September 26, 2001
311 in Madison
311 in Madison
311 hit the radio at about 5:45, not too long after we left the dream park. Nick & SA answered some questions and played an acoustic version of "I'll Be Here Awhile" on 92.1 WMAD. At 6:45, me and the Terry left for the show. I felt a little bit sick still from the tire swing, and the Terry was really tired, but all that disappeared when we parked in a parking lot at my dad's old office and made the 15-minute walk to the Alliant Energy Center.
We arrived at about 7:10 to hear the sounds of Moby playing outside. As we got closer, we heard the sounds of "1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins. It was then that we realized that WMAD was broadcasting live from the parking lot. We went inside and immediately saw Tear-E's fiancée Michelle, with Beth, Zach, & Tyler. So, we chilled with them for a while. After that while, we left to get drinks. On the way, the lights went off and One Side Zero took the stage. They were OK. After a while, their songs started to sound the same. A good thing about them was that they had three guitarists, which is rare. Anyway, we wandered about for a while after that, and at about 8:20 P.M., 311 took the stage.
They were incredible. I had already seen them twice. Once with Jimmie's Chicken Shack in February 2000, and once at the Warped Tour earlier this year. This show was better than both of those. It was better than the Warped Tour cuz they played longer than 30 minutes. (about 100 minutes, to be more precise). It was better than the one in 2000 cuz I already knew what to expect and how to prepare. (although there were a couple suprises. Read on.)
They opened with the song "Freeze Time," which is an excellent song to open with. I was suprised, however, by the large amount of slow songs they played, such as: "Champagne," "My Stoney Baby," "Nix Hex," "Use of Time," & "Sweet." Also unexpected, but very welcome, was the amount of songs they played that featured Tim Mahoney's cool guitar solos, such as "Use of Time," "Nix Hex," "Sweet," "Wake Your Mind Up," and "F--- The Bulls---." One of the best things about this show was the drum solo. After Chad did his big thing, the rest of them played large toms and bass drums, creating a five-person percussion solo. Finally, two interesting notes of trivia: 1) Nick remembered to point out that he's from Madison. 2) I was in the front of the pit for about the last 80% of the show, and at the end SA was leaning out touching people and I shook his hand. It made me feel special.
I look forward to 311's next concert. Earlier today, I had a half-day of school (which you can read here) and afterwards I had a great adventure (read here). Below is a list, in alphabetical order, of the songs 311 played. Enjoy.
Applied Science
Beautiful Disaster
Champagne
Down
Feels So Good
Flowing
Freak Out
Freeze Time
From Chaos
F--- The Bulls---
Hydroponic
I Told Myself
My Stoney Baby
Nix Hex
Sick Tight
Sweet
Uncalm
Unity
Wake Your Mind Up
What The F--- Was I Thinking?
Who's Got The Herb?
You Get Worked
You Wouldn't Believe
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