Four minutes into the set, Alana began frantically searching her pockets for anything that might do. Her fingers found a piece of notebook paper. Grasping the ends, she pulled it from her pocket, shredded it into long strips, and then licked it. Twisting the now wet paper into small wads, Alana shoved it into her ears as makeshift ear-plugs. “Is there really an escape plan,” she wondered to herself, “and if there is, how can I make use of it right now?”
Honestly, The Dillinger Escape Plan was truly worth missing, and I wished that I had come later. A brief survey of the audience showed all audience members in a state of complete lack of interest, and one even leaned over to me and said that he wished the singer would go away. Opening the set by launching a metal mic stand into the crowd, The Dillinger Escape Plan proceeded to get worse. They were noisy, every song sounded the same, and all I wanted to do was go home.
AFI, however, was a different story, particularly to the hardcore fans that turned out. AFI, short for “A Fire Inside,” sold out two consecutive shows at The Vic, some fans attending the shows on both nights.
The set opened with a flurry of soft lavender lights coating the stage and lighting up the smoke that billowed out from some unseen place. The entire stage setup was white: the drums, the amps and heads, the mic stands, and even the mics. The set started out strong, with almost all fans on their feet. Lead singer Davey Havok, clad similarly to the equipment, was very energetic, and captured everyone’s attention as soon as he came out. However, that same energy soon got stale, and I found myself wishing he would stop twirling his microphone and stand still just for a moment. The microphone antics were mostly misplaced as he hit himself with it or got tangled in it numerous times.
Always playing with his hair or jumping onto the bass drum, Havok’s ungraceful stage manner detracted from the music. The truly devoted fans, however, didn’t seem to mind. The fan base, self-titled “The Despair Faction,” waved their hands and cheered for every minute of AFI’s set, which lasted a little over an hour. And when I say “truly devoted,” I mean it.
The Despair Faction Web site claims that “The purpose of The Despair Faction is to give back to those who have demonstrated a true understanding of, and devotion to, AFI.” These are not fans to be messed with, and there is something to be said for a band who can garner devotion of such a degree. The show was definitely entertaining, the fans knew all the words to all the songs, and the band members seemed to genuinely enjoy doing what they were doing.
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fuck you
Written by Guest on 2007-07-22 11:14:24
you dont even know music, afi have been doing the same show for many years. its bad ass, but to say that dillinger made you want to go home makes me want to believe that you must love the dick in your mouth. Havok style |
gay
Written by Guest on 2008-07-27 06:33:50
whoa you are to gay for words if you like AFI and don't like Dillingers. learn to listen to music! |
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