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The New Cities Dressed in matching sweaters, ties and skinny jeans, the Quebecois band The New Cities spent a good twenty minutes soundchecking on stage before a somewhat sparse crowd, who were growing impatient. The band seemed unenthused and more worried about their monitor levels than the audience in front of them. Then it’s as if someone flipped a switch and the Rolling Stones in their prime were on stage. The lead singer mounted a speaker, the microphone stand held high above his head, his hips swaying back and forth. Not a member of the band was motionless, not one of them unconvinced that they weren’t playing to save their lives. Pounding uptempo disco rock, which at times wavered dangerously close to pop punk (think Simple Plan) The New Cities put on a solid show that can best be described as energetic. At one point the keyboard player was literally standing on his Casio pounding away, while the second keyboardist dipped his piano board so low to the ground it was touching the patch cords. On record, The New Cities don’t wow, but their stage show is something to be proud of. - Sam Stilson
The New Odds With the Kids in the Hall having appeared in their old music videos, it was no surprise when Dave Foley and Mark McKinney introduced the New Odds to the crowd downtown, Thursday evening. Since the Vancouver quartet’s breakup in 1999, the Odds returned in 2007 as the New Odds and haven’t missed a beat. Vocalist/guitarist Craig Northey was in fine form for the free show, showing as much enthusiasm as in his youth. The band’s power pop style was well-liked by the crowd, who cheered loudly after every song. The free, outdoor nature of the event allowed for a diverse audience in age, with little kids and even the elderly watching on. While there wasn’t much head-bobbing or dancing – perhaps people were too afraid to display such emotions in broad daylight – there were a few energetic individuals in the crowd, McKinney being one of them. Northey also had a fixiation for the giant Cadbury chocolate bar ad on top of the Hard Rock Café, even slipping a reference to it in one of their songs. The band’s sound was well-flourished and they kept everything together for the 40 minute set. Newest member Murray Atkinson fit in well with the band, despite being younger than his bandmates. He helped out drummer Pat Steward on the kit, by providing some extra cymbals towards the end of the set. Bassist Doug Elliott was also vibrant and frequently joined Atkinson on the other side of the stage. Rejuvenated and never slowing down, the New Odds made quite a splash to open the North By Northeast festival. – Jon Brazeau
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- Lana Winter
picturesound Local band picturesound kicked things off at the Silver Dollar Room with their bouncing, British invasion inspired rock melodies. The band started five minutes late as bassist Guy Glover rushed the stage but they quickly introduced themselves and then jumped right into a time warp, bringing back the guitar-driven pop rock tunes of the 60’s mixed with the heavier sound of 90’s BritPop. A small crowd lined the bar while others patrons pilfered in during the show and couldn’t help to bob their heads as they walked in. While the audience remained quite frozen otherwise, it was still rather early in the night and everyone probably needed a few more drinks to unwind and let loose on the floor. Despite all that, the crowd was quite noisy in between the band’s songs, graciously applauding each and every tune. The band crowded the tiny stage but still found space to move about. Vocalist/guitarist Fabio Sartori was in constant motion, as he swayed along to his tunes. He danced around a bit until he had to hurry back to the microphone and belt out another verse. As the band started their song “Time,” Menno Braam pounded away on his bass drum, creating a thundering effect throughout the club. Darren Hill’s keyboards were a little low in the mix as the guitar and bass instruments dominated the sound. The band were a nice little gem to hear as they set the stage for the night quite well. – Jon Brazeau
The John Henrys At The Dakota, Mississauga’s The John Henrys played a rollicking collection of Exile On Main Street-Stones sounding goodies. The crowd was jumpin' as they pumped out a set reminiscent of The Deadly Snakes in their prime. They were quite possibly the best band to start off the NXNE weekend with. - Brodie Dakin
Numero# Playing in the basement of the Drake, Montreal’s Numero showcased their slamming electro pop sound that had the room dancing their asses off even if they couldn’t understand a word of what they were hearing. To look at, the two fellows in Numero seem kind of ridiculous. Oozing out confidence as he crooned in French, the singer was a thin, balding Quebecer with black skinny jeans and sunglasses, behind him was the DJ, a more rotund balding Quebecer manning the decks, in his black skinny jeans to boot. Numero were obviously 100% behind their own music, convinced of their talent and the strengths of their songs. The whole performance verged on arrogance, but you know what? These guys have every right to be a little smug, as their tunes were absolutely awesome. Whatever the live show lacked, dance performances are usually just a dude with a Macbook, so Numero gets respect for singing live at the very least. A solid set of impressive songs. - Sam Stilson
Andre Charles Theriault Perhaps under different circumstances, it would have been different. Singer-songwriter Andre Charles Theriault, formerly known as Ghost Hands, did his best to soothe the audience with his chill, mellow tunes but with a noisy crowd at the back of the club, there was almost a struggle for dominance. Still, it was his birthday after all and with a small group of his friends at the front cheering him on, Theriault managed to pull off the 40 minute set, albeit with a few talking breaks where he mentioned almost having to go to court in the morning as well as his day job working for an insulation company. His song “Waterworld,” about how awful the movie Waterworld is, brought a few laughs from the crowd as he seamlessly rhymed “Kevin Costner” with “Dennis Hopper” on the spot. Other than screwing up a cover of “All This And More” by Dead Boys, Theriault managed to keep it all together and didn’t let the audience at the back bother him as he sung about love and love lost on “Not That Simple” and “What Loves Me.” Having stayed on his chair through the set, gently plucking away at his guitar strings with his soft, Ben Gibbard-like vocals, Theriault was probably better suited to be playing at a coffee house along Queen Street West rather than the increasingly rowdy second floor at Sneaky Dee’s. Still, Theriault made the most of his situation and hopefully had a great birthday. – Jon Brazeau
ASC (All Star Charge) It's a shame that the mixing at Neutral was such that one couldn't make out the guitar clearly – there were comments made by someone in the crowd about what a great guitar it was and how it was capable of far richer tones than we were able to hear Thursday night. However fans will have the opportunity to enjoy ASC over a better sound system at the NXNE closing party at the El Mocambo on Sunday night. ASC are fantastic band that should not be missed, if you have the opportunity to see them, do so. - Lana Winter
Gregory Pepper & His Problems
On this night, Pepper’s problem happened to be more than just drummer Corey Wood, as he also had problems with his loop pedal. Despite the setback, the duo, with Pepper handling vocals, guitar and synth duties, rocked the hipster crowd. The band took the stage a little late but got the crowd into it immediately. Pepper and Wood were both clad in yellow, long-sleeved shirts, with Pepper sporting a cardigan ala Mr. Rogers. He said it was to feel less intimidating to the crowd and encouraged them to stand closer to the stage. As if on cue, they all flocked to the front, creating a packed environment and drowning out the noisy patrons at the back. Pepper’s loop pedal held together during the set, allowing him to put down the guitar for a bit, take the microphone off the stand and move around the stage while wailing out his vocals. The band’s reggae-beat version of the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” was a pleasant treat. As people slowly entered the club, they couldn’t help but be drawn to the band first and the bar second. Pepper’s emotionally charged vocals fueled the tunes and he delighted the crowd either on the guitar or hunched over his Moog. While the looping made the experience of seeing a live band feel less organic, it did allow Pepper to venture around the stage rather than remaining like a statue throughout the set and it also allowed him to better display his emotional expressions on stage. Overall, the duo was a much-needed kick in the butt to the crowd and inspired an energy Pepper could work with. Pepper may have some problems but there were no real problems with his band’s show. – Jon Brazeau
Semi Precious Weapons After a disappointing showing by The Oholics before them, the Semi Precious Weapons took the stage and put on a dirty, sleazy set of rock and roll. All hair and tight trousers, these New Yorkers proudly displayed their love of T-Rex and other 70's glam luminaries while also adding a touch of the Ramones to their sound. The set was lively and had the crowd swaying to and fro but there still seemed to lack a certain energy, perhaps due to expectation. All in all a good set but maybe they had a case of the ‘first night jitters.’ - Brodie Dakin
Monotonix Hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, the Montonix made sure the trip was worth it. Indeed, the band could’ve wowed the crowd without even playing a single note as unprepared audience members were in for a thrill. Singer Ami Shalev performed a cartwheel, dumped bottles of water into the crowd and danced up a frenzy all throughout the club, literally. Shalev was like the Tasmanian Devil as he bounced around the crowd like a pinball, as far as his microphone cord would let him. He climbed poles, hung from the ceiling and even wore audience member’s hats. He even took one of the garbage cans and dumped it on drummer Gever. At the end of their 20 minute set, Gever and his drum kit made their way to the top of the bar on the other side of the club, thundering from above, as a shirtless Shalev joined him up top and belted out his vocals. Not to be outdone, guitarist Yonatan Gat also stood perched high above on top of a table as his twirled the final chords. Gat’s guitar playing skills were also a highlight of the show, reminiscent of a Jimmy Page-like thunder, driving the blues based hard rock sound of the band. The audience simply ate it all up. Even when Monotonix suffered a bit of a feedback problem, causing a bit of a delay, the crowd cheered as if it was part of the show. Describing Monotonix’s show as wild would be an understatement and perhaps there isn’t even a word to describe them at all. It was simply out of this world and truly a highlight of the North By Northeast festival. – Jon Brazeau
People in Planes Having just played at the Rivoli on May 29, People in Planes made a return trip to Toronto just for the North By Northeast festival. With the Reverb nearly packed, the Welsh quintet had quite the gathering for their show and a lot was expected. Fortunately for them, they delivered. Starting off with the duo and dueling vocals of Gareth Jones and Pete Roberts, who opened the show on a megaphone, the pair shared the howling as the other members joined in on their instruments. Things were getting serious when Roberts removed his glasses and he really started letting loose, thrashing more on his flying V guitar and twirling around on the stage. The audience roared loudly after every song, taking Jones by surprise as he often thanked the crowd during the set. The band had the audience bobbing their heads, clapping, stomping, snapping their fingers and whatever else they could do to the beat of their songs. During “Mayday (M’aidez),” the band had the audience in the palm of their hands as they stomped and clapped to the drum beat. Ian Russell’s keyboard was a little lower in the mix, providing a more edgy, rocker sound to the band’s tunes. Having just released the album Beyond the Horizon in April, the band played some new material such as “Vampires” and “Last Man Standing.” While it might not have been the sound the band wanted, it sure left the crowd satisfied, who were completely into it. Although their half-hour set felt like the band was just getting into the groove of their material, it was enough of a taste to leave the crowd wanting more. –Jon Brazeau
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