[Caribou and Fuck Buttons, 4/12 at the Courtyard Cafe]
Click the jump below for photos, video, and a review of the Fuck Buttons and Caribou show!
Fuck Buttons
Caribou:
The Courtyard Cafe had put out an 8pm start time but had some posters that claimed 9, resulting in a room full of people milling about at around 8:40. In order to make people pay, they asked everyone to leave, line up and come back in with their $5. And while I scoffed at the incredibly unprofessional and inconvenient way they were running the show, surprisingly, people did it. Sigh, UC. We’re truly a land of tame attendees.
Before the night of the show, I had listened to Fuck Buttons’ CD, Street Horrrsing a handful of times. It’s jangly, layered, and when there’s drumming, intense, especially on the second track,”Ribs Out,” which emulates the sounds of being lost in the jungle with an angry tribe running after you to sacrifice you to their multiple, worldly gods. (Don’t believe me? Listen to it here. It’s very Jack Black-version of King Kong.)
While that movie was an absolute pile of crap (three hours long? Naomi Watts? really?), their disc is a heavy listen. But, their show was a bit boring. It may have been because I was standing at the side, staring at one of the guys’ butt the whole time, but the entire thing lacked a certain physical intensity that their music holds in disc form and not live, causing their performance to fall a little flat. And, while I’d love to blame the slightly stagnant crowd and the venue nestled in the center of all things scholarly — the Illini Union — I can’t this time, because the turnout was rather good, and the crowd was packed in close enough to the front to let you pretend that it wasn’t the worst venue on campus.
The mathematical verdict? Fuck Buttons CD > Fuck Buttons Live. I dance more alone in my bedroom to that album then I did last Thursday night.
Caribou, though, was bomb. A truly good show, by my standards, is one that makes you want to listen to the band immediately after you leave the venue. And for the past week, I’ve been flipping sides of my (new!) vinyl, unable to get enough.
The drummer was fantastic, but it took me almost a full 24 hours until I remembered that he was a replacement for the actual one who recently broke his wrist. I can’t judge a drummer I’ve never seen, but if they steal this guy away for keeps, I’d wholly understand. Draped in flashing lights that changed patterns and color schemes on each song (I now understand why Daniel Snaith, the man behind Caribou was on LSD when he came up with band’s name), they were better than I was expecting, most notably when Snaith joined in on drums.
I couldn’t hear the vocals too well and both the drumming and overall sound was loud enough to necessitate earplugs, but to truly enjoy a show in the Courtyard Cafe is such a rarity that I’ll try to ignore the fact that the venue is god awful at soundchecking.
The mathematical verdict? Caribou Live > Fuck Buttons Live.
[PS - I'm a woman obsessed. Caribou's drumming has been stuck in my head for days. Give them a listen if you haven't already.]
Video:
Fuck Buttons performing in the Courtyard Cafe (apologies about the vertical shooting):
Caribou performing “She’s The One”:
Live Vicariously:
Whoa shit! Caribou and Fuck Buttons are playing at the venue I work at! I’m really excited for both sets. I like Fuck Buttons’ album but am wondering what it translates like live.
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