cherylese.com

finally! it’s north by northeast (nxne) time again in the city! it’s one of my most favourite things to do in the summer in toronto. my friends and i joke that it’s like the amazing race – there are so many good bands to see and so many different venues, you’re literally ‘amazing racing’ all over the city trying to make it for the next set. in fact, nxne takes careful planning, with over 650 bands and 50 different venues over 5 days – you really need to map out your plan of attack. we usually scour the schedule first for bands we know/like, and then fill in any gaps with any bands we’ve heard anything about/have heard their music somewhere online. the best part about nxne is finding the new bands that you’ve never seen and instantly fall in love with. in fact, a lot of the bands we see on a regular basis we first discovered at the festival. so here’s who we’re seeing (and why) so far at the fest. you’ll see there are still a few gaps, feel free to suggest someone if you see a open time slot!

thursday, june 17

9PM – OPEN

10PM – andy maize, amelia curran, royal wood – i’m not going to lie, i have no idea who the first two performers are, but the fact that royal wood is playing is enough for me. we saw him last year and his set was so beautiful and so moving, i can’t help but immediately want to see him again

11PM – jim cuddy, hawksley workman, colleen brown – again, there is one person driving this set for me (hawksley workman), but having grown up in a house that loves jim cuddy and blue rodeo, i wont mind seeing him there either

12PM – the russian futurists – the mister’s choice for this evening. he swears i’ll like them (he thinks), and that’s good enough for me

1AM – OPEN/the ghost is dancing – if ‘the ghost is dancing’ aren’t totally offensive to my ears, this is likely what i’m seeing. there are times when acts are selected solely for their venue/helping ‘the amazing race’ and this is one of those times

2AM – the junction – the reason for wanting to be at the ‘shoe for the 1am show, getting there before this 2am. the junction are awesome. can’t wait to see them live

friday, june 18 – this also happens to be my birthday! if you happen to be out at any of these venues, i’ll be accepting birthday drinks all night long

7:30PM – said the whale – can’t wait to see them again. they’re so good and so fun live. it will be interesting to see them play such a big venue (dundas square). the last time i saw them they were playing a very small, very intimate set inside the criminal records store. if you don’t want to do ‘the amazing race’ or spend money on a wristband, keep in mind that there are few concerts in dundas square the entire festival (including iggy and the stooges!)

9PM – elizabeth – again, a choice by the mister. apparently someone he knows is in the band, so we’re going to represent!

10PM – ten bears – just came across them. i’ve never seen them before, i’ve never heard of them before, but they’re from the uk, and sound pretty promising!

11PM – the envy – ever see a band that just totally wore you down, and now you have a soft spot for them? this is that band for me. we’ve seen them as an opening act for so many shows in toronto, it seems weird to not go see them play. and you know what? i’m actually a little excited for it!

12AM – hollerado – the first time we saw them was at nxne a couple of years ago, and boy was it awk-ward. i think there were literally 4 people watching, d and i and maybe one set of their parents. needless to say, we were going to bail, but they were actually good. like really good. super energetic and really, really catchy music. they’ve come a long way since then (playing a lot of bigger shows), so it’ll be nice to see them back in town

1AM (onwards) – OPEN. we’ll have to do a little more research for the bands performing later this night, because mama isn’t going home this early on her bday!

saturday, june 19 6PM – surfer blood – i’ve never seen them, but i like their music and have heard nothing but (mostly) good things about them

9PM – hot hot heat – i don’t even remember who added this to the schedule, the mister, d or i…in any event, it promises to be a good show

10PM – OPEN 11PM – daniel wesley – mister’s choice

12AM – holly mcnarland – eeeeeeeeeeeeeek (that’s pure excitement right there!) i loved holly through my teenage years (and haven’t seen her live since i was 17). 16 year old me is losing her shit right now. can’t.friggin.wait.

1AM – ruby coast – we saw these guys (kids really!) at nxne last year and were blown away. we laughed off their ‘if you like vampire weekend, you’ll us’ comparison, but you know what? if you do, you will! they’re so fun and so talented

2AM + 3AM – OPEN

sunday, june 20 there aren’t as many shows happening on sunday, so we’ll be hanging out at dundas square for most of the evening if you weren’t considering going to nxne this year, you totally should. the city comes alive in a celebration of awesome music…oh, and they serve alcohol in most of the venues till 4AM. what more could you ask for this weekend?