Messed!Up
Dan Snaith and his alter ego Caribou returned to Hamburg, the city that didn’t want to book him 15 years ago when he struggled to stand out in the crowd of bands, and where support DJ act Sofia Kourtesis – at the time a local promoter – came to his rescue to so solve the crisis. Ever since, Kourtesis and Snaith have supported each other and even worked on music together.
Earlier this year, at Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Caribou opened up the festival and played the headline slot on the pre-festival, delivering a stunning visual show. Caribou’s four-piece live show is always a pleasure to behold, and I’d already warned our photographer to watch out for some really sharp and flickering lights while working in the photo pit. I just wish I hadn’t been standing in the front because it was a light show deluxe; let’s say I damned myself for not bringing sunglasses. I should’ve known after watching the band at Primavera Sounds!
From the moment the first synth pulses dropped, it was a deep dive into groove. Caribou’s latest album, 2024’s Honey, is a deeper dive into deep house than ever before, and blended with driving synth bass, shimmering synths, live drums, and live guitar, Snaith brought the house party to Docks. The night’s opener, “Volume,” seemingly features snippets of several other tracks, like snippets/samples of ‘Got To Change’. That hybridity has become a hallmark of Caribou’s live shows: songs that on record feel precise and crafted are mixed together and transformed into expansive, flowing soundscapes when played live. At Docks, that meant a warm, full-bodied house sound that reverberated through the room, and the dancefloor erupted into a collective wave, rising and falling together. “Come Find Me” pushes its spare riff and ghostly vocal line toward something surprisingly cathartic, while the Fred Again collab “Facilita” powers the synths into a gloriously heartsick swell of high energy.
If the sound was the heart of the show, the light and visuals were its pulse. True to what loyal fans expect from Caribou’s live gigs, the lighting design was more than decoration; it’s part of the music. Strobe lights flashed in sync with the beat, electronic textures triggered shifts in lighting color and intensity, and the interplay of light and shadow turned the venue into a living, breathing, kinetic sculpture of waving bodies. I love good light shows and never ever had any problems, but at Docks I reached my limit and had to close my eyes when the lower stage rig flashed some super bright lights in eye height; that was a bit of a mood killer. The young couple next to me decided to move to the back, and although that probably was a wise decision, I need to be at the front of gigs to get the vibe from the dancing moshpit of people.
There were really no breaks between songs, save for a few times when Snaith walked to the edge of the stage to show his appreciation for people’s energy.
As the final track, “Can’t Do Without You”, comes into view, the house lights fade up on a sea of smiling faces. Caribou took us on a journey: from introspective, subtly textured electronica to full-on house-fueled euphoria, all held together by live instrumentation, a crowd ready to surrender to the beat, and a light show that turned the room into another dimension. Music like Caribou’s tells us to be here, now, and maybe Caribou is the reminder that even when the party ends and tomorrow’s pale light arrives, we’re not left alone.
Let’s not wait too long until the next Caribou party, shall we?
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Photographer: Richie Racoon
