CATL

CATL
As NOW’s Benjamin Boles once described them, “CATL have gone so far retro that they’ve ended up sounding new.” We can’t think of a better way to kick-start this Saturday night than with the stomping, Toronto country-blues-punk trio. Hell, if they were only playing again in the wee hours, we couldn’t think of a sexier way of closing out the night either.
Silver Dollar, 9 pm

Doldrums
The name is a misnomer. Though Doldrums only have one permanent member, ex-Spiral-Beacher Airick Woodhead, he produces a heady slurry of found samples, disembodied vocals and synths that sound like the fruit of random scavenging. And the visuals will be equally alien: Doldrums’ first official release was a scrambled mixtape… on VHS.
918 Bathurst, 9 pm

Devo
In its wisdom, NXNE annually invites some not-quite antediluvian rockers to dust off their amps for the big Saturday night free show (see The Sonics, The Stooges). This year it’s the demented, surrealist art-pop legends from Akron, Ohio, and we couldn’t be more pleased. Preceded by reconstituted Montreal synth-stars Men Without Hats.
Yonge Dundas Square, 9:30 pm, free

One Hundred Dollars
Last month the Toronto alt-country ensemble released Songs of Man, which contains a gut-wrenching passel of the best written numbers we’ve yet heard this year. Having made the long-list released this week, we’re pegging them as frontrunners to win the 2011 Polaris Prize. (See our interview with them here.)
Horseshoe Tavern, 1 am

In the event you’ll want to avoid the exorbitant Toronto taxi fees incurred whilst hurrying between venues, then simply plant yourself at The Great Hall. With Jennifer Castle, Braids, Grimes and Chad VanGaalen all sharing one bill, no lineup this weekend is more solid.

Then again, you may want to take a clean break from the festival entirely. So go see U.S. Girls, Noveller and Huckleberry Friends at Double Double Land on Saturday. It’s not even tangentially related to NXNE, and it’s a mere $7.

– Chris Randle and Christopher Frey