After watching the Sing the Sorrow 20th Anniversary show via TikTok livestream over the weekend, I haven’t been able to stop listening to AFI, and I knew it was finally time for me to sit down and watch I Heard A Voice.
I’ve listened to the live recording cut from this performance many, many times over the past 15 years — in fact the closest I’ve ever come to a religious experience was blasting this live album at top volume in my car in the middle of one of the loudest, brightest thunderstorms I’ve ever lived through. But until tonight, I’d never actually watched the show.
This night in 2006 was significant because it was the largest headlining show that AFI had ever played — 13,000 people in Long Beach Arena. They were on tour for Decemberunderground, the album that debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and catapulted AFI to the mainstream. So yes, this show was a huge deal, and it now exists as an incredible snapshot of the most successful year of AFI’s tenure.
This tour is immediately recognizable — the all-white ensembles on each band member, the white microphones and risers, the withered trees with fairy lights on stage to set the mood. Davey’s hot pink sparkle eyeshadow and baby pink manicure, his black suspenders and white lace arm warmers. Jade’s black nail polish and criss-cross sideburns. All iconic pieces from this era.
There are so many moments in here that warmed me and made the show feel alive. Jade banging on Adam’s cymbals with a grin on his face, Davey’s half-feral lean over the drum kit during Totalimmortal, the lighters - honest to God lighters - going up during This Time Imperfect. The small handful of flip phones captured in a few of the crowd shots, the circle pits opening up, Davey hanging his mic stand over the pit to have them sing along. I got full-body chills when Davey crowd-walked during God Called In Sick Today and commanded everyone, “Sing!”
I think what I loved the most though about the way this whole thing was shot was how the audience was treated as an equal piece of the film, just as important to the overall experience as the band. It’s that mix that makes you wish you could have been there to see it in person, to be in that crowd with everyone else.
It’s truly something special to commemorate a band at the absolute height of their power, but it’s extremely gratifying to me as a long-time fan to know that AFI still bring this exact same energy and passion to their shows even now. I can say from personal experience, even in a 1500-cap venue, the entire band still performs like it’s a sold out arena.
In short, I loved this, it absolutely scratched the itch for me, I will definitely be watching it again in the future, and I only wish that AFI would have given their STS20 show a similar treatment.
After watching the Sing the Sorrow 20th Anniversary show via TikTok livestream over the weekend, I haven’t been able to stop listening to AFI, and I knew it was finally time for me to sit down and watch I Heard A Voice.
I’ve listened to the live recording cut from this performance many, many times over the past 15 years — in fact the closest I’ve ever come to a religious experience was blasting this live album at top volume in my car in the middle of one of the loudest, brightest thunderstorms I’ve ever lived through. But until tonight, I’d never actually watched the show.
This night in 2006 was significant because it was the largest headlining show that AFI had ever played — 13,000 people in Long Beach Arena. They were on tour for Decemberunderground, the album that debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and catapulted AFI to the mainstream. So yes, this show was a huge deal, and it now exists as an incredible snapshot of the most successful year of AFI’s tenure.
This tour is immediately recognizable — the all-white ensembles on each band member, the white microphones and risers, the withered trees with fairy lights on stage to set the mood. Davey’s hot pink sparkle eyeshadow and baby pink manicure, his black suspenders and white lace arm warmers. Jade’s black nail polish and criss-cross sideburns. All iconic pieces from this era.
There are so many moments in here that warmed me and made the show feel alive. Jade banging on Adam’s cymbals with a grin on his face, Davey’s half-feral lean over the drum kit during Totalimmortal, the lighters - honest to God lighters - going up during This Time Imperfect. The small handful of flip phones captured in a few of the crowd shots, the circle pits opening up, Davey hanging his mic stand over the pit to have them sing along. I got full-body chills when Davey crowd-walked during God Called In Sick Today and commanded everyone, “Sing!”
I think what I loved the most though about the way this whole thing was shot was how the audience was treated as an equal piece of the film, just as important to the overall experience as the band. It’s that mix that makes you wish you could have been there to see it in person, to be in that crowd with everyone else.
It’s truly something special to commemorate a band at the absolute height of their power, but it’s extremely gratifying to me as a long-time fan to know that AFI still bring this exact same energy and passion to their shows even now. I can say from personal experience, even in a 1500-cap venue, the entire band still performs like it’s a sold out arena.
In short, I loved this, it absolutely scratched the itch for me, I will definitely be watching it again in the future, and I only wish that AFI would have given their STS20 show a similar treatment.
