LIVE REVIEW: THE AMITY AFFLICTION W/ OCEAN GROVE + MORE @ TORQUAY HOTEL 18/01/20
The Torquay Hotel was buzzing last Saturday night, as fans slowly filed in to catch Australian metalcore legends, The Amity Affliction. This was to be one of two shows at the venue over the weekend as a part of their regional Australia tour; the All My Friends Are Dead Tour.
Unfortunately I missed local supporting band, Rumours, but judging from the crowd that was already squeezed into the venue, they aren't one to be missed again. Last November they joined Windwaker on their Australian tour and have received commendable praise on their latest single, Incredulous.
Check out the music video for Incredulous below.
The second band of the evening was New Zealand metalcore band, Antagonist A.D. On the Friday night before this show, they released their latest EP Through Fire which made for a solid setlist of classics and fresh new tracks. During a break between songs, front man and vocalist, Sam Crocker, took the opportunity to comment on the bush fires currently ravaging the country and called for action and emotion. “Your country is f**king burning...be mad, be angry”. These boys absolutely set the pace for the evening so be sure to catch them on any remaining dates of the tour.
Check out the music video for Gates Of Hell below.
The band room grew fuller as punters piled in to see Melbourne-based band, Ocean Grove. With an impressive backlog of supporting and headlining gigs under their belts and you could feel the excitement and anticipation in the room. As they took the stage, all eyes were on vocalist Dale Tanner, sporting short bleach-blonde hair paired with a brown iconic Aussie mullet. They jumped (literally) into their set with JUNKIE$, a single from their forthcoming sophomore release Flip Phone Fantasy. The mosh grew messy as the classic ‘white-dreadlocked-coastie’ crew bombarded through to the front, with no forethought for proper mosh etiquette. Halfway through the set, Ocean Grove picked up the pace and got the crowd clapping with SUNNY, giving off old-school Nirvana vibes. The Wrong Way and Slow Soap Soak got the crowd chanting, leading Tanner to award ‘gold stars for everybody’. The boys finished off strong with the crowd jumping and dancing as they played through Ask for the Anthem, leaving everyone soaked in sweat and wanting more.
Check out the music video for JUNKIE$ below.
The Amity Affliction finally took the stage with Coffin, sending the crowd wild. With a brief ‘Hello, Torquay’ from lead vocalist Joel Birch, the boys went straight into new single and Hottest 100 contender, All My Friends Are Dead. The venue was packed by this point, with fans brandishing TAA merch and screaming back every lyric without fault. The band upheld their awesome energy with Ivy (Doomsday) and new single Soak Me In Bleach. By this point the mosh was in full throttle, with punters darting out for water breaks before jumping straight back in. A small group of boys also decided to climb and hang off the roof rafters, prompting Birch to state ‘You guys are fucking psychos, I love it!’. I was taken aback by the skill and sound quality coming from these boys, especially the hard-fast-loud drumming from Joe Longobardi and melodic cleans from Ahren Stringer. Coming to the end of the set they played crowd favourites Feels Like I’m Dying and Pittsburgh, sending the crowd into a frenzy knowing that the show was soon to be over. They finished up the set with All Fucked Up before throwing out picks and drumsticks to the crowd. A large group stayed back desperately chanting for one more song, alas to no avail.
Check out this sick montage of footage from the show.
Unfortunately the night ended with an ambulance being called to the venue following a fall from one of the rafters and a suspected broken neck. Posts were put out by TAA condoning this kind of behaviour for the Sunday night show, with anyone participating in dangerous activity to be thrown out.
The Amity Affliction’s latest single All My Friends Are Dead is out now, with their upcoming album Everyone Loves You...Once You Leave Them is set to be out February 2020.
Setlist:
Coffin
All My Friends Are Dead
Open Letter
Shine On
Ivy (Doomsday)
Chasing Ghosts
Soak Me In Bleach
Death’s Hand
I Bring The Weather With Me
Feels Like I’m Dying
Drag The Lake
Don’t Lean On Me
Pittsburgh
All Fucked Up
The Amity Affliction’s All My Friends Are Dead Tour 2020(With Ocean Grove & Antagonist A.D)
Thursday January 23 - UC Refectory, Bruce, ACT
Friday January 24 - University Of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW
Saturday January 25 - Newcastle Uni Outdoor Stage, Newcastle, NSW
Wednesday January 29 - Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta, QLD
Thursday January 30 - Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta, QLD (SOLD OUT)
Friday January 31 - Venue 114, Bokarina, QLD