At the Drive-in at Leeds Festival 2012
You couldn't ask for a better double header to kick off a show with than the first two tracks off Relationship Of Command, Arc Arsenal and Pattern Against User. Though, with lengthy gaps between and in front of them, it is clear that atd-i are in no rush. As such they have no momentum.
It is disappointing not to see a wild performance from Omar Rodriguez Lopez and it makes me think back to comments he made regarding a possible atd-i reunion, saying it would be like someone asking you, "Do you want to get back together with your first girlfriend? You learn some amazing things together, but I shudder at the thought." Perhaps not being the band leader, like he is in much of the work he went on to do following the split (The Mars Volta, Omar Rodriguez Lopez Quintet), explains his lack of embellishments on guitar. Whereas he used to see guitar pedals as his allies in his war against his guitar, he now, instead of experimenting with them, just plays the songs in as straight forward a manner as the explosive, angular music will allow. He simply functions, with his back turned to the audience for much of the performance. Perhaps he is still mourning the loss of his mother with whom he shared a close relationship.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala still dances around the stage, but it is here where he remains singing at a high pitch rather than letting out the screams that songs such as Arc Arsenal and Catacombs struggle to contain in their preserved recorded versions. Catacombs, originally a b-side, is a much better song than many current bands' hit singles. The older songs, such as Napoleon Solo and Lopsided, which get an outing, hold up well. There is no denying the quality of the songs which have elevated the band's popularity to levels above that which they achieved when first together. The crowd are well into the show, especially, and predictably, the closing single One Armed Scissor which is dedicated to drummer Tony Hajjar's son. Sadly, they don't come close to using all of their set time and don't play Invalid Litter Dept. Their lack of spontaneity and any sense of danger means that the other legendary band also to implode at the peak of their creativity and then reunite this year, Refused, have undoubtedly come back better.