Iration’s live performance on Thursday was nothing short of spectacular. With good vibes seemingly in limited supply these days, these Hawaiian natives (detoured through Santa Barbara) brought their unique reggae energy down the coast to Orange County and killed it at a special drive-in performance. Iration’s set was just what the doctor ordered and a perfect remedy to the uncertain times we unfortunately find ourselves in 2020.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of 2020. From political struggles to Covid and everything in-between, anxiety levels around the world are at an all-time high. Concerts were my saving grace, and that was unfortunately ripped away from me back in March. After 8 months of uncertainty, live music is collectively seeing signs of life with drive-in shows beginning to pop up all across the country.
On Thursday, a time bomb was dropped on Orange County in the form of a parking lot concert with reggae superstars Iration at the Drive-in at the City National Grove of Anaheim. I had this one circled on my calendar and was ready to chill to the amazing aura of what I consider one amazing band.
Outside of a DJ to get show started, it was all Iration in front of a sold-out show under a starlit sky in southern California. Their set was approximately an hour and a half long and consisted of classic Iration jams as well as a few from their 2020 release, Coastin’.
The ganja was flowing and in full effect as classics such as “Falling,” “Time Bomb,” and “Summer Nights” floated across the Grove’s expansive parking lot and surrounding neighborhoods. Throughout the show, I was in awe of Micah Pueschel’s soothing voice, Micah Brown’s sticky guitar solos, and Adam Taylor’s chunky bass lines. And I’d be remiss not to give some love to drummer Joseph Dickens. Although hidden behind a massive drum set most of the evening, his skills behind the skins was unbelievable and definitely a highlight for me that evening.
When all was said and done, Iration’s drive-in show was one of the best live shows I have seen in some time. Their on-stage chemistry was completely dialed-in, their overall musicianship was solid, and their ultimate reggae vibe was second to none. And to be quite honest, this is high praise seeing that these cats had to postpone their Coastin’ Summer Tour with Tribal Seeds and haven’t performed in front of a live audience in over 8 months.
If this is what we get after a long layoff and few shows under their belt, I cannot wait to see what happens when Iration actually hits the road for real in 2021. One thing is for sure, I’ll be there front and center when touring resumes in the not-so-distant future.
