Images: Summer of Ska 3 feat. Be Like Max, Drinking Water, The CG’s and more June 18, 2016 at The Warehouse

Summer of Ska returned for its third year in Vegas, this time taking place at The Warehouse. And with the lineup including bands such as Be Like Max, The CG’s, Bitch’n’Dudes, Bombflower and Light ‘Em Up, I went in with a combination of feeling stoked for the tunes and confused on how they’d be able to pack this many bands into such a small space. But they made it work, with an indoor and outdoor stage, and even a taco truck (with glass bottle cola!).

Punk-leaning ska band Metasopheli kicked things off right. They were using the outside space as much as they could and the singer was jumping, dancing, and skanking along. This is such a sick band, and you NEED to listen to them if you’re into ska with sweet punk vocals. The crowd looked like they wanted to skank along as well but being the first band, they were maybe a bit too shy.

Inside, the venue was already packed for the chill, old school vibes of Stop on Green, the only ska band I’ve seen that incorporates a melodica player. It was then time for Idaho’s Forty Ounces. The band was definitely silly (potato jokes and all), but by the end of their set they got a skank pit going! The raucous reaction really wasn’t a surprise, because their gritty punk-infused ska reminded me a lot of pit masters Leftover Crack.

Locals Light ‘Em Up played a healthy mix of third wave ska and Drive Thru-era pop punk, in the vein of Survay Says. The band goes heavy on the hooks and suffice to say, they won me over fast.

I was extra excited to see Bombflower as soon as I saw their female singer setting up. As a girl myself, I always feel an extra sense of pride when I see women in bands and even more so when they’re as wild as Bombflower’s Tic James. She spent her band’s set yelling, screaming, performing amazing guitar solos and just all around being captivating. This band leans a bit more punk than ska, reminding me of locals Bitch’n’Dudes, with a bit of The Interrupters thrown in there. They were a huge highlight of the night and the crowd of moshing and skanking fans seemed to agree.

Denver’s People Corrupting People got the crowd dancing from the first note. They had a female horn player and backup vocalist which is really cool. Again, I call for more girls in bands! Vegas punk/ska band Bitch’n’Dudes was up next. This is probably my fifth time seeing them and I was still as excited as ever. This band brings good vibes and always has people dancing, and lovely vocalist Ryan Ackerman brought the crowd closer with a conga line and a nonstop pit.

Fresno’s Iwanaga recovered quickly from a broken bass string thanks to Be Like Max’s Austin Tegtmeier. Their horn section was on point and the band was a blast to dance to. Fellow Californian’s La Infinita followed and had one of the best crowd responses of the night – everyone went nuts! But they had their own share of technical difficulties, as the bassist’s mic stand fell apart so many times that someone had to hold it for a good part of their set!

Things were getting ready to wrap up with a trio of Vegas’ finest. First, it was The CG’s. It’s been awesome seeing this band grow into some of the best ska punk musicians in the city over the past few years and tonight, they were on fire. Captivating frontman Greg Weston makes the greatest faces and poses ever, and spends much of his time handing the mic to the crowd for them to sing along.

Drinking Water is maybe the most underrated band in Vegas, and they proved as much this night. If you ever get the chance to see this band – you must. Their singer Henry has very unique vocal style that’s great over some fast ska beats. I love the energy this band brings because they give you the opportunity to forget about problems and just enjoy the moment!

Things came to an end around 1:30 a.m. with Be Like Max – and what an end it was. I’m really proud of this band. They have grown so much and deserve all the success that I’m sure is coming their way. They’ve gotten me through a bunch of hard times just by attending their shows, and I actually only photographed two of their songs because I really wanted to be in the crowd and yell in frontman Charley Fine’s face. In between the screaming along, I noticed they’ve got a keyboard player now which I guess makes them a super official ska band! 🙂

This was a great way to end Summer of Ska, with everyone singing and dancing along, arm in arm. Can’t wait until next year! Well, if you’re looking to see Be Like Max, you don’t have to – you can catch them July 1 at their tour kickoff show at 11th Street Records.

-Margaret Schmitt | http://margaretschmitt.wix.com/margaretschmitt