NXNE... Here at last!

The time has come. Starting tonight.. 3 nights of mayhem with 500 bands to choose from spread across 50 venues. I hope you've done your homework. If not, grab today's NOW and get busy! Or just wing it! Buy a wrist band and go with the flow. With so much great talent in town, you're sure to find some groups that will really get you pumped up, even with a random club crawl.

If you're lucky enough to find a good lineup at a single club for the eveneing, that's great. Get there early and establish your turf for the night. If you want to stretch a bit and do some modest club hopping without cabs or street cars, consider what's playing at these clusters of clubs that are within acceptable walking distance of each other in the 15-20 minutes you have between gigs....

• Queen W/Spadina - The Horseshoe, The Rivoli, The Cameron, Black Bull
  
• Queen W/Bathurst - Bovine Sex Club, Reverb, Holy Joe's, Kathedral, Tattoo, Funhaus
  
• College/Spadina - El Mocambo, Ranch Relaxo, Silver Dollar, Free Times Cafe, Neutral Lounge
  
• Bloor/Bathurst/College - Lee's Palace, Sneaky Dee's, Clinton's
• Queen/College (really) West - Dakota, Gladstone, Drake, Cadillac Lounge

If you check out our club map, it'll be really easy to spot these groupings.

The great thing about NXNE is that most clubs are really strict about timing. Each new act starts on the hour every hour. That way you're never disappointed because someone has gone on too long or started too early.

ENJOY EVERYONE!!!

SXSW

Toronto and much of Canada won't find a lot of their favourite artists here in town this week, since they're down in Austin, TX for the South by Southwest (SXSW) music fest. That's the US counterpart to our own North by Northeast (NXNE) fest in June.

So, if you're on your way and checking in via laptop or impulsively deciding to go right now, check out the official web site.

What you won't find at the web site is the party list. Six Shooter Records has been good enough to put one together. I got a copy via their emailed newsletter, but don't see it at their site.

If you want a copy, drop me an email and I'll forward it.