The room started with a handful of people that grew into a large crowd that eagerly awaited the main event as the night progressed.
“One more song!” is what the crowd chanted when the night ended. Each one of the loyal fans knew that this may be the last time they get to enjoy the original line up of The Ataris play at the House of Blues in Anaheim on Thursday.
“I couldn’t believe it; I was so excited to hear them,” said Brenda Gomez, a fan of The Ataris. “I was 14 when I last saw them.”
After 10 long years, The Ataris: Kristopher Roe, John Collura, Mike Davenport and Chris Knapp jammed together for what may be the last time as they embark across the nation on their “So Long Astoria” reunion tour.
When the band took the stage the crowd went nuts and cheered their hearts out as the Ataris played “In This Diary.” There was not a voice in the room that was silent as everyone participated in singing alongside Roe.
The quartet was accompanied by Donald Spence from Versus The World who sang back-up vocals and played guitar for the whole set.
It was day two of the official tour and it was easy to see that The Ataris enjoyed playing for their fans just as much as the fans enjoyed taking it all in.
All 13 tracks of the “So Long Astoria” album were played along with additional songs that were lesser known from older albums.
During the set, Roe requested that the house lights be turned on so he could take a picture of the crowd and post it on his Instagram account.
The mosh pit opened up, people crowd surfed and the room reached a decibel that was sure to have burst ear drums as the crowd sang along to “Radio #2.”
Roe and Davenport openly expressed their gratitude throughout the set to fans, family and record executives who believed in them and supported them throughout their career.
During his acoustic set, Roe dedicated a new song he wrote to his father who died in January. The song showed his raw emotional talent that has truly defined him as an artist.
Versus the World kicked off the night and the mood transitioned into a harmonious relaxing guitar duo when Drag the River took the stage. Authority Zero brought back the high energy and set the tone and crowd participation for The Ataris.
The reunion tour will continue until March 30.