The best Canadian cities have been battling it out all month on our Facebook Group. The contest comes to a close at midnight tonight but it's not too late to vote or score a prize like an Xbox or a new Nokia N97 Mini.

If the current standings hold up Montreal will shockingly come in second place. At least we're ahead of Vancouver. But with just over 12 hours to go in the contest, there's still a chance to impact the voting. There are a number of close categories where Montreal has a very real chance of overcoming the current front-runners in Toronto and Vancouver. Here's a look at some of them as well as highlights of the results so far.

Two weeks ago we teamed with our sister sites in Toronto and Vancouver to launch a contest to prove once and for all that Montreal is the best city in Canada. The thing is - so far things aren't quite going as expected. Montreal is currently in last place.

The way the contest works is each city has a nominee in one of 97 categories. Brunch, bike organization, hockey team, rep cinema, yoga studio and local magazine are just some of the categories to vote in. Currently, we're leading 15 categories which puts us a distant third to Toronto (66) and Vancouver (16).

Do you ever wonder where youâ??ll spend Monday nights when youâ??re in your forties? Well, judging by the crowd at the Gipsy Kings concert last night, it would be safe to say youâ??d be salsa dancing across the floor of the Metropolis, likely with your spouse. There will be women in floral dresses accompanied by grey-haired men in suits. There will be audience clap-alongs to syncopated Andalusian rhythms. And, of course, there will be the inevitable glancing at the watch once the concert hits the two-hour mark.

Keren Ann ne vit plus vraiment à Paris aujourdâ??hui mais plutôt depuis quelques années entre Reykjavik, New York et Tel-Aviv. Sa musique aussi a changé au fil des ans, sâ??enrichissant sûrement de ses voyages et de ses nouvelles vies. Mais je continue de suivre sa musique où elle va...

Keren Ann sâ??est imposée dans le monde de la chanson française au côté de Benjamin Biolay (avec qui elle a écrit le Jardin d'hiver d'Henri Salvador). Après un premier album solo pop-folk mélancolique, La biographie de Luka Philipsen (2000), ils ont travaillé ensemble sur La disparition sortie en 2002. Pour moi ce dernier album est un grand disque de folk à la française. Un album audacieux, aux arrangements subtils. On retrouve ici et là des chÅ?urs dâ??enfants («la disparition»), des vagues électro. («Le sable mouvant»), un sample surprenant de Joni Mitchell («La corde et les chaussons»), un air de jazz («Ailleurs»), des guitares tantôt tendres («Au coin du monde») tantôt tragiques («Lâ??illusionniste»).

Photo: Caroline Desilets

Itâ??s quite clear that Montreal-based rock outfit Plants and Animals know how to put on a good show. The exuberant three-piece, who held a launch party for their album Parc Avenue last night, were in good company: La Sala Rosa was packed (making for a twenty-minute wait at the bar) and there was a positive, supportive buzz in the air.

Louis Garrel habite le cinéma que jâ??aime depuis plus dâ??un anâ?¦ Quand il a gagné son césar du meilleur espoir en 2006 pour le film Les amants réguliers de Philippe Garrel, je ne savais pas trop qui il était. Jâ??avais raté ce film à sa sortie, pourtant la bande-annonce mâ??avait réellement séduite (en noir et blanc avec les Kinks pour fond sonore). Sur la scène du théâtre du Châtelet, ce césar dans la main, lâ??air ému et un peu perdu, il mâ??avait fait rire en lançant en substance : « Maman, Papa je nâ??ai pas eu mon bac. mais je lâ??ai eu mon césar ».