Depressed though I'm sure many punters were from the result of the grand final, you couldn't tell from the vibe going around on Saturday night at Melbourne Ska Orchestra's second and final Perth show. It quickly became apparent that this was definitely a gig to sit back and just people-watch; there was eclectic mix of old rockabillies in leather pants and GoGo boots weaving around the younger ska reggae crowd, and they proved themselves entertaining to say the least.

Heavily British-influenced cover band Mod Squad had the steadily growing audience up on their feet right from the beginning of their set. By the time they played Van Morrison's Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) the dance floor had quadrupled in size and the majority of the older audience was singing along. Blur's Parklife proved to be a crowd favourite, and the energy of mullet-clad lead vocalist Ian Falk translated heavily into the audience participation; they were a band reminiscent of a bygone era that catered for this particular audience very well.

One of the many projects of Nicky Bomba (Bustamento, ex-John Butler Trio), the Melbourne Ska Orchestra played a whopping two-hour set; no easy feat when the band's sound is this huge - definitely a credit to them. Barely fitting on the Astor's sizeable stage, the twenty-six piece big band gave an upbeat, ska and reggae-influenced performance that had everybody dancing like awkward dads with two left feet (I've never seen the mantra 'Dance like nobody is watching' being followed so religiously by this many people at once). Time For This Monkey gave their best impression of old-school ska, before steel pan player Lennox Jordan took it down a notch and had the audience captivated with his solo version of John Lennon's Imagine, to which everyone sang along. Ending on a high note with a cover of Madness's Night Boat To Cairo, band members and audience alike went absolutely nuts – shit got real, is all I can say. It was an interesting night unlike anything I'd seen before, and the audience left thoroughly breathless and satisfied.