(KINDA) ABRIDGED REVIEW OF (SOME) TRANSMISSION CONFERENCE ARTIST SHOWCASES -- No reason to get TOO wordy here -- how 'bout we just describe what we saw the way we'd explain it to our A.D.D.-riddled friends (ie: you!) -- Apostle Of Hustle - Cool show...guy from Broken Social Scene and some friends apparently got the Latin percussion bug at some point whilst away from the Great White North...not much more than a quirky little side project from some quirky little artists...we're sure them's fightin' words to some die-hard Canuck fans, but honestly -- not much mass-appeal goin' on here. Attack In Black - Missed 'em. Clare Bowditch - Australian chick who couldn't handle the fact that some drunken conference-goers were talking while she was playing. Boo hoo. Her songs are rad, though, and perfect for film/TV sync licensing. Live show left us WAY un-impressed, but the tunes rule. Signed to EMI in AU...not sure about the rest of the world. Dan Mangan - We're big fans of Dan. Mellow, and there are certainly a shit-ton of 'old-soul' male singer/songwriters out there, but Dan has great songs, he's a good guy, and he'd work his ass off if a label would back his play. Die Mannequin - Whoa. So, we got to the venue a little late, walked to the bar for some drinks, and before we knew it, Care Failure (sexy female vocalist/guitarist) ran from the stage, jumped onto the bar (foliding tables) and kicked cups and Jack Daniels bottles all over the floor. One of the very few RAWK moments of this kinda-uptight Canadian conference. Didn't even realize there were some dudes still onstage playing with her. This chick is a rock star. they need to get outta Canada (with the greatest respect, of course, to our friends up North). Eleni Mandell - Meh...not much to say here. Hayley Sales - She's sexy, but that's about it. Les Breastfeeders - Missed 'em. Sorry. Meiko - She rules. We've written about her a million times. 'Nuff said. Mother Mother - Gotta say -- this group REALLY impressed us. If the B-52's were in their 20's and were doing their best Tegan & Sara imitation, they'd sound close to Mother Mother. Or...if the Dixie Chicks were into quirky indie rock (and from Canada) and had their femme older cousin as the 'frontman'...you get the idea. We think there's something here but they've signed a worldwide deal with Last Gang Records (???) so we wish 'em luck. Patrick Watson - WHOA. We're gonna drop a couple names here, but don't immediately guffaw, ok? Wow we just typed 'guffaw'. This guy is Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley squished into one. Fuckin' A. Someone please steal him from Secret City Records (what tha?!?) SICK live show. Head ana shsoulders above almost everyone else. Meiko was better, but we dig chicks. Plants And Animals - Eh...a little too 'indie' for us. Pride Tiger - Good RAWK. They like Thin Lizzy a LOT. Corrosion of Conformity too. Signed to EMI Canada. Hopefully they build up enough of a story to have one of the EMI labels pick 'em up Stateside. Did we mention they like Thin Lizzy? Like...a LOT?? Rubik - Talented young Finnish band -- singer has a WICKED voice, but their songs aren't really well-structured. Shout out out out out - Missed em. Mainly 'cuz a bunch of Canadian hipsters were running around asking if anyone was 'staying for Shoot oot oot oot oot'. Smoosh - Aww! We've seen these girls before, but now the 13 year-old drummer Chloe and 15 year-old singer/keyboardist Asya has their 11 year-old sister on bass! SO CUTE! For ten minutes. Then we did shots. Sweet Thing - This new EMI Canada signing could potentially have worldwide success. Imagine if Ryan Seacrest's twin brother sang Mika songs with Robbie Williams' backing band. We DARE ya not to dance. The Acorn - Missed 'em.