Consider the Postal Service’s album Give Up as a game of telephone. Since its debut, the original statement made by Give Up had been getting diluted with the passing years. The synthpop album inspired imitators like Owl City, Hellogoodbye and others, some of which may have been more commercial but none as equally adored by the indie crowd though they were close in sound (I frequently thought Owl City’s “Fireflies” was by The Postal Service). For a band that had gone on only one tour and had not made any overtures of producing a follow-up album, it could have resulted in the Postal Service becoming a relic of a bygone era like say… well I’ll let you figure that analogy out. But, the band was never forgotten, they continued to be adored and their small indie album grew into a commercial success, selling over one million copies. And to negate any dissolution of the message, Give Up was recently reissued in an expanded ten year anniversary set. In support of that re-release, Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel) and Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) committed to a new Postal Service arena-size tour with Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) and Laura Burhenn (the Mynabirds) tagging along to flesh out the band.

But first, a little further east at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square, was the headline event of NXNE 2013: The National. Finding a spot to park my bike amongst the thousands who’d flocked downtown for the free concert was quite the task, but not nearly as difficult as finding a spot with decent sightlines to catch the band of brothers and the increasingly aged-looking Matt Berninger. Sure, the band’s mix of classics and cuts from their latest, Trouble Will Find Me, was entertaining enough. Yet age has certainly affected this band’s aesthetic, as a hardened realism ends up playing out in tracks like “Graceless”, which sound much more driving than anything they’ve ever done.

4479, a new initiative is “…being led by a growing coalition of music industry leaders, in conjunction with supporters who work in tourism, municipal government and business,” according to Amy Terrill, Vice President Public Affairs at Music Canada. 4479 is part of an ongoing study comparing Toronto to other great music cities, so with that in mind, there was an effort to check out a few local artists as part of Thursday’s festivities.

Those who failed to witness the event were transfixed by a comparable burst of energy onstage. Gogol Bordello, Thursday night’s headline act, performed with a level of intensity that was exhausting to watch and difficult to imagine sustaining. That the band is booked through September says a lot about its endurance.

There were other reasons to watch the sky during the weekend, as rain and storms threatened and occasionally interrupted the proceedings. But throughout the four days, the bands, fans, organizers and staff once again contributed to an exceptional festival experience. This year’s lineup was particularly well curated. 

With the wounds from epic collapse of the city’s beloved Maple Leafs hockey club finally healed, the city became embroil in the now infamous “Crackgate” scandal. A video of already comical Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack has been rumoured to exist, making Toronto the butt of many a joke.