Thursday June 18th
Chang a Lang @ Silver Dollar
Generally I am not a fan of feel-good, cutesy indie dance-rock. However, Chang a Lang is just too darn cute. They have the proper elements to generate at least a certain level of success. Singer/guitarist Brian Okamoto has the moves down-pat--at one point during their set he hopped off stage while ripping into what I would otherwise consider to be a machismo-fueled cock-rocking solo. However, he is so sexually non-threatening that it was simply a musical acrobatic feat that fit in well with their overall image. Bassist Jeanette Downing is the right amount of quirk and beauty to once again be sexually non-threatening--sure she's pretty, but not in an intimidating or directly sexy way. Beyond their look, Chang a Lang are simply talented musicians who have perfected the whole indie dance genre.
Pace The Stairs @ Silver Dollar
By far one of the most energetic and enigmatic performances at nxne. Are they post-rock? Are they noise rock? Are they post-hardcore? Are they post-grunge? The Toronto "post-everything" trio faced a few technical problems during their set, but always managed to recover. A broken cord resulted in the band having to cut their set one song short and enact some on-the-fly song alterations, but PTS pulled through and made enough noise to piss off the bouncers (whom I saw frowning and plugging their ears). However noisy the band gets, it is a type of controlled chaos with identifiable song structure and more musical hooks than one may initially realize--even the bartender was nodding her head to the chorus of "Petalogy."
Give Us The Daggers @ Silver Dollar
What's in a name? Not nearly enough. Give us the Daggers may have a good name, but musically they are as lively as Easter dinner at the Goldstein house, if you catch what I mean, you anti-semite. Frontman Scott Waring may have a good look with his flowing strawberry blonde hair, but there is only so much visual stimulation one can provide when he and the rest of his band just stand in one spot for 40 minutes while cranking out one dull 70s-inspired song after another.
Japanther @ Sneaky Dee's
Excuse my language, but Japanther is simply just a couple of fucking assholes. I don't understand what all the fuss is about them. They are musically untalented. They can barely sing. They are not easy on the eyes. Plus, during their set at Sneaky Dee's, the Brooklyn duo told the crowd to "fucking get with it" and "fucking come on" about 200 times. They are essentially just the Ramones.....if you took the Ramones and funnelled them through some ironic hipsterized electro-tinged shit machine, complete with frizzy hair and a hypercolor tshirt. Further proving me right, they briefly played the intro to "Blitzkrieg Bop" halfway through their set. What a fucking waste of everything.
Friday June 19th
Little Girls @ PreLoved
I certainly have lamented over minimalist lo-fi post-punk. It is a flavour of the....year, I suppose. It is difficult to actually determine if any of these bands have any musical merit when drenched in that much reverb. However, I will say that Little Girls put on a decent live show. Considering all the songs were basement concoctions of Josh McIntyre, wherein he played all the instruments and sang all the vocals, the songs have actually translated well live with a full band. Sure, the drumming of Anthony Gerace is juvenile (his drumkit: kick drum, snare, floor tom, high hat). Yes, the bass player always sports a polo shirt. And yes, the guitarist is really creepy, to the point that he makes me feel funny on the inside. However, this is McIntyre's show and he runs it with a surprising amount of stage presence. Furthermore, at an event sponsored by Steam Whistle, I was on my fifth beer by the time the band played, so everything sounded good to me at that point, including the raccoons fighting out back.
AIDS Wolf @ Sneaky Dee's
Unfortunately, this was AIDS Wolf at their worst. Not to suggest they actually played poorly, but the Montreal noise rockers suffered from a terrible sound mix. Vocalist Chloe Lum asked repeatedly for her vocals to be turned up, but to no avail. A band that is as loud and chaotic as AIDS Wolf needs the sound to be just right, otherwise they sound like a musical insane asylum (which, I realize, some may consider them to be regardless... oh, if only we were all as musically enlightened as I). I simply could not get into their set and by the looks of it, neither could they.
Mika Miko @ Sneaky Dee's
Perhaps they were worn out from the set they played two hours prior at Lee's Palace, but Mika Miko simply did not have it during this particular performance. What I assumed was going to be a girl-powered post-punk rah rah session ended up being a lackluster middle school pep rally for a team that won bronze. Vocalist Jenna Thornhill didn't even have her trademarked red telephone receiver microphone. For shame.
METZ @ Silver Dollar
The Silver Dollar does not always have the best vibe for a hard-hitting grunge/hardcore band. METZ overcame the venue and put on an intense show. Hardly taking a break between songs, the band cranked out one screaming number after another. Singer/guitarist Alex Edkins' convulsive shaking has become endearing to me after seeing them a few times now. In a city that has far too many djs and indie bands, METZ and Pace The Stairs are a refreshing (though incredibly loud) change.
Saturday June 20th
DD/MM/YYYY @ Horseshoe Tavern
Moments before DD/MM/YYYY started their set at the Horseshoe, their friend/manager/record label owner Eric Warner brought a bushel of two dozen balloons onstage. I assumed they were going to cut the string that kept them together and scatter the balloons all over the stage. Instead they remained in a clump snagged on vocalist/percussionist/occasional synth player Matthew Lyon King's microphone for the entire set and looked ridiculous. What was more ridiculous than the balloons was the fact that the sound mix was so awful. King's vocals were turned down so low in the mix you could barely hear him and despite his pleading for them to be turned up (at one point screaming "pleeeeeeease" repeatedly), it was never done. The band played well, as always, relying mainly on material from Black Square during their 40 minute set.
DD/MM/YYYY, METZ, Japanther, Spiral Beach@ secret location
Four hours later, DD/MM/YYYY more than made up for the botched sound of their Horseshoe set with a fantastic super-secret latenight show in front of friends and a couple of jerks who heard about it through the grapevine and spent most of their time sitting on a curb outside hating me for no apparent reason (yes, I'm talking about Ellyn). Once again, the bushel of balloons was present, but this time I didn't mind them, as those of us at the front of the stage were tossing them around. Despite the fact that this secret show was not overseen by a professional sound technician, the mix was far superior to that of the Horseshoe. Not having to impress critics or promote their new album like at the Horseshoe, DD/MM/YYYY played a set that was more diverse, with a good mixture of old and new songs.
As always, METZ rocked the hell out of the place and left my ears ringing. Their set wasn't any different than the one they played a night prior, but it still was fantastic. Thankfully, I arrived just after Japanther finished playing and, I would assume, sufficiently made asses out of themselves. The final band of the night was Spiral Beach. The band has been around for a few years but I had never had the opportunity to see them....and it turns out that was for the best. They put on a decent show, but ultimately I feel as though they are too much of a gimmick, not enough of a band. After three songs I had heard enough. Each song bled into the next and did not sound any different. The band is not as quirky or novel as their appearance would make you believe, they are a pop rock band in sheep's clothing--and a rather typical one at that.
