When I first saw the lineup for the 2014 Austin City Limits (ACL) Festival, I was pleasantly surprised to see AFI. I’ve had them on my list as a band I’ve wanted to see perform live again. AFI took the stage at 2PM on the Sunday afternoon of weekend two (a weird time spot), but luckily the weather was slightly overcast and without the oppressive heat of Friday. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t want to see the heaviest, darkest band on the ACL lineup to be playing in a warm, full sunlight setup.
AFI played a straight ahead set – full of energy with no breaks and no talking – just them performing and taking the crowd along for the ride. They opened up with “The Leaving Song Pt. II,” which roused the crowd with its anthemic, sing-along chorus.
AFI drew their material from a number of their albums, including the last release Burials with “17 Crimes” and “I Hope You Suffer” and even playing a fast punk song, “A Single Second,” from their 1997 album Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes. This kept the mosh pit strong (AFI was the only band I saw over the weekend that managed to do this). My favorite album of theirs is The Art of Drowning, so I was stoked when they played one of my favorites “The Days of the Phoenix,” an up-tempo melancholic number which set of waves of high school nostalgia.
Davey Havok’s crowd interaction was fantastic, first by going to the audience and sharing the microphone with die-hard fans. Then, as seen in the photo below, he even went into the crowd with fans holding him up as he continued like it was no big thing!
AFI closed out their set with their hit “Miss Murder” and as mysterious as they started the show – they ended it. As my first band of the day, AFI got me pumped up with their spirited set and I was excited to finish off the weekend’s festivities.
Catch AFI in some of Core offerings with programs like Feedback and Half Pipe.
– Submitted by Jesse Nathason, Music Design