Pop Break Live: 311, Shinobi Ninja at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ
Photos by: Al Mannarino | Words by: Ryan DeMarco
Last weekend, the famed alternative rap/rock band, 311, took the stage in Montclair, New Jersey with opener Shinobi Ninja for an evening of in-your-face energy, dancing and glorious guitar riffs.
The Brooklyn based group, Shinobi Ninja held the stage for about 40 minutes and warmed up the crowd to some infectiously energetic dancing, and an awesome blend of rock and electronic blending led by two lead singers.
Shortly after, 311 took the mic to a packed house of cheering devoted fans, starting the show with a couple of hits (“Do You Right,” “Come Original”) as well as some new songs (“Perfect Mistake”) off of their recent album, Mosaic.
Led by lead vocalist, and all around beautiful human Nick Hexum, the lineup for the band has stayed the same for almost three decades, including S.A. Martinez for back up vocals, lead guitarist Tim Mahoney, Bassist P-Nut, and Chad Sexton on the drums. 311 often change their setlist from city to city, but the group always looks to keep the energy and funk at a constant high throughout the night, never phoning in a performance. They also like to mix things up and spotlight each member of the group. During this show, we witnessed a phenomenal drum solo by Sexton during “Applied Science” and also a sweet bass solo from P-Nut that gave him a moment to seduce the crowd with his funky/trippy rhythmic trance.
Highlighting the rest of the 311’s colossal 24-song set were fan favorites “Beautiful Disaster,” “You Wouldn’t Believe,” “Amber,” “Existential Hero” and new hits like “Til the City’s on Fire” and “Wildfire” which were great to hear for the first time live. The night ended epically with the group sounding off with “Down” and “Unity”, which always leaves fans with a huge smile on their faces. During a night where most people were celebrating Halloween early, 311 brought the party to New Jersey for another unforgettable performance.
Check out Pop Break’s interview with SA Martinez of 311.
311 Setlist:
Do You Right
Come Original
Perfect Mistake
Misdirected Hostility
My Stoney Baby
Galaxy
Beautiful Disaster
Wildfire
Jackolantern’s Weather
Bass Solo
Sweet
Existential Hero
Taiyed
You Wouldn’t Believe
Too Late
Applied Science
‘Til the City’s on Fire
Amber
Stealing Happy Hours
Hey Yo
Silver
Down
Encore:
One and the Same
Unity
