Review: Slightly Stoopid
Photo and Review by McLane Brown
July 23, 2017
The Movement, J Boog, and Iration opened for Slightly Stoopid at the Santa Barbara Bowl on July 23, 2017.
Summer’s late sunset meant that there were a few hours of sunlight left when the concert started at 5pm on Sunday with the band The Movement and a crowd of people willing to risk a sunburn for the first bit of the show. With a strong synth presence and self-described “alternative reggae” style by Josh Swain, they welcomed in a night of reggae, friends and different bands sharing the stage, and what seemed like as much smoke from the audience as from the stage. And there was a lot from the stage.
J Boog made a solemn entrance with band members bowing their heads and closing their eyes before he came out, but kept it a lively performance dedicating covers of “California Dreamin,” “I Got Five on It,” and “Santeria” to the people of California saying, “I guess I was just a little homesick.” He and Micah Pueschel from Iration both made it known that they were quite happy to be back in California as the place they grew up and formed bands in, and the audience gave a warm welcome in return.
“There’s nothing better than a Sunday evening show at the Santa Barbara Bowl,” stated Micah Pueschel during Iration’s set. He introduced one of their more popular songs “Summer Nights” by explaining how the song was pretty much written about their summers in Santa Barbara. The band formed in the college town of Isla Vista nearby so they know the local scene well and advised everyone in the crowd to stay if they can because it’s like a wonderland here. They gave their first ever live performance of the song “Borderlines” and while Micah said it was a bit nervy for them, everyone loves hearing a first. Finishing out their set with a song they’re known for, “Time Bomb,” they said, “This one goes out to all the time bombs in SB!”
Personally, what I found to be the one of the most impressive parts of Slightly Stoopid’s set was that they actually got a mosh pit to happen with one of their heavier songs, which I’ve never seen at the Santa Barbara Bowl before. They had a long set with plenty of time to mess around. There was plenty of action going on as Kyle McDonald got passed a blunt 2-3 times from the front of the crowd during songs, then he and Miles Doughty would occasionally flip bass/guitar with each other, often mid song as well, and they introduced a Grateful Dead cover by saying, “For all the Dead Heads and Stoopid Heads, let’s tear this shit up.” There was a lot of guest features throughout the set from the other groups as well as hip-hop rapper Chali 2na from Jurassic 5. They closed out their set with at least another 6 people from the other bands making an appearance to finish off strong. The concert in total lasted upwards of 4 and a half hours, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell from the buzz and energy everyone still had leaving.
The Movement, J Boog, and Iration opened for Slightly Stoopid at the Santa Barbara Bowl on July 23, 2017.
Summer’s late sunset meant that there were a few hours of sunlight left when the concert started at 5pm on Sunday with the band The Movement and a crowd of people willing to risk a sunburn for the first bit of the show. With a strong synth presence and self-described “alternative reggae” style by Josh Swain, they welcomed in a night of reggae, friends and different bands sharing the stage, and what seemed like as much smoke from the audience as from the stage. And there was a lot from the stage.
J Boog made a solemn entrance with band members bowing their heads and closing their eyes before he came out, but kept it a lively performance dedicating covers of “California Dreamin,” “I Got Five on It,” and “Santeria” to the people of California saying, “I guess I was just a little homesick.” He and Micah Pueschel from Iration both made it known that they were quite happy to be back in California as the place they grew up and formed bands in, and the audience gave a warm welcome in return.
“There’s nothing better than a Sunday evening show at the Santa Barbara Bowl,” stated Micah Pueschel during Iration’s set. He introduced one of their more popular songs “Summer Nights” by explaining how the song was pretty much written about their summers in Santa Barbara. The band formed in the college town of Isla Vista nearby so they know the local scene well and advised everyone in the crowd to stay if they can because it’s like a wonderland here. They gave their first ever live performance of the song “Borderlines” and while Micah said it was a bit nervy for them, everyone loves hearing a first. Finishing out their set with a song they’re known for, “Time Bomb,” they said, “This one goes out to all the time bombs in SB!”
Personally, what I found to be the one of the most impressive parts of Slightly Stoopid’s set was that they actually got a mosh pit to happen with one of their heavier songs, which I’ve never seen at the Santa Barbara Bowl before. They had a long set with plenty of time to mess around. There was plenty of action going on as Kyle McDonald got passed a blunt 2-3 times from the front of the crowd during songs, then he and Miles Doughty would occasionally flip bass/guitar with each other, often mid song as well, and they introduced a Grateful Dead cover by saying, “For all the Dead Heads and Stoopid Heads, let’s tear this shit up.” There was a lot of guest features throughout the set from the other groups as well as hip-hop rapper Chali 2na from Jurassic 5. They closed out their set with at least another 6 people from the other bands making an appearance to finish off strong. The concert in total lasted upwards of 4 and a half hours, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell from the buzz and energy everyone still had leaving.
