This article and all images are credited to L. Paul Mann.
During the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, CBF was one of the only production companies keeping live music alive in Southern California. As a result, the company created the innovative ‘Concerts In Your Car’ series at the Ventura County Fairground on Surfers Point in 2020. The concerts wrapped up on June 12th with a sold-out hip-hop show by veteran rapper Nelly. The show was so successful that the CNN network picked up a recording of the event to run as part of their July 4th national holiday special. The Ventura Tequila and Taco Festival was an event not to be missed.
Now that the pandemic restrictions have been relaxed, CBF has transferred back to traditional live events like their highly successful Tequila and Taco Festival. The Ventura version took place at the same venue as the Drive-in concert series, utilizing the same impressive stage and multimedia presentation.
The two-day festival held on the whole last weekend of July was a complete sell-out. The festival drew thousands of music fans to Surfers Point for shows headlined by old school rappers Vanilla Ice and Tag Team. By the time the gates opened at 1 pm, a line had stretched nearly a mile across the fairgrounds full of early birds eager to taste copious amounts of tequila and devour gourmet tacos of all kinds. The festival also featured margaritas, craft beer, arts & crafts, and vendors.
Tag Team at Ventura Tequila and Taco Festival
Image by L. Paul Mann
A pair of DJs bookended the festival grounds inciting dance fever early on in the afternoon. A large crowd gathered in a grassy area in front of the main stage picnicking in lounge chairs. A few music fans began to assemble and dance directly in front of the main stage once the live music commenced.
La Señora Dinamata opened the main stage. La Sonora Dinamita is a Colombian musical group playing Cumbia, a South and Latin American music genre popular throughout Latin America. As one of the first Cumbia groups to reach international success, it is credited with helping to popularize the genre throughout Latin America and the world.
They were followed by Adelaide, a Top 40 band that can play Latin Top 40. They performed Latin Ladies Live: a Tribute to Shakira, JLo, Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz, and Selena. Local rock band A.D.D. followed with a set of popular covers. The three opening bands were met with polite applause, but the vast majority of the enormous crowd listened from a distance, swarming around the dozens of gourmet food trucks and tasting a vast array of high-end tequilas.
But the festival dynamic changed dramatically just before sunset as the veteran hip-hop duo Tag Team took the stage. Suddenly thousands of people swarmed in front of the stage vociferously greeting the elder statesmen of rap music. The band features Cecil Glenn (D.C. the Brain Supreme) and Steve Gibson (Steve Rolln). The duo made their mark on the hip-hop world in the 90’s, best known for their mega-hit “Whomp! (There it Is)”, released in 1993.
The crowd for Tag Team at Ventura Tequila and Taco Festival
Image by L. Paul Mann
The pair frequently joked about being aged rappers that couldn’t quite make the dance moves of their early years. But, partly buoyed by the massive crowd’s enthusiastic response to the hour-long set, the two greying rappers broke into several dance routines that had the crowd singing and swaying in sync. By the time the rappers sang their signature mega-hit, one of the biggest crowds for a musical performance in recent memory had gathered tightly around the stage.
As twilight fell on the venue, the massive crowd enveloped the stage growing larger by the minute in anticipation of veteran 90’s rapper Vanilla Ice. Finally, the beaming iconic rapper took the stage, evoking an enormous cheer from the euphoric crowd eager to hear the old school hits. The former motocross champion turned rap star looked jubilant as he gazed out at the massive audience. The 53-year-old performer has aged well, appearing to look much like a typical frat boy rather than a middle-aged man that has endured a litany of life’s dramatic challenges.
Vanilla Ice at Ventura Tequila and Taco Festival
Image by L. Paul Mann
The show proved to be a triumphant celebration and a testament to the enduring nature of the rapper’s music. His album “To the Extreme” became the fastest-selling hip-hop album of all time, spending sixteen weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and selling eleven million copies. It is remarkable to think that Vanilla Ice wrote his biggest hit song, “Ice Ice Baby,” when he was just 16 years old.
The smiling rapper pranced about the stage, backed by a talented thundering drummer and a keyboardist lending a heavy rock dimension to the show. But, of course, the rapper had a DJ and laid down the hip-hop tracks. As the show progressed, an ever-expanding array of characters joined him onstage. In a homage to his film appearance in the 90’s movie “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II,” the turtles joined in the extreme stage performance. Towards the end of the set, dozens of ladies pulled from the crowd also joined the fray onstage, creating a dancing frenzy, enveloping an ever-smiling Vanilla Ice.
The 90’s never seemed to feel so good. “Alright, stop, collaborate and listen!” In Ventura on this night, thousands of jubilant music fans did just that.
This article and all images are credited to L. Paul Mann.
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