RED Rocks : Crystal Caravan
Sometimes going out on a Monday pays off, especially if you party with the band afterwards.
That’s what happened when Crystal Caravan played at the Cobra, organized by the Cow Club. (Lots of C’s in those names, coincidence?)
Friends Mo and Thomas got friendly with the band and asked if the wouldn’t like to play an acoustic set the following day.
And despite partying into the wee hours of the morning they were happy to comply. Lucky for them and us that Solingen is Rock City No.1: the band didn’t bring any acoustic equipment on tour, so Nick and others pitched in and brought their guitars and basses along.
Isn’t that an awesome swap? Free instrument-usage for a free gig? I’d call that excellent.
And that’s how our local Rock-Pub came to the honor of having these awesome Swedes in their red hall:
And boy, it was a great gig.
Singer Niklas Gustafsson started the set with an acoustic rendition of “All Along the Watchtower”, surprising the audience with his strong voice.
Well, at least those who hadn’t seen him rock out the night before.
Then came and went Neill Young’s “Heart of Gold”, started three times -”third time’s the charm”- and eventually effed up nevertheless. The singer’s words, not mine.
Not that anybody minded. The audience, some of them still tired from last night, hung on Niklas’ lips.
And they weren’t disappointed, as the small Swedish troll dude really rocked out with his, well, beard out! There was a rockstar at the RED last night, no doubt about it.
Ordering “Flensten-felsen” every few songs to oil his throat he assured us “Once you plop you can’t stop”.
After a couple of songs his band joined him, Björn and Stefan on borrowed guitars, percussionista Annika on the back of another one and drummer Christopher on the bass.
They played a couple of their songs, including “Apple Hotel” and “Love and Direction” from their current album “Against the Rising Tide”, proving that rock’n'roll doesn’t need plugs.
Crystal Caravan really rocked the RED, made the evening a pleasure and carved their psychedelic name into our hall of fame.
Nice review!
I really enjoyed myself and hope the Red will become a venue to host more acoustic rock sets. Brilliant!