Tuesday 27/11/07 Pepper, The Expendables, Passafire @ The Rialto Theater, Tucson, Arizona

Progressive rock reggae dub is on the auditory menu tonight. A mouthful that basically means new rock in a reggae box and it’s tight. The music tends to be upbeat even when the song is down and an easy going acceptance of life’s challenges permeates it. From Savannah Georgia, Passafire begins their set with ‘Divide’ a political unity song that gets the ball rolling as the venue begins to fill. The chirpy intro to ‘Who You Know’ arrives and the jumping cheering crowd starts to dance. This song cautions us about evil people, finding happiness in doing the right thing and nicely displays the outstanding lyrics that are a hallmark of their music. Live, the trippy ‘Feel It’ quickly explodes out of no where along with a mosh pit. Ted Browne and Will Kubley trade of licks and riffs then the two ease into strange echoed vocals that are ultimately effective but like nothing we’ve heard before. This song sucked us right in. The mob claps overhead as they finish with ‘Reverie’, a gem that doesn’t give into repetition and laziness and like the band, is a complete package.

The venue is now packed and it’s a considerably rough crowd for this genre. The Expendables take over and play ‘Down, Down, Down’ with high rhythm and a metal edge. It’s accompanied by twin vocalist Geoff Weers (guitar) and Adam Patterson (drums) who have a smooth crisp delivery. Geoff shouts “Is there anybody out there who is going to have sex with someone they don’t know tonight?” and the mob roars as they launch into ‘One Night Stand.’ Geoff steps out on the speakers, the lusty horde thunders and he powers out a screeching lick then spins in circles as he plays. He asks “Is there anybody out there who smokes weed?” Deep green lights come on and they play ‘Bowl For Two’ to a mob that hasn’t stopped screaming since the last song. The audience chants “I want to smoke with you” as suspect puffs of smoke rise above their heads.

Now it’s time for Pepper. Tucson children are raised on the teats of this band. From Kailua Kona, Hawaii, their surf-new-rock-reggae is unique and almost legend. The sardine packed mob is pushing, jumping and having fun as ‘BOOT’ smoothly sets the crowd surfing off. They turn off all the lights and start ‘Love Affair’ in the dark as the mob holds up lighters and claps overhead. The wall to wall mosh pit turns ugly during ‘Ashes’ as Kaleo and Bret pogo jump. Kaleo stands like he is still on his surfboard and shouts ‘We don’t need to get our hair done, put on our sisters pants and wear mascara, we just need good music!” and the crowd roars. 

Pepper is joined by Adam of The Expendables to pelt us with ‘Give It Up.’ A song about out of control teenage angst and a lad so wound up he wants to bugger a wall. Kaleo says “We’re so horny when we come to this town” and then proceeds to sizzle us with the hot and nasty ‘Point And Shoot.’ We wonder if this song can even be played on the radio. No matter, the women trying to climb onto the stage, the lovers grabbing one other and shoving their tongues down each others throats tell it all. For an outstanding dub encore the members of all three bands come up on stage and perform the Journey song ‘Don’t Stop Believing.’ They even bring out the cowbell for the event. The crowd loves it and leaves the venue happy and horny. That’s Pepper for you.