Save Ferris – the 90’s Ska band with the 80’s throwback moniker – playing a show at Lee’s Palace, half a stumbling distance from my house. The horns, the energy, the jumping… this would be just what the doctor ordered to take care of some of the stress I’ve been feeling lately. A few drinks and a few tunes in and I would be transported to my secret happy bouncy dancing place.
And I was… more or less…
Here’s the thing: I’m going to keep the review of Save Ferris fairly short in adherence to that “… then say nothing at all…” golden rule. I’m not here to rip them… they looked amazing, the horns were KILLER and the energy was high for several songs. For me, Ska shows are like pizza… there’s no such thing as a bad one. I will bounce and grin like an idiot through pretty much anything because I just love the music.
Do I wish they hadn’t gotten so tired so quickly? Yes.
The stamina just wasn’t there and it showed itself in wheezy, lazy audience banter from Mo, an awkward as hell costume change and a general slowdown towards the end of the set that culminated in an encore that was more “Aw, do we hafta?” than it was “Thank you Toronto!”
To be doing this as long as they have, there has to be shows like this. They are SO talented and have kept it together for SO long that I really am convinced this was just an off night.
Again, grinning, dancing idiot me honestly couldn’t care less in the moment, but it would be untrue to review it as a tight set filled with energy from start to finish.
So, let’s get to the SHINE on the night.
Baby Baby.
The charm, the charisma, the style… this was the band I came to see that I didn’t know I came to see.
I’ve been listening to this song for days now; a love song to Atlanta but, as the lead singer Fontez Brooks said before playing it, “If you love your city, then this song is about your city, it’s about any city. It’s about loving your city”
Check it out. The swagger and the funk. Here.
I’ve been trying for a few days to describe the band, but I can’t do better than what they have posted on their own facebook page:
Channeling the Beastie Boy’s silly irreverence and Andrew W.K.’s party-rockin’ spirit, Baby Baby blend their homemade Fun Rock songwriting with a hip-hop swagger and an emphasis on the live experience. Imagine if National Lampoon directed the next Legally Blond and you’ll start to get an idea of what BABY BABY is all about.
Baby Baby is a big, inclusive tent. There’s room under it for friends, foes, Nickleback fans, even haters; we all need someone to keep us in check, don’t we? All they ask is that you come ready to dance and make some new friends on the floor. They’ll take care of the rest.
More? Yes, you want some more.
Hang in there.
And lastly, this is making it to my cottage playlist: A Short Little Summer Love Song.
Baby Baby had us in the palm of their hands – laughing, dancing, singing along to songs we were hearing for the first time and they finished in absolute chaos with Fontez dancing in the crowd still jamming away on his guitar while other members of the band did the first ever Rock and Roll tallman.
All of this after the best (and only) conch solo I’ve ever seen.
They were mayhem and I loved them and will not miss a show should they ever come back.
If Save Ferris was the band you wanted to play at your prom in the 90’s, Baby Baby is the band you want to be on the dance floor with.
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Further Listening: Save Ferris
This video is ten minutes of recent live footage that is essentially what I saw, but amped up a further 50%.
And I can’t resist one last piece of fun from Baby Baby…