Most of those in attendance at the House of Blues Parish seemed to have been longtime fans of the Australian retro band Clairy Browne and her Bangin' Rackettes. I first heard their hit song "Love Letter" in a Heineken commercial and was so intrigued by the music that I had to find out who made it. They quickly became one of my new favorites, and I absolutely had to see their show since they were coming to town.
The Honorable South was indeed honorable. Their mix of rock and sheer soul was truly intoxicating and frontwoman sang sweetly and soulfully. As she spoke between songs, her demure nature was apparent; she smiled warmly and invitingly as she giggled about the inspiration for the music and their new video for the song "St. Charles Parish" from their latest album I Love My Tribe. She and her backing singer would start the crowd on a foot stomp and handclap rhythm, hyping them up to participate in the coming song that was sure to be exciting and electrifying. Many were possessed to dance.
Coming from Australia, you might think that this retro band is straight out of the 60's with their brand of sound, look, and style. Clairy Browne and her backing band The Bangin' Rackettes consisted of drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, saxophone, Clairy Browne on lead vocals and three backing singers; the rather small stage held nine performers who all contributed to the fantastic 1960s soul-inspired sound. Not only did they sound amazing, each lady was dressed to kill. The backing singers Ruby Jones, Camilla McKewen, and Loretta Miller wore matching black short shorts with sexy blue tops and silver heels with pink socks. Clairy Browne wore a scintillating sheer black lace dress with a nude underskirt and a nude bra with thick blue bracelets. The bra did however have a few rhinestones just to draw some attention. Some of the ladies, including Browne, had very long and pointed fingernails that looked devilish from afar. The band slid from raucous songs like "My Baby Caught The Bus" to soothing sad songs like "She Plays Up To You;" Browne's warm and strong voice could belt out those notes like Tina Turner, who is also one of their biggest inspirations. Between songs, Clairy Browne would say thank the audiences and called them her "babies" and "lovers." But with her nonchalant and tantalizingly stoic facial expression never changing throughout the show, you could tell that she has babies all over this world that she's thinking about, and she only has a little time for you.
