Blinded By The Glimmer of Diamonds

Photo: From Here

March 11th, 2010
Diamond Rings + PS I Love You = Skin friction, sweat dripping, body surfing, dance action.

The opener, whose name escapes me, took to the stage to set the pace for the show. His electronic drum pads, beats and reverb sounding--sound was potentially catalytic of seizures and the like. He danced onstage in a manner that was entertaining and also alarming. His passionate, yet constant stomping of his feet to his music was genuine, yet terrifying. He seemed to have fun, and when he screamed into his auto-tuned microphone we can confirm this. Unfortunately, I can't say that many of the audience members could reciprocate this excitement. The opener in a sense does just that, he opens up for who you really came to see. He however receives A for enthusiasm and a somewhat lower grade for delivery.

PS I Love You were up next and surprised me by their fun and catchy tunes. The rhythmic bass of the drums hyped up the audience and had us swaying to the chaos of sound that came from the guitarist/vocals. Impressive. The act was exciting to watch, listen to and relate to. In addition to being an awesome opener -- Diamond Rings came on stage for the last song to sing a song they wrote together. All in all - it was a great pre-show dance warm-up, to prep us for Diamond Rings.

Diamond Rings came onstage at around 11:30pm and soon after, the crowd obviously so excited felt the anxiety to push and shove and dance about. Crowd surfing, glow-stick waving, and personalities shone throughout the performance. Diamond Rings' quirky dance moves opened his set, he struck rock-anthem poses with his fist in the air as if in celebration of glitter-power and tight pants. His deep resonating vocals sung about "showing your stuff" and the like. He played alongside his pre-recorded beats playing from his laptop. Like a pro he handled mishaps, what-with microphones becoming un-plugged and cords twisting in his clenched fists. He was also attentive and responsive of the crowd, when an audience member screams that he's "beautiful" he has the social grace to coyly voice a "thank you." Not only is he glittery, tall, lanky and "beautiful," he's also polite.

Great fun show -- the venue could however cut back on the stage-smoke and consider getting air-conditioning. It was difficult to breathe when the ceiling is so low and no air seemed to be circulating.

If you can, catch Diamond Rings + PS I Love You on their North American Tour -- And remember to bring glitter.
Photo From Here <-- The link will also bring you to a feature on Diamond Rings by The Guardian.