Bring An Open Mind
Always keep an open mind, as it will bring with it awesome things you would have never experienced. Tonight was a case of that, with a lot of people telling me how amazing A.F.I. can be live and that I must see them at least once. Like probably a lot of punk fans I know, I haven’t purchased an album from them since Sing the Sorrows. However, watching them perform tonight showed me what amazing musicians they are, including some of the newer stuff I was just hearing for the first time. This show was one of the best performances I’ve seen from a band.
The show opened on the slower, more alternative sounds of Souvenirs. These guys played some excellent tracks. Although it appeared they were a bit too slow for most of the crowd as my eyes canvassed for reaction. Meanwhile, I kept up the head bobbing to the beat as did a couple people around me. I wish I could have got closer, though everyone seemed camped for A.F.I. I hope to catch these guys again in a smaller venue when they come through Phoenix.
After them were the guys from Philly that go by the name of Nothing. These guys too were of the alternative rock sound. Singing was more of a lighter voice over the more upbeat sound of the instruments. The weird moments were the times they told the crowd to shut up and “fuck you.” Meanwhile, most of the set they actually appeared to be more appreciative of the crowd and support. It was a contrast of comments. Their music though was pretty good.
Finally we came to the band I had heard a lot about their live performance in the past couple weeks, A.F.I. The first thing that happened during the start was the sold out crowd compacting, quickly bringing me to a couple feet from the guard rail. A cool thing that they had setup was a projector, putting up video behind them on stage varying from song to song. Another thing that stood out immediately was the energy from both on stage, and off stage. Between the crushing force of hundreds of people wanting to be as close to the stage singing along and the mosh pit where an open gash on a head wasn’t keeping a dude from being in it, this was amazing.
Davey Havok was all over the stage. He clearly gets into his music, and has some on stage flair. He would move to the corners, he would move to the front of the stage, and, at one point, even stand atop people’s shoulders to sing within the crowd. The rest of the band isn’t standing back either, as they would move to opposite sides of the stage, and perform on top of the platforms setup on the edge of the stage. Davey engaged the crowd in an excellent manner. I was taken aback by how amazing A.F.I. are as performers. This has to go down as one of the best bands I’ve seen live.
Now you probably know I have this habit of finding more music when one ends, and tonight I went down the street to Shady Park to do just that. I was lucky enough to catch two songs of the amazing dudes that go by the name NEATO. If you haven’t just met them, they are the nicest guys. On top, I swear they always have a smile or grin as they perform. They come from various punk bands I used to watch and listen to from high school to college years, Oktober and Point Nine Percent. This band a little more leaning the reggae rock, but done so well too. This was also the first time I saw Katie on keyboard with them too. If you’re reading this, you should make sure you catch one of their next shows.
Following them was the group who I’ve unfortunately not caught as often as I should, but are one of the best reggae rockers in the valley, Pride Through Strife. A fun fact is that three of the four are actually triplets too. All three of them have some of the best voices I’ve heard in the Valley of the Sun too. Josh and Gabe do most of the lead vocals, while Aaron does their awesome rapping and leads on their traditional closer of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name.” To fail to mention their awesome drummer Chris would be a sin too.
What I love about Pride Through Strife is not only are they more of the Reggae, but they bring in a good amount of rock sounds in their songs. Josh on guitar is killer to watch play too. They like to move, as all three that had an instrument to move with, could be found dancing on top of the speakers at various points in the set. Heck, Josh and Gabe will dance while playing their instruments and singing anyways. I couldn’t be happier to make sure more people check them out, because Pride Through Strife are one of the best bands in Phoenix. This entire night was a blast too.
