You can usually tell what kind of show it's going to be by the smell of the crowd; patchouli and B.O. at Dead shows, beer at Alexisonfire, coconut for Rich Aucoin, etc. But Amyl and the Sniffers' Toronto show was a wild card. For a night that ended with the stench of sweat, cigs and piss, it started off with the inexplicable sweet smell of roses.
The Aussie pub rock band's third appearance at the city's Danforth Music Hall started with an opening slot from hometown psych-noise rockers Gloin, whose 2022 debut album We Found This lent highlights "Pitchfork," "Work Patrol" and "Shoot to Kill" to rev up the crowd of early-birds. As the rising local DIYers gave their goodbyes, clamouring youths began pushing their way to the barrier, prepping their bodies for the friendly violence to come.
Amy Taylor and her band took to the stage just after 9 p.m. to a full house. The band started the sold-out show with Big Attraction cut "Mole (Sniff Sniff)," much to the delight of longtime fans in the crowd. From there, it was a balanced tour of the band's punkier highlights; "GFY," "Balaclava Lover Boogie" and "Guided by Angels" had Taylor throwing her limbs around on stage like a gilded caveman, whipping her mullet up and down as she headbanged in concentric circles, while a back-to-back trio of "Freaks to the Front," "Gacked on Anger" and "Security" got bodies surfing above the pit.
In between gnashing her teeth and hopping off stage to pay service to the barrier-bruised folks at the front, a keen eye could catch glimmers of awe in Taylor's eyes as she took in the enormity of the moment. Half of her band's career has existed in the pandemic era, and yet they've managed to stay on the road for the majority of that time, growing from the Danforth opener to sold-out headliner in just five years. In turn, the crowd, as if fuelled by respect for this moment, looked out for one another impeccably, lifting fallen brethren off the floor of the pit and blocking overhead feet from connecting with heads.
At one point, the bandleader paused the show to relay some pertinent information to a crowd of fellow Commonwealthers: their backdrop was hand-painted by Indigenous Australian activist and artist Aretha Brown, who had just completed the massive work that day. The bandleader pointed out that Australia's government has never signed a treaty with its Indigenous population, but that there is a growing movement to change that in her home country.
This speech proved the impetus for further political statements contained within "Capital" and "Knifey," among other rage-induced Sniffers tracks that propelled the energy of one otherwise unassuming rainy night in Toronto's east end. As bodies filtered out into the night, a person holding a bouquet of roses wafted past the Danforth doors. Full circle!
The Aussie pub rock band's third appearance at the city's Danforth Music Hall started with an opening slot from hometown psych-noise rockers Gloin, whose 2022 debut album We Found This lent highlights "Pitchfork," "Work Patrol" and "Shoot to Kill" to rev up the crowd of early-birds. As the rising local DIYers gave their goodbyes, clamouring youths began pushing their way to the barrier, prepping their bodies for the friendly violence to come.
Amy Taylor and her band took to the stage just after 9 p.m. to a full house. The band started the sold-out show with Big Attraction cut "Mole (Sniff Sniff)," much to the delight of longtime fans in the crowd. From there, it was a balanced tour of the band's punkier highlights; "GFY," "Balaclava Lover Boogie" and "Guided by Angels" had Taylor throwing her limbs around on stage like a gilded caveman, whipping her mullet up and down as she headbanged in concentric circles, while a back-to-back trio of "Freaks to the Front," "Gacked on Anger" and "Security" got bodies surfing above the pit.
In between gnashing her teeth and hopping off stage to pay service to the barrier-bruised folks at the front, a keen eye could catch glimmers of awe in Taylor's eyes as she took in the enormity of the moment. Half of her band's career has existed in the pandemic era, and yet they've managed to stay on the road for the majority of that time, growing from the Danforth opener to sold-out headliner in just five years. In turn, the crowd, as if fuelled by respect for this moment, looked out for one another impeccably, lifting fallen brethren off the floor of the pit and blocking overhead feet from connecting with heads.
At one point, the bandleader paused the show to relay some pertinent information to a crowd of fellow Commonwealthers: their backdrop was hand-painted by Indigenous Australian activist and artist Aretha Brown, who had just completed the massive work that day. The bandleader pointed out that Australia's government has never signed a treaty with its Indigenous population, but that there is a growing movement to change that in her home country.
This speech proved the impetus for further political statements contained within "Capital" and "Knifey," among other rage-induced Sniffers tracks that propelled the energy of one otherwise unassuming rainy night in Toronto's east end. As bodies filtered out into the night, a person holding a bouquet of roses wafted past the Danforth doors. Full circle!
