Pocket Diving (and shoe-snapping): NXNE Day 2

-- reposted from Static --


NXNE Thursday began with me wandering around like a stray cat. I was turned away from the Smith Westerns/Dusted island show, which I later discovered meant missing out on free backpacks. My plan B was Julie Doiron at Trinity Bellwoods, which I also found myself too late for.
Before the festival started, I thought I created a pretty pared down schedule, with deliberate overlaps meant for changes of mind, heart and whatever else. Anyway, I ended up at the El Mo a lot earlier than planned. After a few minutes in the downstairs room, I already wanted to go home, take a nap, then curl up and watch Buffy… or you know, write my damn essay. But the misery didn’t last, thank goodness.
Upstairs, Boxer the Horse were being delightful and fun. My only regret was not going up sooner. I only caught the tail-end of their set.


Then, I asked a few more people to empty out their pockets:

Joe, Mechanical Forest Sound: notebook, camera, wallet, recording gear



Pete, Sticky Magazine: earplugs, phone, Sticky Magazine stickers, cards, keys, camera gear (in bag)



Aaron: keys, loose change, wallet, pills, phone, contacts



Andy, Army Girls: keys attached to an awesome keychain and a drink ticket


At the Rivoli...

Will, Zulu Winter: a 4-month old guitar pick, which Will was particularly proud of, wallet, lighter, and loose change of different currencies; He was in the UK, France, Ireland, America, and now Canada all in the span of a week, he explained.


Throughout the night, I also ended up taking photos of shoes.

This guy from Jane’s Party had these really striking red moccasin loafers, which I tried but failed to capture.



Rituals at the El Mo



I particularly liked that the guys from Zulu Winter all had English weather-beaten footwear. Too bad the lighting/photos didn’t capture all that character.


And saving the best for last…

Carmen Elle from Army Girls’ shoes. I’ve had terrible timing and have always missed the opportunity to see them before. I had Red Bull just before their set, so I was ready for them to melt my face off.




I was thinking of maybe altering the spelling of my name. Instead of Carmel, I could be Carmelle… then maybe I could be closer to being almost as cool as Carmen Elle.