so i was lucky enough to witness one of my favorite bands besides PJ play live in concert.

last friday i saw 311 live at SPAC. the concert was awesome. the crowd was really into it and they played a great setlist. 311 is one of the few bands that have that really unique sound to them. they are really good both musically and lyrically. and unlike other bands, they don;t have a large stage, they are alot like PJ in a sence when they play. they are up there, they play, and they get the crowd involved. i was really inpressed with the show they put on.

i know maybe some peole here may not like them but if you have a chance to see them live i suggest it.

I've probably heard every song they've ever written (several of my close friends are big fans) but i really can't get into them. I'm told they do put on a great show though.

how many people were at SPAC for that show? they performed at my girlfriends college and got pretty poor attendance so i was surprised to see them playing at such a big venue.

between 12 and 13 thousand

Musically great: without a doubt, but lyrically...they're pretty horrible. I still dig the band, and their drummer is something special.

they put on a really entertaining show. definitely worth the price of admission.

True dat, homie. Chad is pretty sick.

Saw Korn open for 311 in '95. That was one kick ass show.

chad sexton is a great drummer... and he has such a unique sound, you can tell a song is 311 just by a few seconds of the drums...

and they do put on a great live show... although i havent seen them since the "from chaos" tour... i dont even think they've been back to canada since then (at least not that i've heard about)...

P-Nut is great, but playing with Sexton, man, it has to be nice.

i'm going to see them at the orange peel in asheville in march. its supposed to be the smallest venue of their tour (i think 800-900 capacity). i hear they really attract the young ladies as well.

I'd like to see them, but the last time they came to Buffalo I was still in high school and it was on a school night and i wasnt allowed to do anything back then. Someone died in the parking lot of that concert and the venue wasn't that great. My company did the concessions for the building, so they fed the bands and crews, but I wasn't asked to work that night either.

I've seen them live couple of times and was never that impressed. The drummer annoys the shit out of me cause he plays the same beat in what seems like every song.

I like the album Transistor a lot.
I just hate the way the albums are produced, the drums and snares have that tight-ass numetal sterile sound going on..

I know that they change their setlist a lot, which is of course a big plus.

They're doing a pretty big Canadian tour this spring, probably part of the current tour

I've seen 311 seven times including 06's 311 Day Memphis.

I have no problem seeing this band every year. They put on a great show, lot's of energy, the crowd is always into it, they have a great catalog and they mix it up every show.

Chad certainly is a great drummer, but each band member brings something special. I love how P-Nut's basslines are always interesting, going places, and stand out. Tim Mahoney on guitar, he is able to drop these heavy, deep, distorted power chords, then jump to chill, reggae riffs, and then kick into an amazing solo. Nick doesn't have the strongest voice, but I think his voice fits the music really really well. SA has a great voice when he uses it the right way. Their cover of Zep's "Dyer Maker" is amazing.

I love the band's variety. slow, fast, heavy, light, reggae, rap-rock (and normally i HATE rap-rock), they do it all and do it well.

Great band, probably by 2nd favorite band, maybe third. But I will continue to see them every year. They tour all the time and consistently keep the energy high!

Couple things i find interesting about 311

1.) How they became popular 2 times... with pretty much different sounds... and managed to do it without "selling out" or even being accused of it. Of course they first achieved mainstream success with the "blue album" and Down, All Mixed Up, etc. A lot of the "rap-rock" sound at the time, really before it was REALLY popular. And then Transistor was so different, they kind of disappeared from the mainstream, and soundsystem did ok, but really just among fans... Then all of a sudden the song "Amber" came out and was a hit, as was the "Love Song" cure cover. The cool part was that it was just a natural evolution of what they were doing- even if they kind of disappeared from the mainstream for like 6 years.

2.) This kind of ties in to the first one.... Their Fan base doesnt age as much as most. When i was 18 I saw pearl jam for the first time. Most of the crowd was 17-25. Now you go, and most of the crowd is 27-35. I went to see 311 about 2 years ago, and most of the crowd still looked 18, which would have made them like 11 when 311 first hit it big.

I have to agree with the your second point. I've seen them 3 times over the last couple of years and I always feel like the oldest person there and I'm 25! There are a lot of 16-20 year old kids going to their shows, pretty unique for a band that has been around for quite awhile.

I should check them out again at some point. I saw them once on the Grassroots tour and a few times on the blue album tour, and then I just sort of drifted away from them with the release of Transistor. I know they are apparently still great live. Maybe if they come around this summer I'll check them out for the first time in like 12 years.

Maybe they've had recent success and I just don't know it, but I would say the reason the college show didn't get good attendace is because they haven't had a hit in years. Kids that young have no idea who they are.

Didn't they get in a fight with Scott Stapp?