Punk And Metal Clash At AFI/Dillinger Show

I understand that AFI and The Dillinger Escape Plan are old buddies, and I'm all for diverse line-ups, but the effeminate goth-punkers playing with the mighty mathcore quintet seemed like a bad call on both their parts.

As odd a pairing as it was, Thursday night's show at the Kool Haus pleased fans of punk, metal and everything in between. Nightmare Of You kicked off the night with their Cure/Smiths-inspired rock that got old halfway into the first song. It got the kids dancing, but it was uninspired and derivative, not to mention a terrible precursor for the next band.

Placing a poppy new wave group before the Dillinger Escape Plan reminded me of the scene in Jurassic Park when the goat is devoured by the tyrannosaurus rex. The second the band ripped into the opening blast beats of "Panasonic Youth," it was chaos. The circle pit erupted as soon as they hit the stage, and before the goth kids had any idea what was going on, vocalist Greg Puciato was already whipping his mic stand over their heads.

To the crowd's credit, they were surprisingly receptive to Dillinger's unapologetically inaccessible set. If nothing else, it proved that the lines between punk and metal have been completely blurred over the years, as both bald-headed metalheads and mascara-wearing punks threw down as one. If they weren't all hitting each other, it might have been beautiful.

The band were just as brutal, with guitarists Ben Weinman and Brian Benoit jumping off stacks and monitors and waving their guitars over their heads. Puciato was equally violent, smashing his mic stand to bits, climbing on speakers and diving feet first into the audience.

Closely resembling '81 vintage Henry Rollins, the muscular Puciato would almost be scary if he wasn't always cracking jokes or singing Justin Timberlake snippets in between songs like "43% Burnt" and "Sugar Coated Sour." That's what separates the band from other heavy acts who take themselves way too seriously — they're there to have a good time whether you like it or not, and it's refreshing to see such blatant disregard for people's tastes, expectations and general well being.

And then there's AFI. I truly sympathize with any band playing after Dillinger, but AFI had the crowd's undying adulation working to their advantage, not to mention incredible dexterity and stamina. The moment frontman Davey Havok appeared on stage, shrouded by an overworked smoke machine, he had the audience in the palm of his hand.

Opening with "Prelude 12/21" and then ripping into Sing The Sorrow's anthem "The Leaving Song, Pt. 2," there was non-stop onstage energy from Havok, guitarist Jade Puget and bassist Hunter Burgan.

Surprisingly, most of their set was comprised of songs off Sing The Sorrow. Only four tracks from their latest, Decemberunderground, were played. It was an odd move considering the new album seems stripped down and suited better for a live environment, but fans appreciated songs like "Totalimmortal," "Days Of The Phoenix" and "God Called In Sick Today" even more.

AFI have championed "whoa-oh" choruses for years now, and the crowd did just as much singing as Havok did. When he wasn't fiercely screaming, the endearing, cartoonish singer proved he has one of the strongest voices in punk by hitting even higher notes than he does on record. Closing with "Silver And Cold" and turning it into a gigantic singalong, the band left the crowd screaming for more.

The Dillinger Escape Plan may have been a tough act to follow, but AFI more than held their own. No matter who they came to see, the crowd couldn't have asked for a better display of heavy music talent.