Sunday, October 25, 2009

Cypress Hill's 'Smoke Out' 2009 Festival Concert Recap


(photo courtesy of Kelly A. Swift at the OC Register)

via the Orange County Register as reported by David Hall

Day 1
After a rare performance from Oakland’s entire Hieroglyphics crew (the group’s founder, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, almost never shows up), that sense of dedication became key during a 40-minute delay for Houston’s Geto Boys. When they finally arrived, it was explained that they were late due to MC Scarface getting “held up by the authorities … again.”



Nevertheless, the Southern rappers made their shortened set (only 35 minutes) count with classics like “Chuckie” and “My Mind Playing Tricks On Me,” both off 1991’s We Can’t Be Stopped. In the spirit of Smokeout’s pro-marijuana message, Scarface spouted a few verses of “Mary Jane,” a love-song-of-sorts from his 1997 solo album, The Untouchable.



Before the much-anticipated performance by Atlanta’s Goodie Mob, audience members got their first surprise of the weekend with a special appearance from another Southern rap giant, Tech N9ne. Although half the crowd (poor naive fools) seemed to think they were watching Goodie Mob, Tech N9ne successfully made his mark on the day during his highly choreographed 15-minute mini-set, which included the head-bobbing hit “I’m a Playa,” from 2002’s Absolute Power.

Within 10 minutes of Tech N9ne finishing, Goodie Mob invaded the stage, attempting to rile up the smoke-encased crowd with quips such as “I can’t smell ya’ll!” and “I thought this was the smoke fest!”

Day 2
While the first day of the festival drew a modest crowd of dedicated hip-hop heads to a smaller stage for reunions of Geto Boys, Goodie Mob, plus a special performance of Cypress Hill’s Black Sunday in its entirety, underground hip-hop groups on the Indonesia Stage (the second stage) were grossly overshadowed by main-stage acts on the festival’s second day.

Los Angeles rap crew Living Legends‘ slot overlapped with turns from Cheech & Chong and Sublime; Harlem conspiracy-theorist rapper Immortal Technique was slated against Cypress Hill, who, as Smokeout namesakes, amassed one of the largest gatherings of fans at the main stage.











via the Riverside Press Enterprise as reported by Vanessa Franko

Something was burning at the revival of Cypress Hill's Smokeout at San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore on Friday and Saturday, and it wasn't just the performances from big-name artists.



The festival, which is a celebration of music and cannabis culture, returned for the first time since 2003 with performances from artists including Slipknot, a reunion of Sublime, Deftones and Pennywise as well as an expo aimed at educating people about marijuana.







Read more of each article here:
OC Register - Hip-hop heads unite for kickoff of Cypress Hill Smokeout Day 1

OC Register - Smokeout Day 2 climbs higher thanks to Sublime and Slipknot

Riverside Press Enterprise - Smokeout lights up San Manuel Amphitheater with music, education

Slide shows:
Orange County Register - 'Smoke Out' Day 1
Orange County Register - 'Smoke Out' Day 2
Riverside Press Enterprise - 'Smoke Out' Day 2

Photos:
Getty Images - Day 2
Wire Image - Day 2
Corbis Images - Day 2

Related posts:
Redman & Method Man At Cypress Hill's 'Smoke Out' 2009 Festival
Cypress Hill: 'Smoke Out Festival' 2009 Saturday's Set List + More Pics
Goodie Mob At Cypress Hill's Smoke Out Festival 2009

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