Melbourne Ska Orchestra at Altar Bar, Hobart 05.09.2025 – Backseat Mafia

by wellnessfitpro 07/09/2025

written by wellnessfitpro 07/09/2025

The Melbourne Ska Orchestra (MSO) brought their good-times vibes and warmth as they rode into town on a chilly Hobart evening, bringing their spaghetti-Western inspired, Ballad of Monte Loco tour to Tasmania for the first time.

In a wonderful evening full of off-beats and dance grooves, Altar Bar came alive as a capacity crowd of 400+ crammed in to see the 16-piece MSO bring the songs of brand new album, The Ballad of Monte Loco to life, interspersed with the irrepressible hits from across their back catalogue.

A stripped back lineup of only 16 filled the relatively small Altar Bar stage, yet still managed to give a huge sound for this ska ensemble who have, at times, reached 34 members. How they were going to fit everybody on stage, and how many members the band were bringing were questions from before the show that I had been pondering, but much to my surprise, they managed the space beautifully, even giving band leader and singer, Nicky Bomba room to pull out some of his signature moves as well as space for spotlight moments for other members of the band.

A significant part of the show was the role played by Tex-Mex dressed percussionist, David Joseph (replete with rose in mouth) creating a highly amusing, and theatric focal point for the crowd as he playfully interacted with both the band and the audience.

MSO Set List: (* from The Ballad of Monte Loco)
1. The Brave, The Mean & The Wild Ones*
2. No Doubt About It*
3. Lygon St. Meltdown
4. He’s A Tripper
5. John Wayne*
6. Walls of Jericho*
7. Solitary Island Sway
8. Pay No Mind*
9. Good Days
10. When Bootsy Came To Town*
11. Bom Bom Bom*
12. Get Smart
13. One Thing*
14. Spring In My Step*
15. Kenji San
16. Medley

Melbourne Ska Orchestra Gallery:

Supporting MSO were Hobart’s darlings of fusion reggae, the 10-piece Boil Up, an act of truly international quality who more than ably warmed the crowd up with their wonderful blend of reggae, funk, R&B and hip-hop.

Boil Up Gallery: