THE post-gig cheekbone ache from stretching a wide lipped grin across your face for hours is a sure indication you’ve just witnessed something special, and the Melbourne Ska Orchestra’s (MSO) hometown gig last month was just that.
My smiling face, an involuntary and entirely natural response to the raucous fun I was watching unfold onstage, matched those worn by the members of MSO as they jumped, leaped and boogied their way through more than two hours of music magic.
It’s a magic that has its roots in ska, reggae and calypso, with some added funk, African rhythms and their new single ‘John Wayne’ galloping into spaghetti western territory.
With Alpine Shire resident Nicky Bomba at the helm, a man who has been inviting and creating connection with crowds for decades, alongside MSO co-founder, musician, composer and producer Wally Maloney, the success of MSO shouldn’t be a surprise.
The orchestra’s resident ringmaster told me earlier this month that the collective have yet to run out of ideas for its future in keeping the Australian live music scene flourishing.
“Every year this band continues and it’s quite remarkable,” Bomba said.
“It doesn’t make sense having a band this size go for this long but we’ve got such a great brain trust of musicians and songwriters that we’re constantly coming up with ideas.
“We’ve never had a hit song on the radio but with ARIA awards and internationally sold-out shows it’s clear that our chemistry and energy translates onstage.
“The audience is as much a part of the performance as the band is.”
Bomba may be frontman and lead vocals onstage, but the ensemble attribute their success to the collaboration of its members; a multi-cultural melting pot of talent who love what they do and bring a part of themselves into the sound.
There really isn’t anything like it, the circus-like antics of more than 20 musicians exuding chaos from the stage, a chaos that reaches the audience in no time and wraps you in the spell of it so you can’t help but join in.
High-energy, loud, punchy horn and brass sections, paired with deliciously offbeat guitars and rollicking bass rhythms, with a percussion section that doesn’t leave anybody out; drums, bongos, Brazilian samba drum, cowbell, guiro and tambourine.
The group don’t waste time building up to the explosive power of their act, a performance that Bomba describes as “an experience” rather than just a show; from the moment they begin there is a zealous energy that erupts across the stage and my first thought was:
“Oh my, this is going to be good.”
It’s truly a testament to the power of live performance, storytelling, a connection with a community of people; something Bomba considers “vital” to being human.
The Outlaws and Offbeats Tour, a name that tips a hat to a genre (ska) born from the independence of Jamaica in 1962 and the danger felt by the change-makers of the era, has wrapped up but the MSO have a few more upcoming shows to go this year.
To check those out, go to https://www.melbourneskaorchestra.com/shows/.
