As always, lots of bands are playing NXNE for the first time. Most of the international headliners are new to the fest but not necessarily new to Toronto. If you’ve never seen Spiritualized, Juicy J, Swans, tUnE-yArDs, St. Vincent, Danny Brown or Spoon, NXNE is a great chance to catch them in a single week for the price of a wristband. Many of the biggest names play for free at Yonge-Dundas Square, so even if you’re completely broke you can still find out what all the hype is about.
But the point is really to take some chances on newer bands, many of which might not hit town otherwise. Glasgow’s Golden Teacher have great buzz building behind their dubbed-out experimental disco grooves, and their shows at Yonge-Dundas Square Thursday (June 19) and Lee’s Palace Friday (June 20) will be our first chances to see them.
And some NXNE debuts give you a second chance to see an emerging band you slept on the first time they came through town. Syracuse noise rockers Perfect Pussy only played for 15 minutes at the Silver Dollar back in January but made a big enough impression that their show at the Horseshoe (Friday, June 20) is sure to be packed.
