Amyl And The Sniffers' Free Melbourne Gig Cancelled Following Safety Concerns

Melbourne rock exports Amyl And The Sniffers have had their free Fed Square performance cancelled just before the group were due to take the stage.

Announced earlier this week, the free pop-up show was scheduled to take place on the evening of Friday, November 14th, with nascent pop rock outfit Public Figures on support, offering up a handful of their own originals interspersed with classic AC/DC cuts.

However, soon after Public Figures wrapped their set, the performance was reportedly cancelled just as Amyl And The Sniffers were scheduled to perform.

A statement issued by Fed Square confirmed that the cancellation was due to “multiple breaches of the perimeter fences [which] caused a very high risk of crowd crushes” and made it “unsafe for the show to continue.”

“We did not take this decision lightly, and are deeply sorry for any disappointment caused, however tonight could simply not continue,” the statement added. “Our sincere apologies to the band and their fans.”

Earlier posts from Amyl And The Sniffers’ Instagram account confirmed the cancellation before the statement was issued. “At fed square and fuming - ready to go!” the group posted on their Instagram Stories.

“We are so sorry the show is cancelled due to the event not organising the proper security and barriers and the barriers being broken in has made them deem it unsafe to play,” they wrote. “We are fuming and shattered and so so so so so so so so sorry!!!”

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In a follow-up story, vocalist Amy Taylor shared a quick clip apologising to fans for the unexpected cancellation. “So so so sorry, we're really sad, we're backstage,” Taylor began. “We literally would have loved to play we're devastated.

“The fucking fences got crushed in, too many people, fucking cops shut it down, pissed as fuck,” she added. “Pissed off, and we're just really apologetic and so sorry, we would have really loved to play, we were really looking forward to this. Fucking sorry.”

“Venue needs to go out with a statement but basically all the fences were allegedly stormed making it unsafe for the punters so police shut it down !!!! :/” she continued in another story. “My heart is 😠 but we want you to be safe too.

“Didn't expect this turn out, so thank you for coming and supporting us,” she added. “Gonna go get black out drunk somewhere in mourning.”

Music journalist Chris Palmer (otherwise known as That Aussie Music Guy) also posted a clip while on-ground at the event, confirming the cancellation.

“Amyl And The Sniffers have been forced to cancel their gig after reportedly 6,000 people tried to fence jump into Federation Square after it was closed off,” he explained.

In the lead-up to the event, Fed Square’s own Instagram account had provided constant updates in regard to the crowd capacity, noting soon after Public Figures took to the stage that the Square was full and no more fans would be let in.

Double J also reported on the cancellation, noting that a spokesperson for Federation Square told those in attendance the show’s axing was “nothing to do with anybody who’s in this crowd here.”

“You’ve been an amazing crowd. You’ve been respectful, you’ve been safe,” they explained. “But tonight we’ve had a whole lot of breaches for our fences. Repeatedly, and unfortunately, that means we just can’t go on. That’s way it is.”

In the wake of the cancellation, Amyl And The Sniffers also took to Instagram to reveal they were placing a $5,000 tab on bars throughout Melbourne, specifically The Last Chance Rock And Roll Bar, The Tote, Labor In Vain, Hell's Kitcken, The Curtin, Cherry Bar, and The Old Bar.

“What we're doing is using out fee to go back to some local venues,” Taylor told fans. “So have a drink on us, AC/DC fashion.”

Amyl And The Sniffers’ planned show was to take place between two hometown gigs supporting AC/DC, having launched the PWR UP Tour at the MCG on Wednesday night, and with a second Melbourne date scheduled for Sunday, November 16th.