The Canadians sent over several acts to take over the Masque Ink venue and my first taste was the punk rock duo called The Pack Ad whose vocalist impressed with her commitment and explosive performance. I wish I could have seen more but I had to dash off to another gig down the road before returning for another dose of Canadian independent spirit.

Forest City Lovers, aka Kat Burns, has just released her second album of the most sensitive folk-pop music. But as she stood on stage she looked apprehensive and worried as sound problems plagued her performance. But, in true pro style, she carried on and gave the most mesmerising display.

Another female performer also impressed. Liverpool based Scandinavian Eva Petersen is the former Little Flames vocalist and at the great little Mello Mello venue gave the briefest of performances with just three songs. But it was enough to convince that the lady has a powerful and expressive voice which matched her soulful songs.

Carrie Hayden was born in Worcestershire in 1985 and it didn’t take her long to realise that when she spoke she sounded like she’d been tanning Marlboro Reds since she exited the womb. After trying to sing along to the likes of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey and failing miserably she came to the decision that she was going to have to find another way to entertain the neighbours. At fourteen she started writing three chord songs on an out of tune piano. Inspired by artists such as Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow and the Beatles her hobby grew into an ambition. After a two year performing arts diploma and a gap year singing vocals on dodgy trance tracks she managed to blag her way into fame school-LIPA. There she met a handful of like-minded individuals in the form of Andy Neve, Jostein Austvik, Andrew Grevey and began to make sweet music. With influences from many different genres including Rock, Indie, Acoustic and Folk and the help of a husky voice Carrie has developed a unique sound complimented by heartfelt, honest lyrics. I wandered over to Parr Street’s Studio 2 to catch an American singer/songwriter who cancelled. But I was treated to a lovely performance from Carrie whose voice and songs place her in the top echelon of her genre. Her backing band was also excellent - a real and very pleasant surprise, and a young musician to look out for…

Blood Red Shoes consists of Steven Ansell (drums, vocals) and Laura-Mary Carter (lead vocal and guitar). The band was formed in late 2004 after their previous bands (Cat On Form and Lady Muck respectively) had broken up and they decided to “have a jam”. The band cite a large swathe of US-based underground punk and rock music as their primary influence, drawing inspiration from Babes in Toyland, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Q and not U, Pixies, Fugazi and Sonic Youth, although they also regularly highlight English artists Blur and PJ Harvey as music heroes. The duo considers itself to be a punk band, in ethos and attitude, if not in their immediate musical style. Blood Red Shoes deal with themes of frustration, anger, alienation, boredom, confusion and ultimately the hope of freedom, in their lyrics. The Zanzibar was full to bursting point for the band’s performance and I had to remove my steamed-up glasses to take photos! And boy did the band deliver! Now I can’t pretend that their music bowled me over but its intensity and depth left its mark.

Titus Andronicus is a New Jersey, punk-inflected indie rock group whose bawling, thrashing sound reflected a wide range of influences ranging from the Pixies to Bright Eyes to Bruce Springsteen, and Glen Rock. The band formed in 2005 with Liam Betson, Ian Graetzer, Eric Harm, Patrick Stickles, and Dan Tews. The band’s debut full-length, The Airing Of Grievances (which makes reference to a Seinfeld episode), was first released by Troubleman Unlimited in 2008, then picked up for wider distribution by XL Recordings in January 2009. For me, this was one of the most exciting rock band performance of (my) Sound City. The band played with a venom and passion that is rare while its connection with the crowd was rock-solid, extraordinary even. In addition, the work of the female guitarist/violist with the band that night was one of the most expressive and animated I have ever seen. Loved the songs, loved the performance and made a mental note to dig deeper.