Snoop Lion and Major Lazer Host Raucous Bash in Austin

Snoop Lion performs at Viceland in Austin, Texas on March 14th, 2013.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

When Major Lazer came out tossing vuvuzelas, you knew they meant business. Dull plastic toots bounced off the warehouse walls as hypeman Walshy Fire, DJ Jillionaire and Diplo himself emerged, the latter two clad in suit and tie. Over the next hour, the group spun a tight, twisted set at Viceland's SXSW headquarters, with Diplo even tumbling out into the crowd, Wayne Coyne-as-Bubble Boy style. It was a fitting, raving open for the night's main event: a live performance from Snoop Dogg's reggae reincarnation, Snoop Lion.

A performance from the rapper-turned-Rasta was enough to stoke anticipation, but Major Lazer made certain the packed crowd was sufficiently geeked. Their electro-dancehall specialty made up the set's foundation, and Jillionaire and Diplo spotlighted several new tracks from their forthcoming Free the Universe (out April 15th), including a premiere of "Get Free," complete with a cameo from Dirty Projectors' Amber Coffman. Amidst grinding synth and bass bomb drops, the duo sprinkled in hip-hop crowd pleasers like Juicy J's "Bandz a Make Her Dance" and deep cuts such as Beanie Man's "Girls Dem Sugar."

Q&A: Snoop Dogg and Diplo on Jamaican Inspiration and Bob Marley's Legacy

The accompanying stage show was fittingly, well, bananas. Dancers, confetti, an inflatable version of the Major Lazer cartoon: at one point Diplo even halted the show to point out not everyone had obeyed Walshy Fire's order: "If you're a real Major Lazer fan, take your shirt off!" Outlandish and indulgent? Sure. But as Major Lazer commanded the crowd to get low – which they gladly did – it became clear that some things in music haven't changed since the Isley Brothers instructed everyone to get a little bit softer now.

Up next was Kingston, Jamaica's Movado, a dancehall MC with a thick, punchy delivery that lagged behind the beats early on, while hook attempts fell a little flat. But atop a beat with a low, menacing horn riff, Movado found his comfort zone. Packed with all sorts of energy and towel-waving, Movado closed his set to cheers with spot-on rhymes that fell easily between big downbeats.

Major Lazer performs at Viceland in Austin, Texas on March 14th, 2013. Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

Then came the waiting game. With each new person cramming into the venue over the next half hour, the audience lost a bit more patience waiting for Snoop Lion to arrive. At one point, boos erupted, and when the reincarnated one finally took the stage to chest-caving snare hits, his voice sounded disconcertingly husked and tired.

That didn't last long, though. Moments later, as the beat dropped, the famed MC fell right into the zone he's inhabited over the course of his 20-year career. The night's purpose was to celebrate the emergence of Snoop Lion, reggae star, but that did not mean Snoop Dogg, hip-hop hero, was absent.

"Gimme some of my favorite drink, but with a little twist on it," Snoop quipped with a sly smirk as a beat built on reggae guitars and a grimy synth riff reminiscent of his Death Row days poured out of the speakers. A dubbed-up version of his classic "Gin and Juice" followed. For each new cut, including the blissed out "La La La" and a striving, euphoric track featuring Angela Hunte (a rising Brooklyn MC who showcased her quick tongue and pipes at the top of the show), Snoop breezed through old favorites like "Next Episode" and "Drop It Like It's Hot." The MC even tossed in a few sing-alongs on his favorite tracks for good measure, including Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved," House of Pain's "Jump Around" and Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll."

Not a dull moment throughout Snoop's 80-minute set. While the mood mellowed after a performance of Reincarnated's latest single, the somber "No Guns Allowed," Snoop Dogg/Lion led the crowd in a reviving rendition of "Young, Wild & Free." The refrain was sung into oblivion, yet it never lost its simple joy. Twenty years on the job, it doesn't matter if he's Lion or Dogg – Snoop knows how to give great music to the masses.

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Snoop Lion and Major Lazer Host Raucous Bash in Austin

Snoop Lion performs at Viceland in Austin, Texas on March 14th, 2013.Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

When Major Lazer came out tossing vuvuzelas, you knew they meant business. Dull plastic toots bounced off the warehouse walls as hypeman Walshy Fire, DJ Jillionaire and Diplo himself emerged, the latter two clad in suit and tie. Over the next hour, the group spun a tight, twisted set at Viceland's SXSW headquarters, with Diplo even tumbling out into the crowd, Wayne Coyne-as-Bubble Boy style. It was a fitting, raving open for the night's main event: a live performance from Snoop Dogg's reggae reincarnation, Snoop Lion.

A performance from the rapper-turned-Rasta was enough to stoke anticipation, but Major Lazer made certain the packed crowd was sufficiently geeked. Their electro-dancehall specialty made up the set's foundation, and Jillionaire and Diplo spotlighted several new tracks from their forthcoming Free the Universe (out April 15th), including a premiere of "Get Free," complete with a cameo from Dirty Projectors' Amber Coffman. Amidst grinding synth and bass bomb drops, the duo sprinkled in hip-hop crowd pleasers like Juicy J's "Bandz a Make Her Dance" and deep cuts such as Beanie Man's "Girls Dem Sugar."

Q&A: Snoop Dogg and Diplo on Jamaican Inspiration and Bob Marley's Legacy

The accompanying stage show was fittingly, well, bananas. Dancers, confetti, an inflatable version of the Major Lazer cartoon: at one point Diplo even halted the show to point out not everyone had obeyed Walshy Fire's order: "If you're a real Major Lazer fan, take your shirt off!" Outlandish and indulgent? Sure. But as Major Lazer commanded the crowd to get low – which they gladly did – it became clear that some things in music haven't changed since the Isley Brothers instructed everyone to get a little bit softer now.

Up next was Kingston, Jamaica's Movado, a dancehall MC with a thick, punchy delivery that lagged behind the beats early on, while hook attempts fell a little flat. But atop a beat with a low, menacing horn riff, Movado found his comfort zone. Packed with all sorts of energy and towel-waving, Movado closed his set to cheers with spot-on rhymes that fell easily between big downbeats.

Major Lazer performs at Viceland in Austin, Texas on March 14th, 2013. Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com

Then came the waiting game. With each new person cramming into the venue over the next half hour, the audience lost a bit more patience waiting for Snoop Lion to arrive. At one point, boos erupted, and when the reincarnated one finally took the stage to chest-caving snare hits, his voice sounded disconcertingly husked and tired.

That didn't last long, though. Moments later, as the beat dropped, the famed MC fell right into the zone he's inhabited over the course of his 20-year career. The night's purpose was to celebrate the emergence of Snoop Lion, reggae star, but that did not mean Snoop Dogg, hip-hop hero, was absent.

"Gimme some of my favorite drink, but with a little twist on it," Snoop quipped with a sly smirk as a beat built on reggae guitars and a grimy synth riff reminiscent of his Death Row days poured out of the speakers. A dubbed-up version of his classic "Gin and Juice" followed. For each new cut, including the blissed out "La La La" and a striving, euphoric track featuring Angela Hunte (a rising Brooklyn MC who showcased her quick tongue and pipes at the top of the show), Snoop breezed through old favorites like "Next Episode" and "Drop It Like It's Hot." The MC even tossed in a few sing-alongs on his favorite tracks for good measure, including Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved," House of Pain's "Jump Around" and Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll."

Not a dull moment throughout Snoop's 80-minute set. While the mood mellowed after a performance of Reincarnated's latest single, the somber "No Guns Allowed," Snoop Dogg/Lion led the crowd in a reviving rendition of "Young, Wild & Free." The refrain was sung into oblivion, yet it never lost its simple joy. Twenty years on the job, it doesn't matter if he's Lion or Dogg – Snoop knows how to give great music to the masses.

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Singing for the Fences: Behind the Scenes of Major League Stadium Concerts

Paul McCartney performs at the Billy Joel 'Last Play At Shea' Concert at Shea Stadium in New York City.

Baseball season is finally in full swing – but the crack of the bat, umpires calling strikes and vendors hawking hot dogs, popcorn and beer aren’t the only sounds one hears at the old ballpark. With the new baseball season comes a new concert season, and in 2012, several Major League venues will host shows featuring artists as diverse as Kenny Chesney (Angels Stadium), Roger Waters (Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Citizens Bank Park) and Madonna (Yankee Stadium).

One of the appeals of the ballpark concert experience is the energy of a large arena show held within the more intimate feel of a baseball stadium. And when major acts perform in these venues, their colleagues take notice and want to follow suit. In 2010, the Dave Matthews Band performed at Citifield (the new home of the Mets, which opened in 2009), and Dave Howard, Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the New York Mets, says part of the reason the group expressed interest in performing was because of Paul McCartney’s shows, which were the first concerts in the new space.  The Mets organization wanted McCartney as a sort of bridge to the history of concerts at Shea, including the historic 1965 performance by the Beatles. "We had three great shows," says Howard. "It was one of those awesome experiences, to witness that level of excitement and energy and history."

Ballpark stadium shows also allow the venues to make their spaces more profitable. After all, teams play 81 games on the road, and filling the seats during off times can help fill coffers. New York Yankees COO Lonn Trost says that when the team decided to build a new stadium in 2006, they took non-baseball events into consideration when planning. "We concluded that the stadium should be used 365 days a year," he says, pointing out that Yankee Stadium also hosts events for soccer, football, boxing and other events. The first concert in the new Yankee Stadium was in 2010, a year after the park opened for baseball – two nights of a double headlining bill featuring Jay-Z and Eminem. "I figured that was a good way to start," Trost says. That year, the hip-hop stars also played two nights at Detroit’s Comerica Park, home of the Tigers.  ?This year, Yankee Stadium will host Madonna for two nights in September. Trost says that the impetus for booking acts boils down to a simple formula: "Big name, what’s important at the time, what we think works with the stadium." 2012 is already booked at Yankee Stadium – "we’re looking ahead to 2013," Trost says. "Yankee Stadium is the cathedral of baseball. We hope to make it the cathedral of concerts."

The Mets and the Boston Red Sox, meanwhile, are still talking to some artists about performing at their parks this season. Red Sox COO and Executive Vice President of Business Operations Sam Kennedy discussed the quirks of putting on concerts in 100-year-old Fenway Park, which is the smallest and oldest park in the league. "It’s a challenging facility to work at," Kennedy says, because of the space constraints and there being only one roll-up door in center field to load in equipment. "It’s a different flavor of ice cream than a multi-purpose stadium with 70,000 people," he says.

Fenway Park also will also host acts that might not be on the level of mega-fame of a Bruce Springsteen or Paul McCartney, but who are better known locally. Last year, the park hosted the Dropkick Murphys for two nights. The Red Sox and the Murphys have a long history together. Former Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon used their song "Shipping up to Boston" as entrance music. The band has performed in the park before games and at fan rallies, but it had never done an actual concert at Fenway.

For Dropkick Murphys lead singer Ken Casey, the performance was a special experience. "It wasn’t so much the size or the spectacle. It was that this is the place I was going since I was a little kid," he says. His grandfather was friends with Sox legend Johnny Pesky, so Casey spent his childhood running around on the field after games, and when he hit the stage, memories came flooding back. "It all kind of came full circle," Casey says. 

All the memories of the experience weren’t necessarily happy. "I got my car stolen," Casey recalls.  "[The team] suspected it was a fan that stole it and then realized it was mine," he says. "The Red Sox actually paid to get it detailed and everything, so it really worked out in my favor."

"He was a very good sport about it," Kennedy says. "For the record, we recovered it."

So as the season begins and fans hear the music of Roger Waters, Madonna, Kenny Chesney and others flooding the ballpark, there is one act that even the "cathedral of baseball" can’t manage to procure, and it’s not just because their tour is over.

"We can’t do U2," says Yankee COO Lonn Trost. "The stage is too big."

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Singing for the Fences: Behind the Scenes of Major League Stadium Concerts

Paul McCartney performs at the Billy Joel 'Last Play At Shea' Concert at Shea Stadium in New York City.

Baseball season is finally in full swing – but the crack of the bat, umpires calling strikes and vendors hawking hot dogs, popcorn and beer aren’t the only sounds one hears at the old ballpark. With the new baseball season comes a new concert season, and in 2012, several Major League venues will host shows featuring artists as diverse as Kenny Chesney (Angels Stadium), Roger Waters (Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Citizens Bank Park) and Madonna (Yankee Stadium).

One of the appeals of the ballpark concert experience is the energy of a large arena show held within the more intimate feel of a baseball stadium. And when major acts perform in these venues, their colleagues take notice and want to follow suit. In 2010, the Dave Matthews Band performed at Citifield (the new home of the Mets, which opened in 2009), and Dave Howard, Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the New York Mets, says part of the reason the group expressed interest in performing was because of Paul McCartney’s shows, which were the first concerts in the new space.  The Mets organization wanted McCartney as a sort of bridge to the history of concerts at Shea, including the historic 1965 performance by the Beatles. "We had three great shows," says Howard. "It was one of those awesome experiences, to witness that level of excitement and energy and history."

Ballpark stadium shows also allow the venues to make their spaces more profitable. After all, teams play 81 games on the road, and filling the seats during off times can help fill coffers. New York Yankees COO Lonn Trost says that when the team decided to build a new stadium in 2006, they took non-baseball events into consideration when planning. "We concluded that the stadium should be used 365 days a year," he says, pointing out that Yankee Stadium also hosts events for soccer, football, boxing and other events. The first concert in the new Yankee Stadium was in 2010, a year after the park opened for baseball – two nights of a double headlining bill featuring Jay-Z and Eminem. "I figured that was a good way to start," Trost says. That year, the hip-hop stars also played two nights at Detroit’s Comerica Park, home of the Tigers.  ?This year, Yankee Stadium will host Madonna for two nights in September. Trost says that the impetus for booking acts boils down to a simple formula: "Big name, what’s important at the time, what we think works with the stadium." 2012 is already booked at Yankee Stadium – "we’re looking ahead to 2013," Trost says. "Yankee Stadium is the cathedral of baseball. We hope to make it the cathedral of concerts."

The Mets and the Boston Red Sox, meanwhile, are still talking to some artists about performing at their parks this season. Red Sox COO and Executive Vice President of Business Operations Sam Kennedy discussed the quirks of putting on concerts in 100-year-old Fenway Park, which is the smallest and oldest park in the league. "It’s a challenging facility to work at," Kennedy says, because of the space constraints and there being only one roll-up door in center field to load in equipment. "It’s a different flavor of ice cream than a multi-purpose stadium with 70,000 people," he says.

Fenway Park also will also host acts that might not be on the level of mega-fame of a Bruce Springsteen or Paul McCartney, but who are better known locally. Last year, the park hosted the Dropkick Murphys for two nights. The Red Sox and the Murphys have a long history together. Former Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon used their song "Shipping up to Boston" as entrance music. The band has performed in the park before games and at fan rallies, but it had never done an actual concert at Fenway.

For Dropkick Murphys lead singer Ken Casey, the performance was a special experience. "It wasn’t so much the size or the spectacle. It was that this is the place I was going since I was a little kid," he says. His grandfather was friends with Sox legend Johnny Pesky, so Casey spent his childhood running around on the field after games, and when he hit the stage, memories came flooding back. "It all kind of came full circle," Casey says. 

All the memories of the experience weren’t necessarily happy. "I got my car stolen," Casey recalls.  "[The team] suspected it was a fan that stole it and then realized it was mine," he says. "The Red Sox actually paid to get it detailed and everything, so it really worked out in my favor."

"He was a very good sport about it," Kennedy says. "For the record, we recovered it."

So as the season begins and fans hear the music of Roger Waters, Madonna, Kenny Chesney and others flooding the ballpark, there is one act that even the "cathedral of baseball" can’t manage to procure, and it’s not just because their tour is over.

"We can’t do U2," says Yankee COO Lonn Trost. "The stage is too big."

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Barry Manilow Talks Touring While Recovering from 'Major' Surgery

Barry Manilow kicked off a series of concert dates recently in Moline, Illinois, but he isn't calling it a tour. After years of grinding it out on the road, the singer doesn't believe that performing two weekends out of the month qualifies as touring. But his current jaunt will take him to cities he hasn't played in a long time, since he's spent the last few years performing residencies in Las Vegas. Along with the challenge of creating a whole new show, the 69-year-old is recovering from a "major" operation to re-attach the muscles to his hip. In his first post-surgery interview, Manilow spoke to Rolling Stone about his health, his upcoming performances and his admiration for Bruno Mars.

How is your hip feeling these days?
It's coming back slowly – too slowly for me. But I was able to get through six shows. As soon as I'd finish, the curtain would close and I'd fall back into a wheelchair and they'd wheel me back into a dressing room. I'm not ready to do this yet, but I did it. I got through it and I'm better than I was three weeks ago. Everybody thinks I had some sort of a hip replacement; that wasn't it. I had ripped the muscles off my hip on both sides and they had to pull them back and nail them back into my hips. So that kind of surgery, which was supposed to take two hours, took seven hours. It was major surgery and it's a long recovery period. I don't know how I got through those six (shows), but I just couldn't cancel it. These people were out there. They were so excited, I just had to go through this. They say when the spotlight hits you, you don't feel anything. I always thought that was full of shit, (but) it's true.

Tell us about the current production.
The Paris show was so produced. It was so big, I couldn't get any bigger. This show I'm traveling with is the smallest show I've ever done. I just needed to shake it up. I could have played it safe and done that same big show, and the audiences probably would've had a good time. But I just don't like playing it safe. So I went the other way, which is kind of scary. It's a small band and just me at a little teeny piano, which is at the very end of the stage. It's as close to a one-man show as I've ever done. It kind of excites me and scares me, and I need to do that. If I am gonna continue to work I can't phone it in.

Does this allow you to mix up the set list and bring in songs you haven't done in a while?
That was another reason I chose to go the more intimate way, because when we went out with the big orchestra, I was again stuck with a set list that I couldn't change easily. I had 75 guys there, and it was chaos if we hadn't rehearsed it. Same thing with the Paris shows. I was stuck with one set for two years there. Just during these last six shows, I've done more changes than I have in five years. One night it was "Fools Got Lucky," the other night I did "If I Should Love Again," which I've always wanted to do. I've got changes galore. I did ‘Tryin' to Get the Feeling," and I can't remember the last time we did that one. So that's part of the fun for me and my band, because my band knows every part of my catalogue.

Are there songs you're particularly excited to do?
"Tryin' to Get the Feeling" has been a revelation. I'd forgotten how powerful that was. I'd forgotten how deep I can crawl into that one, and maybe because I'm older it means even more. "If I Should Love Again" – I was just so impressed with myself writing something like that. It wasn't a single and people didn't really know about it, but it's a beautiful song and that's part of what I'm loving.

Did the response to you last album, 15 Minutes, encourage you to take your music in a new direction?
I believe in my writing. I don't believe in my writing as a hitmaker; I've had really good luck, and because Clive (Davis) was always my commercial ear, I had a great guide. But I'm going to do original songs from now on. That's who I am. I'm a songwriter, and just like all the other people in the commercial world, we have to fight to get our stuff out there. Elton (John) and Sting, these geniuses, they've been fortunate enough to just stick to their own stuff. I haven't been that fortunate, but from now on it's original material.

Does that mean we'll hear new material soon?
Yeah, I think I'm gonna tackle a Volume 2 of 2:00 A.M. Paradise Café. That was another original album that was very a important experience for me, and it was very well received. I don't know whether I'll match that first Paradise Café album – that's heavy competition. But I'm gonna tackle it and if I make it, that's going to be a very rewarding project.

Is there anyone you'd like to perform a double bill with, in the vein Elton John and Billy Joel?
There have only been a handful that make sense, like Elton and Billy Joel make sense. I am in a little world of my own. My style of music is the great American songbook meets the pop world of the Seventies and Eighties. The only two artists I could think of would be Neil Diamond or Bette (Midler). Other than that, I've never been able to come up with another name.

Are there younger artists that come to mind?
Bruno Mars is so great; that would be fun. I think we would have a good time together.

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Odd Future Releasing Major Label Debut in March

Tyler, the Creator of Odd Future performs at the Warfield in San Francisco.

Odd Future are set to release The OF Tape Vol. 2, a new collection of songs featuring every member of the controversial hip-hop crew, on March 20th through Odd Future Records, their label through Sony and RED distribution. The set will feature performances by Tyler, the Creator; Frank Ocean; Hodgy Beats; Domo Genesis; Leftbrain; Mike G; Syd the Kid and the Internet.

Odd Future will promote OF Tape Vol. 2 with a 10-date tour of North America  in March. The group will screen an episode of their new Adult Swim sketch comedy series Loiter Squad in advance of its March 25th premiere before each performance, and set up an Odd Future "pop up retail store" at a separate location in the city on the day of each gig.

This is only the first of many Odd Future records hitting stores in 2012. Group leader Tyler, the Creator will release a new solo disc called Wolf in the spring, Hodgy Beats and Leftbrain's Mellowhype project will put out a second album in the summer, and Frank Ocean's major label debut is expected before the end of the year.

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Odd Future Releasing Major Label Debut in March

Tyler, the Creator of Odd Future performs at the Warfield in San Francisco.

Odd Future are set to release The OF Tape Vol. 2, a new collection of songs featuring every member of the controversial hip-hop crew, on March 20th through Odd Future Records, their label through Sony and RED distribution. The set will feature performances by Tyler, the Creator; Frank Ocean; Hodgy Beats; Domo Genesis; Leftbrain; Mike G; Syd the Kid and the Internet.

Odd Future will promote OF Tape Vol. 2 with a 10-date tour of North America  in March. The group will screen an episode of their new Adult Swim sketch comedy series Loiter Squad in advance of its March 25th premiere before each performance, and set up an Odd Future "pop up retail store" at a separate location in the city on the day of each gig.

This is only the first of many Odd Future records hitting stores in 2012. Group leader Tyler, the Creator will release a new solo disc called Wolf in the spring, Hodgy Beats and Leftbrain's Mellowhype project will put out a second album in the summer, and Frank Ocean's major label debut is expected before the end of the year.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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