Warsaw blows back into Durango

What: A return performance by the renowned ska/punk/Celtic band

Where: The Summit, 600 Main Ave.

When: Thurs., Jan. 31, at 9:30 p.m.

A Durango favorite returns to the Summit this Thursday. Warsaw, the ska/punk phenomenon from Arizona, blows back into town Jan. 31.

A punk/ska/Celtic crossover band, Warsaw Poland Bros. formed in Flagstaff, Ariz., in 1990. Since that time, the band has “played everywhere with everyone in most of North America and Hawaii.” Named for the capital of Poland, Warsaw has released seven nationally distributed CDs and created its own label, Invisible Mass Records. The band’s love for live performance and touring has also kept it on the road for more than 10 years and made for more than a handful of Durango stopovers.

As for the band’s sound, the group claims to specialize in “short-attention-span theatrics,” slipping from punk and ska to Celtic, jazz and hip hop – “Think a weed-happy, dub-lovin’ They Might Be Giants without the nerdy afterglow.”

The Warsaw recipe appears to be working. Warsaw was voted the “Best Band of Tucson 2003.” In the same year, Warsaw headlined New Belgium Brewery’s Tour de Fat and played the solar stage in the 1200 block of Durango’s Main Avenue. Shortly thereafter, the Honolulu Weekly hailed Warsaw as “Bad Religion meets the Pogues with a Jamaican twist, a modern-day Clash.”

Warsaw takes the Summit stage at 9:30 p.m. For more information, call 247-2324.