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Live Review: The Blazed and Confused Tour (Snoop Dogg and Slightly Stoopid) – Irvine, CA

Snoop Dogg may very well be one of the last rock stars.

He's got the requisite swagger, style and substance in spades. He moves, acts and smokes like a true rock god. On the Irvine stop of The Blazed and Confused Tour at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (LiveNation), Snoop rocked the house with a kinetic energy that was the perfect middle ground between Run DMC and James Brown.

His stage setup was truly O.G. After a bevy of Michael Jackson tunes, Snoop stormed the stage in front of a giant background with his picture that read "Tales from the Crip." Flanked by weed plants, surf boards and his band, The Snoopadelics, Snoop unloaded one hit after another flawlessly. The crowd couldn't get enough either, and as weed smoke swarmed the entire amphitheater, it was clear that the king of the West Coast had arrived.

He hit the stage to a bouncy "Still D.R.E.," setting the tone for the smoked out, funked-up and rock-infused hip hop to follow. Clad in a blue shirt and basketball shorts, Snoop looked at home, bobbing and weaving across the stage like a prize fighter. "Staxxx In My Jeans" exploded over a wall of distortion and a scratched-out beat that got the whole audience moving and grooving. Then Jamie Foxx's "Blame It On the Alcohol" piped through the decks as Snoop freestyled. His flow sounded smooth and sexy, hooking the heavily female crowd. After the song finished, he laughed "I like that song, but I'm from the east side of Long Beach and he didn't mention what I drink. Does anybody want some of my favorite drink?"

Snoop's catalog is so legendary now that everyone knew what was next. A fiery and fun "Gin and Juice" sparked the biggest sing-a-long of the night. Snoop slowed it down again during the stripper pole-suited "I Wanna Fuck You" and "That's that Shit." He turned up the heat outside on those two tracks, and nothing could cool the stage down.

The biggest surprise came when he brought out Death Row homegirl The Lady of Rage for "Afro Puffs." She cruised across the front of the stage trading verses with Snoop. Adding to the guest roster, Warren G popped up. 2Pac's "They Don't Give a Fuck About Us" got huge cheers too. Snoop never forgets where he came from no matter how many TV shows or movies he does. He's still gangsta—perhaps now more than ever. "Jump Around" kept everyone bouncing, while "Sensual Seduction" allowed Tha Doggfather to sound like an electro Al Green, in the best way possible.

"What's My Name?" was just as infectious as ever and Snoop closed off a fantastic set chanting "Peace and Love." There was something very "Woodstock" about the whole set. Back in the day, James Brown and Jimi Hendrix could share the same stage without any questions. These days genres seem miles apart, and even within genres, there are numerous sub-genres. There's no segregation at a Snoop Dogg show and he delivers something for everybody. What's more rock n' roll than that?

The Blazed and Confused tour was rounded out by Mickey Avalon's sexed-up club pop, Stephen Marley's funky modern reggae and ended with Slightly Stoopid's hoppin' SoCal punk. Everyone had their moments to shine, and Snoop unified all of it in one powerful set.

Being a "rock star" is a true pop culture deification. Snoop's more worthy than anyone.

—Rick Florino
07.12.09