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Dirty Heads & 311
Bring the Boom to Long Beach
August 21st, 2026 Review by Jimmy Alvarez
It was a warm Tuesday night in Long Beach; the night was billed as a sort of homecoming, but it was much more than that.
The show was dubbed the summer’s best homecoming show featuring local sonic heroes, Dirty Heads. Truthfully, as soon as doors opened, you could tell the night would be electric.
August 18th, 2026
It was evident that the capacity crowd covered all demographic groups. In short, there were a boatload of true music fans that turned up for this one.
The buzz was in the air – given the lineup, each set would prove to be epic.
(aka ROME)
Opening the night was fan favorite, Rome Ramirez (aka ROME). It wasn’t lost on the crowd that Romie helped keep the Sublime legacy alive for years fronting Sublime with ROME. You could tell the early crowd loved him for that.
As expected, ROME stormed the stage with a high-energy set that delivered on the mastery of his guitar hero skills. With his infectious smile and cherub-like vocals, Romie wove in and out of a few original solo songs and a few Sublime / Sublime with ROME tunes.
The crowd loved, loved, loved his delivery of “Take It Or Leave It” and “Garden Grove.”
But, it was his take on “Badfish” that got the largest reaction of the night. Ramirez gave tribute to Bradley for what he meant to Sublime fans, including himself. He also gave tribute to Eric, Bud and Bradley’s son, Jakob. That tribute nearly caused a sonic boom it was that well received. Needless to say, he left the stage to a standing O!
After an extended intermission, out came Minnesota hip-hop marvels, Atmosphere.
Lead singer Slug was wearing his # 5 Minnesota b-ball jersey that gave tribute to the Mayo Clinic, which is right on cue for how cool this dude is. Everyone with a heartbeat could see, Slug was amped. DJ Ant was as entertaining as ever and that’s saying something!
What makes their music stand out in addition to the kick-ass production Ant pumps out are the lyrics and rhymes that tap into the souls of their fans. Slug is a legit entertainer, and he has demonstrated over the years he can command an audience and do stand-up all in one.
Slug had the crowd rolling in between songs. Songs like “God Loves Ugly,” “Puppets, “Scapegoat,” “Okay,” and “Trying to Find Balance” reminded all in attendance why Atmosphere remains one of the premiere artists – they bring energy, reflection and soul piercing production to every show they play.
With the sun dipping into the Pacific and the lights from the Queen Mary providing an incredible backdrop, it was time for 311! Shortly thereafter, the lights dimmed and out came out the cats from 311!
Nick Hexum was front and center, with SA Martinez right behind him on keys the band led off with their catalog of hit-after-hit with “Beautiful Disaster.”
That guitar riff sounded incredible, and Hexum’s vocals has the crowd screaming at the top of their lungs.
With SA Martinez adding the dance track and vocals, P-Nut and Tim Mahone were booming with their setlist, “All Mixed Up,” “Come Original,” “Sunset in July” gave that crazy light show some competition, because you could feel the vibration from the bass!
Notable moments included their Cure cover of “Lovesong,” and a drum solo by Chad Sexton. The band came out with a kick-ass drumline set that would make any college drum corp jealous beyond belief.
311 delivered the tunes their fans were screaming for, “Creatures (For a While),” “Amber,” “Feel So Good,” and “Down” brought the house down. 311 definitely gave the crowd what they wanted.
By now, the crowd was ready for the closer. Since it was a hometown show, it was time for HB’s Dirty Heads! The crowd lost its mind when Jared Watson (aka Dirty J) and Dustin Bushnell (aka Duddy B) took the stage.
The duo traded vocal duties as they do and it is mesmerizing. This band makes every show feel like a family and backyard BBQ, very reminiscent of Grateful Dead or Phish gigs.
Just like 311, Dirty Heads also has a hit catalog they were about to unleash. “Seven Seas,” (personal favorite!) – “Burn Slow,” “Bum Bum,” and “Heavy Water” had the crowd on their feet and doing an old fashion sing-along.
With an energetic crowd, the hot night was only overcome by the heat from the stage. “Oxygen,” “Rescue Me,” “My Sweet Summer,” “Life’s Been Good,” and “One of Those Days” had the crowd in a craze.
Then, they went into “Lay Me Down,” which had ROME come out for it and the crowd ate it up.
Then they segued into new song, “Better,” then back to some old school hits, “Vacation,” “Island Glow,” “Medusa,” and then they called it a night with “My Sweet Summer.”
A perfect ending for a perfect night of music in this newly crowned jewel of a venue.
SHOW PHOTO GALLERY
by Green-Eyed Blonde Photography
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SID 260826 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
