April 2025
“You don’t expect to get loud when you see the symphony but we love it,” exclaimed B-Real, lead vocalist of Cypress Hill, over an hour into the group’s set Friday night at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino’s Grand Theatre. Having just wrapped up a track by track performance of the group’s groundbreaking Black Sunday album, they continued to weave through a pretty unconventional set list, even by their own standards.
While most people unfamiliar with the group will likely just know them for their song “Insane In The Brain” which hit the airwaves over 30 years ago and never left, Cypress Hill has taken their brand of hip hop which also takes influence from hard rock and expanded it into collaborations in projects that include members of Rage Against The Machine and Public Enemy.
For this show, the group performed with the Reno Philharmonic in a set that layered their beats atop dramatic orchestral playing, and the results were breathtaking.
For than a couple showgoers mentioned not really knowing what exactly to expect in line to get into the Grand Sierra Resort’s Grand Theatre, but once the set started, the orchestra laid their work upon each song played as a digital backdrop displayed videos edited for each song.
Cypress HIll members B-Real and Sen Dog stood front and center on the stage, though it should be noted that Christian Olde Wolbers who formerly played with Fear Factory is accompanying the group throughout their live shows with orchestras, and Olde Wolbers’ thrashy lively playing of a skull topped upright bass added even more energy to the set.
The members of Cypress HIll were appreciative of the crowd showing the group their support over the past 30 years, and the room quickly warmed up to the show, giving a loud ovation to not only the group but also the orchestra upon reaching the end of the show. The philharmonic members’ singing along and moving in their seats to the hip hop beats displayed over the theater’s video screen seemed to encapsulate the crowd’s feeling, that this collaboration was a special moment and an amazing show.
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