Brightest Young Things

Most people seemed pretty crest-fallen when they read the fliers plastered all over RnR's entrance/heard the periodic announcements by the door staff.

"Caribou has cancelled. Their drummer has broken his wrist."

I, however, was really just chomping at the bit for some of Fuck Buttons (Caribou was an added bonus). At first, Fuck Buttons' debut album felt flat and lifeless to me. But then I sat down with it. I sat down IN it. I pushed all preconceived notions out of my head and let it surround me from all sides, flooding my mind and soul. And now I love it. True story.

But how does this translate live? Two guys, a bunch of random electronics, and compositions that aren't exactly kinetic in their pacing. Not the ideal recipe for a gripping live show.

As I walked upstairs to wait for the main hall's doors to open, I meandered over to the merch table. Fuck Buttons, in the flesh. Chilling and selling their own gear. I like them already. Shoot the shit for a minute, find out more about Caribou's drummer. Overall, they seem like mellow guys. Again, concerns rise about the live show.

But the minute FB started playing, I was enthralled. The set consisted of them running through album Street Horrrsing in its entirety. The epic grandeur toyed with on the album is realized in the live show. Watching them play each song is like watching a time-lapse of a painter creating an elaborate painting. The most interesting part of the show for me was undoubtedly watching the artistic process unfold. Even something as mundane as Hung's switching to an adapted Gameboy was done deliberately and with purpose. The frequent eye contact and unspoken signals between Hung and Power really emphasized how close they are to their music.

The songs ride on waves of slowly crescendoing and decrescendoing drone; the pacing is just slow enough that the anticipation of the burst-and-release drives your adrenaline through the roof. And just when you think you can't bear it anymore, the drone reaches its overwhelming apex for some truly glorious release.

I imagine to achieve this only listening to the album you'd have to play it in a movie theater or with some really good speakers.

The less-hammering elements that aren't drone are just as effective. The haunting wind-chimes of "Sweet Love...", the subdued rage in the tone of "Ribs Out" or the synth line of "Bright Tomorrow" accentuate the sense of serenity that often accompanies the mostly anarchic drone.

The primal nature of the muted-screamed vocals and their delivery was astounding. You'd swear that Hung and Power were manually rolling back ages of human evolution as they performed aggressive, primitive dances and sang. The mix of live and recorded drumming is a great choice, giving texture while keeping a sense of immediacy with Power flailing away at the lone non-electronic instrument on stage. The transitions between tracks were fantastically reproduced, the flow rarely if ever being stalled. The fade-in of the tribal rhythms of "Ribs Out" under the drone-scape of "Sweet Love for Planet Earth" is riveting. The primal portions of their music really seem to call out to some universal, basic animal element of humanity that I really can't help but respond to.

The effect of all these factors in summation is how I imagine it would feel to be a mostly deaf monkey in a rocket hurtling towards the sun going supernova with an alternating mix of tribal and classical being blared through blown out loudspeakers throughout the cabin. If I'm that monkey, the moment is probably so awe-inspiring that I don't really care that I'm screwed.

Previously in Live DC:

• 2/3: Live DC: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour @ RnR Hotel
• 2/3: LiveDC: Smith Westerns @ Black Cat
• 2/2: PHOTOS: Elizaveta @ Jammin' Java
• 2/1: PHOTOS: H Street Karaoke Championship
• 1/31: LiveDC: Carsie Blanton @ Black Cat
• 1/31: LiveDC: Loose Lips/ Lightfoot/ Paperhaus/ Ugly Purple Sweater @ Black Cat
• 1/30: LiveDC: Jeff Mangum @ Lincoln Theatre
• 1/30: LiveDC: Coeur de Pirate @ 930 Club
• 1/26: LiveDC: Ryan Adams @ Strathmore
• 1/25: LiveDC: GHOST @ RNR Hotel