NxNE Festival 2007 Day Three
The Final Night At North By Northeast Offers Mixed Fortunes
As NxNE 2007 comes to a close, I start with a retired gentleman and end with a bang. Here's my final blog from this year's event, before I head for a well-earned sleep...
And Now, The End Is Here…
And just like the great man Sinatra could have sang, "NxNE has final curtain…". Yeah, I know, tenuous link, but hey – I never said I was a poet! So, after two previous days of highly impressive fare, I was really looking forward to the final day of this year's North by Northeast festival in Toronto. Not only would I be catching up with a cool friend by the name of Rob, but there was also (on paper at least) a really good line-up for the night.
However, like my compatriot Robbie Burns once said, "the best-laid plans of mice and men gang oft agley…", and so it was for some of the acts on the last night of NxNE 2007. But it wasn't all a dead loss, and once again it was one of the late-night bands that took the deserved best of day. So, without further delay, here's my summary of Saturday night's bands as I bring my coverage of NxNE 2007 to a close.
Sneaky Dee's
After a false start at Free Times Cafe, where for some reason I ended up seeing a septuagenarian guitar player called Smokey Witt, who sang about yuppie love with songs by the name of Fax Me Your Heart (don't ask!), I managed to escape and head up to Sneaky Dee's for the first band of the night, General Miggs. A four-piece rock outfit from New York, they came across as a blend of The Smiths and Green Day. Different, but not necessarily for the better – a lack of stage presence didn't help their cause either. Not a good start for me.
Rancho Relaxo
Making my way from Sneaky Dee's, I was hoping that the first two acts I'd seen (yes, I am counting the old guy at the start of the night) weren't a portent of things to come. Thankfully, the night was about to start picking up.
Arriving at the Rancho Relaxo (where I think the air-conditioning had broken down – it was a furnace in there), I caught the tail end of Canadian band Beth In Battle Mode. A three-piece prog rock cum punky garage band, they reminded me of classic Rush and Yes, with a dash of British rockers The Darkness thrown in for good measure. However, two songs weren't enough to form an opinion, so one for me to check out in the near future.
Next up were New Yorkers The Vandelles, a four-piece avant-garde outfit that reminded me of how music would sound if The Jesus And Mary Chain got together with The New Bohemians and played songs by Buddy Holly. Using a film projector to beam images onto them throughout their set, they finally brought some of the NxNE feel to my Saturday night.
Lee's Palace
Alongside the Horseshoe Tavern, you can always rely on Lee's Palace to get your live music kicks, and once again, they didn't disappoint. First up was Tara Slone, a native of Toronto and one of the finalists in the Rockstar INXS television contest that aimed to find the replacement for the late Michael Hutchence.
Having already tasted some degree of success with pop rock group Joydrop, Slone has a slightly heavier sound now, and it's one that suits her vocal style. Dropping in some of her old band's hits as well as songs for her album Just Look Pretty And Sing, the sultry songstress enjoyed a good set with an equally enjoyable crowd rapport.
At this stage of the evening, I was meant to be going to see You Say Party! We Say Die! but there was something about the next band setting up that peaked my interest. Call it the ancient keyboard that was hauled out (had to be from the 60's!), or the intriguing figure of the keyboardist herself, but I decided to stay. And man, am I glad I did. Great Northern is one of these bands that you just can't pigeonhole into any style, and that is never a bad thing.
If you had to describe their sound, you could throw in the likes of Arcade Fire; Sheryl Crow; Queens Of The Stone Age; The Dandy Warhols and many, many others. Yet none of these could mix all these sounds together and come up with the sonic landscapes that this four-piece create, especially on songs like the undeniably beautiful Low Is A Height. Ambient rock could be a term to use, but even that wouldn't do them justice. A close call for band of the day, you could do a lot worse than check these guys out for yourself, and it's a band I'll definitely be featuring more off here on Suite.
The Horseshoe Tavern
With the sounds of Great Northern still ringing in my ears, it was off to my favourite venue in Toronto, the ever-reliable Horseshoe Tavern. Here, as had happened on Friday night, I was to find the band that made my Saturday, and their name? In-Flight Safety from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The easy and lazy way to describe their music would be to say the Canadian Coldplay, but as I said, that would just be lazy. Besides, they have more stage energy than Britain's finest ever could.
Blessed with an excellent sound mix, this is one band that I predict great things for, especially with songs like Surround and Coast Is Clear with their blend of catchy radio pop rock and hook-laden choruses that really deserve to be heard in your nearest arena or stadium. Check them out and be suitably impressed.
Finishing my day off was Canadian power pop quartet Two Hours Traffic. With an impressive slant in triple vocal harmonies and an extremely tight sound, they brought to mind Placebo, as well as one of my favourite Scottish bands from the 90's, Teenage Fanclub, and were a good way to finish off my festival this year.
Until Next Year
So there you have it. Three days of trying to race about the metropolis that is Toronto's downtown area; getting harangued by door staff until you show your media pass; overhearing a bizarre drunken conversation by a potential lady of the night and a client (now that was hilarious!) and many other tales. But I wouldn't change it for the world.
I hope you've enjoyed reading the reports as much as I enjoyed checking out the names that made them up, and if you ever get the chance, you should try and visit this great city at least once when NxNE is on. You won't regret it.
Until the next time…
