June 19 - The last day of the festival came bittersweet, the excitement of another day of NXNE stung slightly by the knowledge that it was the last. Truly, the week went by so quickly as to cause alarm, and as the sun hung high in the afternoon sky, many flocked back to Trinity Bellwoods Park for the final concert in the NXNE picnic series.



It's difficult to describe how perfect a day it was to sit on the grass in the sunlight and watch Hands & Teeth perform for the park. It was hot in the sunlight but a very cool atmosphere (no pun intended), and the band's signature sound - wonderful for its defiance of labeling - was well—suited to the format.

The band juggled instruments slightly, highlighting one of their most appealing traits: the band works so well together in their ability to work together to each other's strengths, seeming to serve the song as opposed to any one particular individual.



Following them was arguably the most interesting performance of the festival - Matt King of DD/MM/YYYY (spoken aloud as Day, Month, Year) gave an artistic performance in the park with a handful of seemingly random objects. Surrounding himself with glasses, tape recorders and sounds effects, he accompanied sound fragments from tapes with the materials he had around him.



For the final song in his set, King stood in front of everyone holding a tape recorder and swayed slightly as the song played through to completion. It was difficult to hear the song, making it difficult to identify, but the concept and execution of King's performance was unquestionably memorable.



Jess Hill performed afterwards, bringing the afternoon back to acoustic guitar music with her own insightful folk music. There is a substance to Hill's music that is impressive, a method by which the story is the focus and the music supportive of it.

Especially sweet was when Hill described the thought behind her song "An Open Letter To My Heart", offering perspective by wondering aloud whether moths drawn to light bulbs think they've reached the moon before singing of being drawn to hazardous loves and the need for the occasional moonless night.



Megan Bonnell, more intimately presented in Bellwoods than at her live performance at The Rivoli during the Nevado Records showcase, sang before the park accompanied by Eric Wichman on guitar. She handed out bottles of bubbles with wands as she began, very simply creating a sweetened setting for her music.

In addition to her own songs, Bonnell led the audience in Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" and joined Wichman in performing "Eighteen Hammers" on a drum to close her set.



Closing the afternoon were Teenage Kicks, performing as a guitar trio. Playing some songs off of their Rational Anthems EP, the band switched from being a trio to front man Pete van Helvoort performing solo and back again.



The band also showed a lot of appeal through humour, evening ribbing themselves during a Beatles cover when they forgot the lyrics. "We knew this might happen," van Helvoort said, though the band kept playing and recovered a short moment later.



The concert series served as a perfect example for the festival: although short and sweet, it was expertly organized and attended in large part by a group of music lovers so respectful and appreciative of the opportunity to see the performances. There was no one glued to their smart phone here, no one half—heartedly participating in the music and the moment, and that speaks volumes.