NXNE 2013: Hot Panda @ Sneaky Dee's by Adam Bunch

SATURDAY — Talk about a misleading band name. Hot Panda are hot alright, but while pandas are cute and quiet and docile and cuddly, Hot Panda's NXNE show was a boiling, blistering torrent of rock 'n' roll. It came at the perfect time, too: in the wee hours of the morning on the festival's Saturday night, when most of the people in the audience at Sneaky Dee's — including our own editors — were four-days drunk and running on their last ounces of adrenaline. The room was a sweaty mess of energy, ready to let loose for the final time and ride one last euphoric high before the inevitable, apocalyptic, post-festival hangover to come. And Hot Panda provided it.

They thrashed away on stage while the crowd heaved and roared in response, especially when the band launched into a riotous cover of Nirvana's "Stay Away". In the end, even Hot Panda were impressed. "Toronto is the best city to play in Canada," frontman Chris Connelly declared. "We love coming here." 

The perfect climax to a crazy week.

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Find all of our coverage of NXNE here.

Photos by Carmen Cheung.

Adam Bunch is the Editor-in-Chief of the Little Red Umbrella and the creator of the Toronto Dreams Project. You can read his posts here, follow him on Twitter here, or email him at adam@littleredumbrella.com.