Almost 20 years after releasing their seminal self-titled debut album, all-star stoners Cypress Hill are still going strong – in the studio and on tour. Boasting that hip hop-rock cross-over appeal, triple-platinum status sales, and a brand new LP, the iconic West Coast hip hop outfit filled out HQ. Sydneysiders Spit Syndicate provided a short but tight support spot to an ever-growing crowd. By the end of their set, the place was packed and the audience was pumped. Unusually, the fragrant aroma of green was thick in the air. The ambience was Cypress Hill personified.

Coordinated in matching black Ts and flat-brims pulled right down, B-Real and Sen Dog controlled the crowd from the moment they emerged. Spinning wax, as opposed to the ever-increasing MP3-playing, Serato-sporting, laptop deejay, DJ Julio G proved a worthy substitute for the absent DJ Muggs while core-member Eric Bobo held it down on percussion.

Sparking it off with vintage Cypress – Hand On The Glock, Shoot ‘Em Up and How I Could Just Kill a Man – the opening few numbers quickly set the tone for what was to follow. Spitting in Spanish, Sen Dog murdered Latin Lingo while B Real’s nasal tenor cloaked the entire room from each track to the next.

When B Real asked the audience to “give the drummer some,” Bobo got his time to shine. B Real also tried his hand behind the drums while Sen Dog crib-walked across the stage samba-style. After sampling some new material, aptly entitled Light It Up, B Real did just that.

Wondering to myself, “is he going to get away with smoking that in here?” B Real cheekily queried the crowd, “do you feel high right now? Do you feel crazy right now?” Playing right into his hand, marijuana mega-mix Insane in the Brain, I Wanna Get High, Stoned is the Way of the Walk, Hits from the Bong, Mary Jane and D.r Greenthumb finally saw a previously aloof crowd get a little crazy.

As the audience jump around like House of Pain, the bouncers start bugging. Still surprised that security were not bum-rushing the stage, B Real proclaimed, “no one’s kicking us out!” Audience members doing the same thing were dropping like flies yet his spliff kept blazing.

The spotlight then shone to the back of stage. B Real laid down the challenge and it was on: turntables versus percussion. A polished routine, Julio G dropped Hashim’s classic electro tune Al Naayfish, cutting up the intro “it’s tiiiime,” then rocking doubles. He then threw it to Bobo who started off slow, beating the drums, before speeding right up and pelting them with full-force.

Ear-drums vibrating, more hits follow – Throw Your Set in the Air, Cock the Hammer, Snoop colab Vato, Gotta Get Your Cash Up, Lick a Shot and Pigs. As the bass reverberated, Illusions blew a speaker, while A to the K finally saw the mosh pit get explosive. Cypress then leave the stage, only to return for a triumphant three-song encore – the aptly entitled Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That, rock-esque title track from their latest LP, Rise Up, and radio-hit Rock Superstar.

Mixing up a potent blend of new and old material, Cypress Hill may be twenty years in the making but are still on top of their game. Holding it down the entire set, B Real and Sen Dog seemed to have had as much fun the crowd. The combination of vinyl and live percussion really did make for a more dynamic show, proving that the increasing trend of hip hop with a live band can work if done properly yet the purist hip hop deejay will never die.

Stepping out of the smoke-hazed venue, it was difficult to tell if I had gotten high off the fumes or just really enjoyed myself – a bit of both I suspect.