Caravan Palace | O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London

To commemorate recent album Gangbusters Melody Club, the lively trio brought a taste of France to the UK’s capital with a One Night Only performance at the understated Shepherds Bush Empire.

★★★★★★★★★☆

Few artists have you fixated on their every move. If it’s not the outfit changes, the cabaret lights or the jazzy instrumentals, you’re enthralled and mesmerised by the fun of it all. Then again, nobody is like Caravan Palace. Nobody is Caravan Palace.

The Parisian super-group shares an unwavering passion for electronic music and the vintage sounds of jazz from the Roaring Twenties. Their 15-year reign across hybrid-house music has seen them as beloved in the mainstream as in the underground electronic circuit. That genre-blending style has unsurprisingly seen them tour the world, including major festival appearances at Glastonbury, Coachella and Boomtown.

To commemorate recent album Gangbusters Melody Club, the lively trio brought a taste of France to the UK’s capital with a One Night Only performance at the understated Shepherds Bush Empire. Appetite was undeniably ravenous, after more than four years since their last voyage aross the English Channel.

Selling out the 2000-capacity almost immediately, Caravan Palace’s anticipated return to London brought together avid fans from all across the world, of all ages and backgrounds, to experience one of the most immersive live performances of their lives.

Excitement began circulating before they’d even stepped foot on stage, news spreading there was a potential live stream happening backstage. A front row of captivated faces smiling, laughing and gazing starry-eyed at the lights beginning to dim. There was not one person completely and utterly ecstatic to be where they were at that moment.

Bursting into Clash with beaming grins, the trio (along with many others) bounced onto stage to roaring cheers. A mutual euphoria between the artist and the audience instantly supercharged the room. Followed by huge tracks Dragons and Wonderland, a venue that’s hosted some of the greatest artists of all time (David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Elton John) received a new lease of life through the power of electro-swing.

By Raccoons, lead vocalist Zoé Colotis already had London under her spell. Commanding a cheer of ‘celebrate’, every person screaming it back, the words illuminated above the stage in vibrant orange. Noticeably, new material was met with overwhelming positivity, only re-iterating the important constant that Caravan Palace has played in so many lives.

After exchanging a sparkly jacket for a glamorous dress, what unfolded from this moment was an evening of relentless optimism. Every track morphing into a theatrical performance like no other. Storming through a 27-strong setlist, playing hits across their entire discography, Caravan Palace didn’t take their foot off the gas for a second.

As the night progressed, more people threw themselves into the groovy world emerging before their eyes, embracing the indescribable. It’s an understatement to say the entirety of Shepherds Bush was moving non-stop.

A portal to a new world had miraculously opened up, and all of us were diving in headfirst. We felt transported to a world where past, present and future didn’t exist. Everything was on pause, and the only thing that mattered was now.

You couldn’t help but marvel at the spectacle of every moment. This was a show we’d never experienced. Jazz solo interludes, robot moves, timed freeze-frames, dancing and magical lighting. All proved this was nothing but ordinary. It was out of this world.

People formed on-brand gestures throughout, the defiant power behind this community never felt so clear. The same rings true when Zoé asks people to ‘Shake ya booty’, which people do. Without much prompting. We did too, the urge was irresistible.

Highlights from across the night included hearing the disco-infused Mirrors and Lone Digger, which were a headrush of Dopamine. ‘We want to see everyone moving, feel free to move the way you like’ they say. As the Caravan Palace logo shines like a beacon, the audience gives them a send-off they’ll never forget.

‘One more song’ bellows the room, igniting a We Will Rock You chant. ‘We are not done yet’ exclaims an ominous voice over the loudspeaker, to a roar of overwhelming delight. Thrashing into Comics, Je’mause, Jollie Coquine and Dirty, the group kept going. Anyone who wasn’t standing or dancing were asked to lose themselves.

‘Guess what? We aren’t done yet.’ they re-iterated, dripping with sweat. Unaware the set had been almost 30 tracks, we stared at our watch in disbelief. Re-imagining the last songs with new elements, instrumentals and features, the explosive finale won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

:: Round-Up ::

People flocked from all across the world to witness this One Night Only show at Shepherds Bush. This wasn’t simply a return to London after four years or a preview of their upcoming tour. It was a unifying moment, bringing together fans for an arena-scale show at an intimate venue. Those who caught the genre-defying Parisians at Shepherds Bush will forever remember the breathtaking, immersive and utterly phenomenal show that took place. And more importantly, the part they played in it.

With boundless energy, flawless production and explosive theatrics, this was a show like no other. What’s more impressive is the multi-instrumentalist nature of the entire group, playing and jamming to incredibly complex tracks completely live is something to stand in awe at alone.

Caravan Palace has to be seen to be believed. We saw them, and we’re still in disbelief.

See full setlist on Setlist.fm. Were you at the show? Check out our Insta and TikTok for videos, or share your own with us.