afi/dillinger escape plan/nightmare of you, 06.22.06, roseland ballroom

the story of me and a.fire.inside.
i have never really been a big fan of afi. it wasn't that i didn't like them or appreciate their artistic merit, because i certainly respected them and knew what their draw was. their music is intelligent (if emo), they are intelligent (and oh-so-emo), and from what i've experienced, their fanbase is rabid for them. they have to be good, right?

but davey's whiney voice always got in the way. i couldn't keep myself from imagining gnodes the size of apples habituating his vocal chords in 20 years*. he sounded too much like some pop-influenced, snotty kid trying out for chamber choir (you got a nice vibrato, but breath from your gut). for some reason, this kept me from ever fully diving into their music, so whenever someone would mention them, all i could do was offer up a shrug and say that "it's admirable they're vegetarian?"

then i heard from many a source that their new album, decemberunderground, released on 060606 (yep), was phenomenal. soon after, i received my live*nation update that said tickets were still on sale for roseland AND they were playing with dillinger escape plan (i love those guys). i purchased my admission and hoped i would be impressed rather than disappointed.

*for some reason this same visualization doesn't occur with all of the hardcore singers i listen to. whatev.

the killing lights
nightmare of you
i arrived at roseland around 6:25. i waited in line with all of the other emotastic/goth/scenester people (i was dressed inappropriately, you could say). when things finally got moving, people flooded in and literally ran to the front of the stage. i hung out by the balustrade (and thus, the bar)and took in some human interaction.

as always happens at roseland, the opening band began promptly. nightmare of you, why must you start off every freaking show i go to, why? all that ever happens is me standing there, taking out my earplugs, utterly disappointed, wishing you could have proven me wrong this time, just this time.

to be fair, album-wise, i like nightmare of you. i listen to them on my iTunes. they're poppy and kind of retro and we enjoy the catchiness factor. one time, i went to a show specifically to see them. but i have learned the truth now: they are an awful live band.

never really exactly on pitch, their energy never really up to ::rawk:: status, and the likely event that someone is going to mess up due to the lead singer's possibly cracked-out status, makes me less than enthused to know that i'm going to have to listen to them for 30 minutes. jamie (my partner in this neverending ear torture) has hypothesized that something shady is going down, because there is no logical reason as to why these guys get to open for all of these hot bands.

they weren't any different for the afi show. all of the catcalls from the dillinger fans didn't make the situation any better, either.

i do have to give them some potty-humour credit though. when announcing dillinger would be on after them, and then analyzing the ripping cheers throughout the crowd, frontman brandon reilly announced that what he'd heard was total testosterone. "it's not even just a lot of manly shouting. it was pure balls." ahahahahaha brandon. too bad your singing isn't as good as your wit. you're fired.

i always go into these shows praying that they do well. i really, really want them to put on an amazing performance, for i see the potential in their skinny pants and tie schtick. unfortunately, the potential i see doesn't come through, and i always leave with a bitter taste in my mouth and an awful sense of dejected failure.

dillinger. motha-f'in. escape. plan.
after the disappointing and somewhat embarrassing run of n.o.y., dillinger made their way onto the stage, and "pure balls" it was. nothing gets this girl pumped up like some good 'core. that and the body of greg puciato (ben weiman has a piece of my heart too). what can i say? having gauged the crowd earlier, it was definitely littered throughout with big guys covered in tattoos, and wishing to make it through to afi, i stayed off to the side.

their show was ridiculously heavy, with strobed lights beating to their funky mix of mathcore rhythms. i'm surprised i didn't have an epileptic fit it was so wonderful. "43%" raged and their cover of nine inch nails' "wish" was by far one of the highlights of my evening. unfortunately, it seems i was surrounded by a relatively clueless and thus, alienated, group of people waiting to see afi. i don't think they knew what was coming, and the look of confusion and slight distaste played on their faces while dillinger shredded. punks maybe, but hardcore they were not. whatever, the scene is an acquired taste and tall platform boots and corsets don't always work well in a mosh pit.

they were so wonderful, i'm not really sure there's much more to say other than i can't wait to see them again on august 2nd at bowery for a diabetes benefit. sweet.


a fire in my loins
creatively speaking, afi has their showmanship down pat. very comfortable with the audience, very comfortable with themselves, afi knows how to dress to impress. with the crazy hair-wha?'s and the makeup and the colorful schematic lighting, afi knows how make people insane for them. it was only a thursday night, but it could've been a friday night for all i knew (though i hear their friday show was even more over-the-top). fists pumped into the air, people chanting, screaming as davey havok jumps into the audience.

their music is also really freaking good. davey's voice doesn't bother me when it's live, and i couldn't get over the excellent guitar work as done by jade puget. i was happy to be there. granted, i didn't know many words, but i recognized at least 75% of the songs, which means that they have managed to waft themselves into my world anyway, even without me trying.

the audience had its share of potty guys (one of whom kept screaming lyrics into pretty jailbait faces as his girlfriend stood there ready to rip his head off), but for the most part, people were respectful and pretty excited to be hearing their favorite band in person. hey, i was excited. i'm really glad i ended up heading to the ladies room and rock-do'ed my hair up, because goddamnit, they deserved the effort. and now i kind of have a crush on jade puget, even if he did shout out his girlfriend before one of their songs.


the moral of the story
don't judge a book by its cover. or at least a band by the voice of its singer. dillinger will always rock your socks. nightmare of you has a really, really long way to go, but i'm still holding out hope that they'll surprise me one day. oh, and give peace (and emo) a chance.

/jen/

up next... unbusted/hooray for earth