Live Review: Caribou

In a cloud of synthetic smoke Caribou came out dressed in white and began their triumphant sold out set at the Sydney Opera House.

No wonder the people moved in droves towards this sensory experience of live electronica. Humbly, Dan Snaith serves as the group’s creative core, creating a sensory overload with his tastefully layered music, incorporating MIDI triggers to further manipulate their kaleidoscopic light show.

This performance comes on the cusp of the release of Our Love and as a major sideshow to the group’s involvement with Laneway Festival. The Caribou experience lasted only just over an hour, but it could have been an eternity. This form of live electronica is a refreshing breath of fresh air as the audience watches the sounds being created by the musicians on stage, as opposed to the stereotypical DJ who sits back and presses Play.

Everyone in the front, back, stalls and nosebleed sections was up on their feet dancing by mid-set at the supposedly fully seated Opera House. This doesn’t happen very often. The pulse of the bass reverberated throughout the shell of the hall – nobody was going to sit down with that going on. Surely everyone went home with Can’t Do Without You pumping through their veins. Caribou caught everyone’s attention with those intricate rhythms and musical nuances, as well as hosting a drummer who sits up front of stage pointing his sticks in the air.

Caribou’s set consisted of a mix of songs off 2010’s Swim and their latest retrospective 2014 release, which was a bit of a bummer considering the bangers available in the back catalogue. Nevertheless there was never a moment’s silence between songs as the audience screamed for more and got it. Finally, Caribou’s encore consisted of one song: Sun, which was aided by an explosive demonstration of what a light show can do.