Download Festival at the Tweeter Center on August 30

Last Sunday’s& “Download Festival” was a big ole frat party at the Tweeter Center. Booze, music, and more booze was the story of the day as 311 headlined the all-day festival.

Local rockers Parker House and Theory kicked off the festivity from a parking lot stage along with Bob Marley’s former backing band, The Wailers. The outside stage was a great idea, allowing fans to enjoy the music while still tailgating, but having The Wailers perform so early was an absolute shame.

From the main stage, former Dispatch leader Chad Urmston led his new band, State Radio, through the day’s first set from inside. Veteran Irish punk rockers Black 47 followed suit as did reggae-flavored rockers Pepper.

Jurassic 5 proved that they are the best, but still somehow most underrated, rap group today with their awesome set. Touring in support of their new release Feedback, their new single “Work It Out” was great and mixed well with old favorites such as “Quality Control.” Jurassic 5 are a rare hip-hop crew in that their lyrics can be just as inspiring as their live performances, which always seem to captivate a live audience.

G. Love and Special Sauce, who formed in Boston over a decade ago, provided a mix bag of tricks to the swelling crowd. Probably the most funkadelic white boy in music, he displayed his usual lacing of bluesy guitar with harmonica funk, for set that included newbie “Hot Cookin’” and older hit, “This Ain’t Living.”

If anyone was getting sleepy, Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys woke them up with a fury of Irish fused punk rock. As the lights dimmed to the tune of “The Foggy Dew” by the Chieftains and Sinead O’Conner, an early surprise entrance from the Bunker Hill Pipe Band for opener “For Boston” made it feel like the guys were celebrating another St. Patty’s Day show in August.

The Dropkicks kicked it hard with “Rocky Road To Dublin” and fan favorites “Boys On The Dock,” “The Warrior’s Code,” and “Workers’ Song”. As the Red Sox’ struggle intensified over the weekend, they performed “Tessie” in hopes of invigorating the team. Hometown gal Stephanie Dougherty made a guest appearance for “Dirty Glass.”

Surprisingly it seemed only half the crowd was into their set, which exemplifies how much of a college crowd this was. Yet those that were in for the set were vociferous and as energetic as the band.

After the Dropkick’s set, lawn-goers were entertained with a lightning show that quickly turned into heavy downpours that sent attendees fleeing for shelter. Despite the thunderstorm, it was clear who the crowd waited all day for, and no amount of rain would dampen their spirits to see 311.

For nearly two decades, Omaha’s 311 have delighted crowds with a style of their own. Nothing much has changed in their live sets, as 311 still attacks the crowd with pure energy but still remains predictable.

They quickly got the crowd going with “All Mixed Up” and by the time “Beautiful Disaster” came, the crowd was in frenzy. The chilling vibe of “Amber” cooled the crowd down and gave a much-needed rest.

311 spanned their career with fan favorites, “Do You Right”, “Come Original,” and “Creatures (For A While)” and limited last year’s Don’t Tread On Me to one song, “Frolic.” One of the highlights of 311’s live performance continues to be the band’s drum-off during “Applied Science.”

A fist-pumping rendition of “What Was I Thinking” gave way to their staple hit “Down,” which closed out the main set. Curfew restrictions limited the band to a two-song encore of “Omaha Stylee” and “Feels So Good."