SATURDAY

Perfect Pussy at The Great Hall

I returned to The Great Hall for a couple of sets. Perfect Pussy had detoxed from the frustration of the night before to come around and play their set as it should be: loud and relentless. The PA was booming with noise, guitar, a new bass, slamming drums and Graves’ powerful vocals. This venue was perfect for the band with all of the elements beautifully bouncing off the walls straight into the packed crowd at The Great Hall. Nothing caught on fire, and everything was right again.

Frankie Cosmos X2 at The Great Hall and Red Bull Tour Bus

My original plan was to only see Frankie Cosmos at The Great Hall and then head to Mac DeMarco at the main stage downtown, but after hearing about some offensive remarks that made me uncomfortable said by Mac DeMarco on stage the night before, I thought, “fuck Mac DeMarco – Frankie Cosmos forever”. The first set was played in almost darkness, and although the vocals were a bit quiet, the crowd eagerly watched the gang of Frankie Cosmos, Ronnie Mystery, David Mystery and Gabby Teardrop play their poppy tunes that make even the most closed-off person feel all kinds of ~feelings~. I trekked downtown after the first set to Ryerson University’s quad, turning the corner to view a large converted tour bus stage setup sponsored by Red Bell. Greta Kline reminded everyone to make sure to drink a Red Bull periodically between songs. The crowd at this show was much more interesting, because the setup of the stage provided foot traffic and curious passersby to stop and look confused. The favorite of which was this one guy smoking a joint who stopped to listen in and decided he liked it enough to stay. The crowd around him enjoyed his inability to understand what was happening in front of him. The set ended with a touching slow dance-along to “Ronnie Ronaldo!” but how could it not with the infamous line “if my butt touched your butt would you be like so what?” I hope our lost and high friend found solitude in the lyrics, longing for the love we all hope to achieve while listening to Frankie Cosmos’ beautiful, sweet tunes.

Swearin’ at Smiling Buddha

Nothing could have capped off my time at NXNE better than a perfect, pop punk set from Swearin’. No one goes harder than this band, and they brought their all to the Smiling Buddha. They busted through songs from 2012’s S/T, 2013’s Surfing Strange and even a tid bit of their original What a Dump tape. Swearin’ is excellent at finding the line between pop, punk and noise and mixing all these elements into music that really could be for anyone. The punks love it. The crusties love it. The poptimists love it. What more could you ask for really?