Melbourne Ska Orchestra
MSO is everything it claims to be on its website.
Fronted by Nicky Bomba (Bomba, John Butler Trio) in his ad-hoc conducting style, the 26-piece Melbourne
Ska Orchestra (MSO) is a fun-loving big band experience with music from the golden ska period of 1963 through to modern day classics. A massive hit at festivals everywhere, the MSO is fast becoming a must- see institution with members hailing from some of the best ska and reggae bands in Australia. Founded in 2003 as a way of celebrating this uplifting music, the MSO is dedicated to educating and entertaining audiences with the sweet sounds of ska – and dancing is compulsory.
Dallas Frasca
The video clip on the official website is rather gentle but live Dallas is loud, hard and edgy – and very good, if that’s where your tastes lie.
The Crooked Fiddle Band
The official festival guide describes The Cooked Fiddle Band’s sound as being “14th century Romanian metal”. The couple
of tunes I caught from their set seemed Celtic with a dollop of Klezmer. Having now listened to a bit more of their music, it’s more Klezmer, with a dash of Celtic and maybe a soupçon of psydecho. In any case, it’s pretty frenetic, great live but possibly not the sort of thing you would listen to in your lounge room on a rainy Anzac Day afternoon.
