For years, I heard students bemoan the lack of good concerts at Notre Dame. When Wiz Khalifa or T.I. perform at friends' schools, students gnash teeth and wail about the lack of big names in South Bend.
And then Snoop Dogg came to Club Fever. For the second year in a row.
And don't worry, all you underclassmen too young to get into Fever — he promised he would come back to South Bend any time.
Snoop put on a fantastic concert at Club Fever on Wednesday night in front of a full crowd of South Bend natives and a few Notre Dame students.
Two local DJs opened for him, putting on a good show of house rap and R&B tracks, but the crowd was really waiting for the headliner.
Unfortunately, it took Snoop an hour to come on stage after the opening act left. This would have been forgivable, had an emcee not come out frequently to announce Snoop's arrival in 15 minutes. But he more than made up for the wait.
To open his show, Snoop performed songs from his early albums.
He and his group all sported Notre Dame swag, from visors to pinnies. Snoop himself even wore a green DayneCrist jersey, as well as some black sunglasses.
Nasty Dog, his animal mascot, however, was not in Irish gear.
The best part of Snoop's ensemble, though, was his microphone. Emblazoned across a golden background were diamonds, laid out to spell Snoop Dogg in cursive. His name, reflecting the lights of the stage, shone across the room, visible even to those at the back near the bar.
Although Snoop has been on the music scene for about 20 years, he still gave a fantastic performance.
He dedicated his show to peace, love and soul. He went on to punctuate his raps with running commentary, asking how the crowd was doing and commenting on his favorite illicit substances. He kept the crowd's mood — and hands — up throughout his entire set.
A highlight of his first half hour was "Gin and Juice," which he called his anthem to adolescence.
As his one-hour set progressed, though, Snoop appealed to the younger, radio-conscious crowd with some of his newer hits.
Akon may not have been with him, but he still performed "I Wanna Love You," letting his backup dancers have the stage during Akon's parts. At times he also showcased his own fantastic dancing.
Throughout the show, Snoop dedicated quite a few songs to the sexy and single ladies in the crowd.
Near the end of his set, he even took his shades off so that he could sing "Sensual Seduction" to a woman in the front row who requested it. He kept the glasses off for the rest of the night, finishing his set with "That's That Sh**," a cover of "Jump Around" and "Drop It Like It's Hot."
The best two songs of the night were the final two. After reminding the crowd of just who he was with "Who I Am (What's My Name)," Snoop demanded crowd participation, which was more than freely given.
And his final song truly encapsulated the feeling of the crowd. As every person in attendance sang along to "Young, Wild and Free," the crowd felt alive, utter joy coursing through their bodies.
Snoop's concert was everything that a concert should be. Yes, the crowd had to wait very impatiently for him to go on, but it was worth it.
One substantial downside, however, was the ticket price, which deterred a lot of people who wanted to attend.
But Snoop was worth the tight, smoky quarters at Fever. Don't miss him next time he comes to town.
