Snoop Dogg
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre
It was with great nostalgia that I lined up outside the arena to see west-coast hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg (now also known as Snoop Lion) make a Victoria appearance. The crowd who came out to see Snoop in action was composed of a healthy mix of people, ranging from teens to middle-agers. The majority looked to be folks like myself who were school kids regularly tuned into MuchMusic when Snoop Dogg’s debut album, Doggystyle, dropped in ’93.
Following a laid-back opening set from Vancouver rapper Son Real, the sobering stadium lights turned back on and we waited for what was just a bit too long for the eager crowd. Finally, after about 50 minutes, the lights dimmed again and Snoop’s DJ took his place on stage, asking the boisterous audience, “Who’s ready to get high with big Snoop Dogg?”
As it turned out, most of the audience was ready, judging by the countless chimneys of smoke that had popped up across the floor and throughout the stands the instant the lights went out, turning the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre into a giant hotbox. If there were any among the crowd who did not, in fact, want to get high with big Snoop Dogg, they likely went home feeling a slight bit lighter just from breathing the hazy air in the arena.
Accompanied by two dancers and sporting a Victoria Royals jersey, the Doggfather stepped out to an instantly receptive Victoria audience. We were ready to pick up whatever Big Snoop threw down, and before long he had us waving our arms and repeating various incarnations of his name. Launching from his relatively recent “I Wanna Rock” into older classics like “Still D.R.E.” and “Gin & Juice,” Snoop Dogg blasted through an upbeat set list of fan favorites spanning his nearly 20-year career.
Weed smoke continued to be a major theme: midway through the set Snoop Dogg took a “small chronic break,” passing off his Snoop-Dogg-bling-covered mic and stepping aside for a few hoots before returning to offer props on our potent “BC shit.”
While the show was brief, with on-stage time clocking in at less than an hour, Snoop succeeded in bringing his high-energy west-coast party scene to Victoria. He ended the night on a feel-good note with Wiz Khalifa’s “Young, Wild and Free,” which felt particularly appropriate because, hey, if the now 40-year-old Snoop Dogg still felt young, wild, and free, there’s no reason we who grew up with his music couldn’t feel young, wild, and free as well.