"Despite their ridiculous name, Sandman Viper Command was definitely the highlight of my NXNE thus far."
by Ashley, NXNE correspondent
When am I going to learn that less venue hopping = seeing more bands? That said I got a few shows in on Wed/Thurs, some were awesome (please go see Sandman Viper Command), others not so much. I still need to learn how to clone myself. Plus I’m already suffering from NXNE sleep deprivation, so pardon me if this is barely English, it’s hard to edit when your eyes are closed. Follow me on Twitter for potentially more coherent updates from the shows @ashsperls.
Highlights: Sandman Viper Command (Thurs, 3am Silver Dollar Room) – play again at 8pm Friday at Sneaky Dee’s
Chuck Ragan (Wed, 12am Elmo), PS I Love You (Thurs, 11pm Horsehoe), Fucked Up (Thurs, 8pm YD Square)
Wednesday I caught Chuck Ragan, lead singer of punk legends Hot Water Music at the Elmo. It was tough to drag my butt out the door for a midnight show, but I’m glad I did. Chuck’s solo stuff is pretty far removed from HWM, but he still has those same raspy vocals. He’s sort of like a punk-rock Johnny Cash. A highlight was the ‘Geraldine’ duet with Britton from the Cavaliers. I stayed for a bit of the Cavaliers alt-country set, but they were having sound issues and I figured I shouldn’t overdo it on night one (in bed before 3am).
Thursday was a bit of a mixed bag and involved a lot of venue hopping. I started off the night catching a bit of Fucked Up at Yonge-Dundas Square. I thought they would tone it down a notch to be more family-friendly, but I was wrong. Lead singer Damian Abraham was still jumping in the crowd, growling and tearing his shirt off as the band tore through songs from their punk opera, David Comes To Life. I can only imagine how much more intense the show would have been in the confines of Wrongbar, YD Square didn’t really do it justice.
Though I really wanted to see The Descendants somehow I ended up the Horseshoe to check out ‘buzz’ band Royal Bangs from Knoxville, TN. I give them kudos for being able to pull off deconstructed alt-rock musically while layering catchy vocals, an interesting blend, but honestly I preferred the music sans vocals. PS I Love You were the highlight of the Shoe and got the crowd dancing with their power noise-pop. Montreal’s Suuns were up next and though they were hyped, I was kind of disappointed. It was just an ear-bleedingly loud wall of sound, the actual music could barely be distinguished. I tried to get into the Rivoli to see Imaginary Cities, Sweet Thing and Bruce Peninsula, but the line up was ridiculous and no one was getting in, bummer.
Then it was off to the Supermarket where I caught the tail end of Poor Young Things. They’re pretty straight forward Kings of Leon-ish rock, but have a great energy to the live show and did a killer cover of Florence + The Machine’s ‘Dog Days’.
The night got a bit blurry (unfortunately I wasn’t drunk, just asleep on my feet), but I was determined to try and stay awake long enough to catch Burlington’s Sandman Viper Command at the Silver Dollar Room. Somehow I powered through, and thank goodness I did, despite their ridiculous name, SVC was definitely the highlight of my NXNE thus far. The Silver Dollar Room was rammed despite the late hour and the crowd was tearing up the floor to the band’s blend of fuzzy garage rock combined with 60’s pop sensibilities. Even though my legs felt like lead after 10 hours of shows and BBQs I couldn’t stop moving. Definitely a must see. Catch them at 8pm Friday at Sneak’s.
Two more days, must stay awake ...