SPILL FESTIVAL REVIEW: NXNE 2017

NXNE 2017

@ Port Lands, Toronto

June 23-25, 2017

Were you at NXNE this year? Nope? That’s OK, because nobody else was either.

Toronto’s annual music and arts festival, North by Northeast, might need to re-evaluate their festival, as attendance was shockingly low this year. The bad weather forecasts might have been the culprit, or maybe it was city’s annual Pride parade that stole the show. Not to worry, here is what we thought of this year’s performers.

EMP
Friday June 24, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

EMP is an up and coming rap trio from Toronto who told Noisey that they want to “reclaim the sound of new Toronto.” That sounds great and all, but their performance sounded anything but authentic.

I can’t say for sure if it was backtracked, but the vocals sounded almost identical to the heavily edited takes heard on their singles “Rebellion” and “Perfect Timing”.

Nonetheless, they had the audience excited and moving. In the future, I hope that the group can reclaim Toronto’s sound with more raw vocals and raps.

Twin Peaks
Friday June 24, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

While Twin Peaks aren’t the strongest vocally, they looked like they were having a blast, and gave off an incredible vibe from start to finish.

The American indie rock band play as if they are still in their garage, and you were invited for a private show. There isn’t a dull moment during a Twin Peaks set, as they do a lot of funky dancing, and they even told the audience “hillbilly” jokes.

They weren’t a must see band, but for those familiar with their music, it was a fun time.

Sleigh Bells
Friday June 24, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

American noise pop duo Sleigh Bells made their return to Canada after three years. Their music is very loud and would be classified as an acquired taste, in my opinion. After the set, I was left wondering how much of my hearing I had lost.

Vocalist Alexis Krauss has a great voice and seemed to have an infinite amount of energy for dancing and head banging on stage. The musical style is quite heavy, but Krauss’ lighter vocals does help mellow it out.

Their newer tracks like “I Can Only Stare” and “It’s Just Us Now” are much more pop than their older, darker sound, but they played a nice mixture of both new and old.

Amir Obè
Friday June 24, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

A lot of rappers have to rely on back tracks, vocal effects, or other singers to sound good. Amir Obè is not one of those rappers.

I was impressed with how he took control of the stage and how raw his singing and rapping was. He reminded me a little of The Weeknd’s higher voice, but he is a much better rapper than him.

I hadn’t heard of him until the festival, but there are a lot of artists with a similar sound and persona. Unless he finds a way to differentiate himself from the rest of the rapper/singers in the business right now, he might find himself fading out of the spotlight.

Post Malone
Friday June 24, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

Because I was hit with half of a pineapple (remnants of a “drink from a fruit” stand) and my hair was almost lit on fire by a joint held a little too close to my head, I feel a little reluctant to write a positive review on Post Malone’s performance.

This behaviour may have stemmed from the extra 40 minutes that the crowd had to wait for Malone to perform. A series of what seemed like technical issues held the show up and apparently nothing good comes from a stoned, drunk and impatient audience.

Malone did apologize for the wait and the show eventually went on as planned. He was a huge crowd pleaser and started off with a solid performance of “Too Young”.

Honestly, he was the one of the biggest names of the festival and even the attendance at his show was less than I expected. Usually, the headliner isn’t one to miss, but in this case, most people did.

Heartstreets
Saturday June 25, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

Canadian female duo Heartstreets provide an electronic influenced take on hip hop and R&B. They took control of the stage and surprised me with how well they complemented each other. Emma Beko is more of the rap side of the two, while Gabrielle Godon has the soulful R&B voice.

They announced that they actually collaborated with NXNE Saturday headlining DJ Kaytranada, but didn’t say which song they made together.

Their single “Cruising with You” was my favourite song from their set, and is also their most popular song right now on Spotify.

Blajk
Saturday June 25, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

This was the second time I’ve seen Toronto’s own electro-rock group Blajk (pronounced “black”) and it was the set I was most excited to see.

Unfortunately, lead singer Jordan Radics hurt his ankle a few days before the festival, but this didn’t set them back. Radics made the best of the situation and sang and swayed from a chair. The band played their latest single “Gunshot’ and an unreleased track “Cold Front” that they say will be officially out soon. Both songs left me longing for a full-length Blajk album, but despite the band saying an album was in production a year ago, nothing has yet to be announced. The band has so much personality, and a sound that I don’t think matches any other bands out there right now.

K.I.D
Saturday June 25, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

Another Toronto based band, K.I.D, came on stage looking like they just got out of bed from a rough night, but once they started performing, the look started to make sense. Most of the music seems to be sexually charged, but not in an empowering manner.

The whole charade and comments from the leads about being sad, and masturbating or meeting them for sex after the show, came off as desperate and cringe-worthy instead of funny.

Comments aside, frontwoman Kara Lane is an amazing vocalist, and does have a strong stage presence. Their song “I Cannot Sleep at Night” is catchy and “New Emotion” is a ballad that definitely deserves more attention. The rest of their songs are creative and thoughtful, but again, it is hard to take them seriously at some points.

MUNA
Saturday June 25, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

All female electro-pop trio MUNA is an up and coming group from Los Angeles, but have a fairly strong following in Toronto.

They performed their most recent single “I Know a Place” that was written about pride, and almost acts as a love letter to the LGBTQ community. Many of their other songs do address issues of sexuality and gender, which was timely as the festival did fall on the same weekend as Toronto’s Pride Parade.

They also played the song that first introduced me to the band, “Crying on the Bathroom Floor”. I was slightly disappointed in the vocals during this specific song, but I will blame the audio and production crew, or the exhaustion from constant touring.

There was lots of fun and friendly banter with the audience, and tons of energy displayed on stage, which has likely garnered the group some more fans from Toronto.

Bleachers
Saturday June 25, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

Bleachers was one of the acts that I was most excited to see, and he didn’t disappoint.

Bleachers is actually the official stage name of songwriter and record producer Jack Antonoff. He is a busy man though, as he is also part of the bands Steel Train and Fun. The crowd loved his energy and sense of humour. It was impressive to see that he could actually hit the higher notes in his music and that he was able to bring his latest album “Gone Now” to life on stage.

He also switched it up and did a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way”, which was a fun throwback.

Tinie Tempah
Saturday June 25, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

English rapper Tinie Tempah brought the party to Port Lands, but had to rely on a lot of back tracks to fill his set.

When he did rap, it was great, but most of his songs were featuring other artists that couldn’t be there. To me, this was a little strange because it felt like he was just rapping along to a song, instead of it being his own song. He did this with his 2010 hit “Written in the Stars” featuring Eric Turner and the more recent “Girls Like” with Zara Larsson. He did perform his new single “Holy Moly” which doesn’t feature anyone else, which was satisfactory proof that he can stand alone as well.

Despite the lack of his own material, he was a crowd pleaser and the audience did seem to be having a good time throughout his set. In fact, he likely had the best fan engagement of all the rappers that played NXNE.

KAYTRANADA
Saturday June 25, 2017
(Writer – Josie Mills)

Tyler, The Creator was one of the big selling points originally for the festival and when he dropped out for what the festival calls “circumstances beyond our control”, it was a big blow to NXNE’s lineup.

His replacement, KAYTRANADA, a Canadian DJ, was definitely a different kind of show. As is typical with DJ sets, there was little to no engagement with the audience. This usually works, as people are typically familiar with the music.

KAYTRANADA’s music had some people moving, but most just seemed to bump along, wondering if this was really the entire show. His music was a little too chill to follow up Tempah’s pumped up party.

The trippy visuals and spaced out sounds just seemed like music that would be best to get high to, not the highlight of the entire day. It didn’t help that, after a group of artists performing original music, the day was capped with someone who just sat behind a computer playing other people’s tracks instead.

Midday Swim
Sunday June 26, 2017
(Writer – Noushin Ziafati)

About an hour after Midday Swim was scheduled to perform, NXNE festival goers were told the gates to Port Lands were finally open after the festival grounds were on lockdown due to a “lightning watch”. The small crowd was welcomed by the Toronto indie rock band a half hour later, whose calming atmospheric sound put the antsy mood to rest. The band performed their hit “Summer Eyes”, causing the crowd to put their summer eyes on for the rest of the day, in hopes of better weather.

Teen Ravine
Sunday June 26, 2017
(Writer – Noushin Ziafati)

Synthy and jazzy feel-good vibes are what Teen Ravine brought to NXNE. The lead singer of the band was decked out in pastels, wearing a bright peach shirt and blue baseball cap. He swayed back and forth on stage and snapped his fingers, whilst singing romantic lyrics that could make listeners fall in love. A majestic flute and a mellow sax added a unique touch to each song the band played.

The Soul Rebels ft. Talib Kweli
Sunday June 26, 2017
(Writer – Noushin Ziafati)

Brass, brass, and more brass. The New Orleans-based brass ensemble The Soul Rebels put on an energetic shout along set that hyped up the NXNE crowd. Hands were in the air, people danced along and the band members moved on stage in sync to their funky, jazzy, soulful music. The eclectic band also incorporated powerful rap lyrics into their songs. Featured Brooklyn hip-hop artist Talib Kweli also pumped up the crowd, encouraging them to pump their fists in the air. Kweli performed two songs that were produced by Kanye West, whom he called a musical genius. Throughout the set, The Soul Rebels and Kweli made several tributes to Mobb Deep’s Prodigy who died on June 20 and encouraged the NXNE crowd to show love to their loved ones today, before it’s too late.

Lizzo
Sunday June 26, 2017
(Writer – Noushin Ziafati)

 Dressed up in a black and white dress with fringe, alternative Minnesota hip-hop artist Lizzo sang, rapped and danced alongside her two backup dancers who shook their booties in black bodysuits. “Representation matters,” she said whilst praising her plus-size backup dancers. Lizzo preached self-love, self-care and self-empowerment at her upbeat “turn-up” set, performing songs from her 2016 EP Coconut Oil. When she asked how many of the crowd members knew her prior to the performance, most people raised their hands. Regardless, she was able to get the crowd dancing along to her soulful music that incorporated electronic dance music.

Passion Pit
Sunday June 26, 2017
(Writer – Noushin Ziafati)

Last but not least, the indietronica band that everyone had been waiting for on the final day of NXNE took the stage. A large enthusiastic crowd gathered around the main stage and danced along to the Passion Pit’s much loved hits including “Sleepyhead”, “Take a Walk” and “Carried Away”. Lead singer Michael Angelakos sentimentally reflected on the fact that the band is 10-years-old this year. He waved his microphone around in the air and paced back and forth on stage whilst singing the lyrics to their vibrant music. The crowd was clearly pleased, enthusiastically singing along and bouncing around — ending NXNE on an ecstatic note.

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Bueller @ The Baby G (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Emporer X @ The Baby G (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Tush @ The Baby G (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Blajk @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Bleachers @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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John River @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Son Little @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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K.I.D @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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KAYTRANADA @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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MUNA @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Tinie Tempah @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Humans @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Lizzo @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Passion Pit @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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River Tiber @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Saya @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Soul Rebels @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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The Franklin Electric @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Yukon Blonde @ Port Lands (Photographer – Morgan Harris)

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Amir Obè @ Port Lands (Photographer – Celina Gallardo)

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Cold Specks @ Port Lands (Photographer – Celina Gallardo)

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EMP @ Port Lands (Photographer – Celina Gallardo)

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Post Malone @ Port Lands (Photographer – Celina Gallardo)

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Regrettes @ Port Lands (Photographer – Celina Gallardo)

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Sleigh Bells @ Port Lands (Photographer – Celina Gallardo)

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Twitn Peaks @ Port Lands (Photographer – Celina Gallardo)

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Festival Links