While this year’s Pop Montreal new-music extravagnza may have been an indie-rock music nerd’s wet dream, those of us too overworked or underfunded to take in a week of club-hopping in la belle province could take solace in the fact that Toronto, while unlikely to ever become as much of a hipster hotspot as its erstwhile cultural rival, at least gets a good selection of touring acts coming through on a regular basis. So in the spirit of enterprise, and thanks to a coincidental confluence of interesting shows passing through town at the same time, I decided to have a little festival of my own. My plan was to see five bands on four different nights, dragging my tired self out to some overloud dank watering hole each night and overwhelming myself with a gradual blurring of one faceless indie band after another - just like at a real festival!
Herewith, a summary of my very own Pop Toronto, which, while lacking in hype, depth, buzz and wrist bands, was still full of scenesters, cheap beer and hangovers at the office the next day.
