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Music

The Pack A.D.

THE PACK A.D. at the Horseshoe (370 Queen West), Friday (June 17), 1 am. Free with NXNE wristband/pass or $15. nxne.com. See listing.


You can be sure of few things in life, but if there’s a street-level music festival in Toronto you can guarantee the Pack A.D. will be there.

Ever since their name first appeared on a bill for NXNE 2009, the Vancouver garage-rock duo haven’t missed a local festival. Then again they’re on tour so often, that’s practically inevitable.

“We’re driven by an inability to socialize or make meaningful contact with humans and other animals,” jokes drummer/songwriter Maya Miller, “and an overwhelming need to sleep in strange places, acquire alcohol poisoning and wear reversed underwear.”

They’ve already taken multiple jaunts across North America and Europe, which is probably what makes them such a tight live band.

“Maybe,” says Miller. “It’s certainly not because we practice a lot… because we don’t.”

You’d never know it from seeing them in action. Between Becky Black’s face-melting guitar chops and raw Joplinesque wail and Miller’s propulsive drumming, the two come off as a well-oiled machine.

They’ll debut three new songs at NXNE, which they’re hoping will help them shred their frustratingly persistent “all-female White Stripes” tag.

“The new album is louder and punkier than the last, which was getting louder and punkier even then,” says Miller. “There are no blues beats, but we haven’t been alien-swapped yet so it still sounds like us.”

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