Story and Photography
By Timothy Schumann
www.facebook.com/Photography513
Of all the national acts I've shot and written
a review of that show for this publication,
this review will be a first. Why? Simply
because these boys are FROM El Paso. They
made it big, broke up, and began separate
acts…finally reuniting to release their first
album in 17 years on May 5 th …and it was
the very next day, right here in El Paso,
their home town, that they kicked off their
world tour. Of course, I’m talking about AT
THE DRIVE IN!
I have lived here for the past six years,
doing the photojournalist gig for the past
three. With that said, I had heard of them,
heard of the spin-off bands by the
members…bands such as THE MARS
VOLTA, SLEEPERCAR, and SPARTA. But
always lurking in the undercurrent was At
the Drive In.
Let’s review some facts. They have been
around since 1994, with their first release
dropping in ’96, with two more over the
next four years. They broke up in 2000,
hence, all the side projects. They did re-
unite in 2013, just for that one year. But it
was the second re-uniting in 2016 that
“stuck”…and is running strong at this point.
Touring is an old friend to this band—with
festivals like “Coachella”, “Reading and
Leeds” and “Lollapalooza” being standard
gigs. But the grind of recording/touring,
recording/touring--six straight years’
worth--was one of the reasons for the
band’s break up back in 2000. Though in
existence for 23 years, they’ve only been
together 9 years as At the Drive In. When I
heard they were coming to the EL PASO
COUNTY COLISEUM on May 6th, I knew this
was going to be huge…and so did the fans
of El Paso. There were all the elements in