Mar10

Orange Street/Simply Weller/Levi

on March 10th, 2018 at 16:18
Posted In: Reviews, Ant, Gigs

Wedgewood Rooms

Orange Street


Last Saturday brought the mighty Orange Street back to the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth for a Ska/Mod fest; An experienced cover band, “The South Coasts longest established Ska and 2 Tone Band” have a dedicated tribe of followers and can consistently fill venues, headlining on their own merit. These guys never fail to entertain, despite missing sax player Mike Edwards (who sadly had to pull out at the last minute). Fortunately, the talented Andy Melbourne and Stewart Rennie stepped in to cover with some first-class trombone and trumpet skills.

Frontman Ralph Cook consistently brings the energy, with his bold stage persona he has no trouble engaging with the crowd and encouraging them to get their skank on. The band performed the usual medley of great ska tracks (over 20 in total) starting with Rat Race and leading them nicely into Guns of Navarone, Lip up Fatty, One Step Beyond, Monkey Man and Sally Brown.

Orange Street
Orange Street 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12–13–14–15–16

They have also managed to successfully add their ska vibes to some other old school classics with their unique versions of Steve Miller’s The Joker and a heavenly tribute to Elvis with Burning Love. Once the crowd (and the band) had been whipped up into a very sweaty, ska-induced frenzy they brought the tempo down a touch, rounding off the night with Youíre Wondering Now.

Second support for Orange Street was the awesome LEVI, a four piece band from Chichester. Currently carving their own mark on the scene with a set of upbeat and energetic “Skindie” originals, these incredible young musicians are holding their own with their spirited and lively display. They performed 3 tracks from their recently released EP, Promises and Misery, Who Do You Think You Are and Bump (in the night), 10 songs in total. Not ones for standing still they certainly won’t be static on the circuit, they are a great band and I recommend they are on your must see list for 2018. “The best band on the scene at the moment”, high praise indeed from Lee Fletcher (founder member of Orange Street).

Levi
Levi 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10–11–12–13–14–15
Simply Weller
Simply Weller 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8–9–10
–11

The first band on tonight was Simply Weller, a four-piece cover act from Southampton. Previously Mod Town, these gents have honed their set to become a refined tribute to the Modfather himself and perform, with passion, an array of Weller/Jam tracks to please the crowd.

Links
https://www.facebook.com/orangestreet.ska
https://www.facebook.com/simplyweller
https://www.facebook.com/LEVImusicUK

Words & Pictures by Ant Penny.