In seven short years, Montreal’s Osheaga Music and Arts Festivalhas become one of Canada’s preeminent destinations for hundreds of bands and fans. According to folklore, Osheaga was the first name used to describe the area that would eventually become Montreal by its European settlers, a word descended down from the native Mohawks as the place “where they met the people of the shaking hands.” These days, there are still plenty of shaking hands…and fists…and crowd surfers…and yeah you get the idea, hopefully! O-she-ha-ga, as it’s pronounced, may as well stand for, “Most awesome music fest in Canada!”
North by Northeast 2012 is here and is rarin’ to eat unsuspecting festival goers alive by the sheer weight of its imposing schedule.
A whistle-inducing 780 bands, up +20% from last year, will be taking over Toronto’s downtown core from June 11th to the 17th, causing many a music fan to run for cover, not unlike how Cary Grant does from the crop duster in the similarly titled Hitchcock thriller. NXNE can be intimidating for even the bravest of people, but it can also be unbelievably rewarding. I’ve compiled some (hopefully helpful) information for those who are thinking of attending so that your NXNE experience leans more to the latter. Hope you all have fun at one of the largest fests of its kind, but be on the lookout for that creepy-looking “Thing with 1,000 Eyes” that’s on their home page…
I’m not one to beg for people’s support, even for worthwhile events I’m involved in. This one, however, is a little different.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are entering an interesting period in their nearly 30-year history as a band. They’re not quite ready to hit the nostalgic casino circuit, yet at the same time, more than a few people have turned their noses up at the sight of their name on festival posters, claiming their relevancy has passed. Even their most fired up fans would probably concede that these longtime rock funksters have gone down on the musical Scoville heat scale in recent years.
Definitely not your average 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.