Grimes, Fucked Up, Cadence Weapon and more played the Polaris Music Prize 2012 Gala along with winner Feist (pics)

by Dominick Mastrangelo

Grimes / Feist and check / Fucked Up at 2012 Polaris Gala

As you may have heard, Feist took home the 2012 Polaris Music Prize on Monday at Toronto's Masonic Temple. The Calgary native won the $30,000 prize for last year's Arts & Crafts release, Metals, beating out an incredibly strong shortlist which included Grimes, Drake (who was in Toronto but did not attend the gala), Handsome Furs, and 2009 winners, Fucked Up.

The three-hour gala featured performances by seven of the 10 shortlist nominees as the jury deliberated elsewhere in the building trying to decide on a winner.

Upon hearing her name announced by Jeremy Gara and Tim Kingsbury of last year's winners, Arcade Fire, the camera-shy Feist initially crawled under her table. "This is my worst nightmare," she told gala host Graham Lawrence, referencing her dislike of public speaking. "You'd think from a lifetime of terrible speeches I would remember at one point to write something down, but I never do because it seems presumptuous to prepare."

The performances were all top notch, with Grimes the most head-turning, opting for a male pole dancer instead of her usual two female dancers. Kathleen Edwards brought in a children's choir for her performance and then delivered a very heartfelt speech afterward where she thanked Polaris founder Steve Jordan for "creating a vehicle for those of us who don't want to march in the shit parade."

The last performance of the evening went to Feist and she was joined by Snowblink, Aurora as well as Broken Social Scene alum Andrew Whiteman and Charles Spearin, who's been handling mutli-instrumentalist duties on her current tour. Cold Specks (who will be here in November), Cadence Weapon and Yamantaka // Sonic Titan also performed. More pictures from the Gala are below.