 The Hard Country Sound of Robbie Fulks Zayne Reeves meets Robbie Fulks and his band for lunch. Mirth, catfish and massive props to Lloyd Green ensue. |
 Goin' Northeast Being There was on the scene at this year's North-by-Northeast Music Festival in Toronto, June 9-11, 2005. Lots of music, a few films, and tropical fruit were had by most!  Plus… North by Northeast Film Festival & White Ribbon Charity Concert. |
 Top 10 Rock 'n' Roll Movies Being There's staff selects their picks for the ten greatest rock 'n' roll documentaries/concert films of all time. A few of the usual suspects, and some you probably wouldn't have thought of! |
 Tune In Your Aerial Adam M. Anklewicz cuts loose with up-and-coming Toronto singer-songwriter Valery Gore for a casual chat about making music, songwriting, and facing a music industry only interested in simple pop. |
 Song of The Siren Laura Cantrell, one of country music's leading ladies, talks with Zayne Reeves about her terrific new album, Humming By The Flowered Vine. |
|
|
Goin' Northeast:
Music Festival
by Adam M. Anklewicz, Lisa Hood-Anklewicz,
Adam D. Miller, and Cari Crosby
Act: The High Dials
Venue: The Drake Hotel
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 1 am
*Ankle’s Best of Festival Pick*
It’s odd, at 1am, how much energy a band can have. Jumping around the stage and not stopping, The High Dials were incredible and having a lot of fun. Obviously influenced by The Beatles and The Byrds, The High Dials are going places quickly. Using NXNE as a vehicle to launch their latest album, War of the Wakening Phantoms, they were perfectly able to get the crowd into the show, and forget that 54-40 were up next... and then the bass player played sitar!
http://www.thehighdials.com
Act: junk tv
Venue: The Gladstone Hotel
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 10pm
*Lisa’s Best of Festival Pick*
When you have, on average, 150 acts to choose five from each night, it makes you very glad when you have managed to pull out one act that is as exciting as junk tv. A non-traditional four piece band with keys, acoustic guitar, bass and drums and a great dash of that famous British humour. Making the trek from London, junk tv have taken all that is great about British rock and then some, to present a evening of pop-rock that just didn’t want to quit - literally. When it was time for their set to end, there was quite a negative reaction from the crowd. But when frontman Will Kevans announced to the whole venue that they had come all the way from England and they had to be allowed to play one more, the place exploded. An upcoming album should put junk tv on the musical radar, and if that doesn’t do it, I’ll just have to think of them as one of my little secrets.
http://junktv.co.uk
Act: The Brown Hornets
Venue: The Silver Dollar
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 9 PM
*Miller and Cari’s Best of Festival Pick*
*Best Act Involving Fruit Award*
Lead singers don’t seem to care any more. Even when the raw energy is there in the music, it’s rare that the lead singer has the charisma that traditionally has gone along with their role in rock ‘n’ roll. It was charisma that made The Brown Hornets the most memorable performance of the festival, and one of the few that left me wanting more. Lead singer Danny Walters danced and interacted with the audience as if he had been gracing a stage his entire life. Give these guys enough exposure, and the Brown Hornets could be the saviours of rock ‘n’ roll. They wear their influences on their sleeve (the band opened with a medley of “Bo Diddley” and Otis Redding’s “Shake”), but perform solid original material as well. Did I mention that Danny Walters has more charisma than any frontman I’ve seen in a long time?
http://www.punkblues.com
Night One
Act: Matthew Barber & The Union Dues
Venue: El Mocambo (Main floor)
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 11pm
*Ankle’s Best of Thursday Pick*
*Bloodiest Guitar Solo Award*
Toronto band Matt Barber & The Union Dues were absolutely amazing. His sound has become much more poppy than his previous work, and the full band helped fill out that sound. Barber had the stage presence, all smiles, he really enjoyed himself and that transferred to the audience very quickly. His guitarist, Peter Elkas was able to play a killer solo with a broken string and a bloody hand. With great musicianship, and stage banter, the show was one of the best of the evening.
http://www.matthewbarber.com
Act: Balthazar
Venue: The El Mocombo - Upstairs
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 1am
*Lisa’s Best of Thursday Pick*
Thursday night at one in the morning; not necessarily the best time slot for such a promising band as Balthazar. The crowd was sparse but highly responsive. Spread around the back of the room, it only took lead singer Balthazar Boudreau stepping up to the microphone and motioning for everyone to move forward. Opening with a short jam session, the band then kicked into a set of addictive reggae-infused rock tunes that got the crowd dancing in a venue that could have cooked eggs on the floor. The musicianship was superb, the band being able to move between tempos with complete ease. Boudreau is a frontman who obviously knows how to work his crowd, no matter what the size, keeping constant eye contact throughout the set. It gave you the knowledge that he appreciated you being there as much as you appreciated them. There is something unique in Balthazar’s sound that gives them an edge on today’s music scene. It seems that they have had great success in Europe, hopefully they can repeat that back home in Canada.
http://www.lesbalthazar.com/
Act: Camera
Venue: Bovine Sex Club
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 11pm
*Miller and Cari’s Best of Thursday Pick*
Pittsburgh’s Camera played a set of new wave-tinged punk straight out of 1977. Identifiable influences included Ramones, The Clash, and The Jam. Their music was a little repetitive, but fun. And while their sound was somewhat original, it had a tendency to veer a little to close to Strokes territory for comfort. The small, sweaty crowd at Bovine Sex Club danced along to their quirky brand of punk-pop. My only criticism is that the arrangements sounded a little busy, with organ often getting muddled in the mix. Just when I started getting bored with the repetitiveness of the songs, the lead singer pulled out a striped trombone to end their set. Classic.
http://www.thisiscamera.com/
Act: Nathan Coles Outfit
Venue: The Gladstone Hotel
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 8pm
Coming out of the music scene of Guelph, Ontario, Nathan Coles Outfit started off the weekend wit some folk influenced rock. Obviously influenced by Ron Sexsmith, the band seemed uncomfortable on the stage and didn’t get across anything spectacular. They have good songs, but didn’t seem able to translate them to the stage. The songs weren’t great and one thing that kept them from keeping interest of the audience was that all the songs followed the same pattern. Oh, and check out Nathan Coles Outfit. A bit uninspired if you ask me.
http://www.nathancoles.com
Act: Elliott Brood
Venue: The Horseshoe Tavern
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 9pm
*Best Use of a Suitcase Award*
Do you really need a bass drum? Most people think so, but Elliott Brood don’t. They instead replaced the bass drum with a suitcase. Stephen Pitkin took place behind the drums while Casey Laforet and Mark Sasso took front stage, playing guitar and banjo respectively. Alt. country has been done before, but Elliott Brood take it farther and make it heavier than anything else in the genre. It definitely is not the sound you’d expect a band fronted by banjo would sound like, but you’re in for a treat. Their songs are great and this was a definite highlight of the evening. With the crowd dancing, and buying Laforet drinks to celebrate his birthday everyone was having a great time. Elliott Brood are definitely a band to keep your eye out for and you won’t be able to stop moving during their performance.
http://www.elliottbrood.ca
Act: Easily Amused
Venue: The Rivoli
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9 @ 9pm
Easily Amused are a duo from Winnipeg, who played NXNE with a stellar back up band. They had one of those time slots during the festival that can be hard to predict. Either you’re going to get a huge crowd or it will be dead. Unfortunately, it was the latter in this case. The small crowd was scattered around the walls of the venue or sitting on the floor, quite far back from the stage. This didn’t stop the band from giving their performance their all. Singer Keith Macpherson (vocals / guitar), kept up a great humorous banter acknowledging the awkwardness of the situation without losing face. Renee Lamoureux, also on lead vocals, kept the attention of the crowd with a vocal performance that, at moments, outshone everyone and everything in that room. The songs were catchy and often gave you the urge to sing along. The band’s performance was first-rate, with the exception of a broken guitar string that took Lamoureux off stage for a song to repair. Another one of the lights that are shining out of Winnipeg as of late, watch for something from Easily Amused in the years to come.
http://www.easilyamused.ca/
Act: Blue Seeds
Venue: Black Bull
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 10pm
The Blue Seeds are an appropriate name for a band that seems (at least somewhat) modelled after Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. The band, largely dressed in black, seemed to evoke gothic country-rock with a Cowboy Junkies feel that would go along well with the short stories of Flannery O’Connor. A talented group of musicians out of Montreal, lead singer Amelie Laflamme was a very captivating singer, and the four other musicians in the group were one of the tighter rhythm sections of the festival. Unfortunately, not everyone was in the audience was as captivated, and many of those in attendance at the Black Bull were clearly more interested in playing pool or socializing over lager than the music.
http://www.theblueseeds.com/
Act: Jennifer Foster
Venue: Rancho Relaxo
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 10 pm
Formerly of The Pursuit of Happiness, Jennifer Foster spent NXNE making typical pop rock, leaning more towards rock. Foster reminded me of The Pretenders, but unfortunately she wasn’t nearly as good. Her vocal performance was off, but her instrumentation was good, with the best moment happening near the end of her set when she pulled out a ukulele. Her talent on the uke is immediately noticeable, and she truly impressed for the first time in the show.
http://www.jenniferfoster.net
Act: Julie Mack
Venue: Holy Joe’s
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9 @ 10pm
After explaining that their bass player didn’t quite make it over the Canadian border for NXNE, Julie Mack and her band made some last minute adjustments to play without him. Overall they fared pretty well, especially when you consider that they probably didn’t have any time to rehearse without their bassist. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that was remarkable about the performance. Julie’s voice carried the set, being very strong with a great range ability, comparable to the soft tones of Jewel all the way to the deep growls of Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes). Although there was some stumbling with starting a song or two in the right key, and there was some awkwardness between Julie’s stage conversation and the general unresponsiveness of the crowd, she still put out a decent performance. However, I can’t help thinking that with the power of her voice, maybe she’d be better off solo.
http://www.juliemack.com/
Act: Bella
Venue: The Drake Underground
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 11pm
*Best Choreography Award*
A four piece out of Vancouver, Bella has taken early 80s New Wave and punk and rewritten it to come out with their own fantastic presentation of electronic-pop that just makes you want to get up and dance with them. Taking the typical band set up, tossing in a synthesizer and drum machine, and then showing off their musical talents by playing musical instruments, Bella had the crowd at the Drake in the palm of their hands. And just when you thought they couldn’t get any better, they all did the robot, in perfect choreography and straight faces. Bella’s debut album “Pretty Mess” was released earlier this year and is making some buzz on the charts. Certainly one of the highlights of the festival, Bella has places to go. Just try to be sure you are there when they arrive.
http://www.bellamusic.org/
Act: Maplewood Lane
Venue: Holy Joe’s
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 12 am
Maplewood Lane’s lead vocalist Rebecca Rowan had a voice which reminded me of Ruth Minnikin’s. Her voice floated through the songs while bass player Nathan Rowan was rockin’ behind the rest of the band. Their songs float between alt.country and pop, and the Vancouver band has been playing together since 1998, having only released their first record in 2003.
http://www.maplewoodlane.com
Act: The Telepathic Butterflies
Venue: Clinton’s
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 12am
A power-pop trio from Winnipeg, The Telepathic Butterflies were high on my list of bands to see for this years NXNE. Unfortunately, something got lost in the live performance that let me down pretty hard. The band played without any great gusto behind their performance, which allowed many in attendance to let their attention wander. The music came off as bland and unexciting, which was a long way from the songs that I had sampled on their website. I would highly recommend checking out those songs, however. Maybe The Telepathic Butterflies are one of those bands that should just stick to the studio.
http://www.telepathicbutterflies.com/
Act: 54-40
Venue: The Drake Hotel
Date & Time: Thursday, June 9, 2005 @ 2:30 am
54-40 are one of Canada’s biggest acts. With hits like “Ocean Pearl”, “I Go Blind” and “She La,” 54-40 recently left their major label, Sony, and parted ways with guitarist Phil Comparelli. Added to the band is former Matthew Good Band member, David Genn. Playing a surprise performance, 54-40 were also scheduled to headline on Sunday’s showcase at Lee’s Palace. Their set was made up of classics like the above mentioned. A terrible audience tainted the performance, but the band played well, and when the audience wasn’t too annoying, they played even better.
http://www.5440.com
Night Two
Act: Valery Gore
Venue: Holy Joe’s
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 8 pm
*Ankle’s Best of Friday Pick*
Watching those fingers fly is always a pleasure, and there is a passion in every note she plays and every word that she sings that has become rather rare today. Valery Gore’s songs are great and her musicianship is amazing. Working with both jazz and pop music in her songs, and an element of classical as well, Valery’s performance was moving and had a hint of epic proportions to it. Though she can still evolve as a songwriter, what she’s got is catchy and complicated at the same time. Playing most of the set with a band, once they left so she could do a couple numbers solo, it was quickly apparent that they weren’t necessary in the first place. Gore’s piano playing and vocals filled the room with sound and truly took the spotlight. Though a few minor fluffs happened, Gore was able to giggle them off which got the audience on her side quickly.
http://www.valerygore.com
Act: The Waking Eyes
Venue: The Reverb
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 1am
*Best Hair Award* - Matt Peters, guitar & vocals
*Lisa’s Best of Friday Pick*
The Waking Eyes have already been making ripples in the Canadian music scene, most recently with a successful single, “On A Train,” and accompanying video. But to see these guys play live was to see why they are going to go places, and fast. The Waking Eyes are simply a hoot on stage. They have a sense of humour that just makes you want to jump up on stage and give them all big hugs! The stage banter gets the crowd involved, and keeps them, and the band members laughing. As a result, you do see a very relaxed performance, but sometimes those are the best performances to catch. During one song, the whole band, without blinking, switched from their rocked out sound into an acoustic round - acoustic guitar, tambourine, hand claps and even a trumpet - then just as you realized how much you were enjoying this, they flipped right back, again, without a blink. Closing the show, The Waking Eyes called on the members of any of the bands still hanging around that had played earlier in the evening, and in one giant orgy, they performed The Beatles “Come Together”. All and all, The Waking Eyes are just your classic, good old rock ‘n’ roll show. It seems to me that with the road they are walking now, they won’t be back for NXNE next year.
http://www.thewakingeyes.com/
Act: Anne Watts & Boister
Venue: Silver Dollar
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 12am
*Best French-Language Led Zeppelin Cover Award*
*Best Dressed Trombonist – Craig Considine*
*Miller and Cari’s Best of Friday Pick*
I don’t think any of us at the Silver Dollar were quite ready for Anne Watts & Boister. At least a decade older than most of the bands we had seen up to that point, the group clearly had the musical experience that a lot of other bands lacked. With a musical lineup that consisted of Anne Watts on vocals and accordion, with support from trombone, upright bass, guitar, and drums, the band delivered a set of really good music that evoked Swordfishtrombones-era Tom Waits and the cinema. Watts’ voice and movements recalled Patti Smith and Chrissie Hynde, even if the musical connection to them stops there. And hey, Roger Ebert is apparently a fan after catching the group at the 2002 Virginia Film Festival. The highlight of their set was a few French-language numbers that included a translation of Led Zeppelin’s “Dancing Days.”
http://www.boister.net/
Act: A Girl Named Sue
Venue: The Bagel
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 9 PM
The NXNE bio for A Girl Named Sue described her as a former metalhead who more recently has identified with the music of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. I’m not sure about that, but her songs were witty and definitely lyric focused. There was nothing too deep or spectacular here, but Sue offered good, fun songs about real life. Her lack of vocal or musical skill didn’t stop the audience from laughing and applauding at some of the more clever couplets in her solo acoustic set. Even during the sad songs, Sue made us chuckle.
Act: The Yoko Casionos
Venue: El Mocambo (main foor)
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 9 pm
Don’t let the great name fool you; The Yoko Casionos are not as good as Yoko Ono. Everything you’ll hear in their show has been done before, they’re cheap imitation of The New Pornographers. While The New Pornographers have catchy tunes, The Yoko Casionos will leave you struggling to remember their songs.
http://www.yokocasionos.com/
Act: Primary Shapes
Venue: Holy Joe’s
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 9pm
*Road Warriors Award: Farthest Distance Travelled*
Travelling all the way from Hong Kong for the NXNE showcase, this duo blew away the crowd that had packed into Holy Joe’s. After solving some technical problems that almost kept the show from going on, Chi-Wai Tang (vocals, keys) and Shing-San Wong (guitar) put on an acoustic version of their usual ambient electro-pop show. They connected well with the audience, and performed with excellent skill. Their songs are moody and have a great sense of lyrical and musical melody. I can only imagine what these two can do when they are “plugged in” for their full show. Definitely a duo to keep an eye on, there is great promise in the future of Primary Shapes.
http://www.primaryshapes.com/
Act: Oh No Not Stereo
Venue: Rancho Relaxo
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 10 pm
Oh no, they’re still playing.
http://www.ohnonotstereo.com
Act: The Coast Guard
Venue: Kathedral
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 10pm
The Coast Guard are a four piece band from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Toronto, with a pretty decent pop-rock sound going for them. This was their first Toronto appearance, and they were pretty enthusiastic about it. The crowd reacted well to the music, and the lead singer had a very strong vocal delivery. Overall the music leaned slightly to the “common” side, but there is definitely Top 40 potential in The Coast Guard.
http://www.coastguardmusic.com/
Act: Laura Peek & The Winning Hearts
Venue: The Bagel
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 11 pm
*Best Band In Uniform Award*
Laura Peek’s songs were good, but her vocals were mediocre at best. What made the performance the most interesting was the band’s clothes. This Halifax pop trio whose bio compares them to Rufus Wainwright and Belle & Sebastian proves that bios are usually wrong. They seemed rather uncomfortable on stage and were faced with a crowd more interested in their cheap beer and chatting.
http://www.justfriends.ca/peek
Act: The Meligrove Band
Venue: The Horseshoe Tavern
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 11pm
The Meligrove Band has been kicking around the Canadian indie scene for years with a dedication to their craft that oozes through in their live show. Having developed a fairly devoted fan base, there was no concern that the Meligrove boys would be playing to an unreceptive, half filled room for NXNE this year. The crowd was ready to embrace them long before they started to play, and to show their appreciation, singer/guitarist Jason Nunes brought the crowd into the band by handing out a crate of tambourines before the show began. Filling their short time on stage with one catchy, rocked out tune after another, the boys gave a very animated performance which ended with random people from the crowd being pulled onto stage to join the band - their very own background dancers. With a new album in the works for later this year, maybe it’s time that The Meligrove Band come out from behind the indie radar and into the spotlight.
http://www.meligroveband.com/
Act: Lingua Franca
Venue: The Silver Dollar
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 11pm
Lingua Franca went from “pretty cool” to “pretty annoying” very quickly. Their Tom Waits and Nick Cave influenced hard rock was pretty good, but a little over the top at times, and the lead singer’s attempt at a deadpan Tom Waits vocal impression was almost comical. His Marc Ribot-styled guitar playing was a little more tasteful. As for their wardrobe… bah! I usually don’t care much about fashion, but at least put in the effort! Rock ‘n’ roll singers aren’t supposed to wear jeans and a white t-shirt unless their name is Bruce Springsteen or Joey Ramone, and your bass player looks like a Microsoft employee. This trio has serious potential, but needs to take itself a little less seriously and focus more on enjoying their exposure.
http://www.thelinguafranca.com/
Act: Astrid Young
Venue: Fox & Fiddle
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 12 am
Although Astrid Young may be a good singer, her songwriting is pretty terrible. If Young’s sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve heard her singing on records by her half brother, Neil Young. Perhaps talent comes from the mother.
http://www.astridyoung.net
Act: The Idol Sons
Venue: The Reverb
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 12am
The Idol Sons will find their crowd, there is no doubt about that. Unfortunately the type of music they play doesn’t require a lot of quality of musicianship. The music is loud, the guitars are mangled so badly together that you can’t make out the notes, the vocals are more of a scream than singing and the songs relied more on repetition than context. The band was overly animated onstage, they made use of every inch that their feet could find, and then some. All of this, in the end, made them a rather fun band to watch, even if it was hard to listen.
http://www.idlesons.com/
Act: Shannon Weir & The Even Strangers
Venue: Holy Joe’s
Date & Time: Friday, June 10, 2005 @ 1 am
The perfect music for ending the night, Shannon Weir & The Even Strangers were playing catchy pop tunes mellow enough that it was appropriate for the time but alive enough that the audience wouldn’t fall asleep. They had a sense of humour and were really having a good time, the audience quickly followed.
http://www.shannonweir.com/
Night Three
Act: Friday Morning’s Regret
Venue: Gladstone Hotel
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 12 am
*Ankle’s Best of Saturday Pick*
Friday Morning’s Regret were definitely apart from everyone else I saw on Saturday night. Their influences are rather obvious, but their brand of country influenced indie-rock is definitely welcome. Their songs and performance were strong and Friday Morning’s Regret have the potential to go far. The packed room was excited and dancing. The atmosphere of Gladstone found the right band to show it off. The band were able to joke with the audience, play good music and insult Dave Matthews, all in a good night of entertainment.
http://www.fridaymorningsregret.com/
Act: Michie Mee
Venue: The Drake Lounge
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 1am
*Lisa’s Best of Saturday Pick*
What is there really to say about Michie Mee that hasn’t already been said a thousand times before? Hailed as the First Lady of Canadian Hip-Hop, Jamaican born, Canadian based hip-hop artist, Mee released her first album in 1991 and has been touring and acting ever since. With the release of The First Cut is the Deepest, it was evident that Mee was back on the hip-hop scene, and her performance at NXNE is evidence to why she is here to stay. Unlike the ignorance that was abundant in the crowd of the Drake Lounge the hour before, Mee commanded your attention, and they gave it. Even passers by on the street were stopping to watch, some even attempting to snap photos through the windows. Accompanied by a group of dancers and a live DJ, Mee delivered a performance of reggae infused hip-hop, with clear vocals, and lyrics that lay on a personal level, instead of the larger than life imagery that is in most mainstream hip-hop today. Mee is the first Canadian female hip-hop artist to ever be signed to a U.S. label, and with performances like this, the world should be seeing more of Michie Mee very soon. I wished she would have stayed on stage much longer than her allotted 45 minutes, and considering that this was the last showcase of the entire festival, and I felt like I was ready to sleep for a week, that’s saying a lot about Michie.
Act: The Brown Hornets
Venue: The Silver Dollar
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 9 PM
*Miller and Cari’s Best of Festival Pick*
Did I mention charisma???
http://www.punkblues.com
Act: Marnie Mains
Venue: Cameron House
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 8 pm
The Vancouver based Marnie Mains will definitely catch your eye with her very red hair. While the band seemed to be playing for their own pleasure, the audience loved the sugary pop Mains and her band were delivering. The songs were simplistic and the band had no problem, but Mains’ voice stood out and she fronted the band well.
http://www.marniemains.com/
Act: Dave Rave & Mark McCarran with guests
Venue: The Drake Underground
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 9pm
Walking into this showcase felt like I had walked out of the festival and into something else all together. All of a sudden the rock music theme that held NXNE together melted away and I was facing a wind quartet, a cellist and an acoustic guitar, and I was in for 40 minutes of light jazz with Dave Rave (formerly of Teenage Head) at the helm, and it was awesome! A very soft, but strong voice carried over the music, which presented a calm, quiet and relaxing feeling, something that was much needed in the craze of the NXNE rush. The crowd was captivated by the music and the performers. Mark McCarron both played acoustic guitar and conducted the set, while guest performer, Lauren Agnelli sang for about half of the set, both solo and with Dave.
http://www.dave-rave.com/
Act: Another Blue Door
Venue: Rancho Relaxo
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 10pm
Another Blue Door were another one of those bands that started out sounding kind of cool, but were so repetitive that listening to them became a painful experience. After seeing a band like The Brown Hornets, it seemed a waste of time to see a group that totally lacked charisma.
http://www.anotherbluedoor.com/
Act: Vitamin D
Venue: Holy Joe’s
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 11 pm
Brooklyn, New York’s Vitamin D seemed to enjoy themselves with the small crowd around Holy Joe’s. Dennis Cronin seems to be the perfect description of a singer/songwriter. Not very good musicians, and a terrible band name, Vitamin D had some good songs, and Cronin broke up the monotony of most of the bands by adding trumpet to the mostly guitar oriented bands. There was nothing special in Vitamin D’s music.
http://www.vitamindmusic.com/
Act: Arctic
Venue: The Art Bar
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 11pm
As I sat at the back of The Art Bar watching this performance, I quickly realized that this was the type of performance that I could just lean back, close my eyes, and float on the music. Arctic is a solo project of Marcus Martin’s, who is native to Yellowknife, but currently hailing from Vancouver, B.C.. His songs have an ambient folk rock feel to them and are very enticing musically, with the lyrics tending to invoke some beautiful imagery. His performance at NXNE had a very smooth flow, with the exception of the odd interruption from the karaoke bar next door, which Marcus took with a grin and worked into his stage banter, deciding to use them as his back up band. The Art Bar has to be the smallest venue in the history of music concerts, but the reaction that Marcus got from the crowd, both with his humorous stage banter and in appreciation of the music, you would think you were in a venue at least four times the size.
http://www.projectarctic.com/
Act: Skitz
Venue: The Drake Lounge
Date & Time: Saturday, June 11, 2005 @ 12am
Walking into this performance was like walking into a dark room, I had no idea what to expect. This showcase had been relocated at the last minute, and as a result, the line up had also been shaken up a bit. However, I have to say that I was greatly impressed by Skitz, not only in performance, but also in personality and the quality of his songs. Unfortunately this was lost on most of the people in attendance because of the relocation. The Drake Lounge is not designed as a concert venue of any kind, and most people there that night were there just to hang out in the bar like any other night. Given that this is how the crowd was made up, for the most part, for Skitz’s performance, he handled himself very well. He made a number of attempts to get the crowd into the performance but only a handful of people were responsive, outside of the mostly polite applause that he received between songs. Skitz has been on the Canadian Hip-Hop scene for a few years now, and there is great potential in him, which was trying to shine that Saturday night. It wasn’t his fault that no one was paying attention.
http://www.skitz.ca/
The little flags you see on our site are links to Amazon. We hope you will consider purchasing items through these links, as they help with the maintenance of the site.
Or, click below:
Visitors from the US:
Visitors from Canada:
