w/ DROWNING POOL + FRANKENBOK @ Princess Theatre

Friday 7th February 2025

Written by: Tom Wilson
Photos by: Tracy McLaughlan

How do you improve on an already awesome day? Having started by breaking the news that THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN are touring, what better way to cap things off than with another huge tour? Californian rockers ALIEN ANT FARM are kicking off their national run tonight in Brisbane, and a line of eager punters is already stretching down the street from the opulent face of the Princess Theatre.

A kung fu movie-inspired intro plays across the P.A. before FRANKENBOK drop the hammer. Having just dropped their new EP, their first featuring returning vocalist Adam “Hutch” Glynn, they are truly Irrepressible tonight, and the crowd thickens along the Princess Theatre barrier as more and more of the audience are drawn into their special brand of insanity. A fitting support for ALIEN ANT FARM in that they were also famous for a cover of a pop song, FRANKENBOK has come a long way since their days on Roadrunner Records (which is why we don’t hear said pop cover tonight). They have existed in many forms, the lineup changing and evolving over the years, but the band that steps onstage tonight might be in the form of their career. Glynn’s vocals are insane.

After Dryden Mitchell was allegedly hit by (he was struck by) CKY’s Chad Ginsburg, the original tour couldn’t proceed as planned, lest the live shows turn into something more suited to THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. What to do? Kick CKY to the curb and let the bodies hit the floor! DROWNING POOL stepped in to save the day, and tonight they take the stage and plunge into Sinner. Having last seen Ryan McCombs fronting SOiL as support for STATIC-X (and doing a shoey for good measure) this is my first time seeing him with DROWNING POOL, and it’s easy to see why the fans embraced him. He’s learned his lesson, though. The “shoey” call rings out again, and he wags a finger at us. Not tonight! The crowd is a little prosaic, but that starts to change when they bust out a surprise cover of PANTERA’s Cowboys from Hell, before Bodies drops, and Ryan jumps into the audience to create some memories for the folks in the front row.

Having risen as part of the nu metal scene in the second half of the 90s, the cynical among us would take issue with the fact that ALIEN ANT FARM’s most famous song is a cover, but the cold hard truth is that they were far more talented than they were ever given credit for. From opener Courage to the irresistible Movies, the musicianship onstage tonight is admirable. Dryden’s vocals are so quintessentially early 2000s that nostalgia is inevitable, and guitarist Terry Corso is no slouch on the backing vocals.

The classic game of audience peek-a-boo, they re-emerge for the encore, and a recording starts playing over the P.A. We recognise the voice as the late “King of Pop”, talking about being flattered by people covering his music, and ALIEN ANT FARM bust out their famous cover of Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal. They bid farewell, and Sweet Caroline comes over the P.A., triggering a massive singalong as we head out into the night.

Photos by: Tracy McLaughlan

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