NXNE 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 an imaginative standout in alt pop-rock.

Language Arts / Joel Visentin

Language Arts

Language Arts / Kristen Cudmore

Language Arts / Kristen Cudmore

Language Arts / Kristen Cudmore

Language Arts / Joel Visentin

Wall animations at Lee's Palace

Seeing former CBC Radio 3 host Alanna Stuart (Bonjay) meet many R3 bloggers in person for the first time during the Paper Bag 100 at Lee's Palace. #FOR3VER indeed.

It was hard leaving Lee's, especially after seeing Diana, Rolf Klaussner (The Acorn), Nils Edenloff (Rural Alberta Advantage) and knowing more great performers were to come. But it was worth it for...

(Right) Rolf Klaussner

Cuff the Duke was the house band at the Paper Bag 100.

Nils Edenloff (Rural Alberta Advantage)

Nancy Pants at the Silver Dollar: Nancy Pants-- Ohara Hale (vocals), Adam Waito (Adam & the Amethysts, bass) and Jeremy MacCuish (Parlovr, Cobra and Vulture, drums)-- don't deserve labels, because they're much better and far less elemental than that. Yes, they can do great pop and garage rock, but there is some real creative talent here and it shows. Fingers crossed for a second album. We also liked:Comet Control, a psych rock reboot of Quest for Fire that include former members Chad Ross and Andrew Moszynski.

Jeremy MacCuish / Nancy Pants

Ohara Hale / Nancy Pants

Adam Waito / Nancy Pants

Ohara Hale / Nancy Pants

Jeremy MacCuish / Nancy Pants

Adam Waito / Nancy Pants

Ben Caplan and the Casual Smokers and catl.: Sorry, Odonis Odonis. We just couldn't resist the CBC Music showcase at The Hub and a chance to see Nova Scotia's other shaggy rocker. Caplan is a singer-songwriter first, but his big voice, eclectic mix of styles and generous scoring take it far beyond the ordinary. Caplan and the Casual delivered a grandiose set complete with a brass section literally plucked from busking on the streets of Toronto.

Grant Lawrence, one of the CBC Music showcase hosts.

Jaron Freeman Fox / Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers

Ben Caplan

Brendan Melchin / Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers

It took brass to step up and sight read their parts, but these buskers didn't miss a note.

After being aurally accosted by a disaffected Iceage, we more than welcomed the aural assault of catl. The duo has more than made up for fewer members by turning up the volume and intensity. Although the bluesy Mississippi Delta-inspired jams have morphed into more scorching rock and roll, the roots are still there.

Sara Kirkpatrick / catl.

Jamie Fleming / catl.

catl.

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

NXNE 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 say not a single show we attended was packed, unlike previous years (keeping in mind we avoid Yonge-Dundas by choice). Too much competition? There were two other music festivals going on in Toronto at the same time as NXNE. You can't swing a guitar now without hitting a music festival, spreading bands and attendees thinner and thinner. Music malaise? From our tunnel view, the industry has been stagnant. Maybe we were just at the wrong shows.

We can also say we've never had so many gaps in our show schedule. Of course it depends on what you want to see. But in past years, our days and evenings were packed, and only after plenty of angst over conflicts. Bands we were super excited about when they were announced ended up playing only on Wednesday, long after our vacation days were locked down. We heartily wished the Paper Bag 100 at Lee's Palace on Thursday could have been Saturday night, because must-sees that evening were a bust.

We can say, just like in previous years, NXNE staff were great, we had some great moments and saw some great shows; stay tuned.

Where 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 arriving Wednesday and Thursday over the years, weighing the cost of an extra night at a hotel versus getting to see more shows. We opted for Thursday arrival this year, and of course the Wednesday lineup looks great.

Where we won't be on June 17; get there for us, will ya?

8 p.m. on at Lee's Palace: The whole lineup looks pretty great. It would be tempting to just hang out there all night, but we'd head out for...

9 p.m., Mod Club Theatre: Tasseomancy

10 p.m., Rivoli, NQ Arbuckle

11 p.m., Horseshoe Tavern, Moon King

Where we'll be on June 18:

 8 - 9 p.m., Lee's Palace: Paper Bag 100. Another great lineup at Lee's. But we definitely want to check out...

10 p.m., The Silver Dollar: Nancy Pants. We'll be sticking around after for Comet Control.

Where we'll be on June 19:

Friday is conflict night. We already had a solid schedule laid out, then CBC Music announced their Music at The Hub lineup. But we'll for sure be starting out the evening at...

7 p.m., Mod Club Theatre: Language Arts

8 p.m.: Dinner at Hey Meatball! (just down the street from the Mod Club) or How Sad at Handlebar

9 p.m., Mod Club Theatre: Aidan Knight (if we don't go from Handlebar to The Hub)

Where we'll be on June 20:

Saturdays used to be a no-brainer. We'd be at the Shoe at the CBC Radio 3 Showcase. Lately it's been our least packed night. But last year we ended up on a streetcar with Wintersleep, so who knows? Here are two shows definitely on our sked.

9 p.m., Handlebar: Louise Burns

10 p.m., The Horseshow Tavern: Slim Twig

N2DS2W 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 down, we predict no shortage of scheduling angst. Here are some of the artists and bands on our radar.

Aidan Knight: One of our top shows of 2013.
Babe Rainbow: We've always been intrigued by his music.
David Vertesi: We love his solo work as much as Hey Ocean!.
Etiquette: Graham Walsh + Julie Fader = worth seeing.
Frog Eyes: Original and charismatic.
Louise Burns: Glad we'll have the chance to hear Louise again (since they took away hosts at CBC Radio 3)
Mardeen: Fun and witty pop from Canada's East Coast. We're in.
Moon King: S2W's over the moon about this Toronto band.
Nancy Pants: Off the cuff garage rock with our friend Jeremy from Parlovr on the drums.
Odonis Odonis: Will this be the year we FINALLY see Odonisx2 at NXNE?
Pick a Piper: We only caught part of their NXNE set in 2013; can't wait to hear more.
Saukrates: Our NXNE hip hop fix.
Slim Twig: We love how NXNE always gives us a chance to see longtime CBC R3 favourites.
Tasseomancy: Mesmerizing, mystical and magical.
USA Out of Vietnam: Our secret patio friends from Montreal.

Show Alert: Alvvays/PONYSHOW/Loretta Lucas

ALVVAYS

Fri., Oct. 3
UFO FACTORY, Detroit, MI
Doors 7:00 PM

http://alvvays.com/
http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/Alvvays
https://www.facebook.com/pages/PONYSHOW/1474612212754852
https://soundcloud.com/lorettalucas
https://www.facebook.com/events/1499854176924454/?ref=22

Photo - Russ Gordon/N2D Images

NXNE 2014: A Streetcar Named Wintersleep

Our last night at NXNE 2014 can be summed up like this: Wintersleep. On a TTC streetcar.

Yes, it meant we missed METZ again. (But you can read about their show, plus some pining for the good old days, in this report by our good friend Jo Innes for the National Post.)

 But we're pretty sure nothing could compare to lurching along Queen West to the astonishingly-- for being in a streetcar-- excellent sound of Wintersleep. Never again will we hear "In Came the Flood," "Oblivion," "Resuscitate," "Archeologists" or "Weighty Ghost" without being transported back to that streetcar. Thanks to MiO for sponsoring "NXNE's Most Original Venue" and Wintersleep for playing along, giving us memories for a lifetime.

(Numerous artists played the MiO Squirtcar over three days. Here's what it was like on the night Reggie Watts performed.)

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images

NXNE 2014 Day 3, part 1: We are Underwhelmed

There's no shortage of daytime shows at NXNE at a variety of venues. We've seen Slow down, Molasses in the courtyard of the Global Village Backpackers hostel; Les Breastfeeders on a rooftop; Dusted at Urban Outfitters; Allie Hughes in Trinity Bellwoods Park. So it almost seemed strange to see an afternoon show at an "ordinary" venue: The Hidden Pony Records Showcase/5th birthday party at the Legendary Horseshow Tavern. But this is NXNE, and extraordinary is always just around the corner.

The Danks, who redeemed themselves in our esteem at NXNE last year, were on our schedule for 1 p.m., but patio burgers at the Black Bull Tavern with CBC Radio 3 friends trumped. We got to the Shoe just in time for Rah Rah and a huge love-in between more Radio 3 fans and for the Regina band and their prairie alt-rock/pop. It's possible we've seen Rah Rah more times than any other band; they never seem to stop touring. Maybe it was all the R3 appreciation, but it was the best show we've ever seen them perform. There was no trace of the Rah Rah that we've affectionately called the most awkward band we know and love. They were confident and obviously having a great time.

Odds were up next. There we were at the bar, chatting with friends we only see once a year. Until it sure sounded like Steven Page was on stage singing... and then Chris Murphy of Sloan? Along with Jay Ferguson, Odds, Murphy and Page, a hilarious improv-jam-mash-up ensued, with Murphy forgetting the lyrics to "Underwhelmed" and everyone singing along to the na-na-na-nahs of "Hey Jude." Could our evening lineup possibly top that?

Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images