#15-Dispatches from Dre Day 2010

In '94...my dubbed cassette copy of The Chronic graced my tape deck. To call this record a hip hop classic would be an understatement. When I heard about "Dre Day"...I was quickly drawn to this particular event's mystique; while I hadn't necessarily been clamoring for an event like this, after hearing about it on facebook, I was intrigued and had to go. I told some other hip hop heads about it...before long we were all waiting w/ bated breath for 2/18-which is Dre's birthday. Upon first glance, Dre Day had the making to be pretty great..we walked in and two DJ's were spinning ...there was Olde English being sold by the 20 OZ can AND 40 OZ glass bottle...as well as Dre Day "40 koozies" available for purchase. They also had a photobooth in which you could "make your own chronic album cover", which was kind of neat. The venue, the independent, was cool, kind of like a warehouse/art gallery space.

This is where it began to fall a tad bit flat. The event itself hadn't really been promoted well. There were only about 30-40 people there when we got there around 10:30 and at the height of the evening, probably only about 80 or so people came through. Also, the DJ's who were spinning, while doing well, had some questionable playlist selections, I remember hearing Eve's "Blow your mind" and well as a 50 Cent cut; It's fine but I just wished they had reached a little further into Dre's back catalog and really payed homage to the creator of "G-Funk" with a tad bit more fervor.

While these aspects of Dre Day stuck out in my mind as things that didn't really deliver, the event itself was actually a lot of fun. . The photobooth was a great idea, and the DJ's were good and did manage to spin some crucial Dre cuts towards the end of the night. They also played a lot of 2pac/Snoop that Dre wasn't necessarily a part of, but was definitely received by the same crowds. Also, the 40's of Olde E were a lot of fun that night, but not that much fun the next day.

So all in all, Dre Day was a pretty good time. I'd definitely check it out again if they do it next year.

-Marty.