OTTAWA - Thanks to The Trews, I now know how to pick the best shows at the Tulip Festival.

The worse the weather, the better the music.

On a night when there were more umbrellas than tulips at Major’s Hill Park, about 1,200 soggy and shivering fans turned out to see the band many consider to be the hottest act in Canada kick off the 2006 edition of the annual Tulip Festival concert series.

Last night’s show went down as one of the best that Ottawa’s seen since The Trews’ last gig at Tulip Fest in 2003.

Since then, the band — fronted by guitarist John-Angus MacDonald and his brother Colin on vocals, with Jack Syperek and Sean Dalton — has been touring relentlessly and creating a huge buzz for their classic rock roots.

Now I know why. With the retro long-haired look and a kind of pouty macho flamboyance, The Trews were spectacular live performers, playing with focused intensity and just enough rock-star attitude to make it known that they're “the next big thing.”

Bet on it.

Covering songs from their debut House of Ill Fame and their latest release Den of Thieves, the band motored through their two-hour set of filthy, in-yer-face, longhaired ’70s rock with dazzling musicianship, powerful vocals and lots of kick-ass energy, with So She's Leaving, I Can’t Say and Not Ready To Go among their very full setlist.

With John-Angus pouting like the guitar-god, Colin cranked up the energy and the volume with feverish vocals that never flagged despite the yucky conditions, calling on the fans to “stay with us.”

They didn't take much persuading.

The band also proved that they were not slaves to convention, with affecting ballads including their hit Tired of Waiting and heartfelt emotion on Yearning.

In the unidimensional world of pop music, it’s heartening to experience a band as passionate as The Trews.

Opening for The Trews was The Marble Index, who didn’t let the rain and sparse attendance get them down. The power-pop trio of singer/guitarist Brad Germain, Ryan Tweedle on bass and drummer Adam Knickle lived up to their own billing as sounding “right in the middle between Franz Ferdinand and the Foo Fighters” with a high-energy set that included original tunes like I Believe, their new single Same Schools and a decent cover of The Police’s I Can't Stand Losing You.

Xavier Rudd plays Tulip Festival tonight at 9:15 p.m.