Somehow, I never got to see Northern California alt-rock icons AFI in the States. So when they finally came back to the UK, playing the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on their way to All Points East in Victoria Park with the Deftones, I wasn’t going to let it slide again. A band this big in a theatre this small barely happens anymore. Three days later, they’d have tens of thousands of people in Victoria Park. I’ll take this room every time.
Same four members since 1998, but frontman Davey looks like a different man. Gone is the gothic, slick-black vampire mid-cut. Now it’s full biker leather, a pompadour out of 1974, and a handlebar mustache that would make the Village People jealous. The whole look says I don’t give a fuck about anything but rock ‘n’ roll, and it was awesome. From emo to Rocky Horror.
I keep hearing people ask why AFI never got as big as My Chemical Romance. They did, though. Decemberunderground went to number one in 2006, the same year as The Black Parade. AFI got big and then refused to stay there, which is exactly why a band with a number-one record is standing in a 2,000-capacity theatre in 2026, looking thrilled about it. And they put out five studio albums before Sing the Sorrow broke them. Most labels would’ve given up after two in those days. Most bands might get to four. Five is a proving ground in my book.
Four dudes making this much noise is insane to me. No frills, no gimmicks, a back line of Marshall stacks and a statement. Marshalls stacked like that scream metal show, but this was more punk, and then it went goth for a stretch, and then somewhere else again. All over the place, and I could not look away. Seriously.
And yeah, there’s new music to boot. Silver Bleeds the Black Sun came out last October, and it’s the most interesting thing they’ve done in years. “Holy Visions” was pretty fucking epic on first listen, and it’s a banger as well live. This is AFI 2.0, and it sounds like Sisters of Mercy with a lot more going on beneath the surface.
It’s very cool to watch a band move in this direction. I mean, look at The Damned, who went from punk singles to goth to whatever the hell they felt like and kept getting better at it. My point is that these are artists, delicate geniuses in a good way, they’ve earned the right to do whatever they want, the real fans will follow, and they should pick up some new ones along the way.
And the lead single off that record, “Behind the Clock,” is another wild one, which has a Fugazi, or maybe a Quicksand thing going on with some Cramps? Certainly some New Order / Joy Division. You get it. It’s different, it’s cool, it’s a band pushing the fucking limits. Whatever comes next might be a little weird. Good. I’m not buying tickets to watch a band do the thing they already did.
17 songs went by fast. “Girl’s Not Grey,” “Silver and Cold,” “17 Crimes,” and of course “Miss Murder” to close it out. I don’t want to be cliched and say the crowd went bonkers for every song, but they absolutely did. The band and the sound filled that legendary theatre and shook the foundation. No shit. One of the best things I’ve seen all year, so much so that I kept leaning over to the person next to me and saying, “What a fucking band.”
