OH, CANADA!

Time for a vacation update. With the first summer RA-ship winding to a close and the second about to begin, I figured I would take some time to spend with friends off the island. I chose the lovely but perhaps rather unusual city of Toronto as a vacation destination for two reasons: 1. The North by Northeast Music Festival was there, and 2. My best friend, Poornima, was also there. Poorn and I go back a really long time...six years ago we met in Edinburgh and solidified a friendship based on carbohydrates, beer, and bands. We've visited each other in various locations around the world, but now that she has a solid home and job in Toronto I figured it was time to see the place.
When I arrived, I was greeted by a beautiful thirty-story building, similar to our nice ones in Waikiki or Punahou. Only difference is, this pimped-out pad had a gorgeous view of the entire city as well as a pool on the roof! (True Hackers-style "the pool on the roof must have a leak.") On Day 1 we went to Anthropologie and spent too much on clothes (although my orange dress was worth every penny), and that night we had an amazing show: The Meligrove Band playing live from the CN Tower! We went up to the very top and looked down through the glass floors. I was petrified, but Poorn's presence calmed me enough to take some decent pictures. We also saw a free-jazz show from a band called Swyves, which were wonderful. Honolulu definitily needs some more free-jazz.
The next day I saw beautiful art at the AGO, which included pieces by the Group of Seven, as well as an exhibition on "The Space," an excellent Toronto artists' collective. The next big show for me was definitly the Besnard Lakes. They were beautiful, blissed-out psych rock, reminiscent of Spacemen 3 on a good day. Yet their lead singer hit high falsetto notes that J. Spaceman could never even dream of achieving. They played two encores and left the crowd baying for more. Definitly my favorite small show of the festival.
The next day I went to Kensington Market and saw the hipsters roaming in their natural habitat. The Chocolate Addict and the Chile's Empanada place were the highlights of this neighborhood.The next night was a bit of a low point with Japandroids and Wavves. I have to say that I enjoyed Wavves quite a bit, but it was less about the music for me and more about Nathan Williams' ridiculous stage props (cardboard aliens that breathed smoke) and onstage banter that reminded me of San Diego days: "Yeah, let's all get squirrely, brah!" I suppose you have to be from the Whale's Vagina to get it. Having gone to UCSD, I was quite amused. Poorn, however, kicked me repeatedly for making her attend. Japandroids were just boring as all get-out. Like a second rate version of the far superior Hella, they tried to make a two man set work, and failed completely. The mics hooked up to the amps just didn't do it for me. However, it was possibly a bad show for them and I wouldn't mind seeing them if they ever came to Honolulu. The night improved late on as I caught Portland's Glass Candy. They really know how to work a room and I found their disco beats catchy and fun. A band I'll certainly play more of on my radio show.
The next day we headed out for a special treat : the Toronto Island Festival. Despite having a beer line that lasted for nearly three hours, I have to say that this was the best outdoors show I had seen since T in the Park. We started with Timber Timbre, a Toronto folk band that I genuinely loved. I fully expect to buy this record and play the hell out of it on my show. Next we saw Beach House, who delivered an almost too-perfect set: glissandos and vocal tics just like on the record. Still, the sound was beautiful as it carried across the giant field on a 82 degree day in the North. Broken Social Scene truly amazed me. I've never seen them live before, and their set was hugely inspriring and actually left me in tears. "Texaco Bitches" was the highlight of the set for me, and is actually much more fun to listen to away from the U.S.A! They also brought Feist up on stage, as well as Emily Haynes from Metric (best legs in indie rock, five years and counting!) They seemed to truly love what they did and they made a believer out of me. Last in the night was Pavement, as the sun finally set. Poorn and I danced like fools to "Range Life" (square-dance style), "Rattled by the Rush," "Trigger Cut," "Cut Your Hair," "Sirens of the Slipstream," "Date with Ikea," "Stereo," and so many others! Malkmus truly owned vocally, and the band seemed to be playing better than ever. The tambourinist actually gave me goose bumps with how well he played! Our ears got blown out, but it truly was a perfect ending to a perfect day. Pavement is a band I truly thought I would never see live, and I'm glad that they reformed to make all of us indie kids happy as clams this years.
However, the day wasn't over yet for me. Poorn went home to sleep, I changed into a dress I bought at Anthro, and headed out to see another act I've loved from childhood: Quintron and Miss Pussycat. They were actually the main reason that I wanted to go to NXNE! I saw them at the Garrisson, where I met a couple of nice artist types. The venue seemed like one of the better ones in Toronto, and it was small and packed to the gills when the husband-and-wife duo from Lousiana took the stage. Qiuintron's set-up is truly remarkable: A car-grill covering the Hammond Organ, the Drum Buddy (which he built) set up to the left, and Miss Pussy-cat's mikes and props to the right. They played the most AMAZING set: jumping right into the crowd "Festival-style" for "Swamp-Buggy Badass," and "Witch in the Club" had the whole place jumping. My favorite, however, was the spaced out "Dream Captains," which had me dancing as funky as I could with the lights blazing off my back. It was a blissed out moment, and perhaps the highlight of the festival for me.
The next day was all about recovery, and Poorn and I had an amazing veggie sandwhich at the Black Camel (she had two!), and went hiking in Toronto's trails. We saw an old abandoned brick factory called the Brickworks, which apparently people still play shows in! We listened to birds call and even went through an old cemetary. I accidentally washed my feet in a hose that was meant for the dead, which had Poorn groaning with rage. I eventually made it up to her. A truly Rachael moment. For our last night we had nachos and beer at Sneaky Dees, and reminisced about old times. It was just like we were back at Favorit in Edinburgh. It made me realize how valuable her friendship has been to me for all these years. I am truly blessed to have a friend like her.
As I left on the plane I picked up some maple leaf and moose souveniers for family and friends. I thought about all of the beautiful art, architecture, and culture that I had imbibed here in Canada. It truly is a wonderful place, and one I want to see more of in the future. I can see that my Canadian friends in the UH Psych Program are correct: Canada= WIN.