NXNE 2012 Live Reviews June 15 - 17: Ghostface, Raekwon, Bleached, Phedre, Odonis Odonis, Shellshag, More (PHOTOS)

Posted on Jun 18th 2012 4:45PM by Spinner

Chromewaves

The rolling party known as NXNE 2012 is now done.

The marquee event, of course, was Spinner's own free super-show at Yonge-Dundas Square featuring mega-weirdoes Flaming Lips, Of Montreal, Hollerado and a pile of others.

That's wasn't all that was going on, though. On Wednesday there were a few good shows. On Thursday, too. Now we've compiled some of the best we saw over the rest of the weekend.

Spinner mobilized a small army over the last few days. Here's what they saw:

Bleached
LA-based Bleached took the stage just as M for Montreal's Bruise Cruise returned to dry land on Saturday. Featuring former members of Mika Miko, golden-haired sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin led the band through a set of '60s inspired and harmony-laden pop. The music seemed the perfect fit for a day on the water. However, the set suffered from awful sound, and the feedback-adverse soon joined those feeling queasy from the endless lolling of the boat in a mass exodus to shore. It wasn't all bad. Earlier when guitarist Jennifer Clavin sunned herself on the ship's deck she told Spinner that the afternoon cruise offered a much-needed respite from the chaos that is NXNE. "I'm just really enjoying this view of Toronto right now,"she said. -- Lonny Knapp

Christien Summers
Christien Summers was formed on a loving four year marriage between Fleetwood Mac, folk and '80s new wave, as assimilated by Gareth Jones of the Cansecos and the breathy, fun-loving vocalist, Carol Lui. "I'm a new wave baby and I love a good dance party," she told Spinner backstage after the band's Saturday show at the Cameron House. Naturally, it turns out that disco is the glue that keeps their rhythms together, as many a sleazy Hustle-inducing beat were looped over the guitar, drums and bass. The upcoming full album release on Upper Class should help elevate Christien Summers to the next level. -- Jesse Ship

The Deer Tracks
If someone asked me to create a parody of a Bergman-esque Swedish electronic duo, it would probably turn out exactly like the Deer Tracks. David Lehnberg thrashed around while asymmetrical hair feathers dangling from his body and his instruments. Elin Lindfors played the saw and looked like Daenerys Targaryen dressed as Baby Jane. Their drummer and keyboard/oboe player cloaked themselves in druid-style hoods for half of the performance. And yet it all worked perfectly. Striking an impressively delicate balance between experiment, atmosphere, and strong, almost poppy melody, the Deer Tracks entranced the audience at the increasingly full Rivoli on Saturday. -- Sarah Kurchak

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Mac DeMarco
Mac DeMarco took the stage somewhere in the middle of Lake Ontario as part of M-For Montreal's second annual NXNE Bruise Cruise on Saturday. After seeing his promo shots -- which find the artist formerly known as Makeout Videotape in garish lipstick and a scraggly updo -- you might expect the husky-voiced singer to hit the stage for a self-serious empathy fest. Instead, leaning on well-crafted guitar pop from his debut EP, Rock and Roll Night Club, Montreal-based DeMarco and his band delivered a goofy take on a rock show. When his guitarist hopped aboard a railing to deliver a crotch-thrusting guitar solo, DeMarco smiled like Alfred E .Newman. "People come to the show and expect me to wear make up and croon," he explained afterward. "But we think guitar solos are funny, so we put as many as we can in the set." -- Lonny Knapp

Ghostface Killah and Raekwon

Ghostface Killah and Raekwon threw back to their glory days during NXNE's grand finale on Sunday. Most of their set featured classics from their respective mid-'90s solo albums, Ironman and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, respectively, with obligatory Wu-Tang Clan bangers interspersed. But the night truly belonged to Toronto talent like MCs JD Era and Mindbender, who were invited to take on parts of the dearly departed Ol' Dirty Bastard during key tracks. Canuck DJ Skratch Bastid held things down, standing beside himself in awe for most the way through. After all, who wouldn't? This night was Toronto history in the making. -- Jesse Ship

Odonis Odonis
Debuting a new member didn't faze Toronto DIY stalwarts Odonis Odonis, who (further) redefined amazingness on Friday at Sneaky Dee's. Purveyors of raw, buzzy, thrashy surf rock, the band played a short, spirited set that pleased the dance-happy and forced arm-crossers to give in and get weird. Oh, and that new member? None other than Maddy Wilde of Moon King (see also: Spiral Beach). "We just added her in," said Odonis Odonis's Dean Tzenos. "The new album that's coming out in September has a lot of female vocal parts; this was like a test run." How did he think that test run went? "Everyone was vibing it," he said. "Tonight felt fucking awesome." -- Dave Jaffer

Killer Mike
Killer Mike shifted from Southern gentleman to politically-minded activist assassin and back again over the course of his powerful hour-long set at Yonge-Dundas Square on Sunday. "It's harder to be poor now more than ever. The government is under-educating us. Take care of the people or they'll burn this fucker down," he implored. Most vicious was his rancorous distaste for the deceased ex-US president Ronald Reagan, whom he gave the finger to many times during the night. A lyrical genius, Michael, as he called himself at times, worked many of the glitter billboards ringing Yonge & Dundas Square's stage into a hilarious freestyle rap, spitting rhymes about AOL, The Dictator, Reebok Crossfit, the CN Tower Edgewalk and more. -- Jesse Ship

Phedre
Based off of the tragic character from Greek mythology, Phedre is comprised of April Aliermo and Daniel Lee of Hooded Fang, with support from Maylee Todd, Doldrums' Airick Woodhead and others. A Toronto indie rock supergroup of sorts, the band brought to life an '80s-excess R&B space-rock opera with a gold lamé sensibility, if that's possible to imagine. Flanked by a host of glittery masked backup dancers equipped with massive decorative fans, Phedre delivered their fantastical music on the smallish Sneaky Dee's stage on Friday using tools like a filtering megaphone, all while directing a soma-induced crowd with floppy peacock feathers. -- Jesse Ship

Shellshag
Playing guitar (Shell), stand-up drums (Shag) and singing (both) facing each other across a large and Dalek-like light/speaker/mic stand contraption, Brooklyn duo Shellshag delivered a playful set of shambolic indie pop duets, Toronto shout-outs and a Cure cover at the El Mocambo on Saturday. While the pair were certainly charming, they never really delivered on the promise of their giddy energy, or their reputation for a wild live show. The Shellshag of NXNE were fun, if not balls-out raucous, but it was easy to imagine how crazy they could get with a later set time and a more responsive audience. -- Sarah Kurchak

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