Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes – She Plays Up To You
I popped by Pure Pop Records recently with a friend (local Melburnians would know this hidden gem no doubt) for a Sunday Sesh fix. For those who haven’t yet been, this place is so multi-faceted, the front of the venue is a funky, pokey little record store home to a pretty sweet assortment of new and vintage vinyl. As you make your way down the end of the store, it opens up into an intimate little courtyard complete with bar and stage, where live gigs are held every weekend. On this particular Sunday evening we enjoyed a few beers in the crowded courtyard, at that time of night a bit squishy, but this wasn’t at all a problem with such awesome local talent to listen to and such a good crowd of punters.
Clairy Bowne and the Bangin’ Rackettes were the highlight of my week. These four girls belted out 50s/60s soul and doo-wop style tunes like no one else I’ve heard in recent times. Lead singer Clairy Browne’s powerful, soul-filled vocals with loads of attitude tore up each song, and the Bangin’ Racketts sang backing vocals with style and sultriness. And they looked fantastic with their 50’s style big hair and shimmering frocks. As for their five-piece big band, the music they make is amazing; it’s energetic and they quickly made the small crowd get their dance on. And quite honestly, they looked so smooth and cool up on stage. I must give special props to the sax player: his talents on that instrument are awesome. Watching and listening to them was just like being transported to a 1960’s jazz club, and the crowd LOVED them. I saw Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes perform earlier this year and each performance is just as energetic as the next.
In the hour they performed, Clairy and her Bangin’ Rackettes performed a heap of their original tracks from their debut album, Baby Caught the Bus, and they even chucked in a couple of covers, which they revived with so much energy and a little twist of their own – like a ballsy, soul version of Salt N Pepa’s Whatta Man. Clairy often chatted to the crowd, explaining the stories behind their songs with brutal honesty; you seriously wouldn’t want to be a bloke to cross any of these girls when it comes to romance!
The band have just finished their Love Letter tour of Aussie, so keep an eye on your favourite live venue as they play a heap of live shows in Melbourne. Visit Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes http://clairybrowne.com/
Watch: Clairy Brown & the Bangin’ Rackettes – Love Letter
