Photo Blog: 311 at Val-Air Ballroom in Des Moines, Iowa on August 7, 2014

Last Thursday 311 came to town and showed Des Moines what's up. 

They played a 22 song set to a very enthusiastic sold out audience with tracks dating throughout their entire 25 year career. The crowd started the party early in anticipation of this show, forming a line as early as 5:00.  As for the concert itself, it seemed to go off without a hitch. 311 has become one of the tightest bands on the travelling circuit.

The show ran deep into the night but the audience's spirit never dampened. The band seemed to feed off of the crowd's energy and as the night wore on, the more fun everybody seemed to have, including the band. At shows end, it seemed impossible that 311 had played a 22 song set. Time flies when you are having fun.

You can check out the evening's setlist here. 

Highlights were a blistering version of standards "Homebrew" and "Applied Science" from 1994's GRASSROOTS album and "Sand Dollars," a very cool track from their latest album, STEREOLITHIC. Another highlight was the reggae infused "Beyond The Grey Sky" from EVOLVER. The band brought with them an incredible light show with colorful spotlights shooting like laser beams from the stage rafters.

Tim Mahoney and SA Martinez
(All photos by Troy Church and the Bigfoot Diaries - click to enlarge)

Tim Mahoney finding that groove

Chad Sexton 

Nick Hexum

P-Nut

Mahoney and Hexum matching licks

"All Mixed Up"

Mahoney with the halo effect

P-Nut in the pink

Very few can rock the mic like SA Matrinez does.

P-Nut

Chad Sexton during "Beyond the Grey Sky." .

Mahoney in the red zone

Nick Hexum banters with the sold out audience.

Mahoney and Martinez share in Chad Sexton's drum solo.

Hexum and P-Nut

SA Martinez getting "Down."

311 got the groove ya'all 

311 is touring in support of STEREOLITHIC, the band's 13th studio album which debuted at # 6 on the Billboard Charts. Doing so, it became the band's 9th album in a row to debut in the Billboard's Top Ten. (The album also entered #1 on both the Rock and the Indie charts.) The 7 week headlining tour of North America started on June 26th in  Albuquerque, New Mexico and finishes up in mid-August in Salt lake City, Utah.