  Iggy Pop, who is set to perform at NXNE this week. |
Decisions, decisions.
North by Northeast — or NXNE, as it’s commonly known — kicked off Monday and runs until Sunday in an expanded seven-day format for the first time ever, encompassing performances by 650 bands on 50 stages, 40 films, and 15 conference sessions.
It’s an embarrassment of riches for music lovers and enough to make you want to clone yourself.
So here’s a handy guide of 10 things not to miss culled from yours truly and an NXNE insider.
Otherwise, visit nxne.com for how to buy one, five-day or film-festival-only wristbands, priority passes, and look over the full band schedule.
You can also buy tickets at the door for individual shows.
1. Iggy Pop and the Stooges: Live performers don’t get much better than The Rock Iguana, so a chance to see him in his only North American date this summer is quite an opportunity. And for free, no less. Yonge and Dundas Square, Saturday night, June 19, 9:30 p.m. There are actually four nights of free shows from June 17-20 at the Square with such heavy-hitting headliners as X (Thursday, June 17), Sloan (Friday, June 18), and De La Soul (Sunday, June 20).
2. Karen Elson: Mrs. Jack White. Mother of his two children. And British supermodel turned roots-rock singer. Elson makes her Toronto performing debut on Wednesday, June 16, at the El Mocambo, at 10 p.m. in support of her album, The Ghost Who Walks, produced by White. And while she’s not officially part of NXNE, we thought her beautiful looking and sounding presence was worth mentioning.
3. The first ever Interactive Media event, NXNEi, runs from June 14–16. Keynote speaker Ze Frank, named one of Forbes’ Top 25 Web Celebrities, presents At the Heart of It: Struggling to Connect in a Virtual World, Hyatt Regency Toronto, The Regency Room, Wednesday, June 16, 4:35–5:35 p.m.
4. Bruce McDonald’s This Movie is Broken gets its Canadian Premiere, with a special Q&A with members of Toronto indie rock band Broken Social Scene. The Royal Cinema, Thursday, June 17, 7 p.m. Also the first 250 people with five-day NXNE wristbands at the ferry docks get a free wristband to BBS’s Olympic Island show on Saturday June 19, featuring Pavement too. See the movie and then the band live!
5. Timber Timbre: This critically acclaimed Toronto trio, led by Taylor Kirk, handsomely handle atmospheric blues-roots-folk-rock with lap steel and violin in the mix. Kirk and Co. headline a strong Canadian lineup at the Gladstone on Friday, June 18, 10 p.m. that includes DD/MM/YYYY (11 p.m.) and Ian Burton’s C’mon (midnight).
6. Put the Boot in: If you’ve got World Cup Fever, there’s no better way to celebrate locally than at the annual 11-on-11 full field soccer match at BMO Field, Sunday, June 20, 1 p.m. It’s Rockers (members of Great Big Sea and Bedouin Soundclash) vs. The World on the pitch in this charity event.
7. Avi Buffalo: This fresh-faced Long Beach foursome signed to Sub Pop Records has been described as “vintage folk rock filtered through the lens of a teenager raised on The Shins, Wilco and Arcade Fire.” Indie pop at its best. Lee’s Palace, Saturday, June 19, midnight.
8. The CBC Radio 3 Showcase: Featuring buzzed-about folk-pop Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas, at The Horseshoe Saturday, June 19, 10 p.m. Also on the bill are Attack in Black, Huron, Bruce Peninsula, Library Voices.
9. Virgin Mobile presents Opening Night at the Phoenix, with a performance by Eagles of Death Metal — Josh Homme’s third ongoing band outside Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures — at The Phoenix, Wednesday, June 16, 8 p.m. onwards. Does this guy ever sleep?
10. Conference keynote back-to-back hour-long interviews with L.A. punk pioneers X and Seattle grunge veterans Mudhoney, 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. start times respectively, on Friday, June 18, Hyatt Regency, Regency B.
jane.stevenson@sunmedia.ca
