Islands in the street ... that is where we are ...

On Saturday night at Avalon, Islands swept into town with their brand of infectious, tropical, multi-instrumentalist grandeur. Created by Nick Diamonds (guitar/keyboard/lead vocals) and J'aime Tambeur (drums) from the ashes of their previous outfit The Unicorns, Islands boasts no less than seven members crowded on a stage at one time creating synergistic ear candy for those willing to listen. And listen, they did. As part of the Green Apple Festival, the band played to a packed church and demonstrated why they will undoubtedly be, as predicted by the almighty Jay Bruns, the act to blow up in '06.

The founders, Nick and J'aime, were joined on stage by Jim Guthrie on guitar, Patrice Agbokou plucking the bass, Patrick Gregoire on the bass clarinet(!), and (drumroll, please) the Chow Brothers - Alex and Sebastian - on non-dueling violins. In addition, guest appearances were made by guest rapper Busdriver and show opener Cadence Weapon, as well as an occasional banjo and recorder. There's really nothing like watching large bands sharing a stage - like The Arcade Fire or Broken Social Scene. It begs the question: Are Canadians better able to get along in large groups than American bands? They beat us at everything these days, it seems.

The band took the stage at 9:30pm and midway through the set, Nick lamented the fact that the church curfew was 10:30. The church was gonna pull the plug, so let's all keep the party going with milk and cookies! Haha, laughter and cheers abounded. As 10:15 approached, Nick took the band through their final song (wink, wink) and exited stage left. An encore?! What were they thinking??? There was no time to waste! But at 10:23, they returned and promptly began "Rough Gem", a pop gem that will surely rope in a fanbase like that of Coldplay. Finally, at 10:29pm, they began their, for lack of a better term, swan song, "Swans (Life After Death)", a 9-minute song that took them well past the church deadline. God's got nothing on Rock 'n' Roll!

Then, things got peculiar. As the epic song was winding down, Nick frantically threw his guitar down, grabbed his acoustic guitar and led the band out of the church, with members carrying anything that wouldn't electrocute themselves in the rain. A recorder, drums, violins, and a guitar made the cut. By the time we got out, the band was nowhere to be found. Feeling thwarted by the rain, we prepared to catch a cab outta there. But, then the distant roar of cheers and drums around the corner revealed an impromptu jam session in the rain, Islands in the middle, rabid fans all around. Mostly freestyle-oriented, I can confirm a rousing rendition of the classic, "2 Legit 2 Quit". Fun was had by all until the church bouncers(?) forced the band to disperse. Oceanic Flight 815 be damned, this was the best island to be on these days...




I'm sorry, J'aime. I hope my flash didn't blind you too badly.

Update: Check out http://kevchino.com for another take on the show, as well as a short video of his documenting the post-show brouhaha:



Update #2: Here's another even longer video, recorded by Terrorist Zombies. Enjoy!