NXNE 2014 – reports from the trenches
It’s North by Northeast time in Toronto, that moment that comes every June when the city’s venues and the odd public space become host to ten days of music, film, comedy, art and interactive events. Hard to believe this has been going on for 20 years now!
NXNE is not a metal-centric fest by any means, but there are usually plenty of opportunities for taking in some heavy music. This year, several of the fest’s heavier bands happen to share an urban home base with Hellbound (i.e. Hamilton, Ontario), and they’ve agreed to share some of their NXNE stories. First to report back are Sumo Cyco. Here’s what they had to say before going on stage last night…
Sumo Cyco
My name is Sever. I sing in a band called Sumo Cyco. We’ve had the pleasure of playing NXNE for the last 3 years. What a great experience! Nothing better than a week of great bands, art and film for the community. If you haven’t had an NXNE experience you’re missing out!
Yesterday was our first night out at the festival for 2014. My guitar player Matt ‘MD13’ Drake and I dropped by The Horseshoe Tavern to catch our friends in the The OBGMs. We were introduced to the band through Indie Week Canada last year at the ‘Best Of The Fest’ show. Slick party by Budweiser at the Horseshoe. Can’t complain getting free beers from the Bud girls! Congrats to the guys in The OBGMs for scoring a spot on the Budweiser festival in Philly coming up!
Tonight me and my boys in our band Sumo Cyco play Bovine Sex Club at 1am. It’s going to be destruction! Bovine has always been good to us and this will be our second year at that venue for NXNE. Our debut album dropped last week so this will be the first show where we have Lost in Cyco City with us. Can’t wait to throw down!
Before we take the stage, I’m hoping to catch the Tune-Yards set at Massey Hall. What a great sounding venue. The great thing about NXNE is bouncing around the city to all different venues, meeting up with friends and getting introduced to new music.
On the other hand there’s always some heavy hitting established acts at Young and Dundas for free shows. Last year we hit up Dundas Square when Billy Talent rocked it. Love seeing a sea of people enjoying music in such an urban environment. I know my guitar player and I are stoked about catching the Run the Jewels set at the square on Sunday. It should be fun, if we can survive another three days of mayhem!
Hope to see you out there music, lovers!
Happy NXNE!
— Skye ‘Sever’ Sweetnam
