Matt Wellham
After years of photographing and filming the London music scene, Matt’s now based in Sydney, Australia. A lover of the post-punk and alternative movement, he can usually be found in the grassroots venues, camera in one hand and a beer in the other.
Exactly one year after the release of ‘Cartoon Darkness’, Amyl and The Sniffers tear through Alexandra Palace with a setlist curated for punks of all ages
Every generation has its punk legends. The 70s had The Sex Pistols, the 80s had The Clash, the 90s had Green Day, and so on… Well, in the 2020s, we’ve got Amyl and The Sniffers, and I guarantee people will still be talking about them in 40 years’ time.
These legends have been active for just shy of a decade and on Saturday night, exactly one year after the release of ‘Cartoon Darkness’, they played their biggest-ever headline show at London’s iconic Alexandra Palace.
Opening the night were The Menstrual Cramps, a punk band bringing their fierce, politically driven message with a Bristolian twang. Their performance was filled with short, sharp, charged songs tackling misogyny, transphobia and fascism, to name a few. ‘Kiss on the Pitch’ and ‘Body Politics’ were standout tracks that showcased lead singer Emilia Elfrida’s raw vocals and crowd engagement.
The Great Hall began to reach half capacity, and it was time for CLUNK favourites Floodlights to take the stage. Having recently interviewed them at their Village Underground show, I was very excited to see how they’d tweaked their sound to fill the hall’s 10,000+ capacity. They went above and beyond to do so. Lead singer Louis Parsons dominated the room, his voice filled every inch of the space and paired with his energetic performance, it gave David Bowie. That’s not a light comparison to make.
The rest of the group each made the most of their space on stage, delivering visually exciting performances while looking effortlessly comfortable in such a vast setting. Recent single ‘Tricky’ and ‘Underneath’s ‘Buoyant’ were both standout tracks that sounded massive. With ‘Underneath’ being one of our albums of the year, we’re very excited to see what Floodlights do next.
As we waited for Amyl and The Sniffers to walk out, I turned around in the photo pit to take in the crowd. What I saw was a huge collective of ages, cultures and communities. You had 70s-style punks with massive blue mohawks standing next to young kids in their early emo phases. It’s moments like these that make you realise Amyl and The Sniffers draw people together from all walks of life. Their style of punk is sharp, ferocious and lyrically relatable. They create stories for the everyday person, no matter who you are or what you look like. It may have started in pubs, but it’s now elevated to the biggest stages.
Out stormed the group, led by Amy Taylor donning a red spiked corset that twinkled under the heavy spotlights above. She announced the house rules: “Don’t touch anyone that doesn’t want to be touched. If anyone falls down, pick them up.” And with that, the band tore into ‘Balaclava Lover Boogie’, a fiery number from their early years. This was quickly followed by ‘Chewing Gum’, an incredibly catchy punk take on a love song.
Two tracks in, and the group had already set the tone for the night, a relentless wave of screamed vocals from Taylor over a thundering, thick rhythm section from Gus Romer and Bryce Wilson. Meanwhile, stage right, guitarist Declan Mehrtens ripped through piercing solos, throwing himself behind every power chord for good measure.
‘Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled)’ came next, and it was time for the crowd to let loose. Circle pits opened up and drinks were ditched as fans joined the sweaty mess of bodies. The energy that Amy Taylor exuded from the stage was soaked up by the crowd as they hurled themselves in and out of the pits to the thrashing of guitars and the howls of Taylor’s vocals.
The 90-minute, 24-track setlist cruised through hits from the group’s three previous records, keeping the energy dynamic throughout. ‘Tiny Bikini’, with its baby-doll vocals, was a stark contrast to the snappy, in-your-face delivery of ‘Freaks to the Front’, but the band blended the two effortlessly, keeping everyone on their toes.
Fan favourite ‘Big Dreams’ gave the crowd some breathing room and a chance to collect themselves after the relentless moshing. The track stood out as the audience’s voices echoed through the hall, a moment of magic that felt completely fresh and unique compared with the rest of the set.
As we neared the end of the show, ‘Hertz’ closed out the main set before the group performed the funny yet sharp ‘Jerkin’’ into ‘GFY’ for one last sprint around the circle pit during the encore.
It may have been their biggest show yet, but Amyl and The Sniffers completely owned the stage. They gave it their all from start to finish and the crowd responded with blood, sweat and tears. Whether you call yourself a punk or not, it’s impossible not to get swept up in the cultural shift this group is cultivating. It’s something legends do and in 40 years time, I’m sure we’ll be talking about Amyl and The Sniffers with the same respect as those who came before them.
