When Amyl and The Sniffers vocalist Amy Taylor took the stage at Chicago’s The Vic Theatre on Sept. 28, she did so with an energy that Iggy Pop may describe as “a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm.” Taylor, along with Dec Martens (guitar), Gus Romer (bass), and Bryce Wilson (drums), attacked the set with an unmatched ferocity that fans responded to with copious amounts of crowd-surfing, moshing, and screaming – it was heavenly.
After charging through “Control,” “Snakes,” “GFY” and “Starfire 550” – complete with Wilson’s rampaging drumming – Martens unleashed the very definition of a face-melting solo on “Capital.” Fans when wild for “Security,” especially when Taylor sang about “not looking for trouble” just “looking for love” directly to one of the muscular men tasked with keeping The Vic’s pit safe that evening.
“It’s a pleasure to be here. We come all the way from Australia,” said Taylor listing some well-known Australians like AC/DC before honoring the country’s Indigenous people. “Australia is beautiful but has a dark past like everywhere so make sure you think about that when you can.”
Later, Taylor elaborated on how “the world’s a fucked up place” and how “you have to talk about politics because you exist in the world,” but that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to still have some fun.
“Knifey,” dedicated to all the female, non-binary, and trans fans in the crowd, found everyone ready for a fight, screaming defiantly, “Out comes the night, out comes my knifey / This is how I get home nicely,” while love was in the air during “Got You.” The evening concluded with even more moshing and mayhem as Amyl and The Sniffers ended their set with “Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled).”
Earlier in the night, Bob Vylan – comprised of a “pair of handsome Black Brits” named Bobby Vylan (vocals) and Bobbie Vylan (drums) – annihilated their set with songs like “Pretty Songs,” “I Heard You Want Your Country Back,” and “England’s Ending.” Bobby also took time out to share his thoughts on the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II expressing his regret that the band was on tour so they couldn’t pay their respects.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t fucking dance on her fucking grave so we’d like to dedicate this one to the Queen of the Commonwealth. May she rest in fucking piss,” he said leading in to “We Live Here.”
Chicago’s own, Ganser – Alicia Gaines (bass/vocals), Brian Cundiff (drums), Nadia Garofalo (lead vocals), Charlie Landsman (guitar) – were also on hand to kick-off the night with a setlist that included “Yes No,” “People Watching,” “Bad Form,” and more.
Check out photos from Amyl and The Sniffers’ show at The Vic Theatre in Chicago on Sept. 28 – featuring Bob Vylan and Ganser – below and click here to pick-up tickets to see them elsewhere on this tour. More information about upcoming events at The Vic can be found at Jamusa.com.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
