CJLO @ NXNE: Day 4

Friends, I've discovered the most annoying sound in the world. No, it's not the dying sounds of a man who's just been speared to death, nor is it the sound of thousands of people suffocating. Earlier today, I discovered the most annoying sound... It is the sound of hundreds of screeching pre-pubescent girls whose siren wails carry for miles and miles, it is the sound of the hordes of young children opening their maws and uttering the words to the latest pop hits while stand-in for their idols take the MuchMusic Video Awards stage for an afternoon run-through.

 

For a brief moment CJLO delegates to NXNE had become celebrity watchers. It was hard not to be, when you wander past that barrier on Queen and John and bear witness to the hordes of swarming children, hands full of water bottles and digital cameras, hoping to catch a glimpse of something... Anything. Hell, even c-list comedian Trevor Boris.

 

Ironically enough, I had just come out of a panel moderated by Nick from the band Brutal Knights, nestled in-between Damian Abraham of Fucked Up and Henry Owings of Chunklet magazine. They spent the majority of their panel shit-talking the useless nature of the majority of the panels held by NXNE and plugged the fact that having a great product will get you great results and that networking is pretty much the best thing you can ever do. 360 deals? Forget it. Publishing deals early on in your career? Go take a walk. The fact that the trio managed to cut through all of the bullshit with such a sense of humour and degree of first-hand knowledge that it made the panel one of the best experiences here at NXNE.

 

Unlike the vapid pop stars that I witnessed, however, I managed to instead catch an act of real substance, a band whose show marked me quite deeply. And no, I'm not talking about Surfer Blood (aka Awesome Vampire Weekend), even though their 35-minute set wasn't bad, it was merely... efficient and devoid of heart. They seemed like a band going through the motions, bitching about being on the road for "months". Smiles were sometimes exchanged but they seemed tired. Their prior set opening for the Stooges this afternoon at Dundas and Younge was marred by technical difficulties and this may have led to their somewhat lukewarm disposition. Whatever the case, perhaps a day or two off will do them well.

 

I'm not going to ramble on about the other acts I've seen because they bare no noting, and I feel bad judging other bands by the one song I managed to catch, so instead I'm going to concentrate the rest of this one on an act that was regarded by most at the Wrongbar to be what most regard as a Happening. Les Savy Fav's hour-long set was about as frenetic and enjoyable as . Despite my extreme tiredness and the hour (the band hit the stage sometime around 1:15), they still managed to continually wow me for an entire hour.

 

Highlights, in the shortest order, include the following incidents:

- Singer Tim Harrington wearing a mask

- Harrington taking his tie-dye shirt off and rubbing his stomach and nipples

- Harrington asking for a glass of ice cubes, dumping them slowly over his face during "Sweat Descends" and then spending the next 2 minutes feeding the cubes from his mouth to gracious fans in the first few rows

- Harrington wandering around the venue and standing on various solid objects

- Harrington producing a large roll of toilet paper, and then wrapping himself up in it a few times before tossing it back and forth with fans, weaving a pretty web of unused TP

- Harrington grabbing a large mirror off of the venue wall and carrying it onstage, where he makes a fan hold it while singing into it gleefully for a moment

- Harrington going up to a club patron and unbuttoning the dude's shirt, and then licks his nipple repeatedly

- Harrington ruling my world.

 

This wasn't for show, this wasn't a gimmick. This was a man who obviously wanted his brand of agit-pop to get the masses stirring, and by the end of the sweatiest set I've sat through at NXNE this year, most of the room was bouncing to some capacity. And I know that the band is known for Harrington's ability to get the crowd started, but it was a real team effort to make this a show worth noting. Not being sure of what Harrington's next move would be only added to the exciting atmosphere, and the highly hummable/dancable tunes had everyone raising their PBR big cans in the air like it was 1999, Prince-steez. The quintet turned in a set that was high-energy and continually entertaining, beyond Harrington's antics. Musically, the dancey basslines and steady drumwork propelled the place, the backbone of an effective live show that was further enhanced by the memorable twin guitar work.

 

As the party winded down at 2:30 and surprise guest Best Coast took the stage to a small yet loyal fanbase. Realizing I'd had enough, I quickly peeled the fuck out of there for fear of being trapped in swarms of sweaty and dirty hipsters. Rumours of that Stooges secretshow at the venue never materialized, unfortunately, even though we stuck around for as long as we could before the music of Best Coast drained the blood from my face from sheer boredom.

 

Anyways, that's that. If you've read all four days, thanks. If not, then eh. I don't blame you.

 

PS. Our own Abby partied with Degrassi: The Next Generation stars at a super super secret party. She is officially the coolest member of CJLO.

PPS. Turns out that the surprise guest at the Wrongbar was Best Coast. Yeah, I hear that sad slide whistle sound effect too. Everyone who kept perpetuating those secret Stooges shows made us all very, very sad.

PPPS. We have it on great authority that a jet-setting, globe-spanning NXNE band is hooked on the white pony. We leave it up to you to figure that one out, but we have eyes everywhere.

PPPPS. Justin Bieber secret show on the Mocambo rooftop was all us, baby... Baby... Baby ooooh....