Live Review: The Bombay Royale, Sugar Fed Leopards

Inside the literal underground of Max Watt's, glitter-slicked sweat heats up the air. The audience of late-Millennials and early Gen X-ers are decked head to toe in glomesh, sparkling green wigs and velvet jumpsuits. What else could you hope and dream for at The Bombay Royale's album launch?

Everyone dances because Sugar Fed Leopards whip the crowd into a disco-induced fever. The costumes, the powerful vocals, the synchronised dance moves, sax solo, stage names - Sugar Fed Leopards are a larger-than-life musical cult and everyone drinks their Kool-Aid. We worship at the feet of Steph Brett (aka Sugar Breath); she is our pop saviour.

The Bombay Royale are the reason why everyone is here. Nine of the 11 band members start on stage. Every member is dressed in black and gold, each with some sort of bandit mask or dark sunglasses and to represent their onstage character: a tennis star, a priest, a jewel thief, a widow, a sea skipper. Heavy psychedelic guitar plays and images featuring all 11 members are projected on the stage's back wall.

Saxophonist Andy Williamson (aka The Skipper) introduces the two singers: Shourov Bhattacharya (aka The Tiger) and Parvyn Kaur Singh (aka The Mysterious Lady) to deafening screams and the audience is fanning-out hard. Mysterious Lady wears the most incredible gold sari with '60s futurism-inspired details.

Diving straight into the title track of the album they are launching, The Bombay Royale slam Run Kitty Run as footage of vintage Bollywood films play in split screens behind them. The Bombay Royale are mind-blowing. It's like the most incredible smash of a party in Mumbai where the guests are old school James Bond, classic Dr Who, every vintage Bollywood cast and a fleet of space cowboys, who all dance to '60s funk/'70s disco amid Alejandro Jodorowsky's psychedelic and surreal imagery; imagine that as a band and you're halfway there.

Mysterious Lady implores the audience to dance and teaches us GoGo-esque dance moves. If she asked us to crawl on our knees and bark, we probably would (and happily). The audience heaves in heat, smoke and dance. Their 'last' song is I Love You Love You before the band are called back to the stage for an encore. Disco-dancing horses are projected onto the screen. The Bombay Royale are like your favourite lover - wild, electric, addictive - and we just need more.