Rap, rock attract Owls to Ballroom

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RATING: * * *

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by Brian Jamison

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Last Thursday night (Feb. 8) at the International Ballroom on South Main Street, dope smoking became, for all practical purposes, legal for the entire three-and-a-half hour show. With band members toking up on stage and encouraging the audience to do so as well, everyone seemed to have one hell of a good time.

Besides Cypress Hill, the lineup included the Pharcyde and 311, which helped keep the crowd excited. The Pharcyde opened, starting their set around 8 p.m. when the Ballroom was more empty than full. The crowd at this time seemed pretty apathetic, and crowd participation wavered between low and moderate. This was then juxtaposed against 311's surprisingly intense set, drawing everyone in the room into a smoky, sweaty mosh frenzy.

With a sound reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine, 311 was able to pump the crowd up and get the party rolling. Cypress Hill's set, though only slightly more than an hour long, provided nonstop hip hop from all three of the bands' albums.

Cypress Hill is touring in support of their new album, Temples of Boom , but they played enough old classics, including a mass sing-along of "Hits from the Bong," to keep everyone happy, though the secondhand smoke probably helped the crowd's mood as well. Most notable about the set was the void created by founding member Sendog's recent departure from Cypress Hill to go solo; B-Real even dedicated "We Ain't Goin' Out Like That" to Sendog.

Another newsworthy item to report is Cypress Hill's new dislike for Ice Cube, after years of friendship between the rap artists. They asserted that Ice Cube stole some of their music which then appeared on his "Friday" single, and Cypress Hill got the crowd involved in a "F*** You, Ice Cube" chant.

On a night when it was 100 degrees inside and 30 degrees outside, everyone appeared to be truly enjoying themselves. Surprisingly, this concert included many more Rice students than usual. Cypress Hill must have lured them beyond the hedges and into the mosh pit.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the February 9, 1996 issue.

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