The ska band Let’s Go Bowling scored a strike playing two packed shows at the Maintenance Shop on Saturday night.

An energized audience seemed entranced by the band’s infectious horn-filled traditional ska sound from the opening song of the show, the upbeat party song “Dance Some More.”

Let’s Go Bowling showed off its amazing musicianship and tremendous ability to play many different styles of ska, with songs ranging from the slow and jazzy “Pin-Striped Suit,” to the fast and catchy “Esta Noche.”

There was no opening band scheduled to play, which gave Let’s Go Bowling much more time to put on its show.

One highlight of the show was when the band did an incredible rendition of an old Skatalites song. This was the perfect opportunity for some striking jazz solos, provided by Let’s Go Bowling’s talented horn section.

Ska, the original dance music of Jamaica that spawned reggae and rocksteady, has gone through many changes. Through the years, the members of Let’s Go Bowling have seen ska grow and become increasingly popular.

“I think [ska’s recent popularity] is great because I basically haven’t turned on the radio since I was 14 because there’s just a bunch of crap on the radio. With ska bands coming on to the radio, I have high hopes of actually being able to utilize my radio,” guitarist Lincoln Barr said after the show.

Barr’s bandmate, singer/guitarist Paul Miskulin had a different take on the issue.

“In the 1960s, when the Skatalites played traditional ska, that’s ska to me,” Miskulin said. “Ever since then, people have been taking that music, mixing it with other [types of music], and making it popular in Europe or here in America now.”

Saturday’s concert was so intense that hardly a single person in the crowd could be seen standing still. The diverse crowd, all dancing together, demonstrated a great sense of unity, which Miskulin said is a key principle of ska music.