Lee’s Palace
11:00pm The Dum Dum Girls are on time and looking like the female equivalent of the Horrors. And yet, they sound like the exact opposite!
11:05pm Absolutely entranced by their drummer. She knows exactly what she’s doing – pretty much the backbone of every song.
11:11pm The girls bring out the big guns with their hit “Jail La La.” The incessant woo-ing give me the idea that everyone was waiting for it.
11:15pm Yo, if I went home right now, I’d be pretty pleased with the night.
11:20pm They just played a song off their new album (to be released in September). It’s awesome, everyone.
11:30pm By the way, I’m still staring at the drummer.
11:35pm FYI – for all the pervy readers, they’re wearing really short skirts. Nerdy onlookers may also be looking up them.
12:02am Lee’s is packed when Cults are welcomed to NXNE with friendly whooping noises.
12:04am Thankfully the wait was worth it. Cults are professionals and excellent at the stage banter.
12:08am Also, it’s important to mention that this is the first time I’m smelling weed at a NXNE show. Surprised to find it at Cults?!
12:15am Band gives out advice between songs, “Time to turn long time crushes into relationships… or one night stands.” #multitaskers
12:20am Identifying as romantic rockers, and creating the best atmosphere for it (romance) to bloom.
12:22am Just launched into their hit “Go Outside.” This was introduced with a brief monologue about the Canadian landscape.
12:32am Announcement of their last song was followed by some sincere booing. People are awkwardly yelling out things like, “you’re amazing!” Try it with more confidence next time, guys. — Navi Lamba
El Mocambo
8:56pm At the El Mocambo for Fuck Montreal. There are only 11 people here (including myself, excluding the bartender and sound guys). This does not bode well.
9:04pm Fuck Montreal take the stage and people start to filter in. Phew. They sound like a bratty, teenaged Mudhoney with a female vocalist. Cool music, not a lot going on performance-wise.
9:30pm Go upstairs to see Language-Arts. Catch the last 10 minutes of Modernboys Moderngirls. I am not into their music. I would describe it as ‘cock rock.’ Also they have to ask the audience who’s playing next, and then repeatedly call Language-Arts “Language and Arts”. Not cool.
9:40pm Bump into Shaun from Little City. I promise to catch their set at Bread and Circus at 1:00 AM. I hope I can make it there from Wrong Bar (it feels unlikely). It’s Shaun and Jordan’s mom’s 60th birthday party tomorrow, so if anyone is in Lyle, Ontario and looking for fun, go check it out. Little City will be playing a selection of her favourite songs. SUPER CUTE.
10:00pm Language-Arts take the stage. After a string of bands kicking out the jams, it is refreshing to see one that’s comfortable dialling things back a little. I would say that they gently coax out the jams. They play a beautiful and idiosyncratic mix of folk, jazz, and pop (Bad description! They do not sound like your friend’s shitty jazz-folk fusion band!). Frontwoman Kristen Cudmore rap-sings and classical-guitars her way into everyone’s hearts. I apologize again for that ‘folk/jazz/pop’ description. They’re really good, I swear.
10:40pm Head over to Wrong Bar. Ugh. This is going to take forever.
12:07pm Prince Rama! Two glittery women playing synth and drums take us all on a vision quest with some spacey, world music influenced dance songs. The lead vocalist performs a culty trust exercise, chanting and then falling backward into the audience and crowd surfing for a while. Pretty amazing. I buy their exercise VHS at the merch table. I can’t wait to watch this.
12:45am I give up on the prospect of making it to Bread and Circus, and decide to stick around for Ty Segall. Sorry Shaun!
1:09am Ty Segall kicks out the jams. The last two acts have provided a nice reprieve from the jam-kicking, and I’m ready to enjoy this again. Wrong Bar fills up within a few minutes of his first song, and things get kind of rowdy. My friend chips her tooth on a beer bottle. Bummer.
1:40am I leave Wrong Bar and try in vain to make it to Sneaky Dee’s for Sheezer.
2:40am I arrive at College and Spadina. Bad news: I missed Sheezer. Good news: I met some lovely German exchange students while waiting for the bus. See you tomorrow, dear readers! — Dan Berube
Mod Club
8:15pm Most Serene Republic are half way through their set when I arrive and I’m kinda glad I got their a bit later than I’d planned. I like MSR, their debut was a favourite of mine when it was released six years ago (wait? what? I’m old…), however, their more recent records haven’t really appealed to me. Too many studio tricks and bland orchestral arrangements lacking in substance.
8:20pm The sound is mixed quite poorly. The Mod Club is too cavernous to accommodate MSR’s nuanced musical style. The guitars just sound like mud.
8:26pm They’re good when the horn section kicks in, but you can’t judge a rock band on the solely quality of their horn section.
8:35pm The band wraps up a so-so set, it’s exactly what I expected, so I can’t say I’m disappointed with their performance.
9:01pm I’ve never heard a single Art Brut song in my life. I’ve been told to expect a mix of The Fall and Franz Ferdinand — could be interesting.
9:05pm The English/German five-piece have a ton of energy and look like they’re having a wonderful time on stage. Enthusiasm is truly infectious.
9:09pm The singer has an entertaining sense of humour and seems to specialize in banter — the guy’s getting more laughs than most amateur stand up comics. While the music is fun, it’s not something I’d enjoy listening to walking down the street or throwing on at a party. It’s dull in a way that’s difficult to explain, especially when you’re watching the band have so much fun on stage.
9:20pm Crowd interaction is Art Brut’s thing. The singer is in the crowd telling a long, but strangely engrossing, improvised monologue about a trip to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. “It’s smells like Amsterdam over here,” he quips, as a joint is passed through the crowd.
9:23pm He made the whole room sit down then jump up all at the same time. Fun!
9:26pm I leave the Mod Club to see what’s shaking at the Osheaga Festival sponsored show at the Garrison. Art Brut were fine, but not my style. — Sean MacKay
The Garrison
10:08pm Elephant Stone finish setting up and jam out for awhile. I’m not immediately captivated by the jam, so I sit on a chair in a corner looking despondent as I sift through mostly vapid tweets about NXNE on my phone.
10:13pm Ah! Elephant Stone are too good to not pay attention to. Great melodies influenced by lush indie pop and Indian music. They’ve even got a sitar!
10:20pm There’s definitely a late 80s Brit Pop influence here too. Makes sense, seeing as they’re named after a song by the highly revered UK dance rock band, the Stone Roses. Sounds like they even stole a bass line or two from a Stone Roses track. That’s fine, imitation is the sincerest form of blah blah blah.
10:30pm Elephant Stone end with an extended sitar jam and anyone in the crowd who wasn’t convinced of their talent, is now entranced by the music. Scoring some new fans, fuck yeah!
11:03pm Braids do an epic sound check before they start their set. Some may say it takes an inordinate amount of time, however, their music is so meticulously crafted that I’d rather wait an extra 15 minutes than have some essential element get lost in the mix.
11:11pm Braids’ full length debut, Native Speaker, is one of my favourite albums of the year so the fanboy in me is tough to suppress. Raphaelle Standell-Preston sounds incredible, her delicate voice rises over the layers of guitar, percussion and synth and suddenly turns to a powerful scream. She’s definitely channelling Bjork, though she is amazingly versatile in her own right.
11:17pm The room is absolutely packed. Braids have worked for a long time (they used to record and perform under the name Neighbourhood Council) to achieve this level of acclaim and popularity and they’ve refined their sound so much in that time. They certainly deserve the attention.
11:40pm I duck out for a bite to eat after Braids. It’s the type of performance that you need some time to clear your head after. I don’t want another, lesser band to sully my experience.
1:01am While I’m tempted to head to the Horseshoe for the Deerhoof secret show, I’m convinced by Varsity EIC and photographer by night, Tom Cardoso, that Rich Aucoin live shows are quite a spectacle so I stick around.
1:40am What just happened? I’m sweatier than I’ve ever been, covered in confetti and feel like I’m high on something. This is what a Rich Aucoin live show does to you. I can hardly explain the exhilaration I felt the moment he stepped on stage. The Halifax native knows how to work a crowd, that’s for sure, but there’s more to it than that. This was a religious experience, I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. The sing-alongs, the parachute he got the crowd to stretch across the venue and then dance under, the ridiculous visuals and Aucoin’s boundless energy made this late night at the Garrison one I won’t be forgetting. Go see this man perform as soon as possible. — SM
The Phoenix
6:24 pm I arrive at the venue and am aware of being the oldest attendee there. Entranced by a pair of tacky plaid bondage pants, I soon begin to realize that I do not feel at home here in my mini-dress. I sorely wish I had donned a Streetlight Manifesto t-shirt and Levi’s cut offs.
7:01 pm Toronto’s four-piece Junior Battles are proving to be the liveliest NXNE show I’ve seen so far. I applaud their unexpected and cleanly delivered harmonies.
7:10 pm The bassist dedicates the next song to his parents. I think it was called “Budget Your Battles.” The three guys up at the front split singing duties and one of them looks like the Hills expert on MTV Canada. I find myself trying to get the drummer’s attention because he was cute. I am shameless.
7:15 pm MTV Canada look-a-like guitarist takes a stab at sounding like a wrestling announcer. I scoff at his ineptitude. Stick to your day job, bro.
7:20 pm The theatre is starting to fill up and I am freezing my ass off due to the incredibly cranked air conditioning. I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of smelly punx to warm this place up. Nostrils remain unprepared.
7:24 pm The crowd is accepting the band and rocking out…only until the singer calls Ska a “silly genre”. A wave of boos fills the Phoenix and I feel as if I am in Chicago, circa 1997.
7:28 pm JB plays the only Ska song of their set and it is most certainly the biggest downer. No me gusta.
7:35 pm Other band member dedicates the last song to HIS parents in at attempt to one-up his mate.
7:40 pm Pretty solid performance with obvious heart. I do not mind these guys one single bit.
8:00 pm ‘Sup Flats? I am pretty stoked to see a band I started listening to when I was 14 after receiving a promotional CD I got while leaving a My Chemical Romance show at Arrow Hall on December 1st, 2005. My memory disgusts me sometimes.
8:10 pm The venue is nearly packed and lots of half-assed attempts at circle pits are going strong. The Flatliners are doing quite opposite of what their name suggests. Ha ha. Hah.
8:15 pm It’s very, very loud and I am so [expletive] cold. The Flats mention that they are very happy to perform to a home crowd. Crowd surfers? Check!
8:19 pm Many instances of bro love are witnessed. It makes me wish I was a Ska guy with some solid ass pals.
8:25 pm YES! They are playing “Fred’s Got Slacks”. I wish I had a pair of comfortable Dickies on at this point. My hands are colder than a witch’s teat! I opt to leave the theatre and hang in the lobby to warm up. Surprise, surprise. The band sounds better from out here.
8:35 pm The boys finish their night with “Eulogy” and the crowd goes wild. “You will always be remembered/You will be celebrated/You will never be forgotten/These tears still haven’t faded.” A massive sing along follows and a smile stretches across my face. I feel at home again.
9:00 pm Pittsburgh’s prehistoric punks Anti-Flag are welcomed to a venue brimful with punx. They look, sound, and probably smell the same as they did when I last witnessed their live show in 2007. I shall openly admit that this is the only band I have been looking forward to see at NXNE.
∞ true punks pay no heed to time. Justin Sane and company welcomed every anarchistic mosher who arose from the ashes and lunged at the singer’s mike to belt the words to their favourite songs.
They sang hymns for the dead, figuratively expired for their governments, and lamented about what a trillion dollars could acquire. They’re still preaching the same sermon to the same choir, but I do sincerely hope this isn’t the end for them, my friends.
I am singing along to my favourite songs. Thank goodness they’re playing material released prior to 2006.
I was duly impressed by their energy, precision and performance, but even more amazed by how old their fans are getting. By the end of it, I was amongst the youngest in the crowd. Thanks, geezers. You’ve given me hope. – Bernarda Gospic
