tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68772570719378676872024-03-05T08:50:49.862-05:00Go NORTH to Detroit, SOUTH to WindsorWe're still promoting, fostering awareness of and helping Canadian indie musicians and bands coming through the Windsor/Detroit area. Just at a little slower pace than we used to.N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comBlogger435125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-87602313222401197102019-11-25T20:51:00.004-05:002019-11-25T20:55:23.771-05:00Listen Hear"The Kramdens are playing in Guelph on the 9th. It's a Saturday. We should go."
It was worth the three-hour drive just to hear "What the... " when Kramden's frontman Craig Norris saw us, and well worth the price of a hotel room and dinner to hear three 45-minute sets that included much of their forthcoming album. Their roots rock is like comfort food: just what you wanted, seasoned with plenty N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-82888345215495228132018-07-10T23:05:00.000-04:002018-07-10T23:05:50.681-04:00Go North Music Festival Band Spotlight: Elliott BROODLast, but certainly not least: your Juno-winning Go North festival headliners Elliott BROOD.
For us in 2009, Elliott BROOD is where it all began. We first met in person at an Elliott BROOD show at the Majestic Cafe in Detroit, two Radio 3 bloggers doing what the community still does: meet up to share our love of the music and support the artists who make it. In those days, the band was still N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-64361336297122588872018-07-07T20:17:00.000-04:002018-07-07T20:17:01.984-04:00Go North Music Festival Band Spotlight: Shred KellyIf you haven't made plans for next weekend, now's the time! Tickets for the Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island, Ontario are only $40 ($15 for attendees ages 13-18) until the day of the festival. Wait for the gate on Sat., Jul. 14 and they're $50. Still a bargain for a great line-up of artists that includes Shred Kelly.
Over the years, some bands have become really special to us, N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-24020609753983750402018-06-18T21:46:00.000-04:002018-06-18T21:46:21.487-04:00Go North Music Festival Band Spotlight: Harrow FairIf you love Great Lake Swimmers, that doesn't mean you'll love Harrow Fair.
If you love Sunparlour Players, that doesn't mean you'll love Harrow Fair.
But if you rebel against the "if you love this then you'll love that" mentality like we do, and instead love when two great talents come together to form something old and something new, then you'll absolutely love Harrow Fair at the Go North N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-69724322742243690752018-05-27T17:39:00.000-04:002018-05-27T17:39:07.374-04:00Go North Music Festival Band Spotlight: Fast RomanticsOf the three top-billed bands playing the Go North Music Festival on Sat., July 14, Toronto's Fast Romantics are the only one we haven't seen. Their live show gets a lot of love though from the R3 crowd, and we've heard enough to know they can write a pop song like nobody's business. SOCAN agrees: they won the foundation's national songwriter prize for "Julia" in 2016.
N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-79059631145502808232018-05-12T20:57:00.000-04:002018-05-12T20:57:59.587-04:00Mark your calendar: Go North Music Festival, July 14St. Joseph Island, Ontario is a long way from Detroit and Windsor. But when we heard about the Go North Music Festival and saw this year's lineup, we knew N2DS2W had to go north on Sat., July 14 to support it. Stay tuned as we highlight Go North's sophomore appearance on the summer music festival scene in the coming weeks.
N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-60220100318595857092018-04-07T12:47:00.001-04:002018-04-09T20:34:42.629-04:00A Place Called Grace: Black Women Rock!
We went to Black Women Rock! for a chance to see SATE, a Canadian powerhouse rock/funk/blues singer we'd admired since hearing "A Place Called Grace" at the turn of the decade. The $45 tickets were pricey by our spoiled standards but we felt good about supporting the show. The venue was a novelty: the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. So was N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-43816551409134845482018-01-21T12:24:00.002-05:002018-04-08T10:36:51.300-04:00The Seven Year Ditch: Our Year in ReviewFor seven years, our musical calendar revolved around three signature Canadian indie events: NXNE in Toronto, Home County in London and Phog Phest in Windsor.
This year we forgot to make hotel reservations in time for NXNE, attended the family Christmas in July instead of Home County, and Phog Phest went on hiatus (we hope it's just a hiatus).
That doesn't mean 2017 was a bust. By all N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-277407171902280062017-07-03T18:06:00.000-04:002017-07-03T18:26:46.413-04:00Left on the dialA little more than a year ago, the CBC geoblocked the Internet stream of our faded but still beloved Radio 3 and the blog ceased to be. The determined folks over at ourbasement.ca have been doing a fine job of keeping us informed about Canadian indie, but what about a radio replacement?
No surprise, it's taken more than one radio station to replace Radio 3. "Replace" is the wrong word, N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-26952446215278955652016-10-15T23:25:00.000-04:002016-10-15T23:25:18.286-04:00RIP, Bob the Budgie
The N2DS2W mascot, Bob the Budgie, was in loving hands when he passed away the morning of Oct. 15.
We're not sure how old he was when he was plucked from the budgie bin at a local pet store a little more than five years ago, but his vet noted he was not a young bird.
Bob's favourite Canadian indie songs were Caribou's "Odessa" and Molly Rankin's "Way Home." Both never failed to make him chirpN2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-48081919489785316672016-08-25T21:22:00.003-04:002016-08-25T21:22:28.882-04:00It's Phate that it's eight
On Sat., Sep. 17 Phog Phest moves back indoors for round 8 at the Phog Lounge and owner Tom Lucier's newest venture and venue, The Rondo. We're excited to finally see it after an epic tunnel backup foiled our attempt to attend the opening.
Lucier's doing a slow reveal of bands. So far in addition to local talent, out-of-towners include The Pack A.D. We know of another but won't spoilN2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-47399259595457676202016-08-23T22:11:00.000-04:002016-08-25T21:02:02.267-04:00Meet us in the BasementLooking for a place online to get the latest Canadian indie music news and talk Canadian indie music with Canadian indie music fans?
Head downstairs to ourbasement.ca. Thanks to some passionate and talented folks from the former CBC Radio 3 blog, you can read great articles that aren't insert-a-number-here clickbait lists. You can also drop in on the blog and chat about your favourite N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-73847197212532428492016-06-27T22:37:00.001-04:002016-07-01T20:27:35.592-04:00#FOR3VERToday, we did something we never dreamed: We removed the CBC Radio 3 logo from N2DS2W.
If you haven't been following along, CBC Music recently launched a new site. It doesn't include the Radio 3 blog. All our playlists and profiles are gone. It doesn't include an Internet stream for Radio 3 outside of Canada. The CBC Music app also doesn't work outside of Canada.
Although we don't post as oftenN2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-46490165069083105922016-05-15T21:01:00.001-04:002016-05-15T21:01:29.387-04:00Left and Leaving: Larry Livermore Looks Back
“If there’s one thing I hate about memoirs or documentaries, it’s that they all end up being some version of ‘We did this amazing thing, it was awesome, and then it ended. Too bad you weren’t there, because you’ll never see anything like it again.’”
We didn’t know that Larry Livermore existed before this year. Then, CBC broadcaster and author Grant Lawrence posted on Facebook about N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-68125207303531260112016-03-16T23:38:00.001-04:002016-03-22T21:14:38.269-04:00"Expect to hear me talking quite a bit about Detroit and Downriver."
Friday, Mar. 18
6 PM - 8 PM
pin
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Dearborn Music
22501 Michigan Ave, Dearborn, Michigan 48124
"Really looking forward to this one. As it says, Downriver was my home during my formative years. Growing up in the Detroit area, watching the rise of the legendary Motown Records, seeing the Supremes and my nearby neighbors, the MC5, as a Russ Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916719755126604239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-86435802747647196422016-03-13T19:21:00.001-04:002016-03-13T21:39:29.874-04:00Show Review: PKEW PKEW PKEW are a barrel of fun
Elections. Mass shootings. Police shootings. Refugees. Global warming. Man, life is serious business these days. When you need to take a break from all that seriousness, there's nothing like music. Especially if it's the irreverent, incisive punk music of Toronto's PKEW PKEW PKEW (gunshots).
We went off-schedule to see one of their shows in Toronto during NXNE in 2013 and never N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-86644488398584078812016-01-15T22:45:00.000-05:002016-01-15T22:45:23.260-05:00N2DS2W Year in Review 2015The shows, music and moments we'll remember most from 2015, plus some of our favourite albums.
January: Elliott BROOD (The Ark) surprises our unsuspecting daughter with birthday wishes at her first Canadian indie show. Album pick released this month: Viet Cong, Viet Cong (shortlisted for the Polaris Prize).
Stephen Pitkin
Mark Sasso and the birthday girl
Casey Laforet, N2D and the N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-56929678854334941512015-09-16T21:46:00.003-04:002015-09-16T22:11:36.053-04:00Phog Phest 7 re-embraces the great outdoorsAfter two years behind doors-- mostly the Capitol Theatre-- this Saturday, Sep. 19 Windsor's Phog Lounge tells the Phest to go outside and play. In the true spirit of N2DS2W, The Crofoot in Pontiac has stepped in as co-host of a bill with something for everyone: Windsor favourites, Detroit's Ponyshow and George Morris (formerly of The Satin Peaches) and the Gypsy Chorus, Grand Analog for the hip,Russ Gordonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01916719755126604239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-37398433928726205782015-07-11T18:21:00.001-04:002015-07-11T18:22:09.094-04:00NXNE 2015 Highlights
There were some lowlights at NXNE this year. The wi-fi at The Hub was terrible and our favourite hotel replaced all their coffeemakers with Keurigs. We know, #firstworldproblems. But there were highlights, like...
Language Arts at the Mod Club Theatre: A complete delight. From Kristin Cudmore's off-beat, adorable stage banter to her vocal delivery and wonderkind words, Language Arts is N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-23759639312201665002015-06-24T21:48:00.001-04:002015-06-24T21:48:55.345-04:00NXNE 2015: What can we say?
What can we say about NXNE that we haven't said before? Well...
We can say that because it was scaled back this year, it just didn't have the same feel of being part of something big. Attendance was obviously scaled back as well. There was almost no one picking up badges and wristbands when we arrived at The Hub-- the new NXNE headquarters at Queen and Spadina-- on Thursday afternoon.
We can N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-51512568492064246472015-06-15T22:01:00.002-04:002015-06-15T22:01:44.605-04:00Show Alert: A double dose of dreamyTue., Jun. 16
Bahamas with Hayden (opening)
The Ark ~ Ann Arbor
When we saw that Bahamas-- aka Afie Jurvanen-- was in the lineup for The 38th Ann Arbor Folk Festival this past January, we weren't at all surprised he turned up on the calendar with a show of his own. We knew they'd fall in love with him just like the CBC Radio 3 community has for years: he's the "Hey Girl" Ryan Gosling meme to R3 N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-59077279231599917702015-06-08T21:58:00.002-04:002015-06-15T21:07:30.964-04:00Where N2D won't be at NXNE (and will be, too)
One place we definitely won't be is anywhere Action Bronson is. We're all for free speech, but pretty sure if he was glorifying violent acts against minorities, no one would have given him a stage at Yonge Dundas. At least we hope so. Apparently, it's permissible if it's about women. Anyway, that's our take, and in the end believe NXNE organizers did the right thing.
We've alternated between N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-73802150408345191032015-06-03T00:40:00.000-04:002015-06-05T00:20:52.970-04:00The Almighty Rhombus: The Shape of Things to ComeFor obvious reasons, the beginning of the year is typically the slowest when it comes to Canadian indie bands touring through Windsor and Detroit. We kicked off 2015 with a great Elliott BROOD show in mid-January at The Ark. Our next must-see was a month away. What to do in the meantime?
We checked our show calendar. The Almighty Rhombus? From Sudbury? What's a band from Sudbury sound like?
N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-82868524707310409002015-05-20T23:13:00.003-04:002015-06-08T21:59:18.649-04:00N2DS2W does NXNE: The 2015 Edition
What? NXNE is less than a month away? How did that happen?
Five years of covering NXNE? How'd that happen? Want a look back at all the music and shenanigans? We've collected links to all our NXNE posts here (or just click the NXNE link below our banner).
2015 has a lot to live up to; we saw a third of our top shows for 2014 at NXNE. Although the festival dates and schedule have been trimmed N2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6877257071937867687.post-1728463030174706622015-05-14T23:06:00.000-04:002015-05-15T18:36:21.606-04:00Show Alerts: The best of Canadian indie comes to DetroitFri., May 15
Great Lake Swimmers ~ Majestic Cafe
Hey Rosetta! ~ The Shelter
If you love beautifully crafted indie folk/folk rock, it doesn't get any better than Friday in Detroit. Our choice was a little easier than our last show conflict, as we saw Hey Rosetta! at The Ark in February. We last saw Great Lake Swimmers at a nearly sold-out show at The Ark as well-- in 2011. To help you make yoursN2DS2Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13466343649333030593noreply@blogger.com