"If I didn't come to this show there was a decent chance I would've killed myself tonight."
Those are just a sample of the words I overheard while waiting outside The Civic Theatre last night as a ravenous crowd waited for the At The Drive-In show. I guess you could say people were excited.
Like many in attendance, I discovered this powerful post-punk band right as their initial end came to light. But as things often go down these days, they reunited. Omar, Cedric and company received mixed reviews during their first reunion dates a few years ago, but tonight they clearly weren't just going through the motions. Most of their hardcore fan base came from their seminal breakthrough and swan song, "Relationship of Command," and fans of that record weren't let down by a set heavy on classic tracks and sing-alongs like "Invalid Litter Dept.," "Pattern Against User," and "One Armed Scissor."
The crowd was fully engaged the whole duration of the show, while the band and lead singer Cedric maniacally jumped around the stage—swinging his mic stand and cord in controlled chaos that only fueled the energy of the band and crowd in abundance.
If you were a fan of ATDI and always hoped you'd get your chance to witness them live, I hope you were there last night. Quite simply, they pulled no punches and delivered a set that basically presented their 14 or so best songs. For the sold-out capacity crowd, it was a delight, and it seemed as though the band agreed thoroughly with a job well done.
