NORTH BY NORTHEAST 08' PART DIO

June 30, 2008, 04:18 PM

Views: 1477   Comments: 0

NORTH BY NORTHEAST 2008 PART DIO (TWO)


By Fridae Mattas




Friday the 13th continues so trippy but hey nothing weird except the weather. Time to see ‘Oh No Forest Fires’ I avoided the street closures as I headed towards the Kathedral to check out the band. As soon as they hit the stage they had some energy the music is mediocre not as original as the name of the band. The vocals need work for both dudes singing, the projection is nonexistent they are drowned out by the instruments. The one thing they did right was entertain; the chemistry was at hand they do have stage presence.











After The set it was time to check ‘The Arkells’ and ‘Casey Baker & the Buffalo Sinners’ at The EL Mocambo (THE ELMO). The bands were on at the same time so I had to check a few tunes of each band. As I was headed over to the ELMO waiting to get on the street car there was a rumble in the sky, crazy shots of lighting that almost hit the CN Tower and then came the rain! It was a down pour, in seconds the streets of Toronto were almost to flooding point and I was drenched wearing flops, no umbrella and the streetcar took forever it went from a nice calm night to a super storm. Eventually I arrived at the ELMO soaked from head to toe, I checked the Arkells first, they were playing the Elmo downstairs, I saw them last year at the Rivoli they were under a different name ‘Charlemagne’. It was a good thing they changed the name of the band, it is so much easier to say and remember ‘The Arkells’ rather than their old moniker. The sound is the same they performed all the same material well the songs that I caught were two of the tunes I heard before. They rocked out nonetheless keeping that charisma a float another band worth checking out, they will be hitting the stage at Edgefest08’ along with “USS” and “Hostage Life”.











Elmo upstairs I went to see “Casey Baker and the Buffalo Sinners” really should have stayed downstairs to watch The Arkells finish off their set because these dudes were entertaining but the music did not float my boat, heard that, been done where is the inventiveness? I bounced out of there hopped onto the streetcar and off to the Hard Rock to check out “Basia Lyjak”.




Very intrigued to hear if she would start a fire or douse the flames, There was a crowd as every venue had one, I noticed there was a special guest guitarist in the band Andrew Lauzon of ‘Bombay Doors’. Extremely sad to say that ‘Bombay Doors’ are no more, they recently broke up, so it was good to see Andrew rocking out with Basia Lyjak. Old school rock and roll is how I would describe the sound, love her voice it suites the songs she sings, there is an edge with grit in her raspy tone. Her forte is the up tempo and mid tempos because the ballad she sang was really weak vocally, it was shaky and sounded very airy not enough diaphragm too much throat. There was no control which surprised me, the difference in her voice after she belted those harder tunes from good to ass. I guess ballads are not her thang or her chords just can’t handle all the singing. She has the presence, the charisma and character to keep an audience into the music but can her pipes handle all that rock. The band was vigorous, lively and played their instruments remarkably. After a few tunes I bounced was about to head over to the Elmo to check out ‘Bedouin Soundclash’ but it started to rain and I was just starting to dry off, no way was I going to be caught in the storm again! Tomorrow is a new day with more bands, it’s a never ending supply so many to choose from but which ones won’t suck.





The sun was shining so I decided to hit up the Indie Music Market I went the day before but it was dead. A completely different story Saturday June Fourteenth, there were many people enjoying the music, meeting the bands and watching the performers. There was plenty of time to kill between acts so I wandered up and down Yonge Street I knew I would find some interesting things and I had my camera this time. A dude in a corner by the David Bitton Buffalo store, singing away with his acoustic not bad, crossed the street and went back up the other way where all the action was. There were these two dudes drumming together, jamming on the side walk by the Eaton Centre at Dundas and Yonge (The mall sits between three main streets Queen st., Yonge St., and Dundas st.) they were doing tricks and everything it was fabulous not a beat skipped.



Another character I came across was a mime dude in camouflage from head to toe, face painted and all. He was doing his thang to some great tunes dancing like a robot soldier. There was a bunch more to check out but the performances across the street were to begin. The wonderful people of NXNE introduced some cool new venues this year, almost every single park in Toronto had performances and they also set up a stage for the first time at Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Terminals 1 and 3 arrivals pre security area. I almost went but was busy, the performances at the airport were prior to the actual festival.



Back at Dundas Square Kreesha Turner was about to hit the stage, it had rained last night and the equipment in the outdoor venue got wet and was having troubles. She started singing, she did alright her nerves were controlling her early; eventually as many do she relaxed. There were moments where the mic cut out and she made these ‘Oh no’ looks on her face, the point is to make it seem as if nothing went wrong, the show must go on! Hey at least she didn’t blame the band or her backup singers, who at times looked bored (one of them did any way). Her voice is good she has a song that gets crazy airplay but the tune to me is so annoying it’s called “Bounce With Me” typical pop. Turner's performance was not stellar but above average.










Now it was time to see ‘Dead Etiquette’ at The Funhaus, too bad for them it didn’t happen, the security chick would not let me in with my brand new bottle of water, for one band. I fully was not going to chuck a brand new bottle of water that I fully planned on drinking. There are so many other venues with bands that really don’t care about my water. So I hit up The Elmo to check out ‘The Paper Lions’ they were surprisingly good the music doesn’t float my boat but they brought it to the stage. They seemed as though they were enjoying themselves jammin’ on stage at The Elmo, I would too if I was from Prince Edward Island as they are.










The Paper Lions had a good set great showmanship but now it was time to go check ‘Infighter’ at ‘The Kathedral’ arrived just in time for the band. The music was catchy, I loved it when I looked over and I saw the band had a female drummer who was also backup vox, that was splendid and she killed it, keeping that beat flowing smoothly. Guitars were colossal, the severely catchy riffs on a few tunes this band has undeniable chemistry. Closest sound comparison is a better version of ‘The Killers’ the vocals are not too bad, he needs to project more and make the sound steadier, so many singers do not use the diaphragm (I feel like a broken record), why I don’t know it makes your voice sound so much fuller, giving it the depth that you need to carry a band. That is of course if you are a truly talented vocalist and not just faking it. The music was chill not amazing but with some tweaking they could be much better. Slightly impressed by this band I was praying the next band would be better or at least at the same level.









FRED is the name of the band that came on next; on the NXNE schedule it said the band was ‘Menwhopause’ from New Delhi India. Turns out FRED are from Cork Ireland, the first tune the guitar reminded me a bit of another song. When he started singing the melody switched up as the other instruments chimed in changing it up melodically but still had that familiarity to it. I was excited, another band with a female this time on the keys, she worked that keyboard. They were a little boring during the instrumental breaks, do something, they were just standing there vibing it out, attention guitars don’t just sway back and forth, rock out men! Rock out! The music was tolerable not too nappy, drums, keys and vocals were the liveliest. Thoroughly disappointed with the guitars, there was no allure just playing the instruments without emotion, probably the most bored guitarists I have seen, looked as if they were not loving the axe. Not too bad, I can hear the music in a commercial the vocals were nice not brilliant but good enough not to make me want to pull out my hair.





Half way through the set I ran off to the Bovine Sex Club next, I wanted to see who was playing if they were worth my time and hopefully would not harm my ears. The Bovine is literally a box, the stage set up is in a corner, so it was challenging to get good shots but I managed. A trio from London called “Koogaphone” two ladies and a larrie on drums were on the stage. Music was good I was feeling it; lead vocals by Julie Gravell were decent the tone is nice and she has a nice raspy quality with a little Janis J flare. Both ladies including Bassist Rachel Carter need to work on their enunciation, some of the verses were mumbled, could not make out the words. Either nerves or lack of diaphragm use, I do think it was the nerves because as they got into the set they put more emotion into the performance the tension was released from the vocals and the words were fluid. Easy to spot the difference, as a performer myself I know how nervous one can get. My favorite is huge crowds, all the energy they give, such an immediate adrenaline boost, in return you then give them the best show ever. Smaller crowds make me nervous because of the fact I can see everyone staring at me, it trips me out and I start shaking.



The worst experience was auditioning for a Major label when I was sixteen, ten dudes in a row behind a table all staring at me, there was one female but she was massaging one of the dudes shoulders also staring. Shaking like leaf during the intro then four bars into the track I pulled it together and killed it. Since then I have learned how to control the shakes, I just imagine thousands of people in the crowd rather than ten. Would much rather perform for a crowd of drunken music lovers at the Bovine, than a room full of record execs anytime. It takes time as an artist to discover what works for you in these moments, everyone has their own remedy. All that matters is that you do get a grip trying not to let your nerves get the best of you, they do show on your face it’s extremely noticeable you cannot hide them but a good performer can. ‘Koogaphone’ did it up, although at times the Bassist seemed overwhelmed by the instrument either way they excited the crowd giving them what they wanted.





Funhaus again and this time they did not harass me about my one litre bottle of water, I went right in without a jibber. On stage was ‘The Gods Of Now’ from Montreal they were great, I have to say finally a metal band that delivers bringing a new school flavor to an old school metal sound, so loving it. As I was recording a tune the reverb of all the guitars and screamage almost broke my camera the vibrations were running through my body, too much rock, my camera couldn’t handle it. These dudes were ridiculously good, the guitars were phenomenal, the riffs were wild, it has been a very long time since I heard an actual Metal band that play what they claim. A little egotistical lyrically but they gave their heart and soul to the crowd; they loved playing, extremely visible as they ripped the stage. The only thing that I was not feeling was the lead dude vocals, in some tracks he sounded too whiney but he tore it up with the harder yelling and growls. It was an unforgettable set the band’s sound I love.









I had to fix my camera before the next band, I wanted to get at least one tune because they are an all female band called ‘Scarlet Sins’, as you can tell I love it when women throw it down not a hater always a congradulator. These ladies put on an unbelievable set, vocals were impressive although lead vox should put more power in the delivery during the verses, when they drop to the chorus Sylvya sounds so much better, vocals should be consistent all the way through not just during the forte’s. The crowd was going crazy as guitarists Cris and Tanya’s immaculate skills mesmerized the audience, Elie was keeping that beat tight mashing up those drums the way they should be. Will definitely go see Scarlet Sins again I love what they are bringing check them out if you can.











Curious always, so naturally I wanted to see who else was rocking the block, As I migrated outside there were these dudes across the street jammin on a pickup truck causing a commotion, I stuck around to hear the band and to see how long before the popo’s shut it down! They made it through almost a whole tune and it was pretty good too from what I could hear amidst the more than usual traffic on Queen Street. The popo’s then shut it down as always ruining all the fun. No experience like North By Northeast the newest bands, hottest music based films and of course the knowledge filled conferences. A trip to Toronto just for NXNE is worth your time, music music and more music I love it, you should too! As I wandered to the nearest subway station to call it a night hoping to beat the rain as it started dropping on my head, I noticed Much Music shut down the streets already no wonder there was traffic close to Bathurst detours! I passed the Much building and there was a crowd in the parking lot, a bunch of larries on stage rehearsing for the next day’s awards. Walking by it was the shoddiest music on the planet, honestly they were so bad! It was none other than ‘The Old Geezers On The Block’ trying to resurrect their careers by invading my city, go home! They should have stayed napping, if I sang like they did for the first time in fifteen years I would pull a Machiavelli faking my own death just to stay in hiding, they were just as ass during sound check as they were when they performed in front of Canada live.


www.nxne.com

www.myspace.com/ohnoforestfires
www.myspcae.com/arkellsmusic
www.myspace.com/caseybakermusic
MySpace.com - BASIA LYJAK - Toronto, CA - Rock / Alternative / Pop - www.myspace.com/basialyjak
www.myspace.com/kreeshaturner
www.myspace.com/paperlionsmusic
www.myspace.com/infighter
www.myspace.com/fredtheband
www.myspace.com/koogaphone
www.myspace.com/thegodsofnow
www.myspace.com/scarletsins


VIDEOS – www.youtube.com/fridaetv

©FRIDAE2008™

#1 | Subscribe | Send to Friend | Print | Discipline | Report