Australia’s Babe Rainbow has never been the “showiest” band to emerge from the last decade’s psychedelic revival, but their grounded sense of groove and knack for pop melody makes them an instant breath of fresh air in a genre that can often find its bands lost in space, and their whimsical sensibility has earned them a place as one of its most reliably fun live acts. Continuing to tour the U.S. on the back of this month’s The Organic Album, the group’s fifth studio record, they brought their traveling party to New York City’s Bowery Ballroom on Thursday October 20th for a loose night of catchy tunes and more than a little boogieing.
True to the band’s hippie-revivalist spirit, the giant, seemingly hand-sewn rainbow backdrop displaying their name alongside cartoonish images of planets and animals which adorned the stage had a throwback, DIY vibe that seemed to instantly transport the room back to 1966. Babe Rainbow’s stripped-back sound made good on that aesthetic from the very first notes of “Inner Space”, with singer Angus Dowling standing in a shadowed silhouette as his hushed vocals swirled amidst the buzzing groove from the rest of the band. As the quartet bounced away across their catalog, from early cuts like “Planet Junior” to newer standouts like the funky “Naxos”, the New York crowd gradually shook off their autumnal chill and surrendered to the psychedelic sway.
Drummer Miles Myjavec’s punchy playing made for a rock-solid backbone for the group and gave even the group’s most lackadaisical songs, like the floaty “Supermoon”, a certain verve that they don’t always carry on record – not to mention the superb drum break he inserted near the end of the live staple “Johny Says Stay Cool” to a round of cheers from the floor. Likewise, guitarist Jack “Cool-Breeze” Crowther was particularly on his game, never sacrificing the simplicity of the groove even while working in sleek licks and solos to tunes like the one-two punch of “Something New” and “Monkey Disco” – the latter of which finally had the audience worked up into a booty-shaking frenzy.
During perennial party-starter “Eureka” Babe Rainbow was joined onstage by the bassist for the night’s opening act, seventies tube ride, reciprocating Crowther’s sit-in with them earlier in the evening. With a tambourine in hand, he and Dowling found themselves joyously bouncing up and down as the band set the crowd alight with an infectious groove. While they probably could have kept the party going an extra hour, they kept things concise and left the stage after delivering the classic psychedelia of “Love Forever” before returning for a three-song encore. Crowther opened it up with the instrumental “Butter”, off 2019’s Today, joined by Myjavec on drums halfway through, with Dowling and bassist Elliot O’Reilly rejoining to lead a full-on rave-up on the disco-tinged “All the Power”, propelled by O’Reilly’s in-the-pocket fretwork. They wound down on a closing rendition of “The Wind”, bringing a dark, foreboding swirl to the Changing Colours cut that served to remind it ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, even if, for this band, it mostly is.
