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The Bombay Royale: globalFEST 2014

It's not often that a band composed of stock characters can be a successful live act, so one that boasts "The Mysterious Lady," "The Tiger" and "The Skipper" — all, of course, in costume — might make a newcomer think the shtick is more enjoyable than the music.

But The Bombay Royale, an 11-piece Australian band making its U.S. debut at globalFEST, seems happy to evoke memories of everything from the Village People to formulaic Bollywood romances of the 1970s (in which the music was anything but formulaic). The group crams vintage Indian film music, 1960s surf tunes and blazing horns into a set of sly covers and wry originals — all tailor-made for a screwball caper flick that's yet to be shot.

SET LIST:

  • "Monkey Fight Snake"
  • "You Me Bullets Love"
  • "Disco Bot"
  • "Wild Stallion Mountain"
  • "Bunty Bunty"
  • "Phone Baje Na"
  • "Bombay Twist"
  • "Henna Henna"
  • "Solla Solla"
  • "Dum Maro Dum"
  • "Bobbywood"
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    Anastasia Tsioulcas is a correspondent on NPR's Culture desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including the trial and conviction of former R&B superstar R. Kelly; backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; and gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards.