AFI have returned for their Australian tour in recognition of their latest self-titled LP AFI (The Blood Album) and performed last night at Perth’s Metro City, alongside supports from Basement, and Introvert. This four-piece band from California has had a huge influence in the alternative and punk rock scene over the last two decades. With thousands of sold-out shows under their belt, the ecstatic stage presence and technical proficiency was effortless making this a night to remember.
First up was the indie punk five-piece from Newcastle: Introvert. They managed to attract a serious crowd in the early hours of the show, turning heads in every corner of the venue. Introvert have been getting a lot of traction recently, and have performed with big acts such as Balance and Composure, Birds of Tokyo and Hellions. They performed “Trip” and “It’s Alright” from their debut EP Two Tracks, and the audience-favorite “Everything Is Different Now” from their latest EP Old Taste. The instrumentals were tight and reasonably well-mixed, Audie Franks vocals sounded great – the melodic sections were powerful alongside the band’s instrumentation, and he transitioned smoothly into the more garish, unclean vocal highlights. The band also had great stage presence, with an abundance of hair-flicking and ‘extraverted’ movements that made their set a very enjoyable warmup.
Next up was UK post-hardcore band: Basement, who tore straight into one of their most popular tracks: “Covet” from their 2012 LP Colourmeinkindness. The floor was packed at this point, and Basement built upon the audience’s attention, sparking up plenty of head-banging, and even provoked a few crowd-surfers during some of their heavier hits like “Spoiled”. The band also performed earlier tracks like “Earl Grey” and “Yoke” from their punkier years of 2011’s I Wish I Could Stay Here. And of course, they played songs off their latest album from 2015: Promise Everything, with tracks such as “Brother’s Keeper” and “Aquasun”, which had the audience singing along. The instrumentation did not lack any technical proficiency, however the mixing did sound somewhat garish and muddy, although not necessarily detracting from the band’s performance. Andrew Fisher’s mid-ranged vocal style sounded great live, and his overall stage presence was fantastic. His performance appeared genuine, and looked like he was having a great time onstage. As two circle pits moshed through Basement’s set, the band ended with “Whole”, never compromising on energy or quality in delivery.
The lights cut out, the atmosphere shifted in anticipation of AFI. They took the stage and flew straight into “Girl’s Not Grey” from their 2003 LP Sing The Sorrow. The audience was ecstatic, singing along to every word in pure AFI elation. The stage presence from these guys was phenomenal. Lead vocalist; Davey Havok, passionately danced and jumped his way through their repertoire, and maintained 100% energy the entire time. The performances from bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget were invigorating, and their stage personalities resonated very well with the audience. AFI tore through tracks from across their discography, such as “Love Like Winter” from their 2006 LP DECEMBERUNDERGROUND, “17 Crimes” from their 2003 LP Burials, and even “He Who Laughs Last…” from their 1996 album Very Proud Of Ya. Each track in their set list was performed with amazing technical proficiency, whilst maintaining phenomenal energy, which had the audience jumping and singing to every word. Davey’s vocals were fantastic, his nostalgic punk-rock style voice was a wonder to hear live. However, the instrumentation mixing did sound slightly muddy – although, this did not detract from the incredible vitality that AFI delivered. Additionally, they performed tracks from their latest album such as “Snow Cats” and “Aurelia”, which was, of course, expected. The band left stage after performing the audience-favorite “Miss Murder”, which was accompanied by plenty of head-banging and crowd-surfing. The audience demanded an encore, as the band returned to conclude their energetic show with “The Days of the Phoenix” and “Silver and Cold” – a truly memorable show.
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by André Avila at Redwood Visions
