NXNE - Day & Night 3

In spite of fatigue setting in, Saturday at NXNE was a major hit for me. In addition to the usual evening line-up, Six Shooter Records had an open-to-the-public backyard BBQ at their new store/gallery on Queen East. Cheap beer, free hot dogs.

There was enough room in their back yard to set up a stage, and lots of talent who were willing to spend some time up there. I showed up about mid-afternoon and still managed to see Neville Quinlan (NQ Arbuckle), Ford Pier, Mia Sheard, Melissa McClelland, Luke Doucet, Lindy, Valery Gore and others that I'm afraid I've forgotten already. I've included a picture here of Luke and Melissa, whom you can probably guess are an item these days. I forgot to ask when the wedding is coming up.

The totally great thing about the event, aside from the performances, was that it really was a backyard BBQ, with everyone mingling with everyone else... not the us (fans) and them (performers) arrangement, that is often the case at least in the larger venues. I'm a big fan of all those folks in my previous paragraph, and it was really cool to see them all in one place on a fine sunny Saturday afternoon.


When that wrapped up it was time for me to refuel on a couple double espressos at home, while I planned the evening. I opted for a more laid back schedule, starting with three acts at the Cameron on the folk/folk-rock end of the continuum.

At 9pm I saw Cat Jahnke from Winnipeg. I guess she and her band have potential, but quite frankly I didn't see a whole lot of talent there and I don't think the crowd did either. You can recognize "polite" applause from the real thing.

In contrast Cass Eager (pictured here) from Sydney, Australia came across as a seasoned veteran -- belting out songs with both passion and flair. There was no lack of genuine applause after each of her songs.

The same was true of the next act. I saw Toronto's Valery Gore for the first time at the afternoon picnic already mentioned, so I knew what I might expect. She had drums and guitar behind her, but she could have been equally comfortable and appreciated just as much with her fine work on the electric piano.

As I've been saying for the past few days, the photo collections are coming soon. You'll see Valery in the mix, along with just about everyone I've mentioned over the past half-week.

I may have to avoid the clubs this week, just to catch up on my updates here, but there's no way I'll be missing DOA on Friday at Kathedral. I know I was recommending White Cowbell Oklahoma that night too, but I managed to catch the lads on Friday (see previous post). They did a longer show than I anticipated. NXNE must have bent the rules to give them extra time.

I guess my advice to you right now is go see WCO for country flavoured raunch and rock like you've never seen it before. When you see my photos, you'll know what I mean.

On the other hand, if you want to see one of the best classic punk groups to ever come out of Canada, DOA is your obvious choice. Possibly, only the Ramones are comparable, and they obviously haven't had the staying power of DOA.

Meanwhile, stand by for a barrage of NXNE slide shows, coming to this web site near you.