How Long Is Sublime Concert?

With regard to the duration of sublime concerts, the following question was raised:

Sublime was an American ska punk and reggae rock band that originated in Long Beach, California, back in 1988. This formation of the band was Bradley Nowell on vocals and guitar, Bud Gaugh on drums and Eric Wilson on bass guitar. The trio gained mainstream success with their third album, which was also self-titled; however, in 1996, they disbanded due to the death of Nowell caused by a heroin overdose. Sublime has to this day continued to be an influential band, with the likes of “What I Got”, "Santeria,” and “Wrong Way” still playing on the radio to date in rock and alternative radio stations. They fused ska beat, punk rock, hip hop and reggae to bring out the new California beach sound.

Despite the fact that the band disbanded more than twenty years ago following Nowell’s death, Sublime’s music is still popular to date, with Wilson and Gaugh performing under the band’s name, Sublime With Rome. This makes the fans ask themselves: How long is Sublime’s concert and how long is the concert compared to the time when they performed with Nowell? Here is a breakdown of Sublime concert durations which fans might have witnessed in the past:

Nowell-Era Sublime Concerts (1988-1996)

The early days of Sublime were in house parties and small clubs around Southern California. These shows would have probably lasted 30-45 minutes—just enough time for the band to get up there and play their key songs for a tightly packed crowd of punks, surfers and skaters letting their wild side out.

The band became more popular in the SoCal scene as their music and live shows evolved due to their energy and tight musicianship In the early mid-90s, when Sublime played clubs, their concerts generally lasted for an hour at most or even an hour and a half when the fans responded positively. They got into the habit of performing energetic and chaotic performances, which were usually backed by alcohol and marijuana. At times things just got rowdy and people would start to fight or products would be thrown around during the scuffle.

It wasn’t until 1995 or 1996, when, through the self-titled album of Sublime, they became famous through songs such as “Date Rape”, “Santeria” and “What I Got”, that the band became the main performers during concerts in bigger venues and festivals. Their sets were never longer than 75–90 minutes so as to give them the right time to play more songs from the band’s ever-expanding discography of albums along with covers and improvisations, which were always a mainstay in every live performance of the band. Some of the famous concerts from this period include the one at Hollywood Palladium in 1995, where the band performed for almost 90 minutes with non-stop energy.

Thus, in Bradley Nowell years, the typical Sublime show as presented in their concert DVDs would last between about half an hour and an hour and half, depending on club size and place on the bill, based on the length of the songs indicated in the concert posters. Small, sweaty clubs got short, fast-ripping sets while they pulled out more songs and on-stage antics for festivals and their eventual headlining gigs at major theaters shortly before Nowell’s death tragically ended the party.

Since 2009, the lengths of the Sublime with Rome concerts has been as follows:

After a few unsuccessful attempts at reunion tours with temporary vocalists after Nowell’s death, the only consistent members of the band Sublime, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, decided to persevere with a new singer from 2009 onwards. Into the picture came Rome Ramirez, a young musician from Northern California who was a die-hard Sublime fan and became the anchor of the new Sublime With Rome formation. It was their first big tour, which created a sense of nostalgia and curiosity from the audience as to how this revival would sound and feel in the live performances.

After these first few shows with the new line-up of SWR, critics and fans alike agreed that the energy and authenticity of a raw Sublime concert were restored. Gaugh and Wilson sustained the amped-up beats while Ramirez paid homage to Nowell’s memory with the microphone. But some of the listeners criticized that without that free-spirited, unscripted approach in concerts that Nowell had, the shows appeared more choreographed and a tad shorter than the typical Sublime gigs of the 90s.

In the present time, a Sublime With Rome concert still performs the most popular hits “Santeria”, “Doin’ Time”, “Badfish” and “Caress Me Down”. What they are: A non-stop sing and dance along instead of some slow tunes or random, unrecognizable songs mostly seen when Nowell is at the front. The sets are right at one hour twenty minutes as they just spit out hit after hit and keep the roof busting while honoring Bradley’s ghost. Perhaps somewhat less long than traditional Sublime, but overall it seems to be quite successful going by the fact that the venues have always been full with people who actively engaged and seemed to enjoy themselves across the generations.

The audience now is composed of many new generations of fans who were born long after the band Sublime first disbanded, much less older fans who never stopped playing 40oz to Freedom. The two generations intermingle happily at modern Sublime With Rome concerts to sing along great songs, which unites them despite their age differences. So in general, of course, you lose some degree of randomness whenever you’re not listening to Nowell, but you can still get a good taste of that old-school Long Beach vibe and today’s SWR concerts focusing on all songs by Bradley. Bring on the mosh pit-friendly punk-reggae party tunes and we promise 80–100 minutes of music will take you back to the mid-nineties!

Summary: How Long is Sublime and Sublime With Rome Concert?

To answer the original question, typical concert duration over Sublime's history breaks down like this: To answer the original question, typical concert duration over Sublime's history breaks down like this:

• Housetek 1: Formative Years at House Parties/Clubs 1988 to 1992 (30 to 45 min)

• Pre-Major Label Local Headlining Shows (1993–1994) About 1 hour

• Some highlights of Nowell’s peak years of headlining clubs and theaters include: (1995–1996), for 75–90 minutes.

• Current Sublime with Rome Shows (2009 Onwards) Approximately 80 minutes—1 hour and 20 Minutes

  Thus, as a rule, the classic Sublime concerts in their heydays were longer, on average, than the present-day performances based on the tracks written with the first vocalist, Brad Nowell. Nonetheless, the more tighter and consistent tracks from Sublime With Rome today still retain the soul, enthusiasm and enjoyment that Sublime brought to the table in their legendary first tenure. For the audience, it means that they can come to see any version of Sublime perform and sing along to their favourite tunes for an hour or more. The venues are bigger and Rome is more direct than Bradley but the special atmosphere is alive!