Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Venue # 1: Yonge Dundas Square

This one was a no-brainer. The first half of the Yonge Dundas Square line-up is a real stunner, Cults (meh but tons of buzz), locals DD/MM/YYYY, DEVO (YES!.. DEVO!) Dirty Beaches, Gentleman Husbands are all GREAT and ….. it’s a FREE gig!

Venue # 2: The Great Hall

Look forward to Chad VanGaalen playing tracks off his latest release Diaper Island. The album is cohesive and full of delicate folk and upbeat moments. The Calgarian hasn’t forgot the lost art of lyricism either. Stay for Jennifer Castle.We haven’t heard too much from her yet, but she excites the hell out of us and we can’t wait to hear more.

Venue # 2:  Lee’s Palace

Twin Shadow is from Brooklyn, New York. If you haven’t heard of George Lewis Jr. already, think hazy-synth melodies and chill vocals. He has been on a festival whirl-wind this year playing Coachella, Bonnaroo and a ton of others events. Twin Shadow has also the opening act for Florence + The Machine on their latest tour.

Unique Events on Saturday:
Up for something adventurous? What about Ty Segall, Young Governor, Uncle Bad Touch and Jesuslesfilles ON A BOAT! Yep! Check out the Bruise Cruise presented by M for Montreal & Brooklyn Vegan. The Boat is leaving from 207 Queens Quay West, boarding at 1:30PM and it’s flippin’ free!

At 3PM there is a Red Bull Rooftop Party with DJ Valeo and DJ M-Rock, it’s also free! Email cora@popmontreal.com to RSVP!

Sunday, June 19th, 2011.

Sunday is a pretty quiet day with only a handful of shows. Tired? Hungover? We don’t care! GET YER PUS*Y A*S UP and go to the Launch Party for Static Zine at Sky Blue Sandwiches and Christie Pits.

Support local ‘zines! Let’s face it, everything in print is dying-out. Static Zine combines new-age social media w/ DIY cut-and-paste, launching only a week or two before NXNE. The event starts at Sky Blue Sandwiches at 2PM with a march to Christie Pits park with a great line-up, who the hell would wanna miss a rock ‘n’ roll picnic with Bravestation (in our top 5 fav. bands playing NXNE) and our very own TIMA winners, The Ruby Spirit? Notttt us!

Hungover yet? Hopefully not because you have 3 more days of awesome! Once again, our theme for this year’s NXNE is hear something you’ve never heard before! Here’s our list for Friday, June 17th:

Venue Pick #1: Wrongbar

There are a lot of great bands playing tonight, but we think the Wrongbar line-up is a stunner. If you like lo-fi and surfy art rock, you’ll be in your element. Trust us! The gig opens with the amazing Julianna Barwick, a solo songstress from Brooklyn, New York. Julianna integrates herself with technology and creates beautiful noise.

Odonis Odonis from Toronto are a stand-out, yet fit right in. “Mr. Smith” is an extraordinary distorted train wreck you can’t stop listening to. Seriously, we’ve played it on repeat 15 times.

PUJOL is catchy, noisy rock ‘n’ roll from Nashville, Tennessee. He’ll make you dance like Nashville never should.

Ty Segall looks like he’s cleaning up NXNE, with a ton of gigs. WHY? Surf rock ‘n’ roll from San Francisco, California with dynamic, well-written songs. It’s wonderful stuff, AND he’s man enough to co-write a song with his mama, awww.

Venue # 2: Yonge Dundas Square / Phoenix Concert Theater (Ok! We Cheated!)

If you don’t have surf-fever to the alarming degree that we do, check out Diamond Rings John O’Regan lead vocalist of ‘Urbervilles’ (now known as MATTERS) latest outfit. Sexxyy, androgynous pop with connects from Fucked Up to Robyn. See ‘em at Yonge and Dundas Square – why not? If you miss the gig, catch Diamond Rings again on Saturday at Wrongbar, midnight!

then run over to…. The Phoenix Concert Theater for some sweet punk rock!

Anti-Flag, Bouncing Souls, Junior Battles and The Flatliners, enough of a line-up to make your 14 year-old fuck-the-establishment-self swoon.

Honorable Mentions: Lee’s Palace (Dum Dum Girls),  Rivoli, Sneaky Dees

Look out for a ton of TIMA winners playing tonight: Romney Getty, Emma-Lee, Jadea Kelly, MAGNOLIUS, Dave Borins (multi-nominee).

So friends, our theme for NXNE this year is see something you haven’t seen before! We have 2 venue picks for Thursday, June 16th for you. We were looking for SOLID line-ups (to avoid venue jumping) and we also tried to pick cool venues with bands that didn’t play CMW, or bands we haven’t seen gig around Toronto.

VENUE PICK #1: Lee’s Palace

Lee’s opens with Chris Velan a singer-songwriter with teeth from Montreal, Quebec. If you miss him, he’s playing Friday and Saturday as well. The bill just keeps getting better with Evan Dado & Juliana Hatfield, two nineties nigh-legends now sharing a stage, cult Lemonheads frontman Dando and Blake Babies and Some Girls’ Hatfield duet each others classic songs.

KEVIN SECONDS

Singer of hardcore band 7 Seconds gone acoustic singer-songwriter? Could it be? I didn’t want to like Kevin Seconds.. but it’s legit and all the way Sacramento, California. NXNE said it best, think Billy Bragg

LOWER DENS

Lower dens are from Baltimore, MD. There is lots of buzz surrounding this band. First thing I heard when I played this record was MUSTANG… and oooohhh gosh I love Mustangs. You’re hit with a beautiful wave of distinct, single coil noise accompanied by whispy specter-like vocals. Check them out!

WASHINGTON

Don’t be fooled by the name! Washington are from Melbourne, Australia. Wanna talk about guilt-free pop? THIS IS IT! Think American Apparel and a 50′s Diner. As soon as I heard this band I became an instant fan. If you didn’t catch them last night, they are playing the Verge (XM) rooftop party today at 4:30PM (private) and Lee’s at 10PM. See ‘em now because we think Washington is going to be a huge star.

Venue Pick #2: Yonge Dundas Square

DESCENDENTS! FUCKED UP!… Fucked Up en plein air at 8PM! Do I need to say more? Ok ok, I will – Mettz, OFF! and Rusty. Just go, you won’t regret it. If you miss Fucked Up at the square, they are also playing Wrongbar at 1AM.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: The Boat (Bravestation and Cavalier) and The Garrison!

Tonight is IT! It’s the last night of Canadian Music Fest. Did you let CMF win? Well, if it didn’t and you’re still up for another great show, here are Exec. Producer Daniela Oliva’s top venue picks for tonight!

VENUE PICK 1 – The Horseshoe
It’s the CMF Closing Party at the ‘shoe featuring The Dirty 9s from Ireland, Rival Boys, The Pack A.D. from Vancouver off Mint Records, The Schomberg Fair, RatTails. I would say the closing party is a good opportunity to get in your last chance to network and catch some awesome sets!

VENUE PICK 2 – Sneaky Dees
So you’ve had your acoustic/pop/indie rock fun, make the last day of CMF epic with some serious punk rock at Sneaks. Sorry, but Toronto’s punk scene is dead with the exception of occasional 77′ punk gig at Cadillac Lounge or Fucked Up… yeah, that’s pretty much it BUT you won’t be sorry if you catch Brutal Youth, Skullians, Machine Gun Dolly, Dead City Citizens and The Rebel Spell.

in other news – don’t forget, Janet Jackson also playing tonight!

That’s it, Canadian Music Week and Canadian Music Fest is over, time for SXSW!

Hey Everyone,

I couldn’t put together a video blog for you today because I’m losing my voice! However, as promised I’ve put together my top venue picks for:

SATURDAY MARCH 12, 2011

VENUE 1 – Canadian Room, Royal York Hotel: The Indie Awards featuring: Desperate Union, Hannah Georgas, Bombay Bicycle Club, Hollerado, Shad, Janelle Monae. WHY?: The Indie Awards are pretty cool. You get to root for your favorite artists AND in the past, each band has performed 2 songs, that means you get a great preview of up-and-coming artists. If you didn’t get a chance to catch Bombay Bicycle Club last night they are a MUST! and if didn’t see Janelle Monae perform on the Grammys, now is your chance. Plus Shad, Hannah, Hollerado – badass.

VENUE 2 – Drake Underground: If you want to stay at one venue, the Paquin Agency has the most solid and cohesive line up tonight with Del Barber, excellent singer/songwriter, the legendary Fred Penner, remember The Cat Came Back?, Wool on Wolves – my favorite band on the bill, Carmen Townsend +MORE.

HOWEVER, honourable mentions to:
2+2 Management Showcase at El Mocambo, first up is Alcoholic Faith Mission from Denmark, if you didn’t get a chance to catch them earlier in the week, DOO IT! Trust us. Piper Davis is a serious stand-out and then the electro-dance party starts with MADRID and the Kidstreet.

Previous TIMA winners performing tonight:
Rehan Dalal, TIMA 09/10 winner of “Best Adult Contemporary” performing at Bread and Circus 9PM as part of the Factor Breakthrough Series.

Marshall Dane, TIMA 2008 winner of “BEST LIVE – Electric” performing at Cadillac Lounge 12AM as part of KX96 Country FM

The MacHams, TIMA 09/10 winners of “BEST LIVE – Electric” performing at The Piston 9PM, CMF Showcase

….don’t forget, Janet Jackson, Pap Roach, Buckcherry, Die Mannequin, Down with Webster all performing tonight!!

-Daniela Oliva