October 2010
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July 2010
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Bad Fate @ Rancho Relaxo - July 30, 2010
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Better Late Than Never … Highlights from NXNE 2010...
Thursday – June 17 @ Rancho Relaxo
After some careful studying of the schedule, I committed myself to Rancho Relaxo for the Thursday of NXNE. I would have to say that the predominant theme of the night, with the exception of The Cunninghams, was the delivery of solidly original tunes with prominent electronic elements.
The night began nice and early with Old World Vulture. I made a special...
Better Late Than Never ... Highlights from NXNE...
Well, this surely must be one of the latest blog entries for this year’s NXNE. In fairness, the delay is due in part to my effort to process more pictures than I usually do for festivals, and secondly to my concerted effort to acquire and digest as many albums as possible from the bands that impressed me.
In terms of my modus operandi this year, I noticed that in past festivals—notwithstanding my...
June 2010
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NXNE: Ten Questions with Hollerado
Imagine you were in a young indie band. Imagine you won $250,000 to go towards the band. That’s the story of Hollerado. Impressively, their winning the Big Money Prize has not changed their ethos as a band, which is all about DIY and supporting independent music. It does mean they get to do badass stuff like visit China and play up high on the CN Tower, and we asked them about some of that...
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NXNE: Where I’ll Be
Welp. NXNE is officially upon us. Excited? I am, I’ve got my schedule all done up (Thanks Terri!) and our passes are getting picked up today (Ditto!). I’m hoping the rain lets up, so we don’t get a repeat of the last few CMW/NXNEs which always seem to fall on rainy weekends.
I’m super excited to see some of these sets, especially Comanechi. They were a random blog download I made this year, and...
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Tokyo Police Club – “Champ” Review
When Tokyo Police Club released their debut LP Elephant Shell in 2008, it was hotly anticipated. And for good reason too, coming off a freshly-inked deal with Saddle Creek Records, and following up their buzz-explosion of an EP A Lesson In Crime.
As happens with lot of hyped bands, Elephant Shell wasn’t quite the victory lap everyone was expecting. It may have sounded like a band rushed into...
NXNE: Ten Questions with Hannah Georgas
I think it’s fair to say that it’s been a good year for Hannah Georgas. She released her debut album, This Is Good. She got great reviews. She played a lot of shows. She’ll play a few more shows still at NXNE this week, and we talked to her about that and a whole bunch of other stuff, too.
1. What bands are you looking forward to catching at NXNE?
I would love to be able to...
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NXNE with TWM and the Rancho Relaxo
Hey everyone, With NXNE almost upon us I thought I’d write a message to let you know what we have in store. First off, tomorrow night we are doing an official NXNE showcase but that said… your pass and bracelets get you into the show free. Otherwise it costs $5. The night from front to back is: Blind Mule, The Ascot Royals, Protozoans and the Dirty Love Band. The fb event is here...
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NXNE: Eight Questions with The Pack A.D.
I saw the Pack A.D. play NXNE a few years ago, hearing that they had buzz developing around them. They were two young women playing dirty blues to a half-empty room at Sneaky Dee’s. A few years later, things have more than taken off for them and they’ve received solid reviews for their new album We Kill Computers. TWM talked to Maya about the band’s past, present and future.
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NXNE: The High Dials Interview
The High Dials— from Montreal— have been around since 2003 playing indie rock influenced by everything from classic psychedelic rock to modern power-pop. They’ve released two EP’s and three full-lenghts, the most recent being 2008’s critically acclaimed Moon Country. I got a chance to ask them a couple questions as they gear up to play Rancho Relaxo on June 19th for...
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NXNE: Ten Questions with Olenka and the Autumn...
TWM has been following Olenka and the Autumn Lovers for a couple years now, and it’s been very rewarding to see them grown their audience and continue releasing awesome tunes. Their live show just gets better and better, and they’ve got a new album in the works, along with a lot of work building the arts scene in London, Ontario. Olenka gave us a nice chunk of info about the band,...
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NXNE: Ten Questions with Young Galaxy
Young Galaxy have been building buzz slowly for their sophomore release, Invisible Republic. Put out independently after they released their first album with Arts and Crafts, they’ve been growing this album the old-fashioned way, with lots of touring, inevitably followed by lots of accolades. We talked to member Stephen Ramsay about the band and the album, and what’s coming next.
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NXNE: 10 Questions with HEALTH
HEALTH have been splitting ears, gaining buzz, and winning over crowds with their noisy-yet-melodic music in Los Angeles and beyond since their formation in 2006. Two full lengths, two remix albums and plenty of 7-inches later, they’re dropping into Toronto to play at Sneaky Dee’s for NXNE (June 17th). I was lucky enough to interview Jupiter Keyes via. email, and here’s what he...
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NXNE: Ten Questions with Rah Rah
I caught Rah Rah at NXNE last June, having only heard of them, not heard them. I left really impressed at how tight and cohesive they were with such a large band, and I’ve been enjoying their debut Going Steady every since. They’ve just released a new album, Breaking Hearts, and they’re returning to Toronto for NXNE again this year. Here’s a bit about what’s...
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NXNE: Ten Questions with La Strada
We were lucky enough to have La Strada play the Rancho Relaxo recently, and Torontonians were foolish enough to not come out in droves. The band just got some love from i(heart)music, and they’re playing NXNE later this month, so hopefully that soon changes. But as they told us themselves — and as you can read about below — La Strada’s relationship with Canada has been...
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NXNE: Ten Questions with Svavar Knútur
Iceland’s spent a lot of time in the news recently because of Eyjafjallajokul, its tempermental volcano, but I think it’s about time we got back to talking about the European island because of its music. Iceland has only about 320,000 people — less than London ON — but has managed to spawn a rich outpouring of musical talent. I have a bit of a fascination with Iceland,...
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NXNE: Ten Questions with The Soft Pack
After playing buzz-worthy sets at both CMJ and SXSW, The Soft Pack are rolling through Toronto and bringing their rollicking garage-rock meets post-punk sound along with them. They recently released a great full-length through Kemado Records as well as a box-set of seven inches. I got to throw some questions their way via email, and here’s what guitarist Matty McLoughlin had to say.
You...
May 2010
9 posts
TWM Shows: Week of May 31
Wednesday June 2 TWM: Fall of Spring, Electric Karma, Pilgrims of Brock Rancho Relaxo, $5 cover
Thursday June 3 One Hit Wonders #3: Cut Throat Britva, Santa with Muscles, Recordbreaker + more Rancho Relaxo, $6 cover
Saturday June 5 TWM: Krupke (Album release), The Ruby Spirit, Fox Jaws + A Horse & His Boy Free afterparty at Rancho Relaxo after Krupke’s set, with special guest...
