Kicking off their US tour in LA at Primavera Sound, the third date of this tour landed the Aussie punks Amyl and The Sniffers back in Atlanta, this time at Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points.
Yeah, Atlanta already got the Melbourne-based band back in late April at Shaky Knees Music Festival. And if you saw that set on the Criminal Records Stage, there was no doubt this was a must attend show at Variety Playhouse. I mean twice in one year, yes please! Heck, it could be another couple of years before they make it back to the city, so this was a special treat for everyone that already knew what was about to go down. So yeah, sometimes Atlanta is pretty damn rad, you know?
Case in point: Upchuck. Upchuck is a local band from right here in Atlanta set to release their debut album, Sense Yourself, this Friday, September 30th via Famous Class Records. Led by frontwoman KT, who brings her own set of raucous energy, much like her counterpart in Amyl and The Sniffers, Amy Taylor. The bands also share in that they both bring back a lot of that old school punk from the late 70’s and early 80’s. Of course, Upchuck brings in other influences with some more modern hip hop and alt rock mixed in their ethos. And while Upchuck isn’t joining Amyl on the rest of the tour, they weren’t added to this bill as a local filler with a similar style, no, there is clearly mutual respect between the bands that already existed, despite Upchuck’s relatively young age as a band. There’s a buzz about this band already extending way beyond 285, built on their live performances. So yeah, this was the perfect opener for an Atlanta crowd ready to unleash.
Simply put though, an Upchuck set is wild. And unleash the Atlanta crowd did. The moshing began immediately down in the pit as Upchuck set Variety Playhouse ablaze. While all eyes are typically on KT, Upchuck switched singers for a few songs, different masks were suddenly on faces, and then they even brought out Atlanta’s own indie goddess Faye Webster on the bass for a few songs. Because why wouldn’t a folk singer, turned breezy indie pop artist who was once on a hip hop label, play in a punk band also. Love this city! What a start Upchuck was. You can catch Upchuck this Friday, September 30th for their FREE album release show at Criminal Records at 6pm. Hopefully there is no blood shed on the records though….
The fun only carried on from there. Bob Vylan was up next. The two piece band out of London will be joining Amyl and The Sniffers on this tour before finishing their US run with headline shows in LA and San Francisco. Bob Vylan started their set with guitars blaring, going straight punk and fitting in perfectly with the rest of the lineup. Yet there were no guitars on the stage, just drummer and frontman on the mic. And it worked. From there, Bob Vylan brought in their other rock and hip hop influences with a power and conviction brought on by the world that surrounds them today. There is no holding back with Bob Vylan, which created plenty of good banter including “Fuck Fox News” chants. Of course there’s always that one guy, and he didn’t like (and clearly wasn’t listening or understanding who Bob Vylan really is) the “politics” being brought into the show, yelling “leave the politics out”. Welp, that was fun, just setting the band off further and bringing the energy in the room to a scorching level. Pretty sure that dude yelling about the politics felt it down there in the pit after that one. It’s all love though. And Bob Vylan’s message was certainly heard. Fire set.
After those two opening sets, the Variety Playhouse crowd was ready to unleash every ounce left. Good thing because that’s what Amyl and The Sniffers do on stage every night. Unlike their Shaky Knees set though, I don’t believe any blood was exposed on stage this time; something that was much talked about after their Shaky Knees set when suddenly Amy Taylor was bleeding from her nose or mouth or something. Who knows, it sure didn’t slow her down, she just kept going.
And that’s what this band, this frontwoman, and subsequently their nightly crowds bring every single time. Non stop energy. Non stop power. It’s defiant. It’s vulnerable. It’s raw. Now growing audiences around the world are finding this out about Amyl and The Sniffers. They’ve got to be one of the hottest rock ‘n’ roll bands in the world right now.
For good reason. Releasing their self titled debut album in 2019, they won Australia’s esteemed ARIA Award for Best Rock Album. But it was 2021’s Comfort To Me (ATO Records) that’s helped take the next step globally. So yeah, not only did I get see the band twice in one year, but once on my favorite small stage at my favorite festival (SK22), but also at one of the best mid size venues around – Variety Playhouse. If you were hoping to catch Amyl and The Sniffers on a somewhat smaller stage, now is the time.
Bands like Amyl and The Sniffers, IDLES, and others are bringing punk right back into popular music these days, showing that there still is, and always will be a place for real rock ‘n’ roll music. Right now in 2022, there’s a lot of rage around the world that needs unleashed, and what’s better than a rock show for that.
Which is exactly what Atlanta did through the Amyl and The Sniffers set. When the band went into hits like “Hertz”, “Guided By Angels”, and “Security”, it was over. Moshing. Crowd surfing. Dancing. It didn’t matter. Everything that’s built up was released in the old theater that is Variety Playhouse. What else is there to say besides you need to experience yourself. I needed it, and I bet you do to. Go see Amyl and The Sniffers live.
Just to give you a small idea though, below is a few video clips plus more photos from the show, all just supporting evidence of the greatness that is Amyl and The Sniffers.
Check out photos below from Amyl and The Sniffers performing at Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA on Wednesday, September 21st, all photos by Mike Gerry:
UPCHUCK
BOB VYLAN\
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS ONLINE:
WEBSITE // BANDCAMP // FACEBOOK // INSTAGRAM // TWITTER
UPCOMING AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS TOUR DATES:
9/27/22 – Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
9/28/22 – Vic Theatre – Chicago, IL
9/29/22 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
10/1/22 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO
10/2/22 – The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT
10/4/22 – Knitting Factory – Boise, ID
10/5/22 – Sessions Music Hall – Eugene, OR
10/6/22 – Showbox Sodo – Seattle, WA
10/9/22 – Ohana Encore Weekend – Dana Point, CA
