Babe Rainbow @ The Bellwether (10/20/24)

Photos by Julia Steinhouse

We took the wrong exit four times, but eventually ended up at the Bellwether. As we ventured towards the box office, we walked past three men with varying degrees of long blond hair standing outside the VIP entrance smoking cigarettes. As we inhaled the lingering fumes of tobacco and momentarily eavesdropped on their conversation, we simultaneously wondered if we had just passed the night’s headlining band (spoiler alert: it was them).

As we waited for the band’s opener, we regaled ourselves by people watching in the sparse crowd: men in flip flops, bright red bell bottom pants, the longest collective length of hair at any concert either of us had ever been to, and paisley print. A lot of it. None of these aesthetics came as a surprise to either of us, considering we were there to see Australian psychedelic band Babe Rainbow.

Camille Jansen- Mattea Leone

Opening the show was Parisian singer-songwriter Camille Jansen with a voice as smooth as honey, fusing elements of indie, experimental rock, and soul alike. An ethereal combination of pinks, blues, and purples lit her skin, with hundreds of specs of light on the backdrop creating the illusion of sparkles. Her poise and charm effortlessly filled the room, reaching all the way to the back of the bar, where the Modelo I was about to purchase waited patiently. She stood in the middle of the stage, surrounded by her four male bandmates, wearing a vintage white set that gave her an angelic and mystical look. Contrasting her seemingly divine appearance was a skull tattoo on her inner left arm. She proudly mentioned that this was her first tour, but her powerful stage presence suggested otherwise.

Camille started with “Je Ne Fais Que Rêver,” a French song from her 2021 EP Louise that captures the feeling of getting lost in your own head. It was a hauntingly relatable start to the night that set a very introspective tone for her performance.

She followed with “Louise”, an eerie song with utterly profound lyrics. Fog surrounded the stage, adding to her siren-like image. Interestingly, “Louise” is also Camille’s middle name, but she uses it in this song to represent an idealized version of herself in a relationship. She acknowledges that this persona is unsustainable and exhausting with the lyrics: “she comes and goes as she pleases.” Camille’s ability to channel introspection and self-reflection into her songwriting is remarkable. She has an incredible way of turning personal struggle into something beautiful, inviting the audience to join her in that vulnerable space.

She closed the night with “Loose Screw,” a song from her latest album, The Loose Screws, released in July. This song was easily the most upbeat and energy-filled song of the set. After thanking the crowd and announcing that this was also her final show of the tour, she introduced the song by saying, “You can boogie if you want.” Yellow and teal lights filled the stage, the guitarist rocked out, and the crowd most certainly boogied.

After Camille left the stage, I felt my stomach starting to rumble. Glancing up at the balcony, a glowing blue sign caught my eye, beckoning with a single word: “Eat.” It felt like a sign in every sense, so I headed upstairs. A Bellwether employee regretfully informed me that the kitchen was closed but said he would see what he could do. Two minutes later, he reappeared with a magnificent slice of pepperoni pizza. Night. Was. Made.

Babe Rainbow- Julia Steinhouse

Hypnotic trance-inducing sounds filled the room as the members of Babe Rainbow walked onstage. The crowd cheered, foggy from beer and smoke but nonetheless excited to be put under the spell of Babe Rainbow’s music. The band’s members aesthetically resemble the era they draw their influences from, with lead singer Angus Dowling wearing a two-piece suit printed with orange spirals and bassist Lu-Lu Felix Domingo nonchalantly wearing red sunglasses throughout the whole set.

Babe Rainbow was formed in Rainbow Bay, Australia in 2014 by high school friends Angus Dowling and Jack Crowther, the band’s respective vocalist and guitarist. They formed their full band in 2015 after meeting drummer Elliot O’Reilley and bassist Lu-Lu Felix Domingo. The band released their debut album The Babe Rainbow in 2017 with producer Stu Mackenzie of fellow Aussie band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. A day soundtracked by Babe Rainbow would be full of irresistibly blue barreling waves, hazy clouds of marijuana, and carelessly grooving to the cosmic grooves of the 60s (think Strawberry Alarm Clock’s Incense and Peppermints, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band).

Babe Rainbow shows are not just hour-long trips to the past, but also dance recitals for Dowling. He surrendered his body to the music, grooving around the stage with loose limbs and an ever-increasing number of maracas (we think he even had six at one point). Babe Rainbow shows are a psychedelic disco complete with incense burning on the drumkit and photos of koalas and iridescently blue bugs illuminated on the background screen. heir music transports you to a world in which your only worry is catching the next morning’s swell.

With the exception of a few songs that have lived on my beach playlist for years, Mattea and I were having trouble deciphering the titles of individual tracks. One of the most stand-out songs was their ramped-up version of “Zeitgeist,” infusing the typically toned-down song off their 2021 album Changing Colors with a newfound energy of rock by layering drums and bass. Another clear fan favorite was dreamy “Peace Blossom Boogie,” for which Camille Jansen joined them back onstage, matching their groovy loose-limbed dance moves. After going to the upstairs level for a moment, we came to the shared conclusion that this was not the type of show where you needed to know the title of every song but instead a show meant to be an immersive journey to another dimension created by Babe Rainbow.