The Amity Affliction Concert Review The Marque Theater Tempe AZ 06-05-2024

Review and photos by Maxwell Williamson. Edited by Roc Boyum

 Australian post-hardcore band from Gympie, Queensland, The Amity Affliction aka TAA, embarked on a 32 date trek across the United States with their special guests, Mugshot, Dying Wish, and Currents. TAA brought forth an ambitious show that consisted of two complete sets of material. Set one featured their highly acclaimed 2014 release, Let The Ocean Take Me; in its entirety;Set two was comprised of the songs, “I See Dead People, Drag The Lake, All My Friends are Dead, Like Love and Open Letter, respectively. The two encore songs were; “It’s Hell Down Here and Soak Me In Bleach”.

The three opening bands brought their raging hardcore sets to the Marquee Theater and assaulted the audience with their explosive sets, that made for some great mid-week madness as well as setting the stage for the headliner, TAA. As the final opening band left the stage and without hesitation the Marquee Theater erupted into an ear-piercing ovation from the near capacity crowd as The Amity Affliction took the stage kicking things off with arguably their most popular track, “Pittsburgh” (no intro).

Under the guise of some deep blue lighting, front-man Joel Birch entered the stage and stood as a shadowy figure upon the raised platform at the front of the stage. Suddenly and without warning, the band and Birch exploded into their first song with simultaneous burst of white lights that further amplified their explosive beginning. The band exuded an energy level that is unrivaled amongst their contemporaries and remained a constant trait throughout their entire set. The fan response was equally as explosive and the volume of the audience singing took audience participation to whole other level! Birch maintained his authoritative stature throughout the night and kept the frenzied energy high while running from one end of the stage to the other all the while belting out his commanding vocals.

Their opening set which featured the LP, Let The Ocean Take Me was a relentless assault, visually and sonically with each of the ten songs from the LP played in a rapid succession without a break. It was as if the band was issuing a challenge to the Tempe crowd to see if they could keep up their energy level  – and on a Wednesday night no less!

This Arizona crowd had no problem keeping up with the band as these fans displayed a barrage of chaotic crowd surges and mosh pits that could easily push the limits of the Richter scale, along with plenty of high tide crowd surfing.

The 10th and final track from LTOTM “Give It All” was the first chance for fans to catch their collective breath. Although there was a slight reduction in the tornadic chaos by the band during this song, the energy was transmuted by the audience with their singing. Birch, acting as a conductor, led the audience sing-a-long throughout the song that included a breakdown by the band that had the entire Marquee collective carrying the song’s melody all on their own, quite impressive for sure and something everyone needs to experience at least once in their life!

Considering this was the second to the last night of their seven-week tour,it was quite impressive to see the band kicking out an unrelenting stamina. Vocally, Birch displayed no evidence of any wear or tear on his crushing vocals or his fierce commitment to keep the Tempe audience pumped up.  

At the end of the first set, the band exited the stage for a short break that left the audience to experience a video that divulged some behind the scenes bits from the band’s past. Long time fans were sure to find this extra special, as we don’t often get an intimate look at our heroes’ life off the stage. 

The stage lights illuminated once again as the band quickly re-emerged onto stage and without hesitation erupted into “All My Friends Are Dead” off their 2020 release, Everyone Loves You… Once You Leave Them. The second half of the show featured several of the band’s more recent bone jarring hits that were very well received by these avid fans! Those who have followed this band for a long time, surely noticed the absence of their bassist and backup vocalist Ahren Stringer. The band announced on May 24th 2024 that Stringer was returning to Australia in the best interest of his mental health and wellbeing, as he struggled with addiction and was seeking out some much-needed help. Ahren’s absence, although very noticeable to longtime fans, was not addressed on stage throughout this performance.  Filling in for Stringer was Tim Beken from the band True North. Hats off to Beken who gave a phenomenal performance while filling in onboth bassand backing vocals during this entire tour. The band sounded in top form as always and surely anyone unfamiliar with the original lineup would not have noticed anything out of place; Beken and the band are true pros!

Even though this tour ends in Los Angeles and the chances to catch this tour will have come and gone; I would still highly recommend keeping a watchful eye out for any announcements of new show dates that are sure to be released soon. An excessively energetic hardcore rock show from start to finish with something musically and visually for everyone. The band’s ground shaking musical assault, their crazy mixture of both screaming and clean vocals, and their remarkably catchy choruses make this a show you don’t want to miss. After witnessing this show, you’ll find yourself stuck with their songs in your head for a long time to come. The Amity Affliction’s live set will most certainly leave you screaming for more!

Get into The Amity Affliction Here!

The Amity Affliction Photo Gallery:

Currents Photo Gallery:

Dying Wish Photo Gallery:

Mugshot Photo Gallery: