After years of hearing people say, ‘You’ve got to see them in a proper club‘, we’ve finally been able to enjoy Amyl and the Sniffers outside the festival circuit that has kept them so busy during their recent visits to Spain. After a brief introduction, which included the bizarre decision to play the chorus of Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction”, the Australians kicked off in style with the powerful, fast-paced “Control”. This made it clear that the night would be non-stop throughout the show, a fact confirmed by the succession of mosh pits and jumping during the second track on their setlist, “Do It Do It”.

Photo of Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers taken by Christian Bertrand found on the Primavera Tours social media profiles
There was hardly any banter or unnecessary embellishment; Declan Mehrtens’ guitar carried the band through a first set that was more garage-oriented and featured “Security”, “Capital”, “Doing in My Head” and “Guided by Angels”. Amy Taylor herself filled every corner of the stage. The concert really hit its stride as soon as Lakota Vella‘s bass took centre stage. We were treated to 10 brilliant minutes with a medley of “Me and the Girls“, “Pleasure Forever“, “Chewing Gum” and the electrifying “Tiny Bikini“. This was probably the best-sounding track of the whole night.

Photo of Declan Mehrtens from Amyl and the Sniffers taken by Christian Bertrand found on the Primavera Tours social media profiles
It was only in the final moments of the concert that we could fully appreciate Bryce Wilson’s drumming, which had been rather in the background up to that point. ‘U Should Not Be Doing That‘, ‘Jerkin”, ‘Hertz‘ and ‘Some Mutts (Can’t Be Muzzled)‘ seemed to be the grand finale to a short but intense concert. However, there was still time for non-stop moshing and sweat pouring down in torrents, as we were reminded of what Razzmatazz is like in August. The encores were reserved for ‘Got You‘ and ‘GFY‘.

Photo of Amy Taylor from Amyl and the Sniffers taken by Christian Bertrand found on the Primavera Tours social media profiles
It was an intense hour and ten minutes, with a devoted audience and the Australians demonstrating why their live shows are not to be missed if they’re playing near your town. Returning to the opening paragraph, I must admit that, although their performance at Razzmatazz heightened the sense of immediacy and transience in their songs, their gig at the 2024 Primavera Sound festival was almost as good in terms of quality and intensity. This lends even more credit to Amy and her band’s live performances.

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