Canada is famous for a lot of things: Wayne Gretsky, maple syrup, funny accents-- rock bands not so much. However, a new crop of stars including Arcade Fire, Feist, Hollerado and Rural Alberta Advantage may be changing that. Last night Rural Alberta Advantage from Toronto, and Hollerado from Montreal invaded the Music Hall of Williamsburg along with local group The Dig to play a free show for a receptive crowd of young Brooklynites.

Hollerado commenced the festivities by kicking out a set of jovial garage rock, as the crowd gradually grew. “We’re probably not the band you came to see, but you’re stuck with us anyway," singer Menno Versteeg joked between tracks. Whether or not fans came to the Music Hall with Hollerado in mind, the band was out to make an impression, adding an element of slapstick comedy to tunes like “Americanarama”. On one song, as the rest of the band sang together sans percussion, drummer Jake Boyd comically pantomimed theatrical drum rolls.

Next up were The Dig, a sore thumb in the otherwise Canadian line up; the Brooklyn based rockers delivered a set of melancholy indie songs with big choruses. The band started things off with a slow one which featured keyboard player Erik Eiser playing two synthesizers to add atmospheric layers to their sound. The faster paced “She’s Gonna Kill that Boy” had the crowd jumping around as lanky bassist Emile Mosseri belted out the catchy hook.

Finally, Canadian three piece Rural Alberta Advantage came to the stage. Their initial outbursts were both visually and aurally entertaining with keyboardist Amy Cole and drummer Paul Banwatt combining forces to clang on a single tom while singer Nils Edenloff played a plugged in acoustic. “God I have to learn how to tell stories better,” Edenloff confided to the crowd before beginning “For Night Rider.” Though bashful between songs and nervous about forgetting the words to new material, Edenloff was exceptional during them. The band’s sound was minimalist defined mostly by Edenloff's acoustic guitar and Banwatt's skillful drums with Cole adding sparse harmonies and synth layers. At one point, Edenloff performed a solo cover of “Eye of the Tiger” for the ebullient crowd. After the show, Superglued briefly interviewed Edenloff-- so check it out!

Music Hall of Williamsburg never ever fails to give me a great show; everything I've ever seen there I've really loved, from Kevin Devine to Tilly and the Wall, to last night's gig -- Hollerado, the Dig, and the Rural Alberta Advantage.

Hollerado was up first. A group of four guys hailing from a small town in Canada, Hollerado was a group of rough and ready guys who played fun, upbeat music. I kept wanting to call it Americana rock before I remembered that they were from the great white north, so instead: it's good indie rock, and they have a penchant for gang vocals and messing with rhythms, giving strong poppy verses and choruses and then throwing in more hardcore musical breakdowns, entirely changing the feel of the songs that they're playing. Their lead single, "Americanarama," was one of the best of the night for me -- though that might be because the chorus was a rousing yell of "heyyyyy, Philadelphia!" Interesting to hear a call for my hometown from a band from Canada. They seemed like really chill guys, with color-coordinated guitars/basses, a drummer who liked to air-drum on slower, vocal heavy parts, and a sense of humor about being the first act on stage. They didn't play like they were first openers; they played like they were the main act, giving us a lively set of upbeat music and performances. I thought they were great, and fun to watch.

The Dig was up next on stage. They're an up-and-coming NYC band who's going on tour in the fall with another of the bands we've seen this summer: Here We Go Magic! The Dig plays accessible, very listenable indie rock, sometimes with a heavier side and sometimes with a softer, folk-rock side -- but all of it is nice. When the first vocalist started in, I had to ask my friend who he was reminiscent of because I couldn't place it, and then we couldn't decide whether it was Bob Dylan or the lead singer of Hot Hot Heat -- an interesting combination, I think. The most memorable part of the Dig's set is that they had some seriously hardcore fans. Everyone was moving in time with the music, but a few people (namely: one older guy and one late-teens girl) were just throwing down, letting arms flail and jumping all around to the beat, getting so into it that others stepped back to give them room.

Last up was the main act, and we were eager to see what all the fuss was about. The Rural Alberta Advantage is from Toronto, Canada -- though originally, at least one of their members was born in Alberta. Many of their songs have references to the province, whether it be the province itself, a town, or small parts of rural life: runaway lovers who made it to the next town over, a perilous bridge, mine workers and small towns after a collapse. Their folk-rock sound is enhanced by big arrangements, with heavy drums and heavy-hearted lyrics, giving their music the nostalgic aspect that everyone wants to cling to and remember their homes. That was what made the set memorable for me -- the feeling that these were things that everyone could experience, from watching the sky to falling in love, and it wasn't trite or overdone because the music kept it from being so. It was poetic without being obnoxious and accessible without being twee and generic. The RAA like to explore interesting arrangements, often moving from up-tempo parts of the song to sudden, stark a cappella moments from Nils Edenloff, the lead singer. Edenloff's voice reminded me of Jeff Magnum's, or Colin Meloy's -- sharp, very distinct, and wholly perfect for the music. It was a hilariously awesome treat when Edenloff came out on stage for the first encore song and explained "we're kind of new to this encore thing, so bear with us," before launching into a slow and kind of creepy acoustic version of a very familiar song. It took me half a verse, but then the entire crowd caught on: he was singing "Eye Of The Tiger." It was amazing.

After the set, we caught Nils and got the chance to speak with him briefly about his favourite shows, both played and attended. He was incredibly warm, thanked us for being there, and genuinely seemed like he enjoyed talking to us, rather than that he was humoring us for sake of being polite. The RAA won me over, and I'm pretty sure I'll be following them after this.