Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 6/7/24

What’s your MANTRA? John and I headed to Center Stage Atlanta, The Loft, to see Alient Ant Farm and Driveways show on 5/18/24! We are very familiar with Alien Ant Farm out of Riverside, CA, a rock band that started in 1996 and hit it big with their cover “Smooth Criminal” and other greats like “Movies” in 2001 on album, ANThology*! We still watch these videos on YouTube today!  

Their sound is considered nu metal, a blend of alternative, post-grunge, pop punk, and metal all rolled into one sound that pays homage to several genres. Did you know some of their influences are Faith No More and Primus? The band is very interactive and interacts with the crowd most of the concert. Like, Dryden Mitchell, coming to the gate and talking or having us sing along to even stopping the music to address a guy giving him the bird. It was fun to watch!  

But, this tour is to introduce and promote their new Album Mantras. Their new single that is out is called “So Cold” and still has the same feel as their other rock songs.  

Driveways is a newer band that we were not familiar with before the show. They are out of Massachusetts starting in 2015 and are considered a pop punk, post-hardcore band with a mix of genres. Most notable is the Blink-182 influence that comes through with many of their songs*. A fun fact we found on Everybody wiki is that in April 2020, their album Night Terrors was named on Alternative Press’ list of 20 Underrated Pop Punk Albums from the 2010s. They had a large following of fans at the concert! 

*information from wiki and everybody wiki pages.