Music Blog #8- Alien Ant Farm

Date Seen: May 13
Location: Brick by Brick bar, San Diego
Band Website: http://www.alienantfarm.com

This is the final blog for my local music project, and it comes with a bit of a funny story.  My friend Sean, bass player for Bankers Hill (see music blog #1) asked my husband and I to come see his band play in San Diego.  He told us they were opening for a band called Alien Ant Farm, which sounded familiar, but I couldn’t recall any of their songs at that moment.  I looked them up online and discovered that Alien Ant Farm is actually from Riverside,  thus qualifying them for my project.  So in agreeing to see a second performance of Bankers Hill (band #1) I inadvertently arranged to do my final blog on Alien Ant Farm (band #8).  Talk about coming full circle!

But anyways, on to the band.  Alien Ant Farm is a four man alternative rock band consisting of Dryden on vocals, Terry on guitar, Tye on bass and Mike on drums.  They’ve been together since the late 1990′s, gaining  recent fame with a cover of Michael Jackson’s hit “Smooth Criminal.”  The show they put on at Brick by Brick was amazing, full of intense energy and passion for their work.  Dryden and Terry took advantage of the close proximity to the audience and thrusted themselves into the front row.  The fans loved it, pushing forward and stretching out their hands to the musicians.  Their set included hits like “Glow” and “Movies”- these were instantly recognizable, even to newcomers, as they are frequently played on local rock stations in the area.  I think my favorite song performed was “Glow,” because Dryden pulled out his own guitar and played along.

I really enjoyed the performance, although I wasn’t a fan of the large mosh pit that started up behind me.  My ears may be ringing and my limbs may be sore, but it was worth it for the great show.  Here is a picture of Dryden my husband took with his cell phone: