Concert Sutra: Down & Dirty With Snoop Dogg

Concert Sutra: Down & Dirty With Snoop Dogg

by terri sapp

Photographs by terri sapp

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

Snoop Dogg toasts

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July 26, 2008 turned out to be the most perfect time for my man Noel to come with me to his first 311 show!  Besides the fact that 311 is a killer live band, there are two words to describe what set this night apart from any of the other many 311 shows I have witnessed…SNOOP DOGG!!!  What a perfect lineup!  Snoop Dogg and 311.  Some might not think them a likely match for playing a show together, but Snoop Dogg brought his A game to the Lakewood Amphitheatre in the A town as well as the best live band I have seen support a Hip Hop artist in all of my adult life!!  Over the years, I have made it my goal to see as many concerts as possible of all genres.  At some hip hop shows (including previous Snoop Dogg performances I have attended), you just get the artist, the supplementary rappers, and a DJ.  The very special nights are when you get the Hip Hop played truly live by real life musicians!  It makes all the difference in the world.  Even a music snob like Noel had to give it up for Snoop Dogg’s band!  THEY ROCKED IT OUT!!!  I can only give you two more words…Carlos McSwain, the drummer with the chops to match the greatest drummers in the world!

To get the party started Snoop played a recording of the theme song from his TV series, Father Hood.  The stage is set with a big oversized marijuana leaf, a tricked out low rider bicycle, a huge cut out of the back of a woman’s body, an enormous bottle of Cognac, and a giant bong.  To top it all off, there were security type of guys on each side of the stage dressed to the nines just standing around and holding it down.  Continue reading

Concert Sutra, Healing With 311

Concert Sutra, Healing With 311

by terri sapp

Photographs by terri sapp

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

p-nut 2008

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As most of you know, any time 311 gives Concert Sutra the opportunity to include them in our coverage, we ALWAYS take it happily!  On July 26, 2008, 311 came to Atlanta with the ever popular and exciting performer Snoop Dogg, which is a real power house lineup for any one night at Lakewood Amphitheatre.  The result of such a combination is a night that will not soon be forgotten!  Once Snoop Dogg was done with the masses of fans huddled around to witness this high entertainment, 311 was able to slide right in drive home the good vibes to all who were there to receive them.

I always get extra nervous when Leah is unable to come to the show and shoot, primarily when it is the band that gets my heart a flutter, 311.  From the press pit, I was struggling to contain myself during the first song, Transistor favorite “Beautiful Disaster.”    I have come to think that this is one of the 311 guys’ favorite song to play live, because I can’t really remember a show in the past several years, since that album came out, that they did not include it on the setlist.  Always notes I want to hear, the beginning of “Freeze Time” from the 1999 dynamic album, Soundsystem, tim and chad 2008gets me going every time.  This song is especially fun live, because of the crowd participation…always a good time.  Flawlessly into what has been deemed the “happy slam dance song” “Do You Right.”  I have always loved the upbeat reggae beats of this one, along with the effect it has on everyone around.  As I made my way back to the wonderful complimentary PIT area standing room only non-seats where my man (and 311 virgin, until this night), Noel, was holding it down for us just inside the gate with a beer and a smile, I heard in the distance “Taiyed,” “Love Song,” “Hive,” “Freak Out,” AND “Sick Tight.”  The only drawback to photographing from the Press Pit at Lakewood Amphitheatre is their rule about having to come in and out of the venue and be escorted out back to deposit equipment and go back in the front gate (if you have a ticket).  I always hate missing the songs that inevitably get missed.  This time, I missed more songs, due to the fact that I had had major back surgery, and was moving a lot slower than normal… Continue reading