Static Zine has a team of six writers/photographers/thought collectors roaming the streets of Toronto for NXNE. We will not be posting concert reviews. You don’t need to read any more of those. We will be posting our experiences: what we find, what we see and what we hear. There will be reports from Jessica, Melody, Aviva, Carmel, Yahlehly and Michelle.
Keep up to date with our photos on our Facebook page.
yahlehly//
saturday recap
the second doses of diiv & oberhofer made me realise how out of it i was on friday night
affected vocals are really grinding. & with the YDS soundsystem they were too easy to hear, harder to ignore
the only thing i liked about oberhofer was their closer, which was mostly instrumental
diiv may be greased up in hiip & ‘oh man, this song is amazing’ fandom,
which maybe put me off at first, but they deserve a little more credit
those instrumental swells, where the songs sneakily transition into a quasi-shoegaze, the buried vocals & evil-lite guitar riffs
hopefully it’s all there on the album version
even though i was in an urban outfitters & on a squishy showroom bed, i was able to fall into a dreamy headspace as though at a relaxed house party
the rest of saturday in toronto was chaos, as you well know
of the static team, i probably fared the best in the flaming lips crowd
if only ’cause i’m willing to put up with the madness that comes with the territory
more fun than irritating for this seasoned pit kid
the night ended for me with teenage head & a grilled cheese
so thoroughly rocked
sunday recap
melody & i got in on poutini’s two-for-one anniversary deal, ’cause we’re no dummies
afterward, we willed an ice cream truck to find us & so an ice cream truck stopped before us
it wasn’t that it was a sweltering summer sunday
& that we were in front of the bellwoods gates
or that we wore expressions of deep desperation practically begging the driver to stop before us
it was that we willed an ice cream truck to appear with our magic minds & thus it was so
jazzboat.
you go to live in bellwoods for serenity
to be serenaded while you watch dogs be dogs, children be children & clouds be clouds
to remove yourself from the cluster-effbomb that is the city hosting the taste of little italy, the mmva’s, luminato & nxne all simultaneously
then i paused nxne for tso’s debut of philip glass’ overture for 2012, ’cause i have a soul
my final dregs of energy were used for laughing at the rivoli where laugh sabbath took over
-kathleen philips did a dead-on impression of my previous boss, which is weird ’cause i don’t even know how she knows her
-non-sequiters, non-sense & gibberish might be the funniest tools in comedy & david dineen-porter is a great provider of those things
-if the canadian comedy awards happen right this year, tom henry will win best newcomer
that ends my report & reflections of nxne ’012
it was great festivating with you new friends, old friends & strangers
everybody sleep now
Michelle//
I awoke Saturday morning with extreme menstrual cramps that rendered me immobile and proceeded to spend my day laying in bed applying for jobs, reading over my grandmother’s obituary from 20 years ago and crying. Full disclosure: I feel too depressed to even be writing at the moment.
If you know me at all, you know that 90s alt rock continues to be the truest love connection I’ve ever had. At this point I can’t remember if I fell for the Age of Electric or Limblifter first, but needless to say I’ve been fixated with Ryan Dahle since I was a tween and treated the chance to see him perform live as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Before Limblifter opened with ‘Vicious’ an audience member yelled out “I LOVE 1996″ and my heart swelled three times its size. I felt like for the first time in my life, I was surrounded by people who understood and accepted my obsession with nostalgia, no questions asked.
Ryan pretty much looks the same as he did in the 90s, which would be the only thing I’d look for in a man if I dated men. Mixed in with classics like ‘Ariel vs. Lotus’, ‘Screwed It Up’ and of course, ‘Tinfoil’, the band delivered a new song so maybe their CanRock legacy will continue to live on in the form of another album (*fingers crossed*).
Jessica//
I was amazed I didn’t have any plans until 4 on Saturday. And yet it took hours to put together our Friday post, so… yeah. After securing a burrito, one of my favourite pastimes, I headed over to Urban Outfitters to catch DIIV. I didn’t know much besides that one song going into it, and was a bit hesitant towards that kind of buzzed about music, but I really enjoyed them. I liked the ways their music off and went, and liked how scraggly the members are and how they were clearly a little frustrated not being able to hear vocals. But it was a very nice set. It’s dreamy and curious music. And I tried on shoes during it. How often can you try on shoes, sit on a show bed and watch a band? Not often. I would like it to happen more, though. But then the Radiohead news hit. And I had to call my dad and his friends who were almost there and give them the news. They are the biggest Radiohead fans. It was sad. The whole thing is sad. And then all the speculations of the event started rolling in, etc etc etc.
Off to Yonge and Dundas. I barely paid attention to Oberhofer. They weren’t what I expected, as I always get wrong impressions of bands from names, and I was bored/not impressed. But Of Montreal came on and I love them. I couldn’t see much as the crowd started to fill up, but I could see the usual antics. They didn’t feel like their usual selves, and they were pretty out of their element, as they should be seen in a darker, more confined space. But they’re colourful and quirky, so good fun. I’d still rather think of my previous memories of their shows over this, though. Portugal. The Man are alright, but I didn’t really care. I didn’t care for all their Beatles covers either.
At this point, Static team was starting to get sufficiently crushed in the crowd, and we were all just waiting for our pending Flaming Lipped doom. The tension, oh the tension. Thinking of exit strategies, feeling new crevices of each other we have never felt, that all happens when you happily walk into the front corner earlier in the day thinking it wont get THAT squishy. But it happens, it always happens. Half an hour after start time was expected, confetti is in the air, balloons are bouncing off hands, confetti is down my shirt and in my hair, I touch balloons, I see Wayne in his ball and I wait for life to end (even though I kept telling everyone WE WILL BE ALIVE TOMORROW I SWEAR). Guys, we were that squished.
Team Static was nearing a collective massive panic attack, because we are all panicky people, and decide we had to make our exit after a few songs. Sorry to all of the people we stepped on and crawled over in our ridiculous way out, but it had to be done! As soon as I was thrust out of the throng of seething people (why do people like to stand like this for shows I don’t really get it??) I immediately started shaking. I had grabbed onto Max’s backpack, practically choking him in our way out, and the others didn’t seem to do the same to my bag, so we lost them for what felt like forever, but was only a minute until they popped outta there. We decided after sitting down that we didn’t care much more, that all we wanted to see was the spectacle to be honest, and we wanted out and we wanted food. To the Lakeview we went, and we feasted nervously!
Then, in efforts to be a knight in shining armour and bring a tired sound guy boyfriend some chocolate during the epic Sneaky Dee’s night, I ended up stuck in line for almost an hour because it was before Yamantaka//Sonic Titan’s ‘secret’ set at 2AM. So thank god David found me in line, otherwise I might have peaced out and boyfriend might not have gotten chocolate, so tired! Feet hurt! Does anyone’s feet NOT hurt during these fests, I really want to know. I’ve been in pain all week! How do people not complain about this shit? Anyway, I figured might as well stay to watch the band, and so I stayed for about 20 minutes. I’m fascinated with them, really like their album, but since I had so much anxiety that day from the Lips, it wasn’t exactly prime time for me to be there. They’re a spectacle in themselves and I’m in awe, but the way their songs are long just couldn’t keep me upright at the time. I’d like to see them properly one day.
My Sunday included going to Snakes and Lattes with visitors Kirk (who’s been staying here all week), Brenda and Carrie. We had a riot, and it was the perfect way for me to end the festival. This has been an amazing NXNE, and one I’m very proud of for myself. I’ve been covering NXNE for years, mainly for larger music media publications. It’s a great feeling to know that now I can work on something I created and use the experience I’ve learned elsewhere. But I am so happy with the coverage this team has produced, and I hope this is something we can continue with NXNEs in the future.
Melody//
carmel//
My brain has turned to mush, no thanks to Redbull and… life, I guess.
Saturday at Urban Outfitters on Yonge & Dundas was the first daytime event I’ve attended this week. I arrived just after 2, in time to catch Zulu Winter for the third time. Their set was a little different from the last two I saw at the Rivoli and Lee’s, which I think further proves their range as musicians. It was great, albeit very short.
Obviously, more pockets were looked into.
At Dundas Square…
After Of Montreal’s set, I left the mess that was Dundas Square and headed to the Garrison…
Sunday was a good day for winding down. I got to Bellwoods just in time for Gregory Peck and His Problems, and did some more pocket-diving:
And I caught Army Girls for the second time this festival. I just want to see them over and over and over again.