Foreign Islands
DC9, Thursday, October 11
[buy from insound]

They've received the dubious compliment "all five of you guys are insane in five different ways!" They've made fans of bouncers they've almost taken out with mic stands (one responded with: "Dude, if you were any other dude, I would have knocked you out — you guys are fucking amazing!"), a blogger who actually survived a wicked shot to the head, DJ Junior Sanchez, the Hold Steady, legendary hip-hop producer Arthur Baker (Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock"), German DJ Boys Noize, London rock-remix specialist Erol Alkan, people who love to dance, people who love punk rock, people who love watching a bunch of guys tear a club to shreds.

And a lot of praise has come from unlikely sources: "We get a lot of reviews from people who accidentally see us," Ryan explains. "Like, 'I was just expecting another band and I got blown away.'"