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North by Northeast

By Bridget Arsenault

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After the show, I said adieu to the Novaks and made my way down to El Mocambo. The bouncer at El Mo recognized me from being there many times before, and I was starting to feel a little self conscious that maybe I party a little too much. I but those feelings aside and headed in to catch the end of Matthew Barber and the Union Dues ' set. They played a good show as always spitting out some of the old favourites as well as a little of what's to come with Matt's new album � Sweet Nothing .� After the show, I had a few words with Peter Elkas , the guitarist in Union Dues, (an also an unbelievably talented solo artist) about the NXNE experience, �This is like my 10 th , no maybe 11 th year playing NXNE. But I'm actually heading home to see my parents, so I won't be here for the rest of the shows over the weekend.� Before heading out to catch some more acts I caught up with Matthew Barber as well to see if he was feeling the whole NXNE vibe. �Well, I just finished playing my set and it was really sweaty and hot, but fun, definitely the wettest I have ever
What the Thunder Saidgotten on stage. NXNE is always fun, I've played it three years in a row, lots of drinking, lots of crazy parties, lots of schmoozing. It's a wonderful thing.� Memory Bank was playing later that evening, but I've seen them twice before and they've never really made an impact on me so I trundled off. I stumbled down the �The Bagel� which as Matthew put it �doesn't really sound like a rock venue� to hear my roommate's brother's band What the Thunder Said . They had this fun electric sound and in the small skinny space of the Bagel were able to get a good energy going. About halfway through the set I decided to take myself across the street to Rancho Relaxo where Ben Gunning was finishing up. The highlight of that set was when Ron Sexmith strolled in and we passed a few words about his playing the White Ribbon benefit earlier that week: �I was really happy to be asked to play. I've wanted to play that show for a while. It's great. I basically get to hang out with all my friends.� All that and it's for a good cause, too. The night seemed to be winding down and visions of Friday's work day were parading through my head, so I called it a night and headed home.

Friday June 11 th , 2005

Friday started off a little slow. My roommates and I were trying to make our way down to the Drake hotel, but traffic and time were against us. When we finally made it down there it turned out the show was sold out so my friends, none of whom had wrist bands were out of luck. They decided to hold tight in the upstairs of the Drake while I made my way downstairs to see K'naan . I went on recommendation of Buck 65 whom I had met up with the week before for a quick Q & A regarding his new album. Thank god for Buck, because I would never have picked the show if it hadn't been for him. I only caught the end, but what I saw was life altering! His beats and influences are extremely unique, his lyrics enticing and his stage presence dead on. It was so refreshing to step away from the usual indie scene and see the versatility this country has to offer. As we left the Drake, I saw Gary Beals walking by looking coy, which made me chuckle as we hailed a cab. We headed down to Reverb because I desperately wanted to see those Winnipeg rocker-boys Waking Eyes . When we arrived the boys just happened to be loitering around the outside of Reverb, but all of a sudden the 7 th grade jitters came over me and my friends had to give me a little jab before I made it over to speak to them.
Idle SonsWhen we made it inside a band called the Idle Sons , who were trying to rock out a little harder than I could handle were playing. They weren't setting the greatest precedent for what was to come from the Waking Eyes, but luckily the crowd hung tight and the place started to fill up. The Waking Eyes didn't hit the stage until around 1:00 , but they were certainly worth sticking around for. I ran into a friend from Halifax, Jon Bruhm , who writes for the Coast and had me worried after mentioning a few bad shows he had seen them play. As well he filled me in on some other discouraging news that The Porcelain Gods , The Goods and Ruth Minnikin had all pulled out of NXNE, draining an East Coast presence almost entirely. Luckily the Waking Eyes were so on, even pulling out the trumpet and double bass for �Taking the Hard Way .� And their first two singles �Watch your Money� and �On a Train� were smoking. Looking around I notice Jack Syperek of the Trews and Ian D'sa of Billy Talent grooving in the audience. Afterwards I went over to talk to the boys from Waking Eyes one final time and then some how it was about 3:00 in the morning and we decided we best be heading home.

Unfortunately for me but, Saturday night I turned into a pumpkin and somehow my bed turned into the better option. Maybe Toronto needed a little break, In all though, it was a solid showing at NXNE, saw some great bands, finally got the chance to learn a little more about this city I find myself in, and it proved a great opportunity for 3 a.m. pizza.

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