Thursday, June 14, 2012
Nash – 7:00PM @ Mod Club (Maple Music Recordings)
I started my Thursday early, heading to see Nash at the Mod Club, one of the sets I’d been looking forward to most this festival after catching them acoustic during CMW. Luckily, he and his band did not disappoint. Hard-hitting beats and deep grooves, the band has such a full sound plugged in, with Nash acting as the ever-dynamic frontman, even at this early hour.
They played the majority of the tracks off The Death of Reason, starting things off with “Broken Down Satellites” and “Super Symmetric.” A definite highlight was the quirky “Sad Robot Harmonies,” with lots of different sounds going on, it translated really well live. He slowed things down just a bit, with a deep and passionate song that I sadly don’t know the name of, only that with the lyrics “better without you,” he seems to have perfectly penned the words I wish I could have a year ago. I was so glad that his despite the large stage, his performance didn’t lose that personal edge that I loved so much the last time.
One of the most entertaining parts of the set, Nash took a minute to tell a story of how he’d lost his festival pass after being in the city for a mere three minutes. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do as “no one knows who I am – they should.” To this the crowd responded “We do now!” While that may not “help with bouncers who want to beat on skinny guys,” it will perhaps warm his heart to know that many of us in fact came out specifically to see him. He finished with the upbeat, bouncy “In A State of Mind” and the rocking “Suit Up” which saw Nash rocking out atop the drum kit. What a start to the evening!
A few of his songs are available on Bandcamp; you can also watch the video for “Taken Away” here, but most importantly, you want to see him live. | CD
The Sweet Mack – 8:00PM @ Velvet Underground
Local band The Sweet Mack started the night off at the Velvet Underground. They’ve become known for their poppy hooks, syrupy sweet melodies and sundrenched harmonies, making them a perfect soundtrack to this deliciously warm night.
The pairing of “Ivory Coast” and “Landslide” one after the other was a genius move for whomever devised this night’s set list. The jangly guitar, and bright rhythm section on these two are just summer pop perfection. This contrasts well with “Overachiever” and “Ladycat” which have a bit more grit to them and really do make you say “ooooh baby.” The combination of these two styles blends into a sound that is distinctly and uniquely their own. A definite highlight of their set was getting to hear their cover of The Band’s “Don’t Do It” live, the song they recorded as part of Teenage Kicks’ Tribute to Levon Helm.
Perhaps it was the early hour, but the large contingent of “bros” that always come out for their shows disappointingly seemed to be behaving themselves for once. Luckily the band also attracts enough girls who were more than willing to take over dancing duties and get the party started this time around. | CD
Stella Ella Ola – 9:00PM @ Velvet Underground
I missed their first show last month, and therefore knew I had to catch new Toronto band, Stella Ella Ola this time. With it being drummer Vince Rice’s birthday, Catherine celebrated the event by surprising them with shots as they were setting up on stage. The rest of the venue got in on the action and sang “Happy Birthday” to him. This laid back party atmosphere continued on through the length of their set.
Having listened to their EP on repeat for about a month, I was really excited to see these songs brought to life. With all members taking part in the vocals, their set started with Nick Boyd singing instant hit “Little Black Rope.” Anne Douris (vocals, guitar) mentioned that she had recently lost her dog, and so “Hornets Nest” was dedicated to Bean the Dog. Celebrating the life of a beloved pet with an upbeat song like this one just felt really right.
Having done some drinking prior to their show in addition to the shot, it was no surprise that the band got up to some on-stage antics. Did it take them a couple of tries to get the right start to the third song? Maybe. Did bassist Jake Boyd end up shirtless? Of course he did. Was it the superest of fun times that I was hoping for? Absolutely.
With a handful of new songs in their pocket in addition to those on their recently released EP, this band is well on their way to a full-length despite their short existence, and are ready to take their place as your new favourite local band. Clap-Clap-Clap.
And for those who are wondering, whiskey was the band’s shot of choice. | CD
Grounders – 9:00PM @ The Silver Dollar Room (NeXT & The Untold City)
I rushed to catch as much of Grounders’ set as possible, which turned out to only be a couple songs. The 5-piece, comprised of Andrew Davis (vocals, guitar), Dan Busheikin (guitar, keys, vocals), Evan Lewis (guitar), Mike Searle (bass) and Rob Canali (drums), recently released a couple tracks, “Along The Line” and “Crown Land”, which are actually their first proper recordings. The genre for this Toronto-based band is hard to pin down, as they take on shoegaze-y elements alongside catchy pop hooks. Their quirky experimental sound is quite endearing, as the band doesn’t over-exaggerate their performance when they play live.
We’ve seen Grounders a few times now and, while I’ve always seen potential in this band, I feel the band is sounding tighter these days. They’ve got a few of upcoming shows, but I expect that there’s more music on the way and I look forward to it. In the meantime, their 2 songs are available for download on their website. Go ahead and grab ‘em! | CL
Bad Religion – 9:00PM @ Yonge-Dundas Square
Alvvays – 10:00PM @ Velvet Underground
From Cape Breton/PEI, Alvvays is Molly Rankin’s new band. Growing up, my older sister was pretty into The Rankin Family for awhile. Which meant that by extension, I was also into the Rankins. So I was pretty interested in checking out what daughter Molly was all about.
Alvvays plays really fun folk-rock, but it is Rankin’s sweet and lovely voice that really makes them shine. She mentioned that she really enjoyed Stella Ella Ola’s set, and judging from Jake Boyd dancing up in the front row, I think they might have liked her too.
This being one of/their very first time playing Toronto, there might have been some awkward banter at times, and Rankin apologized that they were a new band, “maybe too new for this timeslot” but she seemed to hit her stride about halfway through their set. She seemed genuinely thankful when someone in the crowd exclaimed that they were really good – get used to it Miss Rankin, you are mighty talented. | CD
Cai.ro – 10:00PM @ The Piston
I’ve been meaning to see Cai.ro for quite some time now. Chiara had seen them live and reviewed their 2011 Young Love EP and had only glowing things to say, but I hadn’t had the chance to make it out to see them live until NXNE. I knew I was impressed but their EP, but I walked away from Cai.ro’s set almost in a daze. I was completely blown away. Nate Daniels’ stunning voice is certainly part of the reason, but this Toronto-based 5-piece create textured alternative folk that is so moving.
As the set progressed, people started moving forward step by step, completely drawn to the stage. As expected, considering they’re my favourites on the EP, I was particularly drawn to “Addict” and “All These Colours”. Without a doubt, I’m looking forward to more from Cai.ro and we highly recommend you check them out. | CL
Decent Lovers – 11:00PM @ Cameron House
Making the trip up from Asheville, North Carolina was Decent Lovers. Elijah Wyman is the mastermind behind the project, but was joined by two friends on bass and drums. The band has a unique sound, earnest “nerd pop” with Wyman’s half-spoken vocals telling stories of life and love. Two of the stand-out tracks of the set for me were “Abilene,” and last song, “I Don’t Wanna Be A Decent Lover” that expressed the cute lyric “I don’t wanna be a decent lover, I wanna be the one you can’t live without” backed with a bouncy lilt to the drums. Impossible not to tap your foot along to.
With this being one of their last stops on their very first tour, and only about their tenth live show ever, their set was quite short, but definitely enjoyable. Wyman mentioned that they were enjoying their time in Toronto and the Canadian classic – poutine. Feel free to come back anytime! You can check out Decent Lovers’ album Quit Trying on Bandcamp, but you may want to pick up a download code in person at their show. It comes with something colourful that may come in handy if you too are a decent lover… | CD
Grass Widow – 11:00PM @ The Garrison
Grass Widow hails from San Francisco, CA and is comprised of Hannah Lew (bass, vocals), Raven Mahon (guitar, vocals), and Lillian Maring (drums, vocals). I was quite impressed with the haunting harmonies, as the band plays a post-punk garage style that is rather catchy without losing their edge. While the band hasn’t quite made a name for themselves in Canada, the prolific 3-piece had a lot of material to choose from for their set. Grass Widow released their latest album, Internal Logic, at the end of May 2012 and we recommend you check it out.
Before Grass Widow took the stage, the venue was already busy, likely due to the amount of buzz bands on the bill. Many fans of Grass Widow gathered right at the front of the stage, but they were also a whole slew of fans anticipating The Black Belles and The Men. I left before things got crazier and while the crowd was still tame enough to let me through (sort of). | CL
Cousins – 11:00PM @ Velvet Undergound
With Decent Lovers’ set ending early around 11:15pm, I ran back to the Velvet Underground to catch the last half of Halifax duo Cousins. The pair sat across from one another for the majority of the latter half of their set, with Leigh Dotey on the drums and Aaron Mangle on guitar. The band lineup has undergone multiple changes in the past couple of years, and I doubt that these two are actually cousins, but they sure do rock together.
I’d previously heard nothing but rave reviews of their powerful garage-rock show, and they definitely lived up to expectations. I’m really glad I managed to fit in at least part of their set into my schedule. | CD
HelloRadio – 12:00AM @ Cameron House
I headed back to the Cameron House to catch HelloRadio from Hoboken, New Jersey. Playing feel-good music, they have a light-as-air pop sound that is conducive to dancing. One girl in the crowd understood this immediately and got each and every newcomer to join her on the dancefloor. It took some cajoling and pulling on my wrists, but even I ended up on my feet. And I don’t dance.
I really enjoyed the song “Shoreline,” a song about New Jersey, which also happens to be the new single off their upcoming album “Letters To Texas” that is set to drop next month. It sounds a bit like lighter Jimmy Eat World and can be downloaded here.
The four-piece switched up instruments and vocalists often throughout their set and towards the end admitted that it was perhaps too much switching – or they had to learn more jokes to fill the space. I say stick to playing more music, you’re pretty good at it. | CD
ev ree wuhn – 12:00AM @ The Piston
ev ree wuhn (read “everyone”) made their debut at NXNE, but the band isn’t new to the Toronto music scene. We had touted Dora Alexander as a band to pay attention to, but when two members of the band left for different reasons (both being amicable), the remaining three members decided to overhaul their sound and change their name. The sound is certainly different, with keys, synth, and electronic drums now playing a major role. However, Alex Grant’s vocals still remain an integral part of the atmospheric electronic rock sound.
The set started off a little rocky with technical difficulties obviously stressing out Grant a little, but the set came together well. One of the highlights of the set was when the 3-piece invited friends in hip hop group Large, LIVE n’ Direct to the stage to perform “Shutters,” a song which Grant produced.
ev ree wuhn has one song (“Control”) available for streaming/download on their website. It’s a preview of their new music that’s on the way, which we hope is soon. We’re certainly excited to hear more. | CL
Southern Shores – 1:00AM @ Czehoski
I will admit that I’m not much of an electro-connoisseur, but what I do know is this: I really like Southern Shores. Perhaps because they don’t sound like the house music I typically associate with that genre. Comprised of Ben Dalton and Jamie Townsend, the Toronto-via-Halifax duo knows how to expertly overlay Townsend’s sampling with Dalton’s sultry steel drum-sounding beats to create pure island summer heat. A unique sound to them, they fit their experimental-pop label Cascine extremely well.
The two kept their energy up despite the minimal crowd at this hour and those that stuck around got really into it – heck, they even managed to impress the older NXNE volunteer managing the stage. Their set list included new songs, some of which included samples of Mariah Carey’s “Heartbreaker” and Wayne Wonder’s “No Letting Go,” just to name a few. I’m more than a little excited to see what the next record has in store for us.
Until then, for your next summer party, I’d suggest forgoing the DJ and instead throwing on Southern Shores’ EP The Atlantic (or better yet, just invite them over – they put on a mean live performance in addition to crafting instrumental pop sensations). Crank up “Tangier Winds” or “Meridian,” and breathe in the blissful heady scent of coconut in the air, and feel the soft lapping of the ocean shoreline against your bare toes as your living room/backyard is instantly transformed into an exotic tropical island. | CD
ElectroTank – 2:00AM @ Rancho Relaxo (Two Way Monologues/GreenShades)
I stumbled into Rancho Relaxo for ElektroTank’s set after some other plans didn’t pan out due to the power being out in the Annex. I wasn’t able to catch the whole set, but there was certainly a crowd that gathered right at the stage. Eytan Tobin leads this 3-piece, mixing electro, pop, trip-hop, dubstep and more to create this unique sound. While this style of music isn’t normally one I’d gravitate towards, I must say that ElektroTank certainly knows how to put on a good show. | CL
Les Breastfeeders – 3:00AM @ Sneaky Dee’s (M for Montreal)
Montreal’s Les Breastfeeders undoubtedly know how to rock. Considering it was a 3am set, I was quite impressed with how much energy this francophone band had. Frontman Luc Brien was all over the stage and, despite some language barriers that had Brien searching for English translation to some French words, he was quite chatty during the set.
Having been around for over a decade, I had heard good things about the band, but Les Breastfeeders is certainly meant to be experienced live. And if there’s anything I learned from seeing this late night set, it’s that music is it’s own language and who cares if you don’t understand all the lyrics. This set was one of the best I had seen all weekend and I look forward to the next time I get to see Les Breastfeeders. | CL
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