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North by Northeast

By Bridget Arsenault

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North by Northeast filled Toronto with over 400 bands for the weekend of June 9 th , 10 th and 11 th . The White Ribbon Show fundraiser to stop violence against women kicked off the event on June 7 th with an all-star bash. Bridget Arsenault got around to as much of NXNE as she could.

Tuesday June 7 th , 2005

Ahh North By Northeast (NXNE)-free stuff I never wanted, schmoozing with all my favourite industry guru's and of course all that music because it's all about the music isn't it. Since I am posing as a Torontonian for the summer my festival experience began early with the NXNE White Ribbon show. The phoenix concert house was packed and that's not surprising considering the line up- Bruce Cockburn , Ron Sexmith , Sarah Slean , Jim Cuddy , just to name a few. There was a good aura in the air from the beginning. The event itself is an admirable affair, as it benefits the White Ribbon Society, a group in opposition to violence against women. The show opened with Shawn Hewitt and the National Strike whose
Barenaked Ladiesmusic I wasn't overly familiar with, but they had a great jazz/rock balance and started my feet tapping early on. Musically the show highlights were Hawksley Workman and Bruce Cockburn, Matt May 's solo acoustic set and then the final jam which featured Jim Cuddy, Sarah Slean, Bruce Cockburn, The Barenaked Ladies , Ron Sexmith, Andy Stochansky , Alex Lifeson and a slew of others. It was a Canadian rock legend overload. After the show I decided it would be a pretty good idea to head back stage, but unfortunately I only had a regular ticket, not a coveted backstage pass. Somehow I managed to sweet talk Shawn Hewitt into giving me his pass so I could do a little star gazing. However it turned out his pass was only good for the V.I.P. room, but was not a key to all access. I tried to turn on the charm and wheel a deal with Troy , Matt Mays' tour manager but he had already given his away. Then I moved on to Andy Patil the bassist from El Torpedo , but he flat out didn't have one. We parted ways and I tried Andy Stockansky and his wife, but to no avail. Considering at this point it was about 1:30 A.M. on a Tuesday night rationality kicked in and I headed home.

Thursday June 9 th , 2005

My NXNE experience resurged on Thursday, starting with the Novaks . These boys are fabulous and are definitely a group that will be making their mark soon enough. They hail from Newfoundland , but you would never tell from their straight ahead seventies influenced rock groove.
The Novaks I got to chat with them before their 10:00 set at Lee's Palace to catch up on the past and get briefed on the future. However, I nearly missed meeting up with them because the bouncer at Lee's was feeling sassy and joked that I looked full of trouble and wasn't sure if he would let me in. When the Novaks and I finally connected they enlightened me on their hopes and dreams and everything in between: �We've never played NXNE before. Hopefully we'll get some free beer, but we're leaving tomorrow because we have other dates to get to.� As for future plans, they've recently signed to Sonic Records, they'll be shooting a video within the month and as Mick Davis explains, �Once I have enough money, for sure we're moving out of Newfoundland .� Playing before the Novaks was fellow Newfie Brian Bryne, and although I spent most of his set outside with the Novaks, from what I did catch I wished I had heard more. His vocal range was intense and the sound original. As for the Novaks, their set was really tight. Unfortunately Lee's was a little somber and the crowd, although enjoying themselves, wasn't the liveliest of sorts. The set featured songs from the new album � The Novaks � set to be released August 9 th and some newer ones they written since being in the studio.

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