By: Sabrina Yates
Special to the Chronicle
Hofstra’s 2012 Vibe Live Concert had something for everyone. The day involved performances from KC and the Sunshine Band, Cobra Starship, Big Sean, and Snoop Dogg; however, all the other performers were just opening acts for the brilliance of Snoop Dogg who stole the show.
KC and the Sunshine Band was a blast from the past and were a nice start to the show. During family weekend, KC and the Sunshine Band gave the parents what they wanted by doing all of the old school songs. The band not only got parents to dance, but they reached the younger crowd and got students to dance along and enjoy the familiar classics they grew up with. The real crowd-pleaser came when the band performed, “Get Down Tonight” getting the whole crowd into it.
KC and the Sunshine Band proved that through all those years in the music industry they still had it. KC showed off his dance moves and everyone enjoyed the old school music that brought every age group together dancing.
Cobra Starship came on stage opening up with “Good Girls Go Bad,” but after their familiar dance song they couldn’t capture the crowd again. They lacked all of the normal flare that comes along with their band. They had a poor song selection with only one other song that the audience could really get into, “You Make Me Feel.” Their set seemed poorly put together and unrehearsed and after a few songs it sunk in that Cobra Starship just didn’t have it anymore.
Front man, Gabe Saporta, made the set worst by obnoxiously waving around the mic stand and breaking it on several occasions. Unfortunately, Cobra Starship just reminded people why they lost their popularity during their performance and failed to capture the crowd as all of the other performers did.
Big Sean came on stage and did what he was supposed to do, get the crowd ready for Snoop Dogg. His own performance was mediocre and vulgar and nothing really stood out as noteworthy. Unlike the other performers, he didn’t use a band just a DJ. The moment of disgust came though when he put his pants down his pants and touched fans afterward with the same hand.
However, with his shortcomings his performance came to a peak when he performed “Dance” and got the whole crowd into the song. He then ran into the crowd, much to the chagrin of security, but to the delight of the crowd who were forced to stand further back from the stage. Big Sean connected with the fans the most out of the performers and showed that he knew how to entertain a crowd.
The main event came when Snoop Dogg stepped onto the stage. Though the crowd grew antsy waiting for his arrival, it was well worth the wait when he came on stage and proved why he is the best. Snoop Dogg perfectly blended the old with the new and it was evident why he is still in the business after 20 years. In true Snoop Dogg fashion he came on stage with Nasty Dogg and a blunt ready to be sparked up.
His stage presence kept the crowd in a trance while he performed loving every minute and every song. From “Gin and Juice” to “Sensual Seduction” the crowd sang along and Snoop Dogg showed that he didn’t need to pull of the stunts the other acts did because of his experience. Snoop Dogg knew how to put on a show with a perfect set list and then perfectly ended it with a ballad of “Young, Wild, and Free” and inspirational Snoop Dogg words then going into the song and ending the night perfectly.