Latitude Festival 2011: Caribou
Electronica music is always bound to go down well at a festival; it's danceable, atmospheric and energetic; the perfect way to keep spirits high and leave the crowds buzzing. Few are better in this field than Canadian Daniel Victor Snaith, with many musical monikers and projects under his belt, but none more popular and with a larger discography than Caribou.
Snaith's set exuded professionalism; entertaining the packed Word Arena with synthesised tracks and complicated time-signatures causing awkward middle-class Latitude-goers (who were already cautiously coming out of their shells) to bop their heads all the more awkwardly, which only added to the entertainment value.
Instrument switches, clichéd though they may be, rarely fail to be a great stage gimmick. Snaith on multiple occasions picked up the drumsticks and played alongside the group's existing drummer, creating a consummate sound expected of a man who has been creating music for so long.
Something that the set delivered superbly was the ability to create a sense of unity in the crowds and a mutual agreement to 'dance like no one's watching'. The music Snaith makes is accessible and doesn't pigeon-hole a particular brand or age of person. Despite Caribou's main demographic being teenagers/young adults, there were countless amounts of toddlers on the shoulders of parents. On asking a woman how old her particularly young looking son was, the response of '3 weeks' was made all the more surprising by the fact that the new-born had more festival wristbands than me.
The energy and vibe of the band bounced to and fro the elated crowds, leaving the onlookers euphoric by the time Caribou favourite and set closer 'Sun' was played; an explosive finish to a much anticipated performance.