Live Review: The Amity Affliction

12 October 2011

                                                                             Photo credit: Jared Van Earle

by Poppy Reid

Sunday October 9
Big Top, Luna Park, Sydney, NSW

Since the #6 ARIA debut of sophomore effort Youngbloods, The Amity Affliction have been one of the most sensationalised acts in the Australian post-hardcore scene.

Emerging from the deep bowels of Brisbane’s most raw music scene, the six-piece earned their pedestal position through years of constant touring and creating a live atmosphere that juxtaposed their sound but reinforced their lyrics.

However, the band’s Sydney show of the Fuck The Reaper tour was not the best example of their positive, encouraging disposition; the live show gimmicks were there, the onstage antics were there, but their signature tight and precise sound came off bloated and tired.

Opening with RIP Foghorn, Amity began right on form; the sextet’s screaming counterpart, Joel Birch buckled his body in half and sang with intense conviction. A body board was thrown into the crowd for H.M.A.S. Lookback and some unskilled punters tried to catch a human wave while Amity’s technical proficiency seemed wholly in tact.

To be fair, the largely Youngbloods borrowed set didn’t falter until around the halfway mark for fan favourite Snitches Get Stitches; Amity may be renowned for forgoing precision for personality but not even their light-hearted take on the death wall (they asked us to high five each other instead) could disguise their lethargy.

The vocals from lead guitarist/clean vocalist Ahren Stringer paled in comparison to Danny Worsnop who’s band Asking Alexandria were received and performed like headliners before Amity took the stage. After Birch struggled to deliver his growls in final track Anchors the band wasted no time returning for their most popular single I Hate Hartley. The obvious encore was met with savage fervour from the crowd as the band fought powerlessly to match their energy.

The Amity Affliction are revered enough to warrant at least a handful of off-nights and I can almost guarantee any disappointed crowd member will be back to catch them again next time they’re in town; but unfortunately it has become a recurrence for the band in the live realm where as soon as their energy and accuracy wains so too does their integrity.