Another CMW night chock-full of musical goodness. Running across the city to catch shows at different venues is difficult, and not advised for those of you who may have a weakness for cabs (my wallet is pretty mad at me).

Overall, an interesting and exciting Friday night that didn't end till about 4AM.

The Riverboat Gamblers @ The Phoenix, 7:15PM

I took a chance on The Riverboat Gamblers, having only heard one song before on their recent Fat Wreck Chords release, American's Abroad, which itself was a live album.

Due to the awesomeness of the TTC and my own poor sense of direction, I arrived for the last four songs of their set at The Phoenix. But it was a great four songs. Hailing from Texas, RB combine a sense of punk rock anthems with a southern-flavoured rock chaser. Very tasty.

The boys played a high-energy set, and concluded the last song with a rock-climbing performance by singer Mike Wiebe, as he scaled the PA system to the balcony overlooking the side of the stage to sing that last song. Definitely worth my time to see.

Against Me! @ The Phoenix, 8:30PM

Against Me! are the darlings of Punk with a capital P. During the set, I ran into fellow blogger, author and musician Warren Kinsella, who declared the band "the best show in the world". Brave words, but words backed up by the band's show.

Apparently the band was under the weather with the flu, which delayed the start of the show about half an hour, but it was worth the wait. If they were sick, you couldn't tell. Launching into their set, the band had the crowd storming the stage (I must be getting old, because I've never seen girls stage-dive!). Sing-alongs were the theme of the set, with kids knowing every word to every song.

I unfortunately had to leave before the end of the set, but not before hearing the anthem du jour, Don't Loose Touch. A perfect cap on the performance for me.

Drunkula @ The Bovine Sex Club, 2AM

Not much to say that I haven't said already about this amazing band. The set was late, booze-fueled, and a shot straight in the guts. There were a bunch of photogs there from various media (didn't catch any names), but its great to see the guys get more well-deserved attention.