Every year Orange County Ska Band, Bite Me Bambi, puts on a show called the Summer Sizzler, an end of summer bash with their friends and fans. This year’s show was scaled down compared to previous years and dubbed the Sneaky Sizzler, a secret show to give us Bambinos a sneak peek at some of the newer songs they’ve been working on for their next release.
The night started off with lead singer, Tahlena Chikami, doing a small DJ set before the bands started. It was a mixed bag of just the right songs to set the mood for the night with classic reggae songs from the likes of Marcia Griffiths to newer contributors like The Skints. We got some Two-Tone with a couple songs from The English Beat and the Specials. Even some punk rock in the form of the Descendents “I’m the One.” She also threw in Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon” and Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO.” More impressive was being able to start with Rancid’s “Time Bomb” and then transition into Manic Hispanic’s cover “Paisa” with no one in the venue the wiser. It was a great start to the night.
The first band was Trucha. Their set went in all types of directions in the best way possible, but was mostly ska. Opening with an instrumental surf song, Trucha’s set also dabbled in Irish punk, but also a song that sounded like something off Weezer’s Blue Album towards the end of the set. The band pulled off a fantastic ska cover of the Misfits “Hybrid Moments” and Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers.” All songs featured an acoustic guitar, bass, keys and drums, with multi-instrumentalist Edgar playing flute, sax, and second guitar as well. The set was the band’s first-ever and was a lot of fun. I look forward to seeing more shows from them.
The Toughers from Columbia were up next. Fronted by Lina Posada, the Toughers played traditional ska, rocksteady, and soul. This is how traditional ska should be played. I’m not a dancer, but their sound even made me move my feet a bit. It’s great to see how ska has expanded and celebrated in the last twentyish years rather than the punchline it became in the 1990s. I’m not sure how often they come up from Columbia to play out here, but they will definitely be on my radar.
Bite Me Bambi has been a little silent show-wise as they have been working on new material for the last few months and have had some line-up changes. The new members are bringing a different type of energy to the band, while newer songs “Too Many People” and “Girls Like You” lean into Two Tone, much like their latest single, “Bad Boyfriend” does. That’s not a bad thing. “Do the Damned” was a bit of a departure for the band with almost a revival sound to it, but was a welcomed addition. The band powered through an almost hour-long set that still felt entirely too short. Bite Me Bambi has announced some acoustic shows in the UK in early September and a US tour with the Bar Stool Preachers in November.
