Amyl and the Sniffers at Šalata
The Australian punk/alternative rock band delivered an energetic concert at Zagreb's Šalata, with Italian act Hey Darling opening the night.
The Australian punk/alternative rock band delivered an energetic concert at Zagreb's Šalata, with Italian act Hey Darling opening the night.
Zagreb's Šalata was the scene of a hot rock spectacle last night. Australian band Amyl and the Sniffers held a concert that confirmed there is indeed an audience in Croatia for current, younger bands. Although the summer stage wasn't filled to the last seat, the area in front of the mixing desk was packed, and the atmosphere was at its peak.
Amyl and the Sniffers formed ten years ago in Melbourne and relatively quickly caught the attention of the music scene. Their blend of punk and alternative rock created a sharp foundation on which frontwoman Amy Taylor shines. "It's hard to describe what exactly the deal with Amyl and the Sniffers is because they're an ordinary band, yet so unusual," writes the author of the article on Muzika.hr.
Amy Taylor, as the same source notes, is "the type of frontwoman any band would wish for." With her presence, energy, and craziness, she dominates the stage, constantly moving and spreading infectious positivity to the audience. "She has that star power to effortlessly transfer her energy to the crowd no matter what she sings," adds the author. Her raw vocal style, which some describe more as shouting than singing, is exactly what the band's songs demand and has become their trademark.
The concert lasted 75 minutes with a short encore, and the band played about twenty songs in that time. Given that they only have three albums and their songs rarely exceed three minutes, it was hard to expect a longer set. However, what they delivered was enough for the audience in the front part of Šalata to sing along to almost every word, with the mosh pit never letting up.
"There's no point in listing what they played because it all falls under the common denominator 'nobody cared because it was phenomenal'," states the concert report. The author still highlights that the songs came one after another, full of energy and melody, showing that punk is still alive, just in a different form. It was particularly noted that there were many young people at the concert, which refutes the claims that there's no audience for younger bands.
An interesting comparison was drawn with the recent performance of veterans The Offspring. While they, according to the author, "filled the time with rambling and various covers, Amyl and the Sniffers came to present their music in the best possible way."
A slight surprise for band followers was the absence of member Gus, who took a break from touring. He was replaced by Lakota, who, as the author notes, "handled the replacement nicely." Special praise also went to guitarist Declan, described as the second 'madman' in the band, whose "hilarious solos added a bit of glam to the whole gig."
The evening was opened by three girls from the Italian band Hey Darling. Their performance at Šalata was special because it was their first show outside Italy and their first time singing in English. "When they stepped onto the stage, especially after the first few bars, it seemed like they were from some foreign Superval project," writes the author. Although they seemed unsure at first, they overcame their stage fright over time and delivered an increasingly better performance.
"Long live Australia for constantly giving us great bands," concludes the author of the article on Muzika.hr, expressing hope that Šalata will become a regular stop on their future tours. The concert was, without a doubt, an ideal way to beat the summer heat in Zagreb.
