K'naan and Shad teamed up for a gig at the Kool Haus on Friday night, delivering back-to-back sets showcasing the optimistic and conscious side of hip hop to an eclectic Toronto crowd. Both Shad and K'naan have a universal appeal that has elevated their unique musical concoctions and heartfelt prose miles above the overpopulated realm of gangster rap and autotuned top-40 garbage. The family friendly affair was an arm-waving, chorus-chanting, crowd-pleasing and heart-warming experience from start to finish.

Recent Mercury Prize winners The XX delivered a short but sweet set to a packed house at Massey Hall on Wednesday night, showcasing their debut album as the headlining act of the evening after a tantalizing opening performance from LA's Warpaint.

Both The XX and Warpaint have made Toronto a home-away-from-home of sorts, with the two bands having appeared here a combined total of seven times this year. While naysayers may have thought The XX's decision to play a venue as large as Massey Hall to be a gross overestimation of their popularity, the turnout on Wednesday night dictated otherwise. Lucky for The XX, Toronto concert-goers have an insatiable appetite for brooding, electro-infused Britpop.

Live music picks for WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29 through TUESDAY OCTOBER 5, 2010.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 29 / THE XX with WARPAINT / MASSEY HALL / 178 VICTORIA ST / $25 - $45 / ALL AGES
Following their Mercury Prize victory earlier this month, London indie pop trio The XX shocked music critics and fans alike by announcing that "there is no plan to even put out a second album." Bassist/vocalist Oliver Sim elaborated on their potential hiatus, noting that they're "going to write and record just for the love of it, even if [they] don't do anything with it". With that being said, their gig at Massey Hall tonight with Warpaint may be one of the few shots Torontonians have at taking in The XX before their self-imposed break from touring and writing. Tickets will be available at the door.

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30 / LIBRARY VOICES & PAPER LIONS / HORSESHOE TAVERN / 368 QUEEN ST W / $15 / 19+
Eight-piece Regina-based pop-rock collective Library Voices exploded onto the Canadian music scene in 2008 with the Hunting Ghosts EP, relentlessly touring the effort while building anticipation for the 2010 release of their debut full-length Denim on Denim. They'll co-headline the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern on Thursday night alongside PEI quartet Paper Lions. Vancouver's Bend Sinister will open, making the all-Canadian line-up a truly coast-to-coast affair for the lucky Toronto crowd.

The main stage event of Manifesto 2010 took over Yonge-Dundas Square on Sunday for a full day of hip hop, reggae and R&B rhythms that showcased the best that Toronto has to offer alongside talent from the rest of Canada and abroad. Featuring the Freshest Goods Marketplace, dance competitions, workshops, sanctioned graffiti work and a crowd of enthusiastic hip hop heads, the main event closed out the festival with a bang.

Among the musicians to grace the stage were Black Thought (of the Roots), J. Period, Jay Electronica, Saukrates, Maestro Fresh Wes, Rich Kidd, D-Sisive, Nomadic Massive, Tanika Charles, Choclair, Eternia, Spek Won and beatbox sensation Scott Jackson. A constant stream of guest stars flooded the stage throughout the night, making for a unique and unforgettable concert festival experience in the heart of Toronto.

After the jump you can check out a huge collection of photos from the festival, and test your knowledge of the T Dot hip hop scene by identifying the barrage of emcees that shared the stage with the legendary Saukrates on Sunday night.

In this edition of the weekly Toronto audio and video round-up, I feature mp3 downloads from Diamond Rings, The Golden Dogs and The Modern Superstitions; a preview of the Lovely Hearts Club featuring Freedom or Death; live footage of Tegan & Sara and Owen Pallett performing together at the Polaris Gala; a remix of Shad's "Rose Garden" by Donwill & Von Pea of Tanya Morgan; a link to download The Line of Best Fit's Oh! Canada Vol. 13 mixtape which features Basia Bulat, Bad Tits, By Divine Right + more; plus video footage of Kae Sun, The Coppertone, Chilly Gonzales (feat. Gentleman Reg + more), Double X, and Kobi Onyame with Saukrates.

Last night hundreds of Manifesto-goers celebrated the opening of the Made You Look Art Exhibition at 99 Sudbury Street, which featured the works of Paul Leli, internationally renowned illustrator and designer Dubelyoo (aka The Art Bishop), local woodgrain artist Eric Quebral, NYC-based hip hop photographer Ernie Paniccioli and more, as well as live DJs and musical performances from Sarah Linhares (MTL), The Extremities, Circle Research, DJ Fase and DJ Moonstarr.