A little more than an hour had passed since Caravan Palace launched into their set at The Novo on Monday night. The French group, a trio in the studio now six people strong on stage, had already pumped up the crowd with a near-seamless mix of older tunes, like their version of “Black Betty,” and material from last year’s album, Gangbusters Melody Club. The stage was now saturated in blue light that moved like a wave as singer Zoé Colotis talked the audience. 

“Let’s get crazy for a while. Forget all your troubles, just spread good energy and craziness,” she told the crowd. 

White lights burst from the strobes, pulsating with the beat that had just kicked the crowd in the pants. They pumped their hands in the air and jumped in unison. The floor vibrated. My phone started to shake as I tried to record video. 

Based in Paris, Caravan Palace has been around for a good long while and is probably best known for the song “Lone Digger,” which was released about a decade ago and is accompanied by an animated video that’s racked up hundreds of millions of views. Their sound is vintage jazz-meets-French house and their show is an all-out dance party. 

For those reading this outside of L.A., The Novo is inside L.A. Live, a large entertainment complex downtown that’s home to multiple venues whose names change depending on which corporations own the rights, the best known of which is the home of the Lakers, which was originally christened in honor of an office supply superstore and whose current moniker is the URL of a cryptocurrency exchange. I wish I were kidding about this.

L.A. Live is also across the street from the graffiti towers, the construction fiasco-turned-viral art piece, and one block away from The Pantry, the historic restaurant whose recent closure pissed off virtually everyone who gives a shit about this city. And, as in much of Los Angeles, when you walk to and from L.A. Live, you may encounter both high-end restaurants and homeless people.

The location of the show is essentially a microcosm for 21st century late stage capitalism, so seeing Caravan Palace here felt a bit like falling into a time warp where the 1920s, 1970s and 1990s all converged. But, then I’d see someone pull out a cellphone and think, yup, it’s still 2025, and I would pull mine out of my bag as well and snap a couple pics from the back of the room. 

The dance party started almost immediately and the band established a good sense of flow, with little to no pause between some songs. Occasionally, like with “MAD,” from the latest album, they would tease a song, but not play it until  later in the set. 

There was a nice balance of electronic and organic elements throughout the set, with a combination synths and live bass and horns.  The stage set up was very simple— just the musicians and their instruments— but they created a lot of drama throughout the set with just lights and smoke. Whoever was running the lights on Monday night did a fantastic job.

The crowd was unusual for an L.A. show in that there wasn’t a discernible scene present. If you go out a lot, you can typically go to see a band play and recognize people from other concerts and clubs that play similar music. Here, it really felt like a room full of strangers all dancing together. While the response to Caravan Palace’s older songs, like “Mighty,” was strong, the reaction was equally enthusiastic for the Gangbusters Melody Club songs, which were well-represented throughout the set. 

Caravan Palace, who are touring the U.S. and Canada through mid-April, gave the crowd a workout during the show. It was the kind of show where you’re so busy dancing that you’re never quite sure how much time has passed or how many songs have been played. At some point, it’s over and you’re walking back out into L.A. Live with a bunch of sweaty people adjusting to the chill in the night air.  

Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs or listen to the latest Beatique Mix. Follow on Instagram  or Bluesky for more updates.

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