TOP 10 GIGS OF THE YEAR.

1. Mogwai/Bardo Pond, Phoenix Concert Theatre, May 27. My ears are still ringing. Loudest gig ever, and a damned fine emotional rollercoaster.

2. Arab Strap, Lee's Palace, April 13. I walked out of the venue longing for love. I didn't find it.

3. Philippe Cam, SAT (Montreal), June 1. The triumphant peak of Montreal's MUTEK experience, and also the most danceable (despite the absence of beats).

4. Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Opera House, September 27. This gig said more to me about what Sept. 11 was about than the last two months of CNN put together.

5. Spiritualized, Kool Haus, October 29. Once they hit their stride, it was breathtaking. Thinking about those versions of "Let It Flow" and "Don't Just Do Something" still gives me goosebumps.

6. Low, Lee's Palace, February 12. The quietest gig ever. A beguiling way to get lost in simple songs for an evening.

7. Mitchell Akiyama/Polmo Polpo, Now lounge, November 25. Akiyama's set was stripped-down minimal bliss, and Polmo Polpo played for more than 20 minutes!

8. Depeche Mode, Molson Amphitheatre, June 16. Is there any such thing as a bad DM gig? Proof positive that their post-1990 output deserves just as much acclaim as their pre-1990 output, regardless of what the retro-copyist fans wearing faded blue jeans were thinking.

9. Do Make Say Think, Ted's Wrecking Yard (RIP), September 16. Getting DMST out of church and into a proper cramped venue where they could blast the doors open made all the difference in the world.

10. Autechre, Opera House, May 9. The gigging equivalent of those challenges on Survivor where they have to stand on a log for eight hours. If that doesn't sound like your idea of fun, then obviously you weren't there. Oh wait, maybe you were.