Concerts

NXNE Q&A Preview: Tei-Shi

Posted on by Ricky in North By Northeast | Leave a comment

teishi

As part of our NXNE coverage, we held a series of Q&A with some bands performing during the festival.

Tei-Shi is a Vancouver based R&B singer aiming to move your body when she plays the Wrongbar at 9 pm on Friday June 20th

Since this is such a twitter world, can you describe yourself in 140 characters or less?
The fairy from Zelda meets Pinky, from The Pinky and The Brain. Meets Daria.

Is this your first NXNE? If so, what are your expectations for it? If not, what did you learn from last time that’ll improve your experience this time?
This is indeed my first time at NXNE! I try to go into everything with little preconceived expectation, and I actually have no idea what NXNE will be like, but I’m definitely expecting to have a great time and be surrounded by some great music. If it’s anything like SXSW, it will be a little stressful and intense, but very fun and relaxed at the same time. This time I’ll only be playing two shows, versus six at SXSW, so I expect to maximize the fun and minimize the stress!

What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at NXNE?
I would love to see Tune-Yards, St. Vincent and Danny Brown.

What do you think is your greatest strengths? and also, what is your greatest weakness?
A big strength I would say, is that I have a very clear sense of self–I have a strong sense of who I am as a person. A big weakness would probably be that I can be pretty lazy when it comes to things I don’t want to do, so in those situations I tend to want things quickly without putting the time and thought into them. As a result I can be quite impulsive.

NXNE Q&A Preview: Gold Beach

Posted on by Ricky in North By Northeast | Leave a comment

goldbeach

As part of our NXNE coverage, we held a series of Q&A with some bands performing during the festival.

Gold Beach is a solo act from one of my favorite American cities – Austin, Texas. They/He has a new album out and wants to soundtrack your summer.

Is this your first NXNE? If so, what are your expectations for it? If not, what did you learn from last time that’ll improve your experience this time?
Yes, this is the first time for NXNE this year and my expectations are very high. i’m excited about the overlap in the different arts at the festival. also excited to visit the Gardiner Museum. i’m sure it will come and go quickly.

What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at NXNE?
Definitely mutual benefit. also, kc accidental, dana falconbery. would love to catch a few hip hop shows as well, but i’m still exploring the various acts performing.

What do you think is your band’s greatest strengths? and also, what is your greatest weakness?
Strengths: sense of space, strong performances. evolving sound.
Weaknesses: sense of space, strong performances, evolving sound

What is the best merch your band has?
A t-rex head on our shirts! looks like THIS

What’s with all the bands with the word Beach in their names lately?
Beach house and who else? i don’t know..pretty sure our music sounds different.

Concert Review: Sylvan Esso, tUnE-yArDs, June 13, 9:30 Club

Posted on by halley in Concerts | Leave a comment

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Sylvan Esso is the cure.

Though those words are tUnE-yArDs’, I can only agree as I listen to Sylvan Esso at the office Monday morning as a type of self-soothing mechanism to cope with the passing of the weekend. The electro-pop duo of Amelia Meath & Nick Sanborn are hypnotic, soothing, and sleek. The group delivers its highly synthesized sound in all its integrity live, though the performance is a bit understated – almost unassuming when compared to other, more ostentatious singer-and-producer-acts. Overall, I super enjoyed the opener, and it’s obvious tUnE-yArDs appreciates the two as an up and coming act worth investing in.

tUnE-yArDs, aka Merrill Garbus, for her part, is anything but understated. Even if you weren’t already aware of Garbus’ penchant for face paint, crazy costumes, and out-of-this-world hair styles, you may have gotten an inkling from the crowd anxiously anticipating her appearance at the 9:30 Club. Balloon hats were a must-have, face paint was abundant, and clown suits were common. While Garbus has recently taken some criticism for her experimentation in mainstream pop sound, I thought she (and her awesome back up dancers and band) pulled the effort off well. Her new songs are, admittedly, more repetitive and cohesive than some of the CRAZY sounds heard on her original album, but I would never label them as boring or generic. “Hey Life” on Nikki Nack really rocked my socks. Unlike Sylvan Esso, whose challenge, in my opinion, is matching their live renditions to their impeccably sleek recorded tracks, tUnE-yArDs presents the opposite scenario: her charisma and unforgettable persona often make her live renditions more enjoyable than recorded. But, again, relistening on Monday morning, I’m rocking just as hard to “Hey Life” on Spotify as I was at the 9:30 Club. Of course, at the end of the day, “Gangsta” is still my favorite track.

Overall, two great acts, off the beaten path, definitely worth a listen. And a look if they’re live in your town.

NXNE Q&A Preview: Fevers

Posted on by Ricky in North By Northeast | Leave a comment

fevers

As part of our NXNE coverage, we held a series of Q&A with some bands performing during the festival.

Fevers is a band from the faraway town of Ottawa. They play songs that can fit in any 80’s movie montage, which makes them cool in my books. They are playing these shows:
The Boat, Wednesday, June 18 @ 11 PM
Rivoli, Thursday, June 19 @ 8 PM

Since this is such a twitter world, can you describe your band in 140 characters or less?
Mike: If you found yourself in a dance-fight with one or even several zombies, FEVERS would absolutely be the most appropriate soundtrack.

Jim: I don’t think I’ll need 140 characters #justinbieber

Is this your first NXNE? If so, what are your expectations for it? If not, what did you learn from last time that’ll improve your experience this time?

Sarah: We participated in NXNE last year. It was really fun but our only regret is that we just stayed in Toronto for one night. This year, we’re looking forward to spending the whole weekend going to shows and meeting other musicians. It’s like a mini-vacation, but a busy one!

What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at NXNE?

Jim: As we’ll be at NXNE the whole week, I’m really hoping to check out a lot of bands, including some of our friends’ bands from Ottawa and Montreal. That, and Future Islands – I think that will be a great show.

Martin: Foxtrott, Future Island, old friends in Ghost Cousin, Mac DeMarco, Scattered Clouds, Foxtrott, The Barr Brothers

What do you think is your band’s greatest strengths? and also, what is your greatest weakness?

Colin: Greatest strength: diversity of the members. We have people with different nationalities, mother tongues, political stripes, musical influences, and a pretty health age gap too! This leads to a lot of different perspective around the table when we make decisions.

Greatest weakness: perhaps the same thing. We can take forever to make a decision. We sometimes wish we just had a band dictator to make it all easy for us.

What is the best merch your band has?

Sarah: I wish I could tell you we had FEVERS visor caps or something. Right now, we’re selling our album ‘No Room For Light’.

Mike: I believe that we still have two or three XXL t-shirts left from our first run, so those are definitely collector’s items at this point. Stitch them all together for a custom FEVERS quilt!

What is your favourite restaurant in Ottawa?

Colin: Phuket Royal in my own hood of China Town.

Jim: Quinn’s. More of a bar, but they have great food too. It’s cosy, friendly, and they brew their own beer.

Martin: The Manx. Great food, great music, great people.

Mike: Hooch is a bourbon bar on Rideau St., they have some chicken & waffles that are completely bananas, but my heart will always belong to the Elgin Street Diner. That poutine…

Sarah: Ceylonta. It’s a Sri Lankan restaurant near Sommerset/Bank area. The food is amazing. My mouth is watering as I’m typing.