Californian punks AFI are back for their first Australian headline tour in over 10 years in support of their new album THE BLOOD! They kicked things off tonight right here in Sydney underneath the Big Top at Luna Park, and they have bought along with them UK’s BASEMENT and local new noise makers INTROVERT, making for one stellar show underneath the Big Top.
Okay I can’t lie, a delayed flight had seen me running late and totally missed the supports but I have seen Basement before and highly recommend seeing them again, not just myself, but anyone else who is capable of running on time to a gig. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Introvert but have heard nothing but good things and SCENEzine photographer Christian Ross backed that up when I arrived shortly before AFI were due to come on.
The Big Top had a pretty full floor in attendance tonight, we crowd in, gather around, liquor up and the show starts right on precious time. The lights go dark and the band take the stage and we roar in appreciation as they churn out an early one to get us started, Strength Through Wounding. This was followed by the much loved Girls Not Grey, accompanied by a new one, So Beneath You. Woo! Shit yea! These guys came out tonight with guitars blazing and in just three songs they showcased the absolute brilliance of their music, the diversity of their sound and range of their musical career.
The rest of the set was a true AFI fans dream, hearing tracks like The Lost Souls and Clove Smoke Catharsis was a rare treat as for I am not sure they have played these on any tour I have seen them on, and hearing how they sit amongst the sound of other tracks I adore such as Love Like Winter, Silver and Gold along with Paper Airplanes just made seeing these guys live again after all these years that much more amazing. Even though the tour is titled The Blood Tour, the set list would only feature one more song from the album, Snow Cats was played just before the big finishing number of Miss Murder which by the way went right off.
Davey Havoc has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard in any genre, and inside the Big Top it sounded ghostly ethereal and downright captivating. The frontman is a real showman and sings with such passion and pride he would jump on the speakers and get down to sing with the crowd at the very front. He isn’t alone up there; bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget are out in their fair share of stage showmanship and the sound of their instruments just bleed out of the speakers and fill up the entire hall. One thing that really captivated me tonight was the bands use of lighting. To me they used stage lighting perfectly to help create mood and set the tone for their songs which I felt really took their set to new dimensions in terms of art and performance.
The encore game was played and after the truly stellar ending of Miss Murder they came back on with Morningstar and left us with Celluloid Dream and then it was goodnight and thank you so very much Sydney. I personally had a fantastic night tonight and an incredible evening with great friends and great live music. The tour only kicked off in the harbour city and now it’s on to the rest of the country. I say get out there and catch one of the best bands on the scene, showcasing some of the best music they have ever given us, making for one hell of a great show.
Review Chad
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