As I always say, when AFI is in town, I will try my damn hardest to be there. So that’s where I found myself on Wednesday night.
In continued support of their 2025 release, Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…, they’ve circled back to Ohio, albeit a bit more southern for me. Still, I was excited at the prospect of seeing them again so soon! I think last year the album had maybe only been out for a few days. The thing about AFI though is that they’ve had such a long career that there is no way they are gonig to saturate a setlist with only the new stuff. Heck, they’ve been a band for as long as I’ve been alive! And twelve albums to pull from!
I think I always fool myself into believing that the setlists I see online is what I’m going to get. But with the amount of songs, along with their sheer talent, of course almost all of it was different! The beginning of the set stayed largely the same as what I’d been seeing, and of course how could they not play “Girls Not Grey” and “Strength Through Wounding.” While I also think that “Love Like Winter” and “Miss Murder” are sure things, apparently they are not. No “Miss Murder” at this show! My 2006 heart aches. I’m actually a little surprised that we didn’t get more from Decemberunderground given that this year is its 20 year anniversary.
We did get “Endlessly, She Said,” which was a pleasant surprise. And with the Blood Album being my second favorite of theirs, I was a little bummed that we only got “Aurelia.” “I Hope You Suffer” and “Behind the Clock” really slapped this time around. Both are moody in their own way, and something about it just translated really well in the space. For all of the other hard-hitting, more upbeat tracks, it still surprises and amazes me that these guys are all around 50 years old. Davey is maybe tenfold more flexible than my sister could ever hope to be. I just hope that they are stretching and icing these days.
Like all AFI shows, this was another excellent one in the books and I’m so happy I bought a ticket to go. If you have the chance, you should do the same!
