Date: September 22nd 2012
Line up: The Expendables, Iration & Cisco Adler
Location: The Ogden Theatre. Denver, CO
Over two hours before the doors opened to Denver, Colorado’s Ogden Theatre fans gathered along the street impatiently waiting for the musical trifecta about to unfold beyond the locked glass doors.
With three highly-respected national touring acts filling the same bill, the official name and sponsor for the tour could only be appropriately titled domiNation!. The anxious fans weren’t about to be dominated, at all, but instead take part in the musical domination that The Expendables, Iration and special guest opener Cisco Adler have been undertaking thus far on tour.
After a week of local dates in California for the three Golden State-based musical acts, the Denver crowd welcomed show opener, Cisco Adler, with the proper “Aloha” spirit that Adler is currently 
spreading. Opening with new tracks from Adler’s upcoming October 23rd release titled, Aloha, including performing the recent MP3 Leak of the Week on The Pier, “Boom Boom Boom”, while also giving a vocal shout-out during the live performance to The Pier staff members in attendance. Much love by the way!
Cisco Adler, not only got The Pier excitable for the remainder of the evening, but the crowd was just as receptive to the feel good music protruding from the stage while Cisco Adler, his DJ and backing beat-master on the drums held court. Adler’s set was an ideal show opener to raise the spirits of the near capacity crowd in attendance, and set the stage for the rest of the night.
After discussing with waiting fans which band was the overall crowd favorite between the show performers, the verdict was split down the middle between The Expendables and Iration. Without a doubt, fans were not disappointed with the options of musical entertainment for the evening as two of the premiere reggae-rock acts today were about to thrash The Ogden Theatre stage. Nor were the fans disappointed when Cayson Peterson, (Iration’s keyboardist) greeted and posed for pictures with fans outside the venue following soundcheck. The same scenario unfolded following Cisco Adler’s set as concertgoers returned to the main lobby to gather some refreshments, only to be surprised by a special meet and greet taking place with The Expendables.
It was a night complete with overflowing fanfare and musical appreciation from the double-decked venue crowd. And, the overflowing emotion nearly exploded as Iration opened the second stanza with “Time 
Bomb”. Iration played a live set that no one in attendance could find fault in, while onlookers only desire to have witnessed each song unfold one after the other, as live staples “Turn Around”, “Wait And See”, old classics like “Cookie Jar”, and a even brand-spanking new single “Porcupine” were all performed on this particular night.
There was even a moment where some might have felt Iration was performing Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” up to par, or even better than, Weezer. Yet, that shouldn’t be consider an insult to Weezer, just plenty of praise to Iration for always mastering their favorite cover songs and crowd favorites to keep the live show fresh with each tour.
The only thing that forced Iration off of the stage was the clock and the impending, all-encompassing hard rock, reggae, ska and acoustic band that embodies The Expendables. Unfortunately The Santa Cruz quartet was not at full strength on this particular show, or the entirety of the domiNation! Tour with Iration and Cisco Adler.
With a heavy heart, just prior to the kickoff of the nationwide tour, The Expendables’ bassist Ryan DeMars was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and is unable to join the tour and keep the core four founding members at full service. Although, Eric Walsh the guitarist, not bassist, for Long Beach, California’s punk-rock outfit Pour Habit filled in admirably for DeMars on bass for The Expendables.
In fact, even without their brother in arms on bass, the camaraderie and chemistry onstage between the 
foursome looked like they had played together forever. The Expendables always bring high intensity and energy into every venue they perform in, but for this occasion they raised the bar even further. Perhaps it is the altitude in the Rocky Mountains. All the while with the excitement in the venue, The Expendables meshed in gentle acoustic songs in the midst of a guitar solos and punk rock beats. The performance was smooth, and didn’t feel as forced as their recent Gone Soft Acoustic/Electric split set tour with Unwritten law.
Nonetheless, The Expendables left everything they had in their repertoire on The Ogden Theatre stage. Their set list featured all the gems a fan could dream of, including an encore with all the artists featured on tour, covering none other than Mr. Bob Marley for a medley of songs. Micah Pueschel of Iration grabbed an acoustic guitar, along with Joe Dickens jumping behind the drum kit, Adam Taylor picking up the bass, Eric Walsh transitioned over to a six-string as he found another acoustic guitar, and Adam Patterson displayed his vocal with The Expendables’ frontman Geoff Weers.
The Expendables have been laying down musical statements across the country such as this for nearly 15-years. Sometimes in the whole shakedown of the reggae-rock scene, the Santa Cruz band gets overlooked in favor of other names. But, there is no questioning their musicianship onstage and giving the fans a proper live show, not just an average concert. The very same thing can be said about Iration, as well as Cisco Adler.
With a fully loaded lineup like this, it was a special night sure to go down as one of the top highlights after the domiNation! tour is all said and done.
Iration’s Set List:
Time Bomb
Turn Around
Get Back To Me
Electricity
All In You
Wait And See
Dream
Porcupine
Suumer Nights
Cookie Jar
Say It Ain’t So (Originally by Weezer)
Falling
The Expendables’ Set List:
Ganja Smugglin’
Head In My Hands
Sacrifice
Burning Up
*(New Song)*
24/7
Positive Mind
Minimum Wage
Alone
Wells
Down Down Down
Let Loose
Bowl For Two
Encore:
*One Love>Stir It Up>Get Up Stand Up
*W/ the members of Iration and Cisco Adler
Article By: Kris Siuta
Photos By: Steven Lynds
More Photos From The Night…It’s always awesome to go to a Reggae-Rock show and see fans repping Dirty Heads, SOJA, The Green & Bob Marley Shirts to show their support for their favorite band….
