Review: AMYL & THE SNIFFERS - Live in Brisbane

4 Feb

SOLD OUT and MAD AS HELL at The Tivoli!

Saturday 1st February 2025

Written by: Tom Wilson
Photos by: Bec Harbour

The Tivoli is absolutely rammed for the second night in a row, and never mind starting with a Welcome to Country, because First Nations rapper MISS KANINNA’s entire set is part RnB performance and part scorching sermon on the sorry state of race relations in Australia, and by her second song she has the people at the far end of the venue throwing a fist in the air. Originally hailing from Bruny Island, she combines sultry vocals with live drumming and seething rage, and by the time her breakout single Blak Britney reaches its peak, the pit is bathed in sweat, and not just because it’s summer in Meanjin.

Playing Australia for the first time on the back of last year’s stunning Humble as the Sun, UK two-piece BOB VYLAN take to the stage and begin a regime of “light stretching”, Bobby doing some trunk twists as drummer Bobbie pounds his kit to the backing track. “We’ll see you on the other side,” Bobby says with a smile, and the intro builds and builds before they plunge into Dream Big, and the pit swirls and rages. Affable and charming even when they’re calling Queen Elizabeth a cunt or slagging off METALLICA (the reasons for the latter aren’t entirely clear), their set is so highly anticipated that we see the last of their shirts disappear from the merch desk as they are playing. Bobby regales us with a story of Sparta-kicking a domestic abuser down a flight of stairs, before confirming that they’ll be back next year for a headlining tour. Wicked & Bad and Pretty Songs are absolutely savage, Bobby launching himself into the crowd, and by the time they leave stage with Hunger Games, we’re absolutely spent, and the main act hasn’t even begun…

The honking saxophone of Alex Caudino’s Destination Calabria rings out over the P.A., and the Tivoli is losing its collective shit as AMYL & THE SNIFFERS emerge, frontwoman Amy sauntering onstage like her own hype girl, with her tongue hanging out and her eyes beaming. “HOW THE FUCK ARE YA?” she shouts, and the sold-out crowd roars in approval. “If somebody falls down you help ‘em up. Don’t touch anybody that doesn’t want to be touched. GET ROWDY!” They kick off with Doing In Me Head, and “rowdy” is exactly how we behave throughout a stunning 24-song set. Combining classic pub rock vibes with punk energy and a progressive mindset, AMYL & THE SNIFFERS are the perfect example of sticking to your guns and reaping the rewards. Forgoing any kind of flashy banner, they project live footage of tonight’s show on the wall behind them – it’s not about them, it’s about all of us. The buzz around this band is entirely warranted, though I would like to insist that it’s not just because of their utterly unique and irrepressible frontwoman. It turns out that they’re just damn good songwriters, and tracks from new album Cartoon Darkness go down a storm. Bobby Vylan appears next to SENSE in the pit before crowdsurfing over the barrier, and MISS KANINNA emerges to do a number with Amy. They close with GFY (Go Fuck Yourself), and the sold-out crowd spills out into the night, sweaty, half-deaf and happy. An amazing night!