For a long time I hated going to SWG3 in Glasgow. It wasn’t that it is bad venue, it is actually great. It wasn’t the bands they put on (Toots & The Maytals and Refused were particular highlights). However, it was an absolute pain to get to and from until I discovered the “secret” road that leads from the venue to Partick Station.
The Galvanizers room was surprisingly busy for support act TR/ST. I must confess I was in the dark about them both figuratively and literally. Their brand of darkwave was evidently more well-known than I had given them credit for. A mixture of the darkest elements of Depeche Mode with a good smattering of the best of VNV Nation. Their gothic electronica served as a fine precursor to the band who could have been the ones headlining stadiums to legions of goth punk kids instead of My Chemical Romance.
A lot had changed since I last saw AFI at Leeds Festival in 2003. I still had hair back then and Davey Havok was using levels of hair product that made the banning of CFCs to save the ozone layer pointless. Due to this it was a shock to see the AFI ringleader looking like a German porn star circa 1974.
That look and TR/ST supporting may have led some to believe that AFI were going to perform more like Havok’s synth-pop side band Blaqk Audio. Those fears were immediately dismissed as they ripped into Strength Though Wounding from Black Sails in the Sunset, straight into their most mainstream hit, Girl’s Not Grey.
Unfortunately, that level of intensity couldn’t be maintained. While there was a smattering of earlier material (A Single Second, The Lost Souls and Days of the Phoenix), too much of the main set was inevitably beholden to the most recent album, the lacklustre Silver Bleeds the Black Sun.
There was a redemption of sorts as the main set finished with Silver and Cold followed by an encore of God Called Sick in Today and Miss Murder. While these were gladly lapped up by the audience, the focus on post-Sing The Sorrow material and the distinct lack of songs from AFI's early hardcore period were an opportunity missed.
