Scissor Kickin' Good

What the Darkness is to Queen and Electric 6 is to AC/DC, Diamond Nights is to Cheap Trick. That is, unabashed revivalists who self-consciously ape their idols, putting tongue in cheek, cock in rock, and volume in stratosphere. But like their '80s-lovin' peers, the Brooklyn-based Nights are more than mere...

By Jonathan Zwickel

March 23, 2006

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What the Darkness is to Queen and Electric 6 is to AC/DC, Diamond Nights is to Cheap Trick. That is, unabashed revivalists who self-consciously ape their idols, putting tongue in cheek, cock in rock, and volume in stratosphere. But like their '80s-lovin' peers, the Brooklyn-based Nights are more than mere rote reproductionists; they're also pretty good songwriters themselves, with a penchant for snowballing simple-minded tunes into arena-humping, fist-pumping anthems. Their first full-length, last fall's Popsicle, balloons into laser-and-smoke rockers ("Destination Diamonds," which also boasts a hilarious, Stephen J. Cannell-style video) and settles into jangly, broken-down, almost acoustic asides ("Snakey Ruth"). Whether you'll love it or hate it depends on your fondness for the band's source material, so fans of the big-balled, feel-good rawk of Van Halen, Manfred Mann, and Thin Lizzy, squeeze into the spandex and step right up.

Diamond Nights play with Head Automatica and My American Heart at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at the Culture Room, 2045 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $13 in advance, $15 at the door. Call 954-564-1074.

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