Snoop Dogg
Heat Ultra Lounge
5/29/13
Maybe that's what they do at Heat Ultra Lounge and maybe I'm just a skinny, pasty, white 33-year-old with glasses who wears faded Bad Brains shirts to overpriced dance clubs because I have my head jammed up my ass.
Maybe.
]
Whatever the case, I wish Snoop would have rhymed more than he did. I think we all felt that way.
That
said, getting to see a living hip-hop legend in a small venue doesn't
happen every day, so whatever piece of Snoop we were given, I was gonna
receive like one a'them Catholics and their funny slices of bread.
As
far as what songs Snoop played, I'm sorry but I don't know. I'm not
into clubs and I don't know what the fuck people do at them other than
pay way too much for bottle service. Nor do I listen to the radio, so
this reporter recognized Mtume's “Juicy Fruit” and maybe a few others.
There was definitely a DJ Quik tune, but thanks to being a lame old
white guy and a really nice contact high, I don't remember.
What
I do remember is this: Forty minutes into his performance, Snoop played
a track from Long Beach's Tha Eastsidaz and his duet with the late
Tupac Shakur, “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.” He then asked the crowd if
they wanted some more gangsta shit, to which I wanted to reply, “Fuck
yes we want some more gangsta shit. And by that, I mean, put down the
mouse, pick up the fucking mic and rock this motherfucker like three the
hard way.”
Which is exactly what he did for about 20 minutes.
Snoop
remained behind his laptop for the duration of his set, but that didn't
matter because he did the hits. Opening with his verse from the Dr. Dre
classic “The Next Episode,” Tha Doggfather launched into “Gin &
Juice,” “I Wanna Fuck You,” “Drop It Like It's Hot” and “Nuthin' but a
'G' Thang” before returning to his role as DJ.
Perhaps we didn't
get a full show from Snoop, but let's get one thing straight: DJ set or
not, last night was a blast. Kurupt was on stage for a while and so was
Bishop Don “Magic” Juan. There was also a person on stage in a dog
costume (holding a fake joint) and more dancing than I've seen in one
place in a very long time. Other than a fight towards the end, the crowd
was cool to one another, which was a surprise seeing as how we were
like a pack of sweaty sardines in that mofo.
I attribute the
mellow vibes to the fact that Heat Ultra Lounge has a killer sound
system that made the walls shake. Seriously, if you're looking for a
place to listen to a DJ, the main stage might be your spot.
Sadly,
the same can not be said about the venue's “other” room, where a group
called One Hundred Proof played before Snoop. The four-piece band played
a hybrid of rock and hip-hop that people could easily shake their asses
to. The quartet's emcee appeared to be going for it, but his vocals
were not nearly loud enough. Nor were they decipherable. Homeboy was
moving and grooving, spitting rhymes like crazy, but I couldn't
understand a damn thing he said, which was a shame because what little
you could kinda/sorta make out sounded like you wanted to hear what he
was saying. Not the band's fault at all, but definitely a bummer for the
crowd.
Critical Bias: I fucking love Snoop.
The Crowd: Guys in collared shirts and silver necklaces and girls in fuck-me pumps and short skirts.
Overheard In The Crowd: “You could have said 'excuse me.'”
Random Notebook Dump: Next time I go to Heat Ultra Lounge, I'm bringing a flask because two shots of Patron cost $24. For Patron? Fuck that.
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