Go For The Opener: Devin The Dude at Congress Theater before Snoop Dogg
Shane Nash
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Welcome to Go For the Opener, in which we at The A.V. Club plead that if you’re getting ready to see a big concert, be sure to get there early and pay attention to the opening acts.
The big show: Snoop Dogg, Congress Theater, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.
The openers: Method Man, Redman, and Devin The Dude
Why you should listen: Gone are the days when Snoop's West Coast drawl was a fresh sound in hip-hop. While Snoop still brings a certain cool to everything he does, he’s become more of a name brand than an innovator. (His fantastic Lolla set notwithstanding.) This show’s other big draws, Method Man and Redman, are notoriously flaky live performers; but it's still worth getting to the show early to check out one of hip-hop's criminally lesser-known voices. Houston’s Devin The Dude has been a favorite among indie hip-hop enthusiasts since his first album, The Dude, dropped in 1998, but mainstream success has mostly eluded him.
His tender passion for marijuana fits nicely on this bill with songs like “Nothin’ To Roll With” and “Doobie Ashtray,” but Devin The Dude shouldn’t be labeled merely a weed-crazy rapper. His easygoing sentiment and out-there mentality has spawned atmospheric, almost sci-fi bents over seductive beats about his three favorite topics: women, liquor, and pot. But dig deeper in his catalog, and oddball offerings like “Zeldar,” a ditty about a weed-obsessed alien that shops at Walmart, prove that The Dude isn’t content to just praise the chronic like some of his contemporaries. His relaxed beats help make the craziness go down a lot smoother, and should make for a great lead-in to Snoop’s more overt approach.
