As the gig calendar starts to wind down toward the four-week dead period from mid-December to mid-January, you kinda feel like you need to cram in as much live music as possible prior to that enforced hibernation. So, I am keen to get to Olympia early tonight to catch opener Yunè Pinku, despite having not heard anything of hers in advance.
It turns out to be a good decision; her Tracey Thorn-esque vocals and moody backdrop projections give total Everything But the Girl vibes, though some moments veer into Moby territory (both the ambient and techno versions). At one point, the bass is so heavy I can feel it at the base of my skull! A solid 30 minutes, and definitely worth investigating a little more later!
It’s almost 20 years since Dundas native Dan Snaith changed his touring moniker from Manitoba to Caribou, and six records later, he’s still sounding as fresh as ever. New record Honey is a house-electronica masterpiece I have been living inside for a while now and is a total departure from the chill melancholy of the last record Suddenly. Indeed, if anything, it’s more in keeping with the output of Dan’s other musical project, Daphni!
What sounds immense on record sounds even better live, thanks to a perfectly paced and constructed setlist and the most striking use of visual effects I can remember for a long time. New song “Volume” opens the set among smoke and flashing shapes across the back screen before merging seamlessly into “Climbing,” Dan singing the “falling for you” vocal hook while drums, bass, and guitar ring out to complete the song.
When I saw James Blake at a show in Rome earlier this year, he declared that real electronic music should be played 100% live, not pre-recorded in any way, and Caribou certainly checks that box!
“Climbing” then morphs into “Bowls,” Dan adding additional drums (as he does later on “Dear Life” and mammoth set closer “Can’t Do Without You”) until the room goes completely dark as the synth breakdown erupts. A seamless transition into the timeless “Odessa” elicits a huge roar of approval as the room suddenly turns dim red.
After a seamless four-song salvo to open the show, Dan announces, “Tonight is the last show of the tour; we’re happy it’s with you. Montreal has always been amazing to us!” Even though he must have done this hundreds of times by now, Dan looks like he’s loving every minute, repeatedly fist-pumping the air, patting his heart, and pointing at the crowd at every possible opportunity. By the end of the show, when he declares, “You guys were incredible. Thanks so much for having us!” you can tell he really means it.
The highlight of the set is unquestionably the arrival of new album opener “Broke My Heart,” an absolute banger in its own right, but which merges into the even more monstrous “Honey.” The gut-churning synths sound immense on record, but live, it’s absolutely astonishing. At the last drop, the whole room goes black for a few seconds as the beat stalls, and at the drop, bright strobes flash to turn Olympia into a rave as the whole floor section erupts with flailing arms (this reviewer included).
The mellow “Got to Change” is a perfect song to follow it up, giving us all a moment to catch our breath, though the smoky beams that shine out into the room at the end are every bit as uplifting, just in a different kind of way!
After a thunderous “Can’t Do Without You” closes out the show, Dan throws out one last round of fist-pumps and hearts to the crowd before leaving the stage for good, bringing down the curtain on one of the shows of the year after an immense hour and 40 minutes that absolutely races by.
I think I will need that gig hibernation to recover after all!
Setlist
- Volume
- Climbing
- Bowls
- Odessa
- Ravi
- Do Without You
- Come Find Me
- Only You
- Sun
- Never Come Back
- Over Now
- Hackney Parrot (Tessela cover)
- Dear Life
- Broke My Heart
- Honey
- Got to Change
- Can’t Do Without You
Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Alex Distaulo
