Low vs. Diamond & Nickel Eye @ El Mocambo

January 23rd, 2009

Things I learned at the Nickel Eye/Low vs. Diamond show Tuesday night:
1) I really should have tried harder to go earlier and see Low vs. Diamond at the Santogold show last fall.
2) Nickel Eye is led by the bassist of The Strokes.
3) Said member of The Strokes is named Nikolai, helping me experience a pretty big ‘ahhhhhhhhhh’ moment when I finally realized the pun.
4) The lead singer of Tokyo Police Club likes the Fleet Foxes a lot (good taste!)
5) Funk and merriment can be dispersed within a confined space in a controlled setting without a provincial or federal licence.

The things you learn when you put your feet together and go out the door…I entered El Mocambo to see Low vs. Diamond a couple of songs into their set and they were already jamming pretty hard. They had a tonne of energy and the melodies were tight and noticeable from the onset. The more they played, the more I got into it, and by the time they finished, I had already convinced myself that I had found a new band worth exploring. Songs that stuck with me were ‘Don’t Forget Sister’, ‘Wasted’, and especially ‘Actions are Actions’, which was the highlight of the set for me. The latter sounded to me like a syrup-covered offspring of a Waking Eyes/White Lies song, which is a huge compliment. Afterwards, the band was cool enough to mingle with the patrons and the affable lead singer mentioned that their album would be out on iTunes in March. We can only hope. Low vs. Diamond is definitely a band worth keeping an eye on.

After a short break (one thing I love about El Mocambo is that bands take down their stuff and set up their own equipment - it seems like that would be at least in the top 5 codes of behaviour in the “Indie for life” handbook), Nickel Eye came out to a nice applause and proceeded to every song (I think) from their soon-to-be-released debut album. They were polite and on point, interjecting the set with a little humour and a little JD. In other words an Indie show complete.

The highlights for me were ‘Back from Exile’, ‘Brandy of the Damned’, and ‘Dying Star’. It was a stellar performance for sure. I’m not sure what the deal is with The Strokes, but it did seem like this was Nikolai indulging in some time off, having fun with some mates and writing a few very solid tunes, but I don’t know that it’s more than just a side project with limited intentions. For that reason, I enjoyed the Low vs. Diamond set a little bit more, because I see more open-air expansion on their horizon. The night was a great cap to a very important day (both bands made reference to the Obama inauguration and subsequent collective sigh of relief once he was sworn in).

Can we still enjoy ourselves at a wicked venue with personable bands and some rock solid tunes? Yes, we brandy of the damned well can.

Nickel Eye setlist:
Intro
You And Everyone Else
Back From Exile
Fountain Avenue
This Is The End
Brandy Of The Damned
Providence, RI
Another Sunny Afternoon
Dying Star

Links:
MySpace: Nickel Eye
MySpace: Low vs. Diamond

Posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 1:45 pm by Paco G. and is filed under Concerts & Events.

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