Tuesday night at the House of Blues, Snoop Dogg and his parade brought the hits to life in a packed house. Having never seen Snoop Dogg, I was pretty excited, and after taking the stage late (it’s a school night, man!), Snoop turned up the awesome and left none disappointed. You can see all of my photos of the event here, my iPhone photo here, and after the jump, find the full review, sample MP3s and tour dates.

The first opener was some dude from Denton or Garland or something.  I have nothing to say about him other than believe me when I say he was effing terrible. 

The second opener were two guys that also backed Snoop during the whole show, Hustle Boyz:

Hustle Boyz fell somewhere between the Garland terribleness and the Snoop awesomeness, so they were just ok, and after a quick set, Hustle Boyz left the stage and we waited and waited and waited until finally at about 11:30, Snoop finally took the stage.  Throughout the show, Snoop worked in a ton of shoutouts to Dallas and Texas, and even went so far as to wear a Tony Dorsett jersey the whole show, which was awesome. 

Playing to a very enthusiastic crowd, Snoop asked us many questions throughout the night, usually followed by a command.  For example, “Y’all ladies feelin’ alright tonight?  If you a lady and you feelin’ alright, put your hands in the air!”  “How many a y’all like to party?  If you like to party, put your hands in the airrr!” and the often asked question, “How many a y’all smoke weed out there?!”  He also instructed us that since we were in Texas, to throw up our horns (as in that silly hand gesture for the University of Texas Longhorns).  I declined.  And sorry mom, but when Snoop ordered the crowd to say “fuck that shit” about 10 times in a row, I obliged.

There were other entertaining antics as Snoop had some kind of dude (who he called his uncle), 60+ years of age easy, up and dancing around during certain songs.  And by “dancing,” I basically mean “waving at girls and occasionally pointing to his privates.”  And at one point, and very suddenly, 4 or 5 girls spontaneously(?) tossed their panties up onstage.  Snoop appreciatively picked up the garments to show the audience, and never missed a beat. 

Antics aside, the music itself was pretty fantastic.  Snoop’s house band is way cool and brings a decided funk flavor into everything – even the old gangsta rap songs, and his drummer is wild and totally awesome.  The show seemed to be a bit split, and when he would do the more loungy/jazzy/chill songs (like Sensual Seduction), it was less effective than on the songs which he incorporated the Wild Boyz and kept the tempo up.  The faster stuff were definitely the jewels of the show.

Snoop definitely kept the hit parade rolling, playing favorites like Gin and Juice and What’s my Name?, Snoop’s Upside Your Head, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and an absolutely fantastic Drop it Like it’s Hot.  (What a great song that is.)  The back half of the set turned into more of a nonstop party/medley, covering Tupac, dipping into Hip Hop Hooray, and covering Jump Around.  This crowd ate up every second of all the songs he played, and really jumped on all the hip hop classics. 

Snoop was absolutely perfect – even when dropping multiple references to Texas and Dallas into his flow, it’s like he didn’t even have to think about it, and he was ultra smooth the whole set.  His band was great and brought a very good counterbalance to the white hot presence of Snoop himself.  His backing guys were fine, too, even if they weren’t the best part about the show, but they didn’t stand out as bad, either.  Even if you don’t enjoy going to see hip hop acts, I can guarantee that you would love a Snoop show – he delivers exactly what you want in the way you want it.  Nicely done.

Snoop Dogg – Doggy Dogg World – From Doggystyle

The Blazed and Confused Tour is still rollin’ down the street, as it were:

5-12 – The Norva – Norfolk, VA
7-10 – Star of the Desert Arena – Primm, NV
7-11 – Irvine Meadows – Irvine, CA
7-12 – Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
7-14 – Journal Pavillion – Albuquerque, NM
7-15 – Red Rocks – Morrison, CO
7-18 – Gorge Ampitheatre – George, WA
7-25 – Cricket Wireless Ampitheatre – Chula Vista, CA
7-30 – Masquerade – ATL, GA
7-31 – Vinoy Park – St. Petersburg, FL
8-1 – Bicentennial Park – Miami, FL
8-5 – Merriweather Post Pavillion – Columbia, MD
8-7 – Festival Pier - Philly, PA