Image by Lindsey Anderson
Caribou conquers the first of two sold-out shows in Chicago
April 11, 2008, at the Empty Bottle
By Lindsey Anderson
Published: April 12th, 2008 | 6:30pm
Forget everything you know about stage setup at a show. Forget the bass and guitars off to the sides. Forget the lead vocalist front and center. And most definitely forget the drums in the back, because that's not how Caribou's Dan Snaith does it.
Hitting Chicago's Empty Bottle on April 11, Snaith, the mastermind behind Canada's psychedelic rock band Caribou, decided to forgo the usual and put not one, but two, sets of drums up front. With the band's regular drummer, Brad Weber, out with a broken wrist, replacement Ahmed Gallab of the band Sinkane, was definitely going to be in the spotlight.
Taking to the stage in white shirts (except for bassist Andy Lloyd, who opted for pale yellow), Caribou slowly opened the show with swirling colors and patterns projected off the backdrop and the band members. I always think of Caribou being the child of the Mamas & the Papas and some other sugar-pop '60s sweetness, a sound Snaith has pegged over the years, and live, the guys didn't disappoint. In fact, they matched their recordings nearly perfectly and reminded everyone what a live show should sound like.
Covering material from its acclaimed releases Andorra (Merge) and Up in Flames (Domino), Caribou cruised through crowd-pleasers "Melody Day," "She's the One," "Sandy," and "Kid You'll Move Mountains." Snaith switched effortlessly between guitar, recorder, xylophone, vocals, and drums. And were there ever drums.
If anyone's wondering how Gallab is holding up to Weber's part, don't worry. Gallab was spot-on and completely thrashed like a madman. During a handful of songs, Gallab was entirely in sync with Snaith, who'd pound on the set directly across from the fill-in man. For a replacement drummer to get it right, and get it right that good, Gallab is an excellent filler. After all, the show must go on.
In between songs Snaith thanked the crowd for coming out to an early show and was generally all about the music while saying "thank you" a handful of times. The defining moment had to be the band's closing number, "A Final Warning," with both drummers pounding together in perfect rhythm. Whoever the dude was front and center in the crowd thought so too — he head-banged until the end.
With both early and late shows sold out, and the first leg of the tour just starting, Caribou and noise openers Fuck Buttons reminded everyone what a fun, good night of live music was about — keeping it real and keeping it right on.
Issue #35
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