This past Sunday night Snoop Dogg visited the House of Blues here in Orlando,Fl. for the 3rd time in 4 years, unfortunately dubcnn.com couldn’t make the show, so I decided to post the review that Orlando Sentinel’s Jim Abbott wrote. *enjoy*
Jim Abbott | Sentinel Pop Music Critic
How time flies.
It seems like only yesterday when I was waiting for Snoop Dogg to take the stage at House of Blues in 2005. Waiting and waiting and waiting . . .
Snoop, who apparently operates on Paris Hilton time, took that stage after 1 a.m. last February, reportedly sprinting to the hall past a crowd of disgruntled fans lined up for refunds at the box office.
So the biggest question about the rapper’s return visit to HOB on Sunday wasn’t about the show, but about when he might show. Word was that Snoop wouldn’t be paid if he started after 11.
Fortunately, there was additional information that Snoop actually was in Orlando, unlike last year, when he apparently spent part of the evening traveling here from Jacksonville.
Still, it was surprising when he sauntered into the spotlight only a little more than an hour after the final opening act — and well-ahead of his paycheck deadline. Like last year, he made it well-worth the wait.
Dressed casually in dark sweats and never relinquishing his rhinestone-encrusted microphone, Snoop commanded attention without breaking a sweat. It’s the combined strength of his charisma and the relentless beats that makes the show compelling, even when there aren’t many surprises:
On Sunday, as in previous stops, Snoop touched on a few hits, such as a funky “Beautiful,” and went old-school for a rowdy sing-along to “Gin and Juice.” He praised Tupac and easily coaxed the crowd to thrust middle fingers in the air and wave them around as if they didn’t care.
He talked about sex and weed, although he didn’t partake in any of the joints tossed to him by the crowd, whining that he “wasn’t allowed to smoke.” Apparently, there were no such constraints on the audience, because Snoop tossed a joint into the front row and encouraged everyone to pass it around.
Even without a band in tow this time, the songs were unleashed with power and precision that benefited from a remarkably clear sound mix. Musically, it was one of the Snoop’s best performances here in recent memory.
Before the main attraction, the Full Impact All-Starz, an array of emerging acts, set the tone with short, energetic sets. Orlando-based Treal bolstered its rhyme-spitting with an impressive sense of rowdiness.
Snoop, meanwhile, unleashes his energy much more carefully, whether it was twisting his lanky limbs with rubbery ease or delivering a short monologue in his own signature slang.
Whatever he does, whenever he arrives to do it, the result is still a party — fo’ shizzle.
(Originally posted by mrtonguetwista; reposted due to news loss)
