@ NXNE: Wrap Up

By Melanie Chung

The five day music and film festival North by Northeast took the city by storm mid month this past June. It was five days ram packed with music, conferences and films. No seriously, we mean ram packed.

Never heard of the festival? Or maybe you have but never actually gone? JXM took on the festival to bring you the experience from every angle.

The film festival portion was one of my personal highlights of the fest. The all music themed documentaries and short films, including the City Sonic project all brought something new to the table and also made for a relaxing way to partake in the festival without being overwhelmed or pressured into fitting into a scene – a hipster scene, an indie scene, or the urban scene. The City Sonic series also leant itself to giving the festival a personal touch, integrating music and the venues that so lovingly embrace them, growing with them and nurturing them. Directors such as Peter Lynch and Bruce McDonald gave us a new perspective at looking at those bars, clubs and “holes in the wall” that many of us pass daily. It's not just the Ultrasound, it’s not just the Adrift, these venues now have faces and personalities that we didn’t see before.

The NXNE film festival also included marquee flicks such as the documentary James Blunt: Till You’re Told to Stop. We daringly ducked out of this one despite the long line out of the NFB, but we’re not all bad. We did try to make it to the much anticipated feature Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison but sadly the venues got mixed up and no matter how fast we ran, laughably, we just didn’t make it to the theatre in time.

But there was still plenty to see.

The ticketing system, or wristband system is rather practical for those looking to get the full experience of the festival. Just remember to pick up your TTC daypass as well. But for those on a budget (screw you recession!) NXNE also offered a free concert series daily at Yonge and Dundas Square. The hefty 40 minute sets – well worth your money! – included many artists that you wouldn’t normally get the chance to see without hauling out the wallet. Former Smashing Pumpkins member Melissa Auf Der Maur, Wintersleep, In Flight Safety, The Black Lips and so many other great artists held free shows and what better way to catch a live performance than in beautiful summer weather in a shitty recession?

But if you’re thinking that NXNE offers only indie rock or alternative acts, you must get that head checked. We also managed to catch some pretty cool lineups featuring a plethora of hip-hop artists at the Opera House. The free concert series also included urban acts such as the Cool Kids and there was also a beat boxing competition. C’mon! What more do you want?

Ok, so rock ain’t your scene? Nor can you bob your head to a beat with street cred? Well there was also bhangra to suit our South Asian community and pop rock for those looking for a more familiar sound in the name of Switchfoot who put on a high energy show with lots of radio friendly tunes.

So there you have it. Next year there’s no excuse not to go. With plenty of musical variety and films to choose from there is little planning required. Even if you don’t have a cent to your name.

Though this year’s NXNE coincided with a couple of other major music events in the city such as Edgefest and the hard to stomach MMVA’s, NXNE can hold their own pretty well and we must say you’re likely to have a blast.