  The Golden Dogs play the Horseshoe Tavern on Saturday.
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TORONTO - Yes, Canadian Music Week officially kicked off last night at The Docks, during the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards, or "The Indies" to festival regulars, with performances from The Stills, The Neverending White Lights, Cadence Weapon and other Canuck music faves.
But today is the day everything really gets going as the nightly music showcases kick off in more than 40 downtown venues.
Over the next three nights, more than 500 participating bands will fight for concert-goers' attention and industry buzz.
With so much to choose from, you better start figuring out your CMW plan of attack early.
Here's a rundown of some of our best bet picks for CMW this year:
Tonight:
- The CHART-SHOE Showcase at the Horseshoe Tavern is a really good bet, with Welland, Ont.'s Attack In Black at 9:30 p.m., followed by Mississauga hipster faves, The Junction. Set to release a full-length on Dine Alone Records soon, Attack In Black are about to blow up Alexisonfire-style, while The Junction have been riding some serious momentum with their recent self-titled major label debut. Needless to say, it's a good opportunity to catch both bands small-venue style.
Friday:
- Toronto rockers Dearly Beloved play the LiveTourArtists showcase at the Rivoli at 9 p.m.. They've flown under the radar a bit, but critics love them. They'll play songs off their 2006 debut album, You Are The Jaguar, which was written by singer/bassist Rob Higgins (formerly of Change Of Heart) after the death of his father last year. The intensity is in the music. As an added bonus (for some), the show will be hosted by Mr. Lahey and Randy of the Trailer Park Boys.
- Seminal hip-hop troupe Public Enemy hit The Docks at 11 p.m. Nineteen eighty-seven will forever be known as the year Chuck D redefined the culture of rap with the release of Public Enemy's Yo Bum Rush The Show. Apparently, he's now formed a rock band and will release an album with the outfit later this year, so it may be a while before we see a hip-hop performance from him again. Get on it.
Saturday:
- '70s/'80s punk rockers The Viletones hit the Bovine Sex Club at 1 a.m. for the Gasoline Magazine Showcase. Lester Bangs called the Toronto group "one of the most important punk bands of all time." They've been known not to show up for gigs, but if all goes off as planned, the show'll surely be memorable.
- The CHART-SHOE Showcase, featuring Yoko Casionos at 9 p.m., Two Hours Traffic at 10 p.m., In-Flight Safety at 11 p.m. and The Golden Dogs at 12 a.m. Diverse lineup -- all very good live bands. Go early!
Others: Hell Yeah F--- Yeah, Sat., Bovine, 2 a.m.; Shad, Thur., Drake Underground, 9 p.m.; Apostle Of Hustle, Fri., El Mocambo, midnight; Ain't No Joke featuring DJs Lil' Jaz, k-os and Justin Peroff, Fri., Gladstone, 11:30 p.m.; Cadence Weapon, Fri., Horseshoe, 11 p.m.; ohbijou, Thur., Mod Club, 7:30 p.m.; The Cinematics and Mute Math, Thur., Opera House, starting at 9 p.m.; Bedouin Soundclash, Sat., Mod Club, 8:45 p.m.; Cities In Dust and The Miniatures, Fri., Mod Club, starting at 10:30 p.m.; Guest DJs Arif and Tim from Protest The Hero, Fri., Reverb, 2 a.m.
Non-CMW stuff: We feel bad for the poor schmucks who happen to be playing in Toronto during Canadian Music Week that aren't part of the festival lineup (they get pretty overlooked), so here's some other, non-CMW stuff happening in the clubs this weekend.
- Tokyo's The Zoobombs headline three shows this weekend, Thursday to Saturday at The Comfort Zone, as part of local promoter Dan Burke's annual VERSUS!CMW series.
- ALL CAPS! presents three East Coast bands on Sunday, as part of their all-ages series of concerts at the WhipperSnapper Gallery. On the bill are Their Majesties, We Take Lovers, The Just Barelys and Brent Randall And His Pinecones. This week the ALL CAPS! folks are starting a monthly mix CD exchange (bring in a mix CD and trade it for another one). We like this.
- Dean & Britta play the Mod Club Monday night, in support of their recently released full-length, Back Numbers. Pitchfork Media recently called them "indie rock's sexiest couple," but we're way more impressed by the fact that Britta was the voice of cartoon rocker Jem (of The Holograms fame) in the '80s.
- Of Montreal play The Opera House March 13, in support of their latest effort, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?. We love this album -- it's a brilliant electro-bliss-pop masterpiece -- and if their live translation is any match, it will be worth dragging your hungover, CMW-burnt-out ass out for it.
