Rating: NNNNN
8 pm
GRACE EMILYS at Neutral Rating: NN
Scottish indie rockers Grace Emilys played to a small crowd of what appeared to be mainly music industry types, which isn’t a great recipe for a fun live experience. Some decent hooks here and there, but they sound like they’re trying too hard to be interesting, packing their songs with too many unnecessary detours. BB
THE TIGER AND ME at Rancho Relaxo Rating: NNNN
Melbourne’s the Tiger and Me were in danger of having their soft folk-pop drowned out by chatter, but thankfully they were arresting enough to keep the attention of most in the room. Elements of country rub up against a cabaret feel and some Gypsyish tendencies. Accessible but esoteric enough to still stand out. BB
9 pm
CARINA ROUND at the Savannah Room Rating: N
Arriving midway through Carina Round’s first song at the Savannah Room, I must’ve missed her explanation of why she decided to wear a matronly au pair’s getup with what looked like a fried egg as a hairpiece. If the costume concept was to help shake the impression that she’s just a less refined PJ Harvey knock-off, it wasn’t working. Her screeching delivery of Bob Dylan’s In My Time Of Dyin’ was painfully overwrought, but as her focus turned to her own boring pop ballads, it became clear that re-interpreting third-hand revisions of pre-war blues classics is perhaps what she does best when accompanying herself on a cheap acoustic guitar. TP
COURTNEY WING at Clinton’s Rating: NNNN
Courtney Wing’s delicate roots-pop has taken a bit of a left turn since his 2005 debut album – the twang is now slathered with textures from a choir of opera singers, jazzy violin and upright bass and atmospheric cosmic touches from keyboards. If this is where he’s heading, things look very bright for his upcoming fall release. BB
HERO at at Sound Academy Rating: NNNN
It was so unfortunate that only 50 or so people were in the cavernous venue, since Hero brought such an impressive collective of artists. The two main MCs, Darp and EDot, were fuelled up and firing on all cylinders, as were their three sexy backup singers, their sparky hypeman, their DJ and their guest MC, local legend Marvel. Hero are exactly who people who complain about hip-hop need to listen to. AS
10 pm
DAVE ARCARI at the Dakota Rating: NNN
A Scottish punk shouting out solo pre-war blues – Dave Arcari is definitely not in any danger of being confused with anyone else any time soon. His whisky-damaged growl and frantic guitar slashing were definitely captivating, albeit somewhat one-dimensional. BB
GRAND ANALOG at the Reverb Rating: NNN
The cats in ’Peg-via-Toronto groove duo Grand Analog are elusive when it comes to pinning a genre on them. The slow-burning echoes and keyboard definitely have a dub vibe, but along come hip-hop vocals and the occasional 4/4 rock beat, all of which had a nicely packed Reverb dancing to whatever genre mash the band threw its way. JK
11 pm
CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN at the Bovine Rating: NNNN
These workmanlike locals play 90s rock better than 90 per cent of bands from the 90s. While a busted kick drum skin meant they had to shorten their set (skipping my favourite tune, Singles Only), elements of Archers of Loaf, Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement came together nicely, and the overflowing crowd at the Bovine ate it up. JB
TITA LIMA at the Rex Hotel Rating: N
The boisterous brew-hoisting Saturday-night crowd at the Rex made the Queen West venue an incongruous setting for a quietly introspective set of samba soul from promising Brazilian singer/songwriter Tita Lima. What made matters worse for the soft-voiced Lima is that her touring band couldn’t make the gig, so she had to make do with a light-touch guitarist and an assertive percussionist determined to be heard above the din. Even though the changeover from Valery Gore’s piano trio set took 30 minutes, they apparently couldn’t find five minutes for a sound check after plugging in one guitar. Consequently, everyone in the joint heard a load of uninspired drum clanking and not much else until Lima started blowing on a melodica. It’s what you’d call a complete cock-up. TP
FOXFIRE at the Reverb Rating: NNN
You can tell FoxFire, who usually play on the indie rock circuit, felt a little out of their comfort zone following Grand Analog. It’s not a stretch that both could share an audience, but FoxFire’s left-field dance rock drew some blank stares. Plus, the fact that co-vocalist Neil Rankin is more a performer than an actual singer seemed amplified after the stage presence of GA’s Odario Williams. JK
THE GUEST BEDROOM at Sneaky Dee’s Rating: NNN
The fuck-you-Toronto screaming of Sandi Falconer may be an acquired taste, but these chorus-shunning math rockers’ penchant for Baltic saxophone and weird time digressions struck a chord. LD
Midnight
THE LUYAS at the Silver Dollar Rating: NNNN
Jessie Stein (SS Cardiacs, Miracle Fortress) has to have one of the best unique voices in Canadian indie rock. Partnered here with Pietro Amato (ex-Arcade Fire, Torngat) on French horn and keys and Stefan Schneider (Bell Orchestre) on drums, the three delivered a heavy dose of mind-blowing quirk. JB
THE HIGH DIALS at the El Mocambo Rating: NNN
Despite clashing time slots with NXNE talk-of-the-town Monotonix, the High Dials filled the El Mo with plenty of receptive listeners and a heady brew of psychedelic pastiche that rarely soared but sizzled nicely. LD
12:30 am
PAT MAHONEY at Wrongbar Rating: NNNN
When Andy Butler of Hercules and Love Affair couldn’t make his 12:30 curtain call on the decks, Wrongbar switched the lineup and put Pat Mahoney on first, which worked in Mahoney’s favour. The peak crowd lit up on the dance floor to his obscure selection of electro-boogie records. The DFA cohort is a full-force New York crate digger who spins stuff you can’t get on the Internet. A must-see for anyone tired of laptop-hovering DJ Same old, Same old. JK
1 am
WE ARE WOLVES at the El Mocambo Rating: NNNN
Despite some technical difficulties, Montreal’s We Are Wolves busted out their explosive mix of garage rock and electro beats to a capacity crowd at the El Mo. While I’m still not convinced they were as crazy loud as they could have been, singer Alexander Ortiz screamed as if his life depended on it, putting songs like Fight And Kiss and Magique well over the top. JB
REDD KROSS at Lee’s Palace Rating: NNNNN
Unlikely as it may seem, glam-punk cult faves Redd Kross – celebrating their 30th anniversary – turned out to be one of the biggest buzzes of NXNE 2008. That the group hasn’t put out an album in 11 years didn’t make any difference to the people packing Lee’s Palace who waited patiently until 1:20 am when Steve McDonald finally appeared, picked up his Rickenbacker bass and got down to hair-shaking business while brother Jeff rocked a sweet cherry-red Guild Polara. The reconstituted band (with guitarist Robert Hecker and drummer Roy McDonald) proceeded to gleefully knock out a super-tight retrospective touching on numerous fan faves and showing how even some overlooked tunes like Crazy World from 93’s Phaseshifter could be showstoppers. TP
TIGERRR BEAT at Sneaky Dee’s Rating: NNN
Following the impossible-to-follow mayhem of Israeli nutters Monotonix, the Winnipeg trio treated a dwindling mob to a drum-thrashing ear blast of screeching electro theatrics. The crowd’s crazed dancing was compulsively watchable, and these cats’ subtler moments warrant further listens. LD
BONJAY at the Drake Rating: NNNN
The APE showcase at the Drake was at capacity early and stayed that way all night. Styrofoam Ones and Kid Cudi both turned in great sets, but it was Bonjay’s dancehall-house-electro-hip-hop that we were still thinking about the next day. They’re getting better with each show, and they were already awesome to begin with. BB
PLATINUM PIED PIPERS at the Sound Academy Rating: NNN
Platinum Pied Pipers were troopers, enduring a severe case of showcase malfunction (with reasons too numerous to mention). Points for matching outfits – the futuristic 60s funky fashion (oversized Elvis collars and clean white stretch pants) was stellar. They were professional, ignoring the lack of bodies in the venue. Emerging just after 1 am and launching into the incisive, well-rounded jazzy soul of their self-titled LP, plus some solo stuff from their fiery-mohawked, sexy new singer, PPP planted a seed for future Toronto fun. AS
