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311 is sweet

Farrell-less fest still a hit By MICHAEL LISI, Special to the Times Union First published: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 SARATOGA SPRINGS -- You've got to hand it to WEQX-FM for making the effort to put on the 102.7 EQX Fest at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Monday night. That the all-day affair lost its headliner -- former Jane's Addiction leader Perry Farrell and his Satellite Party -- late last week was no fault of the Vermont-based rock station. Band personnel problems and changes caused the cancellation. But with Hasidic reggae rapper Matisyahu and reggae rockers 311 on the main stage and a second stage that featured up-and-coming acts such as Shiny Toy Guns and TV On The Radio, there was a lot to like about EQX Fest. A crowd of close to about 7,000, made up mostly of high school and college-age students in tattered shorts and T-shirts on the lawn, milled between the amphitheater main stage and two smaller stages, one of which was devoted to local bands. Most fans were interested in main stage acts, which featured headliner 311, Matisyahu and Rage Against The Machine guitarist-gone-solo Tom Morello -- who more than made up for Farrell's no-show. 311 had fans dancing and jumping in their seats during a pounding, lengthy 105-minute performance with lots of winding, grinding guitar solos and a way-too-long drum solo. Boring drum solos aside, 311 was fun and full of energy, with vocalist/guitarist Nick Hexum and vocalist/rapper Doug "SA" Martinez trading raps and vocals. Moving between reggae and jam band-style rock, 311 had fans on their feet from start to finish, blowing through versions of "All Mixed Up" and the spacey "Beyond The Gray Sky."

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The Bottom Line ::311 is STILL the best live act::

For a fan such as myself (or anyone else that got sucked into the 311 vortex), seeing a concert of theirs is more than a fun experience…..it’s religious. The concert was just last night, July 25th at the beloved Jones Beach Amphitheatre in NY (overlooking the beautiful beach of Long Island). This is the final stretch of 311’s summer tour, where over 30 shows have been or will soon be conquered. 311 loves to bring diverse acts to their shows and expose more fans to all type’s of music. Through the years, 311 have brought Korn, Incubus and No Doubt on tour with them before they all made it big. So coming to a 311 show and expecting an interesting opening act is not a far cry at all. An instrumental jazz-funk band called “Medeski, Martin and Wood” opened the show to warm things up a bit. There were groups of people that were jamming to them. Although I didn’t stand up to dance, I did sit back in my seat and enjoy their very different style of music. I can confidently say that I will most likely pick up their album sometime in the near future. It’s perfect for just chilling in your house and relaxing to. The second opening act is a little better known and has recently scored a top-selling album. “The Roots” busted out some catchy beats mixing rap/hip-hop/funk guitar/bass/drums and keyboard into an eclectic sound that got everyone bouncing (even those that were not expecting to like them). I can say that their latest album, “Tipping Point” is worth the price of purchase. It’s great for those that are looking for a different sound to discover. Moving on to the real deal. It was a little past 9:00pm; the crowd was waiting for 311 to take the stage. This would be my forth 311 show. The band has been playing a lot of rarities as well as some older tracks not played too often on this tour so far and I was expecting something similar for this show. Knowing this, I went into the show thinking that this concert would have been more special than usual; and I was right. The band took the stage with their intro music playing…everyone got on their feet and cheered as loud as they could. Instead of opening with the traditional “Freak Out,” they mixed things up and broke out “Homebrew.” I was shocked and began to groove. There was so much energy in the air as they moved along to “Freak Out.” This song is the perfect concert tune because it’s so easy to get caught up into it; you can’t help but dance to it. About two years ago, 311 played on the Sprite Liquid Mix tour and debuted a new song that would end up being on their past release: Evolver It was one of the first times they played this song in front of a crowd and that night two years ago, we were treated with: “Reconsider Everything.” I was blown away by that song the first time I heard it and two years later, I’m still in love with it. They played this one early in the set. I swear, I’ll never get sick of this song. It has two killer guitars with some thoughtful verses about thinking for yourself and not to go with what the rest of the crowd is saying. Jumping around the setlist, they played the staple songs that virtually all shows get; though this is not a bad thing by any means. “Applied Science” has been a show favorite for years now as the drummer (Chad Sexton) will go into a solo in the middle of the song and the rest of the band will follow with their own set of drums. It quickly builds up into an amazing site as the solo ends and the bands comes back in full swing into the final verse. It’s certainly a song to been seen to be truly appreciated. I remember preaching 311 to everyone I worked with at Kids R Us for years at a time, and finally one girl I worked with went to the KROCK Clausfest where 311 played this song. She kept raving about how great 311 were and she especially loved this song because it was such an energizing song to witness in concert. By the way, the show last night was her second 311 show but her first where they actually headlined. She was quite impressed. “Love Song” and “Amber” are both recent 311 songs that many have fell in love with and have since become staples to their set every night. It’s certainly a crowd pleaser; but if I don’t hear “Amber” for a long time, I’ll be a happy man. I used to love and appreciate the song, but it got overplayed (though this is not the bands fault). They also broke out their latest single off the "Greatest Hits" album called: “First Straw.” This was a treat to see because this is the first time I’ve seen it live before and was very happy at how it turned out. The thing I love about 311 is their ability to mix up their set lists the way they do. Over the shows that I have been to, I have seen many obscure songs that are rarely ever played; some b-sides that did not make it to final cuts of an album, or some songs that the band just doesn’t regularly plays live. Well, last night was no exception. They played a song called: “Silver” that was originally on their 1994 release: "Grassroots". They only play it about once or twice every tour and we were lucky enough to hear it last night. Also, I think everyone heard me when I started screaming at the top of my lungs when Nick Hexum, lead singer, announced that the next song was called: “Strong All Along,” which was on their 1999 release: "Soundsystem". That song is rarely played ever and it was flawless hearing it live. It’s just a rocking song with killer rap verses by SA Martinez and Nick Hexum. I was grooving to the beat the entire time it was played. And if that wasn’t enough, they busted out a slower track called: “Use of Time” off my favorite album of all time, "Transistor". Before this next song, Nick mentioned that this song was by special request by a member of the 311 bulliten board online where the band connects with the fans and takes requests for their shows. It was a really old song back from 1988 called: “Summer of Love” and was a first for me and many others in attendance because I can count on one hand how many times they must have played it in the past few years. It’s an extremely rare song that got every 311 fan, old and new to groove with the music. The band also gave the crowd a choice between another song played. The choices were between: “Don’t Stay Home” off of their breakout album: "311" and “I Told Myself” which was off of: "From Chaos". Both songs are barely ever played live, so it was a win-win situation. “Don’t Stay Home” won the vote, even though I was screaming for “I Told Myself” but I nevertheless enjoyed the song because they both rock. In the end with the basic closing and encore songs, it was a 311 show that I would never forget. During any concert I usually end up getting fatigued or slow down my dancing; last night however, I did not. All night long I was grooving to the tunes of 311 and without stop I rocked the house down! Alright, I’m sure if you saw me, “cool” probably isn’t the word to describe how I looked, but you get the idea. I was still extremely happy to be there to cheer on my favorite band of all time, and the band that completely changed my life for the better. To anyone that has never gotten into 311, or to those that like a few choice songs but has never bought one of their albums, today is the day to start and get engulfed in them. They will change your life as they have changed mine. Then you’ll see that they’re nothing like the critics make them out to be… they’re not a Sublime/Red Hot Chili Pepper’s throwback, they have their own sound. Years from now, the critics will look to new bands as ripping on what 311’s doing right now. Be a part of their exciting shows because they are the best act in the country. And more importantly, as Nick Hexum and SA Martinez end every concert by saying: “Stay a positive person and love your life!” Are You Ready Intro Homebrew ~~ Rare as an opener Freak Out Come Original Reconsider Everything Taiyed Love Song Silver ~~ Very rare song All Mixed Up My Stoney Baby ~~Rare song Freeze Time Beyond The Gray Sky First Straw Applied Science ~~With drum solo featuring entire band Flowing Nix Hex Strong All Along ~~Very rare song Beautiful Disaster Use Of Time ~~ Not played too often Summer Of Love ~~Dedicated to bulliten board request. Extremely rare Unity Hydroponic Amber Don't Stay Home (Voted Over I Told Myself) Do You Right Omaha Stylee Feels So Good Encore: Creatures (Dyer Ma'ker, On Setlist Not Played) Down 311 is: Nick Hexum- Vocals/guitar SA Martinez- Vocals/DJ Chad Sexton- Drums Tim Mahoney- Guitar P-Nut- Bass

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