NXNE Live: You Say Party! We Say Die! THE HOSESHOE - JUNE 9 Every year there is a hype band for the NXNE Festival. Last year I believe there were big noises surrounding power-pop newbies The Meligrove band. This year according to the buzz of indie press and local media the brouhaha is focused on the dance-punk quintet You Say Party! We Say Die! — for their catchy tunes and great live shows, of course. But how good are they? I was about to find out. Any scepticism I had was quickly doused after I arrived at the Horseshoe and witnessed a line that would rival the Great Wall of China in length. It's the kind of line-up that makes you gasp, "Dear god!" The queue started on Queen St. West and curled around the corner spilling onto Spadina. Could this many people be here to see one band? Lucky for me I had a pass and just a three-person line-up in front of me, and was able to get in stress-free. Herds of indie pundits were floating all around me once inside. The conversations I overheard varied from the gruelling 50-minute wait just to get into the 'Shoe to other NXNE concerts. People were everywhere. "Ok folks, Are you ready for our next band?" asks the NXNE delegate. The swarm of bodies acknowledge with a definitive "YES!" The Horseshoe felt much bigger at that point. "Tonight we will be playing songs off our new record!" announces vocalist Becky Ninkovic, sporting a shimmering pink mask covering her eyes. Lose all Time was released March 20 2007. The talking ends and the music frenzy begins. Ninkovic's voice has a crisp sound to it and it seems to work well, with short sharp squeals, which is the nature of their music. So much melody combined with the hardness of punk, yet they, as a collective, somehow make it cool enough to dance to — it's almost as if they are inviting you to jump up on stage with them. Derek Adam, the guitarist, suddenly mimics a handclap motion in time with the drumbeat, so the crowd responds instantly. Now band and crowd are working cohesively together sharing almost the same experience. What a great feeling, eh? That's exactly what they do — leave you feeling cool. It looks like the indie critics may be onto something here because tonight's show was non-stop action from start to finish and well worth the coin. They definitely lived up to expectations and certainly lived up to the hype.