Amyl and the Sniffers at the Teragram Ballroom

Opening a show for a band like Amyl and The Sniffers seems like it could be somewhat intimidating, but adding a legend like Alice Bag to the bill seems like it could make it downright terrifying, however that didn’t seem to be the case with Moss! The quartet of young musicians made their way to the stage first. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before their set started and the smaller crowd of obvious fans and curious early birds that had trickled in, stood staring blankly at the stage waiting for Moss! to start performing. It wasn’t long before these guys would prove the reason why they were added to this insane bill.

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Moss! is no 3 chord act. While they embody everything that we all love energetically and stylistically about Punk, their arrangements are much more intricate varying from bluesy and surfy to punchy and aggressive and even melodic at times. It wasn’t long before the room filled up and bodies were moving. Their set served as a great reminder of why it’s important “get there early” to catch opening bands.

Next up was the infamous Alice Bag. She has been living her truth her whole life. In a world where society has told us that we need to color inside the lines and place limitations on how we look, act and feel, Alice has rejected that shit. She is unapologetically herself.  It’s no wonder that Alice Bag continues to inspire the creative youth at large regardless of race, gender or sexuality, and at 60 years of age she shows no sign of slowing down. Whether it be writing books, dying her hair neon colors, painting, engaging in political activism or flailing her arms wildly while screaming her truth at the top of her lungs into a microphone, she is leading by example in her radical forms of authenticity.

Her set was nothing short of amazing as always. Alice balanced her time on stage flawlessly, executing her messages between songs without being long winded or preachy. The energy she and her band projected was reciprocated in equal measure as fans smashed against one another with fists pumping, screaming out lyrics in alliance to songs such as “NO MEANS NO.”

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Hailing from down under, mullet wearing misfits Amyl and the Sniffers are the next hot thing, just ask Gucci! For those of us who couldn’t make the trek to Oakland to see them at the Burger Boogaloo, this show was the perfect way to redeem ourselves. Amyl is dynamite in a small package, she has that demeanor that says, “Hi, I’m friendly but I’ll fuck you up if you cross me!” Her cadence seemed to rub off on the females in the crowd as just as many chicks took turns stage diving, moshing and crowd surfing as the boys. They powered through their whole set without waning in intensity with songs such as “Punisha”, “I’m Not A Loser”  and “Got You”. 

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Right after the shows end, a production crew pulled up in a pick-up truck ready for action with movie lights, generators and cameras. They closed down the block in front of the Teragram Ballroom guerrilla style in order to film a music video and as Amyl made her way through the crowd to stand front and center of the street full of derelicts, a director guided the fans to assemble closely around Amyl, walk slowly, and sing enthusiastically with her to the song “GFY” from their newest self titled release. The fully rigged truck started to move slowly down the street while the camera men sat on the tailgate of the vehicle filming fans while they walked with their fearless blonde leader screaming wildly  “Go Fuck Yourself.” The filming made this show an experience that certainly won’t be forgotten anytime soon by the lucky bastards that had the fortune to attend that evening and was certainly enough to make me feel okay about missing out on the Boogaloo.

Words, Photos, and Video by: Jessica Moncrief

Photos by: Anthony Mehlhaff