CARAVAN PALACE - 12TH DECEMBER REVIEW

On the 12th December, I went to see Caravan Palace. Now, if you don't know who they are, and you're not into electro-swing then this post probably isn't for you. Saying that, it's one of those things that if you're open to enough things in life, then exploring another band or artist is no harm done. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
 

I went with a good friend of mine, someone who had never been to a gig before and it was clearly a very exciting experience for him. He was bouncing around the room and was so excited to see the band - after I initially recommended them he concluded his favourite song was the first song on their most recent album. It filled me with a lot of joy, not only because of how happy he was, but just because I was able to experience a gig with someone else. When you do things so often on your own it's hard to adjust to having to enjoy it with someone else in your presence.
 
Anyhow, the band were interesting (to say the least), everything about them oozed experience, fun and most importantly, their personalities. They are a french band that in their core, mix swing music with electro/dubstep beats, which sounds ridiculous and probably is if you look at it from a technical perspective, but somehow it works. The way they incorporated a band (with the coolest guy playing baritone saxophone and clarinet), with some really odd beats and at times hard to dance to melodies.

What I found most difficult about their set was the fact that a lot of it sounded very similar. You'd start the gig and it'd feel okay, nothing special but the crowd went crazy for them - but then as they got into it things got better and they brought out their gimmicks, so whilst there were long instrumentals the vocalist would do some dancing etc. As the set went on, the band (for me), got a bit same-y, there was a lot of material that didn't grab my attention specifically but because of the beats and the way they had remixed the different pieces it made me want to jump and be excited. That, coupled with the fact that I was soaking wet from the rain just dampned my experience.
 
Nethertheless everyone else seemed to be having a great time, and the friend that I went with said it was one of the best experiences of his life. Gigs are one of my passions, not only are you surrounded by people that are into the same music as you, but you feel like you can emotionally connect with the songs and you often hear them in a way that you've never heard it before. Maybe that's just me, but it's one of those things that keeps me going, keeps me plodding along and taking the world in my stride. Maybe it's the fumes of the stage smoke, or the laughter of a group of friends next to you, but the atmosphere can't be beaten.
 
Overall, it was a good gig, the band were great and the gimmicks were hilarious - it was just a shame that it felt like you'd been hearing the same thing for an hour and a half.

Popular posts from this blog

THE COMPLEX LANDSCAPE OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Image
Below is an excerpt from my university dissertation, a chapter on software product management: The term "product management" may have originated in the 1930s, courtesy of Proctor and Gamble, but its widespread adoption by software organizations only occurred in the 1990s (Kittlaus & Fricker, 2017; Fricker, 2012). Fast forward to today, and product management has become a ubiquitous role in companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft (Cagan, 2017). So, what exactly is software product management (SPM)? SPM is a multifaceted business process that oversees a product's journey from inception to delivery. It's a blend of release planning, strategy, and development (Ebert, 2014). However, there's no shortage of varying definitions. Steinhardt (2010) sees it as grounded in general management techniques, with a focus on product planning and marketing, while Haines (2008) defines it as a business organization concentrating on strategizing, introducing, devel...
Read more

THREE DAYS GRACE - 13TH JANUARY 2016

Image
I think it is a pretty safe assumption that I’m no rock chick, or any kind of social stereotype really. Perhaps I’m a misfit, but as I discovered when going to see Three Days Grace...I am not going to be getting any facial piercings or tattoos any time soon. I went with a good friend to see them and they’re something else - a Canadian heavy rock band that make really cool music. Initially I was introduced to them quite a while ago when my brother wanted their One-X album, but they were far too heavy for me. Over time I’ve come to discover that there is no way for me to differentiate my musical taste, it varies massively and to be honest, I’m a misfit wherever I go. My gig list goes from Bach, to Three Days Grace, to Hunter Hayes - and that’s just 3 separate genres. I really wanted to get tickets to see ACDC in June but they sold out so quickly. Anyway, so the gig was pretty epic. Despite having the worlds most annoying people in front of us, we were pretty close. For example,...
Read more

SKILLS FOR LIFE CAMPAIGN ADVERT

Image
It all started in July 2023, when I sent off a video of myself speaking for 30 seconds and some information about my apprenticeship, company, and background. In September, I was contacted by the casting agency working on behalf of the Department for Education to be part of a filming shoot in mid-October. I was understandably really excited, what could this mean – they gave me an idea that it could be billboards, adverts, posters, and banners, but I didn’t know which part of that I’d be involved in.   They sent me all the information running up to the event where I’d be off to shoot for a TV advert in Manchester in mid-October 2023. I took the 5 hour train up to Manchester one Wednesday afternoon, and stayed in a hotel overnight anxiously awaiting the call sheet they would send me later. The taxi call was 6am, and I went down to find 3 other apprentices and an actress waiting for the same mini-bus, and we were off to the set outside Manchester. We arrived at some trucks stationed ou...
Read more