LIVE: AMYL & THE SNIFFERS with C.O.F.F.I.N. & LAST QUOKKA, Perth – August 6th, 2022

LIVE: AMYL & THE SNIFFERS with C.O.F.F.I.N. & LAST QUOKKA, Perth – August 6th, 2022
The Charles Hotel, Perth
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
Photography by Pete Gardner

A month ago they finished an English tour and played a bunch of European Festivals, including the legendary Glastonbury; before that they tore up North America, including playing Coachella Festival and national late night talk shows, so it’s no surprise that anticipation of seeing one of the hottest bands in the world in a modest suburban venue has the sold out crowd buzzing tonight.

First up is Last Quokka, super-stoked to be there, and not afraid to say so more than once. They’re a ramshackle bunch – heavy on positive enthusiasm, joking around, and garage punk attitude, not so much on tightness and chops. All is good in the name of rock n’ roll – especially self-proclaimed “anti fascist punk” with socially conscious lyrics about respecting Indigenous culture – and the crowd don’t seem to mind that a couple more rehearsals would have benefitted everybody, nor the accidental headbutt singer Trent Rojahn gave somebody as he thrashed around in the moshpit. Latest single Cue – about getting beaten up in the country town of the same name – is a highlight suggesting their forthcoming album is one to look out for.

Sydney’s northern beaches aren’t just fostering laid back surf vibes nowadays. C.O.F.F.I.N. (Children Of Finland Fighting In Norway, for reasons unexplained) have exploded out of there with a monstrous double guitar attack and let no musical opportunity pass without lavishing searing, coruscating solos over it. Their thing is hyper-revved up boogie, like if Monster Magnet weren’t on acid, but on a half carton of Tooheys Red each instead, complete with just enough DIY backroom punk anger to be dangerous. Singer Ben Portnoy manages to dextrously drum at the same time, something most of us would never have the co-ordination for, whilst Laurence Adams seems to think he’s the lead bassist, throwing as many or more rock shapes as the six-stringers. It’s a raucous, heady, infectious racket that fits the bill perfectly, originals Three Outlaws Out On Bail, Dead Land, White Dog going down as well as a fiery cover of AC/DC’s mighty Riff Raff. This, folks, is rock n’ f’n roll.

Amyl & the Sniffers take the stage to a throaty cheer, and with the simple sentence “Get ready to rock” they are away and in full flight and it feels like an amphetamine king hit to the temple, followed by a good kicking while you’re on the ground. In terms of pure, unadulterated energy, this band may be the best in the world, as the frenzied moshpit full of vertical and horizontal bodies attests.

They play all but one song from most recent album Comfort To Me (Guided By Angels, Freaks To The Front, Maggot, Knifey, Don’t Need A Cunt (Like You To Love Me), etc), half of their self-titled debut album (including Starfire500, Gacked On Anger, Cup Of Destiny, GFY) and only opener Balaclava Lover Boogie from their first two EPs, delivering a masterclass in high energy, totally unique, everything played at one-and-a-half speed, maximum oomph, visceral punk n’ roll.

Guitarist Declan is celebrated for his Perth roots, while powerhouse frontwoman Amy Taylor is a speedy Energizer bunny from another galaxy, never resting for a moment. By the time Hertz and Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled) come around the carnage is complete, the back of the room empty as the capacity crowd has all surged so far forward to create a steaming sauna up front.

As the exhausted, sweat-slathered crowd dissipate, all that’s left is a dance floor littered with broken glass, and the memory – forever branded onto every cerebral cortex present – of a fantastic night of rock n’ roll, and a band who’ll be playing a considerably larger venue next time they visit town.

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries