Snoop Dogg fans will have a chance to see the legendary rapper at downtown’s SLO Brewing Co. tomorrow night, if they were lucky enough to snag a ticket during the few short days they were available.
The artist, known for his hits such as “Gin and Juice,” “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Let’s Get Blown,” sold out SLO Brewing Co. (SLO Brew) in less than a week.
“Tickets went on sale Friday or Saturday and they were completely sold out by Tuesday of the next week,” said Boo Boo Records employee Ryan East.
Boo Boo Records handled the ticket sales for the May 11 show. East said the maximum occupancy for the relatively small concert space is between 350 and 400 people.
Prices were considerably higher than those for other performances at the venue, though. Regular tickets sold for $76 while VIP tickets cost $356. General admission tickets are now selling for more than twice their original cost on Craigslist.
“With the VIP tickets, you’ll be able to meet Snoop Dogg and get a picture with him,” East said. “That’s really the only difference.”
The 40-year-old performer, born Calvin Broadus, is also known as Snoop Doggy Dogg, D-O-Double-G and the Doggfather, according to his website. He recently made headlines with his appearances at Indio’s music festival, Coachella, where he appeared on stage with Dr. Dre and a hologram of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.
Aerospace engineering seniors, Shaun Luther and Steve Katzman, attended Coachella and saw Snoop’s performance.
“He performed with the ghost of his dead friend and still smoked a blunt on stage,” Katzman said. “That’s dedication to your art.”
Luther said he’d want to see Snoop Dogg perform again.
“I heard he was coming here sometime soon, and I’d definitely be down to go,” Luther said. “It was great seeing him and the rest of the old rappers I used to listen to as a kid.”
This performance will mark the second time in two years that Snoop has played at SLO Brew. He last visited San Luis Obispo in October. Snoop will perform in Santa Cruz before his San Luis Obispo show and travels to Las Vegas, Nev., afterwards, according to his official website.
Justin Muravez works security at the venue. He said Snoop is a “true performer of our generation.”
“I know he really knows how to hype up the crowd,” Muravez said. “The last time he was here all he wanted to do was hang out, so that’ll be cool.”
Despite the excitement surrounding the performance, Muravez is not concerned about crowd control.
“I don’t think it’s going to get that crazy,” Muravez said. “Ticket prices are too high, and people don’t want to get kicked out when they pay that much.”
The artist released his eleventh studio album “Doggumentary” on March 29, 2011. The album features collaborations with Wiz Khalifa, R. Kelly, T-Pain and Young Jeezy and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Chart for Rap Albums, according to Billboard’s website.
The sold-out show is Friday at 8 p.m.