311 with special guests Unwritten Law and Papa Roach were in town last night, and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend, courtesy of my friend Kat. Unwritten Law opened the concert with some songs from their new album Here’s to the Mourning along with a smattering of tracks from their previous albums. Although it was fun to hear some of my favorite Unwritten Law songs (”Seeing Red”, “Save Me”) the band was actually pretty disappointing. I got the feeling that they wanted to be off the stage as quickly as the concertgoers wanted them off. It didn’t help that the setting sun was shining straight into their eyes while they played. In any case, I was sorry that they didn’t play better. They were followed by Papa Roach, and although I don’t generally care for his music, he put on a great show. He had a lot of energy, and the previously lethargic crowd started to get excited. Ultimately, however, the crowd was there to see 311, which became obvious as soon as the band hit the stage. It was such a change that I wondered where all the people had suddenly come from. They played to an electrified crowd, and by the end of it all, we were nearly breathless. It was easy to see why the fans had come for 311 and 311 alone: There was a creativity and an energy to their music that was lacking in the other bands, to say nothing for the impressive showmanship they exhibited. They played several songs from their new upcoming album Don’t Tread on Me due out on the 16th of this month, including at least one world premier performance. They also put in a nice mix of previous hits, like “Down”, “Amber”, “Beautiful Disaster”, and “Come Original.” In the end, it was 311’s show, and to quote Kat, “If you weren’t a fan before, you will be now.”

Visit 311’s website to hear tracks of the new album here.