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| A Fire Inside | Melkweg-Amsterdam | May 31, 2003 |
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Even though the beautiful, sunny weather of the day could not be more inappropriate for the dark music AFI usually plays, everyone in the sold-out Melkweg was very much excited to see these California punk heroes return after years of absence in the European live circuit. Circle Because AFI are on tour without a steady support act, Belgium’s Circle has the privilege to open up for the US punkrockers. The band plays melodic emo-rock, as can be heard on the two full-length and one MCD they have released so far. The Belgians focus on their latest release, ‘Vaudeville’ and play songs like ‘Tonite’, ‘Leaving The Parade’ and ‘Razorblades’ from that album. They perform their songs nice and tight and singer Dries easily makes the switch between clean vocals in the quiet parts and screaming in the rougher bits of the songs. The sound is remarkably good, both in volume as in quality, which is a good help for the band, which also played older songs like ‘Graveyard Shift’ and ‘Some Nice Guys Wear Black’, both from the ‘The Day Elvis Shook His Ass’-MCD (Try finding a better album title than that, ha!). Not many people know the band, obviously since 99% of the audience is here for AFI. The band gets a round of applause after each song, but they cannot really entice the crowd into doing more than that. They could use a bit more energy, because I sometimes get the feeling that the guys in the band think they are in the rehearsal room. Their performance is way too static and there is almost no interaction between the band and the crowd, which could have helped out a lot. Circle are a good band however, although they are not exactly the most exciting live band out there. I want more rock, dammit! With shows like this, I would rather play their CD while chilling at home, which is unfortunate, because Circle DO rock on their albums. AFI First of all, the band looks like a mix between Danzig (Davey Havok looks EXACTLY like Glenn Danzig’s androgynous little brother/sister), Duran Duran and something else, but they bring an energy on stage that I have not seen in a long while. Secondly, the band manages to replicate the album sound perfectly, (also thanks to the still-excellent sound in the room) and that without keyboards or a second guitar player even. The band focus on their latest release, of course, and everything they do is of equal greatness: the vocal harmonies, the Slayeresque guitar solo in ‘Dance Through Sunday’, the techno-break in ‘Death Of Seasons’ and the acoustic quiet of ‘This Time Imperfect’, the bonus track from the last album. Songs like ‘Silver And Cold’, ‘Girl’s Not Grey’ and older, punkier songs like ‘Days Of The Phoenix’ and ‘The Lost Souls’ set the crowd ablaze and show that the guys in the band are all very talented musicians. The band plays only one or two songs from before ‘The Art Of Drowning’, but nobody cares about those anyway. The whole stage performance is overwhelming and Davey’s voice stays great throughout the entire set. He sings high, he sings low, he screams like an ape and does not miss a single note throughout the entire set. If that alone was not enough, he also redefines the meaning of the words ‘charismatic frontman’ while he is at it. Fucking great show, make sure you go and see these guys whenever they are around, like this year’s edition of Lowlands. (Review: Jasper Klein) |
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