Islands - Great American Music Hall - 11/9/06

I thought things had changed since last time. For almost the entire show, Nick Diamonds (of Islands) was fun and sweet and very different from the guy who admonished me during the last show. But then towards the end, his true nature came out. After this one outburst, he returned to the lovable facade he had shown for the previous hour, but it felt really hollow after that. We knew he was a good showman, but now it is obvious that he's also a good actor, but can slip out of character from time to time.

Islands started out their show in their matching all-white attire (as per usual).

Nick had his back facing the audience for the first verse of Humans, and when he spun around, you could see that he had a mannequin's head under his head, looking a little like Kuato from Total Recall. He also put a noose around his neck and rolled around on the floor a bit during the song. The theatrics continued after Humans when Nick left the stage to apply white make-up to his face. After that, however, things progressed in a typical fashion. I guess he didn't feel the need to go full tilt towards Of Montreal territory.

Highlights of the show were Where There's A Wish There's A Whalebone, which had Subtitle come on stage to rap, the rubber-band coffee can thing for Jogging Gorgeous Summer, an amazing set closing rendition of (potential song-of-the-year) Rough Gem, and a strong Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby to start the encore.

The unfortunate aspect of this otherwise rather enjoyable experience was an interaction with a guy in the audience. Some time in the middle of the set, someone yelled out "Jellybones," requesting a Unicorns song. Nick heard this and asked, "Who said 'Jellybones?'" The guy responded by raising his hand and repeating his request. Nick then yelled, "Say 'Jellybones' one more time! I triple-dog dare you!" And when the guy didn't respond, Nick said, "That's what I thought. Now shut the fuck up, motherfucker!" I need to stress that Nick was very serious. I'm glad the guy didn't say anything since Nick seemed a bit unhinged and could have gone Tweedy on him. All I could do is give a knowing look to the kid next to me that I told the story about the time Nick yelled at me.

I don't know what was more disturbing: the immediate reaction to someone who was just requesting a song (imagine if he had requested Freebird!) or the way he went right back to the cucumberesque indie rock frontman. I can only conclude that Nick Diamonds is a dick and maybe a bit unstable. And since Nick reads Jealousy, I just hope he doesn't come after me one day. He should know that I do think his music is amazing and Islands is one of the best bands making music now. Listen to the tracks below. They're all poppy and accessible but still have a great deal of complexity.

Here is the set list from the show. I think when I can, I'll try to grab a picture of the set list for the sake of history.

Islands - Rough Gem

Islands - Abominable Snowman

Islands - Where There's A Wish There's A Whalebone