IRATION played a killer show at Levelz Night Club in Melbourne
- February 21, 2011
- 0 Comments
- By Surf Guru
This past Thursday, February 17 was a great day for me here at the beach. Warm weather, fun evening surf sesh under a rising full moon with chest-high waves, and, most notably, IRATION played a killer show at Levelz Night Club in Melbourne!
I brought two of my favorite friends and fellow surfers Sheena and Jessica to the show, which was another great event by Deuterman Productions. Sadly, we had a run-in with the police on our way to Levelz (busted headlight) and missed the first two bands. However, we made it just in time to see Law Records national recording artist Ballyhoo! take the stage. They had a powerful pop-punk feel with a reggae influence, but definitely a sound all of their own. A talented 4-piece band consisting of guitar, bass, drums, keyboard & turntables with great, energetic stage presence. I really liked the end of their set, during which they played some heavier songs, culminating with their hit song “Cheers.” I definitely dug their high-energy performance despite the fact that I am getting old apparently--I forgot that people still mosh at shows and narrowly missed grave injury because I almost walked straight into the pit unaware while trying to snap pics of the band!
DJ Jimmy South played in between band sets--mostly roots reggae and some rock-reggae like Pepper. He definitely kept the crowd dancing between bands and the enjoyment level high. The nice thing about Levelz is that it is very spacious, and although the locals certainly showed up en masse for this show, there was still plenty of room on the dance floor to move about comfortably. It’s nice not to be packed in like sardines at a big show.
Show headliners IRATION, also of Law Records, took the stage next. With the stage lights turned down low, they opened with a dramatic extended instrumental prelude to the song “Time Bomb.” The first thing I noticed about Iration was how smooth, soulful and melodic the vocals of Micah Pueschel (lead vocals/guitar) and Kai Rediske (vocals/percussion) were. There’s a distinct reggae influence to their music like in the way they use rhythm guitar, along with elements of rock and pop. One of my favorite elements of this band is the keyboard/synthesizer sound (Cayson Peterson) which, in some songs such as the hit song “Electricity, is reminiscent of 80s pop (made me think of The Cars).
Most of the songs Iration played had a very mellow and beautiful vibe; they’ve managed to capture the positivity and warmth of the Aloha spirit from their native Hawaii in their music. Several sugary sweet reggae-sounding love tunes seemed to be crowd favorites, such as “I’m With You,” “Falling,” and the before-mentioned “Electricity,” which had a ton of people in the audience singing along. I liked “Cookie Jar,” which was a little more up-tempo and had a killer heavy bassline and vocals. There were also songs that would transition to some pretty heavy guitar solos/interludes… and then go back to the lighter melodic reggae sound. All the while, real smooth vocals and amazing keys. Iration can manage this blend of styles and sounds because they are backed by serious musical talent and great songwriting capability.
Like Ballyhoo, Iration has the whole stage presence thing nailed. They were clearly feelin’ it on stage with their eyes closed/hands in the air/dancing and moving around stage continuously, and truly gave us an inspiring, digable performance.
The crowd never stopped moving to the music… everyone was groovin’ steady the whole night long. The vibe was mellow and happy with only a few aggros and bar fights. There were some intensely inebriated fans who entertained us with creative dance moves out on the floor. I appreciated the sound (heavy and loud) and lights, which were both very well-done. It was cool to travel outside of my normal stomping grounds of Cocoa Beach and get amongst the Melbourne crew, and yet still run into some familiar faces from CB at the show. I liked that it was a low-key positive event and not so much the vibe of a rager-type party. Thanks again to Deuterman Productions, the bands, and my friends Jessica, Sheena, Becca, and Wolfgang for making it yet another wonderful night out in the scene!
Levelz Night Club
4250 w. New Haven Avenue
Melbourne Fl. 32904
321-409-5385
www.levelznightclub.com
DeutermanProductions.com