Photoblog review: Caribou@the Empty Bottle, 6/7/05

I was heartbroken when I found out the Russian Futurists were stuck at the Canadian border and wouldn't be making it to the Empty Bottle last night- what had been my Lineup of the Year was now just another good electronic show. Don't get me wrong, I was excited for both Caribou and the Junior Boys, but there's just something about a killer three-band lineup that I hadn't seen since last year's Mouse on Mars/Ratatat/Junior Boys show at the Logan Square Auditorium. After waiting 45 minutes in the dank, poorly ventilated, and non-air-conditioned Bottle, the Junior Boys took the stage and played mostly from their lovely debut album, Last Exit. Jeremy Greenspan played guitar, sang in his oh-so-smooth voice, and sort of bounced around awkwardly on stage, while keyboardist/electronics guru Matt Didemus just stared up at the ceiling and smoked his cigarette disaffectedly, refusing to take off his hooded sweatshirt even though the temperature had to be 90+ degrees. The best songs were the most danceable, like "Bellona" and "Birthday," and even with the insufferable heat, I found the ability to dance just a little bit. Caribou's set made me incredibly glad I've gotten into the habit of wearing earplugs to shows (a habit that began after I started getting a weird clicking in my left ear, which has since stopped, thank God). Dan Snaith, the man behind Caribou/Manitoba, traded between acoustic guitar, keyboards, recorder, and some drums that he tore apart like a maniac. Holy crap. Every time he and 2nd drummer Peter Mitton kicked off a song together, I jumped out of my skin. Needless to say, it was a great show. I had no idea Caribou's music involved so much use of the recorder. And the encore of "Every Time She Turns Around It's Her Birthday" was exactly how I would have chosen to end the show as well. I'm glad we were on the same page here. Check out pictures of the show here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rfc/ Read more at the Perfect Face for Radio.