Alien Ant Farm with The Fear and InMe at the O2 Ritz, Manchester.

It’s the height of a storm in Manchester and Alien Ant Farm are headlining the O2 Ritz this evening, with last minute support changes which is a topic the band probably prefers to not get into this is a sold out show regardless. In the original support place is Manchester’s own, The Fear. For a very upcoming band who were fairly unknown until this show, these guys got the room bouncing by the end of their set.

Hitting the stage to “Fuck shit up”, it was the band’s hometown show and the first one in many years so this is a huge moment for them to perform in front of their own. The crowd gave them a very warm welcome which was gladly taken in by the guys in the band. Frontman Micky Satair brought the energy with their performance, for the band’s closer they ended with their recent single “White Noise”, which to everyone’s surprise and amazement was accompanied with recorded vocals of co-collaborator, Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens. Which was such an insane sign off to have the vocals of Kellin Quinn mixed in with the incredible vocals of Micky was an amazing way to say bye to the crowd but also bring many of them into loving The Fear.

It was safe to say that the party had well and truly started and it was only going to get better, with the walls and floors already bouncing in the Ritz this night, it was clear as day that second support for the evening, InMe. Who in a nicely done way entered the stage to the theme music from Terminator. InMe despite the altercations with the original support and headline are pure professionals, being in the British Alternative music industry for almost 30 years, they still know how to bring in a crowd and get them going.

Vocalist Dave McPherson knew how to resonate with the youngest and oldest fans in the crowd. He would make light jokes and would interact with the crowd amazingly between songs, showing the intense bond between the band and the fans. With how the crowd interacted with the band it showed that the sudden change to InMe being on the line-up was a genius one and not a single soul was complaining who was in attendance.

Setlist:

Underdose
Firefly
Cracking the Whip
Safe in a Room
7 Weeks
Confession (unreleased track)
All Terrain Vehicle
Reverie Shores
So You Know
Faster the Chase

Now that the crowd was warmed up, ready and they were more than eager for any other act, it was time to bring out the big guns. Alien Ant Farm took to the stage, choosing a setlist of tracks taken from their discography; from their iconic debut Greatest Hits to their 2024 release Mantras. Tracks such as ‘Movies’, ‘These Days’, ‘Stranded’ and ‘Storm’s Over’ showed the paths they have made as a band and reminded everyone there of every single one of their hits, and yes that’s including the ‘Smooth Criminal’ cover for those who wanted that. Alien Ant Farm have grown with their audience and they have never lost that young-dumb personality that made them icons in the first place over a decade before.

Hearing ‘Movies’ being the fifth song on the setlist was a shock, honestly I was expecting to hear it more towards the end of the set but instead we were greeted by the one and only world famous cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’. Many of the crowd that was there that night saw these guys rise to fame from this one cover alone. It was a pinnacle moment in the scene, and the effect of this song is still lasting to this very day. The whole room was erupting in cheers as the first note was struck on the guitar, phones rising in the air to capture the moment as vocalist Dryden Mitchell screamed/sang every lyric with the hundreds of people in that venue doing it with him, if not even louder.