PHOTO CREDIT: Jamie Wdziekonski
Amyl and The Sniffers
Amy Taylor, lead singer of Melbourne, Australia’s Amyl and The Sniffers, confided to the Cactus Club crowd Thursday night that nine weeks on the road had taken a bit of a toll on her mind. After an oh-so-brief moment of reflection, she responded with the only remedy for her condition she seemed to know: rowdy rock 'n' roll.
Taylor took flight from the stage as the band launched into another song, flinging her body into the packed audience. A sweet and sweaty release, no doubt, given over and over again to the audience throughout the entire set. The crowd was dancing, slamming, pumping their fists, chanting, jumping from the stage, hanging from the rafters and generally losing their minds for more than an hour.
Arriving in Milwaukee with their debut full-length album recently released on ATO Records in America (and on the legendary Rough Trade in Britain), Amyl and The Sniffers have already generated an international buzz through a handful of great singles and EPs and their maniac live shows. The likes of Gucci and the Foo Fighters are among those who have succumbed to the mulleted quartet’s potent, scuzzy, ‘70s inspired punk rock.
With spiky peroxide blonde hair, Taylor never stopped moving throughout the show. Occasionally she banged her head incredibly fast in kind of a rotating fashion, like one of those pencil eraser tops you had as a kid that you would spin like crazy in your hands to make its hair go wild. She was incredibly fun to watch as she teased and pleased the audience. At one point, Taylor instructed the crowd to be nice to each other, but in her next breath, stressed the importance of rowdiness.
Rowdiness was certainly achieved as the band delivered sing-along anthems like “Shake Ya,” on which The Sniffers shined instrumentally. The excellent “Got You,” should be the next one on your next sticky Valentine playlist (“I dunno what, but it feels like something/I got you). A completely thrilling set from beginning to end.
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Opening Milwaukee bands Rexxx and Law/Less added to the charged feeling in the air. Rexxx was great fun, with a lead singer that seemed to have developed his gruff, loud vocal style by screaming at the Crusher statute until he passed out. They ended their set with a terrific cover of Jesus and the Mary Chain’s “Head On.” Law/Less was instantly appealing with great, grinding/buzzing guitar sound and Bonnie Chandek’s wild-eyed, commanding vocals – especially on the hard-charging “War (on the Poor).”
