Review: Amyl and the Sniffers showed Red Rocks the power of women in punk

When Amy Taylor explained the name of her band, Amyl and the Sniffers, to the BBC, she said: “In Australia, we call poppers Amyl. So you sniff it, it lasts for 30 seconds and then you have a headache. And that’s what we’re like! It’s just fast, pretty violent but charmingly violent, powerful fun.”

And that’s exactly what the Australian punk band brought to Red Rocks for its debut headlining show at the renowned venue on June 17. It doesn’t seem that long ago that Amyl and the Sniffers played the Underground Music Showcase, but in the years since, the group has skyrocketed in popularity. Alongside such groups as Turnstile, Amyl and the Sniffers demonstrate that there’s still a hunger for punk in the mainstream, and the band is happy to satiate it, bringing generations together at Red Rocks with openers Party Dozen as well as Gen X punk purveyors L7.

I hadn’t seen Amyl (which, to help you out, rhymes with “camel”) and the Sniffers before, but sometimes you can surmise a show will be good by taking a look at the fans. So it was a relief to see a smattering of band Ts for such groups as Circle Jerks, King Gizz, Melvins, Judas Priest and even local band Big Dopes. And while people complain about the humdrum fashion style in Denver, that wasn’t the case at Red Rocks, where the audience was dressed to kill: leather pants and corsets, teased hair that reached for the heavens, and bikini after bikini paying homage to Amy Taylor’s signature look (one chick even had a pair of flip flops attached to hers, as Taylor had on “Fallon”).

Sartorial surprise aside, it was also shocking to find that most fans I spoke with had never heard of L7 before. Predating but having an intrinsic influence on the riot grrrl movement, L7 was perhaps one of the best women-fronted punk bands in the U.S. after forming in Los Angeles in 1985. The group went on hiatus in 2001 before reuniting in 2014, and this show was part of its final Last Hurrah Tour.

It’s sad to say farewell to a band like L7, but the entire lineup was a reminder of the pure rigor and power of punk, especially when it’s done by women. Not that the gender should matter, but it does. As L7 guitarist/vocalist Donita Sparks told the L.A. Times back in ’91: “We get letters from young girls who say that we’re their inspiration for picking up an instrument, and that makes us really proud. We didn’t really have role models growing up. The Go-Go’s were the only girl group playing their own instruments, and they sang about boys.”

I saw how that inspiration worked firsthand through a 16-year-old named Mae, who was next to me through the show with her father; he grinned as she ran up to him with a pile of merch (cool dad points) ahead of the concert. She gushed over Amy Taylor (“Have you seen her Vogue shoot??”), and her excitement built even higher as I told her about the history of L7. It’s important for young girls to see women with strong voices, who channel their emotions through art. “They’re sooo awesome,” she said of Amyl and the Sniffers. “I wanna be as cool as her when I’m older.”

But first, there was Party Dozen, a noise-rock duo out of Australia comprising drummer Jonathan Boulet and saxophonist/vocalist Kirsty Tickle. For two people, they can make a striking sound that could be described as a kind of phantasmagorical cacaphony. Tickle’s sax acted like a guitar, blaring complex solos, as well as a mic: For songs like “Money & The Drugs,” she’d howl into the bell, creating a compelling natural vocal distortion. After a scintillating set, the band clearly won over hundreds of new fans: Party Dozen is entirely refreshing and unique, the type of act you’d love to see at a venue such as the hi-dive, where you can really mosh around and lose yourself.

Because Red Rocks is somewhat of an odd setting for shows like these: You can’t mosh or crowdsurf, unless you’re hoping to cause a widespread medical incident. But it wasn’t L7’s first rodeo on the rocks: “We haven’t played Red Rocks in 29 motherfucking years,” Sparks yelled to the crowd, referring to the band’s opening slot for Social Distortion. What followed was a set of pure punk, with protest songs like “Dispatch From Mar-a-Lago,” the 2017 single that marked the band’s first new music in almost 20 years. It was fast-paced, driven by the bombastic drumming from Dee Plakas and the low-slung and low-end chugging guitar riffs from founding member Suzi Gardner, who at one point noted her acrylic nail flew off.

Then it was time for the main act, with Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” playing over the speakers as Amyl and the Sniffers ran on the stage. The set hit fast and hard, kicking off with “Control.” Turner, decked out in a white lace bralette and matching gladiator skirt, is one of the most dynamic vocalists around, charging around the stage and belting it out with hurricane-level energy, her Jayne Mansfield-esque hair flapping in the wind, the hairspray losing its hold with every headbang. And there were many headbangs – it’s impossible not to with such music.

“What an honor it is to be playing at a venue like this,” she told the crowd, catching her breath after the intense song, noting the beauty of the nature around her. “And this place probably has Indigenous history, as well.”

But it wasn’t long before they launched into the next song, “Shake Ya,” during which guitarist Declan Mehrtens unleashed a searing solo that had Taylor giddily jumping and clapping her hands. She placed the mic on the floor of the stage and bowed over it, putting all the force of her voice into “Westgate.” Meanwhile, moments like the spotlight shining on her for “Guardian Angels” brought brief, brief reprieves before the energy skyrocketed once more. Taylor even brought a bikini-clad woman on stage for a short highlight as they played “Chewing Gum,” and Party Dozen’s Kirsty Tickle joined the band with her sax for a performance of “Freaks To The Front.”

The set moved fast as a tornado, and it swept the entire audience up throughout, culminating in fierce performances of “Hertz” and “Jerkin.” Mae, the teenager next to me, was all smiles, and so was her dad. It was clear, from Party Dozen to L7 to the Sniffers, that this was a multigenerational transfer of punk resurgence. And Amyl and the Sniffers demonstrated that it’s not just making some of the best, most authentic punk rock that’s been seen in decades, but it’s also uplifting young artists and peers as well as honoring the genre’s roots. And having women be at the forefront, especially during these political times, was the cherry on top.

See more photos from the show below: