NXNE (June 13-14, 2012)

  Purity Ring @ Wrongbar: photo by Michael Ligon

I went a little less hardcore during NXNE this year and yet I'm still late on posting about it. Overall there were some good new artists I'd discovered year this although no one had really grabbed me outright like some artists had in previous years. With that said let's get to it.

Wednesday June 13, 2012
I started off the first day of the festival, Wednesday, first picking up my media pass at the Hyatt Regency and then being drawn to a Q & A happening in the same room, with the crew of the YouTube episodic sensation Epic Meal Time. I'd never seen their videos but it was apparent more than a few fans in the audience. The mandate of the show is sort of a mad-scientist's approach to creating these high-calorie, high-fat, fast-food dishes, and then eating them on camera. The show's founder and spokesman Harley Morenstein was a natural comedian as he fielded questions from the audience. And as I've sampled a video of theirs or two, I can see that they appeal to an audience who are curious and who also find what they do humourous. Behind any chuckles I may have had during the Q & A, in the back of my mind I was thinking, how can they eat all that effin' bacon. I can't fathom seeing them continuing their schtick for more that a few years before they start running into health problems.

Feeling a little guilty that I'd not made it to any of the launch events for the first three issues of local grassroots music publication Static Zine, I made a conscious effort to head over to new vinyl / vintage goods store Of A Kind (on College St. near Dufferin) for a NXNE in-store musical showcase which was also doubling as the launch party for the fourth issue of Static Zine. It was a pretty good turnout as individuals sauntered around socializing, checking out the new issue of Static Zine, browsing the merchandise in the store, and of course checking out the bands playing sets throughout the early evening. I'd only arrived in time for the last band, Vancouver's Indian Wars.

Indian Wars @ Of A Kind (8 pm) ----- As the band quietly set up and then segued into their set, the previously mingling crowd quickly switched gears to taken position and listen to the band. With the lead singer's Bob Dylan-esque vocals, the band excelled with their reverb-filled, at times twang-ified garage rock tunes. Not necessarily innovative, but in its own way it sounded fresher than I'd anticipated. The band's debut full-length Walk Around The Park was released in 2011 through Austria-based Bachelor Records. Although my original intention was to perhaps check out Toronto shoegazers Beliefs at the Drake, I opted instead to skip it (since they were playing the next night) and call it a night.

    Photos: NXNE, Toronto (June 13, 2012)

Thursday June 14, 2012
With original plans to go to Toronto Islands for the free-with-RSVP Jansport Bonfire Sessions featuring Smith Westerns and Dusted following through - the lineup was too long and that I found out it would have gone on later than I expected - I bailed and headed to Yonge Dundas Square to take in some punk rock, food truck goodies (Busters Cove) and some freebies (Candy, ice cream, entry drinks). And then it was off for the night to see some bands.

Beliefs @ El Mocambo (9 pm) ----- Local 4-piece (3 guys, 1 gal) shoegaze outfit Beliefs drew a decent sized early crowd. Purposely muddied vocals, and a slightly sludgier take on the shoegaze genre, perhaps a simplistic description is Dinosaur Jr. meets My Bloody Valentine. The male / female vocals makes them a bit more essential than they'd otherwise be had say it only been male vocals. A good, although not entirely distinct set, but a good start to the night nonetheless.

Hooded Fang @ Horseshoe Tavern (10 pm) ----- Since the last time I'd seen the band live back in August 2009, Toronto's Hooded Fang have gone through a bit of an evolution from it's twee-pop, horn-embellished beginnings to a edgier musical personal. The 2009 version of the band, while having their charms, were like a group of high school musician kids working out their growing pains on stage. A few years later and the band (which seems to have downsized and changed membership a bit) seem more confident and at the same time dropping their twee side for set of edgier influences with echoes of Talking heads, new wave and punk within their sonics. These days even vocalist Daniel Lee has dropped his croon for a singing style that's grittier. It was a nicely packed audience encompassing mostly the young'uns making me feel old, but that aside, it was an enjoyable set.

Grass Widow @ Garrison (11 pm) ----- San Franciscan female post-punk guitar / bass / drums trio Grass Widow whose previous album Past Time was released in 2010 through Kill Rock Stars (and whose most recent album is this year's Internal Logic) are the very essence of what reminds me of the Kill Rock Stars label - a D.I.Y. approach to punk-ified, pop music. It was a pretty healthy crowd on hand, although I wasn't sure whether they were all there for Grass Widow or perhaps were there early to secure a spot for the the buzzier later bands of the night, The Black Belles and The Men, but with each spunky song that the group rattled off, the crowd seemed to be enjoying it. Less girl-group pop than their peers Vivian Girls, Dum Dum Girls and the like, Grass Widow (whose name to me seems apropo) favoured a grittier, not-as-straightforward melodic approach. The band's minimalist approach had its charms and I imagined I'd be far more into it back in the 90's during my American indie rock phase, but otherwsie they were just ok.

Dusted @ El Mocambo (midnight) ----- At this time slot my original plan was to see L.A's Bleached at the Silver Dollar but upon reaching that venue I found another band playing (later finding out that Bleached's set had been moved to 2 am). It was purely spontaneity that I wandered down the street to the El Mocambo and upon finding out that Dusted (a duo that included Holy Fuck's Brian Borchedt) was playing, I decided to check it out. With Brian on drums and vocals and Leon Taheny on drums/,keys the duo's set did quickly establish the group's meat-and-potatoes, gritty, pop sound. One of the sleeper sets of the festival for me, I sauntered into that set not knowing the group but came out a convert. I'll be interested in hearing their just-released debut album Total Dust out now through Hand Drawn Dracula in Canada and Polyvinyl in the US.

Purity Ring @ Wrongbar (1 am) ----- One of the buzzier sets of the night, I'd travelled in the direction of the venue, half-expecting to not get in. Even from the streetcar as it passed the venue, I could see a long lineup. Still, I decided to get off the streetcar and on closer inspection found out that there was a separate lineup for passes, and before I knew it I had bypassed the lineup and was in, but just barely - it was packed to the rafters. The Montreal duo, consisting of Megan James (vocals) and Corin Roddick (instrumentals) seemed to have garnered a lot of attention, recently being signed by 4AD, with the band's debut full-length Shrines set to be released July 24, 2012. So while I could hardly see the band from my vantage point which was towards the back, I was fully engrossed into the duo's scintillating, electro-pop sound guided by the atmospheric vocals of James. Colourful lighting danced against the band's small stage backdrop, illuminating the duo enough at times for me to catch just a glimpse of them. Overall it was a well-received set and I hope to catch the duo live another time.

    Photos: NXNE, Toronto (June 14, 2012)

Hottest Bands in Canada, 2009 edition

    photo credit: Joe Fuda

As Matthew of I(Heart)Music has done over the past four years, he's again polled a selection of Canadian music writers, journalists and bloggers for their top ten hottest Canadian bands / artists of the year. I've always been happy to participate and this year's not any different. In some ways, I'm behind the curve on some of the new artists that made the top 32 - bands like The Balconies, The Wooden Sky and Bruce Peninsula who I've only had cursory listens of but am intrigued but have yet to check out live. Past favourites of mine like Ohbijou and Great Lake Swimmers didn't make it to my top 10, and not because they were not 'hot', but rather because personally I didn't end up spending much time with them, either listening to their new releases or going to see them live. My top 10 list was a very subjective one, although scrutinized with a little objectivity - in the end what made my top 10 were those bands / artists who had some sort of activity in 2009 (whether it be touring, releasing music etc...) and who musically had an impact on me. Check out the list below with the commentary for each I submitted (numbers in brackets indicate the artists' ranking in the final top 32):

01. (1) Rural Alberta Advantage (Toronto, Ontario)

They played New York City, SXSW, Toronto and all points in between. They signed to Saddle Creek. I saw them live at for the first time earlier this year during Canadian Musicfest, saw them perform a rapturous hometown CD release show at the Horseshoe Tavern, and then ended the summer seeing them at this year's Virgin Festival[who were immensely better than most of the acts that played the larger stages that day]. I was generally behind the curve latching on to them but better late than never.

MySpace: Rural Alberta Advantage

02. The Hidden Cameras (Toronto, Ontario)

Led by Mississauga-homeboy Joel Gibb, Toronto's The Hidden Cameras returned quietly with their newest album "Origin: Orphan". I had the pleasure of catching their special intimate CD release show at Goodhandy's in Toronto which only emphasized that it's one of my favourite Canadian albums this year. One will still find pleasure in the band's gay-friendly sunny pop tunes but to the provide some balance there's some darker songs and more ambitious instrumental arrangements. Maturity never sounded so good.

MySpace: The Hidden Cameras

03. (9) Metric (Toronto, Ontario)

Fuck the haters. Their most recent album "Fantasies" is a good album. Metric were always rock stars even when they were indie but bottom line they were and still are credible. "Gimme Sympathy" was one of the best singles of the year and there's something so profound about the lyric "who'd you want to be, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones". And when Ms. Haines returned to perform an acoustic version of this song at Broken Social Scene's homecoming show at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto back in July, it was heaven.

MySpace: Metric

04. (22) Gentleman Reg (Toronto, Ontario)

Reg Vermue aka Gentleman Reg played a shit load of live shows this year, and will continue to do so until the end of the year, in support of his most recent release "Jet Black". The more I listen to the samples on his MySpace, the more I wonder why I haven't yet picked up the album. Delicious, edgy pop music.

MySpace: Gentleman Reg

05. (27) Olenka and The Autumn Lovers (London, Ontario)

This London, Ontario outfit seems to be winning new fans incrementally with each live show. I continue to brag about being one of only a few people who caught their live set at C'est What during North By NorthEast back in 2008 but it seems people are now catching on to the band's charming hybrid of rootsy, acoustic, gypsy-folk. Festival-heavy participation this year for the band including NXNE, their own hometown LOLA festival, Pop Montreal and Halifax Pop Explosion as well as the self-release of their debut full-length has made it a successful and busy year for them.

MySpace: Olenka and The Autumn Lovers

06. Junior Boys (Hamilton, Ontario)

The Hamilton duo released their newest album "Begone Dull Care" continuing in the vein of past releases with another album of organic and electronic elements that intersect with the duo's solid songwriting aspect. Any year the boys release an album, they'll be hot.

MySpace: Junior Boys

07. (32) Still Life Still (East York, Ontario)

Signing to Arts & Crafts this year with the release of their debut album "Girls Come Too", Toronto's Still Life Still combine the youthful exhuberance of peers like Tokyo Police Club but with a scruffy pop sensibility that's more in line with their label brethren Broken Social Scene. BSS jr. perhaps, but there's a tune or two from Still Life Still that'd sound terrific on your next playlist[ok the old-schooler in me really wants to say mixtape, but hey who I am kidding?].

MySpace: Still Life Still

08. Hooded Fang (Toronto, Ontario)

This young Toronto outfit makes me smile with their boy-girl vocal-sung indie pop. They only have a five-song EP under their belt(released in early 2009), but 5 songs is better than none right? The band seems content playing around Toronto for now, but do check them out if they hit a town near you. Trust me - their song "Land of Giants" - the definition of pop gem.

MySpace: Hooded Fang

09. The Diableros (Toronto, Ontario)

They've been pretty quiet lately but they're slowly easing back into playing live and the band step up to professional-quality recording with the release of a new EP entitled "Old Story, Fresh Road" to tide things over until the next album. I still remember how insanely good their debut album, 2005's "You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts" was, and how their 2007 album "Aren't Ready for the Country", if not as intoxicating as the debut, was still quite good. The new EP's "Heavy Hands" stands as one of my favourite tracks of the year.

MySpace: The Diableros

10. Tokyo Police Club (Newmarket, Ontario)

TPC spent the year touring, playing dates at All Points West Festival(in New Jersey), the Canadian National Exhibition in TOronto, Hillside Festival in Guelph and even a l'il free summer show in my hometown of Mississauage, and they will continue to play live into November. God love 'em. Late on the wagon as I was, I finally got down to listening to their debut full-length, 2008's "Elephant Shell" and haven't looked back since.

MySpace: Tokyo Police Club

Rural Alberta Advantage, Hooded Fang @ Horseshoe Tavern (July 30, 2009)

  Rural Alberta Advantage @ Horseshoe: photo by Michael Ligon


I've been back from the Osheaga Festival in Montreal for a few days now but been lazy about writing lately so I apologize. Coincidentally, Toronto's own Rural Alberta Advantage played Osheaga although I missed them but fortunately I'd caught them a few days prior when they played a hometown CD release show at the Horseshoe Tavern for their debut album "Hometowns" recently released in the US through Saddle Creek.

Opening the show were curiously-named Toronto band The Wilderness of Manitoba, a band name who in my mind conjures images both mythical and mysterious in quality. A sampling of their tunes over at their Myspace reveals indie-folk songs that are sombre in quality with a nice meshing of male and female vocals and spareness to the instrumentation. I'd arrived late and only caught the tail-end of their set during which I'd also been chatting with someone, but what I recall hearing from the band was more upbeat folk-rock and little less interesting than what I recall from their MySpace. Call me a sucker for the quiet stuff. I do hope to catch a full set from them in the future.

The first and only time I'd seen Toronto indie-pop band Hooded Fang was at an instore at Sonic Boom on Record Store Day back in April. While that performance was generally tight, this time around it was a looser, less-perfect performance. Lead vocalist Daniel with his makes-all-the-girls-swoon suave vocals and female vocalist Lorna whose whose own sweet vocals were attractive traded off vocal duties throughout the night but sparkled best on their song 'Land of Giants' on which they both sing.
On 'The Pageant' Lorna referred it to as their 'sexy' song, a song that sounded like a modernized version of lilting, fifties-melody, doo-wop song. The gang went on full-on twee on the keyboard-pop, female sung 'Circles N Blocks'.Add in some nicely added trumpet and trombone at times and it was a formula that definitely harkens back to my indiepop tastes from over a decade ago. I'm not saying they sound dated. They definitely seem to be in a minority in Toronto playing indie-pop and I'm glad they do it well.

I run in to and meet various bloggers, photographers, and strangers at various shows but it seems that Toronto's Rural Alberta Advantage was a unifying factor as it brought many of the people I've met or recognized from other shows, all to one place. Nice to meet a few new people and see old faces. But it wasn't just blogger central of course as the show was sold out (and really us bloggers don't make up but a miniscule portion of the music fans/concert-goers in Toronto). This being only the second time seeing RAA live(the first time being during CMW back in March at the Gladstone, I will vouch that it only took but the first time seeing them live to be convinced of their impeccable talent. Their deceptively simple set up of acoustic guitar [Nils Edenloff], drums [played impressively by Paul Banwatt], xylophone, tambourine, handclaps [the last 3 instruments enthusiastically performed by Amy Cole], and vocals are all that was needed to reveal songs that are full of melody and lyrical richness. They've been pegged as an indie-folk trio but make no mistake of them being mellow - they played with an energy and enthusiasm that trumps that of most amplified bands. At the same time, it's not about making a racket(although Paul Banwatt's drumming was fluid as a waterfall), but they're definitely based in song and songwriting. The hometown crowd(myself included) made them feel more than welcome. There were some overly enthusiastic individuals like the drunk dude and his equally drunk girlfriend who were yelling constantly it seems, or in the girl's case hugging or touching random persons like myself. And while some perceived such behaviour as an element of douchebag-ness, you can't deny that it added an element of entertainment and made the night memorable. Although, the band concluded the night with a 3-song encore, it was main-set closer 'Edmonton' which made it for me - strummed four-chord guitar, with both Paul and Amy both banging out on drums and Nils singing 'What if I'm only satisfied when I'm at home, Sittin in a city that'll never let me go' - gives me a lump in my throat every time I hear it. Although if Nils was feeling torn between Toronto and his home province of Alberta, I think that night Toronto felt like home.

Photos: Rural Alberta Advantage, Hooded Fang @ Horseshoe Tavern (July 30, 2009)
MySpace: The Wilderness of Manitoba
MySpace: Hooded Fang
MySpace: Rural Alberta Advantage

Little Girls, Steamboat, Hooded Fang @ Sonic Boom (April 18, 2009) / Other News

concert review: Little Girls, Steamboat, Hooded Fang @ Sonic Boom (Toronto, Ontario) - April 18, 2009

Hooded Fang @ Sonic Boom (April 18, 2009): photo by Michael Ligon


After a Record Store Day tour-of-duty (I hit up in order, Rotate This, Soundscapes, Criminal Records, Penguin Music, and Sunrise Records), I ended up at Sonic Boom who themselves were celebrating with an afternoon-into-evening full of instore performances from a sampling of Toronto indie up-and-comers. Having just trekked around Toronto, I managed to stick around for the first three acts.

For my first time seeing young indie pop hopefuls Hooded Fang I was fortunate as apparently they were considerably tighter than they'd been in some past shows. Playing pop music augmented by all the usual instrumental components (keys, guitar, bass, drums, horns, handclaps, and a smidge of accordion), they maintained a level of chipperness without thankfully being overly twee. As with many pop bands, they played music that sounded happy bit the lyrics revealed a more serious undertone. Perhaps their biggest strength (besides infectious melodies) were the alternating lead vocals - Daniel Lee with his suave approaching-on baritone, and Lorna Wright with her jubilant, clear timbre. They didn't outwardly express much more than a shimmy and shake (especially from Lorna and multi-instrumentalist Julia Barnes), but they're young and it's hopefully a component of their live show they'll develop over time.

Seeming like a 180 degree turn from Hooded Fang's sunny indie pop was next act Steamboat. Composed of a rhythm section comprised of a couple of people from Soundscapes and the remaining three members on lead vocals/keys, second keys, and guitar, they worked their bluesy, soul, rock angle (with a more than decent reggae cover thrown in) surprisingly well. Instead of coming off like a second-rate bar band, much of their strength in rising above that lay in the soulful lead vocals of Matt McLaren and his colourful Hammond(?) organ playing. Credit also should go to the band for being musically tight without treading into wankier territory. I wouldn't have thought the young'uns would have been much into it but they seemed to genuinely enjoy the set. Update: They have several shows coming up - April 25 at Tranzac, April 30 at Dakota Tavern and May 16 at Sneaky Dee's for a CD release.

Third act(and final act of the day for me) was fresh-out-of-the-box young Toronto 4-piece Little Girls, 'little' maybe in the sense of being slim enough to fit into slim-fit jeans, but they weren't girls. Prior to their set, I'd thought of skipping out on their set but overwhelming curiosity to find out who they were (and see if they were in fact some hip young all-girl band) convinced me to stay. Disappointment, on the visual front. Musically, I wasn't immediately impressed either, although I did appreciate their noisy, post-punk influences. They played pop music with noisier, murkier sensibilities and a minimalist D.I.Y. ethic. The vocals are a noisier, harsher version of sing-speak and lead vocalist Josh McIntyre pogoed and stumbled around the stage in an intoxicated-like fashion. Visually they screamed hip young, NME-approved band-du-jour, but it'll be interesting to see where they go from there. It was after all their FIRST SHOW EVER. They will play Rancho Relaxo on May 1 then the Over The Top Festival at Sneaky Dee's on May 10 before heading to shows in Montreal and Brooklyn.

It's Not The Band I Hate, It's Their Fans has a review also of these acts plus additional act Green Go who I unfortunately did not stick around for(maybe next time).

Photos: Little Girls, Steamboat, Hooded Fang @ Sonic Boom (April 18, 2009)
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There's a cursory lineup of artists up now at the NXNE website. It's also been revealed that Atlanta's The Black Lips will be playing a free show during NXNE at Yonge Dundas Square on June 18 with Burning Brides and Melissa Auf Der Maur also on the bill. Presented by MySpace Canada.

Still kicking around, Cracker will play Lee's Palace on June 23, tickets $20.50 in advance.

Toronto's Slim Twig plays the Horseshoe on May 29 for a CD release of his debut full-length "Contempt!" out through Paper Bag Records on June 9. Tickets for the show are $10.

Pitchfork reports on the annoucement of this year's Lollapalooza (August 7-9) lineup. I haven't actually looked it. I'm rushing this post but I will look at it tonight.

This year's Summerworks Festival has a launch party on May 3 at The Theatre Centre (1087 Queen St. West) with music from Bob Wiseman, RAA's Nils Edenloff, and Foxfire. Via Stille Post.