Culture Blues

NXNE 2010: Thursday Recap

As the evenings pass here in Toronto, my shoes get a bit more worn, my liver’s hatred for me increases, and I enjoy myself more thoroughly. Yesterday was the second day of music and mayhem at NXNE and there was so much going on it was a bit overwhelming. Just about every block  seemed to have some life/music loving revelers stumbling and fumbling down the pavement. NXNE has infused this city with such dynamism that I bet the whole municipality will need a few days to recover after the tourists and industry delegates all return to their corners of our celestial body… Too bad the G20 is on its way.

Last night the scope and intensity of the performances increased exponentially, with over 200 bands blowing up over 45 venues all around the city, and leaving thousands of fans equal parts satisfied and exhausted. There literally is something for everyone going on up here. I don’t care how you dress, who your favorite bands are, or how cool you believe you are. We here at Culture Blues traveled all sorts of kilometers to check out what was happening, drink a couple of Molsons (when in Rom- um… Canada), and let you know what you missed (so you could fulfill your daily envy quota); you are all welcome.

The biggest draw for Thursday night was without a doubt the free show at Dundas Square (think Times Square but scale it down… a whole hell of a lot); the lineup included Free Energy, The Icarus Line, Brant Bjork & The Bros, Mudhoney, and 70’s punk legends X. I got there in time to catch the second half of The Icarus Line (Los Angeles, C.A.) which was surprisingly visceral; if you’re not familiar with their sound they are kind of like At The Drive In, with a more legit metal bend. The band members were all dressed in red and black uniforms, and their tunes were equal parts aggressive and volatile, whipping the crowd into a frenzy (they had a large contingent in the audience) and inspiring some furious moshing.

After the Gibosn Explorer echo of the Icarus Line faded away it was time for a beer run and then Brant Bjork and The Bros (Death Valley area-ish C.A.). The change of pace was a bit drastic as Brant Bjork and Co. played a more organic and granola style of psychedelic 70s style rock and roll. It took them a couple of tracks to win the crowd over, but by the end of their set the square was packed (I suspect a majority of the new arrivers where there to see Mudhoney), and there were some people grooving to their vibe. In my opinion they should have gone on before Icarus Line.

Then shit got real serious!

Mudhoney came on stage with all the aplomb of a four piece that has been there and seen it all (seriously, how do you think they feel about what became of their scene?). Mark Arm was in great form to start off the set as he broke out some of his best Iggy Pop poses and careened around the stage in a fashion that was akin to an intoxicated trapeze artist. The band banged out a blistering set full of the songs that made them way more famous than your friend’s band; there were heavy samplings from SuperFuzz BigMuff and Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, and the crowd totally exploded when the staccato power chords of "Touch Me I’m Sick" filled the Canadian air. Mudhoney’s set was one of the best I have seen since my arrival. The highlight of Mudhoney’s performance was their earnest and almost chilling rendition of "The Lucky Ones."

When Mudhoney was through (and the audience came back to the current decade), it was time to make another run, but alas it was fruitless (damn you LCBO and your absurd closing time). Once the disappointment subsided , I snagged a good spot to catch X. There was a considerable amount of confusion in the audience as to what to expect; there were some rumors going around that they were going to play an acoustic set (thank goodness they did not) and I even heard multiple people in the crowd who thought they were waiting to see XX (face-palms all around). I, on the other hand, had some trepidation as to how X would sound/hold up (after all they are from the late 70s and the band members are all at least 50). Musically they were still pretty tight, delivering a plethora of their classic figures to near recording level fidelity. But, the vocals were a bit rough and buried in the mix, especially Exene Cervenka, but I wasn’t sure if it was due to poor mixes from the board, or fatigue, or her recently diagnosed malady. They played just about every song you could want to hear off of Los Angeles and Wild Gift and although it wasn’t quite a pinch yourself moment, it was still pretty dope to be standing in the audience as they tore through their classic single Los Angeles, especially as a fan of the history of modern music.

Once the show at Dundas was over it was time to head out on a mission and walk across town to The Great Hall (where oddly enough X is actually playing an acoustic set tonight). Seeing as how we are from out of town we had no idea how long the journey would take, and looking back, it would have probably been smarter to take one of those anachronistic trolleys; but fuck it we’re hardcore like that. After a quick stop for some pretty “meh” pizza (more on that experience will be forthcoming from one of my colleagues) we flashed our priority passes and walked into The Great Hall just in time to grab some Coronas and catch Thee Oh Sees (San Francisco, C.A.). Props must be given out to our most loyal and vocal reader Mr. Ackypoo himself (he is all over this site today); we were intrigued by the band from some of the internet stuff we checked out, but we prioritized this gig due to Acky’s rather strident recommendations. It turns out… They were pretty fucking rad. Thee Oh Sees were by far the loudest band I have seen all week (who doesn’t love excessive volume) and the first half of their set was full of captivating cacophony of the highest order. Their tunes were noise-burst, art-rock, psychobilly/punk bombs that reverberated in your chest, head, and ears and left fellow Culture Bluesian Jeff Hart and I gobsmacked. The one issue I took with their performance was that the set list needed a bit of fine tuning; as the show progressed, the band began to lose steam, and the Roland Space Echo was wearing thin. Their closer was a perfect example of the aforementioned set degradation; it ran way too long, had moments that were dangerously loose, and had the audience wishing for it to end by say… the 9 minute mark. All in all though, Thee Oh Sees were pretty unique and intense; you should definitely check them out and ensure you catch them live the next time they assault your burg’s ear drums.

It was about 2am when the Culture Blues delegates made our way out of The Great Hall, and onto Queens St. West, where luckily there was a cab waiting for us to hop into it and spirit us to the Silver Dollar. We were headed there to check out the “special guest” that was about to take the stage. To say that we were bummed to find out it was The Soft Pack (San Diego, CA) may be a bit harsh (maybe), but we really should have checked out the Japandroids secret show (luckily they play tonight!). Seeing The Soft Pack after Thee Oh Sees was far too large a juxtaposition of genres/styles, and it kind of took the wind out of our sails. We watched about half their set, but could never really get into their lack of energy or showmanship (I hate it when a band acts like they’re doing me a favor by getting on stage), so once the last Molson of the night was done it was back onto the streets so that we could stagger home towards the CN Tower and to our beds (which Jeff claims are “hella close to each other“).

So that was last night in a rather large nutshell. Tonight is sure to be just as insane, with even more bands than last night slated to hit the stage (we actually just placed an order for a teleportation machine, but having stuff shipped from the future can be a little dodgy). Here is brief glimpse of what is to come.

Movies:
You Left Me Blue (The Handsome Ned Story): 8:30pm @ NFB
Suck: 9:45pm @ Bloor Cinema

Music:
Said The Whale: 7:30pm @ Dundas Square
K-os: 8:30pm @ Dundas Square
Paper Thick Walls: 9:00pm @ C’est What
Monogold: 9:00pm @ El Mocambo
Inlets: 9:00pm @ Whippersnapper Gallery
Sloan: 9:30@ Dundas Square
Ten Bears: 10:00pm @ El Mocambo
The Happy Hollows: 10:00pm @ Lee’s Palace
Gold Lake: 11:00pm @ C’est What
Comanechi: 11:00pm @ Comfort Zone
DD/MM/YYYY: 11:00pm @ Gladstone Hotel Ballroom
Hot Head Show: 12:00am @ El Mocambo
Man Or Astroman: 12:00am @ The Horseshoe Tavern
Japandroids: 12:00am @ Lee’s Palace
Cold Cave Dj’s: 1:00am @ The Garrison
Mudhoney: 1:00am @ The Horseshoe
The Strange Boys: 1:00am @ The Silver Dollar

Also there are secret special guests going on at 2:00 am at the following clubs:

The Bovine Sex Club
Dakota Tavern
El Mocambo

Good luck to all of you tonight out here in Toronto, and remember we are all brothers and sisters, so look out for each other out there.

Tagged as: ackypoo rock reporter, Brant Bjork, Dundas Square, Icarus Line, Mudhoney, NXNE, The Great Hall, The Silver Dollar, The Soft Pack, thee oh sees, X