The 2013 Toronto Jazz Festival descends on the city this Friday with a huge “free for all” event. That means all of Friday’s programming at every Jazz Festival venue is, yes, completely free of charge. There will be concerts from local favourites Molly Johnson and Mary Margaret O’Hara, plus a show by Smokey Robinson and Martha Reeves, who will be launching the fest from its epicentre, Nathan Phillips Square.

Here’s a rundown of some of the shows worth checking out on Friday—and during the rest of the festival, when you’ll actually have to pay.

Folks who are planning on having a swim in the pool at Scadding Court Community Centre over the next few days may find themselves a little disappointed. Those who want to go fishing, however, will probably be ecstatic.

For the rest of the week, the Community Centre will be holding its annual Gone Fishin’ event, meaning its indoor pool will be an indoor fish pond. The pool has been drained, dechlorinated, and refilled with 2,000 rainbow trout, to be caught by local children and families.

Forget compasses, GPS, or helpful Sherpas. From June 11–17, Torontoist is here to be your guide to everything NXNE.

No Use For A Name
Yonge-Dundas Square
June 14, 7 p.m.
FREE

Right around the time that Green Day released Dookie in 1994, the California punk scene blew up and many bands—some that had been slogging it out even longer than Green Day, like Bad Religion (who is playing later tonight, at 9 p.m.)—experienced a residual surge in popularity. No Use For A Name, for instance, happened to form at the same time as Green Day in 1987 and ultimately signed with Fat Wreck Chords, the prominent punk label founded by NOFX’s Fat Mike. Although not a founding member (strangely enough, the group no longer has any founding members), Tony Sly has been the heart of the group for over 20 years now. We talked with the front-man about those formative years, his new solo project and a previous booking oddity in Toronto.

Torontoist: What do you remember of the California punk rock boom in the mid-’90s?

Tony Sly: We were touring constantly. There was no break. There was really no time to stop and see what was going on. It seemed like all the Fat [Wreck Chords] bands, everybody wanted to do their own thing. Everybody became a headlining band, like, “Let’s not tour together anymore.” That time was just really rushed, you know, because it was a lot of touring, a lot of partying, a lot of drinking.

Do you look back on them now as some of the best times of your life?

No. Hate to say it, but…the best times of my life are seriously with my kids. It was like a competition with all the other bands. Who can make an album first? Who can make the best album? Who can be the biggest band? Fat Mike was always kind of in control of that. I don’t think he wanted any of the bands on Fat to be bigger than NOFX. We wanted to just make music and tour. I do remember them as great times in my life. We’ve been to Malaysia, Indonesia, played shows in China. And Japan, Australia, I mean we’ve almost done all the continents. NOFX has been to Africa: Fat Mike always likes to be the first person to do everything so I would not be surprised if he tried to play a show in Antarctica.

Were the solo albums something you had been thinking about doing for a while?

Yeah. The whole time I was in No Use For A Name I was thinking about that and I just never had the time to do it because I was just so busy with the band. Our ex-drummer (Rory Koff), he started a snowplowing business so I was just, like, “I gotta do my own thing.” Because he was getting to the point where he only wanted to tour six months out of the year and be home for the winter. And I was like, “You know, the winter is the best time to tour.” Because all the bands try to attack summer and they’re up against the Warped Tour. I started a song project so I could tour whenever I want.

What do you miss about No Use For A Name when doing the solo work?

When you’re playing in a band, you’re more of a cohesive unit. Playing on stage, if you’re just really clicking and feeling good. In between songs, you got other people that are talking on the mike. In between songs when you’re solo, you’re just, “What do I say? What do I do?” You have an acoustic guitar, you’re not jumping around, you’re not really sweating.

Are your upcoming plans focused on the band or your solo work?

Band stuff is definitely a priority. Even though I have a release coming out on the 22nd and a record that I put out last November. It’s incredible to me to have all these solo records out and I’m not even touring on them. I’ve done little stints here and there in California, nothing major or all the way out to Canada. I do want to get No Use going again and that’s kind of my goal right now, is to get the band in the studio, have the songs, put out a record. And then we can kind of tour relentlessly like we used to again.

Any acts you’re looking forward to at NXNE?

I don’t even know what the line-up is to be honest with you. I don’t even know who’s playing. I’m completely oblivious. Is Bad Religion playing?

Yes.

Is Korn playing?

No.

I’ll definitely go see Bad Religion. They’re like my favorite band of all time.

NXNE is an embarrassment of musical riches, but it can be hard to find the best acts. Even so, don’t panic. We have put together a comprehensive guide to the festival.

Keith Morris of OFF! at NXNE 2011. Photo by {a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lewolf011/5841581719/"}Jackman Chiu{/a}, from the {a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/torontoist/"}Torontoist Flickr Pool{/a}.

Sometimes, when the world just doesn’t understand, all you want to do is let loose by ripping off your constricting T-shirt and mashing your body against a swarm of others in the throes of a mosh pit. Here’s how to maximize your potential for anarchy at NXNE.

What to Bring: The amazing thing about crowds at these types of shows is that they are all about accepting the outcasts. That means you can get away with bringing almost anything to this outing. Do you have shoulder pads with spikes on them? No sense leaving those in the closet. A pet iguana that hangs out on your shoulder? Yep, he’s welcome too.

Where to Go: Thursday night is your best bet. A lot of the biggest names at the festival this year are stalwarts from the California punk-rock scene. Bad Religion (9 p.m.) is headlining a free show at Yonge-Dundas Square on June 14 that also features No Use For A Name (7 p.m.) and Good Riddance (8 p.m.). If you find yourself wanting something even harder, check out local boys Protest The Hero (Lee’s Palace, midnight) for some face-melting math metal.

Dos and Don’ts: It may not come again, so do take the opportunity to crowd surf and head bang with abandon. Whatever you do, though, don’t let the loud and angry music turn you into that aggressive jerk who starts a fight.