While trying to analyze the name of the band I was about to see at the Troubadour, Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes, I thought it was bursting out of the page as I was already imagining swaggering females with big hair and outrageous attitude. And it was just right on. The old-school big band with a baritone sax, the three harmonizing girls and Clairy Browne took the stage like real stars, in this precise order, and captivated the crowd with their retro mix of soul, doo-wop and rhythm n’ blues from start to finish.
Claire Browne is one of these fierce and ballsy frontwomen, with a bigger-than-life personality and a huge, booming voice that she lets free at each number. Part Jessica Rabbit with her red hair and siren dress, part Diana Ross and the Supremes with her Bangin’ Rackettes doing harmonies over harmonies and synchronized go-go dances, part Amy Winehouse with her powerhouse instrument, she may remind you numerous strong female singers, the type that never dies or starts legends. The songs of the nine-piece sounded as if they had been recorded during a sticky summer sometimes in the 60s, and the performance was all about tight and fringe dresses, choreographic arm gestures – yeah, Clairy’s arms were her major dance instruments – and some elaborated stagecraft you rarely see anymore! There was a genuine desire to bring back this magical showmanship (showwomanship?) of the good old times, with a dirty twist and some long fringe satin gloves that could have belong to a strip tease burlesque dancer’s wardrobe.
Despite the craft, none of this sounded too rehearsed or stereotyped, the stage looked chaotic enough and Clairy was regularly interacting with the audience with humor between the songs. She asked for a whiskey, and ended getting two glasses, but since it was not coming fast enough, she joked, ‘Cheap LA!’, and when the glass was finally there, ‘I’m from Australia, so you don’t want to upset me’.
They gave us a long set with songs off their debut album ‘Baby Caught the Bus’, bringing stories about strong women, tough romance and broken hearts, even jealousy and revenge with some freaky ooooaaaww from Clairy’s muscular chords matching the squeaking sax. They gave a Motown soulful twist to ‘Watta Man’, engaging the crowd into a lot of clapping, and performed ‘She Plays Up to You’ with that bitchy appropriate attitude, Clairy claiming before the song she was certainly the jealous type, … the show was all about this undulating-hips tough girl, with you-give-me-fever in her mind, decided to keep her man no matter what.
The audience loved them, they came for an encore of two songs, and during the show, she had some sweet talk with the crowd. She gave a long explanation about the song ‘Vicious Circle’, an evocation of artists who get too much exposure, ‘some grow, some struggle’,… ‘and they are no longer able to create that vision when there is too much exposure’,… ‘Don't strangle artists, so they can continue to create!’… It had to be about Amy Whinehouse, right?
Anyway, whatever amount of exposure Clairy Browne and her Bangin' Rackettes will have later on, and I am sure they will have plenty, I doubt anyone will be able to strangle her.
Setlist:
Vocal Intro
Take Me
Frankie
Far Too Late
Walk of Shame
Aeroplane
Vicious Cycle
Jenny
Surfy
Good Problems
Love Letter
She Plays Up to You
Whatta Man
Baby Caught The Bus
Outro
Encore
Yellow Bird
Champagne (sax solo)
