Slightly Stoopid 2013 Spring Tour – REVIEW

We recently had the chance to attend the Chicago date of Slightly Stoopid’s spring tour with Tribal Seeds. You can check out the review after the break.

The Slightly Stoopid 2013 Spring Tour rolled into Chicago for a wild night of reggae and irie vibes on Saturday March 9th, 2013.  I had already seen Slightly Stoopid twice, but I was just as excited to dance along with their tunes once again.  I recently heard that Congress Theater had some renovations done to their disgusting theater, so this only made my reggae adventure more exciting.  I was a little late in getting to the show, and the Chicago funk band The Heard had already finished, but I breezed through security and entered the music hall just as Tribal Seeds began their amazing performance.

Hailing from California, this 5-piece roots/rock/reggae group was surprisingly a 6-piece group when I looked on stage.  The glorious roots musician E.N. Young was performing with Tribal Seeds, which was something I was not informed about, but was incredibly excited to see.  “The Garden,” “Love Psalm,” “In Your Eyes,” and “Dark Angle” were some of the perfectly executed tunes that I enjoyed the most from this set.  I have seen Tribal Seeds a few times in the past, and each time they continue to impress me more and more.  Unlike some bands, Tribal Seeds didn’t simply play their songs straight down as they are heard on the album.  Songs such as “Creator” and “Vampire,” among others, were remixed live on stage with support and solos from E.N. Young with his melodica and members of Slightly Stoopid.  My favorite portion of this set was the performance of their 2011 single “Run The Show” which had the lyrics “Fuck them, we run the show” echoing throughout the entire theater.  Steven Jacobo on lead vocals and guitar wore his dark sunglasses the entire show, seamlessly sending out good vibes and amazing lyrics for the entire length of their set.  The past two times I’ve seen this band were at a smaller, more intimate venue, but I personally believe that Congress was a great step-up for these guys in terms of venue size.  Tribal Seeds rocked all of the bad vibes out that dirty theater and they certainly helped to make it a happier place.

I was unfortunately in the bathroom was Slightly Stoopid fired up their joints along with their music, so I didn’t catch their opening song, but it was soon followed by the sexual tune, “Till It Gets Wet.”  After that it was the songs “Don’t Stop,” “Anywhere I go,” and “Ska Diddy” that characterized the beginning portion of Slightly Stoopid’s show.  It was around this time that The Congress Theater was beginning to get quite smoky from all those participating in the marijuana culture that surrounds reggae music.  Whether the band or promoters paid off security, or they were just lazy this night, security did not once try to do anything to stop any of the shenanigans from going on at this show.  This realization came to the crowd quickly and the irie vibes kept flowing.  “Struggler,” “Operation,” and “2am” were some of the tunes that kept the set rolling.  Songs from many of Stoopid’s 7 studio albums made it into this incredibly eclectic set.  There was beat-boxing, “Express Yourself,” “Fat Spliffs,” “and “I Couldn’t Get High,” all culminating in a crazy jam session that closed out the show.

In recent months I have been attending a lot of EDM shows, a scene that has a lot of angry teenagers and hard drugs.  Tribal Seeds and Slightly Stoopid were a perfect change of pace and it made me happy to dance around with some friends and some amazing reggae music.  Whether you are into reggae or not, this music will help put a smile on your face and some happiness in your heart!

Information about the review…
Tour:  Slightly Stoopid 2013 Spring Tour
Bands:  Slightly Stoopid, Tribal Seeds, The Heard
Reviewer:  Michael Nutting
Date:  March 9, 2013
Venue:  Congress Theater in Chicago, IL