First there were the Unicorns, who sang in their album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? sang hopefully "Hey! Let's get known!/ If we work real hard, we can buy some matching clothes for our live shows." The Unicorns broke up less than a year ago, but from the ashes Islands has risen, with lead singer Nick Diamonds and drummer J'aime Tambeur.
The two have been joined by a multitude of musicians and instruments which include two violins, a banjo and even a bass clarinet, and have apparently achieved at least one of their dreams, wearing matching chino pants and T-shirts with multi-colored waves.
Islands was joined at the Ottobar by opening performers Cadence Weapon, a Canadian hip-hop artist, and Why?, aka Jonathan Wolf (also aka Yoni, this guy has a lot of names), a rapper from Cincinnati.
Islands played an enjoyable set of songs from their recently released album, Return to the Sea, as well as some unreleased songs. An early highlight was their performance of "Where There's a Will, There's a Whalebone," a fairly unassuming, slow song that quickly merges into hip-hop, at which point Cadence Weapon and Yoni busted on stage to rap for an explosive act. Even Diamonds himself remarked, "Wow, that was great," after not so slyly stealing Yoni's beer.
Diamonds, as well of the rest of the band, was very relaxed and just as entertaining between songs as during, providing the crowd with pertinent information like the new single status of one of the violinist. Trying to strike up conversation with someone, making fun of a bearded guy in the front, and restarting the calypso inspired song, "Jogging Gorgeous Summer" because he "wasn't feeling it," it felt as if Diamonds was performing for a crowd of friends. But despite his friendly manner, he constantly maintained the required minimal air of aloofness, and all times concealed behind his veil of bangs, solving once and for all the eye contact issue.
The main set ended in the grandest of fashions, with Diamonds announcing that Alex Chow, one of the violinists, had to pee, but that the crowd should pretend that the show was over and clap ecstatically for an encore. After a reasonable amount of applause, Alex ran onstage, took up his fiddle, and began to play. He was joined by another violin and J'aime Tambeur on drums, and for a good minute it was a regular hoedown in the Ottobar.
The encore came to conclusion with a magnificent performance ofminutes of tenderly woven song and ultimately satisfied with a more carnal guitar solo from Diamonds to end. Islands presented a fantastic set, and though a good part of the band's only album was omitted, the unreleased songs performed were enjoyable if not familiar. Islands are a truly great live band, and those matching outfits are pretty snazzy too.
