North By Northeast: Toronto's World of Music

Toronto has many unique features that distinguish it from other Canadian cities or indeed any metropolis anywhere in the world. The city sits on the shore of Lake Ontario where a world of boating, fishing and water sports awaits just minutes away from a bustling downtown. From the harbor you can't help but see Toronto's famous skyscraping icon, the 1815-foot tall CN Tower, the tallest freestanding structure in the world. And on the quirky side Toronto is home to (part of) Yonge Street, designated by the record-keepers at Guinness as the world's longest street. Yonge St. (pronounced "Young") rolls northward deep into rural Ontario, stretching for over a thousand miles! But every June these attractions are just gravy, or maybe I should say opening acts, because the North By Northeast (NXNE) music festival is in town!

NXNE is a five day event that gives about five hundred musical acts a chance to win new fans (and maybe finagle a recording or management contract too) by showcasing at dozens of nightclubs on or adjacent to Queen Street, Toronto's nighttime party zone. Most of the clubs are within easy walking distance of one another so to hear a good handful of bands on any given evening is not a chore; on Queen Street alone joints like The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, Cadillac Lounge, Holy Joe's and the Bovine Sex Club host from four to 6 bands a night. Many of the acts are up-and-comers from Canada and of course Toronto itself is well represented with shows by homeboys like the Coast and the State of Things while outlying provinces are represented by diverse acts like I See Rowboats out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Smokekiller from Saskatchewan and the Wailin Jennys from Manitoba. Redd Kross and L.A. Guns came to Toronto for NXNE in 2008 as did one of the year's major American buzz bands, glam rockers Semi Precious Weapons. Obviously with five hundred performances crammed into 5 days you can't see them all. But that's all part of the NXNE fun---figuring out whether to see bands you already know about or maybe check out unknown acts from Israel, Spain, Japan and Norway. And while the music mostly happens at night there are lots of official NXNE events going on during the day and lots of side action too. If you're anywhere near Queen Street at any time during NXNE you'll be right in the middle of the music business hard at work (or really, play!) Those fellows walking down the sidewalk with a stack of DVDs in their arms? They're from Australia and they're handing out samplers of the bands represented by their company, Global 8. The lady in the elevator? She's the manager for Hugh Cornwell, the former front man of the Stranglers and she'll invite you to meet him later when he performs or when he premiers his latest documentary during NXNE's film festival. Folks like Jason Johnston of Revolution Audio attend NXNE marketplaces; Revolution sells everything you need to build a home studio but Jason will also bend your ear about his band. So will the kids from British Columbia's Danny Echo. Keep your eyes peeled for the Epitaph Records street team; they've got goodie bags full of free vinyl singles, posters and stickers just waiting for you. And the very coolest thing about NXNE is that everyone is on equal ground---the talent is here to win over new fans and they're all in the mood to talk, have pictures taken and sign autographs. Other than America's version of NXNE, Austin's annual South By Southwest, there really is no finer opportunity available to get up close to lots of developing talent than at NXNE.

By all means don't forget about those "opening acts" I told you about earlier! You'll find that Toronto is overall a very hip and fun city and there are definitely some things you'll want to do while you're not rocking and rolling at NXNE. The heart of Toronto holds some very interesting neighborhoods and you can explore them easily on foot. Chinatown has amazing vegetable and fruit markets where you can grab a healthy lunch and a visit to a fish market or so is fun just to geek at the variety of seafood available. In the Kensington area you'll find dozens of funky little independently-owned shops that cater to modern youth and older hippies alike; people of each demographic love Global Cheese, definitely the "cheesiest" shop in Kensington! 

Also within walking distance is the CN Tower where you can take the elevator up to the (rotating) observation deck that provides an unparalleled view of Toronto. There's a very nice restaurant at the top too, the 360. The restaurant also revolves and it will make a complete rotation in about the time it takes you to have lunch. If you want to enjoy this part of Toronto make sure you call ahead to reserve a table. And then there's that great big lake! All types of tours of Toronto harbor and Lake Ontario are available. Just ask around and you can get out on the water on a schedule that will have you back in time for the evening's entertainment.
 

NXNE for 2009 will happen from June 17th through the 21st. Some of the better-known acts confirmed to play are: Black Lips, Melissa Auf Der Maur, No Age, GZA and the Cool Kids. For a complete listing of shows and film screenings as well as information on tickets and multi-event wristbands visit www.nxne.com 

To plan your trip to Toronto visit: www.torontotourism.com 

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