NXNE Friday Report #1

Should you ever find yourself at a festival like NXNE, keep in mind this bit of advice. Before going into a tiny club to "just check out" an unknown quantity, look at the relationship between the stage and the exit door. There¹s nothing quite like being trapped at something painfully mediocre when you know other things are happening elsewhere.

Singer/songwriter Jack Breakfast greeted each person checking out his Graffiti¹s showcase at the door before climbing onto the stage and plinking through his set of introspective pop songs. For three or four songs it was pleasant, but with a dozen other bands lighting it up elsewhere, we needed to move on. Unfortunately, to get out the door, you essentially had to walk over Breakfast¹s stage and be careful not to step on his drink. There wasn¹t a back door (we asked), and yes, it was embarrassing, but we left. All 10 of us. At once.

As uncomfortable, for entirely different reasons, was the overblown alt-folk set by English darling Matthew Jay. Despite proclaiming that he began writing songs when he was four, Jay wasn¹t up to playing a low-key set to hype his new Draw album just by himself. Instead, he brought a surly-looking pal who did nothing but mope for the first five songs while Jay surrounded himself with mysterious effects.

Considering that 10 minutes before, power thud crew Bellweather and the twang trio Blue Mountain had threatened to both blow the roof off the place without any expensive add-ons and far less attitude, Jay came off looking more than a little foolish.

The big show of the night was the 1 am Rivoli set by Guelph soul-punk crew the Constantines. We couldn¹t get in, though, so after checking 10 seconds of Mean red Spiders¹ swoon pop, we headed to Clinton¹s for some French rock. Les Séquelles filled the room with their jazzed-up yeh yeh swing, and were also the best dressed band so far at the fest. That has to count for something.