Concert Review: AFI (10/18/13)

Last night (October 18, 2013), hardcore gone alternative rock outfit AFI was in Austin playing at The Mohawk to a completely sold out crowd. About half way through their US tour and on the heels of their newest studio album, Burials, being released on October 22nd, the group were in high spirits and looking and sounding better than ever.

AFI. Left to right: Hunter Burgan (bass guitar), Jade Puget (guitar), Adam Carson (drums), and Davey Havok (vocals). Promo photo

The night began with Coming (Los Angeles, CA, formed 2012) as the first opening act. Sounding a bit like The Birthday Party with a little more of a hardcore and funk edge to their songs, Coming got the crowd engaged from the beginning putting on a nice and energetic show. While perhaps only a couple people in the audience had heard of them before, Coming were able to get some heads bopping and get fans set for what would be a packed night of excitement.

Coming. Left to right: Dustin (guitar and vocals), Billy (bass guitar), and AJ (drums). Photo from their website.

Things continued with Touche Amore (Los Angeles, CA, formed 2007) taking the stage. As the first song began, immediately the crowd pulled in very tight, with a good half of the audience singing loudly to each song. Plenty of crowd surfers and stage divers set the tone for the show. If there were doubts about whether this was a punk/hardcore show, they were quickly answered then. The group surveyed songs throughout their career and kept the audience immensely engaged throughout. For those who had never heard of Touche Amore before, many came out new fans of this hardcore group.

Touche Amore. Left to right: Elliot Babin (drums), Clayton Stevens (guitar), Jeremy Bolm (vocals), Tyler Kirby (bass guitar), and Nick Steinhardt (guitar). Image from MetalInjection.

However, the night was to be won by AFI. Entering the stage in total darkness, Adam Carson went to his drum set, followed by Jade Puget carrying in a specially designed Gibson Les Paul Studio with the new Burials artwork on it, followed by Hunter Burgan carrying a black bass guitar (possibly a Fender?), and lastly with frontman Davey Havok donning his new signature jacket which prominently features on upside down cross made of pyramid studs on the back.

The group opened with "The Leaving Song, Pt. II" from 2003's Sing the Sorrow, immediately lighting the crowd on fire. Unlike more recent shows from AFI, Havok seemed to welcome the audience interaction, himself jumping into the audience during their opening number. The set went on to include the first song revealed from the forthcoming album Burials, "I Hope You Suffer," (which we reviewed previously here and you can watch a live performance of below) which was met with loud singing from the entire audience and a certain pride from the band at seeing their fans singing along to a song that has not been out for very long.

As the night continued on, fans did not relent on singing along even as AFI pulled out songs from their older material that haven't been played more recently, including "Ever and a Day" from 200's The Art of Drowning and "Over Exposure" from 1998's A Fire Inside EP. Peculiarly, the set only featured one song from their previous album, 2009's Crash Love, "Beautiful Thieves." (Video of this one from the show is featured below.) The night was rounded out with a three song encore that included their tribute cover of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" followed by "Dancing Through Sunday" and "Silver and Cold," both from Sing the Sorrow.

Overall, the performances from all three groups were great, though AFI being the main attraction certainly did not disappoint and even stole the show in the end. There were some slight sound issues for all three groups, but with how loud the audience sang the entire time, that didn't change the intimate feel the show had. AFI's tour with Touche Amore continues, stopping in Tempe, Arizona, at the Marquee Theater on Sunday. Check them out on the remaining tour and catch their new album, Burials, due out on October 22nd. Also, be on the lookout as Adam Carson and Hunter Burgan hinted after the show to us that a bigger tour is in the works to bring them back on the road supporting Burials in early 2014.


Ratings:

Coming: 4 out of 5

Touche Amore: 4 out of 5

AFI: 5 out of 5

More Information: Official Site of Coming Official Site of Touche Amore Official Site of AFI

Music Review: Gary Numan - Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind)

Today's long awaited Music Review will be over the newest album from new wave/synthpop/electronic musician Gary Numan, 2013's Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind).

Cover art for 2013's Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind)

Gary Numan is perhaps best known for his work over the years in pioneering electronic, and to some extent, industrial music. His more recent albums have taken on a darker, heavier tone, but instead of being a one-trick pony, Numan constantly improves upon his style, bringing something new each time around. Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind) sees Numan once again setting the bar high, and even far exceeding expectations with an album that may come (dare I even say it) in time to be his biggest yet (it certainly is already his best in more recent years, though not to say the other newer albums have been terrible).

Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind) is Numan's first album since 2011's Dead Son Rising (though most of the songs were from old demos from prior records, so some people consider 2006's Jagged to be Numan's prior album of new material). While this new work was not immediate in release, it perhaps speaks to so much of what has kept Numan preoccupied in the interim. Regardless of whether or not the album is an introspective look at Numan's life these last few years (which has included very personal struggles emotionally, health concerns especially with his wife more recently, and the challenges of becoming a parent three times over, among others), the album exudes the feelings of what remains after the mind breaks, the splinters and shards that one tries to put back together to create some semblance of reality and even the desire to go back in time and prevent this shattering from happening in the first place.

Gary Numan signing lithographs to be sold with bundles for the new album. He took this photo and posted it up on his official Facebook page.

This album melds much of the signature electronic sound Numan has been known for over the years. Fans of his early work with the Tubeway Army will be able to recognize a distant similarity between those songs and Splinter, though some digging through the layers is necessary. Others will quickly find a close similarity between Splinter and much of Trent Reznor's work with Nine Inch Nails (a band Numan has revealed to be one of his major, recent influences that has helped contribute to the darker sound his last few albums have included).

Stand out songs on this album include the heavy synth number (where you can  feel some of that old Tubeway Army style come forward) "Everything Comes Down to This," the first single off the album "I Am Dust," the softer ballad-like "Lost" that proves the turning point in the album and speaks to the title of the album, and the insanely catchy synth/industrial song "Love Hurt Bleed."

Numan is currently touring lightly in the US, opening for Nine Inch Nails in Florida at the end of the month, before heading off to Europe for some additional dates. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a major tour to support this new album as it is surely a treat to see Numan in action on a stage. If you happen to be near a stop on the current tour, you should definitely check it out.

Rating:

5 out of 5

More Information: Official Site of Gary Numan

Concert Review: Peter Hook and the Light (9/17/13)

Tuesday (September 17, 2013) night marked the sighting of a legend here in Austin - Peter Hook of both Joy Division and New Order fame. Hook played at The Belmont with his current band, dubbed The Light, with an ambitious goal - to play the first two New Order albums in their entirety.

Peter Hook and the Light. On the left is Jack Bates (bass guitar), center is Peter Hook (vocals, bass guitar, and melodica), and on the right is Paul Kehoe (drums). Photo taken by me.

The night began with a rather mood setting light rain before opening act Slaves of Venus took to the stage. Hook had mentioned earlier in the day via his Twitter account that there would be a special treat for anyone who showed up early for the opening act. Arriving to the venue an hour and a half before doors opened, I sat and speculated with others as to what it could mean. My guess was that Hook might do a song with this mysterious Slaves of Venus group (I could hear them doing Joy Division's "Atrocity Exhibition" during the sound check, so I was hoping he may guest with them on that song). How little did we know.

The rain set in for a few minutes, the skies very dark and brooding. If I didn't know any better, it felt as if Ian Curtis (singer of Joy Division until his death in 1980) was looking down on the show about to happen, setting the mood, and wishing us well. Slaves of Venus took to the stage shortly after the rain subsided. The surprise? Slaves of Venus was really just a name Hook created for him and The Light. The bigger surprise? This first act would feature an all-Joy Division set. Immediately the drums set in to the beat of "Atrocity Exhibition," met by fans cheering loudly and singing along to the song with Hook. An interesting change that was quickly seen was Hook taking charge on vocals and leaving the majority of the bass guitar work to his son, Jack Bates. Perhaps the high point of this rare treat was when Hook belted out Joy Division's infamous numbers: "3, 5, 0, 1, 2, 5!" The group rolled into "Warsaw" to a frenzied crowd, most of which joined in screaming out "3, 1, G!" with Hook as the song progressed (I posted the video I took below. Sorry, I missed the very beginning). The set was rounded out with one of my favorite Joy Division songs, "Heart and Soul," and ended with "In a Lonely Place."

After a short break, Peter Hook and the Light returned to the stage, beginning by playing through the entire first New Order album, Movement. While New Order in time deviated from Joy Division by bringing in more synthesizers and a somewhat lighter mood, Hook brought more of the punk feel that was characteristic of Joy Division and several of the bands that helped influence Joy Division, leading to an immensely energetic show and an eager audience. Each song left the listener anticipating the next, wanting more, constantly feeling "pumped up." After finishing the whole of Movement, the group took a break for a couple minutes before returning to play the second New Order album in full, Power, Corruption, and Lies. My personal high point here was listening to everyone in the crowd sing along loudly to "Age of Consent." It was truly a magical moment.

Having already played for somewhere on the order of two hours, Peter Hook and the Light returned to the stage once again amid loud chanting and roars of excitement for an encore. They launched into "Hurt" and "Everything's Gone Green." At one point, Hook asked the audience if it was time to go home yet. We yelled back a resounding "No!" His reply? "Fuck me. I had a feeling you would all say that!" After grinning to the crowd, he led the group into "Temptation." The night rounded out with one of New Order's most well-known songs, "Blue Monday" (I've posted below the video I took of them playing this).

In the end, Peter Hook is one of those legends of his genre where you know he could be uppity and full of himself, and no one would say anything except "Well, he's freaking Peter Hook. Come on, the guy essentially created post punk." Instead, Hook got very close to the audience while playing, waved to people on the upper balcony, threw his sweaty shirt out to the audience, gave a young girl a towel he wiped his face with, and chatted to people every now and then between songs. The backing band sounded amazing and as you may expect, Jack Bates learned very well from his father, bringing that immensely unique sound Hook has (listen for it in any of New Order's material...his bass guitar work is what really sets those songs apart and distinguishes them...it's also that work that allows you to instantly recognize a New Order song even if you don't actually know it). My only gripe about this show? The setup on the small stage made it where the person on keyboards was hidden behind some amps the entire time. He sounded awesome, but sadly, no one could see the fellow.

Peter Hook (left) and guitarist David Potts (right). Photo taken by me.

While The Light's US Tour has wrapped up, Hook has hinted at plans to return in the future and eventually play through all the New Order material. Should he ever come to a town near you, you should not miss out on seeing this legend in action. This was a mighty fine treat and easily one of the best shows I have ever been to (and I'd like to think I've been to quite a few good ones over the years).


Rating:

5 out of 5 (if I could, I'd be obscene and rate it even higher)

More Information: Official Site of New Order Official Site of Peter Hook