“Not bad for five kids from Omaha.”
That’s how Nick Hexum summed up 311’s sold-out homecoming Wednesday night at Stir Cove, and it was hard to argue with him.
Thirty-six years after the band formed in Omaha, 311 returned home with family and longtime friends in attendance, a crowd packed with die-hard fans and a bespoke setlist built specifically for the city where it all began.
Rather than simply rolling out the same show they’ve been playing on this tour, the So Glad You Made It co-headlining tour with Dirty Heads, 311 dug deeper into its catalog, swapping in older songs for the fans who have been with them since the Ranch Bowl days. The result was a career-spanning celebration that balanced radio staples like Beautiful Disaster, Down, Come Original and, yes, Amber with fan favorites including Champagne, Don’t Stay Home, Beyond the Gray Sky and — you can’t play the Omaha-area show without it — Omaha Stylee.
The vibe, as always, was pure positivity.
“A few weeks ago, we celebrated 36 years of being a band. Traveling the world. Playing our music. Seeing our people. Bringing people together with a positive message because somebody needs to do it,” Hexum told the crowd. “We’re thinking about the Ranch Bowl days and the way we got supported by you guys. Thank you so much for coming out tonight. It means the world to us.”
The hometown crowd was there for it.
Fans showed up in vintage shirts, custom 311 baseball jerseys stitched with alien patches and other gear that reflected their decades of loyalty.
It was a singalong night for the hometown crowd. They danced. They sang. They chilled. They held up bright lights for Beyond the Gray Sky. They cheered as P-Nut beat that thang during Feels So Good. And they went wild for Chad Sexton’s now-legendary drum solo. (I’ve seen it so many times, but it gets better every time. On this tour, he incorporated electronic samples and digital beats while crew members, VIPs and family joined him onstage, waving synchronized LED light rods to keep the audience in rhythm. It ended, as always, with the rest of the band joining on their own drums.)
As one of those who have seen the band dozens of times, I could have used a longer setlist. (Not much more you can do with a co-headline spot, right?) The 75 minutes we did get was a whole lot of fun and geared toward the band’s Omaha fans, who Hexum told me recently are their longest fans.
Before 311 took the stage, Dirty Heads delivered. Their laid-back blend of reggae, rock and hip-hop was the perfect soundtrack for a warm August evening. It’s the kind of music you throw on at a pool party—everyone floating, drinks in hand, grooving in the sun until somebody inevitably decides it’s time for a diving contest.
As the night came to a close, Hexum paused one last time to thank the city that launched 311:
“We want to thank you guys for rocking with us tonight. This has been awesome for us. We want to give a special shoutout and love to all our family members who came tonight. It’s so awesome to be back in our hometown. Omaha!”
