AFI, ††† (Crosses) @ The Prince Bandroom, Melbourne (26/02/2014)
When it was announced that AFI were performing two intimate sideshows, no one quite realised how intimate they were talking. It's a fact inescapable when you walk into the Prince Bandroom, where two things are instantly noticeable. The first is the distinct lack of a crowd barrier, and considering the intensity AFI fans have towards the band, it's an opportunity both personal and rather worrying. Second is that unlike any other show, the tiny venue is filled to the brim within the first fifteen minutes.
The anticipation in the building is almost as overwhelming as the sweat. The house lights die down, the room now illuminated by the three neon crosses in the centre of the stage. To a moody and smoke filled room, Chino Moreno’s Crosses take their positions before their eerie backdrop and let loose the first screeching notes of Theholyghost. The next 45 minutes are then like a look into a post punk themed revival session, with Moreno letting loose a massive breadth of screams, growls, screeches and yelps over the noise inspired bass lines. The sheer intensity of the acts bass and violent drum work shook those in the room to their very core, and with the trembling to every shrieking note.
Though despite the moody and bleak nature of the music played, there wasn't a single moment the band weren't smiling. The low rumble of I Hope You Suffer begun to shake the Earth below, but it was nothing compared to how the world tremored as AFI took their places on the frightfully small stage.
With little more than a hello, guitarist Jade Puget tears into the intro of fan favourite Leaving Song pt. 2. The crowd too tears into each over, becoming a flurry of arms and shouted lyrics as front man Davey Havok bounds across the stage.
Although the subject matter of the night is spectacularly bleak, Havok's performance is anything but. With a swagger as aggressive as it is decadent, steps onto the crowd for the proper performance of I Hope You Suffer. From the poised performance of near acapella Leaving Song pt. 1 to the violent prancing that takes way during older songs like Wester, he steals every moment of the show. Not that the rest of the band are any different, with nearly every moment the band dancing as fantastically as the notes being played. Finishing the first set with the most sweat filled rendition of their 2006 hit Miss Murder, the band retired backstage to chants of hundreds of enthralled fans.
Emerging quickly after their break, Havok makes quick note of the last time he and Moreno played together, that being for the Cure on MTV's Icon series. And so, they fall into their cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven. And in the blink of an eye, it seems we're at the close we Silver and Cold. The band bid farewell with the promise of coming back soon, and the room empties as quickly as it filled. There's many very good reasons why AFI have been relevant for over two decades now, and this show has only reinforced that fact. If there's any one act at Soundwave you must see, that title clearly goes to AFI.
Ben Spencer
The anticipation in the building is almost as overwhelming as the sweat. The house lights die down, the room now illuminated by the three neon crosses in the centre of the stage. To a moody and smoke filled room, Chino Moreno’s Crosses take their positions before their eerie backdrop and let loose the first screeching notes of Theholyghost. The next 45 minutes are then like a look into a post punk themed revival session, with Moreno letting loose a massive breadth of screams, growls, screeches and yelps over the noise inspired bass lines. The sheer intensity of the acts bass and violent drum work shook those in the room to their very core, and with the trembling to every shrieking note.
Though despite the moody and bleak nature of the music played, there wasn't a single moment the band weren't smiling. The low rumble of I Hope You Suffer begun to shake the Earth below, but it was nothing compared to how the world tremored as AFI took their places on the frightfully small stage.
With little more than a hello, guitarist Jade Puget tears into the intro of fan favourite Leaving Song pt. 2. The crowd too tears into each over, becoming a flurry of arms and shouted lyrics as front man Davey Havok bounds across the stage.
Although the subject matter of the night is spectacularly bleak, Havok's performance is anything but. With a swagger as aggressive as it is decadent, steps onto the crowd for the proper performance of I Hope You Suffer. From the poised performance of near acapella Leaving Song pt. 1 to the violent prancing that takes way during older songs like Wester, he steals every moment of the show. Not that the rest of the band are any different, with nearly every moment the band dancing as fantastically as the notes being played. Finishing the first set with the most sweat filled rendition of their 2006 hit Miss Murder, the band retired backstage to chants of hundreds of enthralled fans.
Emerging quickly after their break, Havok makes quick note of the last time he and Moreno played together, that being for the Cure on MTV's Icon series. And so, they fall into their cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven. And in the blink of an eye, it seems we're at the close we Silver and Cold. The band bid farewell with the promise of coming back soon, and the room empties as quickly as it filled. There's many very good reasons why AFI have been relevant for over two decades now, and this show has only reinforced that fact. If there's any one act at Soundwave you must see, that title clearly goes to AFI.
Ben Spencer