March 14, 2010

By By Robert Thompson, Toronto

Canadian Music Week came to a conclusion with Eurythmics guitarist Dave Stewart talking about songwriting and acts including Arkells, Metric and Joel Plaskett taking home prizes at the Indie Awards.

Stewart, who gave a sometimes provocative, and occasionally rambling keynote on Friday, followed it up by appearing on Saturday (March 13) with Toronto singer Cindy Gomez to talk about songwriting. Stewart told the audience that the split in his romantic relationship with singer Annie Lennox led to a majority of the band's best-known songs.

The session also included American singer Paul Williams, the songwriter behind hits for the Carpenters and others, as well as Canadian Dan Hill, a prolific songwriter who co-wrote "Sometimes When We Touch."

Last night Hamilton's Arkells took home the award for favorite live group, at the Indie Awards at the Royal York Hotel, while emo band Marianas Trench took two awards, including favorite radio single and favorite video. Other winners included Toronto's Metric and Neko Case, who took home the award for favorite international solo act.

Several acts played the awards, including Rural Alberta Advantage, the Constantines and Great Lake Swimmers.

The festival component of CMW wound down last night; organizers announced shows were completely sold out. More than 700 acts played showcases in a variety of Toronto venues starting Wednesday (March 10), many of which had long lineups outside their respective venues.

The festival portion of the event included hotly tipped Canadian acts, including Halifax's Postdata, who played two shows, including a stunning set on Friday night at the Music Gallery, a converted church in downtown Toronto, and Dan Mangan, the heralded Vancouver singer/songwriter, who played to a packed room at the Arts & Crafts showcase on Thursday.

Ottawa's the Acorn, who are working on the follow-up to 2007's critically lauded "Glory Mountain Hope," had a long lineup of fans in front of Lees Palace on Friday for a showcase that included Montreal's Plants and Animals.

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