The best show in town this week was a musical time warp from “Down Under.”
On Tuesday night (April 9), power diva Clairy Browne and her Bangin’ Rackettes played the Troubadour.
Browne fronts a nine-person band with a style that recalls the “Ed Sullivan Show,” back when television was still in uncharted territory. She described their sound as “A mixture of older rock influences, older R&B, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and soul music.”
Their sound is heavily influenced by “All the old-soul big divas like Etta James, Little Ann and a lot of contemporary artists as well; Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu and Cee Lo Green,” said Browne.
The band kicked off its most-recent tour at Austin’s South by Southwest (SXSW) annual film and music festival, and now is work its way across the U.S., touching both coasts before heading back to homebase in Melbourne.
The band’s first album, “Baby Caught the Bus,” will be released in May.
“The running theme is a story of love lost, romance and broken hearts, revenge and retribution,” said Browne. “Music, it’s like a time machine. It can take you back in time.”
In the same vein as Amy Winehouse, Clairy’s crew blasts plenty of brass and boasts a swingin’ backbeat. Dressed to perfection, in groovy beehive wigs, band members might look like they’re throwing a party, but they’ve also got a message to share.
“It’s about enjoying the entertainment of what we do. Like a 1960s hysteria kind of vibe on stage but also talking about devastation and being strong women in this world,” said Browne. “We’ve got four women in the band. We’re trying to create strength for females in the music industry.”
This marks their first-ever U.S. tour.
“In November (2012), we went to L.A. and New York. It was cool, just dipping our toes in. Now we’re on this excellent tour,” Browne said.
She’s noticed that American crowds are “highly energetic.”
“American’s are super vocal,” she said. “They’re good at being involved, I guess, which is great. We have some really eccentric fans, too. One woman said that she’d met Elvis, and it was nearly as good as that. (Laughs.) We’ve really felt the love.”
Clairy Browne formed the Bangin’ Rackettes from musicians she already knew.
“I just wanted to put a band together and create an experience, not just a band,” she said. “More of a live experience to enjoy as well as good music. I called up a bass player (Jules “Crazy Legs” Pascoe), who I had known, and the girls in the band (Ruby Jones, Loretta Miller and Camilla) were originally friends of my sister.”
The line-up is rounded out by Ricky Martyn on drums, Peter Bee on guitars, Gabriel Strangio on piano and Darcy McNulty on baritone sax.
“We got hella drunk and made some music,” Browne said. “Really, I’d just like to be able to share music with people and have them enjoy that.”
Great fan of the group. Cannot wait for the album.