Alien Ant Farm @ The Chance, Poughkeepsie, NY
Live Reviews | Nov 29th, 2005
Opening Bands: The Black Hand, Fantom Frequency and Another Prozac Morning
Date: November 29th 2005
Venue: The Chance (Poughkeepsie), The Continental (NYC)
Remember back in 2001 when Smooth Criminal was all over the radio and Alien Ant Farm was such a marketable band?
I just want to know one thing, what the heck happened? They’ve had two albums since 2001’s Anthology, but have managed to stay under the radar, for better or worse. Back in September, they played an off show at The Continental in NYC which seemed like a good idea, a big band playing such a small venue, the only problem was the show didn’t even sell out. It was crowded, and yes, the show was great but it was just a little unsettling to see how quickly a star can fade.
AAF has been on tour with 311 and played an off date at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY with openers The Black Hand, Fantom Frequency and Another Prozac Morning. Fantom Frequency brought in a small crowd, but their dance/rock sound just didn’t cut it, especially not right before AAF. Despite the lack of much of an audience, which can be attributed to little promotion for the show, Alien Ant Farm was sensational. They played as if they were performing to a huge crowd of people. Almost like machines, the four band members play without any interaction amongst themselves onstage. Instead, they automatically go from one song to another and proceed to rock out. They are a great band to see live and certainly worth checking out beyond their hits “Smooth Criminal” and “Movies”. Singer Dryden Mitchell, who expressed his thanks to the crowd throughout the performance is certainly energetic to say the least. He is great to watch despite the strange vibes he may give off and the numerous snot rockets he blows during the show. Perhaps even more memorable is bassist Tye Zamora whose facial expressions throughout the set are absolutely priceless. The big shocker of the evening occurred when Dryden announced to the crowd that they have been dropped from their label, Geffen Records but neglected to go into detail. Perhaps a new label will put Alien Ant Farm back on the map so they begin, once again, to receive the fan support they deserve.
