Goth-punk breakthroughs AFI celebrate the light

09/13/2006 7:44 PM, Reuters


One thing was clearly missing from AFI's performance in southern California Tuesday: the over-the-top, blown-out and exaggerated machismo that weighs down most hard rock shows.

To the contrary, the members of A Fire Inside treaded so close to androgynous in their physical get-up and guise, it was almost distracting. Almost, but not quite. Dressed head-to-toe in white, performing on a stage blanketed entirely in white -- from the amps, drums and monitors to the white-lit white trees that adorned the backline -- an optimistic and (shudder) upbeat air swathed the sold-out Bren Events Center at UC Irvine throughout the band's 65-minute set.

While it's not what one might have expected from the underground's pre-eminent punk-goth breakthrough, the nod to glam served the northern California quartet quite well, distinguishing them from the legion of jet-black-haired and blacker-eyelinered bands crowding the modern goth/pop/emo market. While AFI retained its punk and hardcore legacy live, it did so while marrying the razor-sharp, renegade spirit of its past with the more mainstream-friendly, pop-flavored fashion of the current Interscope release "Decemberunderground," which debuted at No. 1.

The 15-song set featured six selections from the new album, from "Prelude 12/21" to the closing rockabilly romp "Miss Murder" and including the racing thrash of "Kill Caustic," Jade Puget's jangling guitars on "Summer Shudder" and a pop-rock exclamation point in the form of "Love Like Winter," which ended the main set with an explosion of glitter over the sardine-packed floor.

But it was 2003 release "Sing the Sorrow" that got the bulk of attention, as seven tracks from the band's major-label debut comprised nearly half the set. "Girl's Not Grey" and "The Leaving Song, Pt. 2" immediately set the pace; their punk rock energy and vaulted, arena-rock choruses resulting in infectious crowd sing-alongs.

At the helm was vocalist Davey Havok, whose delivery was seamless, even if it wasn't complemented by the basketball arena's muddied acoustics, which had drums echoing off the back walls during "This Time Imperfect." Notwithstanding, the frontman's delivery was natural and unassuming, and the predominantly twentysomething crowd hung on his every word.

When Havok sang encore-opening "God Called in Sick Today" while standing atop the outstretched arms of the crowd packed in front of the stage, it was the culmination of a union between fans and band that had escalated throughout the first hour of the set. It's that connection, coupled with AFI's natural ability to cross genres and defy classification, that made its performance so compelling.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter