One thing that must be said about Islands front man Nick Diamonds is that he is a genuinely thoughtful, intelligent person who owns what I consider to be the best cape in show business.
I interviewed him earlier in the day over what turned out to be a long drinking session which led right up to show at the Belmont on St-Laurent. As I stared out on to what seemed to be a subdued hipster crowd, I must admit that I was slightly disappointed to see that he wasn’t wearing my favourite cape. Not to say the band wasn’t impeccably dressed in an 80’s-hipster-almost-all-white-shirt-skinny-jeans ensemble (think Versace designing the Hawaii Elvis comeback special for the Human League).
As I positioned myself behind the hypnotic bum wiggling of the keyboardist (chains go up, chains go down, chains go…), I couldn’t help but wish I could go back in time to New York City, somehow rustle up Debbie Harry’s phone number, and a buy mountain of illegal narcotics (although I must admit I often have that fantasy even when I’m not listening to this band).
I was told by a good friend of mine, a music editor for a daily paper, that Islands were one of the few modern bands I “had to see live”, and I wasn’t disappointed. Islands are one of those rare modern acts who embrace their 80’s new wave influences without being confined by them, paying tribute without being simple mimics.
The show started with the catchy title track “Vapours” from the new album of the same name, which got the crowd dancing. Make no mistake about it: the women love Nick Diamond. As I stand with my feet rooted to the ground trying not to reek of booze and sweat, I feel slightly jealous of the “fuck me eyes” he’s getting from the ladies (and if I’m not mistaken, some of the gentlemen) in the front row. Not that Diamonds seems to pay much attention to it, as he’s too busy playing multiple instruments behind black wrap-around sunglasses, while his bandmates pump out a selection of tracks taken mostly from the new album and a few songs from Arm’s Way and Return to the Sea, all of which were well received by the crowd. I guess it proves the old adage that rock stars get more ladies than the drunk-staying-up-for-two-days-reporters who cover their shows.
As well it should be, everyone is having a great time and even though the second half of the show is somewhat melancholy, the audience seems just as happy to sway back and forth with their eyes closed as they were “cutting le rug”. Even though the sage banter is somewhat limited to the “good to be back/here’s a cut from the new album” the visual cohesiveness of the costumes more than makes up for any other small non-musical shortcomings of the show, most of which I can’t even remember or thought to note.
Read the interview with Nick Diamonds here.
by François Dupraz / photos Jose Enrique Montes Hernandez
![[REC]2: RETOUR RÉUSSI](http://nomag.ca/wp-content/uploads/wp-post-thumbnail/_UUwUc.jpg)
