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Hydro, GlasgowThe focus of the 80s and 90s stars’ High Rollers tour is on storytelling rather than flashy staging, but it is a high-intensity show of real fire and focus‘Can he still get on the mic and do what you like?” Ice Cube asks as he kicks off the UK leg of his High Rollers tour in Glasgow. It’s a question that hangs in the air – semi-rhetorical and positioned as a challenge by the veteran rapper, whose CV has exploded in all directions since his early gangsta rap days.Ice Cube is joined on this tour by 90s stoner-rap legends Cypress Hill, with MCs B-Real and Sen Dog presenting a slick yet frenzied set of their best work. Flanked by clouds of customary weed smoke, they pack in a wealth of activity – from DJ Lord’s mixing of KRS-One’s Sound of da Police with Metallica’s Enter Sandman to the lone piper who appears on stage and fills the Hydro with a satisfying rendition of Flower of Scotland. Tracks such as Tequila Sunrise and (Rock) Superstar are given extra weight thanks to the drumming of ex-Beastie Boys percussionist Eric Bobo, while B-Real and Sen Dog’s rhythmic prowess shines on I Wanna Get High, Latin Lingo and the suitably trippy finale of Insane in the Brain. Continue reading...