Islands
Friday, Nov. 10
Henry Fonda Theater
It’s only a matter of time before a giant earthquake separates Los Angeles from the rest of California. Until then, we have Islands.
Things began appropriately on Friday night with the smell of marijuana permeating the curtained walls of the Henry Fonda Theater as two underground rap acts attempted to loosen up concertgoers for the headlining band’s psychedelic panache.
Matching the cheeky nature of Islands, Blueprint reprimanded rappers today for singing about nothing of substance before rapping about the annoying limits of cell phone minutes. Audience members appropriately lit up the floor with their cell phones as Blueprint smiled his way through “I Need My Minutes.”
After the song’s conclusion, he announced he was done with his “serious stuff” and sang about “fun stuff” such as the image of blacks in mainstream rap.
Ending his set with a cathartic sing-a-long to Queen’s “We are the Champions,” Blueprint asked audience members to raise their fingers into peace signs – conjuring feelings of communal love rather than the thrill of winning a soccer game.
Following that, Subtitle put every ounce of his energy into reciting his so-fast-they’re-barely-comprehensible lyrics and had to lie down on the stage floor to catch his breath.
Still, Islands was the main attraction. Emerging from the folklore of 2003’s now-defunct indie it-band The Unicorns, Islands features the former band’s mastermind Nick Diamonds in an attempt to recreate the quirkiness of his former band in a more serious and concentrated effort.
Islands’ debut album, “Return to Sea,” employs a number of instruments in order to create a cohesive, worldly sound that complements Diamonds’ characteristic, whimsical pop melodies.
On stage, while “Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone” was impressive for its swirling Pink Floyd-esque prog-rock, Subtitle’s rapping bit and return to the stage excited audience members most. Though still incomprehensible, Subtitle’s fast-paced lyrics sounded better when accompanied by the orchestrated and energetic band than in the simpler beats of his solo work.
Reminiscent of brothers Ari and Uzi in the film “The Royal Tenenbaums,” the band’s bespectacled Chow brothers also proved to be a unique track suit-clad partnership. In addition to looking good, the brothers proved their musical prowess in many manifestations: violas, keys, violin, backing vocals, percussion, maracas and the occasional shaker.
The most innovative instrument played by one of the brothers – the Brazilian cuíca – added to the lighthearted calypso feel of “Jogging Gorgeous Summer.” Though rarely included in pop songs, the cuíca, which sounds like a jungle animal moaning, supplemented the love scene described in lyrics such as “Millions of sunsets but the one I’ll remember / Is the one where you told me you’d love me forever.”
Nonetheless, the star of the night’s show was Diamonds, and judging from the subsequent dance party, the crowd’s favorite song was the set’s synth-pop closer about diamonds, “Rough Gem.”
Echoed by the lyrics “They want it fast, but they don’t want flaws / I’m a girl’s best friend,” many girls – and boys – reached out to touch Diamonds, whose white face paint did not detract from his ability to spread beauty through song.
Despite being the only former Unicorn remaining in Islands – founding member and Unicorn J’aime Tambeur left the band in May – Diamonds, accompanied by the support of his troupe of six talented musicians, proved that Islands, too, are forever.