311 Mixes it Up

I have a few guilty pleasure bands and 311 happen to be one of them. My bro-in-law got me into them right before I left on my mission, so it was fitting that he was there, along with his wife, to bask in the reggae-inspired rock/rap. He actually got us free VIP suites along with dinner (thanks Steve). Since I've been a long-time fan of 311 I'm pretty familiar with their catalogue, which why I was so pleased that 311 chose to play a lot of their hidden gems instead of just the hits.

I was talking to Steve and we were trying to figure out how 311 has remained relatively popular, since so many of their counterparts have fallen by the wayside in obscurity. But the more interesting question was whether or not 311 would remain a band that could continue to tour and fill arenas. Steve said that 311 lacked that 'classic' sound that makes bands like U2 and the Stones popular way into their 40s or 60s even! I said that the Red Hot Chili Peppers really don't have that classic sound he was talking about and that 311 has followed a similar pattern of rap/rock that RHCP had taken before they evolved into a more commercial mainstream rock band.

It's an interesting question because rock was founded on youthful arrogance that didn't trust anyone over 40. However, as rock bands begin to age they take their fans with them all the way to becoming senior citizens. What was once new becomes extremely old, but fans still pay enormous amounts of money to see these bands and maybe rekindle those nostalgic memories of 'sticking it to the man.' Thus, it sounds plausible that 311 could be touring well into their 60s collecting ticket revenues and social security checks along the way.