Amyl and the Sniffers at Terminal 5–9/23/2022
So, this one was kind of a make-up concert.
I missed Amyl and The Sniffers back on May 19, when they were due to play Brooklyn Steel, because of Covid (mine!). I was pretty disappointed to miss this one, since the Aussies don’t get to New York very often, and they had some pretty good buzz and some good airplay. But what really pissed me off is that Rolling Stone magazine was there, and featured this concert, and this location, in their July issue. A 2-full-page spread, larger-than-life picture in the Opening Acts section, raving about what a great fucking concert event it was, and how awesome Amy Taylor and her bandmates were. Dammit.
So, I jumped on their next New York City appearance, which we last night at Terminal 5 on the West Side of Hell’s Kitchen on the far end of 56th Street.
There were a couple of warm-up acts. Bob Vylan was an energetic duo from UK, and they did in fact warm up the crowd with some infectious Rastafarian/Hip-hop/Punk, and a lot of sound and political attitude from this singer/bouncer and his drummer sidekick. Apparently, there aren’t any real fans of Queen Elizabeth or her Royal family in the UK music community. Bob regrets being out of the country since he can’t “dance on her fucking grave”. But the music was pretty good.
Next up, a showy and whiny group from Philly called Mannequin Pussy. Lead singer and guitarist Marisa “Missy” Dabice wore a pretty filmy thing over some undies and a pair of taped-on X’s, and led the group’s thrash/punk rants against all the things that are fucked-up in this country, mostly sexist, homophobic, and racist stuff — you know the drill. But these brats were playing to a packed house in New York, so it was too hard to feel bad for them. Here’s a quick clip to give you a sense of their musical style.
Amyl and The Sniffers lived up to their Rolling Stone billing. Amy Taylor is a little pixie with a bundle of energy, singing and bouncing all over the stage like an Olympic gymnast. And, from the looks of it, she’s in pretty good shape. These guys describe themselves as a “pub band from Melbourne”, and they act like it. Bassist Ferguson Romer led the crowd in chanting “Oi! Oi!” every so often, which I guess is something you do at a Melbourne pub or an Australian Rules Football Game. And two songs in, Romer and drummer Bryce Wilson lose their shirts, which I guess also happens at the pub and the stadium. You know, like Jets fans. Or Eagles fans.
The band packs a punch. Straight ahead punk stuff, very upbeat and energizing. The crowd eats it all up, and it is kinda catchy. There’s plenty of bouncing and moshing, and lots of beer goes flying. A gal near me lights up a doobie so huge that even Cheech and Chong would have been impressed.
Here are a few short clips to give you some idea.
They played a raucous, one-hour set, finishing up with their biggest hit, Hertz, which you can see and hear a bit of here. That’s the tune you hear on the radio, and the tune that you whistle as you walk out of Terminal 5. Great show by Amyl and The Sniffers. Oi!