Paris

Music Park: Caravan Palace @ 9:30 Club — 7/5/17

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Zoé Colotis fronts Caravan Palace at 9:30 Club on Wednesday, July 5, 2017. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Caravan Place released their third studio album <|°_°|>, also known as Robot Face, capturing ears across the world in 2015, and they have spent the last two years on tour conquering our hearts. The French septet most recently dropped by DC to charm a sold-out crowd at 9:30 Club with their splendid mix of French house, electro swing, and jazz on Wednesday, July 5.

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Ticket Giveaway: Caravan Palace @ 9:30 Club, 7/5/17

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caravan_palace2 Caravan Palace (Photo by Jeremie Bouillon)

Looking for something different, yet fun and embraceable, for your dancing pleasure? Look no further than the French septet Caravan Palace, who cite among their influences Cab Calloway *and* Daft Punk.

The electroswing collective is coming to the United States again off their very strong third album <|°_°|> (pronounced “Robot Face”), and they perform at 9:30 Club on Wednesday, July 5. You can win tickets to go with Parklife DC.

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Don’t Miss: Nouvelle Vague @ Howard Theatre, 3/21/17

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Nouvelle Vague (Photo courtesy The Howard Theatre)

In Paris circa 2003, Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin formed Nouvelle Vague, a cover band that took its inspiration from a translation of “new wave.” Bossa nova also translates as “new wave” from the Portuguese. Inspired by this, Nouvelle Vague covered “New Wave” songs often in bossa nova style for four albums before taking a break in 2010.

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Music Park: Okay Monday @ Supersonic (Paris, France) — 6/24/16

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Okay Monday at Supersonic on June 24, 2016.

Well, readers, I was on vacation in Paris over the weekend. So of course I’m going to review a performance by a fantastic band I saw there!

To my surprise on Friday night, I ended up at a small club in the 11th arrondissement called Supersonic (9 Rue Biscornet, 75012 Paris, Frankreich). There, a set of bands performed prior to a DJ taking over. Stumbling into the space around 11pm, it reminded me a great deal of our own DC9 — it could hold about 200 people, and it was comfortable and unpretentious. Supersonic had taps, however, and it seems to me that all of the “cool places” in France and Switzerland have either a Brewdog or a Brooklyn Brewery on tap. (Supersonic indeed served up Punk IPA.)

To my even greater surprise, I arrived in time to see three well-dressed French lads take to the stage and belt out terrific English-language numbers that take a page perhaps from a young Elvis Costello or The Jam. To my ear, their music also follows occasional cues from the likes of Go West or Nick Heyward. Their style was truly quite mod; their sound, very power pop! They call themselves Okay Monday.

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Music Park: Caravan Palace @ 9:30 Club — 5/26/16

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Caravan Palace 02 Caravan Palace get into the swing of things at the 9:30 Club on May 26, 2016. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Clad in an elegant, short black dress, Zoé Colotis slides out onto the 9:30 Club stage and starts to sashay and sing, shooting rapid-fire words as she wiggles her hips.

In “Lone Digger” from the new album by her band Caravan Palace, Zoé makes a call for getting out to dance. And her audience Thursday night responds in kind, jumping, dancing, and clapping along to the rare treat of the French electroswing band.

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