It was the Sunday night of F1 weekend. If downtown Montreal needed more action the Cali to Canada tour was happy to help the party go mellow.
First up was the legendary DJ Quik, who took us on a ride as a producer who can rap and control the maestro. Hmmm… That has a certain ring to it. The crowd was already filed in and jumping. Compton was taking over in Montreal.
It wasn’t long until Warren G hit the stage. It appeared that Compton was working in conjunction with Long Beach, I started to believe we may be in trouble. I must mention that it’s at this point that I started noticing how powerful the smoke machines were because I saw smoke clouds all throughout the crowd.
The crowd gave a big roar when Mr. G asked if there were any Nate Dogg fans in the house. He proceeded to give a tribute that included “Nobody Does It Better” and “21 Questions,,” which really got the crowd moving. The set closed with the classic “Regulate,” which the crowd was happy to perform the chorus to when Warren lifted the mic.
Again a very short break and we got the main man Snoop Dogg on the screen walking through some droptops, asking himself which ride he was going to bring to Canada. He made his choice and hopped in as the stage opened up, and headlights shone through the smoke, which was getting really thick for some reason. The car bounced to the centre stage to the opening strings of “The Next Episode” as Snoop sang “the la-da-da-da, Snoop Dooooooooogs!” The man knows how to make an entrance. There were some ladies joining him on stage who were wearing very little and dancing on some poles around the stage.
At the end of the song, he stood in a pimpin’ maple leaf tracksuit to thunderous applause. The hits kept rolling like Snoop at the bong with “Nuthin’ But a G Thang,” “Tha Shiznit,” and “Lodi Dodi.” The scantily clad ladies seemed to multiply for the Akon collab “I Wanna Love You,” and one of them used another as a surfboard while she was spinning around the pole at 90 degrees. It was some serious skill.
Whoever was in charge of the smoke machine was going crazy too cause the smoke clouds were everywhere still and it was to the point it was starting to make my vision blur. I also became very aware of the shape of my hand which was becoming increasingly intriguing for reasons beyond my comprehension. A cover of “Jump Around” got everyone pumped for the biggest pop of the night for the opening notes of “Still D.R.E.”
Unfortunately, the pop was short-lived cause Snoop left the stage before the verse kicked in, and we got a video introducing the Dogg Pound, who was coming out for a set. This was weird. It was kinda like putting an opening act in the middle of the main set. Snoop didn’t even appear for features. It was just 30 minutes of Dogg Pound when everyone was at top hype for Snoop.
Most were back in their seats, and on their phones, and the beer lines grew long. I started having a conversation with the interdimensional elf. Did I forget to mention him? He appeared out of the smoke a few songs back. Anyhow, I was telling him I wanted Snoop back, he said not to worry, life is just a ride and we’re all one, so really Snoop is on stage, I was on stage, we were all on stage. I told him he stole that from Bill Hicks, but he told me no, Bill Hicks got it from him. I didn’t know interdimensional elves were hippies, but there was something to what he was saying. But before we could have a real breakthrough, Snoop was finally back and wearing a Habs jersey.
He came back out and everyone was back on their feet for “Drop It Like It’s Hot”. It was time for some of his biggest collabs. Warren G came back out with the Dogg Pound for “Aint No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None. Lady of Rage came out for “Afro Puffs”. Then beach balls came out for the Katy Perry collab “California Girls” and “P.I.M.P”.
The crowd went wild for a Notorious B.I.G. tribute and “Hypnotize.” In a touching moment, the west coast rapper declared his love for Biggie, 1994 me’s head exploded. That was followed with the same treatment for Tupac with “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.”
We closed out the set with a touching moment. He asked us all to sing the national anthem with him. Not the Canadian or American one though. He just went into the accapella chorus to “Young, Wild and Free.” No music, just 15,000 or so people in various states of consciousness singing that chorus over and over. I looked over at the elf and realized that little interdimensional bastard may be right. I looked over, and he winked. At least for that moment, we were all one.
We got a one-song encore with “Gin & Juice” that brought everyone on the stage. Snoop rolled back into his drop top, which rolled back into the stage, and it was time to go. The crowd rolled out singing, “So what we get drunk, so what we smoke weed, we’re just having fun, we don’t care who sees…”
32 years of career and a rainforest’s worth of ganja hasn’t slowed the man down at all.
Review – Richard Brunette
Photos – Eric Brisson
