NXNE Stragglers

Exclaim! Rooftop Party W/ The Flatliners @ London Tap House, June 18th

After this year’s NXNE, I’ve decided that I want my life to only consist of going to fun parties and drinking and eating for free. Seriously. Do you know how awesome free beer is? Because, it’s awesome.

My photographer Steph and I headed over to London Tap House on Friday for an “exclusive” Exclaim! bbq. After waiting outside due to the venue already being at capacity (FYI–it opened at 3, was at capacity by 3:30pm) we headed up to the rooftop patio for a seriously wicked party. Upstairs, the party was packed with record executives, bands and socialites from Toronto’s music scene.

In addition to being hosted by the Jagerettes (imagine Suicide Girls if they were legitimately employed), the party featured a pig roast, live music, dunk tanks, and my new favourite: jager snow cones. Yum. Though the sun was totally blistering, they kept us cool with icy treats.

After trying to dunk the guy in the deer costume, and being “iced” by a record company guy, we proceeded to watch The Flatliners play an amazing acoustic set on the roof. I somehow missed the phase of my life where listening to them had been a ‘thing’ and had actually never heard anything by them before. I must say, they’ve got a new fan.

Needless to say, it was the perfect way to kick off our weekend of NXNE.

Diamond Rings & Katie Stelmanis @ Wrongbar, June 18th

Oh. Em. Eff. Gee. Actually. For those who know me, you know I love me The D’Urbs–they’re my boys and I love to support. Diamond Rings, lead singer of The D’Urbervilles’ John O’Reagan’s gender-bending side project, however, could be my new favourite thing to come out of Toronto.

Friday, he released his 12″ single for “Wait and See” at Wrongbar as part of NXNE. Diamond Rings has blown up. Last summer, his famous “All Yr Songs” Pitchfork-favourite blew people away, and from his show on Friday, it’s clear that nothing is going stop him from reaching the top. Ladies and gentleman, it could be Bowie re-incarnate.

After a mind-blowing opening from Katie Stelmanis and her army of talented Torontonians, John O’ took to the stage in his regular Diamond Rings fashion. Complete with some amazing gold leggings, blue glitter & infamous unicorn banner–the man commanded our attention when he put on a giant headress (which, you may recognize if you’ve seen the “Wait & See” video that came out last week).

The performance was absolutely beautiful to see. Diamond Rings conjures up emotions that make you want to dance, laugh, sing, and depending on if you saw his heartwrenching closer on Friday, cry. After dedicating his performance to his family for all their love and support in helping him release the 12″, he played a teary rendition of the song that started Diamond Rings before the glittery manifestation he is now.

If you haven’t had a chance to see Diamond Rings (or Katie Stelmanis for that matter, that woman has the voice of an angel!) you need to. They are two of Toronto’s rising talents, and they deserve our full attention.

The Raveonettes @ Yonge & Dundas Square June 19th

I have waited since I was 14 years old to see The Raveonettes. Don’t get me wrong, I love Iggy, but when I made my way down to Yonge and Dundas on Saturday, I had my heart set on The Raveonettes.

As you’ll have read from the other Iggy review, the crowd was just wild. Completely packed. We barely were able to lift our arms to get photos because it was so crowded. But hot damn, it was worth it.

The Raveonettes are potentially one of the best bands I’ve seen live. They’re such babes. They’re so European. They’re just so, so cool. Their sound echoed and reverberated across the packed square, throwing people off by the sound. You rarely encounter bands who use feedback like an instrument. And well, that’s kind of their signature move.

Seeing them play amidst their heavy duty fog machine, hearing their sultry voices–it’s modern day rockability chic at its finest. They were the perfect opener for Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and they played a full set which I was really pleased with.

Though they didn’t play some of the key tracks I was really hoping to hear, my heart was won over by finally getting to see those Euro-babes live.