What a wonderful evening we had for the return of Caravan – And yes, the first public outing for ‘Caravan Acoustic’, and what an evening it was, in the spectacular setting of Trading Boundaries in the converted old coaching Inn at Sheffield Park in East Sussex.
A packed house had come from far and wide, tackling motorway closures, airport fires, and all manner of obstacles, travelling from all over the Country, some people we met had had a very long journey from Hereford, but Mike from the venue in his usual warm welcoming introduction revealed guests from points much further east, the Netherlands, and west from the States.
The atmosphere was as ever comfortable, expectant and relaxed, the band, despite all their spectacular achievements over the years, in this stripped-down version of their classic line up didn’t show any ‘first night’ nerves, if they had any .
Geoff soon set it up for us as a sort of experimental ‘unplugged’ evening, where we were the willing guineapigs, as they tried out both new numbers and traditional favourites , though seemed apologetic that it might not be as slick as they’d like it to be. That mattered not a jot for any of us of course, because it made us all feel like a privileged part of the process, as they developed their style before us, even as to which instrument to choose for Geoff, from his multifarious collection.
The result was a triumphant tour de force, and we felt so honoured to be a part of this revival before our very eyes. There was even a first from Geoff in his multiple-decade long service to Caravan – yes, ’unplugged spoons’, which sounded great in this intimate setting.
Amazingly for this revamped band they still tried out all sorts of material, all the way from Wilde Flowers Days (1964), right up to the present day and their new album – (signed copies scooped up)!
The question was, how do you turn out some of their more upbeat numbers, unplugged’ as it were, but they managed it, the only ‘augmentation’ being the sound engineer tweaking up Geoff’s guitar (with a loud bang on one occasion), and a throat lozenge for Pye!
Some of the musical interplays, especially between Pye (guitar) and Geoff (mandolin), were breathtaking. The great advantage of the evening as we had it, apart from the magical atmosphere, was a first chance for many of us to fully appreciate the finer qualities of their musicianship, sometimes less obvious when electric guitar and bass, with drums and keyboards, are full on.
You could see why they might have been feeling a bit nervous. They were stripped right back to their bare musical bones, but they passed their tests with flying colours, such was the interplay on many numbers highlighting the whole history of the band in all its forms. They still managed ‘full on’, too, with a tremendous upbeat version of ‘Smoking Gun’!
We appreciated classic numbers from Grey & Pink, with ‘Nine Feet’ well stripped back timewise and sound wise, and many of us particularly pleased to see numbers from ‘Plump in the Night’, Geoff’s first album for the band in 1972. There’s so much good music on this album and they brought it all to life before our eyes. I always think it is a good test of a band when they are stripped down so far, and that is a tribute to the beauty of the music and the skill of the musicianship.
The evening flowed seamlessly and cleverly so, with the intro to many numbers seemingly a little tuning from Pye, but who was really sneaking into an intro where we were trying to guess which chord progressions were leading into which songs. Cunningly disguised at times.
Our participation was often encouraged, making us feel even more part of the experience – a 3-handed band with 150-odd collaborators, clapping, singing, tapping and even whooping occasionally, as we soared through this fantastic 61-year history of the boys, in all their formations.
We went right back to the beginning, not only the Wilde Flowers, but Pye’s first song, ‘A Place of My Own’, so well done, poignant we felt, with memories of long cold practices at Graveney village hall. We heard about Pye introducing Geoff to his place in the band by inviting him to play from the off in an almost impossible metre for ‘Who do You Think You Are’, mixing with tales of the real Golf Girl Pat, memories of past and revered band members like Richard Sinclair, others more recent such as Jim Leverton, ensconced locally. Piquant memories of the beloved Richard Coughlan, too, (singing ‘Farewell Old Friend)’, and we were intrigued to be introduced to keyboard player Derek Austin amid memories of his ‘Derek’s Long Thing’. Derek lives locally and still plays for numerous bands.
Music and memories, then, from all the ages of this remarkable musical project, now enjoying a wonderful rebirth, young Mark Walker keeping things going so well and upbeat with his whole array of his strange tympanic aides, and with his singing and all-round chirpiness. The banter between the boys was as classy & hilarious as ever.
In short, it was a dress rehearsal for a remarkably revamped band in an intimate setting to which we were all part of the process, a journey we were all so glad to make together, ending so poignantly with Pye on ‘How Sweet It Is’. – an early sixties number originally sung by Marvin Gaye covered in 1975 by James Taylor. The Wilde Flowers played it in their Live Set.
I really cannot imagine a world without Caravan. Through all the vicissitudes of modern life, and there are a lot of those at present, they represent a benchmark of consistency and sanity, (occasional insanity), with their unique blend of humour, whimsy, fun, fellowship and musicianship.
Onwards on your journey, Caravan, with Sutton next and hopefully many more experiences to come. We’re always with you boys, and hopefully back at Trading Boundaries before too long!
Thank you
Set List:
Set 1:
I’ll be There for You
Dead Man Walking
Grey & Pink
Golf Girl
Smoking Gun
Love to Love You
Spare a Thought
For Richard
Place of My Own
Set 2:
Who do You Think You Are?
Farewell My Old Friend
Every Precious Little Thing
The Dog, The Dog
If Better Days Are to Come
Cold as Ice
Best Thing in my Life
Chance of a Lifetime
Backwards/ A Hunting we will Go
9 Feet Underground
Encore:
I’m on my Way
How Sweet it is to be Loved by You
Patrick A Coffey