Presented by 123 Agency
Reviewed 21 February 2017
Clairy Browne showcases songs from her 2016 album Pool for her one-night show at the Magic Mirror Spiegeltent – waking up the sleepy Tuesday night audience with a bang.
Browne first rose to prominence leading Melbourne-based 1960s style Bangin’ Rackettes, but has recently rebranded herself as an R&B solo artist. Her speciality is soulful electric ballads.
Browne immediately dazzles the audience with her costume, wearing plastic thigh-high heels and a tiny grey leotard, attempting to emulate Beyoncé. She greets the crowd with a short and sultry “Hello lovers”. Her opening song is the titular “Pool”, soon followed by “Birthday Suit”, “Love Song to the World”, and “Califalling For You”, among others from Pool. She also includes two brand new songs not yet released – to general approval from the audience.
Her on-stage style is somewhat perfunctory, saying little between songs and making a series of sexy hip-popping poses rather than coordinated dance moves. These are not always timed well with the music and often seem awkward.
Browne is accompanied by backing vocals, keyboard, and drums. Though some songs are performed seamlessly, the band often seems discordant and messy. They make several noticeable mistakes. At times they seem less concerned with making music than making loud noises, which does not flatter Browne at all. Perhaps worse than this, there is zero visible chemistry between the band.
It is unfortunate, but this is perhaps one of the times when listening to the carefully recorded and mixed album is a more enjoyable experience than the live version. At best, Tuesday’s performance of Clairy Browne is an adequate show from a talented artist.
Reviewed by Nicola Woolford
Rating out of 5: 3
Season ended
More News
