Keeping it simple, I’ve summarized the three acts that hit the stage last Saturday night.

Ghetto Pony
They had a really interesting sound and instrumentation that was mixed up throughout their set (DJ, upright bass, electric/bass guitars). That said, the vocal delivery was a little awkward and forced at times — like a college-bar Weezer cover. Track them down on myspace.

Jade McNelis
She is obviously very talented, with a nice voice and a surprisingly full sound for a solo keyboard act. In one of the strangest moments of the night, she offered to give away her drink tickets for the best break dancing. Not a unusual request, except that her songs wouldn’t sound out of place on the new Norah Jones album. Is this the start of a new trend — breaking to ‘adult contempo’? Her myspace tracks come highly recommended.

Apostle of Hustle
If you weren’t already aware, this group formed as a side project of Broken Social Scene’s lead-guitarist, Andrew Whiteman. They certainly played a great set Saturday night. I absolutely loved their use of two drum kits, although you had to feel bad for one of the drummers, who was relegated to triangle duty for a few songs. That had to be a little emasculating. In another strange moment, a girl sitting on the floor in front of the stage trained a video camera on Whiteman and didn’t move it for the entire 80 minute set. I also got a good laugh when a group of 4 or 5 girls looking to ‘meet’ the band realized they were about 10 years older than they thought they’d be. The collective look on their faces was priceless.

The verdict? Pick up tickets if their current tour stops near you.

Photo credit: Joshb