While watching the Weather Network on Wednesday, I was dismayed to learn that rain was in the forecast for Thursday, Friday and Saturday--the three main days of NXNE.  Although there were a couple storms, no rain fell during the evening, when the festival was in full swing.  I suppose the music gods were watching over Toronto, although they didn't stop me from getting soaked at 3 in the morning and again at 3 in the afternoon on Saturday...

THURSDAY, JUNE 18TH

After securing my media pass--which referred to me as Greg Gruesome--I started NXNE off with an afternoon screening of a film called M for Mississippi, in which two younger blues enthusiasts (one owned a record label, the other ran a record store) travelled across the state, talking to older delta blues musicians and watching them perform at rural "juke joints."  Although the bluesmen were mostly incoherent, the images of the rugged countryside and grungy, almost-empty bars proved that a picture is worth a thousand words in describing the state of blues music today.

I started my musical journey close to home at Lee's Palace, which is just down the street from my new place.  There was a pretty long lineup before the doors opened, and once inside, people lined up in an orderly fashion at the bar, until the bartender yelled at them to stop.  I don't think I had ever seen that before, but this clearly wasn't my kinda crowd.  Lee's was hosting a two-nite Outlaws and Gunslingers country-folk showcase, featuring the likes of Oh Susanna and Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy.  I will say that opening band The Swallows didn't suck, with a decent number of bluesy grooves in their repertoire.  But I left soon after they finished, in search of something a little less country and a little more rock 'n roll.

Two surprises awaited me when I arrived at Sneaky Dee's.  For one, the place was deserted, with no more than a dozen people inside.  Turns out, the band scheduled to play didn't make it in from Israel, and was replaced by an outfit called Benny Crespo's Gang.  Crespo and co had also made a long trip, all the way from Iceland.  While I'm about as white-bread as they come, I'm pretty proud of my Icelandic heritage, and this was the second time in two years that I caught an Icelandic band at NXNE, albeit unintentionally.  However, I must say that Benny Crespo was a pleasant surprise.  A highly experimental act, they sounded at times like Isis, Dead Meadow and, I dunno, My Chemical Romance or something.  Still, it was a pretty solid performance for the few who were there to see it.

In keeping with the nordic spirit, I headed to the ElMo to catch a Norwegian band called Pirate Love.  Sounding like a cross between The Stones and The Hellacopters, these dudes wore cowboy hats and hippie clothes, with a bass player who looked a lot like Gary Numan.  Still, they had solid stage presence and a pretty cool sound.  Good party rock.

Across the street at the Silver Dollar were my favourite local party rockers, Drunkula.  Seems they've got a new bass player, so I can't tell people there's former members of The Illuminati in the band anymore.  But it's still the same ol' fast-paced, dirty punk 'n roll sound as always, and I definitely still dig it.

Twas time for a reprieve from the heavy rock, as I headed down College to the Whipper Snapper Gallery for a band called Epigram that's been mentioned in the same sentence as Nadja and Holoscene.  The venue itself was rather interesting; an upstairs art gallery with white walls and several strange paintings.  It was also next door to a dance club, and you could hear the bass booming through the walls--not such a good thing when a melodic, atmospheric psych band is on stage.  Some of the softer parts were affected by the racket next door, but the band played on, creating dreamy soundscapes to match the artwork on display.

I ended the nite with a punk rock double feature:  Forgotten Rebels at The Reverb followed by Youth Brigade at the Bovine.  There were suprisingly few people at the former gig.  The 25-30 fans who came out were pretty enthusiastic, but there was a lotta empty space in the venue.  The Rebels' set included a new number called She Said No, covers of The Who and Rocky Horror Picture Show tunes, and old favourites like the set-closing Surfing On Heroin.  Alas, at 1 am on a Thursday, these Rebels had been Forgotten by many concert-goers, but were pretty memorable to me.

On the other hand, the Bovine was packed for Youth Brigade, and I missed the first two or three songs cuz I was stuck in line.  The security guy was pretty good at letting people in as soon as someone left, unlike another club I won't mention, so I still caught most of their set.  And what a set it was!  Although Shawn Stern was "so fucking wasted," he wasn't too drunk to sing, and the backing band--his brother Mark on drums, along with a couple newcomers on bass and rhythm guitar--had plenty of energy.  Half a dozen punks got up on stage to sing Sink with California, bringing the evening to an end.

THURSDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCE: Tough call between Forgotten Rebels and Youth Brigade.  But I thought the Rebels and their fans were more fun, so I'll say Forgotten Rebels by a nose.
THURSDAY'S BIGGEST SURPRISE: Benny Crespo's Gang.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't their only NXNE gig, but their set as a replacement band was pretty damn good...
THURSDAY'S BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Waiting in line at the Bovine while Youth Brigade was on stage kinda sucked, but I think the small turnouts at Sneaky's and the Reverb was the biggest disappointment of the evening.


FRIDAY, JUNE 19TH

Clearly hung over from the nite before, Shawn Stern made his way to the NFB Theatre for a 1 o'clock screening of Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records.  The doc provided a comprehensive look at the band's history, from Youth Movement '82 to Another State of Mind, the brothers' detour in swing music (their band Royal Crown Revue was featured in a Jim Carrey movie) to Punk Rock Bowling and the present day.  A true DIY success story from the days before MP3s and Myspace, independent bands today could learn a thing or two from BYO...

The big cinematic star of the evening, however, was Johnny Cash, with a documentary about his Live at Folsom Prison album being screened at the Bloor Theatre.  It featured a look back at the historic concert from bandmates and inmates alike, with a large focus on Glen Sherley, who wrote the song Greystone Chapel, and went on to a brief music career after Cash gave him a Get Out Of Jail Free card.  Both Shirley's and Cash's offspring were interviewed in the picture, with Merle Haggard also featured prominently, along with footage of Folsom today.  Twas a compelling film, although it sorta dragged on at times.

I left the screening in a hurry, skipping the Q&A session to get to the ElMo, which turned out to be a big mistake.  Turns out that a big switcheroo had taken place, and LA space rockers Izzy the Eskimo, who I had been looking forward to seeing, were dropped in favour of some local synth pop band that sounded like the Fine Young Cannibals without the horn section.  (And lemme tell ya, the Fine Young Cannibals ain't shit without their horn section!)  Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed.

Sneaky Dee's had a much bigger crowd on Friday, though, as they were doing headcounts--and handing out free rum 'n cokes--when I came in.  AIDS Wolf, who went on at 10, has got to be the worst band name I've seen that wasn't a full sentence.  (Don't even get me started on I Killed the Prom Queen with a Bullet For My Valentine or I Wrestled a Bear Once From a Second Story Window!)  Their music, like their moniker, was pretty rediculous.  I guess you'd call it "noise rock," whatever that means.  Their singer was obviously a fan of Black Flag, with the band on her t-shirt and their logo tattooed on her forearm.  I'm not sure I should call her a singer though, as there was no melody in the noises she made while sticking the mic in her mouth, tying the chord around her neck, and jumping into the crowd as a mosh pit formed around her.  A strangely compelling piece of musical performance art, to be sure.

Alas, the wild, frantic ways of AIDS Wolf's frontwoman stood in stark contrast to the female-fronted outfit playing two blocks down the street.  Blood Ceremony's Alia O'Brien is a model of reserved composure, wearing a brown skirt and leggings--the cloak from the band's CD release party was notably absent--and playing the flute on stage.  Although the crowd wasn't as wild this time, and the flute mic wasn't turned up loud enough, BC's second show of the year was one of the highlites of NXNE.  I gotta say, 35 minutes is an ideal set length for the band, allowing them play all the killer songs from their album without any covers or filler tracks.  Master of Confusion, Into the Coven, Return to Forever, Children of the Future and  Hymn to Pan were all played back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back in front of a gathering that was at least 3-4 times the size of the Thursday nite crowd the Forgotten Rebels brought in.  Whether it was a sign of the times, or a sign of a better set time is up for debate, but there's no denying that Blood Ceremony is a band well worth the price of admission!

To be honest, I kinda wanted to go home after BC, cuz I figured that no band could top what I just saw.  But I'm glad I didn't, cuz the next three groups I saw were all pretty awesome in their own right.  Downstairs at the Kathedral, a band from Moncton, NB called The Motorleague took the stage at midnite.  The bearded quartet was like a combination of Clutch, Electric Frankenstein and early Monster Magnet, playing fast-paced fuzz rock with gang-style choruses.  Seems that Moncton's got a pretty decent rock scene these days...

Across the street, I was surprised to find that there was no line at the Bovine to see Dean Lickyer.  It probably helped that I arrived at least 20 minutes before they took the stage...  It wasn't as late, and I wasn't as drunk as when I saw 'em at CMW, and I enjoyed these guys a lot more this time.  I hadn't fully realized how great their bassist was, but his funky bass lines laid the foundation for the band's retro grooves and southern soul melodies.  They covered another Zeppelin tune--I forget which one--and left the crowd begging for more.

Still hungry for more rock, I headed back to the ElMo, where Bionic went on as scheduled, albeit a little late after The Sadies played till 2 and took half the crowd with em upon exit.  But Bionic still got a "un-Toronto like" reception from a bigger group of people than they were used to on previous trips to TO.  After announcing that it was their third-last-ever show, the band played a high-energy set of tunes from their latest record, Black Blood.  The monologues were kept to a minimum, but the rockin' was on full-blast, with plenty of extended guitar solos and hand-clapping instrumental passages.  At the end of the nite, I'd hafta say it was a pretty solid send-off!

FRIDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCE: Bionic.  They blew the roof off the ElMo.  RIP.
THURSDAY'S BIGGEST SURPRISE: AIDS Wolf.  Not sure what I expected, but they defied all expectations...
THURSDAY'S BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The scheduling switcharoo at the ElMo at the beginning of the evening.  I mean, can you imagine buying a ticket to see Sleep and instead falling asleep to some retro synth pop?  That's sorta how I felt.


SATURDAY, JUNE 20TH

Saturday began with another punk rock doc, this one about Seattle band The Briefs, who are pretty big in Europe.  There was plenty of video footage spanning the band's career, which included a buncha Jackass-style stunts and tomfoolery.  The most interesting aspect was the band's relationship with Interscope Records, which signed them, but never released their album after a year and half of disagreements.  It just goes to show why you don't sign to a major label, kids.  Incidentally, The Briefs are currently on BYO Records, which funded the film.

Speaking of BYO, Youth Brigade played an encore performance at Yonge-Dundas Square at the early hour of 6:30 pm.  This was quite the surreal experience.  It started with a Spinal Tap moment (as in Spinal Tap then puppet show!) when the curly-haired MC lady introduced the band by saying "Be sure to catch our Rock Band competition at 7:30, judged by Ian Thornley, who'll be signing autographs in five minutes...  Oh by the way, here's Youth Brigade."  I'm not making this shit up.  Watching the horrified look on that chick's face (apparently, she's from Myspace Canada) throughout the set was pretty entertaining in itself!  Of course, Shawn Stern responded to this nonsense, saying "Hi, we're the Rock Band," and later going on a tirade about how kids used to play real instruments, to which I loudly voiced my approval.

A couple songs into the set, while the band played a tune called Violence, a denim-clad punk jumped over the barrier, and was viciously tackled by a security guard.  The show stopped immediately as the Stern brothers voiced their disapproval.  The guard stood idely by as a fan jumped the fence during Sink With California at the end of the show, but there were definitely a few nervous moments as we wondered what would happen.  Sticking a major hardcore punk band in Toronto's commercial epicentre, surrounded by major malls and massive billboards, was quite the juxtaposition!  Mind you, there seemed to be just as many curious tourists as there were punk rockers in the square.  Only half the crowd left after the band was done.  I guess the rest of 'em were there for the Rock Band competition...

After the evening's interesting start, a full lineup of quality rock bands followed.  Once again, I headed over to the ElMo to catch a band called The British Columbians who had flown in from the West Coast.  (No shit, eh?)  B.C. is better known for punk and hardcore--as well as producing the likes of Bryan Adams and Nickelback--than for southern rock, but the province's namesake was highly reminiscent of the Black Crowes.  Despite some technical difficulties, they got things off to a good start.  It's worth noting that this was the first time I noticed the painting of the Rolling Stones on the ElMo's wall.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't there before, but since they're the ones who made the place famous (Stevie Ray Vaughn fans, including the evening's entertainment, might beg to differ) it was probably just a matter of time until they got some commerative artwork in the place, but I digress.

When setting my NXNE schedule, I noticed there were a few punk rock bands playing at 9 on Saturday, and by process of elimination, I decided to catch The Parkdale Hookers at the Black Bull Tavern.  I was pretty surprised when I walked into the bar and there were three middle-aged men in tailored suits on the rug (y'know, cuz the place doesn't have a stage...)  It turns out that I was in the right place.  The Hookers played first-wave, three-chord punk, including songs by New Order and The Knack (y'know, the band who wrote My Sherona...) while boasting that they had the best credit rating and strongest portfolio of any band on the lineup.  It goes to show that old punks don't die--they just buy nicer clothes!

Instead of asking for investment advice, I headed down the street to catch a band that sounded sorta familiar.  Kilbourne hails from my hometown of Calgary, and they were out making records and playing shows before I headed east.  That being said, I'd never seen 'em before.  Their music could be compared to the Brampton band Dame, another all-girl trio.  But Killbourne's older, grittier, and less family-friendly.  They also use a lot more distortion.  It was the first time I'd ever seen a Hello Kitty sticker on an Orange amp...

After two nites of "outlaw" country, Lee's Palace was all about the heavy rock on Saturday, and I spent most of my evening there.  The first band I caught was the Burning Brides.  I remembered that one song they had on the radio a few years back that was kinda catchy, but I didn't know much about them otherwise.  As it turns out, they're a power trio with a heavy psych sound that comes off pretty well in a live setting.  Oh, and they did play Arctic Snow, somewhere in the middle of their set.  

Another band I'd been hearing about for a while but had never seen was C'Mon, also a power trio (the fourth three-piece I saw that evening) with another female bassist.  I can see why they were slotted to go on after Burning Brides, as they had a similar configuration and a similar heavy rock sound.  They also seemed to have a pretty large fanbase, as lotsa people were lined up outside, waiting to get in.  Although the line was long, I figured that most of those people would be long gone when I came back at 2 am.

The second of my two trips up and down Bathurst St took me to the Kathedral to see Rehab For Quitters, another band that I ought to have discovered a lot sooner.  I think they once played a label showcase with Diablo Red and seven other bands, but we went over to Michael's Tavern after Diablo's set and missed 'em completely.  Anyways, I noticed the posters around town that displayed a band with good taste in headwear, and figured I'd skip out on the band from Mangina, Sasksnatchewan to check these guys out.  Twas well worth the walk.  After a taped introduction by Michael Buffer, followed by the theme from Rocky, the band took the stage in matching fedoras.  Rehab For Quitters is a good ol' punk 'n roll band, sorta like the Misfits, but with tunes such as "It's Too Hard To Say Goodbye, So I Say Fuck You!" (which may or may not be the actual song title...)  They ended with a catchy singalong called Johnny Rock 'n Roll, finishing up early enough for me to make the trek back to Lee's.

Iron Giant, a band who proudly calls themselves East Coast White Trash, were back in town, and they made up for their relatively tame Bovine date in December with a set full of drunken rowdiness.  Bassist PJ Dunphy jumped off the stage at one point, and damaged the festival-provided patch chord when he was lifted back up.  Later, the dude passed out on stage when frontman Chris Lewis put him in a sleeper hold.  It might not have been the tightest set they ever played, but at 2 am, everyone was too drunk and having too much fun to be too critical.  A decent handful even screamed for an encore as the drumkit was being disassembled.

The 3 am closing band was called Poisonous Glass, and they were just as silly as their name sounds.  A mock 80's rock band, these guys took a couple cues from Spinal Tap, particularly their spandex-clad bassist.  Before their last song, the band's singer--who had stripped down to his underwear--echoed Tap keyboard player Viv Savage in saying that his philosophy was to have a good time all the time.  Had Guest, Shearer and McKean not gone unplugged with their latest tour, they definitely could've tapped these guys as their opening act.  Songs like the road anthem Diesel Dick and power ballad Never Love A Man Who Drinks A Million Beers wouldn't sound out of place on Shark Sandwich or The Gospel According to Spinal Tap--if those albums actually existed.  Alas, while Poisonous Glass was an entertaining parody band, I had more fun with Iron Giant.

FRIDAY'S BEST PERFORMANCE: There's a lot to choose from, but I gotta go with Youth Brigade in Dundas Square.  I kinda feel sorry for the Guitar Hero performers who had to go on after them.  Well, not really...
FRIDAY'S BIGGEST SURPRISE: Lotsa good candidates here, too, but I'm gonna go with the Burning Brides.  They sound a lot better in person than they do on the radio!
FRIDAY'S BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: I missed the few couple minutes of Burning Brides and had to leave early during C'Mon in trekking down Bathurst from Bloor to Queen.  Guess I need to buy a treadmill--or maybe a bike...

And now, back by popular demand (if you ignore the fact that I started doing this for CMW), I give you...

THE TOP TEN BANDS I SAW AT NXNE 2009

10. Rehab For Quitters: My fedora's off to you!

9. C'Mon: If Toronto is heaven, does that make Ian Blurton Jesus?

8. The Motorleague: If these guys had any more backing singers, they'd be the Moncton Tabernacle Choir!  (And that would probably offend the francophone population of Moncton, heh heh heh...)

7. Iron Giant: The kings of Moncton Rock City only need one microphone on stage--and about five feet of steel chain to hold it up!

6. Dean Lickyer: Easily the best thing to come out of Hamilton since...  Wait, what was the last good thing to come outta Hamilton, anyways?

5. Forgotten Rebels: Too bad these Rebels were Forgotten by 99% of NXNE festival-goers on Thursday.  They missed one helluva show.  (And to think I almost forgot that the Rebels came outta Hamilton!)

4. Burning Brides: These guys ain't no one-hit wonders.  Their other songs are even better!

3. Blood Ceremony: They'd be higher on this list if Alia woulda worn her cloak.  Hell, if they all wore cloaks, Ida put em at number one!

2. Bionic: Now that Bionic's breaking up, the title of best beard in Canadian rock is up for grabs.  I've heard it comes with a paper crown from Burger King and an autographed copy of ZZ Top's Eliminator album...

1. Youth Brigade: I think I'll always remember NXNE '09 as the year of Youth Brigade--and that's no joke.  I've been singing Sink With California since Saturday...

What did you think of NXNE?  Discuss it on the THTGIR forum