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Rioters across England continue to unleash chaos. Wielding wooden bats and metal bars they have torched and looted recklessly across the country. Hundreds of people have been affected by the damage.

Violence first erupted Saturday in Tottenham after a vigil for Mark Duggan. He was supposedly killed by police while unarmed. But Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that the riots have nothing to do with that. And the government has not acknowledged any underlying motive such as the economy or unemployment.

Thousands of police officers have been deployed across the country to stop the violence. They have arrested over 300 people so far including an 11-year-old boy.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron has been on vacation in Italy. He will return home Tuesday to deal with the state emergency.

Saturday’s showcase kicked off with a brief set by Montreal’s punk rock vets, The 222s. The set was plagued with poor sound, but they still had the early birds' toe-tappin’ to songs like “I love Susan” and “Academic Drop”. They were followed by Atlanta’s Manchester Orchestra, who had the first solid following of the day. Though the volume of their guitars was high and their energy was impressive, I wasn’t overly blown away.

A few hours into the day, the festival itinerary became a matter of concern; main stage bands were really overlapping with the smaller stages. In a perfect world, you’d be able to catch every band on your to-do list. I tried my best.

I made my way over to see Mountain Goats, one of my favorite bands over the last decade. The set was filled with bittersweet love songs and “coping strategies for divorce” as outlined in “Wild Sage” from the Get Lonely album. Despite the heartache exhibited in much of John Darnielle’s work ("Love Love Love"), the setlist was rather upbeat in nature and gave casual listeners a reason to follow them beyond Saturday’s set. “This Year” and “No Children” were obvious crowd favorites, while their newest single “Damn These Vampires” went over well.

At this point, tough decisions had to be made. I wandered back to the main stage and spent the rest of the day there. Karkwa’s set blew me away, and my love of their Polaris winning album Les Chemins de Verre grew tenfold.

A freshly groomed Sam Roberts followed with an ass-kicking set of his best work. During his set, all I could think about was the amount of listens I gave his Inhuman Condition EP upon it’s release, the one with “Don’t Walk Away, Eileen.” He didn’t play it, but he did play “Brother Down.” I was pretty happy with that.

Lupe Fiasco was impressive, though I was watching him while staking out a great spot to catch Death From Above 1979’s reunion performance. Despite having OD’d on You’re a Woman, I'm a Machine YEARS ago, I was looking to re-kindle that love I had for the now defunct Toronto two-piece. Under a large tombstone banner reading“DFA 1979 (2001-2005)" the furious bass of their opener “Turn It Out” bled out the speakers, and that love rushed back in an instant. From there on it only got better with “Going Steady” and the instant crowd pleaser “Black History Month”. In between songs, Sebastian Grainger belted out a few verses of “Alison” in anticipation of Elvis Costello’s headlining gig… and went right back to play the rest of the set.

Things cooled down a bit for Bright Eyes’ sunset performance. Fitting, since this would be their last stop ever in Montreal. Did YOU know they were breaking up? I certainly did NOT… I found out while enjoying every minute of their near-perfect set. Of the 12 songs played, half were from 2005’s acoustic masterpiece I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, with “Land Locked Blues” and “Lua” being personal highlights. If you had to pick twelve of your favorite Bright Eyes songs, you’d have picked this set list. “The Calendar Hung Itself,” “Bowl of Oranges,” “Lover I Don’t Have to Love”… it was the first time I had ever been a witness to multiple couples making out (and not finding it annoying). I saw a few teary eyes, and several slow dancing two-somes; I was just thankful to witness it. After all, this is a band that defined a generation. In any case, it’s not like Conor Oberst is going to disappear off the face of the earth. He’ll be doing Mystic Valley Band stuff, or maybe he’ll put out another Desaparecidos album… or MAYBE another Monsters of Folk album. I liked that one.

Up next, the main event: Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

It was everything I'd hoped for: a greatest hits set from one of my all-time favorite musicians. The stage show featured a go-go dancer and a “Hammer of Songs” contraption on the right of the stage… not as cool as the original “Wheel of Songs”, but who really cares.

The show started with the instantly recognizable bassline of “Lipstick Vogue” followed by the mid-tempo sway of “Watching the Detectives”. “Alison” followed shortly afterward and had the whole crowd singing along. Costello’s body of work is so impressive, it’s hard to pick one album to focus on. Given that Osheaga might not be where his niche audience is at, the greatest hits package made the most sense (Mike’s favorite Costello album: 1987’s Blood and Chocolate).

After around 45 minutes of delirium at the front of the stage, I turned to see the rest of the audience and my jaw dropped. Nobody was there. I was in shock. Bands that played at 2pm had larger crowds, and here was ELVIS friggin’ COSTELLO playing to MAYBE one thousand people. I didn’t expect an Eminem-size crowd, but in stark comparison to previous years’ headliners, this was sad. There were a few lulls here and there, but still his set was superb. Covers of Nick Lowe and The Who were done to perfection, while the gentle lover’s plea of “I Want You” brought the house down.

“What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding?” was my cue to exit. With the fireworks, detours, and road blocks, it was an interesting drive home.

-Mike B hosts The Lonesome Strangers every Tuesday from 8-10pm

Hardcore Canadian rockers Alexisonfire have called it quits almost ten years after the release of their first album in 2002.

Frontman George Pettit announced the split on their website. He cited the need to replace two band members as a main reason why they parted ways.

Singer-guitarist Dallas Green has gathered acclaim in recent years with his side project City and Colour. As a result, Pettit wrote, Green had announced his intention to leave the band a year ago.

More recently, guitarist Wade MacNeil equally decided to leave the band. The two remaining members decided they could not find replacements for both without compromising their legacy.

Alexisonfire is a St. Catharines, Ont. band whose breakthrough album was their sophomore effort, 2004’s Watch Out. The breakup comes after ten years of touring, four albums, including two who went platinum, and a Juno award.

It seems that the remaining members intend to continue making music. Frontman Pettit told fans in his note to listen out for upcoming projects.

Warren Jeffs, the leader of a Texas polygamist sect has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two young girls. 

Jeffs made news when in 2008 Texas police raided his compound and took away over 450 children. The move came after allegations of sexual and physical abuse. He was put on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list for a separate crime in May 2006. 

The case of the two young girls stems from information gathered from the raids. Jeffs has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old and fathering a child with a 15-year-old he also sexually assaulted. In the early days of the trial, Jeffs fired his attorneys and chose to represent himself. Prosecutors dismissed his belief that his choices were a part of religious freedom. The jury deliberated for less than four hours before the verdict and are expected to make a sentence in the next two days.