Islands And Architecture In Helsinki Heat Up Long Weekend

There's little more disappointing than finding out that two of the best acts on your five-act bill have somehow not made it past border officials in the U.S. — especially when both are Canadian (long story).

This was the case on Friday night as Sunset Rubdown and Frog Eyes were trapped in Chicago and, thus, unable to perform as a part of the Islands-led super bill. Luckily for those who decided not to get refunds, the headliners brought the goods.

I missed all but the final song in Cadence Weapon's set since I saw him at CMW in March and have spent most of the time since then telling everyone I know to listen to him. With the two cancellations announced, I was simply trekking to the Opera House to see if Islands had significantly improved since their somewhat lacklustre set at the Drake last December, five months before the release of their debut, Return To The Sea. It might as well have been two different bands.

Opening with the Klezmer-emulating "Humans," frontman Nick Diamonds pogoed on top of the crowd in front of the stage, stealing a hat and cell phone for good measure. To say they were tighter than on their first tour would be a colossal understatement. These guys looked like a band who had been on the road for years, not months.

Halfway through the main set, they tackled the hip-hop infused "Where There's A Will There's A Whalebone" with Cadence Weapon subbing for Subtitle and Busdriver (who also performed an early set at the show) delivering his part with thrilling voracity. It seemed as though it would be hard to top, but the appearance of "Abominable Snow" was a start.

Jim Guthrie was particularly adept at keeping the five players on stage not named Nick Diamonds focused, while the sometimes-petulant frontman put on the show of his career in what seemed to be an effort to make up for the absences of the other two bands (the fact that he had the entire Opera House stage to work with was a plus).

Even a slight lull with some of the more Paul Simon-influenced tracks from RTTS didn't seem to slow Islands down. Before closing with album favourite "Rough Gem" and the epic "Swans," Diamonds, in an unusual humble moment, addressed the room.

"Thanks for coming," the singer said to a packed crowd who obviously came specifically to hear his band. "I didn't think we deserved it."

If Islands continue putting on shows like this one, they deserve more.

If Friday night's show was an example of how to do a show with seven people on stage, Australia's Architecture In Helsinki could have taken a couple of pointers.

Packing a large crew on to the Horseshoe stage is never the best idea, but AIH made the best of the situation Saturday night by delivering their theatrical indie pop with an intensity few bands of their ilk are capable of. This, despite the sweltering heat in the Horseshoe Tavern, was impressive to listen to, but not so exciting to watch.

With all the members shouting along to In Case We Die tracks such as "Neverevereverdid," "It'5" and "Maybe You Can Owe Me," there was no lack of energy. But Architecture's members were glued to the floor because there really wasn't anywhere to move. Interestingly, it was a similar situation in the crowd, which was packed so tight that motion beyond applause and hooting was basically impossible.

Considering the show sold out, one can only hope Architecture will play a bigger room next time they're in town.