“F...in’ hell, Amy!” shouted Amyl And The Sniffers guitarist Dec Martens. “That was me beer!”
Amy Taylor, the Melbourne pub punks’ lead singer, snatched the beer can sitting at Dec’s feet. As the band coughed up a dirty riff, Amy sprayed the mosh in beer, smashing the tin on the ground before launching herself into the crowd at The Zoo (7 December).
Amyl And The Sniffers spent the last five months overseas, intriguing many with their mullets and chaotic live shows. For their Brisbane return, the energy was high for their beer-soaked victory lap.
Local openers Lexicon spiked eardrums with their feedback-inducing punk. Vocalist Phoebe Sheeshy snarled beneath her bouncing feathered-hair, strangling her hand with the mic lead. When the band’s driving rhythm wound down, Phoebe broke the silence with a belch before cracking into the next song.
Trash aesthetics were on full display when Brooklyn freaks Surfbort appeared, especially on frontwoman Dani Miller. She stepped onstage wearing a swimsuit, a greasy black mullet, and a goofy grin fixed to her face the entire set.
“This song is about when you wake up and you’re like, 'who the f... stole my sh.t',” Dani drawled when introducing a demented piece of surf punk. After throwing herself between her bandmates, she jumped into the crowd and brought her chaos with her; grabbing a water bottle and pouring it on herself and everyone around her.
Her mindless destruction infected the crowd, including a photographer who chose to live in the moment rather than capture it.
Amy admitted early on that her voice was going, but she made up for it with her energy. It only took one song into Amyl And The Sniffers’ set before she was in the mosh.
When Dec began playing the scratchy solo in opening song ‘Cup Of Destiny’, Amy somersaulted onto the crowd and was sent rolling across the entire stretch of the mosh.
It became clear that the stage was far from off-limits. As the band played the meaty ‘I’m Not A Loser’, Dani Miller ran onto the stage with a champagne bottle; her dancing shook up the bottle, which she sprayed at the crowd. One topless fan pushed her way on to the stage, while another climbed up after Amy asked, “Does anyone wanna pash [bassist Gus Romer]?”
But it was during ‘Westgate’ when things devolved into anarchy. Amy pulled a fan up to join her in thrashing to Gus’ chugging groove. “Anyone that wants to come on the stage, do it now,” she announced. After another climbed up, the entire mosh pit piled on to the stage.
The music was still playing, but the band was lost within the crowd. The microphone was passed from one fan to another, each shouting a line from the song. Amy fought her way to the front of the stage and snatched back her mic.
When the song finished, Amy commanded the raucous crowd to “Get the f... off our stage”. They trickled down, wiping sweat and beer from their faces, knowing full-well that Amyl And The Sniffers command any stage they’re on.
