If the Martians landed tomorrow and demanded to know what a party is, just take them to a Caravan Palace gig.
No one does fun at a concert quite like this Parisian six-piece, whose style is electro-swing (old-style jazz fused with modern-day hip-hop and dance).
I was first introduced to them six years ago thanks to Strictly Come Dancing, of all places, when Sophie Ellis-Bextor danced a joyous charleston to one of their songs, Rock It For Me. (YouTube it.)
And I’d seen them twice live before they took to the stage at Bristol’s O2 Academy on Monday night (January 27).
The place was literally bouncing.
Since their previous shows, they’ve become bona fide rock stars, which has its downside.
Their latest album, Chronologic, is much more mainstream than their earlier material, and they performed most of the tracks on it after warming up the crowd with some good old favourites.
The radio-friendly Miracle is the most obvious example of their slicker new output, and some of them, such as Supersonics and About You, fitted in seamlessly into the setlist.
But not all of them, and by and large it was their latest releases that didn’t quite hit the mark.
Caravan Palace’s musicianship and showmanship, however, is second to none, whether it’s the guy on percussion and vibraphone who also happens to be a virtuoso pianist, the pair comprising the brass section or captivating frontwoman Zoe.
And there is more than enough in their back catalogue, including the group’s best song Lone Digger, to make any slight lull nothing more than fleeting.
Catch them when you can, earthlings.
