NXNE: To CanCon or to Not CanCon

June 22nd, 2009

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Review and Photos by Liem Vu

“Why the hell is there a band from Iceland playing tonight?” Clearly referencing MuseBox’s choice to add Icelandic, synth-pop group, Bloodgroup to its NXNE showcase at the El Mo, the skinny jeaned music lover became overwrought with frustration following a set by Dinosaur Bones at Sunrise Records.

Maybe it was Ben Fox’s typical melancholic melodies, The Coast’s underwhelming and uninspired synth-infused attempts at indie rock or the fluorescent lighting but I just couldn’t join the CanCon crusade.

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Don’t get me wrong, I’m a proud Canadian with a penchant for plaid but the bands lacked the type of kinetic energy or magnetic charisma that have come to embody live acts like Metric or Think About Life.

Deciding to make a break for freedom, my fellow Much blogger, Kate M, and I decided to escape the corridors of the (unnecessarily) high-priced record shop to make our journey to Neutral Lounge to see Brooklyn, New York’s ZXL.

After much witty banter and thiefing…err…borrowing Starbucks’ internet, we arrived at the underground, vampiric-esque dive only to discover that we were the only two patrons there.

What I hoped would be an innovative hour of live percussions with looping and synths turned unfortunate as the group merely presented themselves as a poor man’s KeysNKrates minus the remix and innovation. After one song, we escaped to the El Mo.

Score so far:
Canada: 0
America: 0
The Rest of the World: 0

Sounding more, in name, like an EYE WEEKLY Arts Best Bet, British Columbian via the East Coast band Language Arts were already well into their set at the MuseBox NXNE line-up. With a guitar that might as well been a lute, the renaissance loving, moccasin wearing frontwoman, Kristen Cudmore, hit the stage in all her meek and geek glory.

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An anthemic tune about cough drops? Score 1 for Team Canada.

Having had a flood of press releases hit my inbox about the Icelandic electro-house quartet, Bloodgroup for the past two weeks, I decided to give them a chance to hit me with their best shot (musically speaking, we’ve had enough verbal/physical assaults last Sunday with Will.i.am dropping a different kind of beat on Perez allegedly) (editor’s note: if you believe Perez).

Thanks to my two-night stand experience with Guelph synthers, Green Go, I was preparing myself for an onslaught of synthy goodness and Bloodgroup did not disappoint. At times thrusting Kate M. into a euphoric freedom dance, the crowd went crazy creeping closer and closer to the former-Air Sex Championships stage as the magnetic frontman, Janus, exchanged endearing glances with the his equally enthralling and undeniably alluring frontwoman, while performing “Ain’t Easy.”

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For bringing us good tunes and the keytar, Canada salutes you Iceland.

Final Score for NXNE on Thursday, June 18.
Canada: 1
America: 0
The Rest of the World Iceland: 1

While NXNE does whet our inner-indie appetites, let’s not let our inner patriot forget that like the Southern counterpart, NXNE is a Mecca for all bands to flock to, Canadian or Non-Canadian. We’re a cosmopolitan of diverse music, art and culture, why not bask in it?

So to answer your question Mr. NXNE-should-be-all-CanCon to why there was a band from Iceland playing that night? Well, I guess you’ll never know…at least until they come back.

To Read Kate M’s Version of These Shows, Click Here

Tags: nxne 2009