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

Concert Review: The Casualties 5/30/13

On May 30th, I saw The Casualties in Austin as part of the Chaos in Tejas punk festival at 11E5. Admittedly, I was at this show really to see The Damned, but I figured seeing The Casualties would be neat as I had tried to get into them earlier in my life while I was still more into punk music.

The Casualties in 2007. Left to right: Jake Kolatis, Jorge Herrera, Marc Eggers, and Rick Lopez

The Casualties formed in 1990 in New York City in an effort to return punk music to what it was more or less originally (perhaps what some see as the second wave of punk rock that was characterized by faster and more aggressive music, i.e., the hardcore and oi! scenes). They drew heavy influences at the time from great hardcore bands like Charged GBH and The Exploited.

The lineup has remained fairly constant over the years with early founders having left, well...early, and others coming and going in the 90s. The current lineup has been together since the early to mid 90s (okay, Rick Lopez joined up in 1998, but semantics and details and so forth) and consists of Jorge Herrera on vocals, Rick Lopez on bass guitar and backing vocals, Jake Kolatis on guitar and vocals, and Marc Eggers on drums.

Allow me to admit that my like of punk music has both waned and become a bit selective over the years. Even back about eight years ago when I was first getting into punk, I had a hard time getting into this band. And sadly, this performance did little to change my mind on the matter. Now, mind you, this isn't to say they were bad. I'll get to the review in a bit. But, as the post-punk gothy type I am, the chances of me suddenly becoming a fan of this band were already low. It just isn't my type of music anymore.

A photo I took of Jake Kolatis, Jorge Herrera, and Marc Eggers

Why did I never get into The Casualties? I don't know. I like other bands of the genre (The Exploited, Charged GBH, Discharge, FEAR, and Rancid, to name a few). Certainly The Casualties sound similar. I think in part, I just didn't care so much for Jorge's style of vocals. Not saying they're bad, just not for me. But, enough on all this. To the review!

The Casualties took to the stage and started with "My Blood, My Life." Immediately the crowd began to get rowdy, crowd surfing and stage diving. There was a lot of energy to the show, but I was quickly reminded, while standing near a stack of speakers, why I don't care too much for Herrera's vocals (the screams cut through the music a bit harshly at times and feel like knife blades in your eardrums when you get too close to speakers).

Their set continued with several other fast paced songs, many having lyrics related to politics and varying social injustices. Somewhere around the point when they played "Underground Army," Herrera threw a Casualties Army scarf into the crowd and things seemed to pick up even more than before. Fans were going crazy and singing at the top of their lungs.

Jake Kolatis

Afterwards, Herrera encouraged some fans to have a cock fight, basically, where a girl would get on a guy's shoulders and the two would bash into other groups in a mosh pit with the winner getting free beer. At first, audience members were hesitant to participate (I know, punks hesitant to bash into each other? I swear I'm not making this part up), but after a bit some did participate. I kept worrying someone would fall off and bash their head open on the concrete (fortunately, this did not happen).

The Casualties ended with "We Are All We Have" which was met with much energy from the crowd. As they left the stage, fans demanded more, but sadly with other bands left to come, no encore would be had. Some fans retreated to find water, others rushed in closer for the next band and the hope of getting good spots for The Damned.

The setlist from the night. I think this came from over where  Rick lopez was most of the night, but I wasn't paying attention

All in all, The Casualties have done a great job attracting fans over the years. Their show was full of energy (and dare I say that perhaps Kolatis upstaged Herrera a bit?) and meaning that can at times be lost or turned into a mockery in punk shows. They still aren't my favorite band and I doubt I will find myself listening to them more, but they still retain the same feel punk bands from the 90s came with. All in all, not a bad show at all and I'm glad to have seen it, even with all the crowd surfing and stage diving that I loathe.

Sound Off! Were you at this show? What did you think? Did you become a fan of The Casualties after this? Were you already a fan? What were your favorite moments? Share your thoughts in the comments section!


Rating: 4 out of 5 (good energy, good antics, overall good sound, but not really my cup of tea anymore)

More Information: Official MySpace of The Casualties