10,000 maniacs?

Yeah, we know, it's just a number. But we wanted to take a moment and say thank you to everyone who visits, and hopefully reads, Go NORTH to Detroit, SOUTH to Windsor. Because you helped us surpass 10,000 page views in less than a year.

As always, it's all about the music. Canadian indie music. And it's our privilege to bring it to you from our little corner of the world.

Where N2DS2W will be at NXNE

Wanna know where you can meet us at NXNE? Here's our planned show schedule. For links to the bands and maps to the venues (except for the Live at Bellwoods series), visit www.nxne.com and click on "Schedule."

Thurs., Jun. 16:

  2:00 p.m. Steam Whistle tour
  4:00 p.m. Live at Bellwoods, Trinity Bellwoods Park
  8:00 p.m. Ruth Minnikin, Dakota Tavern
  9:00 p.m. The Luyas, the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
11:00 p.m. P.S. I Love You, the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern OR Allie Hughes, Wrongbar
12:00 a.m. Les Jupes, the Gladstone Hotel
  1:00 a.m. Bruce Peninsula, the Rivoli

Fri., Jun. 17:

  4:00 p.m. Live at Bellwoods, Trinity Bellwoods Park
  7:00 p.m. Library Voices, Mod Club
  8:00 p.m. The Most Serene Republic, Mod Club
10:00 p.m. Elephant Stone, the Garrison
11:00 p.m. Braids, the Garrison
12:00 a.m. Carolyn Mark, the Dakota Tavern (if time permits)
  1:00 a.m. the Pack a.d., the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

Sat., Jun. 18:

11:00 a.m. Moniski's (CBC Radio 3 Fan of the Year!) NXNE/Goodbye Picnic, Trinity Bellwoods Park
  2:30 - 4:30 p.m., Live at Bellwoods, Trinity Bellwoods Park
  9:00 p.m. catl, Silver Dollar Room
10:00 p.m. Hooded Fang, the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern (CBC Radio 3 Showcase)
11:00 p.m. Jenn Grant, the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
12:00 a.m. Dinosaur Bones, the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern OR Papermaps, the Rivoli
  1:00 a.m. One Hundred Dollars, the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
  2:00 a.m. Wildlife, the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

D-Sisive, Muneshine on SOCAN panel at NXNE

SOCAN will once again participate in a handful of events and activities at the 2011 edition of the North by Northeast Music, Interactive and Film Festival and Conference, which takes place June 13-19 in Toronto.

SOCAN will maintain a booth at the host hotel, the Hyatt Regency Toronto on King, as part of the NXPO Music & Lifestyle trade show, June 16-17, from noon to 5:00 p.m.. SOCAN members, conference delegates and wristband holders will be able to drop by at their convenience and speak to a SOCAN representative.

SOCAN will also present a panel, “Digital Beats & Tweets: How Technology is Changing the Face of Hip-Hop." Hosted by SOCAN Education and Outreach Manager Rodney Murphy, the session will feature panelists D-Sisive (artist), Muneshine (artist/producer), Saukrates (artist), and T-Minus (producer). Come and hear how emerging technologies within the music business are leveling the playing field. It doesn’t matter what genre or niche you’re working, those on top of technology are on top of the game. Learn how the hottest beat-makers in the world are mastering their craft and co-writing songs for the world’s hottest rappers. Learn how to clear samples, create your own samples, get your beats placed, network with social media, and use the latest software and equipment to become one of Canada’s next hot producers. The event will take place Thurs., June 16, from 2:15 - 3:15 p.m., at Regency Room B in the host hotel. 

Show Alert: Sam Roberts Band w/ Zeus @ St. Andrews Hall

One of us has been anticipating this show for a long time. That would be Yort, who's always considered Sam Roberts her "gateway drug" to Canadian indie music, and whose very first Canadian indie show was the Sam Roberts Band with Mother Mother back in February 2009 at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit.

The Juno award winner returns this Wednesday to the same venue, with a new album-- Collider-- and another great opening band, Zeus, whose album Say Us made the Polaris Music Prize long list in 2010.

Listen:
Sam Roberts Band, "Fixed to Ruin," from Love at the End of the World
Zeus, "Kindergarten," from Say Us

Show Alert: Artwalk (Sarnia), Jun. 4-5

If for whatever reason late night shows aren't for you, Sarnia's Artwalk is the perfect occasion to catch some great Canadian indie bands long before bedtime. And enjoy them with your kids as well, beginning with Maylee Todd at 1:00 p.m. on the North Stage, and ending with a bang at 5:00 p.m. when one of our favourites, Elliott BROOD take the stage. In between, we're looking forward to hearing Harlan Pepper sing about Great Lakes (2:00 p.m.), the Rest perform Modern Time Travel (4:00 p.m.), and meeting fellow CBC Radio 3 blogger RedVinyl. Don't miss Olenka & the Autumn Lovers on Sunday (3:00).

Show Review: Hopped Up

Within a week's time, we realized we saw something we'd never seen before: five bands/artists (beginning with this show on Apr. 19), and not a traditional guitar-bass-drum combo among them. Not that we have anything against guitar-bass-drum combos, we love plenty of them. But change is good and something D-Sisively different was welcome.

Full disclosure-- "We usually have guitar and bass," said MC Jacob Bergsma of My Son the Hurricane, a brasshop group from St. Catharine's. A big group, 14 in all, that includes trumpets, trombones, saxophones and the dreadlocked Danno O'Shea on drums. Although there were "only" eight of them at the Phog Lounge on Apr. 26 opening for rapper D-Sisive, they made a big impression with their energy, stage presence and of course, their music. Who knew big band, funk and rap went together so well? We do now.



If you've only been exposed to hip hop and rap on U.S. commercial radio, and like us didn't care for most of what you've heard, try the Canadian version. K'Naan, Shad, Cadence Weapon, More or Les, Buck 65, My Son the Hurricane...and Toronto-based D-Sisive and his good friend Muneshine. Yes, it was buy one rapper get one free that night, two turntables, two microphones and a whole lotta of smart hip hop. D-Sisive's raps are very incisive, with an amazing range of cultural references and samples. You can download his latest album, Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye (produced by Muneshine) at Bandcamp for free. Here's a sample of what you'll hear:

"If"
D-Sisive

If Kanye, strutted on stage
Suited like Chaplain, in a plague mask
You'd applaud artsome; the Louis Vuitton Don
so beyond his grandfather clock, so avant garde huh?
If Ivory Grand, dropped a jam
about the clothes in his laundry hamper
and shot a video in a laundromat he'd
have teen girls tossin they dirty spandex at him

If Snoop Dogg spit 'West Coast' verbatim
Every top 40 radio station would play it
And every socialite on California sands
would start dancin to the Schwartzman sample
If Jay-Z sampled a Daniel Johnston tune
You'd download Daniel's catalogue of music
Don't, try to deny it, it's probably true
Cause whatever Jigga say you gon' follow, dude

If Akon sang on 'Brian Wilson'
I would've got the whole world to listen
Co-sign will change your whole life, so absurd
I would have won the fuckin Juno I deserved
... OOPS~! If Asher Roth, slapped his palms
against the caps of his knees and rapped for free
Wait, on second thought, it would change nothin
The same shit different country, fuck it

If Gucci Mane wore a toque and glasses
and paid more attention to his music than fashion
Kids would dress for winter
And rock rims with prescription lens in them
IF!! Eminem dropped Mathers, and went 'Jonestown'
the concept would blow
and send fans racin to newspaper stands
to see his Rolling Stone cover with the Kool-Aid Man

If Rick Ross, released 'Ken Park'
Puffy would put up the ducats and pay Harmony Corinne
to direct a, video with hobos on heroin
Midgets on a merry-go-round, bet you would air it then
If 50 Cent wrote 'Boom Baba Boom'
The second verse would be on every blog dispute
An emcee shit talkin Big and 'Pac? No way
Yet every rapper thinks they clever when they shit on Cobain

If Lil Wayne, 'Let the Children Die'
over a million children alive would line up
at midnight with signs at Best Buy to buy
the record Pitchfork rated a 9 - right?!

If Jay Electronica, Jay Elec-KAN-ica
wrote 'Nobody With a Notepad'
You'd go mental over every reference, from Bon Jovi to R. Crumb
From Hussein Folk to John Lennon
If T.I. quoted Hunter S. Thompson's suicide note
Both you and I know
Spin would praise the brillaince of Cliff Harris
But nobody gives a shit when Derek from Canada
does all of the above, at a quality above
not all of the above, but all of the above
but four give or take, dependin on production
While y'all tend to rate, dependin on the country
an emcee resides in, and if I resided in the states
I'd be signed and paid
We all can't be co-signed by Jay, Wayne or Dre
to Wayne Brady choke suffocate the game
I wish I could change somethin to be just like them
To make the whole world love me, just like them
But, if I change, I'll be just like them
And I would no longer be...

Photos: Russ Gordon

NXNE 2011: Let the planning begin

Launched today: the NXNE Schedulizer

Log on, choose your must-see NXNE music shows,
film screenings, or interactive presentations
and create a personalized schedule.

Find it at www.nxne.com

.

Show Alert: Wax Mannequin @ Paddy Flaherty's (Sarnia)

Fri., May 27, 10:00 p.m., Paddy Flaherty's
Opening: the Unknown Culprits (Toronto, alt rock/blues)

The year is approaching the halfway mark, and although we still have a lot of bands to see (especially with the NXNE bonanza approaching), Wax Mannequin (Hamilton) remains one of our top shows of 2011 (show review here). We'll be making the trip to Sarnia to see what Wax has up his sleeve and on his mind this time.

The Ruby Spirit

Submitted to CBC Radio 3 as one of the Top 5 Gigs of the Weekend

The Ruby Spirit play @ Phog Lounge this Sat.

"With their unique combination of modern indie rock, cabaret, and 60s psychedelia, this five-piece outfit has gained a growing reputation for transforming local gigs into mesmerizing stage performances."

NXNE announces additions to lineup

Best tweet we saw that day: "NXNE gets Fucked Up."

And Allie Hughes, the Handsome Furs, Matters (formerly the D'urbervilles), Diamond Rings, We Were Lovers, Ox, and more. These are some of the latest additions from the CBC Radio 3 roster of artists performing at NXNE. No schedules are available yet (Fucked Up is playing a free show at Younge-Dundas Square), but you can view the list of musical artists here.

Scroll down for more photos.

Allie Hughes

We Were Lovers

Photos: Russ Gordon

Show Alert: The Wilderness Of Manitoba

Tuesday, May 17 at 8:00 PM

Adam's Loft, Sarnia, ON

The Wilderness of Manitoba soar in an atmosphere of ethereal sound, mythology and Tibetan singing bowls. As a multiphonic instrument, the singing bowl is both complement to and beautiful metaphor for the Wilderness of Manitoba's incredible vocal harmonies, courtesy of Stefan Banjevic, Scott Bouwmeester, Melissa Dalton, Sean Lancaric and Will Whitwham and their various instrumental talents. We were especially impressed with Lancaric's unique approach to drums/percussion. Their talents aren't limited to music; Dalton created the art and cover design of their full-length album, When You Left the Fire.  Via N2D

Photos: Russ Gordon

Artwalk band schedule now available

Artwalk - Jun. 4-5, 2011 - Sarnia, Ont.

arts - entertainment - culture

Sat., Jun. 4: North Stage

1:00 - Maylee Todd
2:00 - Harlan Pepper
4:00 - The Rest
5:00 - Elliott BROOD

(Elliott BROOD is also playing a show Saturday night at Paddy Flaherty's)

Sun., Jun. 5: North Stage

3:00 - Olenka & the Autumn Lovers

Show Review: "It's going to be fuse-blowing"

N2D have had a lot of interesting conversations with border guards when crossing. Several have involved replying to this question: "What band are you seeing tonight?"

The answer on Tue., Apr. 19: "Gobble Gobble and Rich Aucoin." It's a good thing we didn't know about the Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt, and even better that we didn't have to try to describe what we were about to see (and do) because it will be hard enough here. "It's going to be mind-blowing," said S2W. "It's going to be fuse-blowing," said Phog Lounge co-owner Frank Incitti, watching Terror Pigeon piece together a lighting set-up that looked like a high school science project.

While no fuses were blown in the making of this show, the predictable was. After a short prelude of compelling compositions on a Roland 303 by Windsor's (wh)y.m.e.(??) (Murad Erzinclioglu of Windsor Zene and founder of FAM Fest), the evening transitioned from passive listening to full-blown interactive theater, beginning with the Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt of Nashville (yes, that Nashville).

With a lighted plastic snowman as back-up, singer Neil Fridd offered costumes to the audience, donned a rainbow muumuu himself and belted out a set of energetic, quirky pop. At one point a conga line of conjoined audience members wearing blazers strung together by lights snaked through the Phog. The big finale was a big love-in beneath a huge quilt, preschool-style. What else would you expect from a band whose latest album is titled I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU AND I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU! HAVE AN AWESOME DAY! HAVE THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE!!





Touring in support of the EP Public Publication, Rich Aucoin (Halifax) puts on a more polished but equally interactive performance of dance-electro pop. Instead of suitcases full of hardware store lighting, Aucoin uses a projection screen and edited videos ranging from the absurd to sing-along lyrics to scenes from  How the Grinch Stole Christmas (which syncs, a la Dark Side of the Moon/the Wizard of Oz, with his previous EP, Personal Publication), as a backdrop. His R3 page notes that his mission is "to create a euphoric communal experience." Using charisma, encouragement, confetti, group chorus and a coloured parachute (and drummer Joel Waddell, doing double duty that night for Aucoin and Terror Pigeon), mission accomplished.

From interactive theater, Gobble Gobble (Edmonton)-- the Frankenstein brainchild of Cecil Frena, with Calvin McElroy, Corin Roddick and Graham Nickle-- took the crowd to a surreal kind of primal-tribal-mystical Roman theater set to experimental, futurist pop. With Frena at the microphone and keyboards/synth and Roddick at the drums, instead bringing the crowd to the show, McElroy and Nickle brought the show to the crowd. Shirtless, in pink tutus, on drywall stilts, they roamed the room, thrusting strange objects out for people to touch, engaging in a mock battle with shovels. Weird and campy performance art? Sure. But make no mistake, the music is brilliant. You can download Gobble Gobble's most recent 7", Wrinklecarver and the full-length Neon Graveyard for free on their Bandcamp page.

Photos: Russ Gordon

                         

Congratulations to our RAA set list winner

Dirk of New Baltimore, jojodillon on the CBC Radio 3 blog, was the first to correctly answer the question:

What is the name of the Windsor restaurant where Amy Cole of the Rural Alberta Advantage had dinner the night of the show? The World Marathon Restaurant. (The answer was available here.)

He wins the Rural Alberta Advantage set list from their show at the Phog Lounge on Sun., Mar. 27. Thanks for playing, Dirk, and for reading N2DS2W.

Win a GENUINE Rural Alberta Advantage Set List!

Okay, so it's not a trip to Europe, a new flat-screen TV, or even a free CD. But it is a genuine set list from the Rural Alberta Advantage show in March at Phog Lounge, and it can be yours if you're the first person to e-mail us the correct answer to this question:

What is the name of the Windsor restaurant where Amy Cole of the Rural Alberta Advantage had dinner the night of the show?

CALGARY INVADES WINDSOR Show Alert: Ryan Bourne w/ Deadhorse @ Phog Lounge May 7

Ryan Bourne

Deadhorse

RB photo: Russ Gordon

CBC Radio 3 on Sirius 86 becomes CBC Radio 3 on Sirius 152

R3 152
It makes Sirius better
Listen and enjoy 

Today is the day.

Photo: Russ Gordon

Artwalk (Sarnia) announces band lineup

We had Artwalk (Jun. 4-5) on our radar as soon as we learned that Elliott BROOD and Harlan Pepper were scheduled to perform. After seeing the lineup, now that blip is the size of a 747. There are no times listed yet, but R3 artists we know and love include, in addition to BROOD and Harlan Pepper, the Rest, Olenka & the Autumn Lovers and Maylee Todd.

Show Alert: Rebekah Higgs w/Crissi Cochrane @ Phog Lounge Thurs, May 5

Rebekah Higgs To Release Upcoming LP On Hidden Pony, Announces May Tour Dates To Celebrate

With the dust still settling on the success of her Little Voice  EP, Rebekah Higgs is pleased to announce that her sophomore full length album is set to come out on Hidden Pony sometime this summer. Known for their recent success with such artists as Said The Whale, Jeremy Fisher and Imaginary Cities, Hidden Pony is equally ecstatic to be working with Rebekah and welcomes her to the label.

"It's great to be joining Hidden Pony. They are a young label, with a young team, full of energy, exuberance, and a love for music and a passion for what they do. As an artist you couldn't hope for more."

"We're so very excited to be working with Rebekah. Everyone at Hidden Pony loves the record and we think it fits in perfectly with the aesthetic that we've tried to develop. We're thrilled to welcome her to our amazing family."

In the meantime, Rebekah Higgs will be hitting the road for most of May to celebrate, including a performance at the Long Live The Queen Festival in Halifax, an event that she helps curate. The release date, album title and artwork for Rebekah’s upcoming LP will be announced soon.

Long Live The Queen Festival: http://longlivethequeen.ca/ 

Visit Hidden Pony:  http://www.hiddenpony.ca/ 

Crissi Cochrane (Halifax/Windsor) opens.  A CJAM Jammy "Best Local Band/Musician" award winner, her voice is as lovely as the little birds she crafts.

The Meligrove Band "Really Want It"

"Is it cool to be creepy?"

That was the theme of today's Lanarama show on CBC Radio 3; if this new video from the Meligrove Band (Toronto) is any indication, the answer is yes:


The Meligrove Band - Really Want It from The Cobourg Boys on Vimeo.

"Really Want It" is off of the Meligrove Band's most recent album, Shimmering Lights (available for only $9 from their website). We saw them last October as part of a great Devil Night's show at the Majestic Cafe, several weeks after Shimmering Lights, the band's fifth album, was released. Seven months later, it still has legs.

Thanks to Adrienne Uselman of Rock Steady Music