This has never been a gospel group — only "Devotion," from 1974, came close, with one mention of the Lord and a projected stage backdrop of stained-glass windows — but the crowd rose and sat according to mood and tempo and message, as if by religious ritual.
According to human rights groups, that devotion is the result of conditioning from birth - and fear of execution or imprisonment in inhumane labour camps.
What ensued was a season of group hugs, of devotion to the rail-thin, bespectacled Washington and continuing support for Hamilton.
Fortunately, other recent albums, such as their première recording of John Tavener's haunting Lamentations and Praises, attest to the group's continuing devotion to the most serious repertoire.
My suspicion is that a significant segment of the audience will be people in their 20's and 30's, a group whose morbid devotion to programs like "Freaks and Geeks" and "My So-Called Life" couldn't generate sufficient ratings to save them from cancellation.
But it is worth noting that right-wing extremists in Hungary, who have made their presence felt in recent elections, have often attacked pan-European and cosmopolitan tendencies, sometimes with the implication that Jews, Romanies, and homosexuals, among other groups, lack true devotion to Hungary.
And no one in that group worked with more devotion than Daniel Hannan, a Conservative member of the European parliament for south-east England.
It transpires that Shkreli was also an investor in Collect Records, the label run by Geoff Rickly, the singer in No Devotion, the group he formed with the former members of Lostprophets.
Rickly, the singer in No Devotion, the group he formed with the former members of Welsh band Lostprophets, said: "I want to believe that Martin wants to do the right thing overall.
Although there were some political and socioeconomic affiliations within these groups, most of the devotion and fanaticism was arbitrary, simply the result of being a fan of the team colors.
