Words: Letty Sharp // Pictures: Ian Mc Donnell
On the 1st of November the Aussie act Amyl and The Sniffers graced
Irish soil for a second time this year, the first being their opening slot for
Green Day at Marley Park. This time bringing their unique brand of
chaos to the 3Olympia in Dublin. The band brought fellow Australian
punks, C.O.F.F.I.N.S. with them.
C.O.F.F.I.N.S wasted no time getting started when they got on the stage.
The band have a unique singer as very few have them; the drummer is
the singer. The concentration and co-ordination it takes and the energy it
excerpts with the style of music that they play is very difficult. Ben
Portnoy’s rough and ready voice would grab anyone’s attention whether
you were hearing the music in passing or was an avid fan. The band
brought a piece of Australia with them covering Aussie metal legends
AC/DC’s Riff Raff. The band were also pleased to learn there were
some fellow Australians in the crowd. Their energy was excellent
throughout the night and it was only getting warmed up.
Amyl and The Sniffers walked onto the stage to the sound of GALA’s,
‘Free From Desire’. They also wasted no time getting into their high
paced, high-energy set. They opened with, ‘Freaks To The Front’ which
is only 1 minute and 42 seconds. Amyl had a gold shirt and shorts on
this time, changing it up from her regular denim shorts and white shirt.
They didn’t slow down there though, they turned it up even more. At
one point Amyl got off the stage and got into the crowd with the fans
and when she got out, she returned to the stage with a split lip. Declan
Mehrtens killed it on guitar all night providing impressive solo after
solo. Drummer Bryce Wilson kept the energy up with the drums and
Gus Romer kept thumping away with his heavy basslines. Amyl also
mentioned how blessed Ireland was with great bands with Dublin quartet
Fontaines DC getting a name drop. The insanity of the show continued
with the energy getting even higher when the song, ‘Shake Ya’,
sounded, all the crowd surfers decided to descend. The 1-hour set flew
by and when the gig was over, the crowd were riled up and wanted even
more. To understand Amyl and The Sniffers, you need to witness it first-
hand yourself. It’s organised, crass Aussie chaos and they’re fan base
love every bit of it.
Amyl and The Sniffers setlist:
Freaks to the Front
Gacked on Anger
Got You
Control
No More Tears
Choices
Security
Capital
GFY
Balaclava Lover Boogie
Shake Ya
Guided by Angels
Laughing
Knifey
Don’t Fence Me In
Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled)
Hertz
