Few things in life can compare to seeing your FAVORITE band up close, live, and in-person.

I am a rabid 311 fan. I have all the albums and countless imports and bootlegs. I know all the words to all the songs. I have many gigabytes of storage space devoted to 311 music videos. I own all the 311 DVDs.

I went to the 311 show tonight at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz with my cousin Kym. I had to warn her beforehand… I sang loudly, danced and pranced around, and pumped my fist in the air to every song. I can’t say which she enjoyed more: the show, or me making a fool of myself. At any rate, I had a blast and I’m SO glad Kym came along. She’s a cool chick and a good friend.

311 rocked. This was my first time seeing them live. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to see them in the past, but could never find anyone to go with me. This time, however, I just went ahead and bought the tickets. Fuck it. I was gonna go alone if I had to.

The Catalyst is a great place to see bands. It’s big enough to house a good crowd and just small enough to be intimate with the band. The lighting tonight was just perfect. It fit in well with 311’s trippy, psychedelic, reggae-infused rap-rock dubs. But the liquor is quite expensive–two pints of Sierra and a shot of Crown was $18 (oh, how I miss $1 drinks every night somewhere in Chico).

311 played a lot of old shit tonight, which to hardcore fans like me is just awesome. Thanks, guys. I had a great time. I’ve been dreaming about this day since I first heard you guys way back in 1996. For an “old” band (every member of the band is my age, 34-35 years old) you sure attracted a young crowd. AND you guys can still rock the fucking house.

“The day we turn to pop the show will stop…” — S.A. Martinez, 311

Keep rockin’, guys.  And I’ll keep buying your albums, DVDs, t-shirts, and keep going to your concerts.