Touring to promote the release of their new album ‘Panic’, Caravan Palace came to the Concorde2 promising a night of gypsy, jazz and electro-swing, tied together with bass and heavy beats.

The sold-out Concorde2 is filled with dapperly-dressed gentlemen with moustaches (the timing of ‘Movember’ almost certainly helped this) and ladies with vintage dresses and smart up-dos. As we work our way to the front, people are swinging and lindy hopping around us to the sounds of Caravan Palace’s most well-known track ‘Jolie Coquine’ and the atmosphere is amazing. The music bounces and swings and drops and the crowd follow, eating up every second of it.

There’s only one problem with this gig: since it sold out and most people are dancing, there’s no room for those of us without such dance skills and we are pushed to the sides, packed in like sardines. This doesn’t stop us enjoying what is an incredible performance. We even catch a glimpse of lead singer Sonia Fernandez Velasco’s burlesque dance as she tears off her longer skirt to reveal a tighter shorter one and it sends the crowd, not just the blokes, wild.

We thought we know what to expect and Caravan Palace delivered, and then some.

Concorde2, Thursday 22nd November 2012
Words and photos by Esme Yules