The real show, however, started about an hour later. Daz and Kurupt, part of the original Snoop Dogg’s Dogg Pound, came strutting out on stage as the Dogg Pound Gang. Daz kicked the set off by rapping assuredly and waving a large cigar -- or perhaps it was a blunt -- at the insatiable crowd. Kurupt, who was jumping around with wild abandon, took over the rhyming from Daz, spewing out lyrics from under a doo-rag and a baseball hat.

After about thirty minutes, Daz, lighting up a blunt, growled into the mike, “are you ready for the original Dogg, for the big show?” The crowd howled its affirmation. At this point, a large screen hanging in the back of the stage lit up and showed a preview for Snoop’s new movie, “Bones.” Having screamed for Snoop, the audience laughed at the blatantly commercial interlude. Smiles turned to ecstatic cheers, however, as the preview ended and a classic Snoop song, “Serial Killa,” came blaring from the turntables.

Rolling onstage in braids and silver, star-shaped sunglasses, Snoop blasted through his first song and then stopped to hear the room go wild. Speaking to the crowd, he assured everyone that tonight was gone be a classic night of old rhymes and new rhymes, old friends and new friends, and of course, one big chronic break. As smoke filled the air and Hennessy was poured onto the stage, Snoop and the Dogg Pound got down to business.

Realizing that the new songs, though good, didn’t satisfy the audience, Snoop busted out with a rap classic, “Gin and Juice.” As the beats shook the room and the cups were passed out onstage, the crowd became even more frantic. Another highlight was when he played “Lodi Dodi,” an old Slick Rick song from Snoop’s breakout album, Doggystyle.

A suprising yet very touching moment was when Snoop quieted down the crowd and asked for a moment of silence for all the people that lost their lives on September 11th. The crowd became completely silent, and Snoop thanked everyone for their respect.

He then launched into another classic, “It Ain’t No Fun,” with Kurupt laying down solid raps. A highlight was when Daz brought out his little brother, clad in prison garb, who loosed a heartfelt rap about his boys in the pen. Snoop, in the process of lighting up yet another blunt, asked everyone to give it up for those with a brother or a friend locked up in a penitentiary.

Another highlight of the concert was when Snoop brought out the Doggy’s Angels, three women who spread energy through the crowd like wildfire. After their appearance, Snoop casually asked, “How many of ya’ll got that fat sack of chronic in your back pocket? Make some noise if you feel me.” The crowd exploded and the roof became no longer visible.

The ending was one big free-for-all as the Eastsidaz came back onstage and Snoop’s friend, Badass, joined them. As Snoop cycled through “Wrong Idea” and “Snoop Dogg” off his latest album, Tha Last Meal, as well as the classic “What’s My Name,” the crowd sensed the end was near and tried to keep Snoop onstage by sheer volume.

But, unfortunately, the show was over, and Snoop sang his last song and left the stage with a resounding “Peace!”