The scene backstage at a Citizens Band show is nothing short of showbiz madness. Band members cram every nook and cranny of available space, vocalizing, beautifying and preparing the props. There's one of the group's founders, Jorjee Douglass -- a tattooed beauty with angel eyes -- putting some finishing touches on Karen Elson's maquillage. (The world-renowned model, another Citizens Band founder, has a husky voice that's perfectly suited to the group's sadder songs; she consistently knocks audience members on their tuchases.) Aerialist Chelsea Bacon, whose nattily nimble rope-climbing contortions are among the highlights of the show, is working to figure out how to rig a trapeze. All around them, band members are milling about in various degrees of Edwardian carnival drag, playing accordions and kazoos and randomly bursting into song.
The Citizens Band are the contemporary New York equivalent of a merry roving band of Victorian gypsy vaudevillians, if Victorian gypsy vaudevillians were political activists who fought against war and in favor of universal health care. During the band's most recent performance, called "The Trepanning Opera" at Manhattan gallery Deitch Projects, 26 people took the stage, dressed in attire that was equal parts Tim Burton and Weimar Republic, evoking a romantic past that transcended any one specific era. They performed for an hour and a half, singing originals and standards about love lost and love won, the power of beauty and the need for good doctors. (Their original songs include Jorjee Douglass's delightful ditties "Je t'Aime Scumbag" and "Syphilis," as well as Adam Dugas's "Heal Thyself.") The show had a medical theme -- "trepanning" refers to the ancient custom of drilling a hole your skull to relieve pressure on your brain, a practice that was in vogue in the U.S. in the 19th century. The performance featured Scottish chanteuse Angela McCluskey and actress Rain Phoenix; in the past, the band's rotating cast of characters has also included, among others, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. Claire Danes, director Jim Jarmusch and the White Stripes sat in the star-studded audience. Despite having only performed a handful of times, the Citizens Band has been featured in a number of places, including The New York Times Magazine, Harper's Bazaar and Dazed and Confused. Their combination of Broadway showmanship and arty charisma make them the most appealing nightlife act to hit downtown in a long, long time.
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