Islands Played Bimbo's

Last Monday, Canadian band Islands made their way to Bimbo's 365 Club to make up a date that had been cancelled back in April. The band is currently promoting their latest, Arm's Way, and as such, the set was heavily weighted towards the newer material.

The crowd, while not a sellout, was highly enthusiastic, and packed the front of the room. To say that they were "fans" would be a significant udnerstatement. It seemed that everything the band did (including a good natured butchering one of the encore songs), the crowd went apeshit for, be it good or bad. We're certainly in favor of high levels of enthusiasm, but when it seems to be completely unrelated to what's going on in the room, it can be a bit odd.

We here at H.A.D. dig the new album (and the old, for that matter), and enjoyed the show quite a bit. That being said, the band could learn a thing or two about maybe planning the setlist so that it had a bit more of a clear direction: the song selections seemed to go up and down quite a bit, and at times the back and forth seemed to get repetitive.

That being said, the band is highly technically skilled, and is a killer live combo. It was particularly inspirational to see just how many members are multi-instrumentalists. If you get the chance, Islands is a show not to miss.

More pictures available at the H.A.D. Archive.