Afroman's High Time at Common Grounds

Afroman played Common Grounds last night to celebrate the new release of his CD Frobama Head of State. The doors opened at 9pm, and tickets had been long sold out. While outside I spoke with Grace, 19, who said that she wanted to come to the show to “get wasted then blazed.” She is a criminology major and wants to be a lawyer.

The show started at 9:30pm with Big Uly, who now owns the fabulous burger joint, Big Uly’s, behind Common Grounds. Not only does he have an awesome voice, he is a business owner and a killer cook. Made of Hemp then took the stage with their saxophonist, trumpeter and other band members. The band had a similar sound to Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but with a reggae twist. After the guys got off the stage, one of the band members—being a nice guy—was “holding a beer for his friend,” which got him thrown out for underage drinking.

The final band to take the stage before Afroman was Hours Eastly. This band from the Gainesville/Jacksonville area got the crowd ready with their rock-reggae beats.

As Afroman took the stage with his three companions, they cracked-open a Colt 45 and lit up a blunt, which made the crowd go wild. It was clear Afroman must have been having a great time since his eyes were squinted the entire show. One of the first songs he played was "Homegrown Alabama" and when he got to the chorus and sung, “…Roll tide roll” he was almost booed off stage. He stopped mid sentence, told the DJ to change the song, and apologized to the crowed for, “being so F***ed up,” he forgot where he was—Gator Country. The audience cheered his current state of mind indicating that they sincerely understood the mistake and forgave him.

The rest of the night was Frolicious as Afroman kept the beats up for about two hours until 1:45am when the he finished the set with his famous “Because I got High” and “Colt 45” to the adulation of his fans. The show was one-of-a-kind, and when Afroman comes back to Gainesville, I’d highly recommend buying tickets early, and plan on not doing anything the morning after the show.

—Timothy Carswell, Photos by John Davisson and Timothy Carswell