Wednesday , Horseshoe : Thanks to openers ,The Spades , for the rock . It 'twas another full house there to join the Down at The Khyber revue at the Shoe . Hot and heavy it was, with Gordie Johnson riding the 12 string on 2nd set numbers such as Face of theEarth , and Nothing More to Say to You . Where does he get that tone...?

But for this correspondent it had to be the appearance of our old bandmate , Sloan's , Andrew Scott , whom rocked the tubs through the first -ever performance of Heart to Heart with Lionel followed by a bittersweet rendition of the star-crossed and out of tune True Love Rules .

Tonight is La De Da , and it's another sellout for the old madam of Queen street . Get there early so as not to miss Pete Elkas and the Elkaholics, crooning through a smooth soulful glass of rum punch . Look for more Sonic Johnsonianisms and Joel's dad , Bill Plaskett . Also , a special trip from the Hip , the uniquely personable , Gord Downie , with his ode , 'Christmastime in Toronto ' . We learned it at soundcheck and it's positively frigging festivus .