The Platinum Selling 311Gets Down in TO!!
- Justin Michael Carriere
- 19 minutes ago
- 10 min read
By: Justin Michael Carriere
Toronto, Canada - The year was 1996. A young Justin and his friends had their rollerblades strapped on and were aggressively hurling themselves down staircases and onto hand railings. Getting themselves kicked off of properties and yelled at for all kinds of shenanigans, the one constant was the soundtrack on the boombox (yup, we had one), and a mainstay on that soundtrack... 311. The boys from Nebraska had the perfect sound for getting us amped up and keeping us chilled out. So, when the opportunity to cover their current tour with Dirty Heads came up, it was a no brainer!
With a genre bending sound of rock/reggae/rap and funk, 311 (three-eleven, not three-one-one the information hotline) has been a major influence on acts like Incubus, Dirty Heads (you’ll hear about them later) and countless others. Foregoing the expectation of “what will sell” the group decided early on to forge their own path. Now with over 14 albums to their credit, with several having gone platinum, the Omaha quintet of Nick Hexum (vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming), Aaron “P-Nut” Wills (bass), Chad Sexton (drums, percussion), Tim Mahoney (lead guitar), and Doug “SA” Martinez (vocals, turntables, percussion) are still going strong, with their latest release, 2024’s Full Bloom turning out their highest charting single, “You’re Gonna Get It” in over a decade.
While the rain made a brief appearance later in the evening, the night started out wonderfully warm and bright. The sun was shining and the crowd, to paraphrase a line from ol’ Bill Shakespeare, “though it be but small, it be fierce”. The number of old school 311 concert tees was a testament to the die-hard fandom, and they would indeed be treated to an evening of quintessential “Summer Sunday” vibes!
ROME
Kicking the night off was ROME Ramirez, a singer/guitarist hailing from California. Best known for joining up with Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh to bring Sublime back to the stage over a decade after the death of original singer Bradley Nowell, Ramirez brought a fantastic energy to kick the night off. In my notes I wrote down “mellow ass-kickery”… not sure that’s a thing, but it’s the best way to describe it! Exclaiming “We made it to Canada baby!” before opening with “PCH” on his Taylor acoustic guitar (I have one too!!) he set the tone with his smooth vocals and chill vibe, which was definitely an indication of the night to come!
With an excellent backing band consisting of Jeremy Long on pedal steel guitar, Adam Ditt on bass, Gabrial McNair on keyboard (and trombone!) and Joe Tomino on drums, he moved through a catalogue of originals and Sublime with Rome tunes. He had the crowd singing to “Take It or Leave It”, bopping to the ska heavy “Skankin” and feeling carefree on “Slow & Easy”. As with most bands in a “daylight” slot, there’s minimal stage lighting and set up, but it didn’t matter one bit. Ramirez has such an easy stage presence. While his band never missed a beat, you just know that even if he had been by himself on the RBC stage or simply sitting in the back of a pick-up truck just strumming away, he’d have a rapt audience in no time.
The last few tunes featured a couple of original ROME songs, “New Me” and “Fire”, the former showcasing his guitar soloing chops, and latter of which was very aptly named! A killer bluesy tune, with the bass cranked up so you could feel it in your chest, it was a perfect closer. It’s un-released as of now, but my hope is that it’s available soon as it’ll definitely be in heavy rotation for me! After finishing up with his time, and before leaving (but not for good... foreshadowing) he crumpled up his set list, tossed it to the crowd and a lucky fan made a beauty of a one-handed grab!
ROME Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Ocean Alley
Next up on the RBC stage were Australian psychedelic reggae-rockers Ocean Alley. Formed in 2011, Baden Donegal (vocals, guitar), Angus Goodwin (lead guitar), Lach Galbraith (keyboard, vocals), Mitch Galbraith (guitar), Nic Bloom (bass) and Tom O’Brien (drums) now have 5 studio albums to their credit and continue to spread the good vibes world-wide!
Starting off their set with “Tangerine”, a catchy hook with a mellow rock flair, it led perfectly into one of their biggest songs, “Knees”. Donegal’s earthy vocals mixed with the atmospheric 70’s rock sound provided by his bandmates had me feeling like I was floating through a lava lamp! With the haze pumping, they went straight into “Tombstone”, another psychedelic trip which I was happy to go on with them!
Donegal was effortlessly cool, and a three-guitar attack with Goodwin and Galbraith allowed him to really get in the groove when he was on “vocals only” duty. After finishing “Tombstone” the band started into their next song, and I immediately recognized the beginning, but couldn’t place it until the chorus dropped… “Baby Come Back”, a cover Player’s 1977 hit! And what a cover! So catchy and they absolutely did it justice.
Both guitarists showed their prowess throughout on songs like the Marley-esque “Yellow Mellow” and “Confidence”, the latter of which had the Wah pedal out in full force! As the set progressed, Lach Galbraith quipped in a perfectly Aussie way that “it was a perfect day to be havin’ a gig I reckon” and by the time the band kicked into “Love Balloon”, a funky up-tempo jam, the RBC crowd had the surf vibes in full force with beach balls being tossed around! Closing their night with “Touch Back Down”, Donegal thanked the crowd and gave a shout out to everyone wearing an Ocean Alley shirt, and while they were already pretty plentiful, I’m sure merch sales went up after a fantastic TO set!
Ocean Alley Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
Dirty Heads
Once the stage was cleared, Dirty Heads took over! As mentioned earlier, the 311 influence is clear, but the fellas from Cali have crafted and shaped their own unique sound. Formed in 2006 and currently comprised of Dustin “Duddy B” Bushnell (co-lead vocals, guitar), Jared “Dirty J” Watson (co-lead vocals), Jon Olazabal (percussion), David Foral (bass), Matt Ochoa (drums), Shawn Gonazalez (keyboards, backing vocals), Mark Bush (trumpet, backing vocals) and Ruben Durazo (trombone, backing vocals), the band kept the smooth vibes going for the appreciative RBC crowd!
With three large projector screens now up and running (up till now just the centre one had been used for band names) an image of an old timey pirate scroll being unfurled came up with the words “Life began in the deep blue sea…” as the opening hook to “Seven Seas” started in! Once the scroll faded away, the screens were filled with mythical ocean creatures bursting out of the sea as both Bushnell and Watson started in with the vocals. Bathed in a deep blue lighting wash, Watson took command of the stage immediately, strutting from one end to the other with mic in hand and an easy swagger. Admittedly the deep blue and red hues aren’t the most ideal for photographic success, but I concede it looks cool as hell!
Bushnell mentioned in between songs that it had been a while since they’ve been here and that they missed it. I took a peek and the last time was 2018 and the RBC crowd was very appreciative of their return! With an impressive set up boasting Ochoa behind a full drum kit, Olazabal behind a second percussion kit with more drums and bongos and a horn section courtesy of Bush and Durazo, the whole band was showcased throughout the night on songs like “Oxygen” and “That’s All I Need”.
When they hit their cover of Joe Walsh’s “Life’s Been Good”, the RBC crowd was right there to sing along, as was the case on “One of Those Days”, which Bushnell informed us had just hit number one in the US the week prior. No easy feat with so much out there for folks to choose from, so kudos gents! The band seemed to have an extra pop in their performance courtesy of the recent success of the track and it carried into the next song when they brought out special guest Mr. Rome Ramirez to sing on “Lay Me Down”! An already great song was made so fun in performance thanks to Ramirez and the super cool animation behind the band; dancing Day of The Dead skeletons, señors and señoritas, skulls and roses… What more could you ask for?!
As they worked through the rest of their set, the visuals were compelling and always right on point. From throwback skateboarding vids on “That’s All I Need”, to live video inserts of band members behind windows and in picture frames on “Better”. When time came for “Sloth’s Revenge” (yup, that Sloth) there was a pirate flag flying throughout the tune!
To close out their night, the guys got the bass thumping with the penultimate “Sound Boy Killa” and then wrapped it up with “Medusa”, a serious head bopping, tribal-type beat that had the whole crowd chanting ‘Medusa’ as images of the priestess were interwoven with huge snakes and Greek imagery! A hell of a send-off for the Dirty Heads and I know I’m not alone when I say I sure hope it doesn’t take them another 8 years to come back and put on a show!
Dirty Heads Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
311
And then the stage was set for the outlaws from Omaha, 311!! When the lights went down, a montage of stylized images of the band throughout the years cycled on the three screens and the band made their way on stage. Backlit from the glow of the photos, they took up their positions and cast a mighty epic tableau before launching into “Beautiful Disaster”. With Nick Hexum (who would be up for the “Most Handsome Rock Star” award if such a thing existed!) taking centre stage on a semicircular platform, his homebase for the show, and SA Martinez marching back and forth between his turntable and downstage centre, the duo set the bar for what was to come for the RBC crowd!
When the opening chords of “All Mixed Up” started, I also found myself all mixed up; while it was an absolute joy to be in the pit capturing images of the band performing one of their biggest hits, I had to find the right balance of singing along and grooving very nimbly as I navigated the narrow space with the other photographers! Needless to say, the band was in fine form on this one.
Moving into “Come Original” the haze was pumping, and Tim Mahoney was feeling it! Off to stage right, he was the image of a quintessential rock guitar player with hair flowing and thick riffs pounding! While I had to manoeuvre around the house video cameraman to capture some images of Mr. Mahoney, it was well worth it to capture the man in his element.
As the band made their way through both old and new material with songs like “Sunset in July” (very apropos!), “Champagne”, “Don’t Stay Home” and their cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong” (an absolute highlight!) it seemed like the temperature just kept rising! By the time “Transistor” rolled around, Martinez was drenched in sweat and looked every bit the part of a badass rocker who’s been around the block but still refused to give anything less than everything!
After finishing “Transistor” Hexum took to the mic and so eloquently encapsulated the energy of the evening by saying how grateful they were to be “bringing people together with a positive message because somebody needs to do that” before exiting and allowing Mr. Sexton to take over… and my good gracious did he ever…
Dear friends I have been going to music shows for a lot of years now, and I can honestly say I’ve never seen a drum solo on the scale of what I witnessed on July 26th, 2026 courtesy of Mr. Chad Sexton… it was absolutely epic in length (at least 7-8 minutes), scope, precision and entertainment. With his drum kit set up on a platform about 5 feet high, the lights shining squarely on him, he delivered an unbelievable performance that blew me away. And as he was mid solo MORE DRUMS & PERCUSSION were wheeled out, and he was joined back onstage by the rest of the band who took up position behind said drums and joined in the rhythm! They genuinely appeared to revel in the fun of it, even throwing drumsticks back and forth to each other a couple of times! Once it came to an end they were given a very well-deserved ovation. I’d say it was standing, but people had already been on their feet for some time.
Basking in the afterglow of that energy, the band made their way through “Beyond the Gray Sky”, for which the RBC crowd had their phone lights out, “Creatures (For a While)” and “Amber”. The latter of which seemed to present a bit of mic feedback/sound issue, but it was brief. And with the swirling yellow lights and visuals as a backdrop, it didn’t detract at all. With only a couple of songs left, Hexum went tarps off, and it’s no wonder he’s been profiled in Muscle & Fitness magazine; eat your vegetables kids and you too can be a kick ass rockstar well into your 50’s!
With a raucous performance of “Feels So Good” I’d be remiss not to shout out P-Nut on the bass, who kept the whole show filled out in that department with ease! Closing with “Down”, Hexum preceded it with “This is dedicated to all the old school fans” and the RBC crowd of old (and new) school fans revelled in it! After the song ended, the band all got together downstage centre, linked arms and took a final bow before exiting.
Set List
Beautiful Disaster
All Mixed Up
Come Original
Sick Tight
Sunset in July
Don't Stay Home
Champagne
You Wouldn't Believe
Lovesong (The Cure cover)
Transistor
Applied Science
Beyond the Gray Sky
Creatures (for a While)
Amber
Feels So Good
Down
This was a moment I reflected on as I made my way out of the venue amongst the small but mighty crowd. That last bow captured the one thing that was more than evident throughout the night; the pure bliss and enjoyment the band displayed. At one point Hexum mentioned that they’ve been together as a group for 36 YEARS! To have the sort of joy that was present on the RBC stage after so long together is a clear indication that 311 is more than just a band, they’re a family. And it was no small thing to have felt like we were invited in to join on this warm summer night in July.
All the good vibes out of 5
311 Photo Gallery (all photos by: Justin Michael Carriere)
311 Online
Show Date: July 26, 2026