The five-day vortex of music and arts that is Pop Montreal has finally come to a close, leaving many of us to ponder whether our lives still have meaning and where we dropped our keys last night. Midnight Poutine's writers were out in the field doing everything from writing twitter updates and taking photos, to promoting shows and even playing in them. We were everywhere so you could know exactly where to go. Below our staff members share their festival favourites, biggest surprises, and tips for doing better next year.

But before getting to it, we want to thank everyone at Pop Montreal for the unfathomable amount of hard work they put into organizing this festival and making it a success. This extends to all the promoters, artists, venue workers, and volunteers who made it work on the ground. You make us so very proud of our city. Thanks.

Okay, here we go...

Stacy Lee

What was your favourite show of Pop?

Chilly Gonzales easily takes the cake as my favorite POP performance. This might be related to the fact that i've never seen a pianist in concert...but I was blown away. Talent, charisma.

What other shows were your almost-favourite?

Coming in close second would have to be Queer POP showcase with Kids on TV and Benny E featuring Hua Li.

What was your biggest surprise?

Bumping into Venus X on St.Catherines

What will you do differently next year?

Sleep.

Greg Bouchard

What was your favourite show?

For once, this is easy. Tim Hecker at the Church of St. John the Evangelist. It was an hour of listening to organ-based soundscapes in total darkness, save for one candle on the altar. It was massive, all-consuming, transcendent; where most bands crank up their amps, Hecker achieves loudness through his masterful manipulation of vast organic sounds. I've never seen an artist use a building and a place as an instrument to that extent. It was truly a once in a lifetime event.

What other shows were your almost-favourite?

Doldrums at Balattou, Gang Gang Dance at Église POP Little Burgundy, and Valleys at Divan Orange.

What was your biggest surprise?

Nicky Da B. He actually managed to get Montreal's typically stolid indie concert going crowd to go batshit crazy dancing at 2am on a Sunday.

What will you do differently next year?

Attend more daytime shows. So many top festival artists play free shows during the day and that makes it a lot easier catching everyone you want to see at one point or another.

Theo Mathien

What was your favourite show?

Buke & Gase, Deerhoof - an excellent one-two punch.

What was your almost-favourite show?

See last answer.

What was your biggest surprise?

The Jacob Lusk show wasn't really a huge surprise, rather it lived up to my expectation of weirdly wonderful R. Kelly tribute. The band and Lusk sounded great and seeing him serenade an audience member on stage was worth the price of admission.

What will you do differently next year?

Try to avoid having to leave town in the middle of Pop.

Amie Watson

What was your favourite show?

Christina Martin at Upstairs. She's so quietly hilarious, so her stage banter is amazing.

What was your almost-favourite show?

Pyongyang at Club Lambi

What was your biggest surprise?

Negative - That the mailchimp BBQ wasn't free... Positive - that I got beer tickets for POP headquarters with my artist's pass.

What will you do differently next year?

Go to more dance-y shows and learn to "bounce." See POP Montreal preview podcast #5.

Christine Lariviere

What was your favourite show?

Honheehonhee at Lambi.

What was your almost-favourite show?

The Nymphets at L'Esco.

What was your biggest surprise?

Year to year I'm amazed by the massive turnout, which is evidenced by packed venues, sold out shows, crowd participation, etc.

What will you do differently next year?

Anticipate shows reaching capacity. Purchase tickets earlier. Attend a greater number of shows. Take advantage of more free events. Time manage more effectively... Everything!

Gabrielle Lefort

What was your favourite show?

Rah Rah with the Elwins, English Words and First You Get the Sugar at O Patro Vys. The sound was perfect and the crowd was really into it. So much dance-rock goodness!

What other shows were your almost-favourite?

Christina Martin was fantastic, and so were Olenka and the Autumn Lovers and Lakes of Canada. It was the last day of Pop and there would not have been a better way to end it than with brunch and a ton of great music at Divan. Closely followed by a great set by La Bronze at Lambi.

What was your biggest surprise?

Église Pop. What an amazing setting (basement of a church) for an afterparty. Also, the sighting of Chris Taylor at Aux Vivres. Too bad I couldn't get to the Grizzly Bear show before it filled up...

What will you do differently next year?

Go to a lot more shows, and stop being a wussy. Pop is not for the weak.

Cindy Lopez

What was your favourite show?

It had to have been the Saturday lineup at Divan Orange, with Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, Goose Hut, Step Dad and Rich Aucoin. Each act built up into an epic party with Rich Aucoin's confetti explosion featuring 2 (yes, 2) parachutes. Goose Hut had an amazing set too and are becoming a favorite of mine.

What other shows were your almost-favourite?

A Tribe Called Red at Eglise POP, a 2am "electric powwow" of electro and heavy drum beats in a church basement. SUUNS had their film launch over at the Red Roof church and their 30 minute set was captivating. Young Galaxy had a great set at Breakglass, Yanantaka // Sonic Titan at the Rialto were visually incredible, and Purity Ring closed off my POP with a crazy light show.

What was your biggest surprise?

Biggest surprise was Doldrums at Balattou. Didn't know what to expect but the crowd was happening and he sounded amazing.

What will you do differently next year?

I take a lot of photos and the one thing I think I have to do is cave in and buy an iPhone for tweeting and catching missed moments. There's only so much my Blackberry can do.

photo of Peaches taken from the Pop Montreal website