We survived seven days of sunburns, hangovers, ringing ears and amazing music, and now it’s time to review what we’ll be taking away from this year’s North By Northeast festival.
Trends
It seemed like there were a billion new bands mixing elements of shoegaze, synth-pop and garage rock into a woozy sound. On the one hand, that’s a sign of what’s hip at the moment, but it also highlights how indie-focused the fest is. Why not fill all those empty post-2 am time slots with great DJs or more hip-hop, metal and jazz?
Triumphs
• Having two beer gardens instead of one at Yonge-Dundas Square made a world of difference for drinkers in terms of sightlines and lineups. Now we just need more licensed outdoor stages in general.
• The door situation at club gigs was the smoothest it’s ever been, even at the higher-profile events.
• The increase in official and unofficial day parties was great for the fest, and NXNE doesn’t appear to be cracking down too hard on the latter.
• It seemed like the budget went into new bands on the verge of breaking rather than reformed 90s nostalgia acts. That’s exactly where a fest like this should put its money.
Tribulations
• Far too much space in Yonge-Dundas Square is taken up by sponsorship booths, leaving half the crowd on busy nights unable to see the Jumbotron, let alone the stage. Since the fest closes down the street anyway, either put the tents on Yonge or find a bigger outdoor venue.
• NXNE overlaps with Luminato, Taste Of Little Italy and the MMVAs, and the resulting chaos has a negative impact on all of them. It’s about time for at least one to change weekends.
