Smokeout Festival 2010 Lives Up To The Hype

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Written by Melissa Garcia

Tuesday, 19 October 2010 04:58

Smokeout Festival 2010 made history this Saturday. No, I’m not talking about one of the best line-ups since Coachella; I'm talking about the "Patient Entrance," exclusively for those who arrived with their medical Mary Jane license. Now, what comes of this so called "Patient Entrance" you might ask? Well, being able to legally smoke weed at a festival. No hassling to conceal the bag of dope that’s so uncomfortably logged in your crotch (or bra). No sweating bullets when a burley CSC security man is eyeing you and your buddies sparking up a bowl before the next performance. And most importantly NO ARRESTS! Just a sweet lounge area where bean bags and shady trees make your legal and oh so public smoke sesh just that more relaxing. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people lounging on a bean bag, but a friend of mine is, and gave me the details as to how the whole thing worked.

After giving your med license and ID to the person at the Patient Entrance gate, they call to verify that you are legitimate medical license holder, no fakes! They ask if you have any bud on you, if you do they check it to make sure it’s in a designated clinic container. Finally, your signature on a waiver agreeing that you won’t sell, share, or smoke outside the patient area grants you entrance into a one of a kind experience.

The overall venue is one of the most favorable for the massive talent distributed all day, for 14 whole hours. It's one of the best venues to host a turnout of 26,000+ people. True to the venue's trademark there's the lake, more of a swap, to chill by in the perfect 80 degree weather. Mother Nature must have known what day it was and laid a snappy breeze on the people of San Bernardino.

After a smoke sesh in the stoner sanctuary, be prepared to be gracefully emerged into a world where the knowledge of the legendary is absorbed into the minds of those who are eager to absorb the healing power of music. Living Legends kicked the dust off the mic to spit their talent to a small crowd. The crowd grew steadily as the day blazed on and when Atmosphere came out, you better believe the crowd stormed the main stage.

Slug took music-ian-ship to another level. This Minnesota lyricist has a character all his own on the stage. He came out swinging a single crutch in the air and his right knee in a brace. He addressed the crowd that his injury has an interesting story behind it. Don't worry he tells us all about it. He started with "All My Friends," wearing his running jacket and a bright green shirt that read in bold letters "WEED." "Trying To Find A Balance," Free Fallin,' “and a personal favorite "Shrapnel," were played through until he explained how he got to be a gimp. He tripped over some electrical wires backstage at his show a few days ago, and he tore his meniscus. When he saw the doctor that day he told the doctor, "Hey doctor, you’re ugly." As the cheers simmered in the crowd "God Loves Ugly" bellowed through the speakers. Throughout the performance he swung his crutch around and gave the crowd crazy smiles and wide eyes as he stood and waved. "Guarantees," and "Shoulda Known" were flawless and aggressive to the point of making his face turn red. He even poked fun at the vegetarians which he called " vagina-tarians." "Sunshine," one of his most popular and radio friendly song was played, which got the mob jiving. He ended with "Yesterday," and left the stage with his crutch raised high above his head in triumph.

Before NAS and Damien Marley were to preform I got to travel around the venue that was covered with food ranging from falafels to turkey legs, from cotton candy to ice cream sundaes. Smokeout Festival 2010 was prepared for even the worst case of the munches. I also checked out the tent where Deadmau5 was going to end the night. The crowd was a microcosm of every kind of stoner. From those who wore dreads to crazy bald heads, the ones who sported the hottest trends to those who look like they just got out of bed. The computer nerds and the hoochie herds were all there, along with you and your clan to the 50 year old grand dads. Everyone was united under the love for music and the legal freedom to smoke weed.

After a few technical difficulties, a rasta man stood in front of the crowd waving a Jamaican flag. NAS, in his blue Adidas jacket, and Damien in his denim suit, rocked the crowd from left to right. Marley dominated most of the performance, with NAS as more of his right hand man. I would have loved to see NAS perform more of his own music, but Damien put on a great show. "Nah Mean," got the set started. NAS expressed to those who fought to make weed legal, to put their hands up on the air as "The Strong Will Continue" was played. NAS performed “Made You Look" and Damien continued with "Welcome to Jamrock" with NAS rapping out a verse. All the while the rasta man kept waving his flag across the stage with pride and purpose. During the whole performance Damien was jumping and getting the crowd active. Marley's background singers put on a show all their own with their passionate dancing in a style that is native to Jamaica I'm guessing...

The crowd’s applause grew loud when Damien asked the fans if they liked Bob Marley. As the crowd approved, the legendary melody, "Could You Be Loved" was covered by Damien, a performance that without a question made his dad and the fans proud. He mentioned that the whole show was being streamed live to Smokeoutfestival.com, before the end of their set. The Rastafarian guitarist squealed out a jammin' solo to "Road To Zion" and then the stage was left for Slightly Stoopid.

There was an odd trend that was disturbing the people of Smokeout Festival. More people that I can ever remember at any other show/festival were dropping like flies. Paramedics could be seen racing through crowds to tend to a passed out concert goer. Now, from what my friend told me, there was a conspicuous looking hairy chested Indian man wearing a fedora was running around selling joints out of his fanny pack. I’m guessing he could have been selling a bad batch of weed, or something other to those were in need of it. To fight the amount of people passing out the CSC passed out water to the crowd who were stuck by the barricades in hopes of reducing the amount of people fainting. Just a tip to those who want to buy weed off a random guy wearing a fanny pack, bring you own weed, or at least buy it not pre-rolled, so you can have an idea of what you're actually getting. It's better to be sober than sorry right?

This day was full of guest appearances. Before Slightly Stoopid's set, infamous porn star, Ron Jeremy introduced them on stage, where they played a high energy set of their punk rock songs instead of their more mellow reggae jams. This band definitely changes up the mood of their performances to match their set time. Both day time performances I've witnessed, they played there rougher material, but when the moon comes out so does their psychedelic side.

I was interested to see Chuckie, an up and coming Dutch deejay spin some tracks. A "Smell Like Teen Spirit" remix was enough to have me stay in the tent. I was surprised of his way of communicating with the crowd. He hyped up the west coast crowd by having everyone squat down and jump all at once on his cue. At the drop of the beat the crowd went crazy. He has a great energy about him that I haven't seen from DJ's before. He actually talks to the crowd as a performer and not just as a man syncing music. For the small amount that I did get to see him preform it was sweet.

Wouldn't you know, Cypress Hill has a special guest as well, by the name of Travis Barker? Cypress and Barker jammed out to "Kill A Man," and continued with their whole debut album, "Cypress Hill". Not only did Travis stop by but so did the guitarist for Scars on Broadway who came to preform "Rise Up." It was show that was taken by Travis on the drums. B-Real let the man on the turntables, DJ Hitman Julio, the percussionist Eric Bobo and Travis Barker go at it in a beat matching throw down. They each took turns banging and scratching a solo that made this performance one of the best of the night. "Insane in the Membrane," was next as B-Real had what looked like a flaming torpedo up to his lips. This huge one ounce joint wasn't the only one out there. Just as the song started, a couple guys next to me sparked up a quarter pounder too! The smoke was still burning by the time they ended with "Rap Superstar."

I caught a brief view of Manu Chou and MGMT. Manu Chou had no problem getting their audience hyped and forging a mosh pit by the time they got to the end of their second song. While in the tent, MGMT played a lazy mellow set, which of course included "Electric Feel," "Time to Pretend," and "Kids."

Probably the most anticipated performance of the night was the headline of all headliners, Incubus. They return after a two year hiatus to focus on more "normal life" things like Jose Pasillas (Drums) raising his new born baby, and Mike Einziger and Brandon Boyd focusing on schooling. This much anticipated performance blew every single person who performed at this years Smokeout Festival, out of the water. "Megalomaniac," opened up the one of a kind set. This was followed by "Pardon Me," and the spectacular “Nice to Know You," that had a sweet little psychedelic intro to it. Brandon has a real creative, cooky way of performing but still keeps it charming. He danced around and waved his arms out to the crowd like electrical pulses were running threw them. He jerked his body up and down and let the itch of being gone for two years be scratched. Brandon played "Oil and Water" with an acoustic strapped to his chest. His leather jacket and grey thermal were off before he got to preform "Stellar." As they left the stage the crowd didn't hold back when showing their love. Soon Incubus retuned to the stage for an acoustic version of "Drive," and my favorite song of the whole set "Wish You Were Here." The most jaw dropping performance I've ever seen and I wouldn't expect anything less from a band such as Incubus.

The last performance of the night was Deadmau5. He really put the nail in the coffin for the festival with his remixes of Cypress Hill and Rage Against the Machine. He started the set with "Ghosts and Stuff" that seamlessly worked into "Strobe." With his light show moving in shapes and patterns that awed the crowd as he blasted his bass deep into the night. Throughout the set he kept taking off the mau5 head to spin his set. It was kind of a letdown, I was expecting to see a fully dressed mau5 for the entire show but I'm more than sure that it was a hard thing DJ with. "One Tricky Pony," and "SOFI Needs a Ladder," kept the kids dancing the night away. Although it wasn't the best set I've seen him play, it was great show to end the night with.

The three stages for the night were filled with nothing but talent, legends and pioneers of the music industry. There is not a doubt in my mind that this will be one of the best festivals ever to come to California. For a historic turn in the pro-marijuana movement, and a 14 hour musical orgasm, I'd say it's what any music or pot lover could ever dream of. I don't know if next year’s Smokeout Festival could top this one, but I know they'd have to have rides to the moon in order to put out a festival as epic as this one.