Walking into the Palladium it seemed as 4/20 was being celebrated. Last time I saw “Sublime with Rome” at Smoke Out 2009 the arena was filled with excitement and drunk fun. Here was a little more calm and relaxed. You could smell weed throughout the complex and everybody seemed very mellow. You could tell it was 4/20 without knowing the date!

To start with, Del Mar came out and played a very forgettable and sleepy set. I was struggling to pay attention and still failed. The surprise however was the end when the otherwise hidden and shy (hiding in the side of the stage) Nicole Hutcheson started to take the lead. I think I would have stayed awake during the set if she was singing the whole time.  I guess sharing your drummer with Sublime comes with some perks. My advice, move Matt to a supporting role and Nicole up to a lead vocals.

Orange County local band The Dirty Heads were next and played a great set with a surprisingly good amount of energy throughout the entire set. Their set had many highlights which included their KROQ hits “Lay Me Down “and “Stand Tall” had some surprises like their cover of “Paint It Black”.

Almost the entire set had the majority of the audience’s phones up taking pictures and video when they could, lots of screaming, a bit more smoke in the air, and just a genuinely fun time.  I think if anybody thought that The Dirty Heads were a one hit wonder should check again. They are the real thing.

When Sublime with Rome came out the entire sold out venue went wild! But then immediately things seemed off. With the entire band hidden in the very back, and only Rome visible up front. This isn’t the Rome show, its Sublime with Rome right?  Good luck trying to find Erik Wilson, he was somewhere there, away from lights, away from the crowd, hidden in the back. What about Bud? You could see him but if the drums weren’t there then he would have been MIA also.

Rome’s soft personality and voice doesn’t have enough to really compare it to the original band. But this isn't Sublime, its Sublime with Rome! It is what it is, and he has big shoes to fill. Either way, the entire set was quite enjoyable for me as a Sublime fan having grown up in Southern California, but there was a lot lacking from seeing them on stage.

Rome didn’t really say anything – he sort of played his set the whole way through song, I think once he made a reference to getting high, and I think that was about it.

The encore was a great ending to their set and included some of their best hits, “What I Got” , “Scarlet Begonias“ and “Santeria” and it was a decent ending to the concert, however, what happened to “Date Rape”?

Except for a bit lacking stage performance, sublime performed very well. I think if you go in there knowing that Rome is not as aggressive or energetic as the late Bradley, you will be in for a good show. If you are expecting old Sublime, well, keep looking.

In case you are wondering, yes they played “Smoke Two Joints”, “Wrong Way”, and “Bad Fish”

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