With the rest of the world hesitant to bring the University of Illinois into their homes (see: the failure of the Global Campus initiative), on April 10 the Courtyard Café did its part to bring the rest of the world to our campus – as the makeshift concert venue played host to the highly anticipated double bill of British noise duo Fuck Buttons and Canadian indie rockers Caribou.
After waiting nearly an hour (and then having to leave the Courtyard and re-enter once the staff realized no one had paid), the masterminds behind FB (Benjamin John Power and Andrew Hung) walked out onto a stage cluttered with a complex maze of wires and electronics that I’m positive would rival the inner-workings of CITES (and was definitely more reliable).
Yet, even though the two electronic maestros had technically begun their set, it would not be entirely accurate to say the show had truly kicked off until about six minutes in when Power pierced the agonizingly repetitive and slow-building opening strains of “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” (from FB’s recently released debut album Street Horrrsing) with a burst of high-pitched, deliberately unintelligible screaming – before returning to the redundant sound that could serve as a catch-all adjective to describe most of their material.
Before I’m met with accusations along the lines of “You just don’t get it, man!” I totally realize that part of the group’s intrigue comes from those who know that its constantly looping melodic structures are purposely intended to go beyond what most listeners would consider bearable. However, I also have a sneaking suspicion that the much larger inside joke involves Power and Hung wondering: “How long can we keep replaying the same note and still be hailed as the next big thing?”
Although a live setting would seemingly be the best showcase for the “songs” FB creates (sounds that are too aggressive for a study mix and too monotonous for a driving soundtrack), the forty minute performance never succeeded in capturing my attention. While certain elements (the aforementioned distorted vocals and Power’s live tribal drumming) did provide some interesting moments, my constant attempts to pinpoint what the hype was all about prevented me from ever becoming fully entranced by the music.
Thankfully, what FB’s show lacked in good old entertainment value, Caribou more than made up for with its combination of lush, sonic atmospherics and visually arresting computer-projected backdrop. In front of one of the biggest crowds I have ever seen gathered at a Courtyard show (large enough, in fact, to prompt several minimally successful attempts at crowd surfing), Daniel Snaith and his three-piece live backing band diligently performed an instrumental-heavy 14 song set loaded with offerings from their 2007 CD Andorra.
With an ever-changing array of psychedelic color patterns and black-and-white geometric figures flashing on the screen behind them, the musicians nicely complemented these swirling images with the trippy electronic ambiance of songs such as “Melody Day” and “Sandy.” For some in attendance, the projection set-up even provided a forum to show off those finger puppet skills honed circa second grade, although, by now I would expect something more original than rabbit ears (perhaps some deer antlers would have been appropriate).
However, without a doubt, the most distinctive aspect of Caribou’s live show came via the two drum kits set up at the forefront of the stage. Manned by Snaith and Ahmed Gallab (filling in admirably on short notice for regular drummer Brad Weber, who is out with a broken wrist after falling off a ladder the week before) the double-barreled percussion assault elevated tracks like “After Hours” and “She’s the One” from dreamy slices of nostalgic pop to swiftly crescendoing head- boppers. Unfortunately, because the Courtyard stage only rises about a foot off the ground, despite standing on a chair all I could usually catch was a momentary glimpse of drums sticks frantically cutting through the air.
Nevertheless, this minor grievance could hardly detract from my continually being wowed by the visual and aural spectacle that is a Caribou concert. And at only $5, the show not only fits nicely under the title of my blog, but also provided way more bang-for-the-buck than the money I dropped to see 21 at the movie theater two nights later.
Summary Acrostic:
Canadian
Artist
Revels
In
Beautiful
Orchestration.
Ultra-cool, eh?!
