Local jazz powerhouse trio, The Kitty Kats, are set to bring their lively performance to the Brisbane Jazz Club.
The much loved Sunshine Coast group are “bringing booty back” with a show that features a mixed style of jazz, rockabilly, swing blues and cabaret. Through common friends, Renae Suttie and Susanne Campbell connected via Facebook then called on Michelle Brown to create the concept for The Kitty Kats. “Our shows are all about entertaining the audience. Taking them on a fun ride, we try to involve them in the show as much as possible,” Michelle says.
“We try to tap into all kinds of emotion, so the audience walk away glad they made the effort to come out.”
The women have been performing together for 18 months, playing up and down the Queensland coast including festivals like the Caloundra Music Festival. Their performances generally make the audience laugh, cry and scream with joy. “We look for songs that are going to draw an emotion out of the audience,” Michelle says.
“It's usually material we feel a connection to in some way. Songs that pull a strong feeling out of ourselves. So we can make that connection to the show and audience making it feel more real.”
They played their first live show at the Majestic Theatre in Pomona, Australia's last silent-movie theatre. “We had no idea if our show was good until we played it. And the first response we got was just overwhelming,” Michelle says.
The women meet and rehearse every week, coming up with new performances while working on their choreography and harmonies as well as their hair and make-up for the show. “Most of our songs are three-part harmonies, so we need to work out who will be singing which parts individually and what we sing together.
“I cover the lower ranges and the two [other] girls are fantastic with the higher range. It's actually worked out very easy,” Michelle says.
With their show in high demand, the future looks bright for The Kitty Kats. “We have discovered it's so much fun, three girls on stage performing together,” Michelle says with a laugh.
The Kitty Kats play the Brisbane Jazz Club 15 October, The J Noosa (Sunshine Coast) 22 October and The Yacht Club (Sunshine Coast) 12 November.
