They Are All, So Don’t Even Try: NXNE 2008 with Redd Kross

Published on July 30th, 2008 in: Canadian Content, Current Faves, Issues, Music, Reviews |

When is the diva going to come onstage?

I thought we might have to wait 20 minutes for Redd Kross. The crowd was swelling and the sweat was pouring. More friends arrived, some who had just returned from seeing Sparks in London. We gabbed about that and our excitement about seeing Redd Kross. But then it was 40 minutes since the last band and we were checking our watches.

redd kross 09 by f yang
Photo © F. Yang, 2008 @ Chromewaves.net

There was a palpable annoyance in the crowd and someone shouted out, “How long does it take to tune a guitar?!?!” I speculated that Jeff McDonald was checking his email or had suddenly developed stage fright.

After an agonizing eternity, Roy McDonald clambered behind his drumkit. Robert Hecker, appeared, a wraith in a white linen ensemble. Steve McDonald showed up next, with a smile and a leftover Ron Mael moustache. And then, Jeff McDonald, in an amazing mauve suit and patent leather and suede loafers to match, catwalked out.

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4 Responses to “They Are All, So Don’t Even Try: NXNE 2008 with Redd Kross”


  1. elaine:
    July 31st, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    Starvin’ Hungry has quickly become my all time favorite band and I can’t wait to see these guys get the recognition they deserve. Intelligent, hip-shakin’, dirty punk ‘n’ roll… they got it all! Unfortunately I missed their NXNE performance, but I’ve seen them live a few times and they never disappoint.

  2. kross-eyed:
    July 31st, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    I know exactly how you feel. I can honestly say there is nothing else in this world that even comes close to the feeling I get being at a Redd Kross show! I get so excited to the point of feeling physically ill. For a long time I thought it was train sickness cuz most of the RK shows I’d been to had been in NYC which was a short train ride from the Jersey suburbs where I grew up. But then there were other jaunts into the city where this did not happen and I figured I had overcome my illness. That was until I saw RK again, for the first time in over 10 years, this past December in Brooklyn. From the morning of the show, until the second before they hit the stage I could not shake the woozy feeling. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sit still for one minute, couldn’t think about anything but seeing RK! Once they hit the stage, the sickness was over…I was finally getting my fix! There was no other feeling overcoming me but pure bliss for the remainder of the evening…and several weeks thereafter!

  3. Popshifter:
    August 1st, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    Hi there, kross-eyed! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. “Pure bliss” is a good way to describe the feeling.

    And elaine, I agree that Starvin Hungry have some great lyrics to go with their great tunes.

    LLM

  4. Popshifter » Danny Echo, S/T:
    May 30th, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    […] Echo has been blessed with a great big rock and roll voice. This was apparent when I saw the band live at NXNE 2008: they played their hearts out and even though there were only a handful of people in the crowd at […]







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