Items filtered by date: November 2007

The crowd outside of the Aragon Ballroom, a historic Chicago venue, toked and were stoked right from the get go for the other night's Kottonmouth Kings and 311 show.

Most of the fans were in their teens or were 20 somethings who weren't funked, punked, rocked or hippied out. I did, though, get a glimpse of a few Grateful Dead threads and one of a Phish t-shirt drifting about.

Also, most of the fans I spoke to were residents of Chicagoland, and, some of them made passionate screams and demands to "Free Weed!" while waiting outside the Aragon to see the bands.

But, what other kind of behavior is one to expect or suspect from a band named, the Kottonmouth Kings or from a 311 show. They're 2 bands who convey it's okay to smoke pot and make it grow.

That is, one of the Kottonmouth King's songs is, "Where's the Weed,?" and one of 311's is, "Whose got the Herb?"

This article is to focus on the band 311 though, and there may be folks who after finding out the meaning of 311's name, may be a wee bit disturbed.

Here's the story, it does not mean KKK, rather it stands for the police code (311) for indecent exposure a friend of the bassist for the band was charged with, after getting caught skinny dipping back in the day. The teen wasn't allowed to put on his clothing, so his weenie was dangling freely for all to see while the cops whisked him away in handcuffs anyway.

Now, that that's out of the way, 311 describes their music as a magical potion of Rock, Hip-Hop and Reggae.

311, whose members have been together for a whopping 19 years, is comprised of Nick Hexum (Vocals, Guitar and Songwriter), SA Martinez (Vocals and DJ Scratches), P-Nut (Bass), Tim Mahoney (Guitar) and Chad Sexton (Drums, Percussion), show no signs of their musical careers together being done.

Their new and 9th album, Uplifter, is hoped by the band members to make people uplifted by listening to it, and I was really curious to see if it's the sh*t!

During the opening act, played by the Kottonmouth Kings, you didn't have to spend a dime on weed--there was a sufficient amount of smoke to be able to score a "contact high" if in need.

I'm pretty sure I got one, but I'm by no means complaining!

The anticipation to see 311 play was building and smokin' hot, and, the show emerged at about 9 p.m. on the dot.

The stage turned pitch black, except for the glow in the dark bass keys. Then, shazam--me and the rest of the audience sees white, shock-like lights to the eyes that reveal the entire band, and the "house party" quickly began!

The stage looked similar to a gigantic Easter Egg Basket with its' handle made up of blue and pink pastel flashing lights.

The crowd was singing along to 311's catchy songs from the start. The first song they played was "Sick Tight" and the last was "Feels So Good." You could tell 311 still loves to play and they do so from the heart. Tim kept bopping his head, and P-Nut smiled from time to time while they both performed their mastered art.

Nick, and especially SA, were the band's main "energizer bunnies" on stage, though, for every single song because of their amazingly tireless hopping and jumping. Although, Chad's drum solo was even more incredible and really got my heart thumping.

Chad did a spectacular, predominately primitive sounding solo, something like, da, da, da, da, BOOM! Da, da, da, da, BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! I would have been so pissed if I would have missed it because I had to go downstairs to use the bathroom!

Yet, the highlight of the show was shown when all of the band came back out on stage toward the end of Chad's solo with big drums of their own.

Imagine, intense pounding of the drums that seemingly couldn't be beat--each pound of the drum all members of the band played simultaneously, was galaxies away from being anything close to humdrum, and I didn't catch any fans in their seat.

Pound! Pound! Pound! It was a profound, entire body consuming power of immensely strong sound, that'll make a lot of people see them when they come back around.

However, I spoke to about 10 fans after the show, and they said 311's performance was good but too short--they wished it lasted much longer. They did only play for approximately an hour, but it's because the venue threatened the band that at 10 p.m.. they would shut off the power.

Since the show, 2 days after, my mind continues to play 311's new song "Jackpot" and their old one "Beautiful Disaster!"

The town of Laramie, Wyoming gained international recognition on October 6^th 1998, when young Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence followed by a brutal beating in which he was left for dead. Six days later Matthew died as the case became sensationalized throughout the world by the media as a senseless hate crime against gays. As a top story across the nation, support groups came to the aid of the Shepard family and protested such hateful acts towards another human being, especially for the mere reason of being different.  Theatre on the Hill’s production of “The Laramie Project” is hard-hitting, meaningful and resonates deep within one’s conscience long after seeing the play.

Superbly acted out, “The Laramie Project” is the voice of local townspeople as they come to terms with the tragedy and piece together the details that led to the heinous act. With accounts from such as Shepard’s friends, Laramie police, a limo driver, the bartender and owner of the bar where Matthew was last seen alive, the story is beautifully pieced together. Wonderfully directed by David Belew, “The Laramie Project” is compelling as it is important.

With over 60 characters acted out by just nine actors, audience members are treated to true acting versatility. Florence Romano’s smooth transitions from the Laramie officer first on the scene to local shop owner, Trish Steger, is flawless while both David Dimas and Joe Mennella should be acknowledged for their flexibility in their multiple roles as well.

With a theme so close to the hearts of its cast members, Joe Mennella says, “We really relate to the people represented in the show, and that connection is coming through in our performances. As a cast, we spent some time talking about what happened to Matthew and the media surge in Laramie. We discovered that despite our personal and political differences, we can relate on some level with most of the characters on stage. It's been a very exciting process.”

As the story deepens, we are taken to a gripping courtroom drama where a grief stricken father’s saddened words to one of his son’s killers, Andrew McKinney, brings many audience members to tears. Dan Vujocic luminously plays the father, Dennis Shepard as one of his many roles. As a whole the entire cast is thoroughly entertaining, playing each and every role with the conviction needed to make a show like this work. After the final scene, the actors gathered to the front of the stage teary-eyed as it became obvious to all how close at heart this production is to each of them.  

Theater President Craig J. Engel calls the script “powerful and richly layered” and he couldn’t be more correct. This gripping play is deeply haunting thanks to passionate performances, unforgettable projected images throughout and its potent subject matter.     

The Laramie Project runs for three weeks, and closes November 22 at Bolingbrook’s Performing Arts Stage, located 375 W. Briarcliff, behind the Town Center Building.

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35 years? Wow. It’s not so hard to believe that KISS has been around since forming in New York City in January of 1973, but what’s so amazing is their ability to still rock as hard as ever. Known for their spectacular live shows, KISS reminded everyone why they’ve always had a larger than life image

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Halloween was even more intriguing and mystical this year thanks to Theatre on the Hill’s charming production of “The Spirit of Hallow’s Eve”. Written and directed by Douglas Hawksworth, the Bolingbrook theatre company’s presentation was hypnotic, featuring dazzling costumes...

Rarely have I run into a band that actually sounds better live than on their record, but on October 29^th, 2009 English band Noah and The Whale did just that at the Lakeshore Theater alongside their opener, American musician Robert Francis...

The bands fun., Anberlin and Taking Back Sunday stormed The House of Blues for this Q101 show with high energy and charged the crowd with positive vibes. Every once in awhile there is that band that you feel iffy about and can’t decide whether or not you want to like them. At this concert I had this fork in the road and made my decision.

Rosemont Theatre hosted Canadian folk legend Leonard Cohen and band on October 29^th, 2009. Cohen began playing at 8pm sharp and went strong for three and a half hours...