha (formerly of Smashing Pumpkins) on guitar, A Perfect Circle absolutely destroyed the sold-out crowd. Their new songs translated well live, and James' and Jordie's interpretations of older songs? Butter. Having had the pleasure of catching these guys in action twice before, when they toured for their first album Mer des Noms, I can easily say that this was their best show. (Lateef Martin)