Chari "Knowledge" Smith of Knowledge Lives Forever performing @ The Alley, Sparks, NV...
As the lights dimmed and the stage announcer introduced ‘the best live hip-hop band in Reno’, we had no idea what exactly to expect from Chari “Knowledge” Smith and her band Knowledge Lives Forever, which includes guitarist/bassist Gia Torcaso, Kris Stosic on drums and newcomer Kim Radzik on guitars.
The group played an energetic opening set for an audience steadily growing in size in anticipation of seeing the legendary DJ Quik take the stage as the headlining act later in the evening. The band’s performance was full of thick, live hip-hop beats, dripping sweat beads and the guy behind me yelling, “you’re the s—” after every song. In short, it was amazing.
There was also a memorable cover/reinvention of “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes played near the end of the set that really got the crowd movin’ out on the dancefloor. We would *highly recommend* checking this band out next time they’ve got a live show here in Reno … or in your town when they roll through!
Scroll down for a couple of our favorite shots and a link to the full gallery. Also make sure to follow Knowledge Lives Forever on Twitter and give ’em the ‘ol thumb’s up on Facebook while you’re at it!
Gia Torcaso getting her fretboard strum on...Kris Stosic banging out the drums...Kim Radzik busting out the grungy licks...
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As a preemptive note, a lot of the photos in this gallery are a bit on the ‘dark’ side of the lighting spectrum. While this may be a deterrent to some, we think that the luminary quality of the images matches the musical vibe quite well actually. Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
Having arrived at WüRK to find the club packed full of twenty-something year old Nevadan partygoers, all of which were beyond ready to get their wobble on, we knew right away that it was going to be an evening to remember.
At a couple minutes past 11 on the evening of Saturday, April 9th we discovered Denver, CO’s Mikey Thunder (Pretty Lights Music) already upon the decks, working the crowd into a bass-fueled frenzy.
As he pounded through thugstep track after thugstep track, the nail-biting, grit and grime-infused sounds were overpowered by one thing and one thing only … BASS. Thundering Monstrous Bass. Bass so low, we felt as if we were in a Maxell commercial.
On top of what turned out to be something like a two and a half hour marathon DJ set, Mikey Thunder was able to consistently pull out quality tracks, mix them down and be on to the next at a heroic pace. The drinks were flowing, the crowd was primed and five hundred sets of eardrums were ready for sheer annihilation.
OOAH (The Glitch Mob) hailing the crowd as PANTyRAID takes the stage at WüRK…
Taking the stage somewhere close to 1AM were the evening’s headlining act, PANTyRAID, an electronic music duo which fuses elements of hip-hop, dubstep and modern day dance culture into a bass heavy, primal genre of music to be classified as ‘somewhere in the uncharted territories of future electronica’.
What happens when two completely different personas come together in a collaborative effort? Mutual evolvement and the forming of an unspeakable bond. There was plenty of evidence of this duo’s growth reaching new levels during this explosive set, and if our readers are so inclined, we recommend picking up a copy of The Sauce, and destroying any available speakers … immediately!
MartyParty of PANTyRAID surfing the apex of sound; fists to the sky in an almost carnal offering...
Both OOAH (The Glitch Mob) and MartyParty were quite fun to shoot, and each in their own separate way. OOAH, for example, had a multitude of different colored neon light beams blasting through his blonde hair, which when combined with his aloof manner made up the cool, relaxed side of the stage for most of the 90 minute set.
OOAH catching the light just right while enslaving the crowd with bass at WüRK...
Conversely, the other, darker side of the stage was inhabited by MartyParty for the evening’s performance.
The raw, animalistic music used MartyParty as it’s vehicle to escape the depths of the digital underworld from which it was spawned and manifest before human eyes. Once released onto the dancefloor, and in one fell swoop this otherworldly force bombarded Reno’s partygoers with an electric sine wave of never before experienced magnitude.
MartyParty saluting the crowd while he takes a sip of a refreshing, glowing, alcoholic beverage...
Call it a tsunami of sound if you wish, for this is neither a man-made nor organic force to be reckoned with … it is something much greater. It is completely, and utterly, awesome.
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If our readers do pick up some new gear, please drop us a line … we always love to hear about your new additions!
Comments, Praise, Feedback? We’re all ears!
Please let us know what you thought of this post on ishootreno.com!
