Hectic doesn’t even begin to describe this week, especially this Thursday. April 30th is shaping up to be one of the most heart-wrenching nights of the month, due to the multitude of great shows in town. The following is a list of the shows going down that night:

John Doe & The Sadies @ Sonic Boom (FREE, 7:00 pm)
Green Go (CD release), The Magic, Everything All The Time, OPOPO DJs @ Wrongbar ($5.00, 9:00 pm)
The Dears, Lioness @ Mod Club ($20.00, 7:00 pm)
Immaculate Machine, Will Currie & The Country French, The Elwins, DJ Shit La Merde @ The Drake ($10.00, 8:00 pm)
The Weather Station (CD release), Isla Craig & Muskox, Snowblink, Weird Weather, Lisa Bozikovic @ Tranzac – Main Hall ($8.00, 8:00 pm)
Megan Hamilton, Eric Welton @ Tranzac – Southern Cross Lounge (PWYC, 10:00 pm)
Flowers of Hell, Beta Cloud, General Chaos Visuals @ The Renaissance Cafe ($6.00, 8:00 pm)
B’MO Crazy, The Lovely Killbots, and La Casa Muerte @ The Boat ($5.00, 9:00 pm)

See? We’re screwed. Personally, I’m going for three shows – John Doe & The Sadies, The Dears and Green Go. This is going to take some intense commuting skills/luck and impeccable timing. I’ll report back on Friday with the results. All of these shows are incredible and if given the chance, I say you definitely go and check out whoever you missed when they return to town.

Flowers of Hell, for example, will be back at the Horseshoe on May 19th. Green Go will also return shortly, as part of the Over the Top Fest, taking place from May 21-24. We’ll keep you updated on a date/location.

Other Show Announcements:
VNV Nation, War Tapes, Sam @ The Phoenix (July 14th, $29.50, 19+)
Francis and the Lights @ The Drake (May 13th – 15th, $10.00, 19+, please note: the May 13th show is free)
Lightning Dust (opening for Bonnie Prince Billy) @ The Queen Elizabeth Theatre (May 14th, $25.00, ALL AGES)
Isis, Tombs @ The Phoenix (June 7th, $17.50, ALL AGES)
Passion Pit, Harlem Shakes @ Lee’s (June 16th, $12.00, 19+)
Obits @ Lee’s (July 23rd, $12.00, 19+)
Mt St Helens Vietnam Band @ The Horseshoe (June 2nd, FREE, 19+ – as part of Free Tuesday New Music Night)
Telekenesis, An Horse @ Horseshoe (June 10th, $10.50, 19+)
Alejandro Escovedo, Joseph Arthur @ Trinity St. Pauls (June 16th, $27.00, ALL AGES)
Dog Day @ Lee’s (May 28th, 19+)
Malajube @ Lee’s (June 12th, 19+)
Eagles of Death Metal @ Kool Haus (August 2nd, $27.50)

In festival update news, it is confirmed that The Rural Alberta Advantage and The So So Glos will also be part of this year’s NXNE festivities; not on the same bill necessarily though.

Arts & Crafts have officially announced their NXNE Showcases at Courthouse. Here is their schedule:

Wednesday, June 17th
(Broken Social Scene Book Launch)
Apostle of Hustle
Jason Collett
The Happiness Project
Years

Thursday, June 18th
The Most Serene Republic
Still Life Still
Timbre Timbre
Zeus

In addition to the book launch at Courthouse, it is said that there is a “special in-store performance at the Fred Perry retail location at 964 Queen St. W.” Fred Perry will be sponsoring the NXNE showcases.

French band, Radio Radio will be playing a free show at Harbourfront this summer as part of the Franco-Fete 2009 Fest (June 19-21).

Similarly, Jenn Grant will be playing a free show at Habourfront as well, as part of the Canadian Voices Fest (July 17-26).

Happy listening!

Musically,
Melody