Saturday, June 16, 2012
Hollerado – 5:00PM @ Yonge-Dundas Square (Spinner.ca)
I headed out into the heat of the afternoon sun to Yonge & Dundas Square to catch Hollerado. You know a band has “made it” when you are surrounded by swarms of young teens singing along to every word. Even the middle-aged man beside me was having the best time! The band has been busy recording in New York City lately and they kicked off their set with one of these brand-spanking new songs. Known for their high energy live performances, they kicked it into high gear right from the start with drummer Jake Boyd standing up on his drum kit.
For next song “Juliette,” singer Menno Versteeg left the stage, bringing the mic stand with him, and sang directly to the massive crowd from the photo pit fence – every fan and photographer’s dream!- though the tech guy who had to re-set up the mic afterwards may have been less than impressed. Getting the audience even more fired up, the band had them help come up with a proper ending for “Good Day At The Races,” finally settling on seven pounding drums hits. While a big draw of Hollerado’s live show is the amount of confetti that rains down, out of respect for the “life-changing” originators of confetti themselves – The Flaming Lips – who were headlining the night, only one confetti gun was shot. It felt right. As did the song Versteeg wrote for his grandfather who passed away while they were recording in New York. Their set also included the hits “Americanarama” and “Got to Lose.”
I’ve seen this band plenty of times playing on tiny stages to larger venues, but it’s obvious that Hollerado was made for these large outdoor summer festival stages – the indoors just can’t contain their excitement and energy. | CD
Inlet Sound – 6:30PM @ Model Citizen (Audio Blood & She Does The City)
There was something so perfect about sitting on the floor of a vintage store listening to the sweet, jangly feel good indie-folk sounds of Inlet Sound on a sunny Saturday evening. Their short in-store set focused on brand new songs off their aptly-named upcoming album The Romantics – because there is definitely an element of romanticism to this band. With a violin and mandolin, they bring about romantic visions of rocky bluffs against an ocean shoreline, despite them not being East Coasters. Their set also included the ever-humorous “Mademoiselle” and finished with a cover of Wintersleep’s “Weighty Ghost.” | CD
The Aves – 7:15PM @ Model Citizen (Audio Blood & She Does The City)
From Adelaide, Australia, The Aves made their first trip ever to Toronto, playing a packed NXNE schedule, including this in-store performance. Comprised of Lucy Campbell (vocals, rhythm guitar), Thomas Williams (guitar, vocals), Tasman Strachan (bass, vocals) and Clair O’Boyle (drums, vocals), the band plays a really fun old-school version of garage-pop-rock. Add in their amazing Aussie accents and they are automatically cooler than pretty much all of us.
They had the store dancing and even caused some art to fall from the wall, they were rocking so hard. You can download their EP Panic on their Bandcamp. | CD
Wunderstrands – 8:00PM @ Supermarket
While we were eating dinner, we couldn’t help but be drawn to the soothing dreamy pop sounds of the Wunderstrands, particularly Mara Pellerin’s gorgeous vocals. The band is comprised of past and present members of Gramercy Riffs, Holy Fuck and Hawksley Workman, boasting a big, full sound with the horns adding something special. There isn’t a whole lot of information about Wunderstrands out there, kind of like a new, hidden gem in the city, but you can stream a couple of their songs on their website. | CL
Poor Young Things – 9:00PM @ The Horseshoe Tavern (Sirius XM & CBC Radio 3)
With lyrics like “on the town making memories,” “these days are dangerous fun” and “blame it on the good times,” Poor Young Things could very well have written the soundtrack to your NXNE experience. The Horseshoe was already a packed and sweaty mess when the band opened this showcase hosted by Craig Norris (CBC Radio 3) and Jeff Leake (Sirius XM Radio) on Saturday night.
With all eyes on them, they started their homegrown alt-rock set off with “Hearts and Minds” and new song “The State.” Laying it all out on the stage, all members displayed higher than normal levels of passion and energy. Both the crowd and the photographers appreciated this intensity, especially when guitarist Dave Grant took to the edge of the stage, resulting in the largest swarm of cameras I’d seen for most of the festival for his own personal “photo shoot.”
Following a rocking extended outro to “Fire,” singer Matt Fratpietro commented that they “were going to do a really tight set but then decided to just let loose.” As this ended up being one of the best parts of their set and one of those moments where you are able to just lose yourself in the guitars, it was the right decision. Their set ended with synchronized jumps and the band in its entirety drenched in sweat. This being the first time they had played in weeks, having a break from touring for the first time in a long while, the band proved once again that they can hold their own in, and belong in the big leagues. | CD
Yukon Blonde – 10:00PM @ The Horseshoe Tavern (Sirius XM & CBC Radio 3)
The secret guest wasn’t much of a secret, having been announced the day before, but that didn’t make me any less excited to see B.C.’s Yukon Blonde walk on stage. Starting with “My Girl,” and “Radio” made sure that everyone there was on their feet. I don’t think anyone stopped dancing until the end of final jangly summer hit “Stairway.” Their set highlighted tracks off their most recent album Tiger Talk with a few older favourites such as “Babies Don’t Like Blue Anymore” and “1000 Years” thrown in for good measure.
There are always a couple of entertaining additions to Yukon Blonde’s set and tonight was no different. An orange ball acquired from the Flaming Lips show (courtesy of a friend) made its way onto the stage and then into the crowd to be bounced around. And out of sheer coincidence, “Fire” was one of the highest energy songs of Yukon Blonde’s set as well, inviting friends Lowell Sostomi (The Great Bloomers) and Gavin Gardiner (The Wooden Sky) to come up and sing along. Any chance to see these two/hear their voices is well appreciated.
Yukon Blonde always comment that coming to Toronto feels like coming home, and there is always a “hometown show” feel when they are here. They’ve made the leap to playing bigger venues when they come through the city, so it was great to have the unique opportunity to see them at the Horseshoe. | CD
The Lumineers – 11:00PM @ The Horseshoe Tavern (Sirius XM & CBC Radio 3)
The only non-Canadian act on the bill, it was also The Lumineers’ first time playing in Toronto. Not that you would have guessed that seeing that there was a massive line outside the venue and much of the capacity crowd who were lucky enough to be inside had come specifically to see this New York/Denver, CO band. While we were crammed like sardines up against the stage, it was impossible to not be held in spell-bound captivation by them. With a violin, mandolin, and kick drum, their classic and timeless blend of Americana-folk make them one of those bands that just make your soul feel good. They delighted the crowd with songs off their self-titled album, including “Big Parade,” “Classy Girls” and “Dead Sea.” Often foot-stomping and rowdy, there were then moments such as during “Stubborn Love” that were drawn out and desperately passionate.
It’s a given that any band that gets signed to Dine Alone Records is going to be good, but I was unprepared for the overwhelming level of response The Lumineers received from the crowd, so many of whom knew all the words to all of their songs, not just single “Ho Hey” – although that one did of course generate the greatest sing-along. I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. This was one of those shows that I know I’ll look back on and remember fondly the next time this band comes through town and be so glad I was a part of it. While they fit the ambience of the Horseshoe Tavern perfectly, from the response they received it’s doubtful you’ll see them on that small of a stage the next time.
With the roar of cat calls that followed the end of their set, in a rare move, NXNE gave in to the monumentous demands for “one more song” and allowed the band to perform an encore. What a welcome to Canada! | CD
Topanga – 12:00AM @ The Garrison (POP Montreal)
From The Horseshoe we headed to The Garrison for Topanga. While the effects of playing twice in one day may have been affecting them, you couldn’t tell. The four-piece from Toronto just played louder and hit the drums harder. This wasn’t the Topanga you all know and love on the Garrison stage. This was Topanga amplified – to the exponent six.
Asking the audience to “crowd in and pretend it’s a dirty-ass punk basement show,” that’s the exact energy they bestowed upon us – and got back in return in the form of ferocious headbanging from nearly everyone in attendance. Cranking up the volume on sun-drenched first song “Oceans,” the band just got louder and louder still as their set progressed. During “Lionheart” singer Stefan Babcock threw the microphone stand to the ground, which got picked up by friend Brendan McCarney who then handed it off to members in crowd, including Vince Rice (Atom Division, Stella Ella Ola), to sing the chorus. It was really fun to be surrounded by so many friends having such a riotously great time.
Introducing a new song into their set, the heaviness of this one was unlike anything I’d heard from the band previously. If this is the direction the band is taking their sound in, I’m eagerly anticipating the release of their next recordings. | CD
The Belle Comedians – 1:00AM @ The Garrison (POP Montreal)
From Fredericton, NB, The Belle Comedians graced the stage next, almost all five of them donning the classic Canadian denim-on-denim uniform. Following Topanga can’t be easy, especially for an out-of-town band, and while Benjamin Ross (vocals, guitar), Scott Mallory (guitar, vocals), Dan Tweedie (keys), Willow Bell (bass) and Adam Guidry (drums) took the tempo down a few notches, they more than held their own.
The band plays folk-rock, but with a level of passion that makes them really entertaining to watch. Their sound is built around some pretty epic music breaks and sweeping melodies that just build and build until they knock you over. They started dark and mysterious, and then got loud. Mallory was truly a maniac on the guitar while the keys kept infused a prettiness into their songs, despite Tweedie constantly standing and jumping everywhere while pounding away.
Having taken a recommendation from an East Coast friend to check out this band, The Belle Comedians re-ignited my yearning to visit the East Coast and experience the fertile New Brunswick music scene for myself. You can check out the band’s latest EP Autumn Ought To… here, it’s been on repeat for me ever since I saw them. | CD
C T Z N S H P – 3:00AM @ The Garrison (POP Montreal)
A three-piece from Montreal, Jesse LeGallais (vocals, bass), Scott Delaney (guitar) and Florent Clavel (drums) of
C T Z N S H P closed out the night. LeGallais belted into the microphone with some of the most intense exaggerated facial expressions and all band members had great energy for the 3am slot, especially since they’d come from a 1:00am set at a different venue. Luckily they played in front of a surprisingly large crowd for the hour who were all still in the mood to dance.
The band released an EP Swan Dive earlier this year and their set showcased these three hard-hitting hazy rock songs, among others. There was a steady pulsating feel to much of their reverb-laden set, including “On A Roll,” and single “Swan Dive,” which was punctuated with these intermittent agonizingly piercing screams.
I’m glad we hung in there long enough to be able to catch these guys. Their EP is available for free download over on their Bandcamp. You should also check out the dizzy alcohol/drug-laced video for “Swan Dive” here. It’s really quite something. | CD
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