Kottonmouth Kings

Why don't more bands openly embrace marijuana, regardless of whether they actually smoke it? Starving musicians, put this in your pipe and smoke it: Just get some gigantic paraphernalia props to spice up the stage show, ask "Do you like to get high?" a dozen times a set and dig into the cornucopia of cannabis-related album title puns (Royal Highness, Hidden Stash) and you, too, can take advantage of an addled audience that's stone crazy enough to take a hit with the hitless. Radio avoids the Kottonmouth Kings' skunky, funky punk like a stray syringe, but on April 20 of this year (4-20, dude!), the pot pack craved Fire It Up like babies weaned on nicotine pacifiers. Opening act Pepper opts for a dub-reggae approach that's as unthreatening as the winter weather in its Hawaii hometown. The group's groove recalls the mellow Butthole Surfers single that matches its moniker, but songs such as "Ho's" and "Stone Love" should spice up the set for this party-hungry crowd.