Snoop Dogg gets by, not high

Snoop Dogg performs Tuesday, Nov. 3, at the Vogue. (Credit: Bob Scheer / Metromix)

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It’s possible that another concert has featured as many marijuana-based lyrics in a smoke-free environment.

But Tuesday’s Snoop Dogg show at the Vogue seemed to be a once-in-a-lifetime contradiction.

Between songs, Snoop expressed surprise at the lack of ganja scents wafting to the stage. The West Coast hip-hop icon was told the Broad Ripple nightclub disallows all smoking during shows, but he pressed on with a call-and-response session of “sticky icky-ooo-wee” and he subbed the line “pass that” in a rendition of 2006 R. Kelly collaboration “That’s That.”

Snoop’s pre-show preparations are unknown, but he wasn’t in the mindset to promote upcoming album “Malice N Wonderland” once the performance began.

Instead of making room in the program for current single “Gangsta Luv,” the new creative chairman of Priority Records fed the sold-out crowd a steady diet of G-funk that defined the early part of his career.

“Nothin’ But a G Thang,” “Deep Cover” and show-opener “The Next Episode” were examples of hazy, loping tales devoted to sex, drugs and violence.

Star-making 1993 single “What’s My Name” fits the category, with Snoop so chill when revisiting it that ice water must run through his veins.

He blew that cool with purpose on “Down,” a militaristic march from his No Limit Records era of the late 1990s. The message: Cross Snoop or a member of his crew, and you’ll end up in the dirt with your picture on the front of a T-shirt.

In concert, he rolled with first-rate hype men Kurupt and Daz Dillinger, backed by a band that included a bass player, guitarist and drummer.

Such personnel could have handled stabs at recent standout tunes “Beautiful,” “Neva Have 2 Worry” and “Candy (Drippin’ Like Water)” – but none were played at the Vogue.

At the same time, it’s difficult to begrudge entertaining covers of House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” (which featured Snoop when a remix version landed at No. 3 in 2003).

And Snoop stepped out of G-funk mode to deliver “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” the minimalist No. 1 single produced by Pharrell Williams. It sparked dancing throughout the venue, despite the show nearing its 1:30 a.m. conclusion on a weeknight.

Supporting acts Method Man & Redman and Devin the Dude rhymed and rhymed some more about the topic of … wait for it … pot.

Meth and Red stormed the hall with energy, but lyrical artistry wasn’t easy to detect amid the sonic bluster.

Texas-based underground hero Devin the Dude unleashed some of the night’s best weed-based wordplay.

He’s happy when he’s “higher than a thumbtack on a flier.” He has the blues when there’s nothing in the “doobie ashtray. Why you do me that way?”

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