Special NxNE podcasts, episode 2.

I went to the North by Northeast music festival accredited to Zygiella.com. Welcome to my coverage! In these five special podcasts you will hear the interviews I conducted with musicians, writers, bloggers, photographers, and others during the festival. In addition you will also hear songs by artists who performed (and a couple who didn't) during the five days of NxNE. Highlights include a new D'Urbervilles song feat. hip hop artist New Slang, brand new tracks by METZ and La Casa Muerte, and as-yet unreleased songs by Burn Planetarium, The Schomberg Fair, and Evening Hymns. All the songs were chosen by the people I talked to. The conversations you'll hear touch on a variety of subjects, including the state of the music industry, the excitement and diversity of the festival, the travails of independent bands, and the music scenes in other cities. My sense from my travels and talks was that this year's NxNE was well programmed, more embracing of a variety of music styles, and felt more like a festival than in previous years. The bands I spoke with were having a good time, the fans were enjoying themselves, and everyone was finding something exciting to go see and hear.

Episode 2: Thursday afternoon (18 June 2009)

I got home really late on Wednesday night, but I was keen to get an early afternoon start on the official first day of the festival. I started at the Hyatt Regency, where I picked up my press pass and chatted with Fezz Stenton from Green Go. Then I sat in on the round table discussion featuring a dozen members of the (mainstream) Canadian music industry. I took a breather after that bizarre session to debrief with Leif Vollebekk, Scott Bouwmeester, and Stefan Banjevic. After seeing Dinosaur Bones perform a spirited set at Sunrise Records, I interviewed a couple members of that band, Joe Strutt from Mechanical Forest Sound, and NOW Magazine's Jordan Bimm. Spiral Beach was by then entertaining a good crowd at Yonge-Dundas Square, where I talked to Elvis Mondays' William New and Bo and Brandon from La Casa Muerte. Featuring songs by Green Go ("Brains For Breakfast"), Leif Vollebekk ("Northernmost Eva Maria"), Kids on TV ("Breakdance Hunx"), Parallels ("Reservoir"), Dinosaur Bones ("Life In Trees"), The Swallows ("Glorious"), and La Casa Muerte ("Cut It Out").

Listen at Zygiella
Download
RSS (subscribe / download this and past podcasts)
iTunes (subscribe)

The first episode, covering Wednesday, is here. Stay tuned for the next 3 episodes, covering Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday and Sunday.

Photo of Daniel, Maddy, Dorian, and Airick (Spiral Beach) performing at Yonge-Dundas Square by Ming Wu.

Special NxNE podcasts, episode 1.

I went to the North by Northeast music festival accredited to Zygiella.com. Welcome to my coverage! Over the following five special podcasts you will hear the interviews I conducted with musicians, writers, bloggers, photographers, and others during the festival. In addition you will also hear songs by artists who performed (and a couple who didn't) during the five days of NxNE. Highlights include a new D'Urbervilles song feat. hip hop artists New Slang, brand new tracks by METZ and La Casa Muerte, and as-yet unreleased songs by Burn Planetarium, The Schomberg Fair, and Evening Hymns. All the songs were chosen by the people I talked to. The conversations you'll hear touch on a variety of subjects, including the state of the music industry, the excitement and diversity of the festival, the travails of independent bands, and the music scenes in other cities. My sense from my travels and talks was that this year's NxNE was well programmed, more embracing of a variety of music styles, and felt more like a festival than in previous years. The bands I spoke with were having a good time, the fans were enjoying themselves, and everyone was finding something exciting to go see and hear.

Episode 1: Wednesday (17 June 2009)

My festival started at the launch party at the Berkeley Church on Queen East. I caught up with some friends, met a few new people, and had a couple free beers. Sufficiently tipsy, a friend and I cabbed over to the Drake to see the City Sonic films (really well done), and catch sets by J. J. Ipsen, The D'Urbervilles, Lioness, and Woodhands. I spoke with Tim Bruton and John O'Regan from The D'Urbervilles, Ming Wu, a photoblogger from Ottawa and first-time NxNEr, and Garry Tsaconas, a local photographer and avid show-goer. Featuring songs by The D'Urbervilles ("Worst Case Ontario [feat. New Slang and Green Go]," and Woodhands ("Electric Avenue [Eddy Grant cover]"). Hope you enjoy it!

Photo of John O'Regan performing at the Drake on 17 June 2009 by Garry Tsaconas.

Listen at Zygiella
Download
RSS (subscribe / download this and past podcasts)
iTunes (subscribe)

Stay tuned for the next 4 episodes, covering Thursday afternoon, Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday and Sunday.

My NxNE... final tally.

I managed to see more than 30 bands at this year's festival. For the most part, I stayed for full sets, though I got in late to a small handful of them. Here's the complete rundown, from start to finish:

WEDNESDAY

J. J. Ipsen @ The Drake Hotel (Underground) -- nice, but the wrong setting
The D'Urbervilles @ The Drake Hotel (Underground) -- love these guys
Lioness @ The Drake Hotel (Underground) -- Vanessa Fisher is a great lead
Woodhands @ The Drake Hotel (Underground) -- had me dancing for an hour despite my exhaustion

THURSDAY

Dinosaur Bones (in-store) @ Sunrise Records -- reminded me that I do really like this band
Spiral Beach @ Young-Dundas Square -- fun!
Zeus @ The Courthouse -- really good classic rock with new-indie infusion (to my mind)
Flotilla @ Rancho Relaxo -- charmed and pleasantly surprised me
The Most Serene Republic @ The Courthouse -- I wanted to like this set more than I did
You Say Party! We Say Die! @ El Mocambo (Downstairs) -- really fun, better live than on their records
Green Go @ El Mocambo (Downstairs) -- all the people who left after YSP!WSD! missed out
Zoobombs @ The Silver Dollar Room -- blistering performance
The Schomberg Fair @ Lee's Palace -- fantastic performance, new songs sound great

FRIDAY

Green Go @ Yonge-Dundas Square (side stage) -- had me dancing in the sunshine
Black Hat Brigade @ Yonge-Dundas Square (side stage) -- so many people!
Parlovr @ Supermarket -- I loved their somewhat unpolished sound and great energy
Zeroes @ The Silver Dollar Room -- had some great moments
Dinosaur Bones @ The Horseshoe Tavern -- great, I hope they had people talking afterward
Mika Miko @ Sneaky Dee's -- unmemorable for me, but I don't have much experience with punk rock (and they played for no more than 20 minutes)
The Sadies @ El Mocambo (Downstairs) -- amazing!
These Are Powers @ The Silver Dollar Room -- HOLY HECK, their primal electro dance grooves had me dancing like a maniac
Mark Berube & the Patriotic Few @ Rancho Relaxo -- played until past 4am with a good chunk of people still dancing

SATURDAY

Laura Barrett @ Rolly's Garage -- enchanting, perfect (except for that weird guy who interrupted her set)
Boxes & Bags @ secret/not-so-secret afterparty -- terrible technical troubles, but they got something
Japanther @ secret/not-so-secret afterparty --wow, was not expecting this!
DD/MM/YYYY @ secret/not-so-secret afterparty --I was distracted doing door duties, unfortunately, 'cause this is a great live band

After that I caught snippets of Steamboat and Gravity Wave at another secret/not-so-secret afterparty.

SUNDAY

Candy Coated Killahz @ Yonge-Dundas Square -- unoriginal, but when I turned off my music-snob brain they were pretty fun
Mardeen @ Rancho Relaxo -- really good Canadiana pop-rock, made me happy
Brent Randall & his Pinecones @ Rancho Relaxo -- 60s pop, much fun
Diamond Rings @ The Rivoli -- so much better than the last time I saw him, really solid performance
PS I Love U @ The Rivoli -- my friends have been talking this band up for months, and they are right
Wax Mannequin @ Sneaky Dee's -- great
La Casa Muerte @ Sneaky Dee's -- their energy was infectious, even though they claimed to be really low energy that night

All-in-all, I saw 15 bands that I've seen before, and 16 bands that I hadn't. None of the performances were disappointing, though in a few cases I wanted to like the bands more than I did. The best: These Are Powers. The worst: Candy Coated Killahz. But considering both those bands had me dancing despite my sore feet and general tiredness, I really can't complain. What a great five days of music! I learned a lot about a lot of things, including that I need to get out to see more electro bands. I love them so.

[I went to see Hank & Lily @ The Drake Hotel (Underground) on Monday night, just 'cause I'm nuts.]

I did a bunch of interviews during the festival, so stay tuned for a few special NxNE podcasts with all those plus more than 2 hours of great music!

Done.

I am home and done with NxNE 2009.

Missed Ninjasonik, but saw Candy Coated Killahz. Skipped out on GZA at Yonge & Dundas Square. Something was up at the El Mo, so no Rah Rah for me. But headed to Rancho for Mardeen and Brent Randall & his Pinecones. Then to a busy Rivoli for Diamond Rings (!) and some of PS I Love You. Caught part of Wax Mannequin's set and ended it all with La Casa Muerte, both at Sneaky Dee's. All the bands were good and I really enjoyed myself.

Uh... I need to sleep for 17 hours now.

My NxNE schedule... Sunday.

Oops. I was exhausted yesterday; 3 days of late-into-the-night show-hopping caught up with me, and I wanted to do nothing except stay home and sleep. Plus, it was raining, dampening my enthusiasm for all things NXNE even more. Making it to Rolly's Garage for the Daps Duo / No Shame afternoon show was important to me, though, and I managed to get myself organized enough to get there for Laura Barrett's lovely set. After dinner at home and a failed attempt at napping, I decided to skip the shows I had planned, and just hit up the afterparties.

I went to two different ones, each with a decidedly different vibe, but both basically put on as a reason for more partying and celebrating some of the great bands that are in town. Boxes & Bags, Japanther (!), and DD/MM/YYYY were the bands I saw at the first place. I lucked into a ride, so choose to skip out on METZ and Spiral Beach (unfortunately, sigh), to head over to the party happening in my neighbourhood. I caught a bit of Gravity Wave and Steamboat, but the point of this party was more about talking to friends and meeting new people. I ended up interviewing Prizzy Prizzy Please in their van, and then getting some breakfast at Vesta Lunch with three friends. No regrets about missing Evening Hymns, The Wooden Sky, Grand Analog, Red Mass, Woodpigeon, The Lovely Feathers, and etc. I would have enjoyed then, I'm sure, but another time.

The festival continues today. Here's what I've got tentatively planned. Again, I'm aiming to see bands I haven't yet seen.

SUNDAY

Ninjasonik @ Y & D Square, 6pm.
Candy Coated Killahz @ Y & D Square, 7pm.
Rah Rah @ El Mo (Down), 9pm.
Labasheeda @ Sneaky Dee's, 9:30pm.
The Gertrudes @ Rivoli, 10pm OR Innes Wilson & His Opposition @ Sneaky Dee’s, 10pm OR Brent Randall & His Pinecones @ Rancho Relaxo, 10pm.
La Casa Muerte @ Sneaky Dee’s, 11pm.
PS I Love You @ Rivoli, 12am OR Bellewoods @ Rancho Relaxo, 12am.
Later... If I'm still feeling festive, I hope I might catch Steamboat and The Beauties @ The Dakota Tavern.

There's also an interesting show happening at the Music Gallery.

My NxNE schedule... Saturday.

Friday was insane. From start to finish: brunch at Aunties & Uncles, Green Go, interesting conference session, Black Hat Brigade, dinner, annoyed by Little Italy festival, Parlovr, Zeroes, Dinosaur Bones, Mika Miko, The Sadies, These Are Powers, Mark Berube & the Patriotic Few, biking home in the rain, collapse. I got to interview Matthew from i(heart)music, Burn Planetarium, Justin and Bryan from Black Hat Brigade, Sari and Simone from Audio Blood Media, Michael, Zack from The So So Glos, Evan Dickson from chartattack.com, concert promoter Mark Pesci, photographers Pete Nema and Tom Eschenbrenner, and probably other people that I forget right now.

Best band of the festival: These Are Powers. At 1:50am last night, when the Sadies were still playing, I realized I wasn't going to make it (intact, on time) to the Reverb for 84.85 at 2am. I noticed These Are Powers were going on at the Silver Dollar, two minutes from where I was (at the El Mo). Zack had mentioned them to be earlier, and someone else had too. So I went. And they were amazing.

Today it's raining and my feet are killing me. I may hang out at home for a bit then hit up a day show before more shows shows shows afterparties. If I stick to my plan on not seeing bands I've seen before, my options include:

SATURDAY

No Shame / Daps Duo BBQ feat. Ruby Jean & the Thoughtful Bees, Lightmares, Laura Barrett, “Swirling Shores,” Times Neue Roman, and Pick A Piper @ Rolly’s Garage, 1-6pm.
Record Label DIY: Freeing Your Inner Ani DiFranco @ Regency B, 3–4:30pm.
FACTOR Fiction Redux @ Regency A, 3:30–4:30pm.
AfterpartY @ Neutral Lounge, 8pm.
Casey Mecija (Ohbijou) & Evening Hymns @ Whippersnapper Gallery, 9pm. (Ok, seen both before.)
awkward i @ Holy Joe’s, 10pm.
By Divine Right @ WhipperSnapper Gallery, 11pm.
Brian Borcherdt @ WhipperSnapper Gallery, 12am OR C’Mon @ Lee’s Palace, 12am OR In-Flight Safety @ El Mo (Down), 12am.
Crystal Antlers @ Sneaky Dee’s1, 1am OR The Wooden Sky @ El Mo (Down), 1am (seen 'em before).
The Lovely Feathers @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, 2am.
Bloodgroup @ Neutral Lounge, 3am.

I might skip the last few timeslots and head to an afterparty or two. And now I'm off to shower, eat, and take one last look at the schedule to make sure I haven't overlooked anything.

My NxNE schedule... Friday.

Oh man, Thursday was crazy. I started by getting my pass then headed off to the Town Hall meeting, which was interesting in several different ways. Then I walked over to see Dinosaur Bones at Sunrise Records. I did some interviews, and got to see a few songs by Spiral Beach, playing outside to a good crowd at Yonge-Dundas Square. Since I was with some friends, I decided to follow them to the Arts & Crafts showcase at the Courthouse. We got there, got stamped, went out for a quick bite to eat, then back to the Courthouse for Zeus. They impressed. Sounded like classic rock but with a bit of new-indie flair. Not exactly my thing, but I got into it and was glad I checked them out. Up next, in the 9pm slot, I went to see Flotilla, this great band from Montreal. I took the 10pm slot off to interview a few more people, drop in to see Keith Hamilton at the Boat (during Whale Tooth's set), and then it was back to the Courthouse for The Most Serene Republic. I was excited to see them, but wasn't blown away like I hoped I'd be. I didn't stick around for The Stills, since I wanted to check out what was happening at the Horseshoe (enormous lineups) or El Mocambo. So I got to see You Say Party! We Say Die!, a Vancouver band whose recordings I haven't loved. Live, though, I got it. The lead singer is really something, and their dance-y stuff is up my alley. Fun! I saw some of Green Go's set (and partook in the dance party near the stage), but then dashed off to the Silver Dollar for the Zoobombs, a Japanese band playing Dan Burke's NeXT showcase. Great. And the place was packed, even though it was 1:30am. My last stop was Lee's Palace, where The Schomberg Fair killed it in front of a small crowd of friends and fans. Their new stuff sounds amazing; the old stuff has new life. A great way to end a pretty good day of music.

More tomorrow. Honestly, I think I will skip the first two things on my list, and may not make the last two.

FRIDAY (19 June)

[Show Me the Money… then Show Me How to Get Some @ Regency A, noon–1pm.]
[Green Go @ Mill St. Brewpub Daystage, 3pm.]
The NXNE Music Meeting @ Regency D, 4–5pm.
Black Hat Brigade @ Mill St. Brewpub Daystage, 5pm.
Said the Whale (in-store) @ Criminal Records, 6pm.
Spiral Beach @ Whippersnapper Gallery, 7pm.
Matt and Kim @ Whippersnapper Gallery, 8pm.
[Slim Twig and Little Girls @ Preloved, 8–10pm.]
Golden Isles @ Horseshoe Tavern, 9pm OR Parlovr @ Supermarket, 9pm OR Valery Gore @ Reverb, 9pm.
Wintersleep @ Y & D, 9:45pm OR Bahamas @ Supermarket, 10pm OR Zeroes @ Silver Dollar Room, 10pm.
Laura Borealis @ The Painted Lady, 11pm OR Hank Pine & Lily Fawn @ Cameron House, 11pm.
The Magic @ Reverb, 12am OR No Age @ Lee’s Palace, 12am OR Mika Miko @ Sneaky Dee’s, 12am.
METZ @ Silver Dollar Room, 1am OR The Sadies @ El Mo (Down), 1am OR Cigarettes @ Cameron House, 1am.
[84.85 @ Reverb, 2am.]
[Mark Berube & The Patriotic Few @ Rancho Relaxo, 3am.]

The best all-round showcases are the ones happening at the Dakota Tavern and the Reverb. The Horseshoe will be fantastic all night, too. I might not get into the first and last of those without waiting (or at all), so I won't try. That, and I've seen many of the bands that are playing there already. But if you're looking for one venue to go to and stay at, those are your best bets (to my mind).

My NxNE schedule... Thursday.

Wednesday night I only made it out to two venues---the opening party at the Berkeley Church (free drinks!) and then the Drake Hotel for the Sonic City party feat. Woodhands, Lioness, The D'Urbervilles, and J. J. Ipsen. Oh boy, what a party. I got mini interviews with a handful of people, and will do more the rest of the festival. These will be gathered together in a special podcast a couple weeks from now.

Ouff, I am wiped. But here's what I might do tonight!

THURSDAY (18 June)

Register @ Hyatt Regency, noon.
NXNE Town Hall @ Second City (56 Blue Jay Way), 2:30-4:30pm.
Dinosaur Bones (in-store) @ Sunrise Records (336 Yonge St.), 5pm.
Spiral Beach @ Young & Dundas, 6pm OR The Coast (in-store) @ Sunrise Records, 6pm.
Amos the Transparent @ Sunrise Records, 7pm.
Language-Arts @ El Mo (Down), 8pm OR Share @ Clinton’s, 8pm.
Flotilla @ Rancho Relaxo, 9pm.
The Champion Heartache @ Holy Joe’s, 10pm OR Sleepless Nights @ Clinton’s, 10pm.
The Dress Whites @ Supermarket, 11pm OR Natalie Portman's Shaved Head @ El Mo (Down), 11pm OR Rah Rah @ Rancho, 11pm.
The Darcys @ Clinton’s, 12am OR Elephant Stone @ Supermarket, 12am OR You Say Party! We Say Die! @ El Mo (Down), 12am.
Japanther @ Sneaky Dee’s, 1am OR The Zoobombs @ Silver Dollar Room, 1am OR Green Go @ El Mo (Down), 1am.
[OPOPO @ Horseshoe Tavern, 2am OR The Schomberg Fair @ Lee’s Palace, 2am.]

My NxNE schedule... Wednesday.

Here's what I aim to be doing the first night of the NxNE festival. I'll let you know about Thursday and Friday and Saturday and Sunday over the following days. My schedule for those days will change as I cross some bands off my list, get recommendations, and etc. This year I've got a pass so I want to take in as much of the festival as possible, including LOTS of music---including free concerts that you can go see even if you don't want to pay cover or get a wristband---and some of the conference. No movies for me except the City Sonic films.

WEDNESDAY (17 June)

[Still Life Still (in-store) @ Fred Perry (964 Queen St. West), 6pm, free.]
Ohbijou (in-store) @ Soundscapes, 7pm, free.
NXNE Opening Gala @ The Berkeley Church, 7pm (invite only).
City Sonic film showings / J. J. Ipsen @ The Drake, 9:30pm.
The D'Urbervilles @ The Drake Hotel (Underground), 10:30pm.
Lioness @ The Drake Hotel (Underground), 11:30pm.
Woodhands @ The Drake Hotel (Underground), 12:30am.
Leif Vollebekk @ Dakota Tavern, 2am.
[The Beauties @ Dakota Tavern, 3am.]

I'm missing out on the HUGE Arts & Crafts extravaganza and book launch at the Courthouse. It will be awesome, I'm sure, but the Drake event is guaranteedfuntimesdanceparty for me. It'll be a good way to start off the festival. And get in some interviews on this little digital audio recorder thing Tyler lent me for the duration of the festival.

If you want to come to the Drake, cover if $5 before 11pm; $10 after. A steal, but get there early because the Underground is pretty small and these bands will draw, even on a Wednesday.

Here's what my blogger friends are doing during the festival: Bob, Frank, and Pete.