A Refugee

For those that don’t know, 311 Day is a celebration in honor of 311 and their fans that lasts a few days and climaxes with a super concert lasting five hours and includes up to 60 songs.

This year was my first experience going to a 311 Day. I have been a long time fan of the band and they have been one of my biggest supporters of my photography.

Leading up to 311 Day one of their managers, Peter Raspler, was in contact with me requesting photographs. I wasn’t sure of their exact application but, I was very pleased to see the execution of their use within the context of 311 Day.

First, the images were used in slide shows decorating the walls of the club during the Fan Party. It was awesome seeing my photos along with the great work of many other photographers being displayed.

The other key appearance of my photographs was in a fantastic booklet they put together reflecting on the last ten years of 311′s history, since 311 Day started. I have a few images that are featured on a page alone and it feels great to see them showcased, again, with many other fantastic photographer’s work.

The actual experience of 311 Day was refreshing and inspiring. The band was very loose and just focused on having fun.

The familiar 311 formula went out the window and the show was full of jam sessions and honest interaction between the band members that I don’t recall seeing before.

It was one of the biggest 311 concerts I have attended but, it felt like one of the most intimate.

I can only hope the summer tours follow in the foot steps of this show in terms of relaxing and putting their own fun in front of being some sort of pre-conceived form of perfect that requires a formula be followed.

Man, it was such a great time! I had a blast with my friends and making new ones.

So

many

photos…

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The final show of the tour. It was as good as the last four I saw.

Loads of energy. Nice subtle changes in the drum solo and bass solo. Worth seeing a fifth time =)

ouch.

The only change for the worst from the other nights was a dude flying out of the mosh pit and into my face. haha.

Other than that, it was just like the last entry. Lots of fun =)

Enjoy the photos and see a few of you cool people next tour =):

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It is pretty much the same as the last three I covered. The addition of the crowd knowing the new songs and singing along and the evolution of Pnut’s bass solo are the key factors that enhanced the whole experience.

Pnut played a sick solo tonight that featured him on a 10 string Warwick bass. It functioned just like a 12 string guitar.

The sounds he made on this thing were astounding. I stood their with my mouth open the entire time. Even while I shot photos. Again, I wished Trevor Martin was there to witness it.

Good thing I made friends with a girl taping it. I’ll get him the video. =)

Enjoy the photos:

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Well, the Santa Barbara County Bowl stands as one of my favorite venues. If you’re going to see a band at a larger venue this is the one to go to.

You can’t beat the vibe of Santa Barbara and the constant swirl of ocean air engulfing you. It’s a very fitting setting for a 311 show.

311 keeps getting more fun this tour. The band’s spirits are continuously rising and the energy of the crowds keep improving right along with it.

This was the most fun show yet. The set list isn’t changing too much. But, the changes they are making are well received.

It was a blast to have the band come out for their encore and play Omaha Stylee. A great old school song full of energy.

The lighting set up is great. 311 wisely puts a lot of effort into creating a high impact live show. They understand the important role lighting plays in creating such a show.

I’m happy to state that P-nut continued the trend of taking a stand alone solo. He seems to be having more fun with it each night too. On this night he climbed upon a speaker stack to show off his skills. =)

It’s going to be great catching them again in July after they fall into a real groove.

Enjoy the photos:

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As suspected this show was better than the last. It was pretty amazing actually.

It was the first show since the release of their new album, “Uplifter.”

It sure seems to be living up to the name. The fans are more energetic. The band is more lively and free spirited on stage. Everything seems uplifted for sure.

It’s great seeing 311 change up their live show. They always add new elements to the show in terms of calculated ideas. That’s all well and good. But, like I said in the last entry to this site, it is the little things that matter the most.

The tiny interactions between the band members. The interactions with the fans.

311 seems to be doing more of this on this tour. The guys are joking with each other on stage and look to be having a blast. That energy rubs off on the crowd immensely.

Nick and SA got close to the crowd in the pit and really played off their energy. SA even distributed high fives at two different times through the show. Not at the end. But, in the middle of the set…in the middle of the songs.

If you know 311…this is unusual.

It was really cool seeing how the new songs played to the crowd since the album came out. A lot of people were singing along and a lot of them seem to be picking up on the cues for when to participate with the band.

It really is a great live album. That’s for sure.

Another cool change up in the set was a stand alone P-nut bass solo.

Nick gave the usual “P-nut, beat that thang” introduction. This usually leads into a full song with the whole band but, tonight it started with a spot light on P-nut and him just going crazy on his bass. Lots of plucking, lots of strumming, lots of tapping…the guy probably displayed each technique known to bassists the world over and showed his expertise with each. Eventually, the spot light faded away and it was on to the next song. It was a real treat and threw me for a loop when that was what we got instead of the usual.

I loved it. I hope the band keeps these trends up!

Lighting looked great. The Fox Theater was a bit unusual. Lots of seats. A small 100? person pit.

Over all a good relaxed vibe. Fun place to shoot some photos.

Great concert!!!

Stay tuned for Santa Barbara come Friday/early Saturday. I’ll focus more on miT and SA

Enjoy the photos. There’s a lot. haha.

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I know a lot of you that used to be into 311 have mixed feelings about the band’s recent endeavors.

Their newest albums have had a host of hit and miss songs with many of them showing moments of brilliance only to be overcome by a moment of insecurity that forces the song into a chorus that seems to disrupt whatever momentum that was previously established.

It seems to be the current formula for a 311 song and I constantly hear how 311 has changed and is no fun.

That might hold some weight when considering whether or not to blindly buy a new album. (I do suggest you at least preview the new album. It may change your mind about past feelings in regards to their studio work).

It is totally erroneous when applied to their live show.

Without a doubt, 311 is still fun to see live. The energy at this show was better than what I have experienced in the last three years I have seen them.

They made an attempt at being slightly spontaneous and playing with the crowd rather than for the crowd. It was probably the first time I have experienced that in the last four years. haha. Something so tiny and minuscule pays huge dividends for a band though. The energy felt to sky rocket at that point.

They played a good mix of songs from old and new albums. The songs from the newest album were great live. They feature really heavy guitar and bass which makes it very hard to not want to jump up and down. A few of the songs do suffer from that current 311 song writing formula but, they are solid enough songs to stand up to the live performance test and pass without a problem.

In fact, I’m looking forward to hearing those songs again later this week because they were so much fun live.

Seriously, 311 is one of my top bands to see live. The band is incredibly tight, wonderful musicians, exude great energy (even if they are a bit uptight about interacting with people in the crowd), and the audience is always laid back and about having fun.

For all you fans that feel like you have grown out of 311 I suggest you head out to another concert when you get the chance. You won’t be disappointed. Bring some friends and jump around. It’s not too late to realize you don’t need to be THAT serious all the time.

Give the new album a chance too. It’s reminiscent of Grassroots and there are some gems on it that hopefully, show a new path 311 is willing to take as they progress in their career. These songs are actually worth knowing and make the live show that much more fun if you can sing those along with the classics.

I will be shooting in Bakersfield and Santa Barbara later this week. Santa Barbara is always a treat and it will feature the official lighting rig the band is going to be touring with. I expect to get some killer shots from the Bowl =)

Stay tuned for lots more.

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