With the school year soon coming to a close, the good folks of the award-winning contemporary, interdisciplinary theatre company Mammalian Diving Reflex have put together a simply incredible menu of real world experiences for the 647 kids of Parkdale Public School and the residents of West Queen West.

In what's being hailed as the duel in the 'dale, this multi-faceted event will mash-up the talents of generation Z students with their more established counterparts in the community. Here's a look at what's in store:

Featuring: Grace Emilys, Mistress, Dance Yourself to Death, Grand Analog, Foxfire, Run with the Kittens, This is Radio Freedom and The Worst Pop Band Ever.

I kicked off Saturday night in Kensington (I really hate driver-side parallel parking, by the way) so I could check out one of the festival's few representatives from the land of haggis. Good thing I did, too, because Dundee's Grace Emilys came a long way to play a great set to a relatively sparse crowd (much like the first Toronto show by The Police), and years from now I'll have the photographs to prove that I was there (assuming of course they catch on the way that other band did).

The cool thing about Grace Emilys is that the three guys out front switch up the lead vocal duties, often mid-song. They delivered some nice, tight and concise songs, including one of my new personal faves, "Falling Up the Stairs" (B-side of their debut single) - nice choice for a set closer.

Featuring: Hugh Cornwell (ex of the Stranglers), Priya Thomas with special guest Lindy Vopnfjord of Major Maker, and The Travelling Band

I haven't seen rain like that in ages. I needed a paddle to get across Dundas. Luckily, the Dakota (249 Ossington) has Maudite on tap, which made me much happier (definitely calmed my nerves), although I was a little sad I had no designated driver (damn responsibilities).

Fortunately, punk rock elder statesman Hugh Cornwell was in the house with his acoustic guitar. Whipping though a short set of newer solo material mixed with Stranglers gems, his longtime loyal fans were treated to tunes going all the way back to 1977's Rattus Norvegicus. The crowd did a commendable job singing along to "Hanging Around," and I was saved the bother of having to shout out a request when he graced us all with "Golden Brown."

Featuring: The Books Elusive, Stand, Mad Staring Eyes, Monotonix, Jennifer Foster, Stop Theif and People in Planes.

I decided to kick off NXNE 2008 by going to the Big Bop (651 Queen West @ Bathurst) so I could bounce between Holy Joe's and Reverb to take in as much as I could.

I showed up just in time to catch the first song by Toronto's The Books Elusive upstairs at Holy Joe's. This high energy duo proved to be lots of fun. With Lynne Dubuc on vocals and guitar and Damon de Szegheo on drums and vocals, my first thoughts were of a gender reversed White Stripes, though that's probably oversimplifying things.

To sum them up in just one word, I'd call them proto-minimalist. de Szegheo absolutely pummeled his kit, which is always a lot of fun to see. He switched to mallets to add a gentler touch for one number, but it wasn't long before the rubber tips came flying off.

Interviewing Toronto's The I Spies was one of the more surreal experiences I've had leading up to North by Northeast. On a three-way call with singer/guitarist/keyboardist Johnny Kay (in his kitchen "cooking up a whole mess of farfalle pasta") and lead guitarist/singer/keyboardist James Roberston (on his cell being chauffeured around town), I found myself in the middle of an arsenal of snappy one-liners and in-jokes that one might expect from a comedy troupe.

That's not to say that their music is a joke by any stretch of the imagination. The I Spies deliver powerful guitar-fueled pop songs reminiscent of the early days of new wave (Television, not Culture Club). With energy to spare and hooks galore, their debut album, In the Night, stands as testament to a local act ready to take on the world.

Transatlantic phone interviews are inherently problematic. You always run the risk of hearing static interference, having crossed wires that cause the audio from another dialog to obscure your conversation, or interviewing a soft-spoken subject with a thick Mancunian accent.

When I connect with Adam Gorman of Manchester's The Travelling Band I hit the jackpot and get all three. Lucky me!

Bad connections be damned, this is rock and roll, and I've got a musician to interview.