Live Review: Caribou @ PICA, Melbourne

What could be better at the end of a scorching hot day than to chill with friends at PICA over a drink and some beats? 

The relatively new Port Melbourne Industrial Centre for the Arts, or PICA, is actually a really old shed in an industrial estate with a huge outdoor area featuring bars, food trucks and overhead misting to cool the crowd. PICA celebrates the relatively simple formula of ‘90s warehouse parties where dance music lovers only really needed great beats pumped loud through a kicking sound system and plenty of space to dance the night away. 

Times have changed and with ‘responsible’ younger generations are moving away from all-nighters to day parties with the aim of getting home at a respectable hour so the following day isn’t a complete write off. Parking on a nearby street which was in the middle of a massive housing development comprising flats and townhouses. Empty but nearing completion, it's not hard to wonder if a wonderful venue like PICA would ever have to field noise complaints from new neighbours. 

Inside the shed it was stifling hot so most took in solid sets from Dameeela and Harry Hayes sitting outside chilling to the bouncy feel good vibes they served. Dameeela got herself deep into the mix and unleashed a riot of beats that got the more energetic punters on their feet and dancing. 

An acrid smell in the air and billowing smoke signalled the warehouse next door was on fire. A firetruck soon arrived to deal with the situation and the drama was over not long after it began. The crowd starts to move inside as Harry Hayes spins up a tech house storm that gets the crowd primed for tonight's headliner.

Ostensibly a studio project for Dan Snaith, Caribou comes to life as a four piece band on the road, leaning heavily into electronic sounds. Snaith’s career as a musician has meandered across 20 years and different styles of music that has ranged from the indie folktronic sounds of Manitoba to the experimental techno sounds of Daphni. However, Snaith has invested most of his time in pushing out his music as Caribou.

Primarily in town to promote the latest album Honey, it's unsurprising that most of the setlist comprises tracks off this album. 

Largely silent through the pandemic, it has taken Caribou four years to get this album released. While early Caribou releases blended indie edginess with electronic intensity, Honey seemingly combines messages to lovers both past and present, with retro early rave that kind of just grinds down into intense techno workouts. 

Not too many people here tonight would remember M|A|R|R|S’ Pump Up The Volume from 1987 but sampling the classic tune Caribou puts a fresh spin on the track. As we get into Climbing the bass bins blast the eardrums and drums whack the crowd about their collective heads. It's a winning formula that brings joy and happiness to the hearts of the hundreds gathered here tonight. 

Pulling shapes and enthusiastically cheering it is not long before the crowd is a sweaty mess well on the way to finding dancefloor bliss. Stepping away from Honey, Caribou treats us to the spaced-out funkiness of Bowls and this leads to Odessa from the album Swim which arguably features some of Snaith’s finest work. The epic sprawl of Sun is simply awe inspiring as it sinks deep into intense kosmische psychedelics where the motoric beat is transformed into an intense techno thud. 

Not entirely reliant on sequencing, drummer Brad Weber is amazing to watch as he plays his electronic drum kit with robotic precision throughout the night. Behind them projections of animated interference patterns in a virtual rainbow of colours and of course intense strobe delivered an immersive audio-visual experience. 

The set list now starts to focus its attention on tunes from Honey which shifts gear into more melodic techno pop that sometimes indulges Snaith’s obvious fascination with song writing that delivers melancholic verses and euphoric choruses.

The disco spin on Only You and the uplifting piano chords of Never Come Back deals genuine feel good vibes. The guitars and bass add dimension to the mix and give Caribou the opportunity to balance between the live and more purely electronic elements of their sound. 

Snaith has a grin on his face throughout the show and he seemed to be genuinely honoured by the crowds' outpouring of enthusiasm for his music. A perfect set for a fun hot summer’s night of dance music, it’s interesting to see Caribou attempting to put their penchant for a more experimental approach behind them to work towards the dance mainstream on their own terms.