Caravan Palace at Showbox SoDo
Every now and then, you get to enjoy a DJ who brings a little bit extra to the experience. ZAYKA, the opener for tonight’s show, is not only experienced on the MIDI controller, but a skilled trombonist. ZAYKA took the opportunity to show the crowd some very entertaining additions to his music with his striking trombone performances. To top it all off? He had the whole crowd cheering in support of his thick French accent.
Just imagine a trip to a wonderful land, of candy… and jam… and ice cream! These are the intro lyrics to the song Wonderland, which kicks off the show for the night. Caravan Palace is a French electronic swing band filled with seven talented multi-instrumentalists. Electro swing to me has always felt a bit like the stereotypical band nerd you knew in high school who still dresses the exact same way but decided to add some really cool sunglasses. The brass instruments bring the classic full band vibes, and the electronic mixes add so many extra layers on top.
The lead singer, Zoé Colotis, is a performance of her own. While we didn’t get to experience it for this show, having been to multiple shows prior, she previously would do full on East coast swing dance routines with another band member which ultimately caused me to take Lindy Hop classes myself. Luckily, you can still check out that exact routine on their recorded performance of “Rock It For Me (live at Le Trianon, Paris)”. Included in her many talents on stage, she weaves in singing, playing the clarinet, and the occasional scatting.
Caravan Palace spent almost 2 hours giving us every single bit of energy they had. Between the many solos of drums, stand-up bass, saxophone, clarinet, trombone, and even the vibraphone, the crowd never ceased to cheer the band on. If you’re sweating from reading this, don’t worry. Zoe was sure to bless the audience with water from her own water bottle.
One thing I want to call out about the band is the amount of artwork that goes into their music videos. While they don’t all share the same director, the art style and topics feel like they have a cohesiveness to them. If you’re willing to give them a try, expect some animals in strip clubs, tribal women flying into space, and other wild adventures filled with lovely bright colors.
With 3 encore songs, I was amazed to notice a surprising amount of people had left before it even started. However, this did end up being a benefit to many who were excited to get in on their own swing dancing for the night. Eventually the entire band was front and center jumping up and down. At Zoe’s request, the crowd was working hard to join in on the jumping and take down the ceiling. She closed out the show by thanking everyone for being a cheesy friend and dubbing us their cheesy army.
