Even if you didn’t smoke weed before or during this show, you still went home with a case of the munchies. You could probably blame the thick cloud of smoke that rose from the crowd during the very first song… because there were definitely no smoke machines at this gig.
Now in their forties, emcees B-Real and Sen Dog look pretty good for their age, most likely due to the fact they still dress like 20-year-olds, with baggy t-shirts and snapbacks.
The first half of the show was everything a true Cypress fan could want, with the biggest and most badass tracks from their earlier albums, both the self-titled and Black Sunday. We got Cock the Hammer, I Ain’t Going Out Like That, Tequila Sunrise, Hand on the Pump, When The Shit Goes Down, Real Estate, Latin Lingo and Boom Biddy Bye Bye. Not to mention How I Could Just Kill A Man over the top of the Rage Against the Machine instrumentals – which was fucking mental!
As with all live hip hop shows, the crowd interaction was awesome. Plenty of hand bouncing, synchronised jumping and “When I say ‘Cypress’, you say ‘Hill’…”
The best moment came when B-Real asked the crowd, “Are y’all feeling crazy tonight?” before dropping the intro from Insane in the Brain – “Who you trying to get crazy with ese? Don’t you know that I’m loco?” Needless to say, the crowd lost their shit.
To introduce something they called The Weed Medley, B-Real lit up on stage and smoked away before asking, “You want to get high?” The awesome mix comprised of I Wanna Get High, Hits From The Bong and Dr. Greenthumb. Some of their best work.
The midway DJ set went a bit too long, but their stand-in percussionist wowed us all with his mad skills on the bongos. He beat those things like they owed him money.
The final third of the show was a bit of a letdown, as they played songs from their recent collaboration with dubstep producer Rusko, including Lez Go, Shots Go Off and Roll It, Light It.
Thankfully, the boys picked it back up again, finishing off with Rise Up and (Rock) Superstar, which had even the most docile stoners feeling energetic.
BY CHRIS BRIGHT
Photo credit: Nick Irving
LOVED: The Weed Medley.
HATED: The question, “Do you guys wanna hear some new shit?” No, no we didn’t.
DRANK: Beer.
