The High School Reunion Tour wrapped up its final stop in Southern California on Sunday night at Five Points Amphitheatre in Irvine. Headliner Snoop Dogg and his crew — DJ Drama, Berner, Warren G, Too $hort and Wiz Khalifa — entertained thousands of fans all night long in a fun-loving party atmosphere.
DJ Drama got the crowd warmed up by playing a selection of current and classic hip hop tracks from various artists. That set the stage for Berner, followed by the legendary Warren G.
Warren G performed many of his classic hits, including “Regulate” and “This D.J.” This got the crowd fired up for when Too $hort next took the stage. Too $hort had the crowd dancing and singing along to classic hits such as “Blow the Whistle” and one his oldest and rarely performed “Freaky Tales”.
Next up was Wiz Khalifa. Although Snoop Dogg was the headliner, Wiz controlled the stage like no other on this night, just short of Snoop’s performance. Wiz’s stage presence was next level and definitely had the crowd in the palm of his hands. He started his set with “We Dem Boyz”, and his smash hit “Black and Yellow”.
When Snoop finally took the stage, the crowd was definitely ready for the Doggfather. He entered the stage to the iconic “The Next Episode”, followed by “Boyz n the Hood”. Snoop entertained his long-time fans with classics, such as “Nuthin but a G Thang”, “Lodi Dodi” and “Gin and Juice”.
Snoop was later joined on stage by Wiz Khalifa and once again brought down the house during a performance of “Young, Wild & Free”. One of the more touching performances of the entire night was “See You Again”, where the big screen paid homage to many lost rappers over the past few years.
The crowd consisted of long-time hip hop fans in their 40s and 50s that have followed Snoop since the early 90’s, along with some younger fans and even kids of those long-time followers. Fans such as Bonnie, 44, in attendance with daughter Emma, 21, and son Gavin, 18, from La Mirada. Gavin said he started listening to Snoop in the fifth grade. “I would go to my friends’ barbecues a lot and they would always play this music,” he said. “Snoop Dogg has been a part of my family’s artist rotation for a while, so I know it all,” Emma added.
The fans left the concert on a high note, satisfied that this was arguably one of the best concerts of the summer.
Words by Aaron Hicks / contributed to by Quang Lam
