Sixteen years. That’s how long UK fans had to wait for AFI to headline this side of the Atlantic again, and judging by the noise inside O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, nobody had forgotten how to welcome them back.
‘Strength Through Wounding’ hits first, quickly giving way to ‘Girl’s Not Grey’, and suddenly the room feels far too small for what is happening inside it. Davey Havok barely stops for breath, moving from one song to the next with little interest in filling the gaps with speeches. AFI are here to play, and play they do.
‘Love Like Winter’, ‘A Single Second’ and ‘The Killing Lights’ keep the pace vicious, before ‘The Boy Who Destroyed the World’ detonates another huge response. Havok spends much of the night prowling the stage, but twice he disappears into the crowd. At one point, he climbs onto the venue’s bar and keeps singing from above the heads of the audience. It’s chaotic, theatrical and completely AFI.
The set keeps shifting between eras, ’17 Crimes’, ‘Beautiful Thieves’ and ‘Bleed Black’ giving way to the darker weight of ‘I Hope You Suffer’. ‘The Days of the Phoenix’ is another huge moment, bringing one of the band’s older favourites roaring back into the room.
Then comes the encore. ‘Silver and Cold’ provides a final breath before ‘Miss Murder’ detonates. Every voice in Shepherd’s Bush joins in, turning the final chorus into something almost deafening.
Sixteen years away and AFI haven’t returned cautiously. They’ve come back swinging, proving that sometimes the best way to make an audience remember you is to simply give them everything they’ve been waiting for.
Words & Photos By Nick Davarias – https://www.instagram.com/nick.davarias
