Alien Ant Farm – 8/1/16 – Tanya Russell Music Reviews by Editor - January 9, 2016January 24, 20160 Jumping across the stage and promises right from the start a gig to remember, ALIEN ANT FARM blast into auditory juggernaut COURAGE and the crowd go predictably wild. Racing straight into MOVIES, ALIEN ANT FARM take me straight back to my halcyon university days and I lose control pretty much entirely as I scream along to this beautifully poignant paeon to the end of a relationship which eased me through a myriad of break ups in my youth. Mitchell descends into the photo pit to sing along with the audience and the gig becomes passionately incendiary. The beat of FLESH AND BONE has the crowd dancing, and singing along with arms aloft. The thunderous WHISPER has the crowd headbanging and stomping their feet to the heavy beat. The audience are singing along loudly to the chorus of SUMMER, which the band perform with characteristic sincerity. STICKS sees Mitchell in the photo pit singing along with front row fans and reaching out towards those singing the lyrics so joyously. Joking about the early nature of the gig by stating that rock and roll doesn’t start until 11pm, Mitchell then sings ATTITUDE, his mum’s favourite song, which he dedicates to her and his dogs. The set continues at a stratespheric level of strong melodies and brilliantly performed vocals with STRANDED. A shout out to PAPA ROACH due to their support of the band precedes WISH, and we are reminded of the epic moment that Shaddix drop elbowed a table in the press pit of Leeds Festival, next to Jordan ‘ s face. The floor shakes with the dominating power of the band and a manic mosh pit breaks out in the center of the crowd. CALICO continues a mosh pit of mayhem as the band blast through this track of brutal beauty. An acoustic guitar is passed to Mitchell, which signifies the performance of DEATH DAY, which is emotively intoned to an audience that is extremely appreciative and also huge, with the venue flooded with dancing fans. A fervidly performed UNIVERSE has the crowd screaming for more and brings the band back to the stage to perform songs from other albums. The bouncy beat and catchy melody of GLOW has the crowd dancing again. Cascading chords have everyone’s feet moving and there is some co-ordinated clapping but I decide not to destroy this with my rythmn less attempts to join in. The sonically sublime GOODBYE has the crowd swaying and singing along and then this incandescent gig ends with the awesomely original cover of SMOOTH CRIMINAL, which sets the room alights and brings to a conclusion a very triumphant return indeed.