Live review: Rock the Bells still tolls for 1993

Old school’s in session as Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest party likes it’s 1993 at San Bernardino’s hip-hop hoedown.

For a large swath of its audience, hip-hop’s center of gravity will always stay moored in 1993 and 1994 — the same way that classic-rock fans permanently hold 1966 and 1967 sacred. After all, as Q-Tip noted, the final three sets at Saturday’s Rock the Bells Festival at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino consisted of full-album performances of records that were released in a two-week span in November 1993.

Yet Wu-Tang Clan’s “Enter the 36 Chambers,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “Midnight Marauders” and Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Doggystyle” are more than records to those whose teenage years overlapped with the ’90s. They’re inviolate touchstones of youth, crammed with dozens of classic cuts as inextricably intertwined to memory as madeleines to Marcel Proust.

For roughly 25,000 roaring fans, nostalgia for the days of Death Row was transubstantiated via “Gin and Juice,” a highlight of Snoop Dogg’s spectacular headlining set. Aided by performances from Tha Dogg Pound, the Lady of Rage, RBX and Warren G, Snoop conjured the ghosts of the early Clinton years with frightening accuracy.

Though he’s long since evolved into the lovable “Uncle Snoop,” a film star and pitchman nonpareil, Snoop tapped into the cold-blooded menace that made him America’s Most Wanted (before he was one of its most adored). Clad in a vintage Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, braids, shades and creased khakis, Snoop’s hyper-relaxed flow of modern vintage was replaced by his formerly surly bark.

His partners in the Death Row diaspora similarly retained the ability to dial back the decades, slipping comfortably into their old styles: Rage rocking afro-puffs and leather, Daz draped in blue bandanna, Kurupt in Ben Davis coveralls. The only ones missing were Dr. Dre and Nate Dogg, yet even they appeared in spirit. Dre had taped a pre-recorded video, instructing Snoop to “play that old school …,” while Snoop paid homage to Nate Dogg via a sing-a-long tribute to “Regulate” and “Ain’t No Fun (if the Homies Can’t Have None),” promising that they would show Nate the video in the hospital (where he lies incapacitated after a 2007 stroke).

But the star was Snoop, who proved that he went Hollywood in all the right ways. The transformation from gangsta-rap legend to consummate entertainer displayed itself in the background set piece depicting the cartoon cover of “Doggystyle.” More memorable were the grainy mini-movies that played between songs, portraying Snoop as a lanky lothario, packing pistols, seducing females — Snoopafly come to life.

It was the standout in a 12-hour day filled with many great performances. Preceding Snoop was the Wu-Tang Clan, who ran roughshod through the rugged “Enter the 36 Chambers,” without maudlin nostalgia. All the Clan had to do was play “Can It Be All So Simple” and exhort crowd members to hold up their lighters. They complied with actual fire, a rarity in an era where cellphone screens pass for a substitute. The gesture aptly fit the song that sampled Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “The Way We Were.”

A revitalized A Tribe Called Quest displayed why Q-Tip and Phife remain the gold standard of rap duos, trading off bars and knowing each other’s ad-libs perfectly. After performing the entirety of their 1993 classic, the two brought out former member Jarobi, plus a surprise appearance from Busta Rhymes, whose live-wire verse from “Scenario” turned the head-nodding crowd into rowdy heads.

Full album performances from Slick Rick, KRS-One and Rakim deserve their own essays, but the day’s most anticipated performance was from former Fugees star Lauryn Hill. Known for her eccentric behavior and supererogatory gifts, the reclusive singer/MC dispelled any doubts of her abilities.

Backed by an 11-piece band, she performed cuts such as “Lost Ones” and “Doo Wop (That Thing)” from “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” along with earlier work like “Ready or Not” and “Fugee-La.” While occasionally chaotic and harried, her voice and skills remained peerless and again revealed that her lack of prolificacy doesn’t stem from an absence of talent.

In its seventh year, hip-hop’s longest running festival amply proved its enduring viability. (The festival moved on to San Francisco for a show Sunday, then will set up camp in New York and Washington, D.C., next weekend.) Perhaps the only thing missing was a performance from Souls of Mischief, whose biggest hit could have perfectly encapsulated the day’s underlying theme: To a crowd that ranged from very young to very old, the songs resonated from ’93 till infinity.

-- Jeff Weiss

Related: 

- Traveling hip-hop fest Rock the Bells downsizes, experiences growing pains

Photos, from top: Lauryn Hill, the crowd at Rock the Bells and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest. Credits: Michael Robinson Chavez/ Los Angeles Times

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Comments

[ESTELLA DAVIS]

SPEAKING OF LAUREN HILL, I AM, SO, HOPING THAT FANTASIA BARRINO RECOVERS COMPLETELY FROM HER FALL. THE 26 YEAR OLD IS SO LUCKY TO HAVE COME THROUGH HER MEETING WITH HER SAVIOUR WITHOUT MANY LASTING SCARS AND THE INSIGHT OF SUCH SITUATIONS. IT REALLY IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR THE YOUNG TO EXPERIENCE WHAT OLD PEOPLE ALREADY KNOW. MANY PEOPLE, BOTH, YOUNG AND OLD CONFUSE THE LOGIC OF "THE CROSS" WITH AN END FOR THEM WHEN THE IDEA OF THE CROSS HAS NEVER BEEN AN END, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE ONE ON THE CROSS UTTERED THE WORDS, "IT IS FINISHED". IN THIS INSTANCE, FINISHED AND END ARE NOT THE SAME IN MEANING. MANY THINK IT IS THE END, HOWEVER IT IS CLEARLY A NEW BEGINNING AS FANTASIA SHOULD UNDERSTAND. SHE HAS NOTHING BUT BEAUTIFUL PATHS TO FOLLOW FROM HERE ON AND AS WITH ALL NEW BEGINNINGS, HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS REASSURING OF THE FUTURE. SHE HAS BUT TO REMEMBER THAT THE ONE THAT STARTED HER FAITH TRIAL IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO COMPLETE IT. GOOD LUCK, FANTASIA. YOU AND LINDSAY ARE VERY LUCKY, INDEED, SO COUNT IT ALL PROFITABLE WHEN YOUR TRIALS COME AND THE LORD IS, INDEED, AN EVER PRESENT HELP THROUGH IT ALL. TAKE IT FROM A LOT OF "BEEN THERE, SEEN THAT, DONE THATS".

[mw]

wow...ZERo comments to this acticle?

2nd - You give Wu-Tang, one of the most prolific music groups (prob. the MOST prolific hip hop group), about 4 lines of talk.

WOW....I wouldn't care if you tore them apart, but nothing. Perhaps the reporter isn't as familiar with them like he is with Dogg Pound.

Overall, the whole WU was there - you should write about it. period.

[Anonymous Annie]

This was the WORST event I have ever attended. People passing out left and right. No available water unless able to purchase (but with ATMs down, what's a diabetic to do?). Poor crowd control. Hazard after hazard after hazard. All this made it extremely difficult to enjoy the music... speaking of which Lauryn Hill sucked or perhaps it was just the poor sound engineering of her set. Guerilla Union should be investigated for their violation of civil rights (segregating men and women in gender specific lines to enter the facility), for their negligent planning , and for various other offenses I will not name here. LA times do a story on that! It will be easy to find many unhappy people, like me, who attended Rock the Bells 2010. Notice how no one in this crowd is smiling?

[Al]

Rock the Bells? More like Suck the Balls.

my worse concert experience was the Rock the Bells show with Rage, P.E. , The Roots a few years ago. I swore I'd never again go to an event promoted by Guerilla Union. Not matter who was in the line up.

[MusicMan]

Really nicely done review Jeff. When they said albums were being performed in their entirety, are we talking track-by-track or the whole joint, with skits and everything?

[Jeff]

Out of the performers that I saw, none of them performed the tracks completely in order (though Snoop came pretty close). He was also the only one to incorporate the original skits at length. If I recall correctly, he even made up some new ones.

[Danielle Kelly]

I'M NOT WORTHY: "...They’re inviolate touchstones of youth, crammed with dozens of classic cuts as inextricably intertwined to memory as madeleines to Marcel Proust."

Teach me your ways. -xoxo, Ice Cream Man crew