Date: May 15th, 2011
Location: @ The Knitting Factory. Reno, NV
Line-Up: Pepper & Iration
The Biggest Little City in the World was one of the stops on the Pepper and Iration Tour. At just one and a half years young, the new Knitting Factory in downtown Reno, NV was packed with young concert goers, excitement and anticipation this past Sunday night.
As the crowd flooded the venue everyone quickly gathered at the front of the stage. This was my very first time at this venue, and I have to say that aside from the very friendly staff, having a balcony on the top floor right above the stage was a nice touch, especially for those who don’t like to be in the middle of the madness.
This was an early, all ages show, once 7:00pm hit it was the moment 
everyone had been waiting for and it came with music blaring through the speakers as Law Records very own Iration took the stage. Fans swayed to the melodies and sang along to some new and old favorites like Time Bomb from their latest album titled Time Bomb along with other favorites such Let Me Inside, No Letter and many more. The soothing and catchy reggae beats had everyone moving in unison and the band’s crowd interaction left the fans wanting more. Iration is from Hawaii but based in California and they brought the sunshine and warmth to a pretty cold evening and gave their fans just what they were waiting for.
Pepper came on a little before 9pm and filled the stage with smoke from the smoke machine as fans filled the venue with…well ganja smoke. The Hawaiian based trio warmed up the crowd with songs off Kona Town, No Shame, Stitches and other releases. Their unparalleled energy and stage presence created a very lively music experience and the crowd response magnified that energy to create a room full of electricity.
Everyone would go crazy every time they played the crowd favorites like Give It Up, No Control, Nice Time, and Drunk Girl. Of course there wasn’t a lack of girl undergarments on the stage by the time Pepper was halfway through their set and Kaleo danced around in a girl’s bra as fans crowd surfed. To no disappointment the show turned into a party and it felt as if the band and the audience had become one singing ensemble. Just when we thought the fun was over, the band came back for a killer encore ending the night with my most favorite song, Ashes. For being a 3-piece band, Pepper has got to be one of the most high energy acts out there.
Regardless of the frigid weather, at least 800 fans showed up to the show. Both bands put on amazing performances and got the crowd chanting to their songs. The reggae vibes dominated an awesome night and left me on a music high.
Written by: Mariana Norcalchika Rojas
~Let The Music Take You Higher~
Photos by: Dan Bishop