LadyDot Review: Caravan Palace Gig Report

Report From The Caravan Palace Gig In Brussels, Ancienne Belgique (Belgium)

I love my job! As well as giving me the opportunity to discover new Electro Swing talent and give them a chance to develop their careers, it also gives me the chance to meet my idols and go to their concerts to then prepare a report on the show for you. In February, I was at a Parov Stelar gig in Warsaw (you can read the report HERE), and at the beginning of April I flew to Brussels specifically to see a live performance by Caravan Palace, a band I have been listening to for more than 10 years. It’s a great feeling, because while I’m at work, I’m also fulfilling a dream. In addition to being able to attend their concert, I was also able to go backstage and talk to the band for a while. It was with great pleasure that I prepared a report for you on the Caravan Palace gig, which was supported by Oswald from Boogie Belgique. I hope this article will further convince you that it’s definitely worth flying to almost half of Europe to experience these emotions for yourself. 😊

Boogie Belgique – The Perfect Caravan Palace Support

Courtesy of Olivier, Caravan Palace‘s manager, I was given the opportunity to choose any city to go to for their concert. I could have waited a few months and gone to Berlin, which I only have a 5 hour drive to, but I decided to go to a city where I was sure Boogie Belgique would be the support act (they are the ones I did my first interview with, you can read it HERE). I love their slightly melancholic, swing hop vibe and even though it was a solo act and not a standard performance by the whole band, I was very curious to see how their songs sounded live. I have to say that I was delighted, and I guess I wasn’t the only one, because even though Boogie Belgique were supporting Caravan Palace, the concert hall was almost filled to capacity when the show started. Oswald played some really top-notch songs (including ‘Chicago’, ‘Swing Thing’ and ‘Goodnight Moon’) and created a fantastic atmosphere, as I don’t think there was a single person who wasn’t rocking to the beat of their music. Boogie Belgique’s performance unfortunately only lasted 30 minutes, which left me definitely unsatisfied. With that said, I’d love to go to their next concert and I know I’ll be fully satisfied because they are simply great, professional and make music that totally steals my heart.

Caravan Palace – A Gig Setlist That Everyone Will Enjoy!

Before I tell you a bit about the songs that Caravan Palace played at the concert, I have to point out the great stage preparation. The excellent lighting effects totally built up the atmosphere and were fantastically matched to each song. It was very impressive, you have to see it live! Furthermore, I was extremely pleased to see that people of totally different ages attended the concert. This means that Electro Swing is loved by people who are not only younger, but also a bit older. A wonderful feeling.

Okay, you are surely most interested in the setlist of the concert. I won’t give you all the details so that you can have a surprise, but I will tell you about some of the songs that impressed me the most live.

Caravan Palace are now promoting their latest album, ‘Gangbusters Melody Club’. As you can guess, they obviously played a lot of songs from this album at the concert, but I guarantee you that if you like their older songs, you will be 100 percent satisfied. In total, the setlist included… over 20 songs, seriously!

Starting the concert with classics such as ‘Clash’, ‘Dragons’ and ‘Wonderland’ was a total positive surprise for me. I went totally nuts when I heard those wonderful big band drums on ‘Rock It For Me’. And when Caravan Palace played ‘Moonshine’, I have to admit that I felt like I was at the best festival like Sziget.
And let the rest of the songs be a surprise to you and an excuse to go to their concert. You will definitely be positively surprised by the selection of songs. You can buy tickets for their show HERE. 😊

Caravan Palace – Three People Who Make Musical History

Zoé, Charles and Arnaud – anyone who is a fan of Caravan Palace knows perfectly well that it was these three who created a band that has been delighting us with their music for 16 years now and surprising us with their experiments with mixing different musical genres. I’m sure you’re wondering how they perform at live concerts. And I must honestly tell you that the whole show is buttoned up absolutely to the last button. Focused, yet incredibly confident on stage. A little crazy, but always building a fantastic rapport with the fans, who crowd sing along to almost every one of their songs. They just have the full package – they are incredibly creative, they know how to put on a brilliant show and how to thrill the audience.

There was so much going on at this concert that it is impossible to describe everything – it simply has to be seen! Zoé sang fantastically and even played “Reverse” and “Dragons” on clarinet, among others, and the audience went straight into a frenzy. Arnaud was jumping around with his electric guitar like a real rocker. And when Charles played the bass guitar, I felt like my heart was beating to the rhythm of those basses – it was a fantastic experience.

Do you know why I like concerts so much? Because through them we can see the musical personality of each artist. It’s great that they understand and complement each other so well when working in the studio. But it’s only at a live performance that we are able to see that each of them brings a piece of themselves, their skills and creativity to the band. This is what makes Caravan Palace, besides being a fantastic band, a perfectly polished musical project.

Caravan Palace And Their Wonderful Live Musicians

It was obvious to me that for such a long tour, Caravan Palace had to invite some really top-notch, professional and talented musicians. For me personally, a huge positive surprise was that these musicians turned out to be multi-instrumentalists. And really brilliant multi-instrumentalists who complemented the whole performance perfectly and made them bring a totally fresh, unique energy to the stage. Really, they changed instruments so quickly that it was hard to notice when it happened, haha. It was fantastic and it was fully controlled chaos!

I hope I remembered correctly what instruments they played:
ZAYKA – trombone, programming, percussion
Romain Theret – vibraphone, piano
Lucas Saint-Cricq – saxophone, baritone saxophone, clarinet

Well, what totally enthralled me was the sound of the vibraphone, which suits Caravan Palace’s style so fantastically! The magical sounds produced by this instrument simply captivated me, especially on the track ‘Wonderland’.
I was hugely impressed by the solo played on the baritone saxophone and the wonderful piano during the playing of the song ‘Midnight’. I was genuinely moved, plus the slightly dark atmosphere and subtle lighting effects – it built up the atmosphere of nostalgia so fantastically!
Of course, I can’t forget the trombonist, who played a fantastic solo on ‘Lone Digger’. He captivated me with his energy, talent and charisma, and together with the saxophonist they complemented each other so well. Chapeau bas!

Caravan Palace – Meeting The Band After The Show

Quite recently I did an interview with Caravan Palace (you can read it HERE), then I received an invitation to their concert. And honestly, I only found out a while before the concert that I would also be able to enter backstage after the show! This was an amazing surprise for me and I totally didn’t expect or even dream of it. To be able to thank one of your favourite bands in person for such a great show is really something that doesn’t happen very often, so I’m very grateful for this opportunity. I exchanged a few words with each of the Caravan Palace members, took a photo with them, and Charles, with whom I talked a little longer, told me about their concerts in Poland a few years ago and even invited me to a concert in Paris, which was a great honour for me. Usually I get stressed in such situations, but this time I was really relaxed, as Caravan Palace turned out to be very nice and, above all, incredibly humble. They make brilliant music, share their energy with their fans, give 150% of themselves on stage! All the more reason to wish Caravan Palace the very best. That their albums go platinum, that their fan base continues to grow and that their concert tickets always sell out. And above all, that their music will always provide so much positive energy and keep French electronic music at the highest level.

Written & reviewed by LadyDot; Date: 2024-04-15

Bio – LadyDot

Anna (LadyDot) was born in ’94, but always felt she came from the Golden Twenties. “Polka” in Polish means “girl from Poland”, so she’s “Polka in polka dots”. She loves vintage style and spontaneous travels around Europe. But her greatest love is of course music, especially Electro Swing, Funk, Swing Hop and French Electronic Music.

Anna works at Electro Swing Thing as A&R & Content Manager, so if you want to collaborate with our label, you can write to her and we guarantee you’ll be in the best hands: anna@electroswingthing.com.