Friday night's collage of college bands at the Bryce Jordan Center was a concert best described as a well-earned good time. Despite lasting four and a half hours on a night when most of the crowd was itching to go home and party, all three bands managed to keep the half-sized venue entertained until the very end.

The evening of mismatched genres began with alternative-metal rockers Alien Ant Farm. The band breezed through a few songs from its album ANThology, including the hits "Movies" and "Sticks and Stones," before unplugging its electric guitars and going acoustic for several reggae-inflected new songs. But the Michael Jackson cover and MTV smash "Smooth Criminal" was suspiciously missing from the set.

"That's like their signature song," said Sarah Bickerstaff (sophomore-food science and nutrition), who came to the concert for Alien Ant Farm. "They played mainly off the new album."

Although the band played a varied and tight first set, it seemed like the crowd was going to need a little more to get excited for headliner 311. Thankfully O.A.R., with its legions of fraternal friends, was up to the challenge.

The band took the stage with overwhelming response and broke into the Bob Marley referenced "Anyway," off its new album In Between Now and Then. Despite the crowd reaction, the floor audience was virtually motionless. Perhaps it was disorienting for some fans to hear typical party background music performed live in the Jordan Center, but the only part of the crowd moving was the part with a cloud of smoke over it.

But eventually the crowd found its comfort zone and, despite not being a fraternity dance floor, a good number of people were getting their grooves on. The band finished its set with a slew of crowd favorites, including "Risen" and "About an Hour Ago," which resulted in an "O.A.R." chant. And the song everyone was waiting for, set closer "That Was a Crazy Game of Poker," became more than 10 minutes of an audience sing-along.

Although most of O.A.R.'s set list sounded like the same song to this reviewer's ears, it met with unabashed enthusiasm from the hardcore fans.

"It was amazing," Bridget Body (sophomore-engineering) said. "They are my favorite band and 'Hey Girl' sounded great."

But the real reward of the evening was funk-rock 311, which seamlessly combined nearly every style and genre of music and outplayed the other two bands with its sheer diversity. Nick Hexum traded off his melodic vocals with S.A. Martinez's abrasive Beastie Boys-like rap.

Going from new ballads like "Amber" to chaotic high-energy pit-starters like "Other Side of Things," 311 kept a crowd that once seemed more interested in acoustic sing-a-longs on its feet.

The clear highlight was during "Applied Science," from 1994's Grassroots, when four extra drums were brought out and each band member joined in on a synchronized solo. It might not have been "Moby Dick," but it was still pretty cool.

"I've seen them before and this was definitely better," Ashley Archibald (sophomore-history) said. "That drum solo was amazing."

As the clock neared midnight, 311 found time to break out the classics "All Mixed Up" and "Down," which started at least four distinct mosh pits. And you might say, sent the crowd home feeling neither.