Culture Blues

NXNE 2010: The Weekend Part One

As one man there is only so much I am capable of, and my primary limitation is that I can only be in one place at one time. By this point in my writings about NXNE, you surely have all become aware that there were multiple lifetimes of awesome happening in Toronto every single day; therefore, during the stretch from Friday to Saturday, I spent every ounce of my reserves, (and a sum of loonies I would rather not even consider) trying to soak up as much of it as possible, all so I could recount every detail to you, dear readers. During that span I: slept about 4 hours, nursed a (pretty much perpetual) hangover, and practically ruined a pair of kicks, but you know what? It was all completely fucking worth it.

When we last caught up with each other, my ears were still ringing from the volume and tenacity of Thee Oh Sees. Upon awakening on Friday, my ears still hurt and my body demanded I stay in bed longer, but, being the life-chronicling soldier that I am, I had to get vertical and march on. After banging out my thoughts about Thursday night, I went and had a meal at Wayne Gretzky’s restaurant (how could I not?), and made my way Northwest to Dundas Square for the second night in a row, in order to catch K-os and, Canada’s number one 90's obsession, Sloan.

Dundas Square was considerably more packed on Friday than I had seen it on Thursday, which I initially found a bit shocking, but after a little consideration I realized that these lovely people where all here to see some of the more popular legit Canadian bands of the festival. I arrived just in time to set up a decent camp, catch K-os perform his set, and, apparently, get totally blown away. We have an abundance of hip-hop in The States (it is King here, after all), and I suppose in my efforts to know the back-stories behind all of Lil’ Wayne’s tattoos, that I have let K-os fly under my radar... Shame on me! From the first thunderous bass drum hit, K-os and his excellent live band+ DJ had me enthralled with their seemingly effortless ability to blend a diverse array of musical styles into their signature blend of greatness. K-os himself commanded the stage, the audience, and his band like some sort of emcee/conductor/hypnotist delivering highly-intelligent rhymes with air-tight flow, and even laying down some soulful and passionate crooning when the moment called for it. As great as it was to hear a top-shelf live band kill it in this setting, and as great a front-man as K-os is, the true star of the set was the sophisticated and fantastic music; Astronaut, Clap Your Hands, Burning Bridges, 4321, Aviator, Equalizer... their set was an endless string of great tunes that had the crowd going nuts, the musicians sweating, and me SO happy to be there. K-os ended his set with a three song stretch that showcased his two biggest hits, Crabbuckit and Sunday Morning (the crowd could barely contain their exaltation), along with a song I was not familiar with, Valhalla, which was tremendous, and my most vivid memory of the set (for those of you who know it, K-os himself added a blistering harmonica accompaniment to the intro... seriously). If this monster paragraph has made you even the least bit curious about K-os, I strongly suggest you go check him out now and enjoy the boom-bap, grime, swing, nu-metal, soul, punk, and r&b goulash.

Once K-os left the stage, I watched with a reasonable modicum of concern as the crowd quadrupled in size to check out Sloan. I was pretty sure that Sloan was going to be a big draw, but I would never have imagined this kind of turnout. By the time the band members took the stage to roars from the crowd, I was worried I was never going to be able to extricate myself from this sea of humanity. From the moment the Emin of the first tune was struck it was a gigantic lovefest; all the anticipation that had been buzzing around the crowd was released in cheering and clapping (that was that sound you heard on Friday night). Sloan themselves seemed to be really appreciative of the crowd's reaction (how could they not?), though their banter was a bit more apathetic than I'd anticipated (I didn't know Canadians could be jaded). Seeing as how they had no current record to support (the band hasn’t dropped a new studio album since 2008), their set was a giant greatest-hits-fest/thank you to the fans, and it sounded polished and pristine. They brought their ultra-pleasant harmonies, gigantic choruses, and slicker-than-slick hooks to the party, while filling the Toronto night with all their classics: Underwhelmed, Everything You’ve Done Wrong, Losing California, The Lines You Amend, Friendship, Money City Maniacs, 500up, Coax Me, even People In The Sky! They were all there and they all sounded crisp and clear, and the mass of Canadians around me sang along to every word with grins so huge, I assure you, their faces are still hurting today.

Sloan was great but, as you would imagine ,slightly past their time/prime. As I stood there in Dundas Sqaure, I took some time to consider the mammoth differences between what K-os and Sloan had brought to the stage, and two things struck me. The first was the obvious difference in where the two genres (hip-hop & alternative) are in their prospective evolutions; one is still developing, while the other has grown rather stagnant. The second thing that struck me is just how diverse and wonderful this festival truly was.

After I managed to navigate my exit from the crowd at Dundas, it was time to hit the clubs and get a little more intimate. Having, by this time, mastered the transit system I hopped on the train and made my way down to Lee’s Palace (one of the older and more famous venues in Toronto) to check out a trio of bands; The Happy Hollows, Wavves, and Japandroids. Lee’s was as packed as I had seen an indoor venue in all my time at NXNE, and the crowd was considerably less mainstream then the folks over at Dundas. I quickly made my way over to the bar where I got myself a Labatt 50 (I had to find out what the fuss was about... it turns out, pretty much nothing), then I pushed through the crowd in order to not be in the back for the first band.

There is a good possibility you guys are not familiar with The Happy Hollows, and you all must remedy that immediately. I had a dim awareness of them before I got to Lee’s, and I was pretty sure that I was going to dig them, but I had no idea I was going to absolutely LOVE them. The Happy Hollows are a three piece from the ultra trendy Silver Lakes area of California (think Williamsburg, but everybody drives and the jeans aren't quite as skinny. Yet.). Led by singer/guitarist Sarah Negahdari, The Hollows took the stage and played one beautiful dream-pop, art-rock, post-punk gem after another, delighting the crowd and keeping me completely enthralled. While not the complete awe-based shock the Thee Oh Sees were (remember, I vaguely knew what to expect from The Happy Hollows), it was a much more complete and gratifying experience. Their set was near flawless, they seemed like wonderful humble musicians, and their performance had all the energy and vitality of a band that is only an iota away from breaking out and being your new favorite. They had it all; a tight and booming rhythm section (Charlie Mahoney and Chris Hernandez), killer tunes, and a mesmerizing frontwoman who is already a star. Sarah Negahdari is everything you like about Karen O (with none of the annoying posing, or various other Karen O ticks) except “cuter”, and she plays a mean fucking SG. If you live in the New York area you really should go check these guys out at Piano’s on the 23rd of this month or Littlefield on the 24th, and make sure to thank me the next day.

Next up were Wavves, a punk/noise-pop trio from San Diego, who had a rough slot following the fantastic Happy Hollows and before Japandroids, who the crowd was obviously here to see. To say Wavves’ set was a mixed bag is putting it lightly. When they were on they were great, pumping out tunes that you can instantly see sixteen year olds bouncing around their bedrooms to. When they were off, however,  they had to restart songs, which is the most egregious live sin a band can commit (this happened twice). Of course, the crowd was not full of music critics, instead it was packed full of drunk Canadians who were having a great time and made Wavves feel right at home. Ultimately, I would say check out Wavves’ first two records, as I was assured by several fans that they are a far better representation of the band.

Then it was time for the main event.

Of all of the Canadian bands that were playing the festival (we are talking millions), Japandroids was probably the one I was most excited to check out. A noise-pop, garage rock, power-duo hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Japandroids are the definition of up and coming. Their debut record, Post-Nothing, is an epic piece of rad that should really be in your iTunes, and I had read that their live performances have an abundance of energy. As I stood and watched Brian King (guitar/vocals) and David Prowse (drums/some vocals) blow the fucking doors off Lee’s Palace, I was superbly pleased with my decision to make this my destination for the evening. Brian was literally running shit up there; stomping around the stage, standing on the bass drum, and laying down some violently kinetic guitar noise bursts. Japandroids had their dynamic shifts down, and any given song could go from loud and awesome, to a slight/ultra-short reprieve to even louder and more awesome. Heart Sweets was a perfect example; every time the X-O-X-O-X hook came around the crowd would jump in time to the bass drum, fists in the air, screaming at the top of their lungs while their volume increased with each repetition. Other highlights from their awesome set were the opener, Sovereignty (a great way to get a crowd pumped), the post-rock face melter The Boys Are Leaving Town, the crowd favorite Rockers East Vancouver, and the song that I have not been able to get out of my head since I heard it Wet Hair (I am not too positive on Paris, but it made me want to run the gauntlet, get to France, and French Kiss some French girls). I would tell you guys to check out Japandroids, but you are a hip lot and I know you already know what’s up.

Once their set was over, it was time to make our way (I had met up with Jeff before Japandroids) to the Dakota to go catch the Rock Plaza Central secret show- it was an interesting experience, and I believe Mr. Hart will share his thoughts with you all on that one.

Another great day of music under my belt and buried in my memories; it was time to walk down Spadina (big ups to Toronto!), head to the room, take what amounted to a long power nap, and then check out the best lineup of acts at one venue all week in Canada (seriously, the Saturday was unreal!)... but you will have to check in with us tomorrow to see how incredible (WAY incredible) all of that was. For now I suggest planning your trip to NXNE next year so you can live through the splendor in person.

Tagged as: Dundas Square, Japandroids, k-os, NXNE, Rock Plaza Central. Lee's Palace, Sloan, The Dakota Tavern. Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant, The Happy Hollows