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Scooters and Ska: The Passing of the Torch
Warsaw Poland Bros., Atypical Heroes,
Bet on Red, Lab Brats The Olympic Venue, Boise, ID
08-22-2026 My first thought writing this is to find the quote for who first said “Ska will never die”. Turns out that’s not a real quote. Perhaps I am just still on a ska high from the pit tonight. It was the Scooters and Ska show at the Olympic Venue on August 22nd featuring Lab Rats, Bet on Red, Atypical Heroes and the Warsaw Poland Bros. It’s a yearly show put on by the Snake River Rattlers Scooter Club. This is a slightly biased review. I will admit there’s something about ska that makes my soul happy. It was the skanking in the pit that I got my favorite pic of the night. Just one of the many wonderful surprises the night had in store for me.
“I show up fashionably late.” I tell myself as I scramble to get my 16-35mm lens on my Sony a7ii
s Lab Rats and I’ve been wanting to see them for quite some time. The singer is a former member of Bet on Red. Lab Rats is the first band he has fronted. The thing I appreciated most about Lab Rats is that the star of the show was the shreddin guitar solos. It was in your face and accomplished exactly what a solo is meant to do. The energy surged behind a bouncing bassline, with the solos peaking on long held-out high notes. Mission accomplished by the band and myself as I caught the last 15 minutes of their set.
Next up is my good friends in Bet on Red. Lead man Shawn Brunson is the most serious person I have ever met about ska by far. He cofounded a radio show on Radio Boise featuring a new 2 hour playlist of ska every week. That’s a lot of ska. The new lineup of the band is what shines tonight. Jennifer Kelso on keys and vocals adds another layer to the band and sound. One of my favorite songs was a new one that started on a great keyboard line and then dropped into a slow skank. Yes please. Bet on Red keeps getting better as the years go on and I have high hopes for this current line up. Three top notch vocalists is what set Bet on Red apart in sound tonight. For a band without any horns, you can’t get much more ska than Bet on Red.
“I need someone to help me, I hope they know I’m doing the best I can.” That was the anthem call of Atypical Heroes out of Salt Lake City that immediately caught my attention. It’s always ok to ask for help even if you’re a tough rock and roller. The crowd buzzed with excitement as we heard the first horns of the night. I felt them not only bring their energy but create their own as they went into the aptly named song “Skanking in a Circle” that saw the hardest dancing of the night. It was here, mid-circle and mid-skank, that I got a shot of the bass player in the pit dancing with everyone. That would be my star shot of the night. These guys encompass everything a ska band should be and the high energy performance from the whole band really was the cherry on top.
Warsaw Poland Bros finished out the night with a much chiller set rooted in their advertised California ska and reggae sound. The lead man just looks like he has lived that rockstar life and he carries himself like someone who's spent decades onstage. I looked it up and they started in 1991. There were definitely people at the show who have been alive for less time than he has been in that one band, and that says something! In fact after the show one of the horn players confided that she used to sneak out when she was 16 to go see Warsaw play and it was a dream come true to play for them now. Not as energetic as the other bands, but they were really tight, with steady ska and reggae grooves and some hypnotic rhythms that kept you moving.
The Scooters and Ska show at the Olympic proved to me that ska is passing the torch to a newer generation, and they’re ready for it. The closest thing I got to an answer of who said ska will never die that night was a battle vest backpatch of the Bet on Red keyboard player that boldly proclaimed “Gods Dead but Ska Isn’t”. Can’t say I know either as an absolute truth for sure, but I can tell you this particular night ska was very much alive on the dance floor and the hearts of everyone there.
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