Neo Swingsters

Time to let the high energy and infectious grooves of modern day swing sink deep down into your feet, your muscles and your hips.

So another year passes and you still haven’t mastered the ol’ jitterbug and lindy hop? No problem. Neo swing vocalist Bridget ‘Dollface’ Burnell from The Calibre Cats expects nothing more of you than to get up and get jumpin’. 

“It’s the type of music that, if it doesn’t get your foot tapping than there’s something wrong with you. It’s infectious. We usually have a good following of trained swing dancers that come along to our shows, but having said that we also do a lot of corporate parties and events where everyone and anyone can get up on the dancefloor and have a boogie.”

Swing music celebrated its heyday back in the 1930s, when the danceable swing style of bandleaders such as Benny Goodman and Count Basie was the dominant form of American popular music. However, it’s the modern-day interpreters that have brought the classy, fun-loving style back into vogue.

Traditional boundaries of swing music have been broadened by The Calibre Cats with their use of amplified, electronic instruments and effects, not to mention the unique twist on old-fashioned lyrics. “We call it neo swing, so it’s a modern take on swing. We still respect the old style and instruments, but the songs are newer. Over the past 10 to 15 years it’s become more about modern stories that have a twist on the gangster sort of lifestyle.

“There are eight of us in the band. We have a full horn section, which includes the trumpet, trombone, a bari sax, a tenor sax, an upright bass, guitar, drums and then myself as the vocalist. Depending on the venue and the event we’ll sometimes have a piano player too.”

Originally starting in blues and funk groups, Bridget performed professionally as lead singer in an outfit called Sugar Lounge, a jazz trio that saw performances in bars and chic cafes around Queensland. This inspired a change in what she considered her style of music, compared to the choral and stage musical background she was bought up on. She branched out into new areas and fell in love with swing.

The Calibre Cats trace their history back six years, when Bridget first met guitarist Tiny Masters at the Brisbane Jazz Club. Time thereafter was spent honing in on the exact style and recruiting the best of the best to join the line-up. After playing a string of impressive shows, festivals and residencies, the band now take to the stage for revered annual event The Gangsters’ Ball.  “It’s the most suited gig we could ever possibly ask for. We’re all very excited. It’s going to be a night of adult fantasy fun, where everyone’s dressed up as gangsters and molls, there’s burlesque girls and magicians … so much fun!”

Taking place in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, The Gangsters’ Ball is geared to be bigger, better and more extravagant than ever this year. The night allows its patrons the chance to step back in time to a bygone era, where men wore three-piece suits, fedora hats and silk ties, and women wore feathers, furs and pill box hats, big bands ruled the airwaves and gangsters ruled the streets. “We’re the support band for the night in Brisbane, which means that in between the acts we’ll be performing three 30-minute sets. We’re all very excited about the people we’ll meet on the night.”

The fully themed night of non-stop entertainment includes a gambling den: fitted out with poker, roulette and blackjack tables. There’ll also be dancing contests, pin-up models, merchandise stalls, a cocktail bar, not to mention a 1920s themed photo booth. The dress code is strictly 1920s to ‘50s gangsters, flappers, molls, burlesque, vintage glamour, traditional dancehall swing and rockabilly. But your efforts will be rewarded, for best-dressed, best-danced and lucky door prizes await attendees.

THE CALIBRE CATS WILL ENTERTAIN GANGSTERS, FLAPPERS AND MOLLS AT THE 2011 GANGSTERS’ BALL AT THE TIVOLI SEPTEMBER 10.