Islands.
Sister Suvi: I didn't get to the show until about half-way through their set, because I'm an idiot who decided to walk 40 block from Penn Station to Bowery Ballroom, but hey, 2 bucks saved would become 2 hot dogs later that night. Anyway, I wasn't a fan. The "frontwoman," though mean on the eukelele, gave off a bit of a blunt, cynical attitude. Maybe it was just my impression, and I only caught the last two songs, and as much as I like alt-folk, they just didn't do it for me...
Performance: 3/5
Crowd: 4/5
Stage Banter: 1/5
Vibe: 3/5
Overall: **
SoCalled: I was dreading the next half-hour when they walked on stage... 3 older looking guys, one with an accordion, one with a clarinet, and the last with a bass. I was ready to hear an alt-folk equivalent to The Hold Steady... And any equivalent to the Hold Steady is a bad thing. I was dead wrong... Instead the next half-hour was spent listening to Yiddish folk music... WITH BEATS! It was not only highly entertaining(mad props to the frontman and his comedy act on stage.) but the music was actually pretty catchy. I was baffled.
Performance: 4/5
Crowd: 3/5
Stage Banter: 5/5
Vibe: 4/5
Overall: ****
Islands: Islands had a rocky start. Diamonds was not happy, and you could tell. It also seemed that since he wasn't happy, either A-he messed up more often, or B-his mess-ups were more noticable. Once things got kicked off though the playing got better, and of course it was fun because Islands is a fun band. The violinist brothers were having a great time, the bassist was as well. Later in the show Diamonds dove into the crowd(mood lightened up) during Humans, and Islands played two very amusing encores, including a cover of Monster Mash and a Kinks song.
Performance: 3/5
Crowd: 4/5
Stage Banter: 3/5
Vibe: 4/5
Overall: ***1/2