Davey Havok of AFI. Photo by Raymon Guajardo
It’s amazing how much AFI has changed in their nearly 20 year career.
They’ve gone from being a small California-based punk quartet playing shows out of 924 Gilman Street to cranking out number 1 hits on the Billboard Charts and playing to some of the country’s biggest crowds. From kings of the underground to kings of modern rock, they don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
Tuesday June 2, they looked to continue their domination from downtown Indy at the Egyptian Room at Old National Centre (formerly the Murat Centre. I’ll never get used to that). It’s been a while since they’ve come to Indy (back in 2006 I believe when they were still supporting “Decemberunderground”). After shelling out the $5 to park and standing getting through a surprisingly fast-moving line, I find a spot in the large Egyptian-themed standing room. Time to get things started.
On display tonight seems to be a showcase of music’s present vs. its future. We’ve got a local band gaining momentum with each show they play (We Are Hex), an L.A. band just off the heels of releasing a new album available (Scarlet Grey), and of course, the ultra-popular national touring band.
AFI will be the first to tell you that to get anywhere, you have to start somewhere. Maybe that somewhere is in someone’s basement. Perhaps it’s in a backyard. If you’re fortunate enough, it’s at a small bar or all-ages venue, and if you’re really lucky, you can land a gig opening for a national recording artist on one of their tours at one of the biggest venues in the city.
Which now brings us We Are Hex. To most accurately describe them, I’ll refer to what their Myspace reads:
“We Are Hex is just one big mess. We tend to keep it messy as well.”
As I’ve stated before, performing first is never easy. Especially when you’re a local band opening for a band like AFI.
Jilly of We Are Hex. Photo by Raymon Guajardo
As a result, the crowd was about a receptive as you would think. Despite looking nervous, I loved frontwoman Jilly’s energy and they had a nice sound. While this was great for me, unfortunately no one else thought the same way. Maybe it was because they were the opening act. Maybe it was no one knew who they were. Maybe it was because the rules at Old National Centre prohibit moshing or crowd surfing. Who knows? They did, however, intrigue me enough to want to check out their music (I managed to obtain a copy of their album “Gloom Bloom”) and maybe check out a future show. I’d say they did something right.
Another note on the lifeless crowd, I’m surprised on how big (or small) attendance is. They filled maybe a quarter of the room. To put things into further perspective, those in attendance–in varying age to my surprise (teenage scene kids, pre-teen kids, parents of said kids, big, burly tattoo-covered metal heads, etc.) could completely fill The Emerson. Maybe they’ll show more life as the night moves on. Enough of this though, next act.
Show flyers offered me no indication of who would be here. Apparently there was a band along with AFI during their mini-U.S. tour. That band is a California-based quintet called Scarlet Grey. They just released a new album, “Fancy Blood,” earlier this week. Let’s see how they do.
It was about what you would expect from your average rock n’ roll band. They were a solid act, but still everyone just saw them as a warm-up before the main event. The crowd seems to be warming up to
Scarlet Grey. Photo by Raymon Guajardo
them a little bit, but we all know who they came to see. As far as rock shows I’ve been to, it was nothing memorable. I’ve seen a lot of rock acts in my life, but I doubt they’ll stick out. Maybe I’ll go back to them just as something to listen to in the future, but that may be about it.
The main event is up next. A few more people showed up. Now we’re just about to half of the room. A chant is trying to break out amongst the AFI faithful (“Through our bleeding, we are one.” If I actually owned “Black Sails Into the Sunset” I’d probably understand it better.). The lights are starting to dim, and there’s some kind of heartbeat sound pouring through the speakers. Guitarist Jade Puget greets the crowd with the first few opening bars of “Medicate,” and now the show is underway…
…sort of.
Frontman Davey Havok looks like he’s ready to go, but maybe a little too much at first. He runs on stage, mic stand in hand, but then drops the mic on the process. No worries though. This is maybe the only error they committed throughout the night, other than maybe excluding “The Killing Lights” from their set, but that’s another story.
Photo by Raymon Guajardo
This was a mostly lifeless crowd throughout the night. Will they ever show any signs of living beyond the usual cheering? No worries for these nearly 20 year veterans. If there’s anything they’ve learned over the years, it’s how to energize a crowd.
And energize they did.
So they couldn’t mosh or crowd surf or get a circle pit going (a shame because “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” is perfect for that.), but that didn’t stop this not-so capacity crowd from enjoying themselves. While AFI delved into the realms of playing favorites old and new (open with “Medicate” to the above-mentioned “Love is a Many Splendored Thing”), those in attendance happily danced and jumped and raised their fists in the air any chance they could. So it wasn’t anything like the Irish dance fest I witnessed during Flogging Molly last March, but at least they’re still alive. Other elements included a “cell phones in the air” moment (which will NEVER look as cool as lighters, but seeing as we’re indoors, maybe it’s okay), a light show to make you wonder if pyrotechnics are shows are even necessary, sing-alongs, shout-alongs, scream-alongs, etc. It was so good, it was almost like it demanded an encore…
…but not just any encore, but a three-song encore. With a brief jump into the past before ending on a slow note (“Silver and Cold”), this show is now in the books. Fans now have to leave the room and either head for the merch table in lobby or head to their cars.
Nearly 24 hours later, how was this show? It was a great show. Maybe I’m partially biased because I know a lot of their songs and I’ve been waiting a while to see them, but at least I know a few things. I know what one of my friends was talking about after seeing them at Warped ’06, I know why one person I know constantly road trips to see them, and I also know how they got to where they are. Our two special guests for the evening watch on from the distance to see what they have to aim for.
And what better example than AFI?