weat drenched, rain soaked, half deaf, and sleep deprived, hordes of revelers have emerged from Toronto clubs with sticky shoes and squinting eyes: North by Northeast (NXNE) has come and gone.

With car-bound Euro Cup fans crowding the streets, Taste of Little Italy diners gorging on pasta, and Luminato aesthetes filling theatre seats, the weekend saw the city aflame with culture (and a brief Wednesday-night Queen Street fire…again). Despite the surfeit of options, the storm clouds, and the heat, NXNE drew hordes of music fans.

The focal point of Toronto's summer music calendar (and it is in the spring, no less), NXNE welcomed more bands than a Vegas chapel. Breaking strings, scratching records, signing deals, and wearing badges, performers from throughout the world temporarily invaded stages and soundboards across the city.

While conference rooms saw talking heads, um, talk, a multitude of musicians from a profuse variety of genres strutted, cooed, and screamed. Marquee names like Sloan and Evan Dando hit small stages while indie heroes like Ladyhawk, Spiral Beach, and Julie Doiron played to new audiences. However, the highlights of NXNE are always in the surprises (and the after-hours imbibing).