Kevin Bronson on October 24th, 2013

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By Carl Pocket

“Good evening LA and welcome to the celebration,” was the only introduction that Davey Havok needed to snarl at the crowd on Tuesday night. The East Bay horror-core quartet know as A Fire Inside packed the sold out Fonda Theatre with a party for release of their ninth studio album “Burials.”

Havok, wearing a glam-studded Petrine Cross jacket and signature guy-liner, came running to center stage when the curtain rose to a snarling chorus of “Through our bleeding ”¦ We are one”! The gift to the fans – thirtysomethings with beards, wedding rings and a few extra pounds reliving a piece of their youth – would be a set that heavily favored AFI’s 2003 commercial breakthrough “Sing the Sorrow” and only a spattering of songs off the album released Tuesday.

• ||| Photos by Kelsey Heng

For their first proper tour in three years, the band pulled out every move. Guitarist Jade Puget spun his guitar while bassist Hunt Burgan split-kicked off boxes on the stage during opener “The Leaving Song Pt. II.” Havok cooed to the front row of the crowd on bent knee while the group blistered through “Girls Not Grey,” while the fans in the cheap seats lifted their fists, howling along with every word.

“Ever in a Day” gave the ladies that were lifted on shoulders a moment to swoon when Havok stepped back to slick back his hair while the crowd cried out the “ohs.” “Over Exposed,” bringing it all the way back to ’97, gave the dudes a chance to thrash and smash as a circle pit opened up to half the floor. Even a guy in a wheelchair threw down in the mosh.

With mic stand pointed out to the crowd, “The Leaving Song Pt. I” gave everyone a time to catch a breath as the melodic scales brought a hush over the theater. Multiple lighters were raised in unison and flickered in the air, until security started strobing their flashlights, instructing people to stop.

“A Deep Slow Panic,” being played for the first time live, was the only moment the band lost their tightness. The vocals got rushed as the drums lost the beat, but the beckoning snarls from the frenzied floor brought the tempo right back on track.

Fans eager for that song had to wait until the end of the set for a touch-’em-all series of hits – the new “Miss Murder,” the old “Days of the Phoenix” and the ancient, “God Called in Sick Today.” A roar of applause erupted as the band quickly jogged off.

The crowd barely had time to start their chanting before AFI ran back onto the stage with their take on the Cure’s classic “Just Like Heaven,” even throwing in a breakdown for good measure.  If that wasn’t enough, Havok and gang finished up the 19-song excursion with “Silver and Cold.”

With a simple wave the band was gone, but a youthful anticipation still swelled in the crowd which didn’t move until the houselights had been turned on. Not many words were said by the band, but not many needed to be; people who became fans at any point in during AFI’s 20-year career walked away with a touchstone of the past.

Carl Pocket is a frequent contributing photographer to Buzz Bands LA.