‘Wild’ night in city as band shouts $35k in free drinks after gig cancelled

Were you there the night Amyl and the Sniffers shouted the city of Melbourne thousands of free drinks?

Perhaps like Woodstock, the number of people who say they were — who will tell mates they scored a beer from one of Australia’s most thrilling guitar bands — might stretch beyond reality.

What is true is that, in the space of a few hours, a bitterly frustrating moment was reconfigured into a lasting memory that summed up the very best of Melbourne’s live music community.

To recap — Friday night should have been a triumphant, crowning communal homecoming.

A free, all-ages gig at Federation Square in Melbourne’s CBD for an in-demand band celebrating an implausible ascent to stardom. 

Take your pick from their recent honours.

Amyl and the Sniffers just sold-out a 10,000-capacity venue in London, capping off a mammoth run of international tour and festival dates.

On Wednesday, they supported no less than AC/DC at their earth-shaking MCG gig.

Last weekend they were nominated for a Grammy.

They currently have a song sound-tracking a Japanese car ad. Not bad for a Melbourne pub band.

On the Friday morning of the Fed Square gig, they encouraged fans on social media to be considerate of younger attendees, clearly mindful that this could be a big one.

Mere minutes before they were due to hit the stage, the show was abruptly cancelled.

The Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation (MAP Co), which operates Fed Square, said there had been multiple breaches of security barriers.

The decision to shut it down was “not made lightly” according to MAP Co chief executive Katrina Sedgwick, but the view was “it was unsafe for the audience, the staff and the band to continue”.

The band quickly took to their Instagram page.

“We’re devastated. We’re really apologetic,” said their magnetic lead singer Amy Taylor, sandwiched among some coarse language.

“We were really excited to play. We’re so sorry. Grrrr.”

Then, a new post.

Taylor, still jittering with apology, announced the band was relinquishing their performance fee.

Five thousand dollars would go behind the bar at seven of the city’s small live music venues immediately.

“Have a drink on us,” she said in the video, that has since reached more than 1 million views.

“Just have some fun tonight.”

That meant $35,000 worth of free drinks at The Tote, The Old Bar, The Curtin, Labour in Vain, Hell’s Kitchen, Last Chance Rock and Roll Bar, and Cherry Bar.

For a scene hanging on by a frayed guitar lead, that isn’t just generous — it’s unfathomable and unprecedented.

A few kilometres up the road at The Curtin, publican Benjamin “Rusty” Russell found out his establishment was one of the venues.

“I was like … Jesus, that’s wild. Absolutely wild,” he said.

“We talk about Melbourne music community — well that is it. [The band] cut their teeth in places like this, so to see them give back like that is amazing.”

Celebrations rang out across the front bar and drinks (“nothing top-shelf” according to Rusty) began to flow.

In Fitzroy, Louie and his mates were among those lining up outside The Old Bar, having left the “frustrating” Fed Square debacle in search of a free drink.

“We looked up on Instagram and saw they’d put $5K down at a bunch of pubs and bars around town, so we were like, we’ve got to go for one,” Louie said.

“It’s awesome that they’ve pumped a bunch of money into these local venues. Bloody good onyas.”

Around the corner, the $5,000 tab had already run out at the Labour in Vain, but the pub was still heaving.

“We couldn’t have received any more love than what we’ve received tonight from them,” said JP, one of the bar managers.

“We are one of the first pubs they ever played in. We love them, love what they’ve done for the pub, whether it be for publicity or for the community.”

There is every chance Friday night will spill into Melbourne’s sticky-carpeted music mythology.

But the once proud label of ‘Australia’s live music capital’ has become something of a grim cliche.

Speak to anyone involved in live music for longer than a politician’s photo shoot, and you’ll find an industry that is hurting.

“It’s terrible right now,” said Fergus, who was working the door at The Old Bar.

“There are so many live music venues closing down, and the government should really do more to support them. It’s great that Amyl are doing it, but they shouldn’t have to, you know?”

At a grassroots level, an industry that saw the losses of the pandemic compounded by changes in spending (and drinking) habits is being squeezed by rising operating and regulatory costs.

Back at The Curtin, publican Rusty used to see Amyl and the Sniffers play to the devoted few in the pub’s front bar.

He’s glad the City of Melbourne is helping them to put on large-scale shows, but believes there’s more to be done to support the next crop of artists.

“A lot of politicians mean well,” he said.

“But when it comes down to it, we are facing significant issues that aren’t really being heard enough.”

It is a point made less diplomatically over the bar by Jess Norman, who walked across from Fed Square.

“You can’t just support people in their glory days,” she said.

“You need to support people when they’re in the dirt and they’re in the grit and they’re doing the hard yards.

“We need to support the venues that support these young acts.”

For Jess and her bar stool companion, Chris Sutherland, beyond any free drinks that may have been poured, this was nonetheless a night to treasure.

“I feel like this could be a huge cultural moment for Victoria and Melbourne,” she said.

“Other acts couldn’t shut down Fed Square. Robbie Williams couldn’t shut down the city! Then you turn around and give everyone a shout at the pub? Like, that’s nuts!

“When Melbourne shuts down your gig and gives you lemons,” Chris Sutherland said, “you turn the answer to lemonade for the whole f…ing town!”