RoundFace

MCB at NXNE 2013! by Sue Static; photos by Peter Schorn/RockOutShots.com
The 19th North By Northeast (NXNE) Festival is known as the “Music, Film, Comedy, Art and Interactive Festival” and this year was the biggest festival yet! The ever-expanding festival has now included Art to its’ many offerings, making it a complete audio/visual event!
The Canadian version of sister festival South By Southwest, NXNE was held June 10-16 in over 60 clubs and venues in downtown Toronto. The week of live music featured over 1000 bands, a dozen of independent films, 65 interactive seminars, the second year of comedy showcases, and for the first time ever-art showcases held at various locations around town. And that wasn’t all, other features included an indie label record and zine show and a boat cruise. Free concerts in the Yonge – Dundas Square featured music by such eclectic acts as Social Distortion, The National, Billy Talent and Ludacris. Yonge Street, the busiest street in the city, was closed off to accommodate the crowds.
We arrived on Thursday in the nick of time to see the band Social Distortion rock the enthusiastic crowd that braved the rainy weather to watch these early ’80s punks play their hits in the Yonge – Dundas Square.
Friday night’s standouts were the Japanese power trio RoundFace. Led by the awesome guitarist/vocalist Miyuki Hinuma, formerly of the all-female trio Megababe, RoundFace rocked the small crowd at club May. It was too bad more people didn’t attend this showcase as RoundFace brought the rock and even delighted the audience with their cover of the Beastie Boys’ “You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party)” that had them singing along.
(©Sue Static,Sue Summers) - Sue Static

Sound 3/5

Although you’d never guess it, Tokyo’s Miyu has been fronting punk and rock bands for years. For indie week, she brought here ever-so-quite solo work, displaying a skill for rock ‘n’ roll song writing in an acoustic setting. It was catchy and the jingle bells on her ankles provided a refreshing alternative to the loudness wars of Indie Week. On the other hand, she was perhaps a bit too quiet to stand over the drunken roar of the bar.

Performance 3/5

Miyu began her set by draping a banner across the front of the stage that dubbed her a “Rock ‘n’ Roll Witch.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that and her set didn’t seem to reflect anything witchy, at least by North American standards. She was, however, quite well rehearsed and tackled her songs with confidence and precision.

Professionalism 3/5

She walked on to the stage with a beaming smile and readily thanked the audience for attending. She was clearly very grateful for the small crowd in attendance and for that she deserves substantial respect. However, she made a large blunder when she broke a string and, lacking a replacement guitar, had to waste precious showcase time restringing her only guitar on stage.

Aesthetic 4/5

Although I’m not familiar with the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Witch” trend, Miyu certainly knew how to distinguish herself on stage. The jingle bells on the ankle were wonderful and worked practically as well as stylistically. I really dug the fuzzy hat too.

Authenticity 5/5

Miyu’s performance was filled with good vibes and honesty. Although she was playing to unfamiliar faces, she never showed a lack of confidence and respect for her audience. She is an honest musician clearly making an honest attempt and sharing her art with those who care to listen.

Total: 18/25

Final Grade: 72%

Josh Parsons is a baker, beer maker and philosopher. He also likes to blog, too. You can follow him on Twitter @ParsonsAles. Don't forget to also follow Toronto Music Scene @TorontoMusic. - Josh Parsons