by photojournalist Ryan Marchese
Friday night, the streets of downtown St. Pete filled with fans from the Rays game and bar hoppers kicking off the weekend. But St Pete’s nightlife vibrancy didn’t compare to the crowd that packed Jannus. Whether you were a teen in the late 90s/early 2000s or just love rock music from that time, it’s impossible to not know the bands sharing the stage: Alien Ant Farm and Cold.
These bands have been around for decades. The makings of Cold first started in the late 80s, eventually forming the band we know today out of Jacksonville, FL in 1996. At the same time on the other side of the country, Riverside, CA birthed one of my favorite alt rock bands, Alien Ant Farm. Both bands found huge success early on. With Cold, their second album, Thirteen Ways to Bleed on Stage saw bigrecord sales and gave them huge notoriety in the hard rock and metal scene. Meanwhile, Alien Ant Farm skyrocketed to stardom with the release of their second studio album Anthology, which featured their hit cover of “Smooth Criminal” originally performed by Michael Jackson. If you’re reading this article, you’re probably well aware of the song’s popularity at the time, but for those that may not know, it was huge. I’m talking number 1 in multiple countries, featured in movies, praise from MJ himself, and back when MTV actually played music videos, it was showing nonstop.
The bands continued to thrive and put out great follow-up albums. Both were featured on WWE’s Tough Enough reality series as well as in multiple video games. Cold worked on the soundtrack for Psi Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, while AAF was a highlight of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 as well as numerous other games. However, by the mid 2000s both bands faced obstacles while under the umbrella of Geffen Records. Delays in recording and music video production led to mounting frustrations. Cold wound up breaking up in 2006 after several members of the lineup had left and started on other projects. AAF had a record release shelved and then their bassist left the band to go to college. The initial fame each band saw seemed gone.
But this history lesson is all just to put into perspective that they have seen their fair share of turmoil throughout the years and are still out there kicking ass!
The first time I saw Alien Ant Farm was on May 27, 2012. I know this, because it was the first time I ever tried photographing a show. The original lineup played a free concert on the casino floor at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City, NJ. The stage was small and so was the crowd, but it was a blast. Getting to see them almost exactly 14 years later bringing the same energy and attitude was unreal. For a brief moment when Dryden first walked onto the stage, I felt like I was back at that casino show. It was the same excitement and love the crowd had for Alien Ant Farm back then, but there was a lot more fans this time around. The set was pretty damn spectacular. If I had my way, I would have got them to play the highly underrated “Stranded” as well, but then again, I could have just watched them all night.
They opened with back-to-back bangers “Courage” and “Wish.” After that, the hits just kept coming. “Forgive and Forget,” “Movies,” “These Days,” and “Last Dantz” gave a great sampling of their discography. The highlight for me was when they played my absolute favorite, “Glow,” off of Truant. Multiple times throughout the set Dryden went down into the crowd, singing along with fans and giving out high fives, while Tim, Michael, and Terry jumped around on stage. Mike Cosgrove drove the band from the back of the stage underneath a giant digital image of the band’s signature ant logo. At one point while the band retuned and swapped equipment, Dryden thanked fans and regaled fans with days of yesteryear. They seemingly closed out their set with “What I Feel Is Mine,” but quickly returned asking if it would be alright to play just one more song for 3 minutes… maybe 5 minutes… maybe a little more than 5. That song was of course “Smooth Criminal.” It was preceded by a audio clip of Michael Jackson praising their version of his song and wishing them success. The crowd went absolutely berserk singing along and jumping all over, mirroring the music video itself. After they exited the stage, members hung around talking to fans and taking photos. I managed to bump into Dryden, snag a selfie to send my best friend, and bask in the compliment of him telling me it was awesome seeing me sing along to every word while shooting from the photo pit.
Cold took the stage to close out the show and brought their signature moody hard rock sound they are known for. The high contrast lighting perfectly complemented the band’s vibe. After opening up with “Goodbye Cruel World,” frontman Scooter Ward shared how great it was to be in his home state again. Their setlist was dominated by tracks off their earlier albums, Cold and 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage. “Makes Her Sick,” “Go Away,” “Same Drug,” and “End of the World” were a few picks off those albums. They also fit in “Remedy” and “Suffocate” off Year of the Spider and “Back Home” from A Different Kind of Pain. Not getting to see them play “Stupid Girl” my first time at a show was kind of a bummer, but it was a solid set. Bassist Lindsay Manfredi and drummer Tony Kruszka were a blast to watch. Lindsay looked like she was enjoying every moment being on the stage and Tony was headbanging and flipping his sticks while playing his kit, not missing a beat.
The pairing of Cold and Alien Ant Farm for the tour may seem a little odd at a distance, but it made sense for so many reasons under the microscope. It wasn’t just the fact that both bands formed around the same time and that they found success early on, or that they faced hurdles and missteps with the same record label or saw members come and go or the changes and growth they underwent, it’s the culmination of all those things coupled with the fact that they’re both still doing what they love. It’s that commitment and drive that keeps fans like myself coming back and listening to the same album from 2001 over and over again 25 years later.
