Cypress Hill had their third annual 420 concert. Flitz and I had the job of recording it, while, with the assistance of Keen, broadcasting it live across the Internet. Cypress Hill, along with opening act Psycho Realm had two scheduled shows. The first show kicked off at 3:00pm, with Cypress Hill kickin' off their set at 4:20pm, which is very fitting. The second show started at 8:00pm.
So, the five of us (Flitz, Keen, Keen's friend, Luca, and I) crammed our self into a car and set out for a five to six hour drive north. It was hard to get comfortable, and the majority of the drive was long straight roads that stretched out for miles and miles. We shared driving duties.
We finally arrived to San Francisco at around 1:00pm. I had forgot how San Francisco looked. It's got a lot of tall buildings. In some parts, it actually looked a lot like New York. On our way to the Fillmore (the venue), we actually drove past the house that is used as the establishing shot for Full House. This prompted Keen to start singing the theme song.
The Fillmore is a really nice venue. It's got a big open space with a side bar and a second level. The decor was very nice and classy. On the middle of the floor was a pretty big dance floor. We walked in and I introduced myself to the staff and the reamaining members of Cypress Hill. After that, we went right to work, setting up the live stream. We streamed the the show live at http://www.ustream.tv/.
The show started and Psycho Realm played a pretty killer set. Props to their DJ for his amazing showmanship. Then Cypress came out for their first set. With our All Access Pass, we were able to get footage from anywhere we pleased. I spent must of the time up front between the stage and the barriers, catching up close and personal shots of B-Real and Sen Dog.
As amazing as the first show was, the second show was even better. I think the night shows have a tendency of making performers step up their game. Cypress Hill knows how to perform in front of big crowds. B-Real and Sen Dog brought it as Eric Bobo killed the percussions, and Julio ripped the turntables. I didn't realize that I knew as many Cypress Hill songs as I did.
Part of their show consist of little skits and gags. For example, after B-Real lights up a joint and Sen Dog takes it away from him and smokes it, Sen Dog starts coughing. B-Real asks him if he needs a doctor and if there is a doctor in the house. That was the cue for this guy on stilts, dressed in a doctor's outfit, to come out and start dancing on stage to Cypress Hill's 'Doctor Greenthumb'. The bonus for the crowd was when Dr. Greenthumb pulled out handfuls of joints and threw them in the crowd.
They played a long set of like twenty songs, including all their hits. Hits like: 'Insane in the Membrane' and 'Rock Superstar'. Eric Bobo and Breal also had a super ill tandem percussion solo; or should I say duo. It was ridiculous. After this show, I had a whole new found respect for Cypress Hill. They are performers and they are very good at their craft. By the way, Sen Dog is so entertaining to watch on stage.
We finished the night with some live broadcasting interview of BReal. He sat down and answered questions online with his fans. For most of the night, we had a bout 350 consistent live viewers. In fact, ustream, at one point, had the live broadcast on their main page. That was pretty exciting. We later found out that we had over 20,000 unique viewers throughout the night.
After BReal was finished talking to the fans online, we packed up and set sail for LA. About five and a half hours later, we were back in LA. What a day. poor Flitz had to go straight to work.
So what did you do on 420. I celebrated with Cypress Hill at a Cypress Hill show. But you don't even smoke. I know, ironic isn't it.
No comments:
Post a Comment