The set list even indicated a Dance Workshop after the first four songs. Initially there was much enthusiasm from the audience who participated in dancing with some teaching from leads Parvyn Kaur Singh and Shourov Bhattacharya, the Mysterious Lady and the Tiger, respectively. Their fusion of Bollywood, spaghetti western soundtracks and science fiction as performed by a parallel dimensional Village People was greatly appreciated. When the Bombay Royale came onstage, the back projection of clips from Bollywood films was superfluous as the band themselves were so interesting to watch, dressed in their outrageous caricature costumes that had you pondering what the back stories intended might be. There is nothing wrong with the former as people do want to be entertained by what they know but it can be disappointing when there is less of a challenge for the audience. Their performance and songs and those of the Bombay Royale, like the not dissimilarly ethnic music influenced Cambodian Space Project who performed at last year’s OzAsia festival, had me thinking about the degree of separation from covers to originals bands. It might just be time to retire those ill-fitting outfits and otherwise save them for the occasional pagan ceremony. Although leader Ross McHenry acknowledged and thanked seamstress Jenny Ridge, one of the troupe’s mother, in that they had been wearing the same robes for ten years, the band appeared as though they were dressed in Op Shop drag. Perhaps I am fickle, but their unappealing hooded robes detracted from an otherwise engaging performance. I believe that their three quarters of an hour of afro beat, 70s soundtrack noodling was competent although the repetitively individual instrumental soloing and subsequent applause from the audience did wan after a time. I used to really like the Shaolin Afronauts.
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