The gap! The gap! The gap the gap the gap between the rich and the poor!

You Say Party We Say Die hobbled into town in a screeching, wounded tour van. Though their east coast tour plans were scuttled by the untimely demise of their vehicle, they joined North of America in Kingston as a consolation prize.

YSPWSD is a 5-piece dance-punk outfit whose spritely frontwoman's vocals (and politics) have earned the band favourable comparisons to Le Tigre. The sound at Clark, as always, was less than ideal. When asked if the vocals could be turned up, the soundman shrugged helplessly and offered that everything else could be turned down. YSPWSD coped cheerfully, and their enthusiastic stage show awakened the sleepy Monday night crowd. Fine, their sound is unremarkable in a growing clutter of dance-punk bands, but goddamn, you can't argue with infectious and catchy. "Hey," the bandleader observed with a wry smile after the crowd began to find its feet, "you guys do dance in Kingston!"

This picture notwithstanding, Pelt is not an interpretive dance group.

This one is more representative. Pelt, celebrating their CD release, put on a great show. Hands down, they're one of the best bands in Kingston right now. They play sultry blues-rock. They sound like the Detroit Cobras. They made cupcakes for the show. They sold their shirts and CDs from a cigarette-girl tray. What's not to like?

North Of America. Reunion. NORTH OF AMERICA REUNION. Holy shit. We know it was a Monday night, but when Hali mathrock legends come and throw down a mindbending show, you don't leave midway through just because it's Monday night and it's late and you have class tomorrow. You stay. And you rock out. Understood, Kingston?