Live Review: Amyl & The Sniffers, Ascot Stabber, Knifer, Skreech

The Foundry doesn't usually host gigs where at least 40% of the audience have mullets, but tonight that's what The Foundry gets. Looking more like the Crowbar, Melbourne punks Amyl & The Sniffers have made their way to Brisvegas to launch their new single Cup Of Destiny. The punk scene is well and truly alive in Brisbane thanks to nights such as this, with the crowd including a large spread of old school and freshly anointed punks.

Walking in to a wall of feedback and fuzzed out guitars, it's obvious The Foundry is going to get a workout tonight as the crowd tear the joint apart. Skreech open, with the two-piece bringing a blend of quick death metal riffs, driving drums and in-your-face yells. It's only early so the crowd is very tame and quite small, but you can tell there are some rowdy people waiting to let loose.

With a crowd slowly starting to build, Knifer tell the audience to, "Wait until my mum gets here," but it's not long before the lads are ripping through hard rock hymns. The lead singer's hair is as fuzzy as his voice, accompanied by some of the filthiest guitar we've heard this year. The four lads do their best to get the crowd at least starting to move. It's not until a spot-on Motorhead cover - with respect to the late, great Lemmy - that the crowd starts to listen to what Knifer are putting on the table.

There's a lot of value with punk gigs, they are on-time and energetic as all hell. But the crowd has been quite tame thus far, however, Ascot Stabber are the final opening act and for good reason. The crowd becomes a war zone in minutes with both the crowd and the band taking pot shots at one another. Beer cups are thrown, mic stands are thrashed, and even someone's crutches get used as a form of expression as the singer orchestrates madness on and off stage, jumping into the crowd to get amongst the madness before encouraging the room to take their best shot at him. The music is exactly what we have been waiting for as well, with fast riffs and brash vocals. It's a beer-fuelled car crash - exactly what we want.

It's easy to make comparisons between Amyl & The Sniffers and bands such as The Chats as both exemplify the current wave of occa Aussie punk. But there is just something about Amyl that puts them in a class of their own. Opening with Westgate before powering through plenty of cuts from Big Attraction, Amyl & the Sniffers waste no time making the crowd tear each other apart. Within the first three-track stint, ending with crowd favourite Mole (Sniff Sniff), there have been at least six crowd surfers. At this point security have thrown in the towel and lost hope for controlling the crowd, who are so ferocious that the lighting is even knocked out at one point. "What's the problem, we're not that ugly. Has anyone got an iPhone light or somethin'?" Lo and behold, a sea of phone lights hit the stage and the show goes on. Technical difficulties plague the set but it's nothing The Sniffers can't handle. A taste of new song Monsoon Rock sees The Sniffers dip into rockabilly territory, though still comfortably in the group's style. Amyl & The Sniffers end fashionably early, simply because they are quick and don't have any songs left.