May 16 - Islands

Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambour of Islands/The Unicorns

There will never be another band like The Unicorns, but Islands are good enough. Not that I’m suggesting that Islands are at all similar to The Unicorns (other than the fact that Return to the Sea conceptually picks up right where Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? left off). For one, Alden Ginger isn’t in the band; thus, the comedic interplay between him and Nick Diamonds is sadly missing. For two, Islands is much more grandiose than the three-piece Unicorns. But damn, they put on one hell of a show at First Avenue. Thankfully, I got to see them before drummer (and ex-Unicorn) J’aime Tambour departed from the band.


Islands

Speaking of bands that put on one hell of a show – Frog Eyes kicked my ass. Their larger-than-life Pere Ubu-meets-Pixies art rock was well worth the price of admission. Assisting Frog Eyes on the keyboards was Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug – whose other band, Sunset Rubdown, was also on the bill (until I got close enough to the stage to see who was in the band, I thought Sunset Rubdown was a shameless Wolf Parade rip off). After I realized that the sound-alike was justified, I thoroughly enjoyed Sunset Rubdown.


Frog Eyes


Sunset Rubdown

And what is an Islands show without a dose of hip-hop? One of my favorite SXSW 2005 discoveries, Busdriver (who also guests on Return to the Sea), showed off his breakneck-speed tongue twisters after Edmonton MC, Cadence Weapon effectively warmed the crowd up.


Busdriver


Cadence Weapon (feat. J'aime Tambour)

Archives:
Th’ Corn Gangg (feat. Nick Diamonds, J’aime Tambour, and Busdriver) @ Moonshine Bar and Grill (SXSW): March 17, 2005
Wolf Parade @ First Avenue: September 9, 2005