Tuesday, October 19, 2010

311 and Ballyhoo to play Pier Six this Saturday (Examiner.com)

Fresh off their Summer Unity Tour with OffSpring and Pepper, 311 are getting right back on the road this October, playing cities throughout the Eastern Seaboard. Visiting locales they didn't get to on their June/July tour, 311 will bring their funky fusion of rock, reggae and hip hop to Charm City this Saturday at Pier Six Pavilion. Joining 311 to open the evening will be Aberdeen, Maryland's very own Ballyhoo.

This show venue is a welcome departure from the large venues that hold 10,000 or more, which 311 typically packs out for their summer Unity Tours. WIth a capacity of just over 4000 people, the show won't quite have an intimate feel, but the ambience and acoustics of Pier Six make this a must-see event.

It is refreshing that a band like 311, one of the most influential and popular live acts of the past several years, realizes that their formula still works wonders. That formula is hard work, producing great music and caring about their fans. Having toured all Spring and Summer, they could have easily hunkered down in the studio for the next several months to work on their tenth studio album, but they decided to tour in the midst of recording with legendary producer Bob Rock.

It's been a long, ground-breaking road for 311 from their grassroots beginnings in Omaha, NE to now. From undergroud heroes to mainstream mainstays, they have enjoyed the fruits of their work and talent in the form of 8 singles and 6 albums placing in the Top 10 on the Billboard charts. And they have endured the hard miles and heartbreak of the road - a fire destroyed all of their equipment, personal items and the RV they toured in years ago - yet they continue to be relevant and hugely popular with a diverse cross section of fans more than twenty years after they formed.

And there is no better fit to open the show than Ballyhoo, a band that has gotten their start in a similar fashion to 311. Their rootsy and catchy rock/reggae approach has earned them a core following throughout the country. They are one of very few bands from the Baltimore/DC corridor that have the drive, motivation, talent and knowledge to establish themselves in markets outside of their home turf, as evidenced by several successful runs through the West Coast and other parts of the country. Ballyhoo will soon be on to bigger and better than the Baltimore beehive, so be sure to get their in time to see them open things up.

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