Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Playlunch @ Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide 19/10/2024

There’s smiles aplenty and no shortage of positive energy at Hindley Street Music Hall tonight for the last stop of Melbourne Ska Orchestra’s Outlaws and Offbeats tour.

Decked-out in matching child playmat pyjamas, Melbourne’s Playlunch take to the stage and kick the night off in style, bringing their self-described “bogan funk” to the floor which gets hips swaying and feet shuffling early.

Unmistakably Australian with a good dose of irony in the realm of groups like Machine Gun Fellatio, The Drugs, and Bluejuice, Playlunch are indeed a playful bunch, but don’t be fooled – these guys can seriously play.

With lyrical references to Melbourne train stations, Australian TV celebrities and TV shows of old like Kath and Kim, the nineties and noughties nostalgia is high tonight, as singer Hairy MacLarey (probably not his real name) exhibits immaculate stagecraft and engages with the crowd at every opportunity. With an open-high hat and a constant beat from start to finish, Playlunch are the perfect entree for tonight’s music menu.

Wow, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, take a bow. Twenty years in the game and this band is still killing it on the live stage and tonight’s two-hour, non-stop performance is no exception.

With a line-up that could almost field their own Aussie Rules team, the eighteen-piece ensemble (equipped with a 10 piece-brass section), bring an all-out assault of ska and reggae with a big-band energy, their gigantic sound enough to fill Hindley Street Music Hall a few times over.

Charismatic band leader and maestro Nicky Bomba parades the stage like a preacher delivering ska-sermons from the pulpit to the rudeboy and rudegirl congregation, with hits like Lyon Street Meltdown, Good Days Bad Days, Automatically Man, and the western-tinged new single John Wayne.

With infectious grooves and that signature off-beat, Melbourne Ska Orchestra infuse musical genres from the world over, melding Brazilian, Cuban and Jamaican rhythms, the result leaving not a still body in the house – and that’s not just the audience either. Members of the orchestra take every opportunity to romp across the stage with instruments in tow, there’s flags flying, trombones and saxophones in the front row, and if you haven’t worked it out by now, this isn’t your typical orchestra.

With no shortage of vocal talent in the group, Bomba hands the mic over in the middle of the set to the likes of (trombonist) Wally Maloney, the irresistibly smooth bass vocals of Pat Powell, and the incredibly soulful Ruby Mills (who is supported by more than a few family fans in the crowd tonight).

Paying homage to the genre they love so dearly, Melbourne Ska Orchestra round out their set with a historic medley of ska and reggae classics giving the crowd the opportunity to sing along to some of the all-time joints of old.

Energetic, playful, and a whole lot of fun, Melbourne Ska Orchestra are the embodiment of the true infectious power of live music. Let’s hope they visit the Hindley Street Music Hall (or should we say Dancehall!) again soon.

Live Review By Matt Eygenraam