Toronto – NXNE IS HERE. Are you ready? because thousands of bands have come to Toronto to promote their craft, hoping to be the next big thing. They’ll sweat blood and tears for you, and you best be prepared to reap in their awesomeness (or lack of). Having said that, here are five things you can do during NXNE besides the usual club shows
1. Download the MyNXNE app
Lately I’ve become a hippie and adopted a local only app downloading procedure. I only download apps that are built within 120 km of Toronto, so that I am creating a safe, sustainable environment. This is why MyNXNE is awesome. The developers at Shweet have developed a fairly decent iphone app that’ll help you decide where to go next, especially if you have no plans currently. Check it out, it is available for download here.
2. See a band you have never heard of before
Forget about seeing Stars for the fifth time or checking out Suuns because you heard Grant Lawrence say good things about them. Be adventurous! Hit up Rancho or another place off the beaten path and let yourself be surprised by all new bands with many things to prove. One of my best nights at NXNE was a few years ago when we just sat our butts down at the Cameron House for a night of music. I’ll be honest, we only sat there because it had seats and air conditioning, but still, it was ridiculously fun and spontaneous, two great attributes of festivals.
3. Embrace the aged, check out Men Without Hats and Devo
Put away that ageist hat and check out two legendary eighties band at Young and Dundas square. There you will see your parents go absolutely bonkers to Men Without Hats and Devo. You’ll never look at old people the same way again as they put their hands in the air and wave them around because they REALLY don’t care. The Safety Dance alone is worth the expedition.
4. Charity Football Match!
If you ever want to see rockers out of their elements, check out the charity soccer game that is taking place at Frank Lampard Stadium Sunday afternoon. You’ll be hung over and what a better way to spend a beautiful afternoon than sitting in the sun, taking in some rays and watching Brendan Canning take his skinny rocker frame all over the soccer pitch (he is good). Furthermore, you can see me lose my breath as I try to keep up with older people who rock way harder than I do.
Check out the page here
5. Check out an unoffical party
Much like their big sister, SXSW, NXNE has now come to a point where every day is littered with unofficial parties featuring awesome bands. There’s a party on a boat, one in someone’s backyard, a marching party to Christie Pitts and an acoustic party in Trinity. Check them out to get the full NXNE experience. Melody has a great article about this on Spinner, so I need not post this stuff.
Check out her article here
HAPPY NXNE-ING!
