Nick Diamonds of Islands

Three shows in the last week: Islands/Metric at the Roxy, The Boy Least Likely To at Great Scott, and Hot Chip also at Great Scott.

I had seen Metric last fall and been merely whelmed by them, so I wasn't planning on going until I heard Islands would be the supporting act. Wearing their usual all-white wardrobes, Islands came out with lead singer Nick Diamonds wrapped in toilet paper, hunched over in a wheelchair. Once demummified they launched into the material from their forthcoming debut LP Return to the Sea, out next month. I never really got into the Unicorns, but I've liked almost everything I've heard from Islands, especially their nine-minute dink-rock epic "Swans." They had seven members for this show, including two violins, keyboards, banjos, and a bass clarinet.

Islands / "Abominable Snow"



Metric's music is relatively unimaginative indie rock, but I was kind of surprised at the number of people who seemed to know the lyrics to all their songs. I debated leaving early but they usually end with a monster medley version of "Dead Disco," their best song, and I'd heard at a previous show Islands had come out and played as well on the finale, so I stuck around. Islands didn't come out, but like last fall they invited anyone who wanted to come on stage (shockingly, I did not partake).

The Boy Least Likely To played at Great Scott, which I had never been to but it turns out is a pretty good place to see a show. It's similar to TT's in size and setup (bar attached to small performance space) and they've kind of come out of nowhere the last six months or so with some good shows, many of them British bands making their first rounds in the states (previously Editors, next week Hot Chip). Nina and my favorite band, Bon Savants, opened and were surprisingly tolerable. The lead singer is dorky but likable, and also did his trademark awkwardly-back-off-the-stage-into-the-crowd move, though this time it actually looked intentional, unlike when we saw him a couple summers ago.


Jof and Pete

TBLLT were playing their first show outside of Europe so they were excited to have a good crowd and gave the people their 10 bucks' worth. Singer Jof Owen and guitarist Pete Hobbs play the most unoffensive alt-country-folk-pop rock music known to man, and bantered back and forth endearingly, while saving their two best songs for last. By then most everyone was happily bopping around. Check out the video for "Be Gentle With Me," it fits the song rather perfectly (there are cute stuffed animals involved). They're going to be opening for James Blunt on his big US tour, so let's say I'm glad I saw them now.



Hot Chip were very good though the sound left something to be desired. Apparently their drummer was sick, though I never thought they had a real drummer anyway. People were really getting into it so it was cool to see. Harvard band The Blanks opened and seemed like they had a couple decent songs but clearly were not yet experts at putting on a show...too many songs just sounded like a mess. The "band" on after that were two white dudes who screamed, danced and sort of rapped over corny beats. Their only instrument on stage was a snare drum, and the odds of them having any musical training I'd put at 50/50. It was pretty awful, but somehow their enthusiasm won the crowd over to a large extent.

Hot Chip / "And I Was a Boy From School (Live on Radio 1)" (from the Daily Growl)