On a dark and stormy night in Baton Rouge, few signs of life were present in the street. The thunder and rain pounded down on empty roads as hardly a sound could be heard over the splashing of water. While outside, one might mistake Louisiana’s capital for a ghost town, indoors the party raged. At The Varsity Theater, onlookers would never have guessed that it was a Tuesday of a heavy testing week. If sight alone was all the faculty one’s mind possessed, they might not even realize that they had stumbled into a reggae concert. In proper LSU form, the drinks flowed heavy through the veins of concert goers.
                What strange occasion could this be, the gathering of so odd a crowd? A celebration of love, music, and pot was in full tilt with The Expendables heading the heady crowd. Stoner rock/reggae hailing from Santa Cruz, CA, was well received by an avid crowd. Songs like “Bowl For Two,” “Red Red Wine,” and other anthems of hedonism rang out and echoed back from the mouths of concert goers. Crowd participation took full effect for “Down Down Down,” with a catchy call and response that even a two year old could sing along to. With an almost entirely dub/reggae set list, the only big deviation of style were riffs and tunes which made obvious the band member’s previous involvement in metal music. While perhaps meant to create a break in the otherwise homogenous style, the metal moments seemed out of place in a venue so full of haze and chill.
                The closing of the night saw an exuberant tune from a conglomeration of all the bands which had partaken in the evening, joining together in song one last time. The uplifting end to the night was so oddly juxtaposed as last call came and pushed listeners out into the street. Reminded once more of storms which had been raging out in the world, the joy of a night of dance and song quickly gave way to the realities of life. Passing through a fire crew and two cops who came to attend a concert goer, and stepping out into the rain, any sorrows left were washed away in the spring rain.