Live Review: At The Drive-In, Bad//Dreems

Just after 8pm, the room is about half full for tonight's sold out performance at the Forum. The stage is lit in red and clearly there is some serious gear hidden underneath black sheets. There is an aura in the air of strange anticipation as the reunited (for a second time) At The Drive-In make their return to our shores and play their first Melbourne show in some 15 years. 

Only support act for the night, Bad//Dreems, kick off early at 8.15pm on the dot. They begin loud and draw largely from latest release, Dogs At Bay. They don't exactly have everyone freaking out, but they clearly put in genuine effort with each track. When singer Ben Marwe drops the guitar for a microphone, a beer and a dance he looks like Heath Franklin’s Chopper getting a little loose while watching the local RSL Cold Chisel cover band. It's entertaining but also a little terrifying.

A little after the advertised start time, the stage goes dark. A disjointed, military-style, noise-infused orchestral piece plays and from the ceiling a huge backdrop falls and everything feels like a scene from a dystopian future. At The Drive-In then take the stage and as you could have predicted/prayed for before coming in, they open with Arcarsenal. The explosive track is screamed word for word by the entire crowd, drowning out the band, and it is the only way this show could have begun.

It is around Invalid Litter Dept that Cedric Bixler-Zavala's vocals begin to drop off in quality. His deliveries are either so disguised in effects or just haphazardly delivered that they're forgettable. Even worse, his banter between songs is nothing short of excruciating(!). His asking the crowd if we are 'mother leopards' before Enfilade (which should have used the classic sample that opens the track) is just shudder-worthy, though it is quickly topped by his puns before Cosmonaut and his rant about believing in yourself before Napoleon Solo, which is bewildering to the point that you think he is going to lead the crowd through a prayer. Looking around, most of the audience is as old as the band and it feels as if he is talking to us like we're still a bunch of 15-year-old kids.

One of the big issues surrounding this reunion is the notable absence of Jim Ward, and even though they roped in fellow Sparta member Keeley Davis he is no substitute and is as bland as unbuttered toast in the role. Omar Rodriguez is surprisingly the most innocent offender of the night, as he just sort of stays within his area playing along to the best of his abilities to At The Drive-In's new direction — which essentially boils down to a rebranded commercially safe mess built on nostalgia. 

The sound and presentation are what really kill this performance. Gone is the angst that drove everyone in this room to fall in love with Relationship Of Command and the band in the first place. The drums sound like a typical, lifeless, arena-rock band. Rodriguez is blaring, though not in comparison to Bixler-Zavala's consistently unlevelled vocals and the additional meandering in songs that see the band go Mars Volta-lite.

They finish typically with One Armed Scissor, which wraps up at 10.45pm on the dot and the band quickly scuttle off stage. As the lights come on most are relatively disillusioned — apart from the bro-mosh pit and people who probably haven't seen a gig since At The Drive-In were here last. Everything seems aimed at a more mainstream appeal that bastardises what this band once was. We have all grown up and the pair of Cons we loved for so many years just don't fit anymore.