Adam Pfleider's Blog Entry

Very enjoyable read, Adam. Your overall message, that of "if you're feeling it now, go support it now," is spot on. However, the old adage of "you don't know what you've got until its gone," is true as well. I will not go so far as to state that seeing a band "in their prime" is automatically superior to seeing a band once they reunite, as you have insinuated. I do not believe those two scenarios can be compared.

I am a long-time (dare I say, hardcore?) The Early November fan. Not to come off pretentious, but I have been a fan since the begining. We share the same Philly scene, after all. I remember the buzz building around the release of For All Of This and how TEN's sets at local VFWs became more and more crowded. That energy, that youthful display of pure, innocent emotion, can and will not be replicated. I remember seeing TEN play their "final" shows at the Troc and the overwhelming sense of sorrow and happiness that permeated from those two sold-out sets. I remember Ace Enders coming to tears during the last encore and, just for that moment, how everyone present felt like a big family. Those moments cannot be replicated.

Alas, when I heard TEN was getting back together, I acted like a child on Christmas morning and bought my ticket to the reunion show at the Electric Factory in haste. The show was amazing (you know...in my unbiased opinion). There was a unique energy about it; a refreshed sense of belonging. It was like a "so....here we all are again...only its four years later and we can all hang at the bar" sense of belonging. That family attitude was present again, just as it was when TEN played their "last" shows back in 2007.

My point is that those moments (be it TEN's early days at local VFWs or TEN's "last" shows at the sold-out Troc or TEN's sold out reunion show at an even larger venue) are just not comparable. They fall under vastly different circumstances. They each are a special memory. Every great story needs an ending (even if it's only temporary) in order for us to truly understand that story's significance. So I would not be so quick to say that seeing At The Drive-In in a classroom is more special than seeing a reunited ATDI at Coachella. Those two moments are not comparable. They just aren't.

I think you are looking at the word "Reunion" almost like "Class Reunion". As in something forced. The way I see it, they are just reuniting to enjoy themselves in most cases.

you got it! I hope that's what most people got from this write-up!

thanks for sharing.

not necessarily. bands have a right "not to play" I don't think many reunions are "forced" and if they are, they shouldn't happen. Read the comment above you, that's what I was getting at - the past and present are completely not comparable by any means.