Live Review: The Amity Affliction - Electric Ballroom, London 04/10/2018

A hauntingly chilly evening in Camden tonight, the streets were a wash with Amity Affliction fans all eager to get through the doors of the Electric Ballroom and wreck some havoc. The Electric Ballroom is the perfect place for the Australian post-harcore outfit to strut their stuff, it iconic history and raw punk edge gives it the perfect feel for them.

The ever fantastic Dream State had the same idea as the fans, it was time to warm up! Smashing into ‘New Waves’, the crowd was instantly swirling around, showing off their hippest dance moves and warming up their vocal chords for the night to come! So by the time they started strumming the first notes of ‘In This Hell’, the audience were fully warmed up and ready to continue the party late into the night. Frontwoman CJ was using the full extent of the stage all evening; then decided singing from the stage is for losers, so clambered on top of the crowd to finish ‘White Lies’. The trust between CJ and the crowd was second to none, as she had been reminding them throughout the set that they were all ‘family’ and that was pretty obvious from the display that every person in the venue showed. It has been a pretty intense year for this pop-punk/hardcore outfit, but with some pretty dedicated fans and a live show to blow the socks off any disbeliever; the next 12 months are going to be huge for Dream State!!!

As the lights went out and a single beam highlighted the microphone and vocalist Landon Tewers, he began crooning out the starting lyrics of ‘RIGGED’ before a huge explosion of strobes, drums and guitar shredding blasted the audience and The Plot in You showed off why they are one of the most interesting bands in the scene. Having brought out their fourth full length album ‘DISPOSE’ as the start of 2018, it covered some dark personal memories of a toxic relationship; in the past the bands lyrics had comprised of fictional stories but Landon had said that this time they wanted to show off a more intimate side of the band.

The two final tracks of the set were the unarguable highlights of the show, the epic ‘FEEL NOTHING’ took the crowd on a rollercoaster of emotions with its subtle and melancholy start and the catchy but definitely heavier chorus, this will be a staple of any The Plot In You shows to come in the future. Finishing off with ‘DISPOSABLE FIX’ was the perfect ending, it mix of heavy guitar chugging and electronic samples plus the deeply emotional lyrics that really struck a chord with the mass of people in the room.

With such a dedicated fanbase, The Amity Affliction had no trouble with getting the crowd going, instantly setting the place a flame with new song ‘Drag The Lake’! Its hugely catchy chorus and extremely heavy riffs, it the perfect mixture to turn a venue into a riot. Taking the audience back a few years with a classic off ‘This Could Be Heartbreak’ the insanely heavy ‘I Bring the Weather with Me’ was a little treat for long time fans! Half way through the set a beautiful acoustic version of ‘All Fucked Up’ gave the crowd a few minutes to catch their breath before they catapulted back into the heavy with ‘Ivy (Doomsday)’ and ‘Feels Like I’m Dying’ the latter showing off the newer direction of The Amity Affliction with a barrage of electronic samples during the chorus, which gets mixed reviews from the fans.

The band finish with a juggernaut of a song ‘Set Me Free’, which made moshpits appear out of thin air and almost half the crowd deciding to surf over the barrier to be greeted with a huge smile and a high five from frontman Joel Birch; as the last notes ring through the speakers and the lights go down the crowd could not be more disappointed!

Thankfully The Amity Affliction still had a few tricks up their sleeve, as they blasted back on stage for an incredible encore of ‘Holier Than Heaven’ and finally the 2014 classic that is ‘Pittsburgh’ which got one of the loudest sing-a-longs we’d heard in a long time! With a huge thankyou and a wave it was all over and Amity left the stage, tonight’s performance reconfirmed them as an important pillar in the hardcore community; it also showed off how a band can develop their sound and still retain a powerfully dedicated fanbase!!

Words and Photography by Joe Dick