CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE.

Fans, many still blistering from the weekend’s Soundwave festival, turned out in their droves for the AFI and Gallows sideshow at the Big Top Luna Park. The fact the rides were closed did little to dampen the spirits of the bands’ faithful, who packed the auditorium for the greater part of the night’s shenanigans.

Whether in response to the headliner’s (particularly lead singer Davey Havok’s ) recent metamorphosis or no, the androgyny one might have expected at such an event only a few years ago was surprisingly absent. While skinny jeans unsurprisingly abounded, the overwhelming vibe was less concerned with eyeliner than a healthy dose of heavy rock.

Pommy boys Gallows opened the show and immediately took to whipping the crowd into an animated frenzy with their hard-hitting, in-your-face, balls-and-all brand of hardcore. Frank Carter led from the front, delivering the majority of the band’s powerhouse set from the centre of the pit, getting up close and personal to many an avid circle runner.

From here, he skillfully fuelled the punter’s mania with tracks such as Come Friendly Bombs, Orchestra of Wolves, In The Belly of a Shark and crowd favourite Misery, at one point even inciting a marginally successful human pyramid (himself perched on its precarious top).

The diminutive frontman has a commanding presence – well supported by a quick wit, sharp tongue, and vocal chords of well-oiled wire and chain, all held together by the solidness of his four bandmates. Alluding to a possible headline tour in October, fans were undoubtedly left eagerly anticipating their return.

As the last of the stragglers made their way in to fill the available floor space, AFI opened their set with Medicate, the first single from new album Crash Love. Setting the tone for what was largely a return to their punk roots, they followed up with Girl’s Not Grey from 2003’s Sing The Sorrow, riling up the crowd and rarely letting the momentum slip from there.

Other highlights included Kill Caustic, Bleed Black and the slightly quirky new track Beautiful Thieves, as well as chart-toppers Love Like Winter and their closing number Miss Murder, both from 2006’s hugely successful Decemberunderground.

With tonight’s performance, the boys from California showed just how formidable and commanding a unit they are even after almost two decades. Their presence on stage – both musically and theatrically – is quite simply impossible to either ignore or refute. Just ask their fans.