ATLANTIC CITY - Although it was billed as a dynamic double-header, the 311/Alien Ant Farm show at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa on Saturday only lived up to half of its billing.
The headliner, 311, was fantastic, making this critic understand the band's rabid fan base. Full of energy, attentive to the crowd and busting at the seams with talent, 311 gave the excited crowd a reason to come out on a Sunday night.
The boys from Omaha, Neb., grabbed the crowd with "Freak Out," a favorite from their 1995 debut "Music." The crowd of more than 2,000 immediately responded to the band's fusion of heavy rock and hip-hop by jumping in unison with the band.
The band ripped into "Recon-sider," one of six songs from its new CD, "Evolver." Hard, yet melodic, the song showed 311 can rock without incorporating hip-hop into its music.
The band's set list leaned heavily toward its early material, playing five songs off its debut CD, including the happy slam dance song 'Dou You Right," the jammy "Nix Hex," the borderline metal of "Unity" and the intense "Feels So Good."
The 24-song, almost two-hour set seemed to please the fans. 311's breakthrough hits "Don't Stay Home" and "All Mixed Up," were the crowd-pleasers and showed the band's ability to mix cool reggae beats into its music.
Other standout songs included "Champagne," the fan favorite "Flowing," the latest single, "Creatures," and the night's last encore, "Down," which riveted the music-loving crowd.
There also were neat surprises, including the rarely played "Random" and "Applied Science," where the entire band played a large collection of drums. For "Beautiful Disaster," Alien Ant Farm came out in their underwear to wreak some good-humored havoc.
There were some disappointments, particularly the omission of hits like "Come Original" and "Amber."
If you attended the 311 show last year at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, you'll know that Saturday's Borgata show, presented by WJSE 102.7-FM and Jersey Shore Entertainment, blew that one away. Singer/guitarist Nick Hexum, who was sick when he visited Stockton, proved he's a tremendous frontman of a talented band that deserves the loyal fan base it has.
Alien Ant Farm, on the other hand, seemed to be going through the motions. Lethargic at times, simply boring at others, the band is obviously living off the success of two hit singles, "Movies" and a cover of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal," both off the band's debut "ANThology."
In an asinine display of ego, the band didn't play "Criminal," the song that most of the people wanted to hear. It did, however, perform a great version of "Movies," as well as its current single, "Glow."
There was a little fun to be had, too. Since it was the last night on the current tour, Ant Farm decided to push the 45-minute time allotment.
As soon as the band finished its ceremonial closer "Goodbye," the musicians ripped right into "S.S. Recognize." But 311 was ready and took to the stage - one of them naked - and started dismantling Alien Ant Farm's equipment while the band was still playing. It was pretty funny.
But the bright moments were few and far between. Although Alien Ant Farm's songs off its latest album "truANT" are far better than the band's debut, the band doesn't seem to have the musical teeth or stage presence to sustain life in this cutthroat business. "truANT" sank faster than the Titanic on the sales charts. The band's career may not be far behind.
No comments:
Post a Comment