When you've waited nearly 17 years to see a certain band and you secure tickets to their show, you know it's going to be a great night.
The line for the sold out At The Drive-In concert (22 July) ran up and around The Forum filled with smiling faces of their fans. Through the red glow of The Forum lights rose Adelaide's Bad//Dreems, who were blistering to perform to the sold out Melbourne crowd. Grinding guitars and a bass running like Forrest Gump, they burst out of the shadows with energy out of this world.
With psychedelic-pub rock filling the room, echoing off the walls and ribcages, Bad//Dreems raised the talent levels to another level. The band also struck up a conversation about the footy mid set asking “who's up?”, VB in hand. That's how a true-blue Aussie would do it on the stage at The Forum to a sold-out crowd. Inside The Forum there was no hiding from Bad//Dreems; they were as alive as ever.
Piano tunes reminiscent of a horror film bring the start of At The Drive-In to a weird and scary place. Dark lights crash like thunder until At The Drive-In were ready to bring us their all. The piano came to a stop when the band addressed the stage with their presence. Out with a bang, the crowd erupted to the opening track 'Arcarsenal'.
Energy, ambience and drive are what propel this group to perform at 200 per cent every night! Not an inch of the stage was missed during the band's set as Cedric was always on the move. Crowd surfers answered in kind, flying over the barricade faster than a bullet. Some fans had waited 17 years for this moment; and you could hear the excitement screaming back the lyrics to all of the crowd favourites like 'Sleepwalk Capsules' and '198d'.
Cedric addressed the crowd during the set about the current violence happening worldwide and stressed that we all need to stay together as one to fight it. Slowing the pace, they added a gloomy atmosphere to what some would consider a masterpiece being performed in front of their eyes.
Crowd participation by now was at an all-time high and their involvement played a part when Cedric addressed a wig that someone in the crowd was wearing. “I don't need a wig, mine's all natural”, before placing the wig between his legs; much to the applause of The Forum crowd.
“To all the fallen comrades who I didn't get to say goodbye to, I'm sure you're looking down and watching us and you're following your dreams in a parallel universe.” These are strong words vocalised by Cedric regarding how many family birthdays, births and deaths he has missed due to life on the road as At The Drive-In.
Ending their set with 'One Armed Scissor' the crowd showed exactly why the venue was sold out. With a fan running on stage to jump off into the crowd, that gave the finishing touch to an alternative-punk style gig.
With a new album on the horizon, At The Drive-In made us feel like they never left. They've got plenty more in the tank and I don't believe this will be the last time we see them down under.
Written by Stephen Buckle
At The Drive-In Setlist
'Arcarsenal''Pattern Against User'
'Sleepwalk Capsules'
'Invalid Litter Dept.'
'Enfilade'
'Cosmonaut'
'198d'
'300mhz'
'Pickpocket'
'Quarantined'
'Napoleon Solo'
'Catacombs'
Encore
'Shaking Hand Incision''Non Zero Possibility'
'One Armed Scissor'
