Old-school cats still pack in fans

(Credit: Frank Espich / Metromix)

Don’t call it a comeback. They’ve been here for years.

This week is packed with old-school artists coming through the city to rock stages from nowntown to the northside.

Promoters, take note: Some of these old-school acts are pulling in crowds and selling out shows more effectively than some of the new artists who have been coming through the city.

Life is too short to miss Too Short, one of the original storytellers. The West Coast rapper will perform some of his legendary freaky tales on Halloween night at the ICE Lounge.

A few other noncomeback kids rocking the stage this week are Snoop Dogg, Redman, Method Man, Devin the Dude and others. They’ll be in Indianapolis on Tuesday at the Vogue.

In the days of Soulja Boy and Lil’ Boosie, some may consider the headliners of this show to be old-school cats. But in the eyes of many, they’ve never left the scene.

When you weren’t listening to these rappers on the radio or watching them in videos on BET or MTV, you could catch them in movies and television shows. Snoop Dogg was featured in the movie “Soul Plane,” and Method Man was in several episodes of the HBO series “The Wire.”

And as long ago as it was when Snoop Dogg was “rollin’ down the street smokin’ indo, sippin’ on gin and juice,” people still relate to his music today. Evidence is in his sold-out show at the Vogue.