FFWD REW

Asking artists for their perfect Sled Island itinerary

A hardcore legend a cloud-rap guru and many more share their favourite picks

Sled Island much like its larger cousins in Toronto’s NXNE Quebec’s Pop Montreal and Vancouver’s Music Waste is a fest geared towards music discovery. That’s why despite well-established headliners like Explosions in the Sky Superchunk and Jon Spencer it’s well worth exploring the more obscure seedier corners of the festival. But that’s easier said than done. With hundreds of bands from across the world it’s hard to determine where to start. So we asked some of our favourite bands at Sled Island — Vancouver odd-pop act Jay Arner Halifax Kraut band Moon Deranged Records punks White Lung OFF!’s punk legend Keith Morris Best of Calgary-winning electro sensation Sanctums and Vancouver viral rapper Young Braised — to share their schedules for this weekend. Hint: Walter TV and Jesus and Mary Chain might be among the fest’s most hyped.

Mint Recs artist Jay Arner who “loves the novelty of seeing local bands play non-local festivals”:

Thursday June 20: Tumblr-obsessed Vancity cloud-rapper Young Braised (midnight Bamboo); antisocial B.C. hardcore band B-Lines (12:30 a.m. Commonwealth); Montreal indie-psych act Suuns (1 a.m. The Palomino)

Friday June 21: Korean Gut psychedic mess Tough Age (2:30 p.m. Broken City); Halifax gazers Monomyth (4 p.m. Local 510); Montreal art-pop act Walter TV (11:30 p.m. No. 1 Legion)

Saturday June 22: Elegant Suicide Squeeze post-punks Peace (4 p.m. Tubby Dog); Scottish alt-psych legends The Jesus and Mary Chain (9:30 p.m. Olympic Plaza); Halifax free-form pop act Cousins (midnight Broken City)

If you could only see one band: “ Monomyth ” says Arner. “They’re the band I want to be in and they’re my dream band to play with in Halifax.”

The Highest Order’s Paul Mortimer (far left) who texted us these picks while in Edmonton:

Thursday June 20: “Super rad fun live band” Slow Learners (3 p.m. Local 510); Toronto bluesy riff-rock titans Biblical (11:30 p.m. Dickens); Keith Morris-fronted hardcore mainstays OFF! (1 a.m. The Commonwealth)

Friday June 21: Vancouver doom-grunge act War Baby (11 p.m. No. 1 Legion); Toronto LOL-bringers Chris Locke and Sarah Hennessey (both at Wine-Ohs between 11:30 p.m. and 2 a.m.)

Saturday June 22: Vancouver weirdos Shearing Pinx (5 p.m. Tubby Dog); upbeat Toronto indie mainstays The Bicycles (10 p.m. Tubby Dog); Halifax pop duo Cousins (midnight Broken City)

If you could only see one band: Mortimer was excited to see Slow Learners Burning Love and Sled Comedy but it’s Saturday’s Jesus and Mary Chain performance “obviously.”

White Lung’s Mish Way (second from left) who we caught landing in Toronto for NXNE:

Thursday June 20: Wuss-punks Grown-Ups (11 p.m. Broken City) because they have “the coolest drummer in all the Prairies”; melodi-metal act Torche (12:30 a.m. Dickens) because “these Florida men play nasty… but sleep with all the lights on.”

Friday June 21: Walter TV (11:30 p.m. No. 1 Legion) because “an acid trip should always be accompanied by music.”

Saturday June 22: Jizz jazz inventor Mac DeMarco who plays two sets on Saturday (4 p.m. Olympic Plaza; 11 p.m. Flames Central.)

If you could only see one band: “ Mac Demarco ” says Way. “Because he’s this generation’s Chris Isaak. And who doesn’t love Chris Isaak? Come on.”

OFF!’s Keith Morris (third from left) who we caught up with prior to his NXNE performance with FLAG:

Thursday June 20: The combustive riffage of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (midnight No. 1 Legion); DIY stars Superchunk (12:30 a.m. Republik); the furious punk of White Lung (1 a.m. Broken City)

Friday June 21: Austin post-rock standards Explosions in the Sky (9:30 p.m. Olympic Plaza) ; the grungy Fury Things (11:30 p.m. Palomino)

Saturday June 22: Scottish noise-gazers Jesus and Mary Chain (9:30 p.m. Olympic Plaza); San Fran faves Thee Oh Sees (12:30 a.m. No. 1 Legion); Portland punk institution The Thermals (1 a.m. Dickens)

If you could only see one band: “ The Jesus and Mary Chain ” says Morris. “You don’t need to get into many details about one of the greatest bands of all time.”

Sanctums ’ Evangelos Typist (left) whose Teeth Tongue Lips EP was a local fave:

Thursday June 20: Ethereal Vancouver remix machines Sabota (5:30 p.m. East Village Riverwalk); Montreal post-post-indie act Valleys (midnight Palomino); the electronic-tinged rock of Suuns (1 a.m. Palomino)

Friday June 21: Fury Things ’ ’90s grunge-gaze (11:30 a.m. on CJSW); Winnipeg noise-metal act KEN Mode (12:30 a.m. Ship & Anchor); the Amrep-worshipping noise of METZ (1 a.m. No. 1 Legion)

Saturday June 22: Textured local post-rock act Jung People (7:30 p.m. The Alexandra Centre); the legendary odd-pop of Mount Eerie (10:30 p.m. Golden Age Club); and METZ again (1 a.m. Broken City)

If you could only see one band: “ Valleys ” says Sanctums’ Evangelos Typist. “Their eerie synths and creepy vocals over ambient post-rock soundscapes make them a must-see.”

Vancouver experimental cloud-rap genius Young Braised

Thursday June 20: Rising indie-pop act The Courtneys (8 p.m. Tubby Dog); the wobbly meanderings of Hardly Art’s The Beets (10 p.m. Tubby Dog); NYC-via-Edmo futurist producer Kuhrye-oo (10 p.m. HiFi)

Friday June 21: Raucous Victoria surf-trash act Slam Dunk (1 p.m. Palomino); the unclassifiable guitar pop of Jay Arner (1:30 p.m. Palomino); Walter TV (11:30 p.m. No. 1 Legion); the lo-fi glam of Oakland’s Warm Soda (12:30 a.m. Palomino)

Saturday June 22: Singsong-y Edmo lo-fi pop treasure Brazilian Money (9:30 p.m. Palomino); The Jesus and Mary Chain duh (9:30 p.m. Olympic Plaza); Nova Scotia remix master Ryan Hemsworth (midnight HiFi)

If you could only see one band: The Jesus and Mary Chain . “Also try going to an art opening” he says. “[I]nstead of getting another performance Instagram (yawn) of your favourite band get a candid of them staring at a piece of carpet on a wall.”

Andrew Neville of Halifax post-punk explosion Moon:

Thursday June 20: Calgo-Pittsburgh feelgood pop act Feel Alright (3 p.m. Broken City); local lo-fi gurus Viet Cong (4 p.m. Broken City); all-girl Vancouver trio The Courtneys (8 p.m. Tubby Dog)

Friday June 21: Young outlandish Halifax bizzaro-indie act Old and Weird (2:30 p.m. Local 510); hazy hot messes Monomyth (4 p.m. Local 510); “v. funny” Toronto comedian Chris Locke (TBA)

Saturday June 22: Caffeinated quirky Haligonians Quaker Parents (9 p.m. Tubby Dog); Phil Elverum’s Mount Eerie backed by a full band (10:30 p.m. Golden Age Club); post-everything electronic sensation Ryan Hemsworth (midnight HiFi)

If you could only see one band: “Mount Eerie” says Neville. “The shows I’ve seen Phil Elverum play stand out… as some of my most important musical experiences. [I’m] looking forward to having my mind melted like never before.”

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