Live: Slightly Stoopid & Rebelution (7-30-11)

Live: Slightly Stoopid & Rebelution (7-30-11)

Date: Saturday July 30th, 2011
Line up: Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Shwayze & Cisco Adler
Location: San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
What: The Seedless Summer 2011 Tour

With the Seedless Summer Tour coming through San Diego, CA, the sun was setting on what would be the last Saturday of July. As a hometown show for Slightly Stoopid, everyone was in attendance as pure energy filled the outside of the amphitheater with tailgaters, sponsors and a sea of fans landscaping the entrance into the venue. The evening breeze helped provide some relief from the summer sun as patrons waited 2-3 hours before the 7:30pm show. The end of the line was hard to see, as fans of all ages waited outside to get in, sporting their favorite Stoopid / Rebelution t-shirts. There were plenty of disappointed fans that found out once they reached the front of the line, that no bags were allowed inside (me included). Security for the venue acted as their own ticket scalpers, hustling tickets to fans, advertising $29.99 a ticket. After the show, they were still selling tickets, advertising $10.00 Sublime with Rome & 311 tickets.

Silverback Management made sure The Pier was set up for coverage as Pier Photographer, David Norris, was on stage for the entire night taking up close live shots of both Stoopid & Rebelution. Norris was escorted into the venue around 7:00pm in time for Shwayze & Cisco Adler’s 7:30pm set. I unfortunately missed Shwayze’s set, but while tailgating in the parking lot, I ran into some familiar faces & sponsors. Sector 9 Skateboards, who brought their big yellow Sector 9 bus out, made their tailgating comfortable with couches, music and free merchandise to those that came up and said hello, (Thanks for the trucker hats fellas!). Also tailgating was NUG Mag, a Southern CA cannabis magazine that also encompasses topics that include politics, music, artist spotlights, along with health & cooking tips. They recently announced their start up Record Label and told The Pier how they’re actively looking for more Reggae-Rock groups to join Subliminal Trip on their label! (hint-hint). Other members of various groups were seen walking around including Jason of B Foundation, Stick Figure & Chris of Jet West; just a few I noticed.

With approximately 15,000 Stoopid heads piling into the amphitheater, fans rushed the merchandise booth purchasing T’s, Hoodies, CDs, Vinyl & accessories. The clock on my phone read 8:15pm when I heard the crowd erupt into applause as Eric Rachmany walked on to the stage with his group and voiced into the microphone “How you feeling San Diego!? We’re Rebelution from Santa Barbara, CA”. Rebelution opened up their set with Green To Black while Red, Yellow & Green stage lighting contributed to the live production of the set. Smoked persisted to blow from the crowd, making its way to the stage like a fog machine giving natural prestige to the opening song of the set. The stage was decorated with female dancers & plants that looked to stand about 3feet tall while a Rebelution banner masked the back of the stage.

The second song of the set was Lazy Afternoon and during the chorus, the band dropped out the beat to let the smoke blowing crowd anchor the song by singing I could spend the rest of this lazy afternoon with you. I was really impressed with how much crowd control Rebelution had with the audience. The best surprise of Rebelutions set was the addition of Saxophonist, Khris Royal, who is joining Rebelution for the tour. Khris Royal brought the sound of Rebelution to another level by accenting each song & taking the lead with repeated solos, especially during songs Lazy Afternoon, Running and Outta Control. During Outta Control, there was back to back solos between Khris Royal on Sax & Eric Rachmany on Guitar, while bassist, Marley Williams, guided the crowd to wave hands from side to side.

Fans were treated to a new, upbeat, head bobbin reggae song titled, Skys The Limit, that was about overcoming the hardships of life by setting your own path. A song preaching independence with Rachmany singing “Skys the limit, get out of my way, you cant hold me down!” Back stage, The Pier got to receive some insight on Rebelutions next anticipated release. Unfortunately there’s no information we can make public, but fans, you will be really stoked with what’s in store. We’ll have more info as soon as it’s made available to us! Rebelution closed their set out with the long time favorite Safe & Sound and I have to say this was by far the best performance I had seen by Rebelution. Everything flowed very smooth and organic throughout their set accompanied by great overall lighting & stage production. This was probably one of the best live performances I’ve seen this year. If you plan on catching the tour, make sure you’re there early for Rebelutions entire set.

At 9:30pm the hometown boys took the stage with a 3-man horn section, percussion along with a full set that would encompass more than 20 songs and some guest appearances. Slightly Stoopid tuned things up by starting out the set with metal-reggae dub Glox before sliding into Officer. While Miles sang “Lets get this party started, until the break of dawn”, giant monitors on each side of the stage displayed vintage videos that were themed around the content of the songs. It didn’t take long for Stoopid to stir the pot in the crowd with some punk rock, playing Aint No Reason much to the pleasure of the kids in the pit.

On each side of the side stage stood 2 custom Seedless Summer Tour Surf Boards with a black Slightly Stoopid banner wall papering the back of the stage. There was great stage production from the sound to the lighting. I noticed Slightly Stoopid keeps it consistent with darker stage lighting, as there were a lot of dimmer purples, greens & yellow. The 3-man horn section that included C-Money was working in sync together with back and forth swaying and hitting notes in unison. During Closer to the Sun there was a saxophone stand-off to which the crowd went nuts as each saxophonist traded off solos while the band carried the beat. There’s just something about live reggae music with a saxophone that manifests itself into a rhythmic massage that enters through the chest and makes its way out the spine.

Slightly Stoopid brought Don Carlos out on stage to play new song Mary U Wanna. This was a very dubbed out, layed back reggae jam that carried a traditional roots vibe with a solid horn section to accent the song. I remember hearing the song was recorded earlier this year for an upcoming Stoopid release. If it’s anything like how it sounded live, we’re in treat for a solid collaboration with Don Carlos. Don Carlos remained on stage for Mary U Wanna and another reggae jam titled Somebootiez. In between songs, Kyle lit 3 joints simultaneously before handing each one off to fans in the crowd and said “If that shit’s going to get smoked, its gotta be lit just right”.

Sporting jersey’s & ball caps, both Kyle & Miles dedicated the song Baby I Like It to their hometown of Ocean Beach. They played other songs such as Gets Wet, Questionable, 2 AM, Dem Fruits and more. They capped off the night with an encore playing Collieman and Speedometerz n Outsk! that brought Shwayze on stage along with Don Carlos, for one last collaboration before closing the curtains. I remember seeing Slightly Stoopid perform 10 years ago as a 3-piece, playing smaller local venues. I must say it’s a treat to see the developing dimensions of this group as they continue to build on their sound. Lighting up 15,000 fans in attendance throughout the amphitheater wouldn’t have sounded the same as a 3-piece. In true Stoopid style, fans heard roots, blues, ska, hip-hop, reggae, along with some mosh pitting, feet kicking punk rock! While Rebelution may have stole the event with their solid performance, this was one of the better shows put on by both groups. Many thanks to Silverback & the rest of the management for a great night!


– Article by: Mike Patti
– Photos by: David Norris

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Slightly Stoopid Set-List
Glox
Officer
Aint No Reason
Ska Diddy
Dem Fruits
Anywhere I Go
Fireman
Aint Got Alotta Money
Gets Wet
Somebootiez (w/Don Carlos)
Mary You Wanna (w/Don Carlos)
Holiday
Fat Spliffs of Weed
Closer to tha sun
Underneath the Pressure
Serious Man
Baby I like It
We Don’t Wanna Go
Questionable
Del Roy / Digital
2 am
Otherside of the mountain
Collie man
Speedometerz n Outsk! (w/Shwayze)

Here’s photos of Don Carlos & Marley Williams of Rebelution, showing some love to The Pier following the show!
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