by Andrew Trendell | Photos by Thanira Rates
24 photos of Hoobastank, POD and Alien Ant Farm at Koko
The trio of rock veterans storm London
Tags: Hoobastank Photo: THANIRA RATES
7 May, 2015: The trio of returning rock veterans Alien Ant Farm, POD and Hoobastank take to the stage at London's Koko for the first night of their nationwide joint UK headline tour. Check out our photos from the show here.
"Happy birthday, everybody," says Alien Ant Farm frontman Dryden Mitchell as he stalks the stage, "I missed you." Well, we missed you too. While the line-up may have changed, the pure joy and abandon inspired by 'Movies' remains. "Who knows the Anthology record?" Did you have to ask? The feral explosion saved for 'Courage' and the cutting grace of his 'drunk mom's favourite' 'Attitude' says it all.
"Who remembers when MTV played music videos?" he asks, "they've got shows like '16 And Butt Fucking' but no videos," before rushing into 'These Days'. Indeed, it was a purer and simpler time back then, but with a defiant spirit and awesome humour, AAF keep them alive - with the newer material pointing towards a fresher tomorrow.
In that same spirit, POD erupt with an evolved energy that in fact sees them at the peak of their powers. While naturally 'Boom', 'Youth Of The Nation', 'Southtown' and 'Alive' inspire the most insane circle pits and ape-shit reactions, new numbers in the form of the arena-ready 'This Goes Out To You' and the ska-meets-thrash-punk rush of 'Revolucion' point towards a band with still so much to give.
All that's left is for Hoobstank to put a perfect full-stop on the evening with their unifying emo rollercoaster and it feels like we've used the past to illuminate what's so sorely missing in the present. A wave of nostalgia may have brought us here, but the energy of the now kept us here.
Alien Ant Farm played:
Wish
Forgive & Forget
Yellow Pages
Movies
Courage
What I Feel Is Mine
These Days
Attitude
Glow
Simpatico
Sticks and Stones
S.S. Recognize
Smooth Criminal
POD played:
Murdered Love
Boom
Lost in Forever
This Goes Out to You (New song)
Set It Off
Roots in Stereo
Youth of the Nation
Revolucion (new song)
Southtown
Panic & Run
Alive
Hoobastank played:
Crawling in the Dark
Inside of You
No Destination
My Turn
Running Away
Just One
The First of Me
Pieces
Slow Down
Same Direction
Remember Me
This Is Gonna Hurt
The Reason
Out of Control