OK, I'll admit it: I didn't see a single jazz act at this year's Jazz Winnipeg Festival - but being able to catch shows by Vancouver indie rockers The New Pornographers and Edmonton electronica outfit Shout Out Out Out Out proves that the festival really has something for everyone (including an indie snob like me).

The New Pornographers made good on their promise to come back to the 'Peg after their Winnipeg date last October was cancelled - and the band's June 24 show at Pantages Playhouse was well worth the wait.

In a breakneck set that took the best from all four of their studio albums, the Pornos were on top of their game. The spitfire rockers from 2005's Twin Cinema (Use It, Sing Me Spanish Techno) were even more raucous live, and the explosive build on The Bleeding Heart Show gave me goosebumps as it always does. The newer material from 2007's Challengers also stood up - All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth and All The Old Showstoppers featured some beautiful harmonizing between vocalists Carl Newman and Kathryn Calder, whose voice is consistently getting bigger, stronger and better able to handle the role of the iron-lunged Neko Case.

It was actually some of the Pornographers' older tunes that really sparkled in this particular set. The Laws Have Changed, From Blown Speakers and the Dan Bejar masterpiece, Testament to Youth in Verse (from 2003's The Electric Version), were pure pop gems, while Mass Romantic and show-closer Slow Descent Into Alcoholism (from 2000's Mass Romantic) were powerfully anthematic live.

Ultimately, it was a fun, sweaty, rock 'n' roll show - complete with a cover of Electric Light Orchestra's Don't Bring Me Down - that made me feel bad for temporarily knocking The New Pornographers out of fifth place in my list of favourite bands of all time. (I was momentarily blinded by how good The Shins' Wincing the Night Away was).

Shout Out Out Out Out brought its electrorock back to the Pyramid on June 26, and the Edmonton sextet had the packed dance floor dancing feverishly. From the propulsive Self-Loathing Rulz to the dance-punk anthem Dude You Feel Electrical, Jazz Fest-goers were treated to energetic, extended versions of most of the tracks from the band's 2006 debut, Not Saying/Just Saying.

It was a bit of a shame the lyrics were so unintelligible - especially in the cases of Procrastination Fight Song and Your Shitty Record Won't Mix Itself. SOOOO has a knack for penning clever songs about everything from debt to urban sprawl. Still, this show was about getting people on the dance floor, and on that front, it was a huge success.