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Music

Farewell to the best-ever NXNE

Without a hint of associative bias or fear of reprimand from superiors I can honestly say, at least from my viewpoint, that this year’s North by Northeast Festival and Conference was a resounding success and possibly best in its existence.

There was a more than usual palpable excitement on the streets, in the club and public spaces during the five nights and even the local curmudgeons, who routinely rag on the fest, actually had nice things to say this year.

Does this mean NXNE is finally coming out of the shadow of its more famous big brother, South By Southwest? Not quite. But it made giant leaps forward this year, assuming that is a goal NXNE pursues.

One aspect SXSW has going for it that NXNE can’t replicate is the element of geographic centrality. Austin’s bar scene is for the most part clustered within walking distance, so getting from one show to the next can be done with relative ease. This was one of the main complaints overheard at this year’s NXNE, getting from venue to venue could be a real chore, not to mention noticeably expensive if taxis are employed.

Considering NXNE’s venue circumference goes prohibitively wide, perhaps the fest could assist human traffic with some kind of shuttle, a minivan that loops through the venues, picking up and dropping of festival goers. Not only would this help us get around but it would also be a great place for word of mouth interaction (ie. were are you going, who did you see, where are you coming from, and so on).

Weather wreaked havoc on Saturday’s daytime festivities but that shouldn’t shy organizers away from bringing NXNE more into the daylight. All these bands, industry swingers and fest goers need somewhere to shake off the damage from Thursday and Friday night, so why not more parties under the sun?

The Six Shooter BBQ is well-mannered fun and Joao Carvalho’s annual studio open house was packed, but there’s room for a lot more. And why not the sponsored kind SXSW has so many of, where the corporate-sponsored booze runs free?

This is why the Vice party on Wednesday night had so much buzz and made a mockery of the NXNE gala at the Berkeley. Alternative venue (Amsterdam Brewery), sponsorship suds (Amsterdam, obviously) and hotly-tipped bands – first glimpse at Thee Almighty Defenders, a collab group between the Black Lips and King Khan – and you’ve got people talking.

And speaking of alternative venues, this could be a growth area if the fest wanted to match up with snobby, indie-cred cousin Pop Montreal. All the clubs and venues with extended hours really gave the night crawlers a playground to push the limits, but not everybody wants to stay in clubs the entire night. There could be at least one unique location – warehouse, derelict factory, etc. – party each night, spread by word of mouth and making those who attend feel like they made it into a special club.

That being said, we really have to tip our hats to organizers for what they did to Dundas Square. It went from a dead zone last year to one of the hottest gathering spots thanks to some smart, adventurous programming. Getting Torontonians to actually enjoy hanging out in Dundas Sqaure should earn NXNE some kind of civic award. Can’t wait to see what they come up with next year. [rssbreak]

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