Islands @ Webster Hall - 24 May 2008

Islands made their second appearance - and first as headliner - at Webster Hall this past Saturday evening and filled the cavernous space with an appropriately large-sounding set. From the muscular opening riff of the show (and album) opener "The Arm" onwards, they seemed intent on channeling the darker, muscular rhythms and arrangements that dominate Arm's Way while explicitly turning their noses at the lighter fare that comprised much of 2006's Return to the Sea.

Personally, I enjoyed the attention and detail paid to Arm's Way; it's an involved affair that really benefits from the added openness and urgency found in the live setting. "Vertigo", the album's 11 minute closer, absolutely devastated as the perfect set closer, revealing layers upon layers of intertwined strings and rhythms that the band expertly allowed to breathe and evolve into a composition that transcended the sum of its parts. It was amazing. Same goes for "J'aime Vous Voir Quitter" and "Pieces of You", though the subversive moment of the night would have to go to Nick Thorburn crooning "Kids Don't Know Shit" to a blissfully unaware all-ages crowd. And it was this crowd that seemed to want more Return To The Sea, cheering wildly every time the band would launch into one of its selections while Thorburn deadpanned and downplayed their earlier material, telling them they should be more excited for the new songs.

Old, new, it doesn't really matter when seeing Islands live, and while some youngsters bristled at consecutive 8+'s to end the set and begin the encore ("Vertigo" followed by "Swans"), such sequencing decisions are just the tip of the eccentric iceberg when it comes to seeing Thorburn live (here I'm thinking back to a Unicorns show when they stopped "I Was Born A Unicorn" halfway through to close the set before finishing it during the encore). Better to go with it kids, because according to Thorburn you don't know shit anyway. Check out more pics and tour dates after the jump...








*photos by Peter Beer

Listen: "The Arm"

See also:
- Islands @ Cedar St. Courtyard - 13 March 2008 (SXSW Day 2, pics, live video/mp3)
- Spam Filter: Islands are a comin'
- Islands @ R Bar - 19 October 2007

See Islands Live:
27 May - Ottawa, Ontario @ Babylon
28 May - Montreal, Quebec @ Le National
29 May - Toronto, Ontario @ The Phoenix
30 May - London, Ontario @ Call the Office
31 May - Waterloo, Ontario @ The Starlight
01 Jun - Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot
02 Jun - Chicago, Ill @ Logan Square Auditorium
03 Jun - Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave.
04 Jun - Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
05 Jun - Winnipeg, Manitoba @ West End Cultural Centre
06 Jun - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ Amigo's
07 Jun - Edmonton, Alberta @ Starlite
08 Jun - Calgary, Alberta @ Warehouse
10 Jun - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Plaza Club
12 Jun - Seattle, Washington @ Neumo's
13 Jun - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
14 Jun - Eugene, OR @ Broadway Block Party
16 Jun - San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo's 365
17 Jun - Los Angeles, California @ Henry Fonda Theatre
19 Jun - San Diego, CA @ Epicentre
20 Jun - Tuscon, Arizona @ Club Congress
21 Jun - Tempe, Arizona @ Clubhouse
23 Jun - Austin, TX @ Emo’s Outside
24 Jun - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
25 Jun - Houston, TX @ Walter's
26 Jun - Baton Rouge, LA @ Chelsea's
27 Jun - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
28 Jun - Charlotte, NC @ Neighbourhood Theatre

Visit Islands on MySpace.

Islands @ Cedar Street Courtyard - 13 March 2008 (SXSW Day 2, pics, live video/mp3)

If the over-arching theme of the SXSW music festival is for bands to premiere/feature new material for industry-heavy audiences then there's (perhaps without surprise) very little doubt that the upcoming Islands album Arm's Way is the record I'm most looking forward to based upon the performances I've seen so far in Austin. Somehow, even after releasing EF's #2 album of 2006, Islands have just gotten better and better; both as a live act and in terms of songwriting.

While new songs such as "We Swim" and "The Arm" showed promise during CMJ, they came across as fully realized and perfected on Thursday night at Cedar Street Courtyard. Nick was wearing full whiteface mime makeup and was on top of his front-man game, the rest of the band did precisely what they do best: subtly blow away the audience with exuberant precision. This is one of those bands that I just simply can not understand if you don't like. Welcome bonus: a rousing Sinéad O'Connor cover. I need more Islands.

You can find a bit more, in terms of pics as well as live video/mp3 (including the Sinéad cover), after the jump.




Listen:
"Where There's A Will, There's A Whalebone" by Islands live (from this show)
"Red Football" by Islands live (from this show, Sinéad O'Connor cover)

Watch:
"Where There's A Will, There's A Whalebone" by Islands live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT
"Red Football" by Islands live (from this show, Sinéad O'Connor cover) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of Islands (from this show and others) HERE.

Visit Islands on MySpace.

Spam Filter: Islands are a comin'

For once, Ticketmaster graced our inboxes with a worthwhile announcement: it appears perpetual EF favorites Islands will be returning to Webster Hall on Saturday, May 24th. Tickets are on sale TOMORROW at 5:00 pm - random time, yes? - and you can find them HERE.

If you're stressed because you already have plans that night, fear not. Given that it's a Saturday night at Webster Hall the show should wrap up while it's still light outside.

In other Islands news, their sophomore album Arm's Way is set to drop on Anti- Records on May 20th. If you happened to miss Pitchfork's interview with the artist-formerly-known-as-Nick Diamonds (it's Nick Thorburn now in case you forgot) this past week, definitely check it out.

After the jump, peruse Islands upcoming tour dates and listen to their excellent new song...

18 Feb - Dublin, Ireland @ Whelan's
19 Feb - Belfast, Ireland @ Speakeasy
20 Feb - Manchester, England @ Night & Day
21 Feb - Bristol, England @ Thekla
23 Feb - Nottingham, England @ Liar's Club @ Stealth
24 Feb - Brighton, England @ Brighton Barfly
25 Feb - Cambridge, England @ Cambridge Barfly
26 Feb - London, England @ Hoxton Bar & Grill
27 Feb - Paris, France @ Point FMR
28 Feb - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Rotown
29 Feb - Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Merleyn
01 March - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
02 March - Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique
03 March - Utrecht, Netherlands @ Tivoli
09 March - Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theater
10 March - Newport, KY @ Southgate House
11 March - Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone
12 March - Denton, TX @ Hailey's
13 March - Austin, TX @ Emo's (SXSW Anti-Showcase w/Man Man)
15 March -Austin, TX @ Waterloo Park (SXSW)
17 March - Norman, OK @ Opolis
18 March - Columbia, MO @ Blue Note w/Man Man
19 March - Lawrence, KS @ Off Broadway
20 March - Bloomington, IN @ Rhino's
16 April - Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab
26 April - Indio, CA @ Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
30 April - San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo's
13 May - Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Auditorium
24 May - New York, NY @ Webster Hall

Listen: "The Arm"

Visit Islands on Myspace

Islands @ R Bar - 19 October 2007

There's this particular vegan from Brooklyn who threw a bazillion shows/parties during CMJ 2007 and made the city smile musical smiles for a week. Thank goodness for him and his slew of events, I say, since the show at R Bar included one of my favorite bands alive today that I was unable to see at any of their other CMJ shows due to schedule conflicts. The band: Islands.

Islands have just finished recording their second album and have been using recent live shows to stretch out the new songs in front of fans who fell in love with the band's debut, Return to the Sea. Gently breaking the news of a slight change in direction by unveiling some of the new songs at smaller-venue live shows makes sense - the new songs don't sound a whole lot like any of the songs from the debut album. No longer are Nick and crew listening to Graceland on repeat. Instead, the band has likely been taking in a heavy diet of '70s rock.

Sure, there was always something slightly "prog" about the songs from Return to the Sea, but what Islands has been up to of late shows off an entirely different approach. Where they used to sound like laid back musicians hanging out on the beach in sandals drinking boat drinks, they now carry a sound that suggests steel toe boots and Budweiser. That's maybe a bit of a reach, but make no mistake about one thing: Islands have undergone a slight makeover and it's as unmistakable as can be. Gone are the band's trademark all-white threads and in their place, you guessed it - all black. They literally wear this new sound on their collective sleeve. No surprise though, Nicholas "Nick Diamonds" Thorburn has never been one for subtlety.

As for the performance on Friday - the show won't stand out as the best of the many shows I've seen Islands play, but I'd chalk up a large part of the blame for this to the crap sound/venue. Personally I adored all of the new songs, enjoyed hearing the old favorites, and can't wait to get a hold of the upcoming album and see them again. Check out a QT and MP3 of one of the new songs below.

Listen:
"We Swim" (live from this show)

Watch:
"We Swim" live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT

See more pictures of Islands (from this show) HERE.

Visit Islands on MySpace.