New York, March 2, 2007 – Who puts the foreign in Foreign Islands? The headliners, that's who! Take for example Friday night at the Mercury Lounge where England's Young Knives were slated to headline the evening's bill, but ultimately did not because they couldn't get into the U.S. Sadly for the Foreign Islands, it was a repeat of a show in Williamsburg last December: they played alone when the Canadian headliners, Crystal Castles, were denied entry at the border. What does Homeland Security have against rock music anyway?!

But the Brooklyn-based Foreign Islands carried on unfazed, and kicked out their self-described "ghettotech" jams for an enthusiastic crowd. Next week they will be on domestic duty playing the SXSW Showcase in Austin, TX, where, cross your fingers, they'll make it over the border themselves. - Damien Neva