THEY'RE unassuming, underrated and unknown to most everyone over 25 - but with the kind of show they unleashed Tuesday at the Hammerstein Ballroom, the boys of 311 won't suffer from the un's much longer.
They are music mongrels who'll bite into most any style that lends itself to a jam, especially reggae-infused hip-hop, funk-metal and psychedelic rock.
Yet unlike other cannabis-fueled noodlers, the Omaha five don't forget they're up on stage to entertain, not gaze at their toes.
They also recognize that a jam shouldn't go on forever.
For the second of two sold-out shows at the Hammer, 311 stayed true to itself and laid down one of the strongest jam concerts of 2003 - and that's saying something in a year when both Phish and the Dead are cutting heads on the road.
Part of 311's secret is the twin vocal attack by Nicholas Hexum and S.A. Martinez.
Hexum handles the more melodic aspects of the vocals and Martinez lends the tunes his emcee skills. It's a sweet 'n' sour combination that loosened the stiffest of dancing bones.
It wasn't a perfect show. On the song "8:16 a.m.," the jam turned tedious with repetition. But there were towering moments, too - including "Beyond the Gray Sky" from the band's new "Evolver" CD.
"Beyond the Gray Sky" has a lovely, ethereal midtempo melody that floated on Tim Mahoney's guitar work, which seemed to pay tribute to the late Jerry Garcia's liquid leads.
That number, like much of 311's songbook, plays better live than on disc.
Maybe that's because of the group's relationship with the audience.
The band and its fans were like lovers in a passionate tangle, when the question of who's making whom more excited is moot.
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