On Tuesday 12 January, Alien Ant Farm returned to England for their first tour in several years, and did not disappoint by putting on an explosive show to the sold out crowd.
First up were welsh band The Dirty Youth, fronted by vocalist Danni Monroe. They played an energetic set, sounding like the lovechild of Paramore and The Pretty Reckless but with a heavier edge, and will probably be headlining much bigger venues soon.
InMe took to the stage a little bit later, thrashing out a varied set taken from their vast back catalogue with hitsUnderdose (from their first album Overgrown Eden) and Faster the Chase (from second album White Butterfly) being
the most popular. Dave McPherson spoke on stage about having been in InMe for twenty years now, and it’s a little aggravating that an excellent band who put on such good shows are still often seen as a support band, but the love in the crowd for them was pleasingly evident.
Lastly, it was time for Alien Ant Farm to play, with them running through the whole of their hit 2001 album ANThology to rapturous applause. The show was sold out, and it was very interesting to see such a wide range of ages within the audience, as ‘comeback gigs’ (as the band themselves claimed it to be in York Calling’s recent interview) often seem to attract people of
a certain age. However, this was not true at this gig, with young people and teenagers who would not have been old enough to own ANThology when it was first released moshing away and singing along to every song.
Alien Ant Farm themselves were also very active on stage, with lead singer Dryden Mitchell running around as per his usual high spirited self, if a slightly older and bulked up self. Every song seemed tp get a great cheer from the
crowd and the majority of people in the audience got fully involved and knew most of the words to each song, especially when it came to a cover of Michael Jackson’sSmooth Criminal. As well as playingANThology from start to finish, a couple of songs from other albums were played, with single These Days from the album TruANTalso being rather popular (the band are a fan of ant based puns).
A great comeback show, and one that will ensure Alien Ant Farm return to England sooner rather than later.
The Dirty Youth, InMe and Alien Ant Farm played at The Duchess on Tuesday 12 January 2016