I’m still up and believe it or not the same person who just wrote that blog is writing this… gutted. Going to sleep but sleep lately has just been one non stop dream about the drama I deal with during the day. You can now found all my insane ramblings here: http://theonetimeithoughtimademymind.blogspot.com/
I just need to get this stuff out somewhere.
Hello TWM Readers…
I think I am more exhausted today and now well Weds evening than I have been in perhaps my entire life. NXNE just happened to fall on what was the busiest week in recent Rancho Relaxo history. We were open from Tuesday straight through till Monday night. I was at the venue for various parts of every NXNE night and all of Tues, Weds, Sun and Monday.
You’ll notice some incomplete coverage. I apologize for that. The weekend was tons of fun at NXNE but it also had a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that made even making it to the venues and dragging myself out to 4 AM almost impossible. Here’s a quick recap of what I saw and didn’t write about…
Spookey Ruben at Dundas Square: Some really lousy and cheesy R & B band delayed Spookey’s set about an hour and so I only saw three songs. Still, I saw enough to realize that Spookey Ruben if given the right exposure and publicity could be more vital to the music scene today than he ever was when he had his string of hits back in the 90’s. Such energy, such a fun demeanor on stage and just a wicked guy to boot. I need to see a full set with his band asap.
Old Man Lueducke @ the Rivoli: I actually knew so little about Old Man Lueducke that based on the CD cover I saw before passing the album along to Tyler for review I thought he actually was an old man. Turns out that is more in spirit than anything else. Easily the best banter of the weekend and definitely the most earnest musician I’ve witnessed in ages. Oh and he also writes ridiculously pretty songs that I now want to know all the words to so next time I see him I can sing along. Unfortunately the Riv is horrible for chatty overly well dressed types who really don’t care what is going on and that did seriously hurt the vibe.
Elder Roche @ the Hideout: Tyler isn’t fond of the Hideout. I liked that my exhausted ass could plant itself in a fairly comfy leather couch and have a few drinks off my feet. Unfortunately for Mr. Roche that was the highlight of the set. His backhanded comments to the chatty crowd were kind of weak. Either you play through or say something with some vindication man!
Epigram @ the Hideout: Much better! I recently found out that Megan Hamilton had joined Epigram and since she is one of my most beloved locals musicians I specifically called an audible to be at the Hideout for this set. Alas an overly packed Horseshoe resulted in us also catching the above Elder Roche.
For me this was the surprise set of the weekend. With Tyler angry about being at this venue and my other TWM writers annoyed I made them watch Elder Roche the set needed to be gold. For me at least it was. It sounds not even remotely close to anything else Megan is involved in. Instead it’s an intense, experimental sound that was only all the more heavy juxtaposed with what we had heard earlier in the night. Pedals galore… vocals gymnastics that made me wonder if the poor guy singing would speak again on Sunday and only one blip being really weak work by the sound tech on the backing vocals. If you have two talented backing vocalists it’d be nice if you would let me hear them Mr. Sound Tech!
Slim Twig @ The Dollar: I saw a band in between this but was mainly drinking and hanging out at the Rancho so putting an evaluation on it would be pointless. I dug Slim Twig quite a bit. At this point I was hearing everything well on the way to being drunken so that many people slagged it for not being tight or on key probably eluded my ears. I found it rowsing and it would have led better into the Schomberg Fair than the Oholics did.
Then at 3 AM the Schomberg Fair took the stage. I manage them so you aren’t about to get words of critique from me nor was I in any shape to tell you anyhow. What ensued was one of the most fun 45 minutes I’ve had in my life. So many close friends, so many people from bands I love came out to support a band consisting of basically the nicest guys in the Toronto music scene. It was triumphant and I was proud to be a part of it.
So now what? I have sort of an NXNE hangover and I am not really sure where the online TWM is going. We need more content! I need to write more reviews… get back to doing interviews etc. The photo section is in a sad sad state I don’t even know if it will ever be back.
But there is also exciting news on the horizon. Tyler Wade and I had a meeting tonight laying the groundworks for the TWM Collective. Which is going to be something to keep an eye on… we have big and exciting plans for where this is going and the readers of twowaymonologues.com are going to get more of a 360 experience than ever before. Offline, online and all over the province. I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag yet BUT stay tuned friends as this is going to be our craziest endeavor to date.
I feel a really serious explosion of activity coming on within me… both online and offline and I intend to use this blog as a means to bring you with me. I warn you though! The grammar will be horrible, the topics won’t all be about music and you are going to be very much inside my head by reading it.
But it might be fascinating as I once had a blog that was all gonzo style writing and train of thought thinking. So all I’m saying is stay tuned… sometimes when my life is most out of control is when the best things come out of me.
So yesterday I left my house at about 2 PM and got home at a little after 4 AM. So needless to say I didn’t get to blog my Friday reviews. So here they are!
Ok City Ok @ the Silver Dollar (9 PM): So the Silver Dollar takes the cake I think for the best venue for the festivals. Everyone and their dog runs off to the Horseshoe to lineup and see bigger, poppier bands that get more airplay and end up lining up for an hour and missing the chance to see another band somewhere else. But usually you can get in the Dollar and end up getting a better atmosphere, cheaper alcohol and always more interesting bands.
Ok City Ok were ok. The cynic in me sort of found it a bit curious when the Caucasian frontman for the otherwise fully Japanese band continuously announced to the crowd that they were from Tokyo without ever explaining how he fit into the equation. Maybe he has lived his whole life in Tokyo but I just would have liked to know. The lead singer was actually sort of boring which was a shame because the other three players were really entertaining and talented. With a different frontman this band could be wicked.
Action Makes @ Silver Dollar (10): Action Makes are supposed to be a really cool band and I’ve been meaning to check them out for a while. Problem is they never seem to play anymore. Problem with that is I thought they were super sloppy on Friday night at the Dollar. I can tell that if this band were playing regularly and practicing regularly that these songs would have been tighter and the set a lot more memorable. I would see them again but not if they are just lingering around playing big festival shows.
The Primaries @ Rancho Relaxo (11): The Primaries were playing what I believe was their second show since becoming a three piece out of the ashes of a band from London who were called the Knaves. So colour me surprised when this band played a higher energy, tighter and the whole far more entertaining set than Action Makes did at the Dollar.
Their sound isn’t that full and that might be a problem because with three members and songs that are a tad predictable in nature they’ll have a tough time getting repeat audiences. Still, this is a band to watch and one of the pleasant surprises of the festival for me.
Golden Hands Before God… @ Savannah Room (12): And here ladies and gentlemen is the set of the festival for me. Surrounded by some of my closest friends, including Jenny who has been spending the last few weeks completely obsessing over Golden Hands’ amazing soon to be released EP I was at a fever pitch waiting for this set to start.
The Savannah Room stage is tiny, but all six members fit on it even if it meant tambourine specialist Jamie Greer had to get up to his crazy antics while hardly being able to move his feet. GHBG owned that room… everywhere I looked people were dancing, banging their head, shouting to their friends about how awesome what was going on was. And the band knew it… they channeled all that energy and fired it back at us in the crowd ten-fold. When their trademark set closer “All Together Now” came on Jamie came out and handed a shaker to me and a few others in the crowd and called Aaron from the Speaking Tongues up to sing along. I think it was perhaps my favourite rock moment in my life to date.
Hot Springs @ Sneaky Dee’s (1): I can’t even review this. I apologize but I was riding high on the previous set and just wanted to tell everyone about it. Not to mention some crazy shit was going down that I won’t get into here… Hot Springs I owe you a mulligan.
We Are Wolves @ Sneaky Dee’s (2): This wasn’t that well kept of a secret band at Sneak’s but that is good because for the second time that night I was in a bar surrounded with some of my closest show friends in the city. I also had my lovely fiancee dancing with me and sharing what was such a good set it almost could have rivaled what I saw at the Savannah Room earlier.
Big props go out to Chantal who worked the sound for We Are Wolves Friday and had Dee’s sounding better than I’ve ever heard it before. I guess you would call We Are Wolves electro rock all I know is that I haven’t danced at a show in months yet this was the second time in three hours you could find me dancing and losing myself in the intense energy and forever memorable choruses. The lead singer got a bit too reggae in his banter which was weird but forgivable. If you saw them at the El Mo Saturday night instead I feel your pain. I heard that set didn’t even come close to comparing.
The Hots @ the Supermarket (9 PM): The Supermarket was a pretty happening place to be last night, starting with the Hots and followed by Cancel Winter, Amos the Transparent, Great Bloomers and Angel Pier. That was, in my opinion, one of the best line-ups of the festival.
I manage the Hots so I really can’t say anything non-biased, but I was impressed with the crowd and the energy they exuded during their set. I was not impressed — and never have been impressed — with the brutal sound at the Supermarket. From what I’ve been told, this problem continued all night.
Medallions @ Rancho Relaxo (10 PM): I’m really stoked about Medallions, to be honest. Formed from the remnants of two notable bands for Canadian indie music fans (Controller Controller and Frontier Index), this new Toronto band left a favourable impression on me last night at the Rancho.
Of the two bands, I hear more similarities to Controller Controller for sure. The song structure, the guitar and even the drum beats will remind you of what was so great about that band. Medallions have a lot of vocals coming from their drummer too, which is always neat if done right. This is the beginnings of some really catchy indie rock that will definitely get people dancing. So why was their set was less than 25 minutes long?
Black Hat Brigade @ Neutral (11 PM): Watching these five guys attempt to maneuver around that stage without completely tripping over one another was entertaining. Black Hat Brigade are a band I’ve seen a few times now, and I have never been disappointed. They do need a bigger stage than this, though, to really be able to leave an impression.
It also seemed that an extra vocal mic could have been helpful… or a better vocal mic, for that matter. If you haven’t been to a BHB show, do yourself a favour and check one out. They are one of the few up and coming bands in the city who don’t seem in a rush to end their songs before they approach 4 minutes. Instead they allow really beautiful ebb and flow to develop as the songs crash into peaks and then rest in valleys, leaving you anxious for the next peak to come around again. I sort of hope the double percussion doesn’t become a trend because people will use it without knowing how to. If you want to see how it should be used, Black Hat Brigade are the band to see.
Young Rival @ Sneaky Dee’s (12 AM): This set didn’t do much for me at all. It was tight, but it felt way too safe for my liking. I like tight indie-rock, and I book bands that play it all the time at the Rancho. However, I like tight indie-rock that distinctly sounds like the band I am hearing. You could blindfold me and put me back in a bar tonight with Young Rival playing, and I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you that’s who it was. This band has a strong following and their future is bright. It’s just not for me.
The Darcy’s @ Sneaky Dee’s (1 AM): The Darcy’s actually are the perfect continuation to what I was saying above: a tight, dancey indie-rock band that does manage to still have a unique sound that remains very identifiable to their band.
To me, The Darcy’s exude that feeling you get from a band of very close friends rather than several musicians who just started playing together. Bands like that just seem to have a sense for what the other members are going to do and the songs always sound just a bit different because of it. I’m not sure I’m totally sold on the matching suits, but it definitely adds to the lasting mental image the listener has of the band. It might just be a touch too ragged for the more commercial success a band like Young Rival is having right now, but I think there is more longevity to this type of indie rock.
In case any of you are wondering where I can be found for NXNE I’d thought I would post the schedule I intend to try and keep up here. Of course… secret shows… packed houses and geography may end up changing a couple things but please let me know if you are going to be at any of these spots!
Thursday
9:00 - The Supermarket (The Hots)
10:00 - Rancho (Medallions — new project from members of Controller Controller)
11:00 - Neutral (Black Hat Brigade)
12:00 - Sneak’s (Young Rival)
1:00 - Sneak’s (The Darcy’s)
Friday!
9:00 - Silver Dollar (OK City OK)
10:00 - Silver Dollar (Action Makes)
11:00 - Rancho (The Primaries — formerly known as the Knaves)
12:00 - Savannah Room (Golden Hands Before God *pick of the festival*)
1:00 - Sneak’s (Hot Springs)
2:00 - Sneak’s (Mystery show… not telling but you want to be here!)
Saturday!
9:00 - Rancho (Catnip — as part of the a night of Australian bands)
10:00 - Silver Dollar (Adam & the Amethysts)
11:00 - Sneak’s (Guest Bedroom)
12:00 - El Mo (The High Dials)
1:00 - El Mo (We Are Wolves)
There it is! Let me know what you think I should be doing instead:)