Caribou's Psychedelic Power

I will go right out and say it: Dan Snaith is a genius. There are few musicians in the world who have perfected psychedelic pop the way he has and when he brought his show to The Biltmore on Friday night he fully illustrated that point. He and his three band members crowded the small Biltmore stage and played the mind-blowing music they've now become known for. With their catchy, progressive melodies and high-energy performance, Caribou were a sight to behold.

Coming off what I consider to be one of the top 3 best albums of last year, Andorra, and a wave of buzz which has rode them around the world, Caribou came into Vancouver with an understandable amount of expectation. For myself, as well. I saw them last time they played at Richard's in October and that show was truly one of the best I've ever seen, so my hopes were quite high. Were they as good as last time? The answer is almost. If the last show was a 10, then this would be a 9. Still very high! Maybe the whole "first time seeing them" aspect played a role in the Richard's show.

Opening up the night were the much-hyped Fuck Buttons from England. It was the usual tale of two hyperactive guys on midi controllers and laptops, turning knobs and striking single notes on the keys while bouncing up and down very fast to their own music. They were entertaining and actually quite fun to watch, but the hype that gets attached to bands like Fuck Buttons can sometimes be a death-knell when people finally get tired of their shtick. But still, great name though.

Kicking off with songs from Andorra, the sublime Sandy and psychedelic headtrip After Hours, the crowd erupted when what is probably their most popular song, Melody Day, opened with the refrain "Melody day what have I done". A few old songs were played, such as one of my favorites, Bees, from the album The Milk of Human Kindness, but mostly it was the night of Andorra. Their stage presence as a band is something many others could learn from. With the psychedelic lights blasting past their faces and onto the white screen behind them, they looked genuinely into it and were totally on cue, not missing a beat, even when it became hard to hear the sound at all. Alas, the only main fault I'd give to the show was the absolutely terrible, muddled sound of The Biltmore's cavernous chambers. If The Biltmore wants to become one of the top venues in Vancouver they must work on their sound design because, as it stands right now, it's just not good enough and almost ruined the show.

The biggest element that makes Caribou's live show so powerful is the two-drummer aspect. As I'm sure The Boredoms and The Dirtbombs have also discovered, having two drummers can singlehandedly make a good show a great show. Snaith would play guitar and then, intermittently, jump onto the stool and play perfectly in sync with new drummer Ahmed Gallab, who was standing in for their regular drummer after he fractured his wrist. Snaith and Gallab seemed like old partners as they traded off fills manically throughout the set, weaving in and out of each other's beats perfectly while keeping eye contact the entire time.

What made the set even more insane to think about was the fact that these guys had already played an early show right before the one I saw and still managed to blow people away. They probably won't be back in Vancouver until their next album, but in the meantime I would advise that if you haven't already heard Andorra and enjoy music that captivates and inspires the ears to pick it up, sit back and enjoy it so you'll be ready for Caribou the next time they're ready to blow our minds.

Caribou played at The Biltmore Cabaret on April 18, 2008, presented by Sealed With A Kiss. Their album Andorra is available now.

Photos by Christopher Alarcon.