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June 22 - June 29,2003 |
On The Beat
The NXNE Rounds
By Kerry Doole
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Steve Earle
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NORTH BY NORTHEAST: This annual music festival and conference had to overcome some unfortunate obstacles this year, but managed to do so with a great deal of success. The biggest problem was the ongoing SARS hysteria. This prompted a significant number of bands to cancel, leaving organizers with very real headaches. One of the highlights of NXNE is usually the chance it gives to check out up and coming bands from the U.S. and elsewhere, but many of the American acts wimped out. That didn't deter local music fans from coming out to the clubs to check out the action. Thanks in part to generally favourable weather, large crowds filled many of the participating clubs to capacity, reinforcing Toronto's well-deserved reputation as one of the best cities in the world for live music. There also seemed to be less American registrants than usual for the conference side of NXNE, but thankfully two high-profile keynote speakers showed up. This writer missed the infamous JOHN LYDON (aka JOHNNY ROTTEN), and heard mixed reports about his speech.
STEVE EARLE: The other key speaker at NXNE, he provided the undoubted high point of the conference. Steve was here partly for the world premiere of a new documentary, Just An American Boy, shown in rough form as part of the NXNE Film Festival. His address at the conference was, quite simply, inspiring. Earle may laughingly call himself "just a hillbilly singer with delusions of grandeur," but he's much more than that. A dedicated activist, he shows real courage in fighting the repression of free speech and dilution of civil liberties in the U.S. (and here), so his words have never been more needed. He nailed the whole SARS issue by linking it to "the climate of fear" that has been created by both the government and the media.
CLUB ACTION: The essence of NXNE remains the three nights of intensive activity in the clubs, as bands showcase their musical wares. Yours truly was underwhelmed by a lot of the acts on display, but some highly promising newcomers made the club-hopping worthwhile. Near the top of that list were a couple of Maritime singer/songwriters named Matthew. Nova Scotian MATT MAYS has found a level of recognition as a member of alt-country band THE GUTHRIES, and he's now making major moves on his own. He just won a GALAXIE Award of $3,000 as the most promising new artist at this year's NXNE, and was given that cheque during his show at the Horseshoe. Backed by a fine band called EL TORPEDO, he showed why he's creating a fuss via a sparkling set. Equally impressive at The Rivoli was MATTHEW BARBER. Fluent vocal stylings and melodic songs make him a contender, and he was helped out on harmonies by sister JILL BARBER.
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