Caribou Vary Up the Energy in Cleveland

Posted on Jun 10th 2010 11:20AM by Justin Jacobs
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Caribou, the electronic brainchild of weirdo-genius Dan Snaith, put on a musically flawless and energetic show Wednesday night at Cleveland's Grog Shop. But that still wasn't enough to get the stuffy crowd to open up and, you know, dance.

Upstart Toro y Moi opened the show and proved exactly why the sort-of genre chillwave has been so polarizing. The set was daydream-relaxed and fit awkwardly in the context of a dark club.

Caribou didn't have the same problem. Playing just about a dozen songs, mostly from his latest album, the hypnotic 'Swim,' Snaith and his touring band laid down constantly evolving heavy grooves. But each time the band built up a sturdy base of danceable energy, Caribou would take the mood back down with a slow-burning tune, right from the start. Set opener 'Leave House,' with its gentle vocals and throbbing bass, grew into a synth powerhouse; 'Kaili,' and its slow-echoing bassline squandered the energy Caribou had just worked to build.

Still, what Caribou lacked in crowd control it made up for in sheer creativity throughout the show. 'Bowls,' a 'Swim' tune made largely of sampled bells and harps, was stripped to its minimalist basics before live drums puffed the song into a tribal meditation. 'Melody Day,' a standout from Caribou's previous album, 'Andorra,' twisted the show's electronic focus into something more rocking. Like the late Elliott Smith hosting a dance party, Snaith's performance was personal, self-aware and touching but still packed a punch.

But each punchy peak was fleeting. Caribou played 'Odessa,' its latest and infectiously exotic grooving single, pushing the crowd farthest into dance floor territory. But the band followed with 'She's the One,' a lullaby-like guitar tune from 'Andorra.'

Caribou compositions, the vibrant, colorful little gems that they are, can be wildly engaging on record, and for the most part, they do come to life onstage. With a better sense of sequencing, the Grog Shop could've really shook.