Look out, here comes a long one. I really can’t help it though, as Friday itself was a long one last week—definitely the most lengthy of my NXNE shenanigans. In fact, it was about 12 or so total hours worth of concert-going goodness (with a small meal break).

Things kicked off early at the annual Kelp/Saved By Vinyl BBQ at Global Village Backpackers, which featured a myriad of great indie bands starting at 12pm and going until the evening.

There’s no possible way that I can recap the entire BBQ here, so I’ll give you some highlights:

First off, I have a newfound respect for BBQ opener, Lorrie Matheson, who got things off to a great start. Admittedly, I never cared for the Calgary stalwart’s earlier releases, but his latest, In Vein, resonated a little more with me than the rest and this 12:30pm performance definitely made me want to delve deeper (I confessed as much to him directly afterwards).

Lorrie Matheson - Don’t Let This Living Kill You Now

The BBQ also gave me a chance to check out The Summerlad, who I had missed the night before at the Boat. They weren’t doing their epic rock-opera (which makes up 3 of the four sides of their latest LP, City of Noise—check out the previously featured title track here), but definitely had a unique and diverse sound nonetheless.

Saskatoon’s Ultimate Power Duo were also a rockin’ site to behold. Counter-intuitively playing as a trio, the group laid it down as frenetically and hard as humanly possible. It’s always impressive to watch people who play as though their balls are on the line.

Of course, while there were many other entertaining moments amidst the occasional free beer, excellent hamburgers (seriously, they were great), and sets from the likes of The Violet Archers, HILOTRONS and Camp Radio, if you ask me it never gets any more awe-inspiring than Rhume.

Fronted by Kelp-founder, Jon Bartlett, Rhume’s appearance at these BBQs is always a climactic moment. Last year Jon came out in tight white boxers and wellingtons, but this time around he took it to another level. Inspired by the fact that it was Friday the 13th, the already large and slightly menacing Bartlett burst on to the scene in full slasher gear—not to mention roller skates. I know Jen wasn’t all that taken by the affair, but I was sitting beside her filming in glee the entire time (they also opened with one of my favourite Rhume tunes—about killing ants).

Speaking of which, while I’m still working on uploading footage from most of that afternoon’s performances for Zunior.tv, here’s Rhume performing the aforementioned “Empoisonne la Fourmilière” from their excellent 2002 release, Jeu de Puissance:

Rhume - Empoisonne la Fourmilière

After a relaxing stop at a local pub for dinner, it was back to the venues as my friends and I met at Clinton’s in time for The Superfantastics. Always amicable, the Halifax duo never fail to impress. That said, seeing as I’ve discussed them at length prior (during CMW, here and here), I’ll let the video do the talking.

Here are The Superfantastics performing “Glitter” from their acclaimed full-length debut, Pop-Up Book (click the still below to take you to Zunior.tv—the page was having trouble handling 3 videos):

The Superfantastics - Vantastic

I couldn’t stick around to chat after the short set though, as there was a fire under my ass to catch Shotgun Jimmie across town immediately afterwards. Performing at Harlem, an interesting and narrow venue that I’d never been to before, the band—comprised of Jimmie himself backed by Attack In Black, no less—arrived late and made haste to get things going.

I’ve mentioned before that Jimmie was my high school president and, while neither of us have much of a recollection of each other from those formative years, I’ve been meaning to catch him during one of his trips to Toronto for some time now. An excellent songwriter, he also proved to be right at home on stage, crackin’ wise between songs and just generally exuding a veteran flare. Of course, it helps when you have a critically acclaimed band backing you (Attack In Black made the long list for the 2008 Polaris Prize, for those of you keeping track).

All told, the set was short and sweet, with the odd and ever-changing stage lighting casting the entire thing in an appropriately effervescent light. If there’s one complaint that I’ve got, aside from wishing for a longer set, it would be that no credit was given to Chad Van Gaalen after they played his “Clinically Dead,” but that’s a minor gripe that didn’t hurt my enjoyment of the show one bit.

Here’s Shotgun Jimmie ft. Attack In Black performing “Water Touched My Face” from Attack in Black’s heralded 2008 album, The Curve of the Earth (again, click the still below and a new page will open with the video):

Shotgun Jimmie - Bedhead

Thus ended a lengthy day of excellent shows from which more video is to come. Tomorrow I’ll get around to wrapping up my NXNE coverage with details from the most blundering and serendipitous night of all three.