Sublime with Rome, in association with the Dirty Heads (longtime friends
who also share the same manager) threw a party in their OC “backyard” on
August 5th and 6th and thousands of people showed up! (Attendance figures
actually topped eighteen thousand over the two day run.) Also invited
were Jurassic 5, SOJA, Tech N9ne, Stick Figure, Tribal Seeds, and several
others to join in and supply the reggae, hip-hop, ska punk, and rock
soundtrack for the concert party.
The High & Might Festival, originally slated to take place in Oak Canyon
Park in Silverado, made the move to Village Green Park in Garden Grove.
The location change was designed to accommodate a crowd that the original
location (with a capacity of 8,000) could not absorb. Great Decision!
The park, located on Main Street in the heart of the city, was transformed
into a music, food, carnival and craft beer wonderland, with plenty of
space!
Despite the August heat, the vibe was exceedingly mellow. The crowds were
cordial, the concession and bathroom lines tolerable and the music…
Sublime! The Garden Grove PD, while maintaining a very noticeable
presence, took a non-aggressive approach to enforcement and reported no
major incidents through late Sunday afternoon. The cool vibe amongst a
large crowd in sweltering heat was surely assisted by the vape clouds and
pungent skunk-like odors emanating from all corners of the crowd. The
curators named the event “High & Mighty for a reason, so all that smoke
was to be expected. (Band support for the medicinal and recreational use
of the hallowed plant appears unwavering.)
The brainchild of the aforementioned hosts, in conjunction with KLOS,
Synergy Global Entertainment (Ohana, Knottiest, Lost Highway), band
manager Mike “Cheez” Brown (among others), aimed to bring an event to the
OC area near where both bands originated. The inaugural concerts featured
pop-up restaurants, 150 craft beers (enjoyed in a free, unlimited beer
tasting village for three hours each day), carnival games and rides, and
constant music from two stages. All this for a single day admission that
started at $49.00 and maxed out at $299.00 for purchase of band meet and
greet packages.
Sublime with Rome closed the show Saturday night with a highly
enthusiastic crowd that knew all the lyrics. Rome Ramirez has done an
admirable job in stepping in for the late Bradley Nowell, tragically lost
before he got to enjoy a destiny that included being a world renowned rock
star. Thankfully, Rome is helping to keep the music of Nowell and Sublime
alive.
“Lay Me Down,” a Dirty Heads song featuring Rome, resulted in the bands
biggest hit to date and reached number one on the alternate charts,
remaining there for eleven weeks.
The Dirty Heads, formed in Huntington Beach in 1996 were deeply inspired
by Bradley Nowell and Sublime. Lyrics in their song “Believe” make their
position pretty clear on the matter!
“Yeah it was Beasties on my mind pretty much all the time
Till I started smoking pot and figured out about Sublime
Oh my God, I never wanted something so badly
I wanna learn to play guitar and sing just like Bradley.”
They also found success teaming with Big B on “Hangovers with You” (with
over 2.3 million Youtube views to date), the song which introduced me to
the band.
The Dirty Heads desire to take the band to the next level, beyond the
loyal crop of ardent fans that have already “figured out about” the Dirty
Heads, seems to be coming to fruition. I just fear for the future of this
“backyard party/concert” (should the band make it a tradition) because of
the success of this outing. When word that a weekend of hassle free
entertainment, featuring top notch talent, friendly cops, pleasant crowds,
free Wienerschnitzel chili dogs, plus a carnival, craft beer and great
food (all in a city park!) gets out, this intimate little party is going
to blow up. Perhaps the attendees should have agreed to tell Nobody about
our special weekend. Maybe we should keep this to ourselves? Just
sayin’.
Review by: John G. Tobin and Greg Pittelli.
