Live Reviews: NXNE 2009

Blood Ceremony @ Reverb

Saying that Blood Ceremony sound like Black Sabbath is like saying Ozzy was fucked up on drugs for most of the 70s. Led by Alia O’Brien on vocals and the occasional flute jam, the quartet pummeled their way through their 40-minute set to a very receptive crowd that included a fair share of banging heads, proving that it’s better to acknowledge your influences than ignore them.

The Juan Maclean @ Tattoo Rock Parlour

Seeing The Juan Maclean at Tattoo Rock Parlour is a bit of a surreal experience. The faux-rockstar décor complete with in house tattoo shop just doesn’t jive with the New York dance duo’s vibe. But from the crack of the first beat, all was forgotten as Maclean and vocalist Nancy Whang delivered one of the most consistently awesome sets of the fest. Augmented by an extra keyboard player and a live drummer, the quartet sounded pristine, despite a visibly frustrated Maclean’s issues with the in-house soundman.

The British Columbians @ The El Mocambo

Playing at the ungodly hour of eight for their Toronto debut, The British Columbians managed to draw a fairly large crowd, which they proceeded to pummel with a steady dose of bottom end heavy blues-rock. The band soldiered through some awkward technical problems with ease, even as lead singer/guitarist Girard Dixon’s amp blow up threatened to cut short their debut to three tunes. Their live show lacks the subtly of their album but more than makes up for it with guitar histrionics.

The Black Lips @ Yonge and Dundas Square

The Black Lips live reputation precedes the band wherever they go. After all, how many bands are banned from India? So it was a little disconcerting to hear the group were playing the decidedly family-friendly Yonge and Dundas Square. And while they kept it in their pants, they did have half a dozen fans dancing on stage with them before the night was out, much to the chagrin of security. Oh yeah, they actually sounded great as well, even having King Khan & BBQ Show join them onstage, hopefully a sign of things to come from their new LP together.

No Age @ Lee’s Palace

No Age have significantly upped their live game since last gracing the stage at Lee’s Palace. The duo were far more confident and displayed more showmanship, with guitarist Randy Randall playing art-punk guitar god to the crowd’s rapturous approval. The pair also offered up a new track called “Fever Dreamin’” that live comes off like a more muscular, fully formed song than their previous work. But who knows what kind of reverb drenched effects they’ll use in the studio.

King Khan & BBQ Show @ The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

As was expected, King Khan and partner in crime, BBQ Show put on what was one of the most theatrical and fun shows of NXNE. Donning their onstage costumes, the pair looked like cheap knockoffs of Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent character. The duo blasted through garage rock and punk-rock doo-wop tunes and had Black Lips’ Cole Alexander return the favour from earlier in the night and join them onstage. Never one to simply show up, play and leave, this was one of several shows the band played over the weekend.

The Sonics @ Yonge and Dundas Square

Watching the Sonics walk onstage was like sitting in the showroom of a casino – a group of 60 year-old men sauntering on stage, sporting over-sized black blazers and leather jackets over t-shirts to cover up their aging guts. But by the time guitarist Larry Parypa finished his first sludgy riff, the Tacoma, WA proto-punk Gods basically rendered Mudhoney and every other grunge era band irrelevant. They delivered one of the loudest sets of the festival and had everyone, young and old shouting along to classic covers like Little Richard’s “Lucille” and timeless originals like “The Witch.”

So So Glos @ Bovine Sex Club

Brooklyn’s So So Glos (they were all actually born there) kicked off Thursday night with the first of three performances that evening – they played Sneaky Dees and Rancho Relaxo afterwards. Though they appeared more interested in drinking/ flirting with girls prior to taking the stage, the quartet belied their hometown’s reputation as a haven for art-school hipsters and delivered a great set of punk tunes with a pop sensibility mixed in for good nature.

Teen Anger @ Silver Dollar Room

Toronto group Teen Anger throw down old school punk riffs with a bit of twang on the side. The quartet played a solid set in the horribly laid out Silver Dollar Room. The lead singer did his best Ian Curtis moves while the female bass player rocked out in a leopard print leotard. The crowd was game but didn’t seem visibly interested until the singer wandered down into the crowd to try and coax some animation out of them, They quit just as the crowd was peaking in either a brilliant reading of their audience or a lack of more material.

These reviews and more originally appeared at Exclaim.ca