North by Northeast: A Review
 This
year’s NXNE, once again, provided some of the
best, most diverse music heard in any weekend in Toronto.
Compared to, say, Canadian Music Week, NXNE draws on
a more global pool of artists, mostly those on their
way up, and there was packed houses for artists who
may not get that kind of audience otherwise, but nevertheless
certainly deserve it.
Here is a breakdown of the band’s Shred caught
during this year’s festival.
Thursday
9 p.m. Greg MacPherson, Healey’s
What a way to start off the festival. Like Chris Page
a few months earlier, MacPherson did a solo guy with
electric guitar act to begin an evening at Healey’s.
But while Page explores poppy guitar–rock territory,
MacPherson delivers a more intense, passionate performance,
his guitar playing sounding like a multi-layered arrangement,
which made me wonder how he does it when it looks like
all he’s doing is strumming. A highlight was his
cover of “Bankrobber”, a song made famous
by the Clash, but his whole set was solid, workman-like
electric political folk.
10 p.m. Elliott Brood, Cameron House
Elliott Brood is a trio of hard-driving cow-punks who
play acoustically, but the results are louder and more
compelling than if they were plugged in. The drummer
uses an old plastic suitcase instead of a bass drum,
which, oddly enough, didn’t sound all that different
from a real one. Each song was a mysterious-sounding
look backwards, with slightly threatening overtones
that obliged you to listen to hear how it all turned
out. What would have made their set stronger is if they
didn’t stop for a couple minutes between each
song. A rapid switch from song to song to song would
have strengthened their impact.
11 p.m. The Cherry Persuasion, Bovine Sex Club
In my NXNE preview, I quoted
the Cherry Persuasion’s Web site as describing
them as “the dirty soul of rock 'n roll meets
icy electronica and the glamour pop esthetic of new
wave.” Upon further review, they are pretty much
a standard garage rock act with new wave keyboards.
Competent, sure, but not over whelming.
Midnight Breaking Laces, Holy Joe’s
I never would have thought Breaking Laces were from
New York. Brooklyn, to be exact. There is usually something
about New York bands that always betrays where they’re
from. A bit of urban je ne sez quois, perhaps. If modern
rock radio was any good, their hooky radio-friendly
acoustic pop would certainly get a load of play on it,
edging close a teensy-weensy bit to the Hootie/Dave
Matthews side of things, but with more hooks, interesting
instrumentation, and charming stage presence. The four-song
sampler they gave out has been getting a lot of play
around the Shred household. A definite favourite so
far.
1 a.m. Honeysuckle, Healy’s
Apologies to Honeysuckle: I only stayed for about 20
minutes of their set. Had to work the next day and stuff.
It’s nice to see that their stage show is still
energetic, and with what I heard, are a little tighter
than the last time I saw them. The thing with Honeysuckle
is that they are exhausting. Each song is an emotional
journey of its own, and after they’re finished
you feel empowered and that you have overcome the blackness
they sing about. But you also feel like you need to
take a nap.
Back to NXNE Review Top
Friday
9 p.m. The Witching, Bovine Sex Club
The loud hard rock garage thing has gone through its
phases in the past several years, from the bands that
brought back the sound to the aging hipsters who saw
it as an excuse to wank, until it crystallized into
a modern sound that, for all the excitement it can generate,
can be boring when sitting through yet another band
that had the same sound and same attitude as the one
before it. That’s why I love seeing bands like
The Witching, who bring something different to the genre.
That something seems to be singer Ruby Beil, who makes
these weird sounds that are almost like a growl or a
grunt or a bark, who knows, maybe even a belch. But
like The Muffs’ Kim Shattuck’s scream, these
augmentations to her already strong vocals add a different
dimension to the music. Another highlight was the song
that went on and on with drum and long guitar solos
– then I remembered that they told us the song
was about masturbation. Whoever says women can’t
bring the rock should check out the Witching.
11 p.m. Co-Star, Rancho Relaxo
Co-Star came to the festival with a lot of hype surrounding
them. Apparently, they’re the next big thing in
Britain, but to me it was boring, generic guitar pop.
I didn’t get it. But then, I said the same thing
when I heard The Strokes, too. So what do I know?
Midnight Volebeats. Healey’s
From Detroit, these guys looked like they might be one
of the autoworker by day/country-rock band by night
kind of deals. They’ve been described as being
country-ish with Brian Wilson influences, but I really
didn’t hear that. They did remind me of Steve
Earle, especially his first album.
1 a.m. Erocktica, Bovine Sex Club
An Anti-Censorship Erotic Theatrical Musical Free Expression
Rock Extravaganza? Or just another excuse for hot chicks
to get naked? You decide. More of an “act”
than a band, Erocktica’s thing is a sexual performance
that is mostly geared around singer Pink Snow and her
back-up dancers rubbing whipped cream over each other,
among other things in a celebration of sex and pornography.
The problem with these types of acts is that way too
often the spectacle gets in the way of the music, but
that wasn’t the case here. The music was flashy,
loud, and fun, reflective of the atmosphere they were
trying to create. And added points for the two audience
members who got up and got naked with the band. Well,
one of them did, anyway.
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Saturday
9 a.m. Big Muff, Rancho Relaxo
Having spent many important years in Victoria, B.C.,
I am always interested in what the city’s always
vibrant musical community is up to. But I’m afraid
Big Muff didn’t pull it off. I was never a big
L7 fan, and many of the bands that have been inspired
by them come off as boring. And while Big Muff seemed
sincere, and a few songs showed promise, they were a
little too generic for these ears.
10 p.m. Hubcap, The Black Bull
Two Ithaca bands in two days, whadya know. The Black
Bull is a harsh place to see bands because it’s
not really a live music venue, more like a restaurant
with live music when one of the festivals needs another
venue on Queen St. Usually, the music has to fight the
tourists who don’t always know what’s going
on. And while Hubcap made a valiant attempt to entertain
with their no-depression country-rock, from where I
was standing it felt like I was watching them through
a window, so I left.
11 p.m. Tangiers, Healey’s
Man, I’ve spent way too much time at Healey’s
this weekend. But after seeing Tangiers’ way-too-short
set I think I’ve declared a winner: They were
simply the best band I caught at NXNE. I saw them a
couple of years ago when I first moved to Toronto and
thought, meh, they’re alright, but man have they
improved since. On the surface, they have a major strike
against them: playing ‘60’s influenced rock
with a keyboard. That usually spells trouble. Current
new wave revival aside, bands with keyboards tend to
either let the keyboard dominate musically or they become
one of those “Hey aren’t we ironic”
hipster bands that forget that attitude and whatever
goofy stage show they come up with never replaces the
rock. Tangiers write great pop with a sense of humour
and an understanding of how each instrument blends into
the musical whole. I was too tired (and drunk) to stay
up to catch their late-night set at the Comfort Zone,
but I look forward to seeing them again soon.
Midnight Raising the Fawn, Healey’s
I was barely paying attention, but Raising the Fawn
apparently won some award from the CBC or something,
which they accepted before their set. Their set was
pretty interesting; a musical descendant of bands like
Codeine, they’re one of those bands that stretch
the boundaries of what you can do with a pop song: you
can drag it out, add a trumpet solo, but as long as
the band can do something with their ideas then you
can call them a success. Raising the Fawn did all that.
1 a.m. Vulgar Deli, Sneaky Dees
There is nothing quite like ending the night with a
punch. I expected Montreal’s Vulgar Deli to be
more of a melodic street-core band; rather they were
loud, fast, aggressive, everything that hardcore should
be.
See you at NXNE 2005. It’s always a lot of fun.
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Related Site:
North by Northeast: http://www.nxne.com
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