Save Ferris Highlights Pros and Cons of Ska

Ska is hot, no doubt about it. Riding high on the popularity of the genre’s peppy, infectious skip beats, horns and clean vocals, the Orange County band Save Ferris brought its ska-meets-big-band sound to the Palace on Friday. Like other California outfits surfing the Jamaica-bred style’s third wave, Save Ferris underscored ska’s attractions and its drawbacks.

The young group also harks back to the age of hot jazz a la the Squirrel Nut Zippers, and its sound is tailor-made for playing live. Though its members don’t always seem adept at their instruments, they compensated with enthusiasm and sheer numbers--seven in all, including a full-blown horn section, which made for a big, bold yet knobby-kneed sound.

Monique Powell’s voice hinted of No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani, but she’s a sultrier, bluesier singer, tossing off the tough and flip “Goodbye” before being sunk by the band’s most ridiculous number, “Spam.”

Save Ferris’ real problem is capsulized in its hit, a version of the 1983 Dexy’s Midnight Runners song “Come On Eileen.” Despite being recast with ska underpinnings, it is so nostalgic and reverent to the original that it makes Puff Daddy seem like an originator.

Though the group’s set epitomized good, clean fun, Save Ferris simply didn’t offer enough substance or originality beyond its retro shadings to indicate that ska’s third wave comes even close to its earlier, more inspired ones.