[UPDATE] Dalrymple Hotel To Change Dress Code For Gigs After Amity Show Singlet Saga

UPDATE: The Dalrymple Hotel has issued a statement to The Music offering its "unreserved" apologies to the punters affected by the dress code issue at Amity's show, advising that it will update its policy to allow singlets at future concerts.

It also referenced the reported leak in the roof during Amity's set, explaining that the venue was suffering "an issue with the airconditioning unit".

The statement reads:

ORIGINAL STORY: Several people at last night's sold-out show for The Amity Affliction in Townsville were denied entry to the gig after finding out that the venue's dress code had changed "with no warning", according to reports.

At least 15 ticketholders were apparently turned away at the door of the Dalrymple Hotel for wearing singlets, which the venue saw as inappropriate dress for last night's show.

Next to Amity, the line-up also featured Hellions, rising heavyweights Ocean Grove and cult-favourite local outfit Ghosts Over Japan in support.

According to Townsville musician and Ghosts Over Japan drummer Justin Fimmel, previous, similar gigs at the venue — including last January's headline show for Amity peers Northlane — have not been subject to restrictions on singlets, and the venue did not do enough to adequately convey the policy change to its patrons.

There is no evident mention of the dress code on the Dalrymple Hotel's website or social media channels, nor the event page or other promotional material for the gig itself.

"Just a little bit disappointed and frustrated that the Daly recently updated their 'dress code' and turned back paying punters in singlets at a metal show," Fimmel wrote in a public post on Facebook. "Never mind that there was no warning of such a thing and that the Northlane show a year ago went fine, singlets or not.

"Sorry to those who had to rush back home to change, hence missing either our or Ocean Grove's sets."

Fimmel told The Music that he was personally uncertain of how many people had been turned away in total, having been alerted to the situation while inside the venue, with the estimated total having been put to him by a local promoter.

"It is actually hard to say [how many were denied entry] because I only caught the tail-end of the whole debacle," he said. "One of my mates posted on the event page and I got that notification and thought, 'the shit is this?'"

"There was a group of five dudes flat-out denied, and that was before doors," he continued. "So yeah… I have no idea on the total."

Some punters came up with a novel solution to the setback — according to another witness and commentor, "People were getting guys in the smoking area to go and buy them shirts and hand them over the fence" — but, in Fimmel's eyes, "It's the principle of the whole thing".

"They were forced to leave and miss out on bands or spend at least $25 more to get into the venue they already paid $55+ for … $80 all up for quite a few punters. Not ideal."

Also far from ideal is the account from Fimmel that two female patrons at the show were eventually "carried out due to heat exhaustion".

"It's a fkn steel-cap wearing tradie bar by day, man," he wrote. "No idea why such a hot and humid venue would bother with such a thing [as a no-singlets policy]."

A third punter, who commented on Fimmel's post, nearly suffered the same outcome, but "I managed to get myself to the back 'cause I felt myself blacking out in that pit", she wrote.

As a final, almost comical, punctuation point on the evening's experience, the headliners of the night were forced to play next to a gradually worsening leak from the roof, Fimmel says.

"It got progressively worse during the set and they had to get a large Mt Franklin bottle on a stand to keep on stage to catch the water," he told The Music.

"Spoiler alert… it didn't work well."

The Music has contacted the Dalrymple Hotel for comment on their policy and the reported cases of heat exhaustion.

The Amity Affliction continue their Death To Misery Tour at the Civic Centre in Gympie tonight.

See theGuide for details.