A Night To Remember With Hoobastank, P.O.D. & Alien Ant Farm
Published
A little whie ago, Rock City decided to go back 15 years... Alien Ant Farm, P.O.D and Hoobastank are three bands who had their biggest hits in and around the turn of the millennium, and seeing them playing together on the Rock City main stage was something special.
Alien Ant Farm, best known for their 2001 cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" were up first. Lead singer Dryden Mitchell looks and acts like he's been sitting on a couch for the last four years straight, producing a really obvious lack of fitness and motivation that was apparent literally seconds into this 45 minute opening set. Whatever stage presence he had was now long gone, replaced by this fat man who was struggling to even stand. Couple this with a poor singing voice and his shit stories about cocaine and you're left with a frontman who is an absolute embarrassment to other bands of his stature. Shame too, because the guitarists played flawlessly, and even added some synchronized dancing to their already amusing performance.
It might be due to following Alien Ant Farm, but P.O.D (Payable on Death) are absolutely fantastic by comparison. Lead vocalist Sonny emerges, his herculean biceps glowing in the darkness of Rock City's main hall. P.O.D's biggest hit was 2001's "Alive". As this was the only song I knew, you best believe I was shocked by the sheer range of genres that the band cross throughout their set. Starting off like any other nu-metal band, early tracks like "Boom" feature straightforward, hard-hitting riffs, accompanied by big choruses. It was during "Boom" that Sonny first jumped into the crowd to "Wake Them Up". An excellent frontman, his massive stage presence and limitless charisma makes everyone feel pretty fucking delighted to be there.
The band also have roots in reggae, and it was those songs that marked the 'lows' of the set - the chances for the people in the pit to relax and regain some strength, before losing their minds to the band's heavier, more punk-oriented material. The biggest surprise for me was Sonny's mention of their collaboration with 80's hardcore punks, Sick Of It All, followed by a straight-up hardcore rager of a track that could have very well have been written by Sick Of It All themselves.
Notable is the fact that the band were able to move seamlessly between these three very different genres and execute them all in very impressive manner, with Sonny displaying the same amount of energy for all, making full use of Rock City’s spacious main stage. Ending with Alive was a fitting end to a truly successful show, leaving everyone completely satisfied and warmed-up for Hoobastank.
Because of the older demographic of the Saturday night show, almost all of the crowd disappeared after P.O.D, moving to grab a drink at one of the many bars in Rock City, meaning Hoobastank came out to what was initially a very sparsely populated room. This had no effect on Doug (vocals) though, who takes centre stage looking cuter than a duck wearing a hat. He's clearly ecstatic to be back in Rock City for the first time in almost a decade, which is probably the reason for that massive smile that took up a huge portion of his face throughout the show.
Hoobastank’s anthemic set showed that they’re much more than their 2003 hit "The Reason". Aside from the initial sound-level issues, Hoobastank show that they are a force to be reckoned with; their big riffs and bigger choruses drawing many new fans. Whilst crowd interaction, as a whole, was limited, Doug’s overwhelming enthusiasm and positivity suggests that they’re genuinely happy to be playing Rock City – which is a very reassuring quality to see in a band this old. With each passing song, the crowd got visibly drunker and the pit consequently became more and more ridiculous, eventually featuring groups of 7 lads holding hands and bouncing like bunnies.
When the band finally did play "The Reason", the response was beyond words – the sheer volume of the people present is jaw-dropping; a very special end to an amazing show.
To find out more about each of the bands click below:
Words by Blaine Marshall
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