Best of Metromix Nashville 2011Concert

Each year, Vanderbilt University’s Commodore Quake’ homecoming show lineup hopes to attract a diverse audience with a headliner sure to play the party anthems and supporting acts that appeal to the more indie crowd. Last year was no different with Playboy Tre’, B.o.B., Passion Pit and Snoop Dogg rounding out the festivities. Outside Memorial Gymnasium, thousands of students lined up for the show, many of them finishing their cocktails and struggling to find the perfect place to hide their flasks which was par for the course on a college campus as no drinks were served inside, and even if they were, many of the attendees weren’t of legal drinking age yet. Inside, B.o.B. got fans worked into a tizzy, particularly those in the first few rows as he climbed out on the speakers and even into the audience to get closer to his followers. The mood only increased when he returned for his encore, teasing the room by launching into his mega hit “Airplanes” only to stop seconds later and declare, “We’re in Tennessee, right?” just as his collaborator on the hit, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, joined him on stage, in pants adorned with wings no less, to sing her vocals. Passion Pit was up next, performing a stellar set, albeit one that might have left the hip hop lovers in the audience scratching their heads. The generous gentlemen took time after their set to meet and greet with a few fans and pose for an impromptu photo shoot shot by yours truly. You can see those pics on the website. But the main event was left to Snoop Dogg and he came prepared, as he is known to do, reeking of ganja for the occasion and clad in a Chris Johnson Titans jersey. Several, huge, ominous-looking bodyguards, who posted up at the corners of the stage, flanked the legendary gangsta rapper, but even though his security looked less than friendly, Snoop was all smiles. He danced through his hits, “Nuthin’ But a G Thang,” “Who Am I (What’s My Name),” “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Sensual Seduction” and 1993’s “Gin and Juice,” which he dedicated to those in the audience who were still in diapers when it was released. Somehow, despite the age difference, the audience still seemed to know every word.

When the biggest name in rap made a long-overdue return to Nashville in November, he told the crowd of fans at Vanderbilt he was having the best show of his entire tour. We wouldn’t doubt it. You could almost feel Memorial Gym lifting off the ground after Jigga instructed his audience to whirl their jackets around their heads during “Big Pimpin’.”