[note: i'll add more to this later. the end needs to be fleshed out a bit more.]
prior obligations and a lack of interest in any of the bands (aside from jaguar love and patrick wolf) that played on wednesday night kept me from exploring what NXNE had to offer on day one.
on day two, however, things got off to an early start as i headed to NXNE HQ to pick up my wristband around noon. there i got to see alan cross hold a panel discussion for his “explore music” show. the panel consisted of some guy from vice records and cole alexander from black lips, who was entertaining to say the least. their discussion revolved around a rather beaten-to-death topic — “the state of the music industry”— but nevertheless it was cool to see alan cross do his thing, and quite entertaining to see his lack of control over the hyperactive alexander.
later that day the real fun would begin as i travelled to young and dundas square to catch melissa auf der maur, and officially pop my NXNE cherry. auf der maur’s 40-minute set (the standard) was pretty solid, split between old and new material (although leaning more favourably to the former) and drew quite a large crowd. the newer songs drifted into generic radio-rock territory at times, but they were still grounded by catchy riffs and auf der maur’s awesome stage presence.
next, i sped along to the horseshoe, where i decided that for better or for worse, i would plant, as the two acts i wanted to see there were on at 12am and 1am, and having heard about the notorious lines outside the horseshoe tavern during NXNE, i didn’t’ want to risk not being let in. my first impression, however, had led me to believe that i had made a huge mistake.
i had not heard of the three artists that were to play prior to midnight, and the first of those three, spookey ruben, was terrible. while i was listening to his songs, which featured titles like “superpoke” and such lyrics as “welcome to the house of food/ open up a box of cake,” i wondered what i had got myself into. he and his band-mates played a weird kind of “fun” music, something like a cross between early bare naked ladies and cake; you know, the kind of band that could only have been famous in the 90s, or maintained a fan base through the internet. this morning, as i told my girlfriend about how terrible the band was, she directed me toward this, and it all made sense:
apparently they were slightly famous in the 90s, getting regular rotation on muchmusic and everything.
next on stage was the burning hell, a darkly comedic band from peterborough, on, who attempt to be just as “fun” as spookey ruben, but actually succeed and do so in spades. the key to their success is their witty take on the macabre subject matter that dominates their songs, which creates a unique balance; the burning hell will be the first to tell you that your death is inevitable, but they’ll say it with a smile and will be dancing with you all the way to the grave. a few of the songs reminded me of something you’d hear in the nightmare before christmas, as they used their more folksy leanings to evoke a slightly gothic kind of sensibility, which their humour works to cut-through and subvert. they got everyone in the horseshoe moving and laughing, but they were only the beginning of the party.
the united steelworkers of montreal played next, and much like their label mates the burning hell, they draw on a much older kind of music, recalling southern gothic country music, and use that approach to channel a much more intense and foreboding mood.
finally, the king khan and BBQ show arrived, and were welcomed by a packed tavern. at this point everyone was already hot and sweaty, but the turban-clad khan and BBQ managed to get the crowd moving with a renewed energy and spirit. they were joined up on stage by jared swilley of black lips, and a female vocalist i’m unfamiliar with (any help here would be great).
HEALTH got off to a late start, much to the dismay of many in the crowd, but they won them back quickly with the chaos they unleashed afterward. their set included a few new songs from their upcoming release GET COLOR, the definite highlight being “die slow.”
Filed under: Concert Review , 2009, HEALTH, king khan and BBQ show, NXNE, NXNE Day Two, spookey ruben, the burning hell, the legendary horseshoe tavern, the united steel workers of montreal, young and dundas square
