Cargo

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I stayed at the Whitney Peak Hotel and noticed some really cool concert photography on the wall leading to the elevator. Upon entering the elevators, I saw a posting for live music at Cargo.
What’s Cargo? Well, I found out… it’s a music venue that’s kinda attached to the hotel (in the same building with and exterior entrance next to the Whitney’s front door.)
Sunday evening at 8PM — The Soft White Sixties were playing — had to go check them out!
It was cool being able to buy a ticket at the door, walk right in and wander up front within a few feet of the stage. The venue is fairly small — my kind of place to see live music! I did not see any table or chairs, but they did have a long bar with lots to choose from (I didn’t have anything as I didn’t plan on staying the entire evening — just long enough to see TSWS perform.)
Overall, I liked the vibe of the place. The sound was great, stage roomy enough for the band and not too crowded, but I guess the «crowded» thing depends on the act, what time you arrive and how long you stay.
I’m keeping an eye on Cargo’s social media accounts as I’d definitely return to see more music (they book really solid musical acts, not Journey cover bands.)
4.75 stars.

Had the privilege of seeing The Soft White Sixties at Cargo last night and not only did they ROCK the house with their amazing vibes but Cargo was a perfect venue to showcase them. They were definitely worth coming out to see and would tell you to make the effort if they’re in your neck of the woods.
The Joy Formidable definitely was full of vibrant energy and didn’t disappoint either. Beyond talented musicians that had the crowd dancing.
Thank you Unilocal for this amazing contest that I was able to win 2 tickets and to Cargo for hosting two amazing, musical talents!

Very fun and friendly staff for such a small hole in the wall concert hall. Down fall was the bathroom had no toilet paper in any of the stalls and no paper towels

I would say «Meh, I“ve experience better», but I haven’t per say, this is really my 2^nd time attending a «larger» concert ever. I knew Cargo was small, I knew the show was sold out, I knew it was standing only. I didn’t know the bar line would extend to the middle of the venue, I didn’t know they would have very few bartenders for the size of the crowd, I didn’t know the band would take 30 minutes to come onstage after the opening act. I didn’t know they wouldn’t leave the doors open to keep air circulating. I’m probably just old, and past my concert days (that I never had though), but I really didn’t enjoy this experience.
I was excited for Eli Young Band, but after waiting forever for beers, and seeing make-​uped and underwear short wearing girls slink through the line-​crowd that was patiently waiting, and seeing one bartender for the first ¹⁄₃ of the bar… being bumped and crowded for 30 «radio» minutes in between acts I was cranky… and hot. Cory parked our spot towards the back left of the area, aka near fire escapes as it did seem like a fire code nightmare.
I would probably come back for a smaller act, but I’ve learned a lesson, never come when it is a larger show, and/​or sold out. I’ve heard from another that they attended a «sold out» show, which means they oversold… which means you can’t move without a drunk girl or guy running, or standing, or bumping into you.
Yup, I’m old.

The good– Cargo does great with their sound in a way that comparable size venues rarely do. They hit the right balance of loud but not too loud, and was great about appropriate sound baffling so no echo off the walls. Leaps and bounds above the knitting factory– and the sound guys are in appropriate locations rather than blocking the middle of the room like Knitting Factory, huzzah!
I like the raised stage. Under other circumstances that would have been cool.
The bad– I think their room capacity must have been based on including a side isle section where you cannot see the stage thanks to sizable pillars– so no one in their right mind stands there.
A sold out show is sardine packed to very uncomfortable, no hope of standing somewhere (even in the back) without having people touch you from every direction, having to physically move people to go get a drink or go to the restroom.
Strangers pressed against your butt, strangers pressed against your sides. Like a cow in a pen for slaughter, I can literally smell random people’s farts. This isn’t normal. 1,000 capacity? Nope! Unless they had sold more than 1,000 tickets (their listed capacity, the show was sold out), they are mistaken on what their capacity should be for a show.
Being packed that tight also means if someone tall is in front of you, you can’t see. With the raised stage, if you could be a foot back you’d be able to mostly see, but since you are only about 6 inches from the back of their heads, a tall person in front of you means no view for you. Seeing the stage remained a problem all night for me, and I heard many other shorter women having the same complaints.
100 less people would have made all the difference– and allowed us to buy more drinks. We couldn’t get to the bar, and I couldn’t have held a drink without people forcing me to spill it because you are constantly pushed around!
As soon as the encore was done we wanted to leave, and they clearly wanted us to leave as they began playing a song with lyrics that include «get the f out of here». I believe it was Red Peters «closing song».
I’d love to Cargo staff– a few of which kept yelling at people to go, but it took 20 minutes for us to be able to physically remove ourselves from the building as they only had a couple small doors open and 1,000 sardine packed people trying to squeeze out them.
Which leads to the biggest negative (I’m not knocking any stars for because it’s beyond their capacity to control):
The crowd– wtf Reno? I attended a Reel Big Fish show, and I have been to this band’s shows in the ballpark of 60+ times, I am familiar with what the typical show is like.
Every time I watch them in Reno though, there are people determined to get into fights, this has been true at the knitting factory and was true at Cargo. Not like your typical moshpit shovers and kickers who really only involve other moshpit types and are mostly having fun– but actual fighting. I’ve seen more fights at the handful of Reno shows I’ve attended than all the other ones combined– I typically attend in Sacramento, but also have attended in San Francisco, Chico, Las Vegas.
This Reno crowd oddity is amplified by overfull venues. When a couple of bros next to you decide to try and knock each others teeth out, crashing into everyone around them there is nowhere for non-​involved parties to retreat to. Bouncers can’t get through to throw them out.
At Cargo, the bouncers never showed up for the worst incident I saw that night. The fight was taken care of by the crowd who held involved parties until they calmed down and then released them in separate directions.
Then the rest of the show, you keep an eye on them, waiting for it to start back up again because both the man-​children who can’t resolve their problems with words are both still milling about, still drunk, still angry, still stupid, still oblivious to how they were ruining everyone else’s night.
If I have the choice of two locations to hit up a tour, I’ll choose the one that is not Reno for this reason. It happens every damn time in Reno– but all the venues I’ve attended at Reno have been packed too tight, sold out shows with venues that need capacity revisions.
This makes people uncomfortable and sends grumpy folks off the deep end because persevered slights like bumping into people is a constant.
It’s really too bad. Minus the capacity problem and crowd behavior problem, I do think it’s a nice venue.
The Whitney Peak hotel was awesome, and the restaurant was nice. If they altered crowd size I’d be quick to make a weekend of it– but if they are going to continue to pack the crowd so tight, I’d rather drive an extra couple hours to attend a show that may still be sold out and packed tight, but doesn’t have such a douchebag crowd (sorry non-​douches who are from Reno, I know you exist too, but a turd in the punchbowl still ruins the punch!)

This venue has been pretty consistently awesome. It isn’t huge and it isn’t particularly full of character, but they have booked many acts that I have wanted to see. Other than the small ticket taking area which may cause you to stand in the cold for a bit waiting to get in, I’ve never had a problem with this place. The bar gets crowded, but they are fairly good at keeping things moving. The Whitney Peak Hotel also has a parking garage nearby that is free if you show your concert ticket/​wrist band/​other proof that you did something at Whitney Peak.

Cargo books great up and coming talent. I really enjoyed Houndmouth’s performance. The sound people did a good job, the stage was well lit, and the acoustics were surprisingly good. The floors were cement; there were old pieces of gum stuck to the floor and beer stains here and there. There were a few uncomfortable backless aluminum stools, so you can stand on hard cement or sit and be uncomfortable. They have a bar that serves beer, beer, and more beer. There is nothing warm to drink, which doesn’t sound like a big deal until you walk half a block from their parking garage in sub zero wind chill factor and only have a choice of ice cold beer or ice cold water. «Lumberjacks» hang out here; they stand at the back and talk at levels loud enough to compete with their loud plaids. If you are big into the underground warehouse/​industrial casual/​urban logger thing, this is your place. The rest of us just wish there were comfortable chairs, a more diverse bar, and a pinch less Paul Bunyan.

The place is TINY I’m guessing it can comfortably fit 300 – 400 people, I guess it’s a good place for some private shows and private parties, not really a venue I would frequent much, just don’t see how they can compete with all the much bigger venues like Reno Event Center or Convention Center.

Despite my experience the first time with Cargo, I’ve been to the venue several times after that. I’m impressed with the talent that they are bringing to Reno– a lot of indie bands that I’d have to travel to see in places like Vegas or San Francisco. Civil Twilight… The Airborne Toxic Event… Lake Street Dive. Keep up the good work, Cargo!

As an audiophile, I am in love with Cargo. They probably have one of the best sound systems west of the Mississipp’ for their venue type. If you work in music, you can appreciate the thoughtfulness and absolute dopeness of the setup, and way that the music is evenly heard throughout the space. It’s like angels ascending into the sky… la la la la la la laaaaa.

Please see review about the Airborne Toxic Event show at the Whitney Peak on 10-​16-​2015. Venue problems, security problems, and more.

I almost feel bad doing this cause the club has great sound and lights… But, they pulled me aside and searched me. for no reason. Of course I had nothing on me. As I am a professional. But it ruined my night after spending plenty of money at their bar… No excuse… Spend your time elsewhere.

We had our first visit to Cargo for the James McMurtry show last week and were sorely disappointed! First, you should know your audience demographic whe you set up a show like this. Most of the audience were in the over 40 crowd and do not enjoy standing up for 3+ hours! We were lucky enough to grab seats in the back but the quality of the sound was so bad that we left after about 4 songs! I will not be returning to Cargo nor will I recommend it to my friends.

Great place to see a small show! Really enjoyed this venue. No issues at all! The crowd was great. It was partial seating which I liked. The drinks were good too. Great prices!

Had my first experience at Cargo last Friday when my wife, son and I saw St. Paul & the Broken Bones play, and I have to say I was impressed.
First off, we arrived about 20 min prior to the show but the line moved quickly and we had already purchased our tickets and had them in hand so we were inside in just a few minutes.
The show was sold out or nearly so, so I got into line for the bar while my wife and son staked out a good spot about midway into the crowd on the right.
The wait for the bar was the only negative– it wasn’t from lack of service though. It to me 35 minutes to make my way up to the bar but at least the sound is good and I was able to listen to the opening act Sean Rowe, who did a great job. Most people patiently waited in line but there are always some who scam in on the end of the bar. My advice to Cargo is to have maybe another bartender and to ignore those people who try to slip in from the sides, but once I got up to the bar I saw how quickly and efficiently they were back there– I think there were 3 bartenders and a barback. The woman that served me was especially impressive– don’t know her name but she was wearing a vintage hat– she had no wasted movements and was friendly. Best of all, the bar prices are reasonable– 2 cocktails for $ 11 and they were mixed perfectly.
They had a smaller bar with just beer on the opposite wall but they were out of any decent beer by about 10pm– they just had Coors Light by then.
The sound was great! I am a DJ by trade and the balance was right on– tricky when you think that there are 6 musicians with completely differing sound profiles up there for SP&tBB. The bass was a bit light but I think that is more about the player than the mix. Volume was pretty spot on. I had a bit of fuzziness after the show but no ringing. If we had arrived earlier and had been in front where the arrays would not have been so powerful we could have relied more on the monitors and saved a few inner ear hairs but the overall experience was great. I think the people seated in the back may have had the best audio experience but I’d rather be as close as possible to Paul Janeway, who is a showman extraordinaire.
I think I have a new favorite music venue. Thanks Cargo!

Okay, first the positives:
This is a GREAT concert venue. So much nicer than the knit and a much better location. Hopefully they keep getting more shows! Sound was great! Nice, big room with clean bathrooms. Nice, big bar. Overall, great setup!
Now the negatives:
1. The door on the way in– one ticket window that almost blocks the entrance so it was VERY long wait to get in. One of the people in our party hadn’t bought tickets yet and the system to buy a ticket was extremely slow. The computer program literally took forever.
2. The bartenders. Two bartenders for a show on a Saturday night? Is that customary because that’s just plain ridiculous. It took an eternity to get a drink. The bartenders also seemed to not have a care in the world when it came to speed. Very frustrating.
3. They ran out of all beer except corona and red stripe– early on in the show. You would think someone would have made a run due to the fact that this was a rock/​country show and people want their beer.
It just seems that they have some kinks to work out, being that it’s a new hotel and management and what not. Other than these hiccups, this place is awesome and I hope they get more great acts.
I’ll be back for sure but just hope they figure some things out.

This is so totally different from the old Cargo that used to be on the third floor when Whitney Peak was known as CommRow. I think overall, I would describe this as a step up from Knitting Factory.
I was there recently for the «High Heels to Hopes» event and the space was well suited for this. It was also really great of Whitney Peak providing the space for this charitable event.
It is a large open space with black walls and ceiling and concrete floor. There is a large bench in the back for sitting and high top metal tables and chairs in the bar area. The bar is huge and sleek and modern with a great display of LP covers, a keyboard and guitar. It comes off a lot more polished than the Knit, but still very utilitarian.
The sound system was great — I loved the mix of music that they played. Lighting was well done and for the fashion show. The low lighting in the audience area made it easy to move around, but really allowed for the showcasing of the activity on the raised stage in the front.
Bathrooms are clean and spacious and are easily accessible in the back of the room. Drink prices were reasonable. The generous glasses of draft beer were $ 8. They had Red Headed Stranger, Icky, and Pabst on tap.
Depending on the event or concert there, I would go back.

Reno’s live music scene is blessed with some fantastically intimate concert venues that bring great acts up close and personal! Cargo is a wonderful addition to this scene, and so far they have not disappointed with the shows they’ve brought or the way this venue is run.
When you come in you’ll be greeted by the typically gargantuan bouncer security types. But don’t let that tough exterior fool you. These guys are big softies that want you to have as much fun at the concert as they are trying to intimidate you!
So what makes this venue a great place to see a show? Let’s start with the layout. It’s wide open from front to back and side to side, leaving nothing to obstruct your view or the sound wherever you might be standing. Then there’s the clarity of the sound, which is impeccable whether you’re standing right next to the massive speaker set or hiding in the back. The system delivers the same sound to just about anywhere you can stand. Oh yeah, lets not forget the lights, which are intense! I’m sure there’s a warning somewhere on them stating that prolonged direct exposure could cause blindness! Good thing we only see em for a few hours at a time, lighting up the great artists taking the stage.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing 3 shows there now, and have enjoyed all of them. This venue is a great addition to our music scene and I’m excited to see who they bring next and how they get better from here.

Having been to shows at Cargo every night the past three nights, let me say: this venue is fantastic. Two of the shows were bands that I had not heard of before going to the concert and one of the shows was for one of my favorite bands, Jimmy Eat World. The talent that one can see for the price – $ 5 and $ 10 for the lesser known artists, $ 35 for Jimmy Eat World – is excellent. And it seems like giving free tickets through social media and radio is part of their promotion scheme: I won the $ 10 tickets to a Saturday night show through Cargo’s Facebook page.
I’m a front row kind of person and I appreciate that the venue has a good barrier on which to rest one’s arms. Having a two foot barrier from the stage allows front row people to get a good view while still being really, really close, and it also allows the sound people and photographers to do their jobs. The view of the stage from further back is great, too, though. For one of the shows at which I did not know the band I chilled in the middle of the venue.
Important features of a four-​star-​worthy music venue: clean bathrooms and inexpensive drinks. They’ve got them. Cargo has servers walking around to fetch drinks for folks in the middle of the venue who don’t wish to walk over to the bar, and all three nights when I went there were at least five bartenders behind the bar, which stretches almost the entire length of the south wall. Consequently: cheap ($ 5 PBRs and well mixed drinks) and quickly made beverages!
Folks lined up early (6 pm for an 8 pm door opening) for Jimmy Eat World. If one is going to stand around somewhere in downtown, against the side of the Cargo is a pretty good place to be: open space, lots of people to watch, the Arch. Currently I recommend printing one’s tickets at home if possible. The will call window is in the same hallway as the entrance, and they currently do not have a separate will call line for folks who need to pick up their tickets. It’s not too much of a problem if there is not a huge line, although I did feel bad that when I picked up the tickets that I won at will call it took approximately three minutes for the will call person to print them, which held up the line for everyone behind me, including ticket holders. For this reason I docked Cargo a star. Otherwise, I’m over the moon about Cargo, and I was so pleased to learn in line for Jimmy Eat World that folks were coming from Sacramento and San Jose to see the show.

Loved this venue. That probably isn’t an objective view though. The first show I went to was sparse, so I was able to mosey on up to the very front and enjoy an A level talent within arms distance.
They have a pretty nice bar at the back on the left. This really reminds me of the Knit but with more of an industrial feel. Of course they don’t have some of the cool features that the Knit has but I’m hoping this will be less of a competition between these two great venues and more of a collaboration between them.
Of course I will have to update this review after a few more shows and see how the staff responds to larger crowds and more unruly patrons. And how they handle long lines waiting to get in for the more in demand shows.