N2DS2W Year in Review 2015

The 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 birthday girl


March: CBC Radio 3 takes all live hosts off the air. We take the day off work to mourn with a devastated R3 blog community and say goodbye to Grant, Lana and R3 as we knew it. Album pick release this month: Hayden, Hey Love.

Image and design: Mr. FussyFont


METZ


April: We finally see METZ (The Loving Touch). Some hardcore screaming vocal noise rock bands make us flip the dial, but the musical craftsmanship and visceral intensity of METZ just make us flip. Album picks released this month: LeE HARVeY OsMOND, Beautiful Scars; Rodney DeCroo, Campfires on the Moon.



Design: Kali Malinka   Photography: Angela Fama







May: Rodney DeCroo (Phog Lounge), backed by the amazing Ida Nilsen (Great Aunt Ida), and Mark Haney on double bass, wows us with his poignant and personal music. Album pick released this month: METZ, II.











June: The day before leaving for NXNE, Hayden and Bahamas (The Ark) deliver one of our top shows of 2015, just as we predicted in our show alert.

Hayden
Bahamas


July: N2DS2W celebrates five years. Happy birthday to us.


August: Thanks to our good friend John Struman, we meet a Detroit band we love: Nigel & The Dropout (Phog Lounge). And once again, the Festival of Good Things (Sarnia), this year headlined by Shred Kelly and Sunparlour Players, proves to be the perfect way to end the summer.

Nigel & The Dropout


Andrew Penner, Sunparlour Players

Michael "Rosie" Rosenthal, Sunparlour Players






Ty West, Shred Kelly
Ian Page Shiner and Tim Newton, Shred Kelly




Jordan Vlasshaert and Sage McBride, Shred Kelly

September: Seven is a lucky number as Phog Phest 7 proves the perfect way to start the fall. Grand Analog makes the world go round, The Sadies deliver a blistering set and Wintersleep are glorious.

Grand Analog (Odario Williams)

Sean Dean, The Sadies


Mike Belitsky, The Sadies

Dallas Good, The Sadies
Travis Good, The Sadies




Loel Campbell, Wintersleep

Paul Murphy, Wintersleep



Wintersleep


October: We see our first matinee show at Phog Lounge featuring Megan Hamilton and a flock of kids attacking plates of fries like sparrows. Hamilton's new album, Forty Warm Streams to Lead Your Wings is a thing of beauty, with songs that make you feel like you've known them all your life.



November: Our hip kid has to explain a Ghettosocks (Phog Lounge, with Swamp Thing) Adventure Time reference that still has us singing Bacon Pancakes. Album pick released this month: Library Voices, Lovish.



December: We see Born Ruffians sans costumes for the first time (they really like playing Detroit on Devil's Night) and Young Rival in shiny costumes. They don't need the gimmick; their new album Interior Light shines bright enough.

Noah Fralick, Young Rival

Aron D'alesio, Young Rival

John Smith, Young Rival


Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images